Moments With You

A Different Side of You - part 2

A few days earlier.

Su Ryeon presides over a meeting with her company's executives, when the doors of her office burst open and a familiar man strides to her desk.

"I can't believe you did this! You're my management, not my guard!". Logan, the idol whose voice earned him a spot in her company, gestures to the article on his tablet. Her co-workers look at her worriedly but she raises her hand to stop them. "You told the magazine I'm not looking for a relationship! And they put it on the cover! It was one date, Ms CEO, one date I went to, and you had to punish me". His neon coloured jacket sways with his sudden movements.

"Logan." She expected this reaction. "You know the deal. You can't date yet". He opens his mouth to retort but she continues. "And I made this statement so that they'll stop linking you with every female celebrity that happens to be near you. You know the optics of it. You and the guys are starting the tour next month, nothing can take the focus off this. No personal news, no scandals, just your music".

"That doesn't explain why you intentionally made me look like a loser! The press thinks I'm eating alone every day. I'm not a monk and neither is any one of us, I want the freedom to have a personal life".

"Not one that the media will turn against you. You're in this business for ten years, how do you think you outstayed every other idol?" He made his debut in a teen band, but quickly outshined them all with his musical talent. A decade later, he's still popular. "By having a clean image. Everything about you is about your music. And people respect you for it. You have fans of all ages. That never happens to idols."

He looks down but his lips are a thin line. He holds the tablet tightly, his fingers white from the force.

Her explanation is logical, but it's not easy to accept.

"Do you think you'd still be loved by the fans if they'd see you with a different woman every week? It's harsh, but it's the rules of the reality you chose".

That makes him scoff.

"I signed that contract when I was eighteen! I didn't know I was giving the rights to my personal life away!".

"But you also signed with my company two years ago. You weren't a kid then. You knew what you were agreeing to."

He takes off his blue tinted sunglasses of and fumbles with them.

"Still. I didn't even like her. That girl. I just wanted to go out with someone. We've been inside practicing for two months now. And then we're going on tour. I needed to see another face. To have the option of a date!". He gestures vaguely in a desperate attempt to persuade her.

"I understand. It doesn't change the company's stance though. The rules apply to everyone, not just you. As long as you're an idol, you can't date whoever you want. It's for your own good. My job is to maintain your image, to make it as shiny as possible. So that every opportunity will come to you."

This is all she wanted. The talent of everyone she represented to be rewarded. Give every young hopeful person a chance for a decent life. A chance her daughter never had.

She softens her tone. He's still fidgeting angrily.

"I work for you as well as you for me. We've made it this far, trust me".

He searches her eyes, sagging his shoulders. The lines om his eyes soften and reveal a hint of dark circles. He must have stayed all night practising.

"Is this the only way?"

"I don't see any other. I'm sorry".

He goes from one foot to another, weighing his options. There must be something he could do. Any extenuating circumstances to give him some freedom.