Taking A Chance On Love || m.t.

六 In The Shadows

After meeting Mark's parents, time seemed to fly by faster than before as our relationship deepened with each passing day. Before I knew it, we had been dating for 7 months and had celebrated the new year together with both sets of parents, who were now unsurprisingly fast friends. Mark had introduced me to his bosses and would often take his company video call meetings in my apartment, claiming the lighting was better than his own. Of course, I knew the real reason was because he was gently leading me into his world one step at a time, a gesture I deeply appreciated every time I was backstage or in the front row at his concerts, watching him in his element as he performed to an adoring crowd. 

I had also been in several meetings with the PR team of his company as they discussed how best to reveal us dating to the public once Mark and I felt ready to do so. As I was still highly apprehensive, Mark was adamant that we wouldn't go public until I felt ready, instead opting to enjoy dating secretly for as long as we could. 

Alas, this beautiful bubble didn't last. One day while I was reading in Mark's apartment, Mark burst in while on the phone, an angry look on his face as he listened to whoever was on the other end. Startled, I looked up and frowned as he made eye contact. His eyes softened imperceptibly as he attempted to smile at me, although the result was more of a grimace. I could tell he wasn't angry at me, so I became concerned at what could possibly make him so livid, as I had never seen that expression on his face. Before I could even get up, he had stormed into his home studio and shut the door, any sound now gone due to the soundproof nature of his studio. Knowing he'd eventually tell me if it was something I needed to know, I settled down to wait, although my book suddenly became uninteresting. 

After about an hour, Mark walked out of his studio looking absolutely exhausted. He slumped onto the couch beside me, running a hand over his face. Worried, I scooted closer and laid a tentative hand on his knee. 

"Are you okay?" I asked. 

He sighed heavily before meeting my eyes. 

"The Korean media got wind of our relationship," he said while rubbing his temples.

I frowned as my heart sank.

"How? We've been so careful," I asked in confusion, the course of our relationship playing through my mind to see if we ever slipped up.

"Apparently one of the PR interns was tricked into talking by a paparazzo with a fake JYP badge," he replied. 

In shock and disbelief, I remained silent as I wondered how it could be that easy to wheedle sensitive information out of an employee, intern or not. Although my ire at the company's incompetence and the media's conniving ways was rising, I forced myself to calm down. Mark was angry enough for the both of us, and I didn't want to be so angry it clouded my judgement, especially because this happened due to my unwillingness to go public sooner. 

"Okay. Is there a way to suppress the news?" I asked. 

"No, the article was posted in the middle of the night in Korea so by morning there the damage was done. If there weren't any pictures, it'd be easy to refute. But…," he paused slightly as he avoided my gaze, "there were pictures of the two of us. The pictures that we'd sent to the PR team for the press release."

This meant the public had seen part of my face, since the photos we sent in were meant to only show part of my face so that I still would have some semblance of privacy. It was not ideal, but once I looked up the article and...rather hateful comments, it was clear that other than my skin tone and hair, nothing else seemed to be known about me, causing me to sigh in relief. My relief lasted all of 3 seconds before I reread the article itself.