C H A P T E R  E L E V E N
conferences and a lack of confidence

 

Three weeks came and went by excruciatingly slowly. Three weeks of speculations three weeks of theories and conspiracies, three weeks of endless pestering from media and even close friends alike. It drove Luhan, Joohyun and Yoona crazy. 

The Lu Telecommunications Headquarters was suddenly buzzing with whispers of gossip and the occasional malice, sneaking glances, heavy stares and even the disappointed puppy-eyed look graced female employees' faces whenever Luhan passed by their departments. Joohyun came to visit once, forced to come just to make their relationship believable, and she nearly feared for her life as she passed by the hallways leading to Luhan's office. 

Yoona was busy arranging and pulling a lot of strings for their press conference. It was the most effective way to get the message across, and also the most costly. Using the Lu family name made it easier though, but the costs she'd have to shoulder because she used the Lu family name made her uneasy, and she didn't have the heart to ask for them to pay because this is her responsibility, after all.

"Look noona, be shameless just this once and ask them to pay you extra. You went through a lot of to make this media stunt happen and even freelance people received payment from Luhan, so why can't you?" Sehun said. He was scanning the total amount of bills they have to pay for the press conference, and with each figure Sehun's eyes widened. It just started with six figures; he didn't even want to know if he can stomach the rest.

"I can't just walk up to him and demand that he pay me extra, can I? It's a small price to pay for the added responsibility." Yoona said firmly, and Sehun laughed at the irony of her words.

"We're going to be bankrupt sooner if you keep doing this." Sehun said, shaking his head.

The date of their press conference came, and strangely, Luhan remained calm for the rest of the preparations. He knew what to say, studied the agenda of expected questions that was given to him and rehearsed his answers. Joohyun was also calm for most of the time, sitting quietly as she waited for the conference to start. Yoona was the opposite of both of them, completely frazzled and worn out as she tried to organize and talk in the most convenient way possible. Sehun was there to help her out, and Luhan noticed that both of them seem to work in synchronicity with each other that they didn't need to talk to know what both of them wanted and what both of them needed to do. A look or even a mere glance at each other and they knew.

"Ten minutes left everyone! Please get ready!" Yoona said over the hustle of the staff and everybody seemed to move a little faster, like they were having a race against the clock.

"Joohyun." Luhan called Joohyun, who sat not far from him and was staring at nothing in particular.

"Y-Yeah?" She said shakily, looking up but seemingly avoiding to look at Luhan's eyes.

"Are you... alright?"

"Does it seem like I am? I'm nervous. It feels like it's real, like we're announcing a real relationship." Joohyun said incredulously, fanning herself with a piece of paper in her hand.

"It's going to be over in a few minutes, trust me." Luhan assured.

"Lu Han and Bae Joohyun, please be on standby. The conference is about to start." Yoona said through their earpieces and Sehun guided them to the side of the stage. Luhan peeked outside and saw a lot of reporters and flashes of white light from every direction, so he retracted his gaze and prepared himself, taking a couple deep breaths.

Joohyun, who stood next to him, suddenly grabbed his hand and held it tight. Luhan was taken by surprise at the action, but eventually didn't mind because it seemed to calm her down. She kneaded his palm and counted his fingers and repeated the series of actions to calm her nerves until they heard in their earpieces that they're going to go up stage.

"Luhan."

"Yes?"

"I'm letting go of all my pride right now, but can you hold me until this ends?" Joohyun asked, her walls brought down and in complete vulnerability. Luhan took pity and nodded as they climbed the short stairs leading to the stage. Their earpieces rang with the voice of Yoona telling them to take their positions at the table and relax.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Lu Han and Bae Joohyun." The speaker called out and they were immediately bombarded with several questions from several voices as well as assaulted with pictures. They were all too stressful and distracting that Lu Han found it hard to actually focus on the matter at hand. Sehun climbed up the stage and asked the media personnel to calm down as Luhan and Joohyun sat in their places. Luhan poured both of them glasses of water and rubbed the small of Joohyun's back, both as a way to make people seem that they are real and as a gesture of comfort.

"Are both of you really together? It seems highly unlikely." A reporter from Osen asked.

"Yes, we have been in a relationship for nearly 8 months." Luhan answered.

"Can you address the rumors about the ring worn by Ms. Bae?" A reporter from Sports Seoul asked.

"The ring was a gift given to me by Luhan, as a symbol of our love." Joohyun answered this time, trying to turn her voice sweet.

"But what is the real implication of it? It's impossible that it's only a gift." A reporter from Dispatch pressed.

"There is no other implication to the ring other than being a gift to Joohyun. Yes it is a gift, a gift of love, a gift of entrusting my life to this woman. It is a gift of engagement." Luhan confirmed, and the place went ablaze with the news of Korea's Most Eligible Bachelor's heart officially taken by an unexpected woman, even though they don't know what really happened behind the closed doors of the restaurant.

"Are you really engaged Lu Han? It's unlikely that you're getting engaged after only 8 months."

"Age doesn't matter, language doesn't matter, time doesn't matter. Nothing matters more than Bae Joohyun. Whether it be the first time I met her or 12 years later, I will still marry her." Luhan said. "We don't want to rush or hurry into marriage because we know it's not a paradise forever, but we are at the peak of our ages and of our careers as well as totally in love with other and we took advantage of that."

"Is this a shotgun wedding? Is Bae Joohyun pregnant?" At this question, Joohyun's eyes widened and Luhan gave her the notion to answer.

"I am not pregnant, and this is not a shotgun wedding. Saying so highly displeases me. Why would you regard my marriage as shotgun?" Joohyun said in the most indignant way she could.

