“Earth to Eunkyung,” Taehyung said. He waved a hand in front of Eunkyung’s face, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Taehyung had come to greet her after class a week after the party. He had texted Eunkyung as V and told her that he needed to go visit several cousins in Incheon and Cheongju and study for midterms at the same time. Secretly, he was busy with interviews and music broadcasts because his vacation was officially over. Meanwhile, although disappointed, Eunkyung had been studying and finished midterms that day.

However, when Eunkyung saw Taehyung after a whole week, though she felt happy and relieved, a twinge of guilt had struck her every time she looked up at his face. Sometimes in her head, the faces of V and Taehyung blended together, making her feel utterly confused. She knew that it was because of the gentle side the idol had shown during the party, which had really surprised her. Shaking her head as if getting rid of the memory, she decided to forget about Taehyung for now. Anyways, it was V who she really cared about. But then, if V found out about the party…

“Do you, um, read newspapers?” Eunkyung refused to look up into Taehyung’s eyes.

The boy scratched his head. “Uh, not really.”

Eunkyung nervously twisted her watch around her wrist. “Err, then how about watching TV or flipping through magazine articles? Like news on celebrities and such.”

With a suspicion on where this conversation was going, Taehyung shook his head. “I don’t have any interest in idols and gossip, if that’s what you’re talking about.” Eunkyung breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. Taehyung eyed her, amused.

Eunkyung’s thoughts turned to the day after the party. Magazines on the stands she passed every day had photos of Haneul and her on the covers with headlines such as “Mystery Girl.” Thankfully, the photos that were lucky enough to have her face captured were too blurry to make out her identity. Also, no one would suspect the studious university student would have gone to an elites’ party in such a glamorous costume.

Taehyung stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. “Um, Eunkyung, I’m really sorry but I won’t be able to see you every day like a couple of weeks ago anymore.” The girl snapped out of her thoughts. As Eunkyung looked up with him with hurt eyes, he quickly added, “It’s not that I don’t enjoy being with you. It’s just that I got a part-time job at a company that researches stock markets and it’s going to fill up most of my time.” He had thought long and hard about a good excuse.

Eunkyung forced a smile on her face, though her heart suddenly became heavy as if it had turned into a lead weight. “It’s fine. You should pursue your dream, you know? Since you’re an Economics student, it makes sense to be working under a stocks company. I’m really glad for you.”

Slowly nodding, Taehyung swallowed back a sigh. He didn’t like not being able to see Eunkyung frequently due to the numerous duties of an idol, but it was unavoidable.

“Would you like to go to the Han River today?” he suggested.

“Sure!” Eunkyung smiled. “You know, I really like spending time with you.”

Taehyung’s heartbeat doubled. A grin blossomed on his face.

**********

“Uncle,” Taehyung called out. A foolish grin was on his face. Eunkyung’s words kept floating around in his mind. I really like spending time with you.

Manager Song turned to glance at him. “What is it?”

“I think that Eunkyung is starting to like V.” He twirled a pen from the table around with his fingers.

“Taehyung.” At Manager Song’s stern tone, the idol looked up with raised eyebrows. “V doesn’t exist.”

His grin fading, Taehyung put his arms behind his head and leaned back against the chair. After a couple of minutes of silence, he spoke out. “How do you think Eunkyung will react when I tell her that I’m V?”

Manager Song didn’t even hesitate. “She’ll be mad for sure.”

Taehyung sighed deeply. “I thought so as much.”

“But do you really want to deceive her for the rest of your life? You can’t keep this up; you have your responsibilities and she has her future. It’s best to tell her the truth now than later, since whatever choice you choose you’re probably going to hurt her. Also, you have to always remember that V isn’t a real person.”

Closing his eyes, Taehyung nodded. He couldn’t be V forever. He shouldn’t be giddy that Eunkyung was starting to care about his other side when V was nothing but an alias.

Manager Song watched the idol’s expression carefully. “It all depends on how much you’re willing to do for her, you know.”

Taehyung nodded again, but his expression was conflicted. “I know. Thank you, Uncle.”

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