Kibum had no intention of invading his boss’s privacy but accidents happen, and he did just that when he instinctively checked Minho’s phone once it vibrated in his hand. It wasn’t his fault either that his boss’s phone was set such that the sender of the text message along with the message itself would be displayed clearly on the home screen. Kibum couldn’t have avoided it even if he wanted to; the only way he could was if he had refused to take care of Minho’s phone when the actor had requested him to keep it since he had to carry out his job of smiling and posing for the cameras at the red carpet of the movie premier they were currently attending. It was part of his job as a personal assistant, taking care of his boss’s personal belongings. And yes, perhaps reading his boss’s personal messages could logically be part of his job scope as well but upon seeing the message that Minho had just received, Kibum knew the actor would most probably rather have read it for himself.

Yul Noona
Meet me at Cinema 6, 9.30pm.

“Kibum?” Rejoining his personal assistant at the reception area after he was done with the red carpet, Minho tapped Kibum on his shoulder to get his attention and questioned, “What are you looking at?”

“Err, you got a message.” Taken aback by the actor’s sudden presence, Kibum smiled sheepishly and quickly placed the phone back into Minho’s hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to read it.”

Minho frowned as his eyes landed on his phone and instantly, he looked directly at Kibum and said, “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“Honestly, it’s not my business to care.” Kibum shrugged his shoulders indifferently. 

“No, it is.” Minho disagreed. “You’re my personal assistant and you need to know-“

“Look Minho, if you’re worried that I can’t keep my mouth shut, you can calm down because rest assured, I’m not interested in gossip at all. I respect your privacy.”

“That’s the point, Kibum, in the first place, you should know that I have nothing going on with Yuri Noona.” Minho wanted to be absolutely sure that there were no misunderstandings between them. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Kibum; he just wanted things to be clear.

“Yuri?” Widening his eyes, Kibum asked disbelievingly, “You mean Kwon Yuri?”

“Damn it.” Minho cursed. “You didn’t know that it was her?”

Kibum shook his head and then scanned the reception area in hope of finding the actress in question. When he did, he was shocked to find that Yuri was looking in their direction as well. Pretending that he didn’t see her, Kibum calmly turned back to look at Minho and tapped his arm as discreetly as he could.

“She’s looking at us.” Kibum muttered, trying his best not to move his lips and yet still be heard clearly.

Crossing his arms, Minho shot an amused glance at Kibum. “Are you a fan of hers?”

“No.” Kibum was honestly appalled by Minho’s accusation. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, you’re getting unusually excited…”

“Yeah, only because I think it’s interesting how you and her have to keep your relationship under wraps and pretend to be strangers even at the same event.”

Upon hearing Kibum’s explanation, Minho let out a sigh and rubbed his temples in exasperation. “Kibum, you’re not listening to me. I said, there’s nothing going on between Yuri Noona and I.”

Kibum lifted an eyebrow. “Quick question, are you going to meet her later privately?”

“Yes, but-” Minho held back his words once he noticed the change in Kibum’s expression and then demanded instead, “Don’t give me that look.”

At his boss’ orders, Kibum instantly replaced his smug expression that said ‘You see? What else is there to deny?’ with a reassuring smile as he punched Minho lightly on his arm.

“Minho, seriously, I won’t breathe a word about this so quit denying and stop worrying.”

“Are you deaf?” Minho asked with a straight face.

Kibum scoffed, “Obviously not.”

“Really?” Minho raised an eyebrow. “Because you know, you’re not hearing what I’m saying to you.”

Kibum pressed his lips in a thin line and crossed his arms. “Think about it, if she’s asking to meet you, it’s implied that there’s something going on between you and her…”

Frustrated, Minho let out a breath and then lifted his hand up to wriggle his finger, enticing Kibum to come closer to him as if he had the biggest secret to tell. Although slightly hesitant to do as he was told, Kibum leaned forward with anticipation, even turning to the side to offer his ear to his boss. As expected, Minho leaned towards Kibum, moving close enough for him to whisper in a volume only his personal assistant could hear. Yet, Kibum would only realise that what Minho was going to say was not a secret at all.

"Gotcha." Minho whispered in a low voice, his warm breath ghosting over Kibum’s ear, but all Kibum could think of was that annoying victorious grin that he didn’t need to see to know was on Minho’s face.

In an instant, Kibum had stepped back into the comfort of his own personal space, pushing Minho away at the same time before shooting the actor a look that could make anyone cower in fear.

"Could you be anymore childish?" Kibum hissed.

