Minjeong's heart was beating erratically, her palms were sweaty and a million thoughts were running through her brain as she stood before the front door of the CEO's office.

From here, Minjeong felt tiny...

Even the door is intimidating me

The blonde had only been managing Jimin for just under 6 months now. The road were rocky at times, but she swears she was doing her job fine.

She supposes there was that one instance, when the girl had accidentally fallen asleep in her car whilst waiting for the actress to finish up. As a result she didn't pull up in time to pick the latter up until 30 minutes later...

But that was just once! It was just one time!

And that was months ago!

No way that should warrant her jobless... surely they understand she's only human... so mistakes are prone to happen...

So why... why was she asked to meet the CEO so abruptly today?

The blonde sighs and straightens her back. There's no point in speculating about it now.. her answer was quite literally between her and this massive, over pretentious door.

Taking a gulp to calm down her nerves, she finally found the courage in herself to push open the barrier in front of her and step inside

"Hm?" A man, probably in his 50s looks up from the documents on his desk and adjust his glasses. "Kim Minjeong was it?"

His voice was deep and a little bit raspy, the man wore a dark suit, his graying hair was slicked back and he had a very familiar stern and cold look on his face.

Must be a common trend running within this company...

If the tag on his desk which read "CEO Lee Jun-Woo" didn't give away his position, his aura definitely did.

The man was just sitting there but Minjeong could already feel his strong presence illuminating over her.

Yeah.. he was definitely built to be a CEO for sure.. and he's hardly said anything substantial yet.

"That's right- ah- sir!" Minjeong bows down a full 90 degrees, the beating in her ear getting stronger. "I heard you wanted to see me"

"That's correct, I believe you've been managing Yu Jimin for the past 5 and a half months, is that right?"

"Ah- Yes" Minjeong's body felt stiff under the gaze of the CEO, there was no other way she can put it, in this very office... she felt like an ant not worthy to even be standing in such a prestige atmosphere.. which by the way is like on level 20 on the company building...

Adding to the feelings of a hierarchy she was undoubtedly on the bottom of.

"So there are a few things that have come to my attention about you, I have a gathered a few insights here, reported to me by the people that work closely around you"

Report...?

"One of which was from Yu Jimin actually, 5 months ago, complaining that she was being driven in Sedan by her newly hired manager"

...

Ohh.. you have got to be kidding me..

"Sir I-"

"That had be written off since then by her, but I also see here, not too long ago, there was an incident where Jimin had a public encounter with a mob of fans, in which you handled, but never reported the incident back to the company"

Shit shit shit

"..." The blonde was so stunned by the CEO's words, she couldn't even formulate a sentence to respond with. During that time, her main focus was purely on Jimin, she didn't think reporting the incident would have served any favours for the A-lister so she chose to have kept it under wraps...

"Also from the staff on the movie set as well, they have recently reported that you two tend to argue quite a bit onsite, especially about food disagreements for Jimin, but recently more bickering had been involved in general"

"She was lacking nutrition in her diet.. I was just trying to get her to eat better.." Minjeong had to try to defend herself on one of those points at least once...

"They also said and I quote: They bicker so much recently like they are an old married couple, very comfortable with each other it seems" he continued, completely ignoring the blonde's defence

..what..?

"Kim Minjeong" The CEO stands up and walks towards the shorter woman who felt the hair at the back of her neck stand up as the intimidating man approached. "About your management style with Jimin..."

Here it comes...

Minjeong tried her best to even out her breath.. she didn't want to be too much of a mess in front of the CEO despite the fact that she's pretty sure she was about to be let go from her position.

She closes her eyes in preparation.

"Thank you.."

"Huh..?" She opens her eyes, not sure if she heard what he said correctly.

The CEO grabs a hold of Minjeong's hand and begins to shake it with both of his "Thank you so much, Minjeong"

"I- I'm sorry?"

"Jimin that girl.. huh.. She's always been a bit of a tough one" He lets go and lets out a sigh "She a very sought out actress, but she really doesn't hold back when it comes to staff... she's a lot nicer than she seems on the outskirt I promise, but her attitude had been a big problem in this company. I was starting to run out of options if one more manager was going to quit... so thank you Minjeong, thank you so much for looking out for her, doing your job, but most importantly, finding your way around her and actually being able to take care of her despite her usual antics."

