If You

Alone

Emily finished transferring her notes into her laptop and closed it with a sigh. She got up and stretched, checking the clock hanging on the wall. Ten-thirty. And I've got to be up early tomorrow. She groaned and went to the kitchen to make some tea. The press release sat on the counter and Emily glanced at it as she got a mug down. Jiyong had his arms around her and she was looking off to one side, laughing. Did he say something funny? she wondered. Jiyong was smiling down at her, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. At least it wasn't some fashiony photoshoot in a high-end studio. She took her tea to her bedroom, sipping it carefully.

As she climbed into bed her mind returned to the sinister letters she kept getting. It was getting harder to keep it a secret, especially when it was starting to scare her. Maybe it'll stop on its own, she told herself, turning out her light.

******

Three months later

Emily was watching Gone With the Wind in her living room when there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" she called.

"Seunghyun."

"It's open."

Seunghyun came in and Emily smiled at him. "Sit down," she said, patting the cushion beside her. He settled in comfortably. "What are you watching?" he asked.

"Gone With the Wind. Wanna watch it with me? I only started it a few minutes ago."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay." Emily paused the movie. "What's up?" she asked, setting the remote down. Seunghyun reached into his jacket and pulled out a creased envelope. He waved it at her and Emily's heart dropped. "So you know what this is?" he asked.

"Where did you get that?" Emily whispered.

"Sagowa's office. It was sticking out of a drawer and I was going to ignore it, until I saw your name on it."

"You shouldn't have taken it," she said accusingly.

"You shouldn't have kept it from us," he countered. "Why did you?"

"Because..." Emily sighed. "I don't know. Maybe I wanted to handle it myself, or maybe I was just too scared."

Seunghyun leaned toward her. "You don't have to be scared, Emily," he said gently. "Nothing's going to happen to you."

"Did you tell the others?" Emily asked.

"Not yet. I think you should do it."

Emily shook her head. "Why? The letters stopped over a month ago. Whoever was sending them lost interest."

"We can't protect you if you don't talk to us," Seunghyun reminded her.

"I don't need protecting!" Emily snapped. "I'm a grown woman who's perfectly capable of taking care of herself!"

"Emily, sometimes fans get really crazy and even attempt to hurt idols. We've seen it happen before. I'm not saying you're helpless," he said, forestalling her, "but you've got to trust me on this."

Emily pursed her lips. "Fine. Talk to Sagowa if you want, but please don't say anything to the others. Jiyong's less than a month from dropping the album and I can't put anything else on him right now."

Seunghyun shook his head. "Okay, but if you get anything else, we're telling them."

"Deal." They shook hands and Emily hugged her knees to her chest. "Do you want some popcorn?"