Shrugging his shoulders, Minho let out a laugh. "Well, I-"

“Don’t.” Kibum pointed directly at Minho and successfully cut the actor off. “-even answer that.”

Kibum wanted so desperately to physically attack his boss just because he really couldn’t stand the look on his face. But lucky for Minho, they were in public and so, he was spared from the pain... only for the time being. Because Kibum would remember this since it’s always never too late for revenge…

Taking in Kibum’s expression and knowing exactly what his personal assistant was thinking, Minho couldn’t stop himself from further aggravating him, “I’m sorry you can’t do much now since we’re at work.”

Clenching his fists at his sides, Kibum gritted his teeth and snapped, “Don’t you have a movie to watch? Or better still, go meet your Yul noona earlier.”

“She’s. Not. Mine.” Minho enunciated each word slowly and clearly, his expression as stern as can be.

“Relax, will you?” Kibum advised as he did a quick scan of the surroundings, “There are cameras everywhere.”

Almost immediately, Minho forced himself to put on a smile and commented sarcastically, “Trust you to be the professional one in our relationship.”

“Can I be useful and help you with anything then, boss?” Kibum asked in fake politeness, his tone obviously laced with sarcasm just so he could match Minho.

Completely ignoring Kibum’s attempt to shut him up, Minho furrowed his eyebrows in thought and took the question seriously.

“Come with me when I meet Yul noona.” Minho stated all calm and collected.

Kibum stilled, narrowing his eyes to study Minho’s expression in an attempt to judge if his request was real. However, Kibum couldn’t come to a conclusion and he had to ask his boss straight up, “Are you being serious?”

Minho’s reply was a simple nod.

“If you’re asking me to come with you because you want to prove that there’s nothing going on between you and her, I really don’t think it’s necessary.”

Minho chuckled while shaking his head. “No, Kibum, I need you as a cover up.”

Kibum’s mouth formed a little ‘O’ before he nodded, “Alright, sure.”

“You do know that you’re helping me hide this from manager hyung as well right?” Minho asked, a little uneasily.

“Gyeongshik hyung doesn’t know?” Kibum couldn’t hide his surprise.

Minho nodded and sighed. “I know it’s even harder to convince you now that there’s absolutely nothing suspicious going on between me and her…”

“In all honesty, that shouldn’t be one of your worries.” Kibum simply stated and then shrugged, “As long as you know what you’re doing…”

“I do.”

And with a thoughtful look from Kibum, their conversation had ended with Minho deciding he should probably get back to his job as a guest at the movie premier and settle in his assigned seat inside the cinema rather than spending time secluded in one corner with his personal assistant. Until he met Kibum again when 9.30pm arrived, he would have to do what was expected of him…

*

Standing right outside the entrance of Cinema 6, Kibum pulled out his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and glanced at the time on the screen. 9.56pm, and it didn’t look like Minho was coming out any time soon. Kibum knew he shouldn’t be complaining but he honestly hated looking so dumb and feeling so useless as he stood outside in the silent hallway while everyone else was comfortably in their seats enjoying the movie. There was no one in sight save for the two or three cinema staff who occasionally walked past as they did their rounds. One of them even came up to him and asked if he needed help, and Kibum had to use a whole lot of effort to resist making any sarcastic remarks before he shook his head with a courteous smile and explained using the excuse that he was waiting for an important call. As the minutes ticked by, Kibum was finding it harder and harder to believe that Minho truly needed him to stand watch because clearly, there was nothing to be wary of.

“Damn it, Choi Minho, how much longer-” Kibum’s grumbling was cut short when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Letting out a gasp, Kibum whipped his neck around and met the gaze of a pair of warm, twinkling eyes which, he instantly recognised, belonged to Kwon Yuri. The moment Yuri smiled at him with a curt nod of her head, Kibum had switched back to his professional mode and returned the greeting formally with a 45 degree bow.

“You must be Kibum.” Yuri said gently with a smile so bright Kibum found it rather dazzling, “Minho told me you were standing guard outside for us… sorry for making you wait so long.”

Kibum shook his head and replied politely, “Please don’t apologise. It’s my job.”

“Ah, still, thank you!” Yuri expressed her appreciation and then mumbled out loud, “I really needed some time with Minho before I lose it.”

Kibum’s curiosity was aroused but he knew he was in no position to ask any questions and so, pretended that he didn’t hear anything and simply continued to smile at Yuri.