"Oh no no no" She waves away the thanks like she didn't deserve the praise. "It's nothing.. I'm just doing my Job"

Am I dreaming right now..?

"Well you've hit a new record for the job, you're officially the longest standing manager for Jimin by far! So please..." Minjeong's eyes widen in absolute shock as the freaking Lee Jun-Woo, the CEO for god's sakes, bows down before her "Please keep taking care of her, I know she's a handful, but in you, for the first time, on behalf of our agency, we see hope. She's not easy, she has constant temper tantrums and she's very unrealistically demanding.. but whilst we've been observing from afar, in her own unique way, it seems she has taken a liking towards you... so please... don't walk away from this role.. even if she makes it challenging.. Minjeong I mean this, you are by far the best manager we ever had for Jimin and perhaps you may even serve as a catalyst to change that girl's attitude around a little... at least for the remaining staff that's there to help her."

He smiles at her warmly... and for once since she's been inside.. the CEO no longer looked like that tall intimidating, cold and ruthless scather anymore... and instead he's starting to look more like a teddy bear more than anything.

"I wouldn't dream of stepping down Sir" Minjeong responds, looking down with a small prideful curve of the lip. "I've put in too much effort with her already to step away" She looks up with determined eyes "I want be there for her and help her as much as I can, that's my duty as her manager, but also, I want to see her succeed further along and be happy"

Smile never dropping from his face, Jun-Woo leans back on his desk and lets out a relieved sigh "I'm glad I took a chance on a random hire this time. Might be one of the better decisions I've made since starting this company, and please call me Jun-Woo"

Minjeong opened her mouth, about to respond when the door behind her suddenly opens, causing her and the CEO to looks towards the source.

"Jimin?"

"Minjeong?"

The two woman said in unison as their eyes locked with one another, before both slowly turned back to the CEO with a questioning look.

"Jimin, glad you can make it, I was just having a chat with your manager, glad you two are getting along fine this time"

"What's going on? Why did you call me in suddenly and what is she doing here?" Jimin walks up and asks so casually, Minjeong felt terrified for a moment. She understands the woman is the face of the company... but should she really be barking at the CEO out of all people like that.

Her unhinged mannerism really knows no bounds sometimes..

"Straight to the point I see" The man stands up straight and picks up a file on his desk. "Now that both of you are here, I wanted to discuss an important matter. Minjeong" He looks over to the blonde "This will mostly involve only Jimin, but as her manager, you should be aware." Seeing the shorter woman nod he continued "As we all know, Jimin, the current movie you've been filming has just ended and we are finalising everything for the premiere.. hHowever, it has come to our attention that we will be releasing the film at the same time as another highly anticipated one: 'Hour's Rush Two.' They just unveiled the trailer and release date yesterday."

The man puts his file down and directs his gaze at Jimin unreadably. "We need a way to redirect the audience's attention to our film. It seems that your fame alone won't be sufficient this time; the other movie has generated too much hype, especially since the first film."

"So what are you proposing? You want to create another scandal?" Jimin asked so fast and coldy, Minjeong had to cock her head in astonishment.

Is this something she commonly has to do...?

The blonde instantly recalls all the times she's read an article about Jimin, whenever the A-lister is on the headlines outside of a recent film or drama, it's typically about some form of scandal that usually fades away weeks later.

But now that she thinks about it.. there are usually a lot of rumours written about her... one's that are never confirmed...

But having seen Jimin's lifestyle now... Minjeong sincerely doubts that girl is actually going outside and causing trouble on purpose.

"We were contemplating paying an online media company to circulate a dating rumor between you and your co-lead, Kang Ji-Hoon, before releasing a statement ourselves to confirm it and generate additional buzz."

What..? No way this is okay... Jimin wouldn't agree to something like that.. she shouldn't!

She looks over at the actress... but her expression was... just

Empty

There was nothing there.. no emotion.. or even a small reaction...

"I've discussed it with his agency as well, and they've agreed to go through with that plan. They should have already discussed the details with him," Jun-woo continued. "So, for you, please make the situation believable with him. Go out together in public, maybe—anything that can draw attention back to you and, consequently, your film."

