There were too many things to handle before Jae was able to fly to Japan. The game developer helped her in obtaining a work visa. She already had her Certificate of Eligibility from the embassy last year so her work visa was cleared last week. She then went on house hunting online and managed to seal a deal for a studio apartment in Tokyo. Rent in Tokyo was not cheap and she had to pay extra for a house with a kitchen. That was essential for her since she needed to cook. Some studio apartments even have a no cooking policy, so she definitely gave that a pass. After some calculation and consideration on her bank account, especially with the amount of jobs and the pay that she received recently, she figured that she could afford it. Things were definitely looking good.
She already contacted the landlord for her current house right after she made her decision in December to terminate the lease. Packing her clothes would not be a problem as she didn't have a lot due to the fire. She could probably fit all of the content in her closet into a luggage.
Then she got to the matter of keeping her studio equipment that she couldn't bring at a safe place. She planned to only bring her mini studio with her – that includes the mini keyboard, the Maschine Jam, Mk-3 and the audio interface. She can bring it up as a carry-on in the flight. That left her with the big stuff including the desk and chair. She loves that chair but bringing it over to Japan would cost even more than the chair itself.
"You can keep all of those at my house," suggested Yoongi when Jae asked him about storage space she could rent around Seoul.
"I know you live in a big house up in Hannam-Dong but I don't think you would have extra space in your own room for my stuff. You share that house with 6 other people," pointed Jae out.
"That's my dorm. I'm talking about my own house," cleared Yoongi out.
"You have another house?" asked Jae. That was the first time she heard about the existence of that house.
"I only bought it for investment at first. Then I started putting some furniture in and got attached. I do go there some times. I haven't been there lately since my schedule is packed," he explained. "Besides, I'm not going to live in the dorm forever."
"That's true," nodded Jae in agreement.
"The guys have their own homes too. Living at the dorm while we're working would be easier for us to move and go around as a team."
"Don't your parents stay at that house when they get to Seoul?"
"No, they have another house I got for them since they come and spend nearly half a year here for medical check-ups and all that," said Yoongi. "They usually stay in Daegu from Chuseok until spring time. So yes, my house is empty most of the time. That would save your expense from renting a storage area."
That settled her problem about storing her things. Ki Tae and Chan Ri helped her transporting the items to Yoongi's house. Yoongi registered Jae at the apartment management office as a resident so she would not have trouble getting into the house when she moved her stuff to it. He gave her a resident's pass card as he was not able to be around to help her with the move due to his work. He was really apologetic about it. Jae didn't mind that, knowing how busy the year was going to be for him. She knew his work load and she didn't want to get into his way.
"What do you think if we go public with our relationship?" asked Yoongi one night after he came to her house from work.
Jae looked at him, trying to figure out through what would happen if the news of their relationship went out. "Won't it affect your career if it breaks out? We were lucky so far that it hasn't yet."
Yoongi sighed, "Sometimes, I feel like saying to hell with everything and want to be able to go out with your freely."
"Well we do go out for or dates," said Jae. "I have this nagging feeling that you have something else in your mind and it's not about us going out on dates in public. What are you getting at Min Yoongi-ssi?" asked Jae curiously.
Lately, Yoongi barely had enough time to sleep, much less to go out and spend his leisure time doing mundane stuff like watching movies and everything relaxing. His leisure time was non-existent and the only rest he got was when he sleeps. The only thing that resembles to a date after New Year's Day was when he came and slept at her house.
When she say slept, he actually crashed to bed. He was always out after his head touched the pillow. In addition to that, she would be flying out to Japan in just 2 days, dating would be completely out of the picture for the months they were apart. She knew something else was up.
"I want everyone to know you're my girlfriend but at the same time I don't want you to lose your privacy because of it. It's just too conflicting. One doesn't go with the other."
"I think I'm prepared for that since we got together. In case you haven't realized yet I'm not that active on social media. Was surprised to see I gained lots of followers on Instagram after that article on game musician went out after not checking on it for weeks. I anticipated what some of your fans would do. Don't worry. That's one of your concerns right? I know there's something else other than that. What's bothering you?" Jae fished.
"I want to send you to the airport on the 10th," said Yoongi. "That would definitely open up the floodgate."
Jae nodded knowingly. So that was it. "Would you be ready for the backlash? My job is never heavily depended on fans reaction towards my work. It only relied on how good the game is while your career is highly dependent on fans' reaction and record sales. You're at the top of your game and I'm not ready if it is going to give a bad impact on your dream," admitted Jae.
"You're important," said Yoongi.
"You're important too and I will always be here," reassure Jae. "The idol culture is different here from the west. There, you can still be a celebrity, go out freely and people won't bat an eyelash."
"I already discussed with the management and they already have a plan if the news about us got leaked. We predicted some mixed reactions, both negative and positive. They went through the demographic data of local and international fans for that for the outcome. They even went incognito, posing as fans on social media platforms and threw out questions like what would they do if one of us is in a relationship. The response was quite surprising," informed Yoongi. "Some were supportive, some were not. Some even said, to quote 'their personal life is their own businesses'."
"What is your verdict then?" asked Jae again.
"Are you prepared for masses' reactions?" asked Yoongi again.
"We can't be living in a bubble, safe from all the elements forever. I'm ready whenever you are," answered Jae.
"Good. I'll be sending you off at the airport," said Yoongi. "I'll be informing the company up front."
"If anything bad comes out from that, don't hide it or try to sugar-coat it. I want the truth, both good and bad. Promise me," Jae held her pinky up.
"And if you receive any hate comments or people starting to invade your privacy as in stalking you, tell me straight away. It's your safety and well-being above all else. Promise?" he held his pinky up too, without linking to hers.
"Promise," Jae linked her fingers to his.
YOU ARE READING
First Love
FanfictionThe last time she saw him, he was a school boy starting his journey as a rapper. The last time he saw her, she was following him around with stars in her eyes. Years later, their path crossed again. She's a struggling part timer. He's a world class...
