Chapter 38: Caught

The singer sighed and simply went back to bed, covering herself in her blanket thinking that this was all a dream. But it wasn't. She had to accept the reality that was happening. Her phone started to vibrate violently as a parade of messages flooded in, most of it coming from her boss and company.

"Unnie...." said Hayoung, not knowing what to do. It was a really, really big scandal that broke out in the media and this didn't just threatened Eunji's career but Naeun as well. It wouldn't take long before the netizens find out about her.

"The world really is unfair isn't it, Hayoung-ah?"

"Unnie....."

"To think that they would go this far, and attack the people that I love."

"Eunji unnie....." The younger girl went closer to her, pulling the blankets that covered her unnie and pulled her upwards.

"Hayoung-ah..." said the older girl whose expression stiffened. Her eyes that were once full of life, smiles that gave energy, all of that had dissapeared. She was now, nothing but a grey stone.

"Yes unnie?"

"Do you love hearing me sing?"

"W-What's with the sudden question unnie?" said Hayoung who was flustered at her sudden question.

"Do you think that maybe, I should just quit everything and stop being an artist? The more I walk along this path, more and more people are going to get hurt."

"Unnie. Are you happy with yourself?" asked the maknae. She hasn't seen her this negative before, and she wanted to help her. After all, Eunji was the person who pulled Hayoung out from her darkness. It made her realise things, and she wanted to do the same for her.

"Happy?"

"Do you enjoy this career that gives you no more than three hours of sleep a day? Do you enjoy being stalked around, having people watch your every move? Do you enjoy the fact that people keep nosing into things that they shouldn't? Are you happy like that?"

"Hayoung-ah...." The girl was surprised at the maknae, she had never seen this mature, understanding side of her.

"Unnie. You're going to be the first person to know this because I feel that I wanted to make my own decision for once. I realised that all this while, I was never happy studying law. I was simply doing it for the sake of making you, Chorong unnie, Sojin unnie, everyone else happy. But that's when I realised this was not who I am. Is this what makes you happy unnie? Is being an artist your dream?"

For awhile, there was a momentary silence as the older girl thought for a moment. It was a thought that had never occured to her before, she simply had the goal of attending a music college and suddenly debuted into the scene. Eunji originally wanted to become a vocal trainer, not a singer. But because of her talents, it caught the attention of the public and this was where she stood now. She had never noticed the amount of time she lost, being with the people she loved and losing the amount of sleep she should've had.

"Unnie. I didn't tell you this before but when you told me that you signed a contract with that music company, I honestly wanted to stop you." confessed Hayoung.

"But why didn't you?"

"Because you looked so happy."

"Hayoung-ah..."

"Sorry unnie, I wasn't able to say things from before but I thought I should now. I won't hold back anymore. But with what's happening, you should go to Naeun unnie first." 

"You're right. Those annoying calls from the company can wait. Naeun's the priority." said Eunji as she got out from her bed. It was as if the girl was a little brighter than before after the conversation with Hayoung, there was a light of hope in her eyes.

As the older girl prepared to head outside, wrapped in a black mask, cap and oversized jacket to hide herself, she turned around to the maknae who watched her leave.

"Thank you Hayoung-ah." smiled Eunji as she left the dorm, for Naeun.

The moment the door closed, the maknae who was now home alone again, sighed.

"Looks like Eunji unnie didn't really notice it..." mumbled Hayoung as she walked to her room and opened her drawer, revealing a printed copy of her dropout letter that she printed at the internet cafe. Looking at her completed document, the girl was ready to head to her college. This is going to be her first time since her incident and she did feel nervous. She was unsure if she would get the same, heads looking at her again and people would start whispering. Searching her cupboard, Hayoung grabbed a pair of sunglasses and covered herself in a pink hoodie. Carefully, she stepped outside and quietly walked to her campus, a paper in her hand.

~X~

At Naeun's working place, she was busy painting on a working masterpiece set to be put on display at the Seoul Art Museum. She had been so focused on the project that there was no time to check on the news, meaning she had no idea about Eunji's scandal. While listening to the music played on her favourite stereo, the girl hummed and flashed her paint all over the canvas. It seemed like a normal afternoon in Seoul for the young girl, who was engrossed in her world of creativity.

But everything was stopped the moment someone knocked on the door. Clueless, Naeun pressed pause on her stereo and opened the door only to see Eunji at the doorstep.

"Unnie? What are you doing here?" asked the girl with her eyes wide open. Although strangers probably wouldn't notice but at first glance, Naeun knew it was her despite her efforts to disguise herself.

"You haven't heard the news?" said Eunji, removing her mask.

"What news?"

Eunji sighed as she took out her phone and showed it to her. The big article with bold words written, it was now the most searched on NAVER and Eunji's name as well. The younger girl could only gasped as she read. The moment she tried to use her finger to scroll down, Eunji stopped her.