"Is that all?" Jimin responds, eyes still empty and her words were as cold as ice.

"That is all"

"Then I'll be leaving now" Turning on her heels, Jimin didn't miss a single beat before walking right out of the CEO's office, her eyes caught Minjeong's as she turned momentarily... with a glint of... something written behind them... but it did not last longer than a second before she had disappeared in sight...

"Jimin—" Minjeong was about to run after her but realized the CEO was still right there, standing before her. "I'm— I'm sorry, but I should really go after her. I'm scheduled to drive her home now anyway."

"Please do" he sighs "This always happens... so don't feel too inclined to try to wrap your head around her behaviour right now"

Always happens!? Do you mean you put her through fake rumours and allegations all the time.. for what..? To keep your stocks growing?

Ridiculous

Biting her tongue (She's being doing that a lot since starting this job) Minjeong said nothing else before chasing after the A-lister.

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

The drive home to Jimin's house was in silence...

It's something Minjeong should typically be used to by now...

Didn't all their trips together usually resulted in silence?

It's been like that since the very beginning really.

In exception to a few occasions... oh.. and recently too...

Ever since the incident with Jimin's public meltdown... let's just say... their relationship came to a bit of shift.

Don't get her wrong, they still have their usual manager and actress relationship... but things really are no longer tense as they used to be.

They still have disagreement and Jimin still makes her life more eventful than ever on a daily work basis...

But it's no longer the same.

Because Minjeong now bickers back.

Because Jimin's complaint no longer carried the same iciness it used to.. rather it was replaced by something warmer... as if she's doing that because it's just a way she interacts with minjeong.

As if it's their little inside understanding.

The usual "Oi! Get me my coffee" No longer felt like a Diva talking down to her staff, but more of a means of talking to someone that she was perfectly comfortable with...

Yeah...

Thing have changed between her and Jimin...

It was subtle..

But the impact was huge

They were comfortable with each other now...

There was a sense of trust... and there was understanding of each other's characters

And because of that very understanding...

Minjeong knows for a fact... that this silence in the car was definitely not the usual expected quietness she had gotten used to...

It just felt damn off.

"Jimin" She called out, trying to break the thick tension in the air. "Are you ok?"

"Fine."

And if there was one thing that the blonde learnt about women on this planet, it's that "Fine" usually never meant fine.

"Are you really alright being placed into a dating scandal like this?" She gave up on tip toeing around the woman and went straight to the point.

"What difference does it make, whether I'm alright with it or not?" The taller looked away. Her words felt final, like she didn't want to continue the discussion.

"What difference? It's your life and your reputation we're talking about, you should have a say!"

Jimin tsked in response and chuckled bitterly, "I know you bleach your hair blonde, but don't tell me that bleach sunk into your brain too, have you learnt nothing these past months?"

"Look you don't need to be so rude about it, I'm just saying-"

"I wouldn't be rude, if something smart came out of your mouth for once"

"Jimin-"

"Drop it Minjeong, seriously. Drop it."

Her grip on the wheel tightened and her jaw felt tense as her eyes became more stern staring ahead on the road. Jimin really pissed her off then.

She gets it.. she really does..

The CEO just forced something extremely unethical onto Jimin, all for the sake of making a few more bucks.

She felt for Jimin... knowing that as a celebrity, this was something that was going to be written to her name against her will.

Minjeong just wanted to voice that to her... just wanted to empathise with the actress and console her...

She understands the girl would be snappy, by lord, she would too if her CEO told her to fake a relationship for two months for the sake of views too.

But come on... did she really have to be so mean when Minjeong was just trying to help?

She wanted to retort back to the actress then... but chose to hold her breath and thus hold back her words.

It wasn't worth it.

Jimin was probably upset too.. so there's no point making it worse.

Be more understanding Minjeong.. even if it's unfair.

Jimin had folded her arms by now, staring out at the view as if it is the most interesting thing the girl had ever seen.

Without another word, the blonde continued to drive Jimin home in the same awkward silence as the beginning.

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

Opening her apartment door, the first thing Minjeong did was throw her bag onto the couch which was a mere 2 metres away from her door and walked right to her fridge.