"If this isn't a shotgun wedding, then is this an arranged one?" Luhan and Joohyun tried as hard as they can not to make their gulps visible or audible and sported a sharp poker face as Luhan answered the question.

"No, it is not an arranged marriage. If the thought of the wedding being shotgun displeases Joohyun, what more if it is arranged? I don't know what kind of rumors have spread around but they are certainly not true." Luhan said firmly. Even though Luhan remained firm, the reporters did not. They became all the more doubtful of their answers, like they didn't match what they thought was real. Luhan is sure that nothing escapes a journalist's clutches; they always know what happens, so what he has to do is to convince them that what they know isn't real even though it is.

"What will happen to Lu Telecommunications? To the Lee Group?"

"Lu Telecommunications is still under my father, and it is my father's blood, sweat and tears so it remains under his decision should he make me the CEO or one of its many janitors. As his son, even I can't deny that my father has absolute power." Luhan said.

"The Lee Group is also under my parents' leadership, and they have no future plans to pass it down to me but rather, to our heir." Joohyun said.

"Does that mean that a child is on the way?" Luhan and Joohyun nearly choked at the meaning of the question, however innocent it may be. Although they knew that they have to get married and they knew that they would have to consummate the marriage, the thought of actually doing it and the outcome of said consummation is still something unbelievable for the two.

"No, I am not pregnant nor are we planning to have a child right now." Joohyun said firmly. "We'll take whatever fate puts in our way as it comes and goes, but a child is not yet in our plans."

Yoona and Sehun watched from backstage through a series of TV screens that showed livestreams of the press conference from different broadcasting stations. The former kept looking at every screen with an interval of less than a second and kept biting her nails in nervousness. As soon as the very question she expected came out of reporters' mouths, she nearly screamed, but Luhan and Joohyun handled the situation well and the scream came out as a sigh of relief instead. The media reception and the reaction the presscon received was also what she expected, but she didn't seem to be contented.

Sehun sat down beside Yoona to accompany her and monitor the conference, "See, I told you they'd handle it well. Don't be so nervous, they're experienced in this field." Sehun said with an arm reaching around her shoulders to pull her closer.

"I cannot not be nervous Sehun. My life depends on how well this goes." Yoona said, biting her nails. She welcomed Sehun's gesture and leaned on his shoulders comfortably, but the pressure never left her.

"Give yourself a break noona. They're doing their job, and they're doing it well. It's high time you took a break and relax." Sehun said, putting emphasis on the last word.

"I don't know where I got the courage to accept organizing this." Yoona said and laughed lightly. "But at least I can look at the nice results. The media are certainly going to twist their answers to unpleasant ones, but Luhan and Joohyun are doing nicely. I can actually rest in peace." As Yoona said this, she heard the question about the couple having a child and jolted from her position.

"That was not in the list! Why are they asking things like that?" Yoona said and was about to stand up but Sehun took her hand and gently pulled her back to the couch.

"Listen to their answers. You need to stop acting like they don't know what they're doing. They're doing really well despite the unexpected question. Please noona, breathe deeply and relax." Sehun pleaded. "Don't stress yourself out so much right now because there are other things to plan. I don't want you dying of stress, partly because I can't handle it by myself."

Yoona glared at Sehun and landed a hard punch on his arms, causing him to retract and nurse the pain in his limb, "This kid. You were doing really nicely and I was really about to relax until you said the last part!"

"But you got my point; that's what matters. Don't stress yourself, or Luhan and Joohyun are going to have a sham of a wedding along with their sham of a--" Yoona covered Sehun's mouth with her hand so the following words all came out as gibberish, and the former glared at the latter while doing so.

"Sehun!" Yoona hissed. "Don't bring your filthy mouth to such a public place!"

"Hey, I can't help it if what I say is true." Sehun shrugged casually, which annoyed Yoona. One staff member of the press conference approached them both and asked Yoona to formally end the press conference as well as call for a meeting with the broadcasters and Yoona stood up to follow the staff member to the stage before whispering something to Sehun.

"You better shut your dirty mouth while I'm away, Oh Sehun." Yoona made the 'I'm watching you gesture' and Sehun just winked back in return.

Yoona grimaced, "You greasy flirt. Get your up and help the others."

"The press conference has now ended. Thank you for attending. Lunch will be served in the main hall." Yoona announced through the speakers. The journalists began to fix their equipment and a low timbre of gossip and whispers filled the conference room. Sehun walked up the stage to help Luhan and Joohyun go down and lead them to the main hall before journalists do.

"I'll have a look around. You go first." Luhan said, already looking at a distant part of the hotel.

"Where are you going?" Joohyun asked, perplexed at Luhan's odd behavior.

Luhan looked back at Joohyun and gave her a smile of nonchalance, "I'll be back in one piece, don't worry." Then he set his eyes on Sehun, who gave him a tight-lipped look. "Look after her for me."

As soon as he saw Joohyun and Sehun enter the main hall, he began to walk away and look for Yoona.

author's note;
Hello! after a two-month break, I'm back! Sorry for the long break, I dabbled a bit with writing other ships and other groups, and also because of the EXODUS comeback! Ahhh, I wonder how the whole album would sound if Luhan was still in the group. Anyway, I apologize for the short chapter after coming back. I feel like I just need to cut it here or it would become too long. Please subscribe, upvote and comment!

Update: Lee Fei is now Bae Joohyun, or Irene from Red Velvet. I had to change to fit the redefined plot I have and also because I think it's better for it to be Luhan/Irene than Luhan/OC. Sorry for the sudden change! I hope I'll portray Joohyun nicely and you'd like her too :) 

〔science of deduction♦〕