The Cat's Out Of The Bag
Pairing┊Jenn x GOT7
Word Count┊2.7k
Summary┊The other boys find out the worst way.
A/N┊If you’re not familiar with Jenn’s backstory, I suggest reading this to get caught up. This post also contains sensitive subjects that may not be suitable for everyone. Read at your own risk.
March 23, 2018
GOT7 had just won first place on Music Bank. They all were extremely happy and content with their hard work. It was getting late, the members had relaxed for a while before packing up to go home for the night.
Youngjae was relaxed on the couch in their dressing room, scrolling through his phone when something caught his eye. There was an article trending on the Korean networking sites, there just happened to be one with GOT7's name on it.
He read it thoroughly as his blood boiled. Someone was nosey enough to leak information about Jenn's childhood. He wasn't surprised since she had already told him what she went through. He was more shocked that someone was bold enough to share it to the world. Then he started to worry, what if she saw the article.
He glanced at her from across the room, she was talking with Jinyoung and Mark. It would be a matter of time before all the other members saw the article too. Youngjae was determined to get her away from her phone, to protect her when she was having a good time and was happy during the Look promotions.
They packed up all their things and were heading home for the day. Youngjae stopped Jenn before she left the dressing room.
"Noona, how about you come to my place tonight?" He asked her, smiling warmly towards her.
"Are you sure? Would your brother mind?"
"He doesn't mind, it's okay" He chuckled nervously, "Plus Coco misses you"
"That's my girl" She chuckled and nodded.
She was still living by herself in her own apartment. He was certain she would find out immediately when she was alone, Youngjae was worried for her. He needed to keep an eye on her.
The staff guided them to their van, Youngjae making sure to keep her close behind him, trying to hide her from the public with his tall height. He felt like he had let her down. As a friend, he felt like he broke his promise to her. The one thing she asked of him, and he couldn't keep it.
Jenn was talking to Jackson the entire car ride, Youngjae glancing back at her every so minutes to see if she would pull out her phone. He also looked over all the boys, they were too tired out of their minds to even get on their devices.
Youngjae buzzed into his apartment. The first thing Jenn was met with was Coco. An instant smile made its way onto her face. He smiled towards his brother awkwardly. He forgot to tell him they'd have a guest, but once he told him the circumstances, he would understand.
They ordered take out for the three of them. She was indulged in the food when she got a text. She pulled out her phone and before she could check it, Youngjae took her device from her.
"Youngjae!" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Sorry, I just was hoping we could have a night without our phones"
"Why?"
"We don't get to just hang out-"
"Youngjae, I see you every day" She squinted her eyes, trying to understand his reasons behind taking her phone.
"Just, no phones for tonight, let's watch a movie or something"
"Fine, but you're giving it back to me before practice" She frowned, grabbing a few more bites to eat.
They watched a movie, Youngjae's brother walking out and going to bed halfway through it. Youngjae found himself with his head on her shoulder, almost falling asleep until the movie ended. He sat up straight to see that she was fast asleep. He carefully stood up from the couch, grabbing a blanket and covering her with it, going to his own bedroom to fall asleep.
His alarm had been going off for the past 5 minutes, he only just found the effort to turn it off. He yawned and wanted to go back to sleep, but they had to practice all day to prepare for the world tour. He got up from his bad to go out to the living room to wake Jenn up. She wasn't there. He panicked, rushing into his brother's room.
"Where is Jenn?" It was obvious Youngjae interrupted his sleep.
"Chill out, she left a note on the table"
Youngjae changed his route to the kitchen table. She left a note.
Found my phone near your gaming mess.
I'll be leaving before you wake up to get ready for practice.
Make sure you get enough rest for today!
He let out a big sigh of relief. He thought she couldn't possibly have enough time to check her phone while also freshening up for practice. Youngjae dusted the worry off his shoulders and began getting ready himself.
Jenn got home to her apartment, quickly finding a pair of comfy clothes, then climbing in the shower. She didn't do much to look presentable. All she had was her hair up in a ponytail and a face mask.
She grabbed her bag with her water bottle inside and hurried to get a ride to the practice room. She checked her phone, only to realize that it was almost dead and she'd go the day without it. She did the routine of getting checked in and boarding the elevator. She hoped they weren't too worried about her since they didn't hear from her.