"Don't. Don't read the comments Naeun-ah." said Eunji, holding Naeun's hand tightly.

"But unnie..."

"This is my fault." sighed Eunji as she sat down.

"It isn't. No one is."

"Well, you can call this pretty much the end of my career. I'm already ignoring the calls from my company." scoffed Eunji as she looked at the ground.

"I..I'm at a loss...I don't know what to do or help you unnie....."

"Netizens are probably trying to search about you now. It won't take long before they find you and know that you're a working artist here."

"Forget worrying about me. I'm worried at what you are going to do now, unnie."

"Remember what I said to you last night, Naeun-ah?"

"What?"

"If I were given a choice to give you or my career, it would be my career."

"Unnie...."

"After all, I originally didn't want to be a singer. I wanted to be a vocal trainer."

"But-"

"Being a singer has given me a lot of benefits but it has made me lose time with people that I love, including you. Working in this field is often stressful and I don't get lots of sleep either. Sure, i get good money but that doesn't matter. I don't need money as long as I have you." smiled Eunji.

"Unnie....if you suddenly give up like that-"

"Naeun-ah, I know you will feel pressured by my sudden decision but I don't want to get anyone involved in this further."

"Are....are you happy with that?"

"Of course. I mean, I won't have to hear nagging from my bosses that's for sure." grinned Eunji.

The younger girl looked at her and wondered how she was able to be so positive in a situation like this. Surely if she was in the same position, she would've broken down or given up. But Eunji was still shining brightly like the sun, not falling down against her opponents. She was definitely someone she looked up too, the girl who was opposite of her own personality.

"If you are happy, then I am happy unnie. But I don't think Chorong unnie would stay still." 

"Ah, i'll just hide from her then." giggled Eunji.

"You probably shouldn't come back for several days." joked Naeun.

The two joked with each other for awhile, before Eunji had to leave for her own battle that was, heading back to her company office and facing her angry bosses as she didn't pick up their calls. 

"Good luck unnie." said Naeun.

"You too Naeun-ah. Just don't look at the comments alright? I think people are going to come after you so be careful and hide yourself well when you come back home."

"I will. Don't worry."

"I'll get going now."

~X~

At a nearby high school, Chorong was busy writing notes on the board while she heard some whispers behind her back. 

"Stop talking and pay attention." said Chorong as she turned her head around with a glare.

"B-But teacher, a really shocking news broke out." said one of the students who held his phone.

"Well now, how shocking must it be to the point that you can't pay attention in class?" sighed Chorong as she walked towards him, snatched his phone and stared at the same article circulated about Eunji's scandal. The girl went silent as she read the first, few sentences and stared at the picture of a not very visible-shadow of Naeun and Eunji kissing.

"Oh? Looks like teacher also is-"

"Well, it must be very smart of you to openly use your phone in class. Consider this confiscated and pay attention. The notes I wrote are important in your upcoming exams." said Chorong, changing the subject as to not be distracted by the sudden news. Placing the student's phone on her desk, the girl continued her classes as usual.

During break time, Chorong headed back to her staff room and placed the confiscated phone at the desk. She couldn't help but to worry about Eunji and Naeun, she wondered how would they be able to handle such situation. Even by looking at the comments, it was filled with a mixture of negative and positive comments. But some comments were rather rude, and deserve to be sued.

"You don't seem very bright today, Chorong-ssi." said Irene as she popped out from behind.

"Oh, you finished your classes already?" asked Chorong.

"Yup. Let's head out for lunch."

The girls had a quick meal at a nearby fast food restuarant where Chorong told Irene about the news. She trusted her and told all about Eunji, the fact that they live together in a dormitory and they've known each other for quite a while.

"Wow, I didn't know you lived under the same roof with artist-"

"Ssh! You're too loud!"

"Ah..sorry. I was just..too excited." smiled Irene.

"You're a fan of hers?"

"T-totally! Her debut song was really good and she has such a wonderful personality. I really love her singing, I've been watching a lot of those singing programs and-"

"Calm down Irene-ssi. I can see that you're a huge fan, no doubt." smiled Chorong. She realised how much impact and popularity Eunji had. It never occured to her, how powerful Eunji's image has become to the public.

"But I can see that this is going to be a huge problem for Eunji-ssi." said Irene as she took a bite from her burger.

"What do you think is the worst-case scenario?"

"I don't want it to happen but, the worst would be Eunji resigning. As in, she no longer becomes a singer."

~X~

Inside the rehearsal room of Dongguk University was Namjoo who spend day and night, preparing for her upcoming musical. She had already memorized her lines and was hard at acting out her roles of her character. Along with her other friends, they only took a break to sip water before heading back. Hardwork, dedication and effort can easily be seen among the students. After all, this was their first ever musical shown to the public and it would be obvious that they were nervous.

