Pt. I

Limelight

The sound of the door opening interrupted the music coming from the speakers. Your choreographer stopped the audio from playing just as it was reaching Hyunmi's part. The Maknae look a little more than annoyed when she followed the rest of your groups' gaze to the newcomer. Your manager stood in the doorway, you could tell by his expression that, whatever it was that he needed was urgent. 
When he spoke, it was to your surprise that he requested you to come with him. "(Y/N), Mr. Choi needs to see you in his office," he said, referring to the CEO of the agency you had signed into. 
Bewilderment came across your face and you couldn’t help but notice that the other members looked more than mildly confused as well. Your group had never even been close to being involved in a scandal. The worst thing any of you had done was accidentally swear in an interview.
Seeming to sense your nervousness, your manager cracked a smile as he led you from the room and to the elevator just a few feet down the hall. “Don’t worry,” he said. “It isn’t anything bad. If anything, it should be fun. The only reason we are rushing is because Choi-ssi doesn’t have much time.”
You nodded mindlessly, your heart still pounding against your ribcage. Despite knowing that there was nothing that you could be in trouble for, and despite being told that everything would be fine, your mind raced. What if he was kicking you out of your group? Who would take over then? 
The thought was a silly one and you knew this. You were the head of dance and a vocal, no one could replace you, especially not this close to your comeback stage.
The rest of the trip to the CEO’s office took a little more than five minutes, but it couldn’t have gone by slower. It was like when you got called to the office in school. You knew you hadn’t done anything wrong, but what if you broke some obscure rule...
“Ah, (Y/N). You’re here,” the CEO says, a smile on his face. You see three other people seated on a black leather couch.Two were older men, you could guess that they were probably in their late thirties or early forties. Between them, however, was a younger looking boy, with light brown hair and a rather bored expression. You immediately recognized him as Kim Taehyung of BTS, and whatever the reason that you were called here, you could tell he had something to do with it.
The CEO addressed you again. “Why don’t you take a seat, and we can get started,” he said, motioning for you to take the empty space on the sofa he was occupying. You took it, of course. 
The boy sat across from you, looking down at his hands. Your group, 4ce, and BTS had been on the same music show before, but there was no interactions other than a polite bow and a brief "hello" in passing.
"So," your CEO continued, switching his gaze between the three of you. "We've decided that it would be in the best interest that you and Mr. Kim date."
You couldn't help but make a face. It wasn't a look of disgust, but rather surprise. Wasn't dating something personal? Wasn't it your choice of who you wanted to be in a relationship with? You didn't even have feeling for Taehyung.
The sound of the other man--the one sitting beside your apparent new boyfriend--clearing his throat broke you from your thoughts. "Clearly, your group is getting ready to start promoting your newest single, and, if I'm correct, this is your first actual comeback?"
You nodded in response. 4ce had only debuted six months ago, and your groups EP had done okay, but your fan base was rather small.
"Well my boys are also preparing for their own comeback, and you could both really use a popularity boost."
Again you were confused. Typically if idols began dating, their popularity went down, not up. You didn't say anything, but the three of them could definitely see your bewilderment. 
The man continued on. "Now usually, we tell our idols not to date, and if they do to keep it on the down low, but this...this is something that will get 4ce's name, as well as BTS's name out there before you begin promoting."
You had to admit that it made a bit of sense, and that if people knew your name, you would have some public presence. People would pay attention to you, people would get interested in you.
And for the first time, you were fully on board with the idea. 
It did make you nervous though.
"I'll do it," you said with determination, This was something that would make or break your group, but all negative outcomes were currently being forced into the shadows that the possible popularity would bring. If 4ce made it big, you would be able to do so much more. World tours, fan meets, invitations to variety shows...the list went on.
"Good, and what about you, Taehyung? Do you also agree?" your CEO inquired in a rather serious voice. It was odd to see him like this. Normally, he was a rather silly man, always trying to have fun, always trying to lighten the mood by cracking jokes or something of the sort. Even when signing your contract he hadn't been so...so...business like. 
Taehyung looked up, his bangs briefly falling into his eyes before he brushed them away. A look of uncertainty was fostered in his eyes, his lips were pressed together forming a tight line. It was clear he was weighing his options. 
A moment passed.
Then another.
But then...
"I'll do it, too," he finally agreed. His voice was different. His entire personality was different, really. All the other times you had seen him, he was happy go luck and very, very loud. Now, he seemed nervous.
That didn't keep both business men from nodding their heads at each other and smiling. 
"Good," your Ceo said, once again directing his gaze towards you. "Then your next goal is to go out together and get noticed."
____

