Forbidden/ SKZ Hyunjin

Chapter 10 - The fallout

The whole day had gone by and Nari hadn't heard a word, or even seen anyone. She went out for lunch with Na-eun to distract herself from checking her phone every five seconds. She couldn't stop searching through the media, reading through the comments. The fans seemed to be divided, half supporting him and defending him, the other half hating on him. It didn't matter who was who, because people from both sides were trying to find the mystery woman. Many suspected another idol, or a one night stand. Others suspecting the mystery staff member from the airport in New York. Not all the hate was directed towards the members or even Hyunjin, a large part being thrown at Nari. Of course no one knew this except the members and herself, but it didn't stop her from taking it to heart.

The pair had returned from lunch and sat in Na-eun's hotel room, getting ready to go to the concert venue. Nari wasn't focusing on anything her friend was saying. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"with Hyunjin, in the hotel room. It's you." Na-eun clarified, speaking far too casually about it. Nari let out a frustrated groan, falling onto her back.

"Everyone is going to hate me..."

"No one hates you, Nari. You're two people who fell in love... It was pretty obvious from the first music video shoot. He won't even let anyone else do his touch ups." She laid back next to her friend, looking at the ceiling. "No one can blame you... He is hot." She teased, trying to cheer her up.

Nari just laughed a little, playfully nudging Na-eun. "I won't tell anyone what I know... but how was it?" Na-eun wiggled her eyebrows.

"How was what-?"

"Come on, Nari. He was in your hotel room holding you like that... don't act like you don't know what I'm getting at. We don't all get to sleep with a super hot idol.."

Nari rolled over to look at her friend, her cheeks turning red as she recalled the night. "It was... romantic. He told me he loved me, he was careful and gentle, but when I woke up he was gone, and he hasn't messaged me even once... I think this may have scared him off." She muttered, looking down.

Na-eun turned to Nari in response, reaching over and rubbing her arm. "You didn't hear it from me, but the members, especially Hyunjin have been in meetings all day. They even skipped dance practice. JYP is pissed... I mean, it's in the contract not to date. The company have a lot of damage control.." She explained "I bet he'll contact you when he can."

Nari smiled a little, squinting at her friend. "How do you always know everything, Na-eun? Seriously, you should work for the secret service."

Na-eun laughed at the comment, shaking her head. "It's amazing what you hear... people like to talk. If you ask the right questions you learn things... come on. We better go." She jumped up off the bed, going to get her shoes as Nari followed.

When the girls arrived, they set up their stations along with Mina. Mina may be part of the make up crew, but she was a troublemaker. She loved to gossip, and she'd do anything for a promotion, that's why Nari avoided her at all cost. The boys were no where to be seen yet, making everyone grow a little anxious for time.

When the boys arrived, they were at least half an hour behind time. They all looked stressed, some of them angry. Nari was already nervous, not sure how they would feel about her now that Hyunjin had been caught with her. Speaking of which, Hyujin didn't even look at her. He just threw his jacket and bag onto the table, before going back to change his clothes.

Chan was the first to interact with her. Great, he's nice, reasonable. He always has a level head. "Hey Nari..." he spoke, sitting in the chair. It was already awkward.

"Hi Chan. How are you doing...?" Nari responded, starting to do his make up.

The man looked up at her, kind of. He couldn't hold eye contact. "Well you know.. a lot of meetings." He chuckled.

Nari paused, giving him an apologetic look. "Chan... I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get any of you in trouble... with the company or your fans."

Chan shook his head, a light frown on his face. "Nari, shut up. Hyunjin wasn't the only person to cross the line... we all got close to you, more than we should have. You didn't do anything wrong.. the paparazzi shouldn't be taking pictures into our hotel room, or our staffs. I'm not upset with you." His gaze softened slightly. "You make Hyunjin happy, and you're like family to us. I won't let any of this affect you... neither will Hyunjin. That's why he's keeping his distance..."

Nari was listening to him, doing his make up at the same time. Due to the time crunch, everyone was having minimal make up today. "Thanks.. I really thought you were going to hate me."

"The dating ban is bullshit, you can't help how you feel about each other. We all decided this morning that you should keep your distance from him for a while... it comes from a place of concern. That's why I came to you first, it'll be fine, Nari. When we're back in Korea we'll figure this out as a team, yea?" Chan gave her a reassuring smile, causing her to nod is response She soon finished him off, letting him go.

The next member to come over was Leeknow, sitting in the chair. He didn't act any different to usual, if anything he was a bit more co-operative. He may look mean and cold, but the man had a heart of gold. The truth is, just like Chan, he had a sweet spot for the girl. She bought a good energy to the members, cheering Felix up on more than one occasison.

When he left, Seungim came over. Now he was more tricky, he kept moving, talking to the other members, running his fingers through his hair. Nari was getting frustrated. "Seungim... please stop touching your hair." She pleaded, reaching up to fix it for the hundredth time. "We're already half an hour behind."

Seungim pulled a face at the girl "Yea... because of you. We've been dealing with the fallout all day, Nari." The man huffed, looking back down at his phone. Nari was a little speechless, biting the inside of her cheek.

"I know... I'm sorry Seungmin. I didn't want this to affect any of you." She apologised, looking away from him. She couldn't face his cold stare.

"But it did. You could have just kept your legs shut... when we get back to Korea, do us all a favour and quit." He pretty much spat the words at her, standing up and walking away. Nari turned back to her work station, setting down the make up brush. She looked up at the mirror, the tears threatening to fall. In the background, she caught a glimpse of Hyunjin. He was looking at her, well through the reflection at least.

Nari quickly excused herself to the bathroom, leaving the dressing room. Hyunjin wanted to follow her, make sure she was okay, find out what Seungim had said. But he didn't, he couldn't. Just as he was going to, his manager called for them to go on stage.