Your manager's voice echoes through the door, along with another man's voice in the room who had been holding a conversation with her. She's here already, you huff the heavy air out of your lungs, might as well. You lift up a fist and knock  on the frosted glass door two times, the door opening for you just a few seconds after your call. A couple of pairs of eyes greet you, burdening the uneasy atmosphere on you even more.

"You called for me?" your voice shakes at your entrance. Boy, this looked serious.

"Just on time," the man in the suit uses a subtle smile to ease you into the room but it does absolutely nothing, "please, have a seat."

You take your stiff body over to the free chair next to your manager and sit down, keeping a careful eye on her as she sat still with her blank gaze.

"What's the matter?" you ask, hopeful for some information already.

"How's Kyungsoo doing?" the man begins, "Busy working on the new album, right?"

"Right," you nod slowly and unsurely. Did they really just call you in for a meeting to ask you about your boyfriend? You shift your position in interest, "Why, is something wrong?"

He exhales and rests his elbows on his desk, "I'm sure you're are of EXO's comeback which will be sometime near the end of this month."

You nod. That was all Kyungsoo and the boys had been focused on lately.

"And I'm sure you know how long it's been since their last album,"he adds, and you not again.

"But it's a lot of work," you try to reason, and the eyes in the room understood that.

"I know that, and I know you do too," he continues, "but the fans don't."

You stay quiet, waiting for him to speak some more.

"Don't get me wrong, they did really well with their first album and they had so many sales with it," he explains, "but a lot of the fans have stopped supporting them because of the wait."

Honestly, this wasn't much of a surprise to you. You knew how these fans were, and with the things you've seen from them on the net, nothing was much of a shocker anymore.

But how does this concern me?

"Am I supposed to break the news to him or something?" you shrug. You really didn't know where he was going with this.

"No, no," he shakes his head, "that's not quite it."

You turn to find your manager's eyes on you with a look of pity in them. What's going on?

"On the other hand, your debut single is doing really well," his voice switches tones again.

"Thank you," you mumble.

"You and Kyungsoo as a couple have gotten really popular over the last few weeks," he states.

So..?

"So they need your help."

"What?" you throw your head back in confusion, "My help? What am I supposed to do?"

"We need to get the attention back on EXO for their comeback." Your muscles stiffen as he spoke, afraid of the idea as to where this was headed, "and there's only one way to do it soon enough in time for their comeback."

You hold your breath.

"They need a scandal," he narrates, "and we need you to make it happen.

 

You hear the man`s breaths within the sharp silence in the room as he gives a signalling eye to your manager, and a heavy inhale from her immediately follows.

"You have to cheat on him."

"What?!" you shoot up from your chair, "No, that can't be it."

"It's the only guarantee," the man's voice stayed low in an attempt to keep you collected but that was far from your attention now.

"I can't possibly do that," you gasp and take a swift turn to face your manager, "Unnie!"

"I'm sorry, _______." she keeps avoiding your eyes, "but he's right."

"Don't worry," he speaks again, "it's just until the first few promotions. We'll plan it all out, only the fans don't have to know about it."

"Wait," you pause, "Kyungsoo agreed to this?"

"We can't let him know, either," he corrects, "Not until it's over. That way, his reactions and behaviors wouldn't seem so scripted."

"But.." you fall back down on your seat, head hung low and jaw dropped open, unable to find the words to defend your stand. There was no way you could do this..

"If we don't do anything, the sales for this new album might not be enough to keep them up," the words were a blur but they slowly made their way into your senses, "You're at a successful start now, so you can help bring them up with you. Especially Kyungsoo."

You feel a hand land on your shoulder with the most gentle pressure, "Give her a day or two to think about it."

That's not enough.

"Okay," he nods, "you can come back to either of us tomorrow if you make up your mind."

Make up my mind, his words repeat in your head as you drag yourself down the hallway on the way back, there’s no way I can do this to him.

“There has to be another way,” you murmur with the heaviest breaths as your steps started to slow down.

“__________!”

The voice catches your attention and you turn to a panting Kyungsoo with a bottle of water in one hand and his duffel slung around the other.

“Hey,” you force a smile, “what’s going on? You’re done rehearsal?”

“Yeah,” he grins, “it was a good rehearsal so he gave us a break. What have you been doing all day?”

You clear the lump in your throat and force your voice to sound normal,” I had a recording this morning and I’ve just been pretty much bored.”

“You sound bored,” he pokes, “Did you eat yet?”

You shake your head as his arm tugs at your shoulders, pulling your body closer to his as you descended down the stairs with the other members’ voices in range.

“Come eat with us then,” he invites, “we’re just having takeout but if you haven’t eaten yet then you can join us.”

“Sure!” you grin back, taking your arm and wrapping it around his torso. The boys seemed to be in the best mod they’ve been in for weeks, and you could only assume it was because of the early release from the endless practice.

The dorm was their common hangout, and you had become a regular there for a couple of years now. Of course it helped that your dorm was just three floors down but this was one of the few places in the country where any fans had no access and boy was that rare.

“Aah, I can lie down!” the two youngest let their bodies drop dead on the sofas right when they reached sight.

“Yah,” don’t take up the whole couch,” one bickers and the other refuses, and the childish actions make you giggle.

“I’m hungry!” Chanyeol growls, “Let’s eat already!”