She pushed open the practice room doors, smiling until the atmosphere was completely tense. No one else was smiling with her. Their manager shared the room with them, his arms crossed and a look of stress across his face. All eyes were on her and she was put on the spot.
"I don't think I'm late, am I?" She dug through her bag to find her phone, "Sorry my phone's dead"
Jaebeom approached her, his voice was stern and almost intimidating. "Is it true?"
She gave him a look of pure confusion, is what true?
"What?"
"Have you not see the articles?"
"What are you talking about?" Her voice started becoming shaking, thinking she was in trouble. She glanced over to where Youngjae was sitting. His eyes were avoiding hers. His shoulders were slumped and he forced his gaze to turn to the floor.
"Guys?" Jenn held her bag close to her. Their manager cleared his throat, he made his way to the monitor where they could control the music. Jenn stood by him, hovering over him to see what was on the computer.
He adjusted it so she could see it. It was an article. As she read it thoroughly, she could feel the walls closing in on her. Tears were welling up in her eyes before she had the chance to finish reading it. She covered her mouth with her hand, holding her stomach with the other and frantically dashed out of the room to the nearest bathroom.
The seven boys stood to their feet, wanting to chase after her. Jaebeom held up his hand, motioning them to stop and stay back.
"I got this, we don't want to make her feel like she's being surrounded"
The boys frowned, watching the leader leave the dance room. He quickly searched the bathrooms on the floor. When he found which room she was in, he could hear her sobbing, completely falling apart. It almost sounded as if she was heaving.
"Jenn" Jaebeom knocked on the door, her sobs came to a stop when she realized she was not alone anymore.
"Leave me be" She breathed in deeply, hyperventilating as she breathed out, "Please"
He closed his eyes, trying to hold back his own tears. He felt just how much pain she was in, how much suffering she was going through.
"Can I come in?" He asked her softly, pressing his forehead to the door, "Please Jenn"
She bit her tongue, thinking twice about saying something that was bound to hurt his feelings. She stood on her knees to unlock the door, sitting back down on the floor. She felt completely fine coming into the practice room, but when she read the article, she felt all nausea from eight years ago coming back to haunt her.
His heart broke once the door opened. She was sitting on the floor, skin as white as snow like she was getting sick, but also with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jaebeom kneeled down in front of her, wiping the substance from the bags under her eyes.
"Jenn, is it true?" He asked her, though he already knew the answer.
She nodded her head, pursing her lips and hiding her face with her arms. "You don't have to pity me"
He clenched his jaw, "Why did you keep this from us?"
"It was just natural for me," she was congested by how much she was crying, sounding stuffed, "I went about my trainee days minding my own business, the kids would've made fun of me. It was easier to stay silent than risk my past coming back to-"
She paused before she finished her sentence. Her past already was coming back to bite her in the ass.
"Never mind, it already has"
"We love you, Je-"
"And that's why I was trying to protect you" She snapped, "I was saving you the excessive amounts of worry, I couldn't just tell you out of the blue that I had what I had"
"I do not want to come off self-centered, even narcissistic. That is why I hid it" She looked him straight in the eyes, he was burning a hole right through her chest, which made her tear up even more, "I have my private life, one where I deal with all the demons that tear at me every day. And then there's my idol life, I just want to be seen as an artist. Someone who loves music and wants to showcase her talents to the world. I don't want to be known as the pathetic girl who had cancer when she was a teenager."
Jaebeom sighed, grabbing her arm and pulling her into a hug. He held her so tight like she would fall if he held her so delicately. "You're not pathetic, Jenn. In fact, I've never been so amazed by a woman like this before"
She chuckled into his shirt while also trying not to get all her tears on him.
"You don't have to hide anymore, we'll protect you," He clenched his jaw, noticing that his voice was becoming shaky, not realizing that tiny speckles of liquids were raining from his eyes, "We love you, Jenn. Everyone loves you, the members, even Jinyoung. I love you"
She grabbed fist fulls of his loose shirt, completely falling apart and bawling. The sound of her sobbing was not helping Jaebeom at all. It hurt him as the team leader and a friend to know that one of his members suffered so much. It also pained him to know that she didn't tell them, afraid of being judged or come off as someone who sought pity.
