The camera stopped recording, but everyone stood frozen in silence.

Seung Hee's heartbeat was so loud she knew everyone could hear it, and was dry again. Worse, Min Woo was looking at Yoongi oddly, puzzled.

“What?” asked Yoongi.

“It's just...” said Min Woo slowly, trying to find the right words. “It's just that I've never seen you… I mean, you've never showed so much care about anything before...”

“Care?” said Yoongi. “I don't take care of people.”

“You take care of Seung Hee and the members of BTS. I think, Min Yoongi, that there's a lot more to you than meets the eye. Not to be rude or anything, but I used to think that you were a cold selfish bastard – but now you're just a plain old bastard.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” said Yoongi sarcastically, and Seung Hee erupted in laughter – Yoongi's expression was priceless!

Min Woo turned to her. “You, too. I thought you were some spoiled, superficial teenager but it turns out that you're quite cute and innocent, huh?”

Yoongi put his arm around her in an almost possessive gesture. “We should get going...”

She bowed and said goodbye to Kim Min Woo, and Yoongi gripped her by the wrist and pulled her along to the dressing room. His mouth was set in a tight line, so Seung Hee didn't dare ask what was going on.

They sat side by side to get their makeup removed in silence. She longed to talk to him, but she could see him biting his lip and the steely look in his eyes, and knew the best thing to do was to leave him alone.

After she changed back into her sweater and jeans, Yoongi took her hand and they left. She expected him to go to the car or the van, but he wrenched open an empty room and pushed her inside roughly.

“Yoongi, what-”

“What the hell did you just do?” he demanded harshly, and he was so angry that she felt afraid. How strange… the last time she had been afraid of him seemed ages ago, and it felt so strange to be afraid of the person you love and trust...

“I d-don't-”

“How could you sign that contract?”

“I-I wanted to help...”

“Did I ask for your help?” he shouted. “Everything is even worse now!”

Yoongi pulled out a paper from his coat pocket. “Do you now what this is? It's your diet – the agency wants you to look like a girl group member!”

“But-”

“It starts with diet, then they tell you what to wear, how to behave, and they will take over your entire life.”

“Let me speak!” she cried, anger getting the better of her fear. “They're not going to do any of that. It was just for a day-”

“It's not just for a day.”

“It is! Manager Woo-”

“Did he tell you that?”

She nodded hesitantly.

“Well, he just tricked you. The contract states that you will work for them for 'as long as deemed necessary by the company.' They will never let you go.”

“But Manager Woo-”

Yoongi exploded. “He made you sign a SLAVE CONTRACT! He took advantage of your stupidity! What part of this do you not understand?”

“But...” said Seung Hee slowly, bewildered. “What do they want from me?”
“Money – that's all they want from anybody. They sold me, and now they're going to sell you, too.”

Understanding dawned upon her. “You mean I… I won't be able to get out of it?”
He nodded, and she began to cry even though she had a feeling that he would get madder. She cried for her stupidity, her innocent belief that she could actually help him.

It took a while for him to pull her to him, but when he did he it was like he wrapped her in a warm blanket of comfort.

“You dumb kid,” he whispered, but there was no more anger.

“I – I just wanted to help...”

“I know,” he said, patting her back soothingly. “I know...”

 

* * * *

 

Manager Woo caught them as they were going to the van.

“You!” he hissed, his face white with rage. “You just sent the entire world mad!”
Yoongi opened the door and tried to push Seung Hee inside, but she refused and stood by him as Manager Woo went on.

“You just made everything worse, Min! What the hell were you thinking to talk about her like that? Do you think people will leave her alone after this?”

“I told the truth,” said Yoongi. “I did nothing wrong.”

“You know how this industry works, Min, and believe me when I say that you really put your foot in it.”

She waited for Yoongi to defend himself, to say that what he did was right, but he didn't. He did not say a word, even when Woo said, “Don't blame me if you can never return to the stage again, you hear me? I did everything I could.”

Throwing Yoongi one last hard look and ignoring Seung Hee altogether, he left to go talk to the director.

“What was that about?” she asked anxiously. “What did he mean?”

“Nothing.”

“He meant something,” she insisted. “About you on stage...”

“It doesn't matter...”
“It does matter!”
“Not now it doesn't!” He glared at her. “What matters most right now is getting you out of the slave contract.”

“That's impossible,” said Seung Hee.

He shrugged. “Not if my plan works.”
“You already have a plan?”

“It may not work, though,” he warned, but he knew that his plan was bound to work – sometimes contracts could be broken without involving a court.

 

* * * *

 

 

Seung Hee let Mr Shin inside that evening. “Did you get them?”

He held up three large shopping bags in reply and she cried, “Thank you so much!”

She took the bags and Mr Shin said, “You made the right choice.”

“You were right," she said. "It would be bad for Yoongi's image if I go around in my usual clothes. Did I give you enough money?”

“You did – listen, I bought clothes a girl your age would wear, but more, you know, sophisticated.”

“That's perfect, thank you.”

She pulled out a white shirt with ruffles along the neck and the sleeves, with black buttons with a silver outline. It was cute – and reminded her a bit of the dress Yoongi had bought her.

Yoongi had been really mad back there, and he had dropped Seung Hee at the dorm and drove away again. She hoped that by the time he got back, he had cooled down a bit…

Mr Shin gave her a notebook. “That's for you to record what you eat everyday. Once a week, you'll be weighed and measured, and a trainer will be assigned to you.”