“The food’s already here,” Suho scoffs with his own bowl ready in his hands.

“Oh,” Chanyeol’s smile brightens when his eyes spot the lunch, “everyone out of my way then!”

“Yah! Don’t eat everything!” Baekhyun follows him into the kitchen for the food.

“These guys..” Kyungsoo snickers behind you with two bowls in hand, “here you go, before they eat it all.”

“Thanks,” you send him a grateful smile but it fades away within the next two seconds after you lay your eyes on his. That adorable heart-shaped grin that won you over the first time you saw him. I can’t do this..

“Why are you staring at me like that?” he narrows his eyes your way, “Is there something on my face?”

You forced another smile and chuckled along, “No, it’s nothing.”

“Hyuuuuuuung,” Kai calls from the other side of the room, face down on the couch, “can you bring the food over for me?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes only for Sehun to add on, “Me too, me too!”

“I’m not your parent, get it yourselves,” he spat, returning to his share.

“Yes you are,” Sehun teases, both of them laughing at the joke.

“I’ll get it,” you , heading to the kitchen to ready their meals. You could hear a bickering come from Kyungsoo and the boys, only to hear the other two laugh again.

“Aish, those two..” Kyungsoo follows you into the kitchen shortly after, “You don’t have to do that, you know.”

“Yes I do,” you stick your tongue out at him, “I’m eating your food and using up your tableware. I’m totally obligated to help.

“What a sudden act of kindness,” he jokes, and you playfully attack his arm with the wooden rice paddle in your right hand.

“What sudden?!”

“I’m just joking,” he leans over for a quick peck on your cheek.

“Besides, they look way too exhausted,” you continue, “these rehearsals must really be tiring you guys out.”

“You have no idea,” he presses his lips together and looks back at Sehun and Kai, paralyzed on the couch, “I can’t even imagine how hard it is for them. They’re going way beyond their limit with the choreography for this one.”

“Important comeback, huh?” you choke through your words.

He nods, “We really have to impress the people a lot more with this one. The manager says we’re losing the fans because of the delay.”

The bowl in your hands almost drops to the ground but luckily, you had caught onto your grip in time and saved the mess that would have followed.

“I’m sure you’ll be alright,” you lie, “You guys are still really popular, you know. Once your album comes out, everyone’s gonna come back and buy it.”

He laughs at your attempt to lighten up the situation, “I hope so. I really want this album to be successful too.”

“Right,” you murmur, scooping the last bit into the second bowl and preparing the utensils and the beverages.

The two boys hadn’t moved from their positions, and you wonder if they were even awake. But the smell of the sizzling beef in the bowls brought them back up on their butts.

“Thanks, noona,” Sehun looks at you with his cute little eye smile and Kai does the same, then the two devour half the food before your eyes.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Baekhyun suggests with a mouth full of Korean beef.

“I’m going to sleep right after,” Kai groans.

“Me too,” Sehun nods along, “I’m so tired I can barely move.”

“Don’t waste our day off,” Baekhyun whines, “Sehun-ah!”

“Watch with Chanyeol hyung,” Sehun cleans up the bottom of his bowl and rests it back on the table.

“He’s already asleep,” Suho snickers and it catches onto you. You peak over to the open door and spot the pair of long legs dangling off the bed, motionless.

“Everyone’s tired,” Kyungsoo reasons, “take a break, Baekhyun.”

“Ah, fine,” he responds with a sigh, “you guys are boring.”

“We worked hard,” Kyungsoo grins, then finishes his food, “it’s okay to be right now.”

Yeah, your chest sinks, you`ve all worked really hard.`

  

 

  

 

“____________?” your manager raises her brows at the sight of you stepping into her office, “What are you doing here? There’s nothing scheduled for today.”

“I know,” you answer, “Are you busy now?”

“My ears are open,” she gestures the free chair in front of her desk, “What’s going on?”

You your lips as you enter the room, gently shutting the door behind you. You pull up the chair and sit yourself down with the same weight on your chest as the day before. Nothing had changed; if anything, it got worse.

“Would I be selfish if I don’t do this?” you ask, letting your eyes stare at the ground as you spoke.

“Still thinking?” she turns all attention on you.

“I don’t want to hurt him.”

“But you are, don’t you?”

Your silence becomes the answer.

“It’s only temporary,” she reasons, “and I’m sure we’ll make everything right again when it’s all over.”

You lift your eyes up with great difficulty and let a sigh escape, “They’ve been working so hard..”

“Sometime success has a price,” she states, her tone as comforting as ever, “but it’ll pay off.”

You were silent again, but it was like she could hear your thoughts clearly enough.

“They need this,” she repeats, “and this isn’t the first time the CEOs have planned for something like this for the public, but this is the first time they’re making it your choice, It’s only because you’re still new, and they’re afraid to force you into such a situation so early into your career. I knew this would be really hard for you, but I’m sure you understand that and it’s an idol’s job.”

It had never been so painful to say such a short sentence.

“Then I’ll do it.”

Her face brightens up from your answer but you could still see the shocked expression taking over, but nonetheless, she understood. You could tell that she wanted to make sure of your final answer one more time, but it seemed as if she was keeping herself from questioning your choice any more. Maybe it was because you would have changed your mind. Again, it’s an idol’s job.

“I’ll let the CEO know then,” her flat tone replies.

It was still early, but with your decision, the damage was done.