Page 7

Chapter 3

Iwas working on an article when my concentration was broken. My phone rang, and I glanced sideways at the offending device as it loudly vibrated. I sighed, aggrieved as I tried to write out the rest of my thought so I could continue after the call.

I looked at the screen. I didn’t recognise the number, but it was a +82 country code. Korean. I frowned, and slid my finger up the screen to accept the call.

“Yeoboseyo?” I said, automatically, expecting to hear someone from ENT, and… well, I wasn’t wrong.

“Kaiya?”

My mouth fell open as my eyes widened.

“Park Minjae?” I stuttered, and popped my head up to look around at the other desks to see if anyone had just heard me pick up a call form the leader of GVibes, but no one had even glanced in my direction.

I slid down into my seat, slouching as if I might somehow conceal myself, despite the fact that no one seemed to give a shit.

“Your accent is good. Did you practice while we were away?”

I had to force down an irrational giggle at the absurdity that Park Minjae was calling me and complimenting my Korean accent.

“Um, yes. I kept up with my lessons,” I said, slowly. He had asked the question in English, so I answered likewise.

“That’s good. I imagine it will help when you travel with us next month.”

“Well, yeah, that’s the hope,” I replied, still searching for the subtext of this call whilst inwardly cursing myself for losing any semblance of cool I’d previously managed.

For a moment, he paused. “Kaiya, I know it must have been uncomfortable for you to see us in LA last year. I hope it wasn’t too bad for you.”

I blinked. Of all the things I would have expected him to say, bringing up the press junket I’d attended with them in LA had not been one of them. I took a deep breath as my mind replayed the moment where I’d almost faltered. Sitting opposite the people I’d once called friends. Sitting opposite the man I had fit my entire world inside of. I remembered nearly losing it, surrounded by hot lights, and too many eyes. I remembered how Minjae had stepped in front of me, shielding me from all of it, even though he’d had no reason to, other than that he’d seen me struggling. I wondered if anyone had ever done that for him.

“It’s my job,” I said in a tone so deceptively light that even I could have been tricked.

“That’s why I called. I hope you don’t mind,” he said in a tone that implied it didn’t matter if I did or not, and I huffed a silent laugh, because while I could never claim to know Minjae in any substantial way, this was exactly like the side of him I had come to appreciate. The group leader. The buffer between GVibes and… well, everyone else. “We’ve been made aware that you’ll be joining the tour,” he went on. “May I ask why you chose to?”

For a moment, I was taken aback by the abruptness of the question.

I opened my mouth to respond, but thought better of it.

“Can you hold on for a moment?” I asked then, without waiting for a response, I stood up and grabbed my headphones, and quickly walked across the open-plan office to the meeting rooms. They were all empty, and I pushed open the door to one, flipped the ‘occupied’ sign on and closed it. I put my headphones on, turned on my Bluetooth and a moment later I heard the faint sound of Minjae breathing in my ear.

“Sorry about that,” I said, “I needed to move somewhere quieter.” I slid my phone in my pocket and crossed my arms.

“No problem,” he said easily. “I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward.”

I mean, I kind of did, but… “No, I get it,” I shrugged. “You’re worried I’m going to cause trouble?”

He laughed, surprising me.

“Aniyo, Kaiya. No. I don’t think you intend that. But,” he fell silent for a moment. “I think we can both agree it is a little awkward, no? I was hoping you could reassure me this is nothing personal.”

For a few seconds, all I could do was blink. Stunned at the unexpectedly personal and frank request. Either Minjae had felt more comfortable with me than I’d realised, or he felt that the risk of me causing some kind of upset during the tour was worth the discomfort of confronting me about it.

“Yeah, I can see why you’d think that,” I said faintly as I began to walk laps around the centre table. “I don’t know how to convince you except to tell you it isn’t personal. Or at least not in that way.”

I could feel him waiting for me to continue, and for a moment I warred with myself on how much I was willing to explain. Just because I respected Minjae, did not mean I felt particularly inclined to spill my guts to him. I didn’t owe him that. But he was their leader, and I had to consider that he might actually have a say in my inclusion on the tour. If he thought I posed too much of a risk to the group, Director Kang wanting me there might not be enough. I doubted she liked me well enough to go against Minjae’s wishes. Begrudgingly, I couldn’t even find it in myself to disagree.

“Minjae, I have no intention of doing anything other than my job, and doing it well,” I said honestly. “This career isn’t the one I necessarily planned, but it is the one I love, and the one I have fought for. I won’t jeopardise that. And regardless of whatever my personal feelings may be, or may have been, I still–I still love GVibes. I respect you, and all the members. All I want is to do my job. If you need me to stay away, I can do that – provided it doesn’t interfere with my duties,” I amended quickly, suddenly praying that wouldn’t be a stipulation he’d insist on, because that would make the member interviews I had to do very tricky.

He was quiet for a moment before he said, “I apologise for putting you in a position where you felt like you needed to say that. I’m sure you can see if from my perspective. Your history with Jihoon is complicated. It is not my business, and please believe me when I say this conversation is as painful for me as it may be for you. But the tour comes first. I think in this we feel the same.”