“You mean like a dance trainer?” asked Seung Hee.

“No, a physical fitness trainer. He'll help you get a good body through exercise and he's really good – he literally designs idols' bodies.”

Even though she had to go on a diet and exercise, she was beginning to get excited. “This is almost like being an idol!”

Mr Shin smiled. “Would you like to be an idol?”

“I can't sing – or dance.”

“That's all right, and the company already has big plans for you. You and Suga will become the star couple of Hallyu. What do you say?”

“I'll do it!” she cried, and added, “For Yoongi.”

Mr Shin chuckled. “You really like him a lot, don't you? You know, I've never seen him behave the way he does around you – you're amazing.”

She blushed and he laughed and said goodbye, that he would be coming the next day.

She ran to Yoongi's room with the bags and took out all the outfits and spread them out on the bed, getting more and more excited.

The BTS members wandered in once, curious, and she shooed the five out and heard them get back to their video games.

Those clothes! They were things she had never worn before but longed to – crop tops, high-waist jeans, a black leather jacket, silk sweaters. She held each outfit against her and looked in the mirror and after a while she noticed someone watching her in the doorway with his arms crossed against his chest – when had he opened the door?

“Yoongi!” she sang out, and skipped to where he was standing. “Look! I have a lot of new clothes and-”

“Who picked them out?”

Seung Hee, caught up in her own joy, did not notice the danger in his tone.

“Mr Shin,” she replied. “He told me that I should start dressing carefully, and he got me these. Isn't that nice of him?"

“You two got pretty close, huh?"

“I just met him today but he's really nice. And he's funny.”
“I see...”

“Yoongi, please don't buy me chicken or Oreos again, ok?”

“But you love Oreos!”

“I know, but I have to be careful about what I eat now.”

“Says who?”
“Says the company. And I'm going to have a trainer and-”

“You changed,” he said, and his voice was so low she could hardly hear him, and at last she noticed that his eyes were burning with new anger.

“Y-Yoongi-”

“Just one TV appearance and you think you're some kind of star?”

“It's not like that-”

“Just one TV apparearance and all you care about now is how you look?”

“No! I'm doing this for-”

“I thought you were different,” he said tonelessly. “I thought you didn't care about fame or money – but I guess I was wrong. Did you like me just because I'm famous?”

“I-”

“You did – you are just like those other people. I was never a person to you.”
With that, he turned his back on her, and left her, stunned and speechless.

Why was he acting like this? Didn't he know that she wasn't doing all this for herself? It was all for him! She was trying to be the kind of girl who was an equal to him, whom people would approve of. She wasn't like those other girls he had talked about – she wasn't! All she wanted was to be good enough for him...

She had half a mind to go after him and explain, but she didn't. How could he misunderstand her? Didn't he know her? Well, one thing was for sure: she wasn't going to apologize, she had done nothing wrong.

Since it was 8:00 PM, she decided to just go to bed – she didn't want to eat dinner with them, she didn't want to see his face. At 8:30 PM though, the door opened softly and she thought it was Yoongi. But it wasn't – it was Jungkook.

This was worse than Yoongi coming here…

“Go away,” she said, her voice muffled.

“Come eat,” he said softly.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Not hungry.”

“Not hungry or you don't want to see Yoongi hyung?”

“Both.”

“Come eat, Seung Hee. You shouldn't skip meals at your age.”

Why was he acting like this? What a hypocrite…

“Why are you doing this?” she demanded. “Why are you nice to me and then backstabbing me, then coming back as though nothing happened?”

“I know what I've done now,” said Jungkook. “And that's why I'm going to fix it.”
“How?” she demanded.

Silence.

“See? You don't know how! You don't even have a plan!”

He sighed. “Shall I tell Yoongi hyung to come here?”

“I hate him!” she cried. “I hate Min Yoongi! He's so arrogant and assumes things about me and doesn't even let me explain!”

“He told me what happened.”

"He told you?” she asked suspiciously.

“I know. I also couldn't believe it, but he came to my apartment tonight and told me to come back.”

“How can you face any of us?” she demanded. “How could you come back?”
“Because I'm going to fix things. I promise. I'll set things right again.”
“You're too late for that,” she said.

“Do you want me to call him here?”
“I told you I hate him! I thought he knew me… so when you two talked, did he tell you why I'm suddenly concerned about my image?” she asked, so angry she had to keep talking. “No, right?”

He smiled slightly. “You tell me why, Seung Hee.”

“It's for him,” she said furiously. “People know me now, and I have to look good so they think that I'm a good match for him. I don't want him to be ashamed of me. Actually, I always thought that I'm not good enough for him – I try not to, but that's how I feel.”

Jungkook stood up. “You already are – in fact, I would say you're too good for him.”

He waited for her reply. After a while, she just said, “Could you go now? I really want to be alone.”
Jungkook nodded, understanding. Today had probably one of the worst days in her life – she appeared on TV, unknowingly signed a slave contract, and fought with Yoongi. All of that in just one day.

He knew that no one had forgiven him, that no one would ever look at him the same way again. But he had meant it when he said that he would fix it – or at least try to undo the damage he had done as best he could.

 

* * * *
 

Yoongi just didn't know anymore. Did Seung Hee want to become a public figure or not? If she did, why had she been crying about the slave contract that morning? And the next time he saw her, she was all excited about the plans for her new look.

He took out a copy of her contract, and smiled grimly. Even if she didn't like it, he had done what he believed was right – he was not going to allow her to sell herself to that agency without a fight.