Not putting much thought or care, the latter picks out some random frozen meal that had probably been laying there in her freezer section for months, opens it and proceeds to shove it into the microwave.

She had wanted to cook something nice for herself tonight... but after everything that had unravelled with Jimin, she was honestly in too much of a bad mood to find any motivation left in her system.

Plopping herself on top of her couch, she turns on her television just to see the first thing on screen being the drama she and Jimin had watched together not too long ago after the blonde had saved her from an angry mob.

Come on.. I really don't want to be reminded of her right now

She began flicking through the channels to nothing of particular interest

The absence of stimulation and distractions for her brain led to a replay of the earlier events that took place in her car today. It only served to further irritate her as she continued to button-mash her remote.

This country has like 30+ channels, how is there nothing interesting broadcasting

Ping

Her phone vibrates right in the middle of her dilemma.

She tried to ignore it, attempting to keep her attention solely on the black box in front of her.

PING!

"Urgh What!"

Still flicking through the channels, she annoyingly picks up her phone with one hand—only to drop the remote she was holding in the other hand as she sees the sender and the received message.

From Sour Patch Kid Jimin:

Sorry about earlier. It's not an excuse but I was a bit overwhelmed and snapped at you without thinking. I didn't mean it. You look pretty with blonde hair and I don't actually think the bleach seeped into your brain.... Much... I'll see you next week for the premiere.

Also from Sour Patch Kid Jimin:

By the way you have a grain of rice stuck on the left side of your mouth. It's been there since you were in Jun-woo's office.

Instinctively, Minjeong's hand moves to feel the corner of her lips.

Jimin was right about the grain..

...

...

The blonde would've felt more emotionally embarrassed but... that was...

Probably the most mundane and driest apology she's ever received...

If it had come from anyone else that is.

Because from Yu Jimin...

Well... Let's just say, it hit different because Minjeong's crappy mood was suddenly replaced by a wide grin she didn't even know had spread across her face as she reread the apology maybe 5 more times.

That girl isn't one to typically apologise for her words... the blonde knew that much..

"heh" She stands up from her couch and stretches out her back, the boring show playing on her TV no longer bothered her... in fact, it's actually quite funny

Had the characters always been that bright and goofy?

Hearing the beeping from her microwave that indicated her frozen meal was ready, the blonde stared towards that direction, pondering in thought.

Maybe I will cook something after all

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

It was a night filled with cameras.

A night filled with anticipation

And a night brimming with a buzzing crowd.

As the red carpet was rolled out in preparation for the main event to walk on it, Jimin was sitting anxiously next to her male colleague.

Her (fake) dating news had just been released a couple days ago, and she was expected to make an appearance with her supposed new partner.

Stepping gracefully out of the car, Kang Ji-Hoon extended his hand with a confident yet courteous gesture. Jimin, in response, delicately placed her hand in his, allowing him to guide her out of the car with a subtle and graceful motion.

The crowd went wild seeing the couple together for the first time since the rumours were confirmed.

The flashing of cameras were blinding as the two continued their way down the red carpet.

In that moment, Jimin couldn't help but notice that the hand holding hers felt a little uneasy.

Like intertwining your hands together the opposite direction than the way you're used to. It just didn't feel like it belonged.

Like something was off...

But then again, her nerves tonight felt off.

She's been down this road more times than she could count and had been exposed to rumours since the very first night she had made it onto the silver big screen.

Honestly, should be used to the different faces by now, some familiar, some new, yelling and screaming at her in excitement as she walked down the carpet for her premieres.

But no matter how many times she walks down here again and again...

No matter how prepared she had thought she was...

The feeling always tend to stay the same.

She will never not feel small and exposed under everybody's gaze.. despite the fact she's meant to look her best today.

Her hairs done, her makeups done and she was wearing a beautiful dress accompanied with an assortment of jewellery that just screamed class.

Yet her nerves refused to settle down...

And being forced to stay close to a man she didn't particularly have any interest in, did not help.

Stopping for pictures, her back felt stiff, as Ji-Hoon happily grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her close so they can pose for the cameras. Uninterested, Jimin's eyes began scanning through the sea of people...

It didn't take her long before she found what she was looking for

Not too far away she saw Minjeong, who was staring right back at her too.

