Off Camera

Chapter 42

Tae POV

My heart races as I force a smile. I try to pay attention to the MC, but my eyes dart back and forth over the crowd, looking for anything suspicious. The event is almost over, and so far, I have seen no sign of my stalker.

If only my luck can hold out for a little longer, the event will end, and I'll be safely back in the van driving away.

The crowd cheers, and my breath hitches.

Mentally, I chant to myself. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Tee pats my back, and the crowd cheers.

I pull what energy I need from his warm touch and push aside the small pulse of panic clawing to get a hold of me.

As if I'm running on autopilot, I move around the stage and talk, but nothing really sticks in my brain. It is like a movie flashing by.

I breathe a small sigh of relief when the event is finally done.

Now, the only remaining task is to get out of here and back into the van without being stopped by the crazy lady.

Tee and I do our last wave to the crowd and take a few pictures. As soon as I turn my back to the swarm of people, my heart races again and a cold sweat breaks out down my back.

Tee wraps his hand around my arm and pulls me closer to him. He flashes me a bright, teasing smile. The screams of the fans drown out any thoughts running through my mind. "Come, stand by me. We need a picture for our social media."

I instinctively nod.

He gives me a small wink and pulls me beside him.

The crowd screams again, but Tee's warmth has my heart racing for another reason. My mind focuses on him instead of the swarm of people behind me.

Jane dashes out on the stage smiling and motions for us the move to the center. Like a puppet, Tee pulls me where I need to go. I let him do as he pleases with me, which is met with another wave of screams and chants of "TaeTee".

The crowd rushes forward, and my heart skips a beat, but Tee whispers into my ear. "I've got you. You are fine. We won't let anything happen to you."

I nod my head just a little, so he can see me, but the fans don't know.

The rustling behind me puts me on edge, but I focus on Tee's warm touch and his sweet voice as he continues to whisper soft words of encouragement.

He is all I need.

Time seems to slow down, and Jane seems to move in slow motion while she takes picture after picture. I try to focus on her words, but no matter what I try, her words are mumbled and I'm unable to understand what she is saying.

With Tee's little, comforting touches, my nonstop waves of panic can't take hold and suck me down into the darkness, hovering just out of reach.

Tee pats my side. "We are done."

I nearly breathe an audible sigh of relief, but I control myself before anyone notices.

A wide smile etches into my face, and for the first time since the event has started, it is genuine.

I've made it through with no problems. I only hope the fans haven't noticed anything or my slight discomfort.

Tee spins me around, and together we wave a final goodbye before walking off the stage. His comforting hand remains on my arm and guides me where to go.

When we get off the stage, Jane dashes to us. "Keep going. The staff has already gathered your things. I want to get you two out of here as soon as possible."

She might as well said she wants us out of here before the crazy stalker attacks. I know what she is thinking because I'm thinking the same thing.

A young staff lady scurries towards us and hands us our personal items we put in the waiting area. We don't slow down or stop as we grab them.

My eyes dart back and forth, looking for any sign this won't go as planned. As we take a few more steps towards the exit, a group of security guards march in step with us and form a small circle around us. They don't let anyone in, including any agency staff.

The show of an impenetrable shield around us gives me a small sense of safety, but I won't truly feel safe until I'm back at our apartment, or I should say Kimmon's. For now, it is ours.

A scuffle behind us with a few loud screams propels me forward, almost in a run towards the exit. I don't want to look back to see what is happening.

I need to get out of here.

The wall of security guards matches my speed, along with Tee.

More screams slice through the air, and Tee's grip tightens around my arm. He looks over his shoulder at the commotion behind us, but he says nothing.

Additional security guards join us, and my feet move faster. The guards clear the path in front of us, making the chaos behind us seem more serious.

By the time we reach the exit, we are in a full run.

Other security stands by the doors and holds them open, while a few more are outside. One is standing next to the van with the side door open.

I jump into the van and collapse into the seat, dragging Tee along with me. As soon as we are both safe inside, the side door slams shut.

More screams and swarms of fans spill out the doors and rush towards us.

Shit. We are like sitting ducks here.

Jane and the driver jump into the front. As Jane buckles her seatbelt, she grunts, "You better hold on. We are leaving in a hurry."

Before her words can register, the driver starts the van and slams on the accelerator, throwing us back against the seat. The squeal of the tires overpowers the screams of the fans, but it provides a strange reassurance I'm alright now.

Tee nestles up against my side and kisses my cheek. "You did good. I'm proud of you."

I raise an eyebrow and look at him. A light layer of sweat covers his face and makes his pale skin shine even more than he already does.

The corner of my mouth curls up into a devilish smirk. "Just proud. You don't feel anything else for me."

A matching smirk appears on him. "For right now, I'm proud. When we get back home, I'll show what else I'm feeling."

I slowly lick my lips as desire ignites within me. "Are you being a bad boy? Do you need to be punished?"

A spark flickers in his eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

***

Rhonda POV

I grit my teeth and stare at the empty stage. Where is he? They should have been here a long time ago.

I fish my phone out of my pocket and pull up Tae's social media.

Rage erupts in me as the pictures from Tae's events flood his account.

Did I pay for the wrong information? How dare they do that to me? They will pay for this.

My grip tightens around the phone. My eyes lock on the repeating hashtag TaeTee. What a load of bull. It will never be TaeTee. They are delusional if they think they will actually end up together.

I've been watching their drama. There is absolutely no chemistry between them. None.

No matter how many times I see comments saying how great the two are and they look like a real couple, I always post and tell them it won't happen. None of these BL actors ever end up together, and Tae is straight.

Some of them have given me hate back, but I don't care. I know the truth.

I open the top comment with the TaeTee hashtag and start typing how stupid they are. It is just acting.