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The weight of the world seemed to fall on his shoulders as he sat alone in the cold, minimalist office room. The large window gave a distant view of the sprawling city below, but it did little to comfort him.
Jungkook ran his fingers nervously through his hair, the sound of his heart thumping in his ears louder than the quiet hum of the air conditioning.
The door to the conference room opened with a soft click. Jungkook tood up instinctively, but Bang Sihyuk, waved him down with a tired gesture.
The man called him to the HYBE building a mere hour after he arrived back in South Korea.
He knew exactly what it was about.
At this point, his CEO had seen it all—scandals, controversies, and media crises. But Jungkook wasn't sure if that made him less nervous or more.
Sihyuk took a seat across from Jungkook, his expression unreadable. The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension.
"Jungkook," Sihyuk began, his voice low but firm. "You're in a lot of trouble."
He swallowed hard, his throat dry, "I know, I'm really sorry—"
"There's nothing we can do to turn back time, so we just need to prepare for the future," Sihyuk interrupted. "Let's hope that you weren't recognized or else we'd have some explaining to do. Thankfully, not a word has been spoken yet."
Jungkook nodded, feeling the weight of his words.
He tried harder this time to not be recognized and fortunately, he was only in London for one night. But it would be detrimental to his career and the company's reputation if this came out. Jungkook would have too many controversies in the span of only a few months, especially with a comeback approaching.
"Still, you should have known better," Sihyuk continued with a defeated sigh. "I already advised you to stay low due to the scandal with Yeri-ssi."
Jungkook felt a pang of guilt, knowing he had put a lot of stress on the older man.
"Mianheyo, I was just really worried about Chaeyoung," he responded honestly. "I did without thinking."
He didn't think the CEO knew yet of his current status with the BlackPink member, it's not like the two of them sat around gossiping or having deeper conversations about life. But he was done with the lies. He had already lied before, months ago when he was sat in the same office with Chaeyoung beside him. And that did not turn out well for him.
Sihyuk's expression softened for a moment, before he released a hearty chuckle that shifted the atmosphere in the room.
"You know never in a million years would I have thought that this PR stunt would turn into something real," he said, amusement clear in his tone.
