“So what are you two going to do?” Soo asks as we – the three of us and Yoongi – gather around in the living room. I remain silent as I know what reaction my words will bring.

 

“Byeol?”

 

“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell Namjoon, turning away.

 

“PD-nim should be thinking of denying the reports,” Yoongi says thoughtfully, his eyebrows furrowed.

 

“No.” Namjoon’s response is straight to the point. “Byeol, tell me you’re not agreeable to that too.”

 

My silence must’ve answered his question because he grabs my arm and forces me to look at him. “Oppa, nothing is more important to me right now than maintaining your image. Besides, we’re just denying the reports, not breaking up.”

 

“But you’re going to stay away, aren’t you? How different is that from you leaving me? Let’s just take the chance to go public.”

 

Public. This word scares me so much that I almost jump for joy when Namjoon’s phone rings. I cheer internally at not having to respond to his comment.

 

“Let’s go,” Yoongi stands as soon as Namjoon says ‘Yes, sir’ into the receiver. Furrowing his eyebrows, Namjoon, too, stands and holds out a hand to me.

 

“I’ll be back…” I tell Soo with despair as I head out. Downstairs, Yoongi leads us to his car.

 

“Hurry get in,” he instructs, climbing into the driver’s seat while Namjoon takes the seat beside him.

 

“I’ll go separately.” Has no one thought about what people might think if they see a girl with Namjoon now? This itself might cause quite a bit of commotion, not to mention the chaos if anyone were to see us going into the company together.

 

Despite setting off a bit later, we reach at about the same time. I alight at a more secluded area around the corner just as Yoongi pulls over in front of the cab. Casually passing by them, I have to squint through his car’s window to see his signal of exaggerated hand gestures. They then drive in and pull up right by the main entrance to gather attention of the reporters there. While everyone’s preoccupied with the idols, I sneak in through the side door. We meet up again outside Bang PD’s office.

 

Silence, silence, and more silence. Everyone’s been quiet ever since we sat down in the office, Bang PD included. We’re just exchanging eye contact waiting for someone to speak up first.

 

“I know you’re not going to agree with me if I tell you to break up,” Bang PD says finally, his words aimed at Namjoon.

 

“No, sir.”

 

“But now is not the time to publicise your relationship.” Bang PD has a strong aura around him and his seriousness is not helping his stern appearance.

 

“I know, sir.”

 

“So let’s just stay silent on this.”

 

“Yes, sir. Wait, what?” Namjoon’s eyes widen.

 

“It’s probably for the best,” I agree cautiously, my face probably overflowing with guilt.

 

“But I need to both of you to stay low for a while until the hype dies down.” Bang PD looks between Namjoon and I.

 

“I understand,” I tell him. Even without him saying, I already know that I would have to keep a distance.

 

“Great. Now that this is settled, let’s all get back to work.” Bang PD claps his hands twice and chases us out of the room.

 

“That was… unexpected.” I look up at Yoongi.

 

“What now…?” Namjoon asks, the peculiarity of what just happened stumping even his IQ148 self.

 

“I have to go to school,” I say, mentally rolling my eyes as I start walking towards the lift. One of the two guys grab my arm and I’m surprised when I turn back to see that the hand belongs to Yoongi.

 

“There are still reporters outside.”

 

I take a moment to consider how that would affect me leaving this building.

 

“You should call someone over. Woong, maybe?” This suggestion comes from Namjoon, but I shake my head.

 

“Seob’s already outside.” I end with a sigh, showing them the text message I just received from Soo. Honestly, I still don’t understand why everyone is fussing over me so much. I mean, people don’t even know what I look like! Before I can explode with annoyance, I quickly take my leave and exit through the side door again to where Seob is waiting.

 

“You don’t look okay,” is the first thing he says when he sees me.

 

“I need my caffeine kick.” I rub my temples and motion for Seob to lead the way. Taking the bus, we head for my favourite book café downtown hidden away from the crowds of usual heavy human traffic.

 

“One iced caramel macchiato and one mocha ice-blended,” Seob orders as I go search for a quiet corner inside. Sinking into the sofa seat, I rest my head on the table while attempting to soothe my headache with the soft music playing in the background.

 

“Noona,” Seob takes the seat across the table as he slides my drink over to me.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Noona,” he calls me again. I raise my eyebrows at him, ready to scold him if he asks an annoying question. Observing my expression, he carefully asks, “Can you help me with my Math homework?”

 

I almost burst out laughing. “Why not? Let’s take a look at it.”

 

“Here!” Heaving a sigh of relief, he pulls out his workbook and flips to a dog-eared page. While we sip our drinks, I help Seob with his homework as if today is just another normal day.

---