"Hoonie, why are there so many reporters?" Jinwoo asked while hiding behind Seunghoon at the baggage belt. Seunghoon shrugged and glanced at manager hyung who was visibly shaken by all that sudden media attention. For someone who has seen hordes of fans and reporters for Big Bang, this should be next to nothing. However the number of reporters waiting like a pack of wolves outside for the rookie, wait, not-yet debuted group was literally unheard of. What's going on?

"Yeobuseyo? Yea Sachangnim, what? What pictures? Byul?! She is resting in Osaka." Manager hyung's face turned pale while he frantically switched on his iPad. His mouth was agape as he scrolled the exact same pages Byul had scrolled through 3 hours earlier. "I will bring the boys back now."

Manager hyung stared straight at Seunghoon and frowned. He didn't really do anything wrong right? Just lending a helping hand to a fellow co-worker. But unfortunately, things always get blown out of proportion in this industry. 

"We have to go back to the company. Stick close together.  The airport has sent some security officers to us to the van."

"Waeyo? I thought we were getting a day off in our dorms?" Mino protested loudly but soon stopped his questions once he saw his hyung's stern and serious expression. 

"What's going on hyung? " Yoon leader persisted.

Manager hyung sighed and passed the iPad to him. Yoon's eyes widen to that of dinner plates and he called s over. 

"This is ridiculous! She fainted and was injured so I carried her to the van. What's so wrong about that? Stupid netizens!" Seunghoon fumed while throwing his hands up in the air and then grabbed his hair as they came back down. 

"There's nothing wrong hyung, just that we are celebraties... we are seen and viewed differently. We don't own we anymore ya know?" Yoon leader mused, "let's just go back and see what the company's gonna do."

Seunghoon calmed down and nodded at his leader's words. The security officers arrived and the Winner boys steeled themselves for the onslaught of unwanted attention. 

"Seunghoon! Was the girl you carried your girlfriend! ? I heard she's your manager?"

"Oppa! You are ours! You cannot date her! Or anyone else!"

"Did you reject her? Was that why she cut her wrists?"

"Oppa! You should date someone better! Not a tomboy like her!"

"Oppa! She is a ! Don't believe her!"

"Did she die?"

That just did it for Seunghoon. Something snapped in his brain and he was about to unleash his fury onto the crowd when someone placed a firm grip on his arm.

"Don't say anything,  don't make matters worse. Let's go now." Jinwoo shouted at Seunghoon over the din of the crowd. He really was the mat-hyung at that moment and Seunghoon allowed himself to be dragged to the van like a defeated corpse.  

_________________________________________________________________

"What is this?" YG asked in a low voice with his eyes closed and arms folded while seated on the black sofa in his office. 

"Can someone start talking?" YG's voice increasingly rang with surmounting irritation. 

The Winner boys and their manager stood in front of their CEO with their heads down. Seunghoon cleared his throat and stepped forward with a slight bow,"Sajangnim, it's just a case of me helping Byul to the van when she fainted in the waiting room at the fan meet in Osaka."

There was complete silence after Seunghoon's declaration and anxiety hung in the air. 

Finally YG's word slice through the thick intense atmosphere. 

"How's Byul?"

Not expecting him to ask after Byul, Seunghoon stuttered,"She's got a fractured ankle and cut palms. The doctor said she will be fine after 2 week's of rest."

"And why would you be the one to tell me this? Shouldn't it be manager who reports this? How did you know?"

Seunghoon gulped and s glanced at one another furtively, not daring to make any large movements or sound.

"I followed Byul and manager to the hospital. It's not manager's fault. I insisted."

Manager hyung mentally face palmed himself.  Pabo Seunghoon. As straightforward as ever.

"And why would you insist on following them to the hospital?" YG looked at Seunghoon like a lion who has just caught a deer. 

Seunghoon was stunned by the his boss's question and could not response at all. 

Yes, why did he insist when manager hyung was there to settle everything with another coordi-noona?

"I'm... I'm not sure, because I was worried? I mean anyone would be worried right? She fainted right before my eyes."

"Why only you? What about the rest?"

Seunghoon could not answer. No answer. Only thick silence. 

"Alright, all of you can go except for Seunghoonie and manager." The 4 Winner boys bowed at YG and quickly scooted out with worried looks. Jinwoo looked at Seunghoon and wished him good luck.

"You know that our artistes are not allowed to date until allowed to right?" YG asked curtly."And you've not even debut yet. You can still be asked to leave you know?"Seunghoon looked at his boss straight in the eye and responded calmly," Byul and I are not dating. She's the manager. Besides, she's lesbian right?"

YG nodded. "So you know that. Well, she may or may not fall in love with you but that doesn't mean you can't fall in love with her?" Seunghoon couldn't quite comprehend his boss's statement and looked to manager hyung for help. 

"Minwoo. You should know how to handle this. Think of your response to the media and let me know." Manager nodded and bowed as YG made his way out. 

Seunghoon bowed and stood there for a long while before Minwoo hyung shook him to his senses. "Are you alright? Don't worry, we've had worse scandals in YG so yours is a small matter."

"I know hyung, I'm just worried about Byul. She's all alone right?" Minwoo sighed and shook his head, not getting a good feeling about this.

"Look Seunghoon, don't do anything ok? Just let me handle it. Go practice your rap and dance." Seunghoon nodded absentmindedly. 

_________________________________________________________________

I arrived at Incheon Airport on a red-eye flight early next morning. My ankle was hurting like crazy but I was determined to get back to the company to settle all these ridiculous crazy nonsense.  I was surprisingly calm and determined as my taxi weaved its way through Seoul's maddening traffic and arrived at the iconic YG building.  

 "Hyung, I'm back. Meet me in Winner's practice room right now." Stepping through the sliding doors, I glanced at the posters of the artistes adorning the company's walls and saw Winner right at the end of the corridor. My boys. 

"Byul! Why are you back!?" Hyung yelled at me, "You should be resting, not hobbling around on one good foot."

"No biggie hyung, you mother us too much. I'm tougher than anyone of you," I chuckled in my usual sardonic manner and pointed a cryptic finger at the boys.

"Hyung, if she is well enough to slam us, she is well enough," meanie maknae jeered. 

I rolled my eyes at his pathetic attempt at a comeback and said,"Let's plan the media response together. I'm kindda involved in this too right? Just slap those netizen es in the faces with my ual orientation. Who knows one of them might be interested in me?" And I finished off my suggestion with a wink. 

Minwoo hyung gave me a cryptic look that said,"Are you freaking kidding me?" I shot him an equally confident look that I'm 100% certain of this. Nobody will ever like me anyways I figured. 

"Guys, I don't think that would work," interrupted Mino who was busy scrolling through his phone,"our fans' SNS websites are flooded with photographs of Byul during her high school days.

.

Double .

Who the hell recognised me? My past self wouldn't even recognise me now!

And before I could get over this surmounting panic, another piece of news sent an avalanche of nerves all throughout my body. 

"Looks like someone attended the same high school as Seunghoonie hyung..." Taehyun drawled lazily as if that piece of information was just about the weather.

Seunghoon stared at me with the obvious questions hanging over his head. 

I never wanted to run away so much before.