My Star | Im Changkyun {COMPLETE}

Chapter 13

These days, Hyebin had been feeling sensitive as she had been taking on many early morning schedules so she'd have the nights free to spend time with Changkyun before he leaves for America.

Whilst filming a guest appearance earlier in the day, Hyebin had been shocked to learn that she'd been thrown into a dating rumour with the main actor, who she'd never even met before. She had absolutely no idea how or where the rumour had came from but it had upset her a lot since she was feeling more emotional this week.

It shouldn't have upset her as much as it did but it made it worse when these false allegations were threatening her career. Reading through the pann comments, she felt helpless seeing everyone who had once loved her and showered her with support, turning their backs on her, calling her a fame whore, attention seeker and bringing up an old bully scandal which had been proved false, with the accusers being sued and having publicly apologised.

Unfair. It felt unfair. A modern day witch hunt yet she was innocent. They were making cruel and disgusting accusations out of nowhere just to add fuel to the fire. Hyebin couldn't quite grasp a hold on herself. She'd been awake since 4am for the guest appearance filming, she hadn't ate or drank anything yet, the staff had read the article by now and were giving her odd glances... It was all too much for her to take in.

"Hey, you're shaking. Are you okay?" Juri asked, escorting Hyebin over to a quiet corner and offering her a water bottle, which she denied since she couldn't drink any water until after she finished filming her part. "Don't think about it too much. I spoke with CEO Joo, he's heading to the office and he's gonna call the PR staff to sort the situation out. They want to take the lawsuit route, I know that you don't like lawsuits but he said any money they gain from the case, they'll use it for a new comeback..."

"I want to sue," Hyebin stated firmly, taking Juri off-guard.

"Yeah?" Juri gulped, worrying about Hyebin's mental health as she seemed quite troubled these days.

"They need to face the consequences. All of them, from the one who made the false allegation to those stupid accounts commenting and spreading false rumors about me. I was so scared of the consequences of even looking at a male after debut, I did everything I could to avoid any kind of rumors..."

Hyebin took a deep breath as she thought about how she'd tried to be careful with Changkyun yet one rumor with a man she'd never met was already threatening to tear down her career. "I'm sick of it all. I can't even defend myself, the company will just release a statement a PR person made and call it a day."

"I know," Juri sighed as she moved closer to Hyebin, placing an arm around her to comfort her. "I think this time it will be handled well though. You know how the CEO loves money, this whole scandal gives him an excuse to make money, he wouldn't fumble the bag like that. You guys will benefit too. I'm sure of it."

"How will we benefit?" Hyebin asked. "I'm a public enemy right now. He's one of the top actors these days..."

"I know it's ridiculous but any exposure will help. You guys successfully finished a tour, you've been busy with schedules as soon as you came back and with this lawsuit. Once they pay for the lawyers cut, it's practically spare change going towards your comeback. Bigger budget means better productions... better music." Juri nudged her playfully. "I think you should submit your songs to the company for the comeback. You've been working hard learning how to produce and I think it's worth a shot."

Remembering how Changkyun had been teaching her how to produce, Hyebin smiled to herself, forgetting the situation momentarily.

"I couldn't-" Hyebin shook her head. "I'm not that good yet. I don't think I even have one good song."

"I mean I don't know much about producing but I heard you listening to one of your songs in the van. You were making notes as you listened to it. I'm not sure why since it sounded really good already." Juri egged her on with a bright smile. 

"I'm just not sure right now..." Hyebin hesitated, releasing a sigh as she contemplated the thought. "I'll think about it." 

Part of her didn't feel like it was ready but she kept changing things constantly, which according to Changkyun was the curse of a producer. Always feeling like you could improve it, even after releasing it. Perhaps she could get his opinion on the track since his self-produced pieces did pretty well. Maybe he'd be able to give her good insight since he was fairly experienced...

"I'm rooting for you," Juri added on before pulling away and reaching for her phone, which rang out, startling the pair. "Hello?"

"There will be a meeting in an hour, please bring Hyebin back to the company building." An executive spoke in a stern voice, without giving away a single expression through his voice.

"Yes, sir." Juri accepted, turning her head to look back over at Hyebin with raised eyebrows. 

Immediately the other end of the line had hung up, leaving Juri sighing as she put her phone back into her jean pockets and rocked back and forth awkwardly. 

"There's a meeting in an hour. I'll speak to the director and try to get your filming moved up. I think we can make it." Juri explained. "I'll be back in a moment. Stay put and don't stress too much. It'll all work out in the end. It always does..."

Hyebin hoped she was right. Whenever they had emergency meets, it was never for a good reason. Since there was a current scandal, she hoped it was just a discussion about their action plan and any kind of punishment, which was unfortunate but the company was always unnecessarily strict. If you voiced your opinion, it was seen as an act of disobedience unless the staff member liked you. It was all a game of gaining favour in order to succeed but at what cost?