INSTAGRAM ➳ Fan Chengcheng (Idol Producer/Nine Percent)

64 (Special Chapter Pt.3)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

The waiter brought over the meals to the table Chengcheng and Jiyeon sat at. The atmosphere at the table radiated awkwardness.

"Anything else?" the waiter asked.

Jiyeon replied with a no while Chengcheng just shook his head. The waiter nodded and left after bowing.

The brown haired boy quietly took a napkin to wipe the few tears that had managed to leave his eyes. Jiyeon just stared at the awaiting food with a blank face.

But inside, she was blowing up with various emotions and thinking, "They ask you how you are and you just have to say that you're fine when you're not really fine-"

Her thoughts were cut off when Chengcheng suddenly cleared his throat and said, "Let's eat."

And boy did he really eat.

He had already piled a lot of food on his plate with no space to keep anything else. Jiyeon slowly picked her spoon to help herself to the bowl of chicken soup.

As she silently slurped the tasty meal from her spoon, Chengcheng was literally inhaling all the food while having tears on the brim of his eyes. It almost looked like he was stress eating.

Jiyeon placed her spoon that had started to feel heavy back after a few minutes. She discreetly looked up at the boy in front of her. He had already finished most of the food and was now stuffing his face with some dim sum.

"He's happier when he eats than when he's with me. Gotta take notes." Jiyeon thought.

After he was finally finished, Chengcheng leaned back in his seat and kept muttering how good the food was. He soon realised that Jiyeon was still with him so he straightened his back.

He caught her eyes occasionally, but looked away each time. The awkwardness had returned again.

Not being able to take it anymore, Jiyeon finally spoke up, "I didn't mean to do it." she said.

Chengcheng motioned for her to continue, trying to regain his composure.

"One day, when I was in one of the rooms of my modelling agency, the CEO had been taking a round in the building. I was unaware of that. I had started singing, not knowing there were any spectators. He found out about my passion for singing and didn't waste anytime on signing me up for an entertainment company. I didn't know it was all the way in China. I got to know it was pretty famous. That was one of the reasons I came here." she stopped to take a breath. "ENTCOMP, the entertainment company, didn't let me read any terms or conditions before making me sign the contract. I thought it was something people did in China so I let it go. But what I didn't know, that the people there only cared for money. N-nothing else." she stuttered on the last word as she tried to calm her fast-beating heart.

"I-it's okay. You don't have to-" while he was still baffled over what the girl was saying, Chengcheng was cut off by Jiyeon.

"You deserve to know the truth." she spoke in a light tone. "I know how it feels like to be toyed with."

The seventeen year old boy sighed as he nodded slowly, urging her to go on.

"Then one day, I was called into the meeting room. The CEO of ENTCOMP apparently had some big plans for me. He said he wanted me to debut with an album that catches people's interest and awareness. He said that he was sending me to a show that had a lot of attention from the society. I was pretty happy about it, until he told me I had to get close to a member who was rumoured to be a huge fanboy of mine. Someone called Fan Chengcheng." the last words came out of her mouth in a whisper. "The people at the entertainment company took it as a perfect opportunity. They told me to develop a friendship with you. Me being naive, I agreed to it as I thought it was a good way to make a new friend. But they thought it as a way to benefit my album more."

Jiyeon had leaned back in her seat a little bit, occasionally wiping under her eyes with her slender fingers. Chengcheng was silent as she kept speaking, trying to take in everything she said.

She continued, "I was happy being friends with you, but then the managers at the company went as far as to make me get so close to you that people start thinking we are a couple. I denied to that. I couldn't hurt you. But then they started blackmailing me. Saying that they won't ever let me debut if I don't do as they say, and I couldn't leave because the contract had already been signed." Jiyeon sighed. "I didn't have an option. I couldn't return to China until my debut. I had promised my family I would only return when I had successfully debuted." she smiled sadly.  The picture of the smiling faces of her family popped up into her mind as she said so.

Both of them went silent. Chengcheng taking in all the information and Jiyeon thinking of what to say next.

"I am so sorry, Chengcheng. I've hurt you so much." she finally said.

After a brief silence, Chengcheng looked upto her and smiled, "It's okay."

Jiyeon frowned at him, not knowing how he accepted her apology so easily. "You didn't have a choice. I understand." he said with a small smile lacing his lips. "But." he piped up, "I have another question. How do you know Zhengting?"

Jiyeon met his eye again and said with a hint of a smile on her face, "That's a story for another time."

And then, they dug into the desert.

°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。°。

"I'm sorry once again." Jiyeon said as she stood on the last step of the stairs of her rented apartment.

"How many times are you going to say the same thing over and over again?!" Chengcheng exclaimed as his eyes went huge, as if scolding her.

"Sorry." she said without realising.

Chengcheng mentally facepalmed as he looked at her. Without realising it, his mind started to fill with thoughts of how cute his companion looked. And how much did he really miss her.

"Chengcheng? Why are you staring at m-" she was cut off. Not by his hand, not by his voice.

But his lips.

~~~

I cringed so much writing the last part lmaooo.

I'm so so so so so sorry for disappearing for almost a week! I had to prepare for a photography contest, in which I fortunately won the first place. Funny story actually. I was just chilling with my friends when suddenly the host called my name and I was literally like, "Oh shit what did I do now?" I got a medal and certificate and I had no idea what the prize was for cause I was so dazed. I only got to know I won first place after I went backstage.

Hope you enjoyed this long ass chapter. Sorry for the late update again!