[Kris' POV]

                "Kris-sshi, please have a seat," said President Kim.

                He didn't seem to be interested in exchanging greetings, so I just sat down in one of the two seats that were free.

                "Can I ask what's going on?" I asked.

                "I'll explain once Ren arrives," said President Kim. "But on another note...President Lee says you're doing well. EXO is working well."

                "Thank you, sir," I said, stiffly.

                I wasn't sure exactly why he decided to bring up EXO, but I've known the guys long enough to know that they can handle themselves. They didn't need to get involved.

                Before I could fall deep into thought, the door opened.

                "Joesonghabnida," Ren gasped, bowing her head down.

                Struggling to pull herself together, I spotted small areas on her clothes covered in egg yolk and flour. Her hair was flattened down, but it looked like she walked through a tornado before she walked in.

                "Oh, my God; you went through the front?" I asked, standing up and holding her shoulders.

                "Ani, I got off at the side and two of them caught me," Ren said, sadly. "I'm OK though. I'm sorry for being late."

                "It's OK," said President Kim. "As long as you're OK. Take a seat."

                I didn't take my eyes off Ren easily as I sat down. She definitely was strong; I looked into her eyes, and neither of them were red. She didn't cry.

                "I don't think I need to tell you how bad things can get," said President Kim, eyeing Ren, particularly. "There's nothing we can do to stop your fans, but I must compliment you two; you have kept this quiet for a much longer time than I thought you could. However, one thing I think you both would agree on would be to clear the air up. We can confirm your relationship. But the rest is up to you. Security will be there but only during your schedules. Do whatever you think is right to get through to your fans, but unfortunately, that's all we can do."

                I was actually quite surprised. I thought he was gonna try and twist our words and emotions until we decided to break up. But he was actually helping us. None of us really thought too highly about President Kim, but we were all obligated to be nice to him because, at the end of the day, we all answer to him.

                "Apart from that, your members still need you to lead them. And you're all doing well; but you can't let this get in the middle of anything. Your private lives are separate."

                "We know, sir," I said. "But...there's something else you should know."

                "Hmmm?"

                Ren shot her head at me, looking shocked. But after I looked at her tenderly, her face softened. She knew that the other news had to come out somehow as well.

                "We probably don't have to announce this yet but, I think you should know," I said.

                "What is it?"

                "We're engaged."

                President Kim just sat with his mouth slightly open. I'm not sure if he was happy for us or furious about how much more complicated I just made things. But either way, he couldn't make me change my decision.

                "Already?" he asked.

                I took a breath before speaking. "I want to be with Ren. I'm not rushing anything from here, but I want to be with her. That's all there is to it."

                Ren tried to look cheerful, but in front of President Kim, she could only look intimidated. But in my mind, I was brainstorming ideas on how to tone down the whole situation.

                "Well...uh...congratulations," said President Kim. I guess there wasn't much else he could say. "You're not wearing the ring?"

                "I won't," said Ren, sitting up. "Not in public. If we want to keep it quiet, we will. But we are still...getting to know one another. We're taking things slowly, as ironic as it is. But...I think...I think it's right."

                Honestly, I knew it could even be as long as two or three years before we are able to tie the knot. But I knew that proposing to Ren was the only way no one could deny us being together.

                "Well...OK, then," President Kim sighed, with a grim smile. "I've arrangement for you to meet with one of the publicists, Son Yoonji. She'll help you with the details."

                " Kamsahabnida," we both said, standing up and bowing.

                I let Ren walk out first. Once I closed the door behind me, I pulled her into a tight hug.

                "Oh, god, I am so sorry," I breathed. "I should've been down there."

                "It's OK," said Ren, her voice slightly muffled from being buried in my chest. "Security was there. But in the end I actually did end up going through the front. Don't worry about it; it's a given thing."

                "No, but, this is stupid," I said. "If things get worse, we can file a lawsuit."

                "It won't come to that!" Ren exclaimed. "Please, just...let's just clear the air up."

*

[Ren's POV]

                "Unnie!" cried Ruby, running into me and swinging her arms around my waist. "Unnie! What's happening?"

                "Manager Oppa says you're confirming the rumours," said Kimi. "Is that true?"

                Hanging into Ruby, I made eye contact with Kimi. It was no surprise to me that she was the most unhappy.

                "Yep," I said, simply. "But we'll be all right. We already spoke with the publicist. I know it's a shocker, and EXO fans will hate us. And our fans will probably leave us, but..."

                "Forget the fans," said Jaekyung. "What about you?"

                "I keep telling you, I'll be OK," I said.

                "And what about us?" asked Kimi, with a frown. "Is everything that we trained for gonna be thrown away because of people's misjudgement over your relationship? We only have so much control over our music too!"

                "We'll pull our weight," I said, simply, with a frown forming on my face as well. "We hit number one on all four channels. This isn't the time for us to stop. We have to keep going. My relationship isn't going to change that. It'll muck timing a bit, but we're still Crescere, and we will still perform."

                Kimi clearly was not convinced. Honestly, our awkward relationship has been ongoing since our trainee days. Unfortunately, lately, she's been showing it on-camera.

                "Look, I'm sorry," I said. "I've been sorry ever since I broke the news to you guys, but I promised. I promised that nothing would come between the group. And I intend to keep that promise. I get that you're scared, but trust me, I am too. I can't promise that outcome, but I can promise I will do everything to make sure we stick together."

                Jaekyung, Saerom and Hyoim looked weary, but they nodded. I didn't blame them for being weary; in fact, I was grateful they weren't eating me alive for all the trouble we've been in. Kimi could only sigh a reluctant agreement. Ruby just looked up at me with glossy eyes.

                "Only if Unnie will be safe," she said.

                "I will be," I said, softly. "By the way...did you guys know the plan?"

                "What plan?" asked Hyoim. "Kris Oppa?"

                "Yeah."

                The girls could only giggle at each other. I wasn't sure if I should be happy or upset. The whole time I had been stressing and struggling to make ends meet, they were all behind my back helping plan the proposal.

                "And you guys wonder why we're in more than we should be," I grumbled.

                "Cheer up, Unnie! Show us the ring!" exclaimed Saerom.

                "Yeah! He never showed us the ring!" said Ruby.

                I was so caught up with trying to clear the air, the proposal, the ring, and the entire day I spent with Kris all seemed like a blur. I kept questioning myself on whether or not any of that actually happened.

                I put my bag down and dug into the smallest pocket, where I had kept the ring. The members knew that I could not be seen wearing it, so I had to make-do.

                "Oh, my God, that's beautiful!" shrieked Jaekyung.

                "Wah, so jealous!" said Ruby.

                "Yah, you're in middle school; you got ages to go," I said. "Don't rush things."

                "Do you think it costs three months worth?" asked Ruby.

                We all looked at her.

                "My Unnie in US says a man should spend at least three months worth of their pay on a ring," said Ruby.

                "Idols aren't salary people; so it's hard to say," said Kimi.

                "It doesn't matter," I said. "What matters is I can see him without anyone saying anything to change it. If they wanna try to, well then...I'll be risking a lot more than my image to straighten them out."

If it's getting boring, I apologize ><" but i had to clear these parts up before moving on
I'll be working a little more on flashbacks and back stories from here, i think, but Kris and Ren will definitely make headway ^^
I'm thinking of making another couple out of EXO and Crescere; if there's anyone in particular you wanna see, lemme know ^^