Choi Jinri. Stage name: Sulli. South Korea's sweetheart, the nation's little sister.

There wasn't really a reason to dislike Sulli because she was all things sweet, nice and wonderful. She was the girl next door and every boy’s dream, her image was peachy clean and there was only reason for girls to hate her for how perfect she seemed. Yet, right now, Kibum was finding her an eye sore. And no, the personal assistant told himself again and again, it was definitely not because she played Minho's love interest in the drama.

If there was one thing Kibum hated about being in relationships, it was how it made him feel so much, and in this instance, it was particularly the unpleasant feeling of jealousy as he watched Minho and Sulli rehearse their kiss scene from the side lines. Kibum knew it was acting, he knew for sure Minho had absolutely no feelings, at least not romantically, for the 18 years old girl, but he still couldn't stop such negative emotions from getting the better of him. So who was he kidding? Kibum obviously disliked the poor innocent girl because his boyfriend who the public thought was single and very much heteroual was about to press his damn lips onto hers. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, the personal assistant could do to stop this from happening.

Kibum groaned inwardly, letting out a breath in hope of relieving the stuffy feeling in his heart that was making him uncomfortable. What on earth was he doing to himself? Minho probably didn't even know he was on the verge of losing it (be it his patience or his temper) since his boss, his boyfriend, was as usual too focused on his work. Kibum couldn't bear to watch this anymore. If he couldn’t handle watching them rehearse the scene, there was no doubt that he wouldn’t be able to even sit through one second of seeing the onscreen couple kiss for real when the camera started rolling. The personal assistant knew it was best to stop torturing himself and walk away before he seriously lost control of his emotions. And Kibum did just that.

Walking away from the set until he was a good distance away from having a clear view of the scene that was about to be filmed, Kibum sat down in one of the many portable chairs provided for the crew and staff and pulled out his phone to keep himself occupied. He needed to talk to someone, vent it all out before he seriously did lose his mind. And of course, there was only one person he could turn to. Yet, as he stared at his phone, it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn’t even told (or updated) that one person about his relationship with Minho. After all, it was one of the rules they had set – Minho and he did agree that they couldn’t tell a single soul about their relationship. And as the thought struck him, Kibum found himself unable to contain his frustration any longer so he cursed explicitly out loud with a groan.

“Is work too much for you, Kibum?”

Kibum immediately shut his mouth as he turned towards the direction of the familiar voice and quickly switched back to his professional mode, bowing politely and forcing a smile on his face to greet the owner of the voice.

“No Gyeongshik hyung, it’s not work.” Kibum instinctively answered, not wanting Minho’s manager to get the wrong idea, and then continued to say, “Please don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so.” Nodding, Minho’s manager sat next to Kibum, understanding that the personal assistant would rather not continue the conversation and so, he changed the topic to one that he originally came to talk to Kibum about. “Anyway Kibum, I noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time with Minho, haven’t you?”

Kibum froze for a split second before he quickly composed himself, hoping Gyeongshik didn’t see his moment of panic. “Yes hyung… it’s my job.”

“I know.” Gyeonshik said with a smile, “And I think you’re doing a great job as his personal assistant, you’ve helped me a whole lot as well… so much so that I actually don’t have to be with Minho all the time now. And that’s a little problematic because I haven’t been keeping a close eye on him.”

“What do you mean, hyung?” Kibum shifted uncomfortably on his seat, feeling a tad uneasy about the direction this conversation was heading to.

“Well, I’ve noticed that Minho has changed… he seems happier, a special kind of happy that I find slightly worrying because I suspect that this happiness is caused by something Minho shouldn’t be involved in…”

Not wanting to appear guilty in front of Minho’s manager, Kibum tried his best to look puzzled and decided to act dumb. “Sorry hyung, I don’t quite understand you.”

“I know what I’m saying may confuse you, and don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that Minho is happy… but to put it simply, my instinct tells me something is up with that boy.” Gyeongshik tried his best to bring his point across to Kibum so he could find out more about what has been happening with his artiste, “And since you’ve been spending a lot of time with Minho, I hope you’ll be able to inform me if he’s involved in anything, or rather someone, because sources tell me that he’s been spotted with Kwon Yuri.”

Kibum gasped. “Hyung! Are you suspecting that Minho and Yuri are romantically involved with each other?”

Gyeongshik nodded solemnly. “I heard about them a couple of months back through tip offs that Minho met Yuri privately a number of times, one even said they met up at a hotel, but I decided to think nothing about it because I trust Minho. Yet now, seeing him like this…”

“Hyung, I assure you, they’re just friends.” Kibum quickly defended his boss, hoping Gyeongshik would take his word for it. “Minho actually mentioned this to me before, that they were at most only close friends.”

Nodding to show he was listening to what Kibum had to say, Gyeongshik let out a sigh. “I do hope that’s the only reason why Yuri specifically requested for Minho to be her dance partner for an upcoming performance she has to put on for an awards show.”

“What?” Once again, Kibum was caught by surprise. “Kwon Yuri wants Minho to dance with her? For the public audience?”

“That’s right.” Gyeongshik answered and explained succinctly, “Her manager personally called me this morning to discuss the details… he said Yuri wanted to be paired with someone she trusts and apparently, Minho was her first choice.”

