Malcolm's POV
I was alone in the dorm and packing my stuff until I felt my phone vibrate inside the pocket of my hoodie. I took it out and checked who it was. I took a deep breath before answering the call.
"Hmm? Ah, yeah" I replied.
I went to the storage room and entered to find Minju already there. I closed the door behind me and went up to her. I told her what Ms. Jieun said and how I couldn't really do anything about it.
"Why should you have to move out? I'll talk to the professor" She said.
"I've already told them that I would go. I think everything will be fine if I leave" I sighed.
"What do you mean?" She frowned.
"I don't want to stay here anymore" I replied, quickly looking down to the floor.
"Malcolm-ah. Did you...know everything about me already?" She asked nervously and I looked at her.
"Mm-hm" I nodded.
"I see. Why didn't you tell me?" She asked.
"Why didn't I say anything? Was I supposed to ask?" I asked.
"That's not what I meant" She replied.
"Do you think I'm the leak, just like the Professor?" I asked, annoyed.
"Malcolm-ah..." She started and I sighed.
"They expect it from someone like me. The son of a con artist. I'm always broke and need to make my money. What wouldn't I do?" I sighed.
"Malcolm-ah. That's ridiculous. Why-"
"It's always been this way. When my family was doing well...even if I studied and earned my grades, they'd say I bought them" I cut her off.
"Now that we're poor, people still don't believe me. When I found out who you were, I was scared. Not because I was intimidated. No. Because I thought this would happen" I explained.
"I tried...so hard not to get caught. I just tried to hide" I said as my voice started getting shaky.
"Malcolm-ah...I understand. I-" She started again.
"What do you understand?" I cut her off.
"Because I fled here too. All my life, I was always the center of attention. They didn't care who I was, just whose daughter I was" She replied and I listened to her.
"Everyone had an ulterior motive when they approached me. I hated it, and it was hard to endure. I wanted to live among people who looked like me and live my life by myself, not as my mom's daughter. That's why I fled here" She explained.
"But you can never escape it. No matter where you try to run, you can't escape who your mother is. Those people out there will always find you. Don't you see? We got caught. That's it" I said.
"Sorry. It's my fault" She apologized and lowered her head.
"This isn't your fault. It's my fault" I said in low voice.
"I should've let you go home alone that night. Then they wouldn't have gotten a picture of us. I was stupid. I'm being punished for lying to myself" I added.
"Still, I don't think it's right for you to take the fall for this. I promise I'll find a way" She said and I just sighed.
"I have to go. I need to pack" I said before walking by her and leaving the room.
Minju's POV
"It happened because of me" I told the two as we sat together in our dorm room.
"But Malcolm is the only one who suffering from all of this. I can't just let this happen" I said.
"What will you do?" Chaewon asked.
"I'll explain everything" I replied.
"I'll tell the reporters the whole truth. That I liked him first, we're going out, and he had nothing to do with it" I explained.
"See? I was right. Pay up" Chaeyeon laughed at Chaewon as she took a bill from Chaewon's pocket.
"How could you make bets about this? You're terrible" I sulked.
"It's the first time I won. What about her?" Chaeyeon defended.
"Minju-yah, do you think that doing that will really end the witch hunt on Malcolm? Even if you tell them the truth, you know they won't listen" Chaewon said.
"When celebrities are wrapped up in scandals, their agencies always try to do the same thing. That may be the answer" Chaeyeon said.
"What is it?" I eagerly asked.
"You should quickly-"
"Deny and stall. It's as simple as that" Chaewon cut her off as she made Chaeyeon's seat spin around.
"Don't you see that if you stay silent, they'll keep speculating, and it'll get worse" Chaewon added.
"Silence pisses them off even more. They're only picking on Malcolm because you kept quiet all this time. It's best to come out and deny it. Trust me. The truth isn't always the answer" Chaewon finished.
"I should tell them that there's nothing between us? No, I can't do that" I replied which made them both sigh.
"If you say you two are going out-" Chaeyeon started again but got cut off by Chaewon who pushed her once more.
"That would be like admitting that Malcolm is a gold digger. It's best to avoid the storm. When the time passes and something else blows up, their attention will shift. So, now, for example, if you were to-" Chaewon explained but got cut off with Chaeyeon pulling her hair.
"But what if you say you're actually dating a girl and pretend you don't like guys? No one will ask about Malcolm, then, huh?" Chaeyeon suggested.
"No. I wanna tell the truth" I replied.
"The professor-"
"Let me talk, will you?" Chaewon cut her off.
"Yah! You've been doing all the talking" They bickered and I sat there, thinking of what to do next.