“Right.” After a moment, Yuri recollected herself and remembered she was supposed to inform Kibum of Minho’s instructions, “Minho’s waiting for you inside, he’s planning to just stay inside until the movie officially ends.”

“Thanks.” Kibum nodded with a slight smile.

“Alright then, I’ll get back to where I’m supposed to be.” Yuri answered, “It’s nice meeting you, Kibum.”

“You too.” Kibum bowed again as Yuri did the same before she walked away with a warm smile on her face. With that, Kibum turned around and finally entered Cinema 6.

As expected, the cinema was empty and completely silent. It was dimly lit with only the aisle and side lights . Still, even with poor lighting, Kibum spotted Minho easily among the rows and rows of empty red cushioned seats. He walked down the stairs and made his way to join his boss at the pair of corner seats in one of the middle rows. And once he had plopped himself on the seat, Kibum couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh as he was finally able to rest his legs.

“What took you so long?”

Minho, who originally had his eyes closed, opened them and glanced sideways at his personal assistant. Kibum slouched against the seat, unable to care about how unsightly his posture was, and murmured out loud.

“Speak for yourself.”

Minho raised his eyebrows but chose not to say anything. Instead, he rested his head against the back of the seat to get into a more comfortable position and changed the topic.  

“Did Yuri noona introduce herself to you?” Minho asked without looking at Kibum.

“Yeah.” Kibum answered, not looking at Minho too as his eyes wandered around the movie theatre (he found it quite interesting being in a cinema with no movie playing on screen).

“How did that go?”

“Normal… she’s very friendly.”

“That's good.”

“What?” Puzzled, Kibum finally turned his attention to Minho. “Why?”

“Yuri noona... Well, she's... going through some tough times.”

Kibum hummed in thought, quickly linking Yuri's words with Minho's explanation.

“She comes to you for help?” Kibum was unable to stop himself from finding out more.

“Yeah.” Minho didn’t find it a problem to be honest with Kibum. “Actually, we’ve known each other since young.”

“Childhood friends?”

“Not exactly… we met each other at auditions and entered the industry one after another so she’s one of the closest friends I got. If she needs someone, she comes to me.” Minho clarified and then laughed sadly. “It isn’t exactly easy to find true friends considering the circumstances we’re in…”

Kibum turned in his seat, suddenly seeing Minho in a different light. It was odd really, how their conversation unexpectedly turned into a heart to heart talk. He understood that this was Minho letting him in on his deepest thoughts and it made Kibum feel a little weird. This was Choi Minho, the one who was his boss, the one that constantly irritated the hell out of him, the one who he was always at odds with, the one who he would never consider a friend. Yet, here he was now, sharing with Kibum his true feelings, and Kibum didn’t know how to feel about this. Although he was confused, not knowing why Minho was showing this vulnerable side of him, Kibum knew there was one thing he could and should do. And that was to simply be Minho’s friend.

“I can’t say I understand…” Clearing his throat, Kibum shifted awkwardly in his seat and turned his body to face Minho. “But well, if it helps, I am here for you.”

At Kibum’s words, Minho rolled his head to the side and met Kibum’s gaze.

“Sorry, say that again.” Minho requested, his eyes so earnest that Kibum could only repeat his words.

“I’m here for you.”

A smile tugged on the corners of Minho’s lips. “Kibum…”

“It’s no big deal.” Kibum quickly said, not able to handle Minho looking at him like that with a smile so happy and eyes that shone with childlike innocence, “I mean, I am your personal assistant for a reason.”

Minho’s smile only grew wider because he could understand the hidden meaning behind Kibum’s words. They weren’t just in a working relationship but they were friends. And Minho knew that he could count on Kibum from this moment on.

Author's Note: oh my, it's November! how horribly long did i make you lovely readers wait? :/ terribly sorry guys! i hope the update was worth it! the story is progressing, albeit a little slowly, so do stick with it and don't give up on me! i promise i'll update as fast as i can with chapters that'll keep you reading AAA. so thank you, if you're reading this right now! and thank you for subscribing! can't wait to hear your thoughts about the story again! a big shout out to all the lovely friends i've made on AFF, you sweeties know who you are. ^^ i am forever thankful that you've taken the initative to approach me and i'm having so much fun chatting with you all! your messages get me through the busy weeks of school. i'm left with one presentation and then it'll be finals so i'll try my best to update as regularly as i can. till then, looking forward to all your comments! have an awesome November everyone! it's my favourite month. (:

ps: i know you know, and everyone's saying this, but do vote for our boys here in MAMA for best dance and song of the year!