You weren't exactly sure why you were so nervous to be out with Taehyung. It wasn't like any of this was real, you were simply walking together through the busy streets of Gangnam, just waiting for some fans to notice.
The two of you had staff back at your respective companies scouring social media for pictures. As soon as they started appearing and spreading, you would get a text, informing you that the mission was complete and you could go home.
Unfortunately, it was currently 1:30 on a Tuesday afternoon, meaning the majority of your fan bases would be either at work or in school. You hoped that someone would notice soon, due to the fact that the sweater you were wearing wasn't going to be enough come sundown.
The late October breeze was already pushing it, causing you to pull your hands up under your sleeves just enough so that your hands were out of the cold and the black fabric would flop over your finger tips.
After the meeting, you were told to go back to your dorm and get ready to go out. Not knowing where exactly the two of you would be going, casual was what you were going for.
Currently you wore a black sweater, the word Meow written across the chest in white with cat ears above is and whiskers to either side. Your jeans were ripped, much to your regret, and for shoes you pulled on lilac converse. 
Before running out the door to meet your driver, you did your makeup and hair. You pulled your hair up into a nice looking ponytail, wrapping a strand around the elastic, hiding it, and left a few strands framing your face. A deep purple smokey eye and black painted matte nails were what completes your look.
Now, the tips of your ears were tinted pink due to the cold as you focused your eyes on the small pebble you kicked with every step as you walked beside Taehyung.
Both of you were, for the most part, silent, but you tried your hardest to keep it from looking awkward. You wanted to make it look real.
You stopped when Taehyung called your name. 
"(Y/N)," he said, grabbing your wrist. "Are you hungry? I know a place not far from here?"
Thinking back, you couldn't remember eating anything other than a banana and a small bowl of strawberries for breakfast before practice. You knew that you should be hungry, but your nerves were keeping you from feeling hungry. Despite this, you gave a light smile. "Let's go then."
The walk wasn't much further, it was maybe three or four blocks before he pointed to a sign and guided you into a small cafe.
The warmth welcomed you, and Taehyung requested a table for two. The hostess was an older man, showing no signs that he knew either of you.
Time passed you by, and the meal went quickly.
When the waiter came to ask if you wanted dessert, Taehyung seemed to back to his normal self, because he responded by chirping a "yes" before you could even process what had just been asked.
Despite the enthusiasm shown by your company, you did not order anything, but insisted that he order the piece of chocolate cake he had been eyeing since the two of you had arrived.
When the cake came, you had to admit that it looked so incredibly good, and you wished (only in the slightest bit) that you had also thought to order some. Instead, you decided to let your eyes wander around the establishment, and that's when you noticed a group of three teenage girls, still in their school uniforms staring at the two of you from their table across the dining room. 
Immediately your eyes went to the boy sitting across from you. 
"Taehyung," you hissed, trying to grab his attention.
He looked up from his plate and to you. "What? Did you want some cake? Here have a bite!" 
You laughed a bit and shook your head. "No, but there's a group of girls over there and they seem to know us," you responded.
Taehyung shrugged, not really seeming to care. "That's what we want isn't it?" He reasoned. "Now do you want a bite of cake? Here..."
What happened next was something you didn't expect to happen. He took a forkful of the chocolatey dessert and held it to your mouth. It was an awkward thing, it was far too close for you to just take the fork for yourself, but it was also awkward because this was the first time that the two of you had really gotten together. You couldn't deny it though. If you wanted this to seem genuine, you would have to just take it, so you did just that.
The cake was good, you had to admit, but the burning feeling on your cheeks was something that you couldn't ignore.
You were never one to blush.
Taehyung laughed once he noticed it, causing you to cover your face, demanding that he stop. "Yah, Kim Taehyung this isn't funny!" You exclaimed, but were careful not to be too loud.
The rest of the time was spent playfully bickering, Taehyung still not letting go of your stupid little blush. When the check came though, so did a certain text.
There, on your screen, was a picture of Taehyung feeding you the piece of cake, and another picture of you with your face covered. Underneath were the words Having fun?
Slowly, you slid your phone across the table for him to read as well. It took him a second to realize what you wanted him to look at, but once he had read it as well, he also couldn't help but have a smile slowly spread across his face.
Mission accomplished.

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
kateun #1
Chapter 3: that girl who tripped her.. something's wrong with her aish
meryljill
#2
Chapter 2: kkk.... i can't wait for the next chapters!!! im loving it already!!! <3
meryljill
#3
Chapter 1: oh my gosh.....this is cute.... kkkk..