Dating An Idol

Chapter 26

"You're back." Mother sits by the dining table, making kimchi. "Oh yes." I smiled at her. I put my bag on the couch, "how was the trip?" Father steps out of the bathroom.

"Fun, there was so many things to do. Surprisingly." I sat down in front of my mother, "not to kill your vibe, but we need to go SM Entertainment tomorrow morning." Mother says with a straight face.

"Sorry?" I look up at her, my smile fades away.

Happiness... Doesn't last long, you see.

"Expect the worst, honey... There's no good coming out of this." Mother shakes her head, letting out a sigh. "Are they even human?" She murmurs.

"What are you talking about?" Mother takes out her phone and place it in front of me.

Photos of me backstage with the boys appeared, Min-Seok giving me a piggyback, Min-Seok and I on the cruise... Min-Seok and I are everywhere on tabloids.

I then went into my room, switching on my laptop. I went into the website, YouTube and see that the video of boys and I are trending.

#1.

My breath hitched.

I click on the video.

It already has over 1 million views. Oh my god.

800,000+ dislikes.

Tears roll down my cheeks when Min-Seok announced that I am his girlfriend in the video.

I scroll down to read the comments.

'nation's captain?? what bs is this??'

'this gotta be a joke lmao'

'girl so ugly tho'

'hmm umin, are you sure she's your type?'

'lol im leaving this fandom'

I shut down my laptop and wipe away my tears.

They're just mean... They're just words.

My phone starts heating up with phone calls from Ji-Hyo and Hani, also the boys.

"Chae-Rin ah." Min-Seok burst into my room, "we were careless." I turn to him with fresh tears in my eyes.

"We will be fine." Min-Seok grabs my hand, "I got here as fast as I could." He kisses the top of my hand. I look at him, he's just as worried as I am.

He's an idol, he might lose his career... What am I doing with him?

"Oppa, I am sorry." I broke into tears, a tear rolled down his cheek, "don't cry." He gulps.

Happiness is temporary.

Min-Seok stayed the night, we held each other tightly through the night, he then left for his schedule early in the morning. I worry for him, reporters and fans are going to be harsh on him.

My parents and I make our way to SM Entertainment, nobody has spotted us... yet.

We sat in the office, going through terms of agreement. Things I couldn't understand... I do not want to hear them, I do not understand why an idol can't date?

"All 9 of them are under a contract, they can't date till a certain age. It's either you break it off with him or I break Xiumin apart from EXO."

My eyebrows raised at that statement, I don't want him to lose his career... At the same time, I do not want to lose him.

"Is there any other way-"

"No." 

I bite on my bottom lip and held my tears back, "I will break it off with him, please cover up for me."

"No, is it wrong that idols date?" Mother put her hand over mine, "they're young adults, let them love!"

"Sorry, but if you're on SNS you will realise how much Xiumin will be going through because of fans and how much fans we have lost because some girl is dating a member from the group."

"Have you talked to Min-Seok ssi? Do you think he will allow this?" Father speaks up.

"He doesn't have a choice, sir. He chose this route as an idol, he can't date."

"Chae-Rin ssi, you also have a career to think about. Do you think fans will not appear at your matches?"

"I will break it off with him." I murmured.

I step out of the room first, my parents arguing with him. There's no end to this. We do not stand a chance against them.

"Noona! Why are you here?" Taemin steps out of the recording studio, "oh Taemin ssi." I forced a smile on my face.

"I came to visit..." I muffled a lie, I shift my legs in an awkward position. "Since you're here, I want you to have something."

"What is it?" I raise my brows at him.

"My album." Taemin laughs, I smiled a little. "You're the first to have it, keep it well."

The ride home was silent, I drive the car Min-Seok gave to me on my birthday - past the restaurant and saw the windows are vandalized.

They found us.

Words travel fast in this world.

You can't really hide. I stop the car, my parents took a look at the restaurant.

It was like their baby.

You can see mean words on the windows, asking me to... Just die.

We reach home and started packing our stuffs into our bags.

I look at the sticky notes that Min-Seok gave me when we were in the library.

That adorable smile on his face... How can I possibly forget a guy like him? After all this months, how can I just leave?

I can't stay.

I put the sticky notes into my wallet then kept all the photos we have taken and I printed out into my bag.

We're going back to where our grandparents stayed. Somewhere far and in the country side, we're going to hide for awhile. It will die down soon, hopefully.

At the gas station, halfway into the town, we take a short break.

"Annyeong Oppa." I put my phone to my ear, "have you been well?" Min-Seok sounds tired. "Yes... How are things?" I ask, putting my hand on my neck.

I do not want to end it.

"It's tiring." Min-Seok says in a low tone, "I heard." I could hear his voice choking up.

"I am sorry, Oppa." My eyes well up with tears, "it's not your fault." Min-Seok mutters.

"Oppa, I am sorry. I have to go now." I held my breath. I ended the call before he could say anything else. I took out the battery and the SIM card, I crushed it and threw them away into the toilet bowl.

The ride to our 'new' home was agonizing. I wish he was here, I wish I was running away with him instead.