“Hyung… you… you agreed?”

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t…” Gyeongshik shrugged. “The added attention will benefit Minho. Not to forget, there’s a chance for Minho to charm his way through a wider range of audience since they’ll get to see a different side of him.”

“What if a scandal breaks out?” Kibum creased his eyebrows, not exactly liking the idea of a collaboration between Yuri and Minho for reasons currently unexplainable.

“Honestly… it may just be what Minho needs to propel his career even further.” Gyeongshik reasoned, trusting Kibum enough to discuss work matters with him. “Of course, I know how easy this can all go wrong so that’s where you come in, Kibum.”

Kibum tensed as he waited for Minho’s manager to continue.

“Since you’re practically with Minho 24/7, you’re the best person to keep an eye on him when he prepares for the performance with Yuri… can I trust you on this, Kibum? That as long as you feel something is wrong, you have to inform me.”

Unable to hesitate for more than a second (not that he had the choice anyway), Kibum quickly nodded, placing a serious expression on his face.

“Yes hyung. I’ll keep my eye on him and make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Of course, a satisfied Gyeongshik didn’t have to know that part of why the personal assistant agreed so readily was because Kibum had his own intentions to take care of on top of work matters. And well, it obviously had everything to do with the fact that he had to make sure his boyfriend couldn’t get too close to Yuri. It should have worried Kibum that the fine line between business and pleasure was blurring but the personal assistant wasn’t in the mood to be rational. Boy oh boy was he going to keep a watchful eye on Minho alright.

*

“Kibum, are you okay with this?” Minho asked once he was alone with his personal assistant in the safety of his apartment after hearing the news from his manager on the drive back home.

“Will what I say make a difference?” When only silence replied him, Kibum nodded smugly and carried on tidying the actor’s apartment. “Exactly. Don’t ask stupid questions, Minho.”

“We should talk about this.” Minho said as he followed Kibum around his apartment like a puppy while his boyfriend went about doing his chores.

“Why?”

“Because as simple as this dance with Yuri sounds, we all know it isn’t.”

Kibum turned back to spare his boyfriend a look. “Do you not trust yourself, Minho?”

“What sort of question is that?” Minho answered, “Of course, I trust myself.”

“Mmhmm, and I trust you too so there’s actually nothing worth worrying about.”

“You don’t understand, Kibum.” Minho sighed and reached out to hold Kibum in place because he needed his boyfriend’s undivided attention. “It’s not just about the two of us… once the public starts speculating and the media gets involved, we’re bound to be affected and-”

“Minho, it’s you who don’t understand.” Kibum interrupted and looked at him pointedly. “You don’t have a choice. You have to do this. Backing out right now will just invite trouble, if anyone gets a whiff of this that is.”

Minho groaned. “I hate it when you make sense.”

“Get used to it honey.” Kibum replied with a laugh before he looked at Minho’s hand on his arm and said, “Could you let go of me? I have stuff to do…”

Instead of answering, Minho simply pulled Kibum towards him and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.

“I’ll help you.”

Kibum rolled his eyes. “You’re not helping me right now.”

“I am.” Minho’s eyes sparkled with mischief, “I’m helping you carry out the duties of a good boyfriend.”

“Do you hear yourself when you talk?”

“Someone isn’t in a good mood...”

Kibum had nothing to say. Minho tightened his hug around his boyfriend. He wasn’t going to let the conversation die like that. If Kibum wasn’t going to talk, Minho was going to make him.

“I noticed you weren’t around when I was filming my scenes with Sulli today…”

“Your point is?”

“Do you, maybe, want to tell me why?”

“You didn’t seem to need me so I walked away.”

“So… it has nothing to do with the fact that I kissed Sulli today?”

Kibum cringed with disgust. “Did you have to remind me?”

“I was right, you didn’t like it.” Minho pointed out worriedly, paying close attention to Kibum’s expression as he explained himself, “It’s really no big deal, Kibum, it’s just acting and I feel absolutely nothing for her, you-.”

“I know, Minho. Relax. I’m not angry.” Kibum said, letting out a sigh as he rested his hands on Minho’s chest.

“So you’re alright?”

“I am.” Kibum answered with an angelic smile that melted Minho’s heart and put the actor at ease until the personal assistant said the following words.

“You’re just not going to get anywhere near my lips tonight.”

With that, Kibum patted Minho on his cheek before he pushed his boyfriend away and made his way to the bedroom, leaving the poor actor feeling unnecessarily guilty for doing what was required of his job. It definitely wasn’t going to get any easier especially with the upcoming dance performance with Yuri that Minho obviously didn’t have much say on.

And for the very first time in his life, the actor hated his job.

Author's Note: updating at this ungodly hour (it's coming to 5am where i am) because i'm finally free! the semester began a week ago and i'm already swamped with readings till i barely have the time to write. :( sorry for the long wait dear readers but i do hope you know i'm always updating as soon as i can! anyway, i hope you liked the new chapter and that it's keeping you glued to the story! thank you for subscribing, reading and commenting! i'll be back as soon as i can! for now, enjoy the remaining of January lovely people on AFF! ♥