Y/N's POV
We decided to leave the award show to attend the after party at the nearby hotel. I left with the girls while the guys went together in their separate vans. As soon as we arrive the hotel, there were a lot of paparazzis already waiting to get pictures of idols attending the after party. Our security prepared for us to walk through the sea of paparazzis to ensure we get in safely.
When we arrived, familiar faces were in the ballroom. There were also some unfamiliar faces, probably rookies or members of the hotel. Everyone was enjoying themselves. Throughout the whole party, Taehyung and I stuck with each other. Actually, both our groups stuck with each other because we were really socially awkward.
Third POV
Taehyung couldn't keep his hands off Y/N. He would have his hands rest on her waist, or lay his head on her shoulder, giving small pecks here and there. He was well aware how gorgeous she looked and how the other guys were looking at her. He got protective and wanted to show that she is already taken. Little did they know, the unfamiliar faces were staff members of the hotel. They were also fans of idols here and wanted to get all in the inside scoop. They took out their phones to capture the moment.
The next day, Y/N and Taehyung had a busy schedule. They woke up to an immense headache from staying up until late last night and waking up early for their schedule. Neither of them had the time to check their phones, but headed straight to their companies to start their work. Y/N's phone started ringing. It was her manager.
"Y/N, are you in the building? Can you go to my office as soon as you can?" she said.
Y/N then went straight to the office level and head towards her room. She was surprised when she saw the CEO also in the office with a serious looking face. It looks like they had someone on speaker.
"Annyeonghaseyo" she greeted bowing to the people in the room.
"have you been on the social media?" her manager asked.
She shook her head. "I was rushing here this morning and didnt get a chance to look at my phone at all.. whats wrong?"
She then showed her the trending hashtags on Twitter. It was her and Taehyung's ship name trending number one, then followed by taehyung and Y/N's name. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw what was trending. She scrolled through the tweets and most of it were pictures from last night's after party. There was also screenshots from NCT's behind the scenes video where you could see Taehyung's arms wrapped around Y/N. The fans were going crazy. Many were happy and glad their ship was finally sailing but there were also plenty hating on it.
Y/N's pov
"How did these pictures get out?" I asked.
"There were staffs in the after party. They were not supposed to have their phones with them but they breached the order so we are doing something about that. For the NCT video, we cannot really do anything about it because you guys were clearly together at the back of the video... It was either the editor missed that out and forgot to blur it, or they have purposely left it in to create this mess" she explained.
"So what are we going to do now?" I asked worriedly.
"We were on call with Taehyung's management, he is aware of it now and I think they're also trying to reach out to the articles who published these pics to get the staff members. But what we can do now is to release a statement or ignore it completely." the CEO said.
"We still have to discuss with their side about the decision. If we were to ignore the rumours, you two will not be able to meet for awhile to get the articles to die down. Sasaengs will for sure be on your tails to find more evidence to confirm the relationship. If we release a statement, it means that you two will have to publicise your relationship, it could lead to a bigger mess" he added.
"I'm not ready for it to be public" I said.
After awhile, the phone rang and it was Bang Si Hyuk. They discussed a timing to meet today where both Taehyung and I would be free which was only during lunch break. They have decided to come to our company to have a short meeting about this.
Taehyung had finally arrived at the company building. The others went into the room to discuss before us.
"Are you okay?" Taehyung asked as he rubbed my back.
"I'm just worried" I replied honestly.
"It will be okay. I won't let anything happen to you or to us" he said pulling me closer then kissing my temple.
We then head in the room and sat with our managers. Throughout the whole meeting, they were balancing out the pros and cons of both options.
"Maybe it could be a start of something new if we release a statement that they are dating. I mean they are old enough to be in a serious romantic relationship. Im sure the fans understand that" one of the staff said.
"But we are talking about idols from the 2 biggest groups right now with millions of fans. Will it be the same? as understanding? Many of them WANT to date them"
"We are not ready to have a public relationship. The hate will be too much. Not now" Taehyung said looking at me reassuringly.
"Then are we ignoring it? You guys will not be able to meet each other for awhile. The sasaeng's targets are the both of you"
"We can release a statement that we are just childhood best friends. It's true. Plus the pictures don't have us acting like a couple. It was just me having my hand on her waist, it could be after a hug and the picture was taken" Taehyung suggested calmly.
I nodded at the idea. It was not as bad as releasing a statement that we are dating.
"We could go with that. I think it would be less harsh on the both of you. Or are there any better ideas?"
"Y/N, are you okay with that?" my manager asked after noticing how quiet I was.
I nodded.
"Okay. We will be releasing a statement about the photos by the end of today. Then you guys can act friendly in award shows. If this was mentioned in interviews, just tell them how it started, you guys started out as friends anyway."
After the meeting has ended, Taehyung and his crew had to head back to continue his schedule. He gave a long, comforting hug.
"Told you it will be okay" he said smiling down at me.
He gave me a quick peck before mumbling 'I love you' and head down with his crew to go into their van.
