Author's | PARK JIHOON

iii.

I didn't know that standing in front of, technically, a soon-to-be-idol would make my knees feel weak. His face that seems to give off a strong but cool aura wasn't even a joke. Just a glance from him would mean the world to a girl, what else if he was literally staring at your soul, trying to memorize every inch of your face? I mean, he's just in front of me and it's the just the two of us here in this room. It isn't a big deal, right?

... Right?

We were having a staring contest when he decided to break the silence. "Hello," was the only thing he said. I awkwardly threw a laugh while avoiding his eyes. I wanted to greet him back but I choked on my words.

Literally, I said, "Annyeokh— adfkemfk ahem ahem" cutting myself off with an accidental cough. Oh great, here I am finally in South Korea and I'm making a fun of myself as soon as I got here. Park Jihoon laughed. Oh god, even his laugh was indescribable. To describe him was every positive adjective, and by that I mean seriously.

He clasped his hands together and bit his lip, "First of all, I want to—"

"Oh, I speak Korean," I spoke fluently in their language. He was taken aback but he was wearing a small smile that made him look adorably cute and wish that we were really, at least for once, lovers.

"That's just perfect— I mean good," my facial expression changed drastically with his switch of intensity and he seem to take notice, "I mean, to be honest I was nervous I had to speak English so I can communicate with you, but then you actually know our language and I'm really glad because by then, I knew we'd get together so well."

"So, how are you?," Jihoon leaned forward to listen to me. "Oh um, I'm fine I guess. Except for the fact I gained a whole lot of popularity in under one day. I even had to go here even if I still had to complete my requirements for school back home. Good thing that they let me have vacation early, letting me disregard my requirements already. But it won't affect me, I do well in school that's why they take it easy on me."

I paused, looking up, thinking of more stuff to say. "Uhh, I also live by myself. I don't have any guardian that's why it was easy for me to arrange my trip here." He only nodded as a reply.

"So, uh, mind explaining why you confirmed the rumor to be true?," I asked, breaking the awkward silence. Well it was kind of really cute when he explained himself just earlier. I think he really wanted to leave a good impression to me.

"Ah yes, as I was saying earlier, I'm sorry because you got into this mess. I bet your quiet life suddenly took a drastic U-turn because of all those crazy fans of Produce 101, the articles, and of course my sudden video. I'm really sorry for that. Also, as you can see, everything in this industry is drama. It seems surreal, right? Being a normal citizen and then suddenly being called out being an idol's ex-girlfriend. But really, the company planned this all out. I mean, if I did that to you just because I wanted to, that would be ruining my career, right?"

Well that hurt a bit. I laughed bitterly and muttered, "Yeah, but you ruined my life though." Jihoon's cheerful face suddenly turned serious when he heard my side comment.

"That's why I called you," he said, but only enough for me to hear. I squinted my eyes at him, trying to understand why he had to call me and make me go to South Korea.

"Because here, you'd be closer to me and I'd be able to protect you." Whoops. Okay, stop. That was very cliché and it didn't fit this story— my story. God I'm not expecting a love story between me and Jihoon, please no, I want to live a normal life. Being a writer sucks, I expect every love story from unusual situations— just like this. But really? I don't think I want to engage myself with this kind of story.

"Uhh... what?," I stupidly asked. He chuckled and shook his head, "What I meant was, Produce 101 wants to squeeze more drama from the both of us. But I don't think my career and my company would like it. That's why we have you here!" He opened his arms widely with a big grin.

"Bringing me here will give them a bigger opportunity to squeeze and even drain the hell out of us. I think this was a stupid move," I slowly shook my head in disappointment.

"Aniyo," he stubbornly protested, "Maroo's basically protecting you. Without this company, Produce 101 would keep on reaching out to you and perhaps you wouldn't know what to do."

"So what is your company's move?," I asked. He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled playfully.

I thought he knew very well what was happening but he suddenly slumped his body and pouted, "Actually, I don't really know. What's important is you're here and if ever something happens to you, we'd be of reach."

I set my lips into a straight line, having an idea of what they're trying to do, "Basically, I'm here so that I won't make any trouble for you."

"You made it sound so bad," he gazed at me.

I laughed inwardly at how cute he was acting, "Either way, you have a point. So okay." I shrugged mindlessly. "Where will I stay for the time being, by the way?"

Jihoon scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, "Oh um, I think you'll have to stay with me for a while."