"We're all best friends," Jenn widened when his voice came off fragile, she had never seen him cry, "We are supposed to turn to one another for guidance, to lean on them. Isn't that what friends are for?"
"Jaebeom…"
"We care about you, no matter what anyone says" He pulled away from her, looking into her eyes. She saw his glossy eyes which made her break down even more, "We'll always be here if you ever need us"
Jenn looked down at her lap in guilt, engulfing him in a hug with her face in his chest, "I'm sorry Jaebeom"
"You have to tell us things like this, we don't want you to suffer alone" His chest heaved up and down, holding her head closer, "How will we ever know…"
His voice trailed off, they were both sobbing together. There was no need for any words. They calmed each other down with every minute. Jenn never had such a sensitive and emotional moment with Jaebeom before, at least to this extent. She felt awful for causing him such heartache. He let go of her, wiping his face with his shirt and clearing any signs of emotional distress.
"The boys want to see you" He cleared his throat, getting up from the floor and helping her up too. She nodded, turning around to look at herself in the mirror. She snickered at herself, looking down into the sink. She turned on the faucet, splashing the cold water onto her face. She grabbed the toilet paper that was in the bathroom, handing a few to Jaebeom, and some for herself to clear their runny noses.
"You'll probably need that" The two of them shared a laugh before wiping their nostrils.
She exited the bathroom with him, he led her back to the practice room, but before he could grab the handle of the door, Jenn quickly wrapped her arms around his torso, holding him tight, "Thank you, Jaebeom"
He turned around to pat the top of her head, nodding, letting her know that it was now or never. She owed the boys this much for all the trouble she caused them. As he opened the door, the four boys stood up. Youngjae and Mark were sitting down, sulking. Jackson, Jinyoung, BamBam, and Yugyeom were the only ones who didn't know yet.
"Jenn, are you okay?" Jackson kept his distance, but obviously showing that he was concerned.
"I'm sorry" She looked down at the floor in shame, "for everything. I had no intentions for you to find out, and I'm sorry you did"
"We'd rather know than not know" Jinyoung crossed his arms, pursing his lips. The two maknaes nodded along, they were obviously stressed and heartbroken to know their friend went through such hard times.
"I'm pitiful, I know"
"No you're not" Jackson clapped back, almost coming off as defensive, "Why couldn't you tell us? I didn't want to find out from the media. I wanted to hear it from you"
"You want to hear it from me? Fine. Everything that has gone around about me is true. I can't just come out of the blue and just casually tell you that I'm a survivor. Now you all feel bad, you pity me, don't you?" Tears pooled up in her eyes once again, Jackson shutting his mouth since he was the one who had got her worked up again.
"It's bad enough that my father used to flaunt me around, labeling me as his daughter who has cancer" Jenn was emotionally weak, "I never wanted you to see me in that light, I want to be seen as me now, please"
Yugyeom couldn't stand seeing his older sister crying so hard, the last thing she needed was to be lectured, she needed support. He brought her to his chest, rubbing the sides of her arms and resting his chin on the top of her head.
"Please noona, I don't do well with crying" He pouted his lips, Jackson approached the two to brush her hair, massaging her neck.
This was a sign that the entire group had to huddle around Jenn and give her a hug that she deserved. She sobbed harder when Jinyoung joined in, softly brushing the side of her wrist to show that he was there and that he did indeed care.
Jinyoung wasn't the type to physically or verbally show how much people meant to him, including Jenn. Though he acts cold towards some of the members and jokes around with the fans, he does genuinely cares. Jenn knew that, but she never expected him to show that side to her, even when she was so vulnerable.
Jenn lightly slapped the member's arm, letting them know she needed space. They quickly distanced themselves, trying not to be obvious when they were wiping their own tears off. Jenn chuckled to herself, wiping her face with her sleeve once more.
"I love you guys so much" She smiled, grabbing each boy and giving them a hug. They never held her so tight. Usually, they would just pat her back, but the feelings were reciprocated. To the point, if anyone squeezed her harder, she would pop.
"Please don't treat me any differently" She folded her hands together, pleading to the seven boys.
"We won't." BamBam chuckled, "We're just gonna make sure no one has the opportunity to hurt you ever again"
