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Reports of Kim Taehyung being officially taken off of the market had spread like wildfire. News of the press conference held by Big Hit Entertainment could be found anywhere. From the television to the Internet, it seemed like everyone was talking about the unveiling of the young couple. Arang and Taehyung had even managed to become the number one searched item on sites like Google, Bing and Yahoo!

All of the images the reporters had taken of the pair were also posted all over the web. There was an array of reactions which was shared on popular forums and social media networks such as Allkpop, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo and Soompi.  Some people were genuinely happy for them, wishing them the best of luck, others were drowning in their own misery and a few were completely indifferent on the whole ordeal.

Information on Arang’s workplace had been leaked and the department store had been flooded with nosy, unpaying bodies ever since. It was safe to say that she wasn’t going to be going into work any time soon.

Luckily enough her home address was not disclosed. Arang thanked the heavens that her family had decided to move into the current apartment complex they were residing in a few months ago because back in her old neighborhood, everybody knew them. So it would have been easy for her address to be publicized. At her new home she didn’t really communicate with any of her neighbors, everyone kept to themselves which was beneficial in this case.

Not having too many friends was another added bonus. Who knows how fast people would turn on her in exchange for five seconds of fame. It wasn’t the reporters that had Arang feeling restless though. It was the crazy, obsessed fan-girls who were enraged about her relationship with their “oppa” that she felt more distressed about.

She couldn’t even imagine what kind of psychotic things they were thinking of doing to her. Shivers crawled up her spin, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.

It had only been four hours since the conference but why was she still nervous?

Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her purse. It was another message from Byunghyun. Ever since the conference aired, her phone had been blowing up with calls and texts from him, her unpleasant manager, her parents and her siblings. Arang didn’t feel like replying to anyone just yet and slipped the device back into the bag.

She was at a fancy restaurant with Taehyung and Director Wan. To reward them on a job well done, the woman had offered to take them out for dinner which was how they wound up at this four star Italian restaurant located in the Gangnam district. Director Wan had to step out for a moment so Arang was left alone with Taehyung. The boy had been secretly observing her from across the table and he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Was this the same annoying and smart-mouthed girl he had eaten ramen with earlier? Because she sure as hell was not acting like her usual self.

Then again he couldn’t blame her.

After the conference had ended, she hadn’t said much to him or his mother which was really weird but at the same time very understandable. They had to stay at the company for an hour or two until the number of fans and reporters loitering outside dwindled down. As soon as the coast was clear, they took his mother’s car and headed out.

The waiter had brought them glasses of water in cups normally used for consuming wine. He asked if they were ready to place their order and Taehyung had to tell him that they needed a few more minutes. “Yah,” he softly kicked her foot under the table and succeeded in getting her attention. He thought she was going to snap at him or kick him back but she did neither one of those things.

“What?” She replied in a flat voice.

That was unexpected. “Do you know what you want to eat yet? The waiter is going to come back soon.” He announced as he gestured to the book in front of her. Okay, so that wasn’t the real reason he had wanted to talk but what she didn’t know wouldn’t kill her. Arang didn’t say anything as she stared blankly at the closed menu. She didn’t have an appetite. How could she eat during a situation like this? “Fine, I’ll just order for you then.” Taehyung huffed.

He waved their waiter back over and told him what they wanted. For starters, they’d have fried calamari and as for their entrees, an order of the Cajun pasta with shrimp and a plate of the chicken carbonara pasta. He recalled how much Arang loved poultry by the way she had devoured them while the two of them were his friends and figured it was probably his best bet.

Director Wan rely to tell them they she had to get going. “I’ll hail a cab. So here are my keys and my credit card.” She placed the items onto the table before placing a kiss on her son’s head. “If there is even a tiny scratch on my car, you’re dead. I hope you have a good night, Arang. Please try to lighten up.”

Numbly, Arang nodded.

It was really unsettling for him to see her like this. If he was honest, Taehyung enjoyed it more when Arang was quarreling adamantly with him while throwing nasty insults here and there. “You should really stop being like this,” Taehyung prodded quietly. “It’s hard for me to see you like this.” She looked at him with a quizzical expression.“What I mean to say is you acting like this is not fun for me. You’re totally killing the mood right now.” He explained a bit awkwardly.

“Stop,” Arang muttered gently before her face hardened. “Just stop pretending like you actually care about me because we both know that you don’t. It’s already tough for me as it is. I don’t need you here confusing me and make things more complicated than they should be.” The last part of her statement was uttered so softly that Taehyung had barely heard her. He was confusing h