Locking eyes, the blonde smiled and gave her two small thumbs up..

Well... at least she felt a little less nervous now... see that goofy smile of hers... But Jimin would never admit that fact to Minjeong.

Photographers finally letting her go, Jimin didn't even stop to say thank you before running into the building, ready to watch the premiere release of her new movie.

⋇⊶⊰❣⊱⊷⋇

Jimin's acting is amazing.

That's it.

That's all Minjeong had to say about the new movie.

The way the A-lister had carried out her character.

The way she talked

The way she behaved

The way she looked on the screen

The emotions she portrayed..

All of it. It just made so much sense to Minjeong.. she's hardly felt so encapsulated by a movie character in years...

And now Jimin might've just motivated her to try out watching romance genres a lot more.

As the credits began to roll,

Like everybody, Minjeong stood up on both legs immediately and began to clap and cheer.

She had watched Jimin on the big screen before... so the blonde aways knew the older had a knack for acting... but today... she can't explain it....

It's just watching Jimin's performance alone right now bore a distinct difference from then and now... there was just a sense of pride that developed within her that she couldn't shake off.

She was proud of Jimin, despite always knowing the woman was a great actress.

She was happy for her, especially hearing the loud cheers of her fans.

The girl typically didn't like crowded events... but for Jimin... she felt happy she attended today...

But the high for her pretty much ended there... with the after party becoming just that little bit too much for the introverted blonde to handle...

Sitting along a table on the side... Minjeong was beginning to feel quite drained.

She had interacted with other managers all night, and if she had to hear one more story about how another celebrity's "secret" coffee order had made another barista pull their hair out, she swears she's going to implode from how much she blatantly did not care.

Technically, I'm not her driver today so I can leave..

The shorter woman began pondering that possibility.

She was here as Jimin's on-duty manager tonight. Despite having organized her bodyguards and driver, the girl remained a supportive presence for the actress, in case she needed anything.

Thus far, the taller hadn't uttered a word to her, not that they even had a chance to really talk..

Jimin had been quite pre-occupied recently with... you know... fabricating an entire relationship for views....

Not that she really needed it...

Minjeong didn't actually understand what the CEO was thinking...

Just having witnessed the film today... she has confirmed in her head that this extra PR stunt wasn't needed at all... the movie was just that good.

Sighing, the woman stood up from her spot.

She wasn't into the music tonight at all and the crowd was way too loud and drunk for her liking.

She wanted to leave pretty bad... and if Jimin didn't need her tonight.. perhaps she could slip away and have an early night all to herself.

Minjeong might as well was just about to carry out that very plan,

When her eyes fell upon a familiar figure with a taller one beside her.

Ahhh there's our couple of the evening

She watched from afar, as Jimin and Ji-hoon were currently talking to some film investors...

She had a pretty smile on her face and Ji-hoon's face looked...

Way too excited then he really should be..

It's as if he thinks they're actually dating

Minjeong tsked at the very thought.

She's fine... I should just go

She kept telling herself, but for some reason her legs would not move a budge...

Her eyes for some reason just wanted to continue to watch the two...

As if she wanted to surveillance them...

There was just something about Jimin's demeanour that felt off-putting to Minjeong.

The man had her arms around Jimin's waist... he looked to be holding her... quite tightly there.. the actress may have had a bright smile on her face.. but there was just something about those eyes that indicated otherwise...

They just read as if she didn't want to be there at all...

As if the hold on her waist felt too tight

And the proximity between her and Ji-hoon caused an unspeakable discomfort.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, her knuckles begins to roll into a small fist... watching Ji-hoon grab Jimin closer to himself...

Something inside her belly started to feel strange...

And she didn't like the feeling... not one bit...

And especially not that very sight she was witnessing live.

Not having an extra second of thought, Minjeong's legs began moving on it's own.

"Jimin!" She called out as she walked, interrupting everyone in the middle of their conversation. She felt a semi-anger at how her body decided to bring her here with no plan from the brain. "I'm sorry to disturb you guys; I just need to grab our main actress of the night here... sorry, Jimin," she faces the A-lister. "I just received a call from Lee Jun-Woo. There's something urgent we must discuss with you. Would you mind coming with me?"