"Okay guys, let's take a 10 minute break. We've been doing non-stop for like three hours now." said the teacher.

"Yes boss~" said the students as they gathered at the corner, some laid on the ground flat while others just stared into blank space.

"Everyone is working hard." said Hyesung, Namjoo's senior.

"Of course, it's our first musical. This is like a path to our dream unnie." 

"I know. Just don't overwork yourself, health is the number one priority."

"Got it. I'll head to the restroom first. See you later." said Namjoo as she patted Hyesung's shoulder and left the rehearsal room. Stepping out and finally taking a breath of fresh air, the girl stretched her arms and groaned. It was as if she had been living in the dark, gloomy rehearsal room and wasn't able to see the sun in awhile. Walking towards the restroom, Namjoo spotted someone familiar. A tall figure dressed in a pink hoodie and the way she walked, there was no mistake about it.

"Don't tell me..thats.." mumbled Namjoo to herself as she carefully walked behind the girl. Peeking carefully, it seemed that she hadn't noticed Namjoo tailing her. She followed her and soon, reached the Academics Block. Before the girl in the pink hoodie could step a foot inside, a hand grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around.

"Hayoung-ah!" said Namjoo, facing the pink hoodie girl who was covered in a black mask.

"Unnie..." said Hayoung, quickly putting the paper behind her back.

"What are you doing here?" asked Namjoo.

"Staying at home was boring so I came."

"You should've told me you were coming."

"I didn't want to disturb you.."

"What's that behind your back?"

"H-Huh?" said the girl startled as Namjoo tried to reach for the paper. However, the maknae was tall and simply placed the paper high up so that her unnie couldn't get it.

"Hey, are you teasing my height now?"

"No, not really. Look, I have to do something here unnie."

"Well, you have to tell me what you're doing and what that paper is."

"Sorry unnie, I can't."

Namjoo stared at the girl, she was frustrated. It was obvious that Hayoung was hiding something that she didn't want anyone to know. It was then, it suddenly reminded her of a taekwondo move that Bomi had taught her before. Reminiscing back, Namjoo swiftly placed her foot in between Hayoung's legs that caused her to falter, making it easy for Namjoo to snatch the paper off her hands.

"Unnie!" said Hayoung flustered as Namjoo read the contents of the paper. It was clear that Namjoo's once, bright expression stiffened.

"Hayoung-ah." said Namjoo in a serious tone. Hayoung tried to look away.

"Just what on earth are you doing?"

~X~

Looking up at the building that had a huge billboard of herself, Eunji sighed. It was clear that she was the selling point and treasure of her company. She knew they expected a lot from her but instead, this scandal broke out and it marked the end of everything. Eunji took out her phone and stared at the notification that said "You have 50 missed calls, 200 unread messages".

"Boy, they sure are anxious aren't they?" sighed Eunji as she took a deep breath and headed inside the office. It was time for her own battle, she was ready to get yelled, scolded at. 

"WHERE ON EARTH HAVE YOU BEEN EUNJI-YA?!" yelled a staff member who saw the girl entering.

"You really had us worried. Do you know how many calls we had today from the press?" said another.

"Sorry..." said Eunji as she looked down.

"Let's head upstairs to where the Boss is, Eunji. He said you would come by yourself." said Eunji's manager who appeared.

"You think I might be skined alive oppa?" whispered Eunji.

"We shall see." said her manager as the two arrived at the room.

Before Eunji could even knock, the door opened by itself. There he was, the boss of Acube Entertainment.

~X~

There was a tense atmosphere filled in the office as Eunji and her boss sat in front of each other. It was as if the two were waiting for someone to speak first.

"It's my fault." said Eunji.

"This was really unexpected, Jung Eunji. It surprised me." 

"Sorry."

"So what are you planning to do? There is only so little that we can help. It is the truth isn't it?"

"It is. I kissed a girl and yes, I love her."

"Love is really something..." sighed the man.

"What ideas do you have?"

"Well. I haven't told you yet as I planned to reveal it to you after your break. I originally signed you up for an audition of an upcoming drama-in-production called Reply 1997."

"And what does that have to do in covering up the scandal?"

"Simple. We tell the public that you were filming. Kissing a girl was one of the scenes."

"Wow, that's a blatant lie."

"Then, what do you have in mind Eunji-ya?"

"Sir...I do have one. But I don't think you are going to be happy with this."

"What is it?"

"I'm planning to quit as a singer."

[END OF CHAPTER 38]

Will this be the end of artist Eunji? Looks like Hayoung has been caught red-handed! Thank you for reading and subscribing! Yes, this chapter had a little of Haji moments cause I love this mom-daughter duo haha~ Will have the next chapter up soon :)