Snow White & the 7 Idols

Chapter 18

"Le In, being from America, do you think you can accurately portray a Korean character? Especially one with a dialect?" A reporter asked me. It was the day of the press conference. After meeting with the boys yesterday, they agreed to come by if they had the time. If I were honest with myself, them just being here gave me confidence. I smiled at the reporter and leaned closer to the microphone that stood on the table.

"Although I am from America, I will try my best to make the people everywhere fall in love with Kim Eun Ji. Characters and roles aren't about your own personal background, it's about the background of the character you're portraying. During this project, I'm not Le In, the girl from America. I'm Kim Eun Ji, the small town girl from Namhae who followed her unrequited love to Seoul. That's what I want the viewers to see, and Kim Eun Ji is who I want the viewers to empathize with," I answered in perfect Korean. The reporter smiled softly before typing on her laptop. Another reporter stood and turned her attention to me.

"Le In, it's no secret that you began this journey by becoming the manager for BTS. I see they're even here for the press conference. Going down this road, do you feel guilty for only being their manager for such a short amount of time?" The reporter asked. I smiled politely and prepared to answer, but Namjoon stood first. Everyone's attention turned to him.

"Is it okay if I answer this one?" He asked the room with a small smile. I nodded to him. He smiled as he looked at the guys.

"As leader of BTS, I can say for all of us that Le In was the best Manager we'd ever had, but that was just the problem; she was too talented. In the short amount of time she was our manager, we all became friends, and we saw Le In's true potential. I'm sure you've seen the videos of her singing and dancing. The funny thing is, she wasn't even really trying; she was just having fun. Our PD saw her potential as well and asked if she would be interested in this project. She did hesitate. She told us she felt bad because she would have to leave us, but we encouraged her to do it. Talent shouldn't be wasted taking care of other talent. We should all encourage each other to pursue our talents... especially when it comes to such a natural like Le In," Namjoon answered. I smiled lightly at him as he winked at me before sitting down. The reporters asked us each a few more personal questions and then questions about the show. The guys stayed the whole time.

After the press conference was over, the guys came to me to congratulate me. They even got me flowers. I thanked each of them and smelled the roses. It was a gentle yet beautiful scent, and it relaxed me almost immediately.

"Thanks guys," I thanked them again. "But... Oppa, what you said during the interview can be seen as an official backing by BTS. What if people try to mess with your reputation because of me?" I asked. Namjoon smiled easily. I could tell he wanted to touch me, but he held back.

"What about it? We all agreed to give you our official seal of approval because you're good. We wouldn't have let you stop being our manager if you weren't," Namjoon joked.

"Oh right, how's the new manager?" I asked.

"He's okay, but he's not you, Noona," JungKook whined. I chuckled and reached a hand up to ruffle his hair which made him smile.

"Laine, when you finish filming we're celebrating with chicken and beer. Call?" J-Hope said while shooting finger-guns at me.

"Call!" I smiled while resting my chin between my thumb and index finger. I was around them so much, I was starting to act like them.

"They asked her a lot of questions because she's the new shiny toy. Le In? Does that even make sense for a Korean name?" Kim Bo Ra said to her manager loudly as she passed us. My smile fell as I looked towards my feet. I wasn't one for letting people trample all over me, but Kim Bo Ra was my senior, and we still had a lot of episodes to shoot together. I didn't want to start a bad relationship with her now, or at least, I didn't want to make it worse.

"Yah, so they asked a lot of questions. What about it? Wouldn't you ask questions about something you're unfamiliar with? And who are you to judge someone's name? We gave her that name. You're really popular, Bo Ra. Le In is only doing one project for now. What? You're going to show her that Koreans don't have any manners? There's no need to be jealous and spiteful, you two are complete opposites," Namjoon jumped to my defense as he stepped towards her. I grabbed his arm as the guys held him back by his chest.

"What's this? If a foreigner becomes Korean's National Sweetheart, where does that leave our country?" She asked to herself before she left. I sighed and looked around at the few lingering part time workers.

"Joonie. You can't do that," I said softly calling him by his nickname I gave him instead of 'oppa'.

"And do what? Just let her insult you?" He asked. I could tell he was mad, but this wasn't the time or place.

"Yes," I answered calmly. Suga noticed my anxiousness and dragged Namjoon to the hallway. We followed as Suga got in the elevator. The guys stayed off to the side as I got in the elevator with Suga and Namjoon. The doors closed behind me but no one made a move to choose a floor.

"Namjoon, Laine is right, you can't do that," Suga said.

"I understand you wanting to defend me, but you can't. So she insults me. If it makes her feel better, let her do it. It doesn't hurt me, and at the end of the day, it doesn't affect my job," I said.

"Had just one reporter stayed behind, we would have been screwed. Do you realize that? Tomorrow's headlines would read 'Kim Namjoon of BTS gets in fight with actress Kim Bo Ra over new foreign actress'. We'd be spending all of our practice time doing damage control," Suga said. I agreed with him. Namjoon sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Okay, okay, fine. I get it," he finally conceded. I realized that just by being around each other, our raw emotions tended to poke out when they weren't wanted. Namjoon showed that he cared about me deeply without batting an eye. If this were to keep up, I wouldn't be able to meet with him in public for a while.