The remaining crowd showed absolute understanding upon hearing Jimin's company CEO's name. They all bid her farewell, especially Kang Ji-Hoon, who seemed quite upset that his lady of the night was going to be taken away from him so soon. Displaying hesitation in letting Jimin go, he took her hand and kissed the back of it, garnering "ooo" and squeals from the watching audience.

And an internal

Eww

From Minjeong.

Before they quickly walked away, just outside of the function.

"What did he want?" Was the first thing Jimin asked, the moment they were no longer watched, subtly she began wiping the back of her hand on her dress as she spoke.

"Oh" The blonde hesitated for a second... obviously having not planned this far ahead yet... "Nothing.."

"What?" Jimin's eyes snapped up to Minjeong's "What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean he like..." Minjeong begins fidgeting on the spot, realising the reality of what she just did "maybe.. might've.. kind of... didn't call"

...

"He didn't have anything urgent he wanted to talk to me about?"

"No"

"But yet you dragged me out here"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Oh that's... that's" What was Minjeong meant to say?

You didn't seem to enjoy being next to your co-worker, whom you are meant to pretend to date right now, so my body, on its own and without my input, decided it needed to get you out of there.

Yeah no.. that just sounded crazy.

"From afar to me, you looked uncomfortable.. and I guess.. I just wanted to get you out of that situation..."

Better... but still..

"What!?"

Definitely not good enough

"Minjeong are you crazy? Those are investors that you dragged me away from! The top ones that had been supporting Jun-Woo's company for years now!"

"I know I know! I'm sorry" Damn you body, you never listen! "Look it's fine, I read the room wrong... this is my fault.. we'll go back! I'll explain to them it's a false alarm... and you can continue the night as usual"

Jimin said nothing but raised an eyebrow at the shorter.. as if things were running through her mind a million miles per second.. trying to decipher the blonde standing before her..

Little to say the, Minjeong began feeling anxious under Jimin's gaze...

"Jimin... I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to take you away, I was just worried for you.."

The actress had her eyebrow furrowed.. as if she had more to say... but soon shook off that expression and let out an exhausted sigh. "No, it's fine"

...

...

"It is?"

"Yes, tonight was draining, and honestly, I had no idea what any of them was talking about. Ji-hoon was doing most of the talking, and I was just standing there, smiling and nodding," she breathes out, relieved she no longer has to fake her interest. "So I really don't feel like going back to that now that I've left."

"Oh..." Minjeong felt a sense of relief. It was reassuring to know she hadn't made as many mistakes as she had feared. "Then, should I take you home? I'm not parked that far."

"I'd like that," Jimin responds but instantly frowns as realization hits her. "But no, not yet. There are fans waiting around that area, on the route home. They'll see me for sure... they're anticipating it."

Damn...

Jimin was right, there aren't any alternative routes Minjeong can take...

But if the actress was seen, questions would arise to why the girl had left the premier after party celebration early and without her (fake) boyfriend too.

To stay safe.. the safest option would be to stay put or at least avoid the populated path for the next couple of hours

But waiting in the car just didn't feel right... not when Jimin is so dressed up and outfit ready for a night out...

They can't go back into the gala though either now that they have left...

So Minjeong needed to find a way to kill time for the both of them...

But how..?

"Oh!" A lightbulb pops up on top of the blonde's head as she snapped her finger "What if we do something then until your fans descend?"

"You mean out in public? Minjeong I'm trying to avoid the crowd here-"

"No not in public, somewhere else"

"Where?" The actress was beyond confused on what Minjeong was trying to suggest.

"I know a place, it's a bit of a drive from here, but It's worth it I promise" She said, an amusing grin had made it's way onto the latter's face "Do you trust me?"

Her eyes, to Jimin looked like ones from a cute puppy...

Minjeong looked like a puppy to her...

And if there's one thing Jimin couldn't typically say no to (Besides kittens), it's puppies.

"I don't know, are you even trustworthy?"

"Jimin! Come on, I've managed you for months now, when have I showcased disappointments?"

...

"Like all the time"

"OI-"

"Fine.." The A-lister cuts her off, rolling her eyes in slight mirth. "I'll choose to trust you, but just this once."