15. Rumor Has It

Pairing: Seulgi and Jimin [Seulmin]

Concept: Idol!Au

Note: [definition of "rumor has it"] a way of conveniently approaching an opinion or rumor without making it sound like you're the only one who thinks it

[Completed]

It was the second strike. By the third, there wouldn't be anything left to save or justify.

Seulgi hesitantly glanced to her side.

It was the second time and yet they still had to explain themselves like kindergarteners who got caught doing something bad. It was the procedure for any type of rumor that lasted over a few months and Seulgi knew how necessary it was but it had been going on for two years now. It was getting out of hand.

Seulgi knew how ridiculous it was but she couldn't explain why this was happening, how exactly did it start, who started it and when it started precisely. It was all a mystery to her. She just knew at some point that she would be associated to this man until one of them would be caught in a dating scandal with someone else or worse, until the end of their career. They were exactly there to prevent that.

"Hey," Jimin said after a while.

Seulgi fully turned to face him.

"Do you know when we'll be able to leave?"

Seulgi shrugged.

"They said it wouldn't be long," she added to not look too stuck up. Seulgi always kept her answers short with Jimin in case they would find something weird in them, twist her words and hold them against her. Who was "they"? She didn't know, she simply made sure whoever wanted to frame Jimin and her into a relationship wouldn't have any proof.  This whole story made her a bit paranoid, her whole career was at stake after all.

Jimin nodded.

The first time they met to clarify that they weren't dating to Seulgi's manager and SM's representatives, she thought that he perhaps felt as uncomfortable as her to be entangled in this situation and wanted to apologize (for what? Once again, Seulgi didn't know. It was just in her nature to apologize for something she felt a little bit responsible for) but Jimin looked rather calm. He didn't look nervous like her, well not in front of her manager or the representatives, he was only nervous when he arrived in the waiting room and had to introduce himself for the first time. Seulgi had pointed out back then how ironic it was that the first time they met without their respective groups was to prove that they weren't dating but Jimin hadn't laughed very much.

In the span of two years, not much had changed. It was still so awkward between them although Seulgi had to admit there was more flow to their exchanges now. They used to bow to each other all the time, avoid looking at each other in the eyes and stutter whenever they talked. There was just something so embarrassing and awkward in having to constantly see someone that they were considered in love with and that they didn't know much at the same time. Seulgi and Jimin just became used to it at some point.

But this didn't change the fact that Seulgi couldn't really understand how people misunderstood them for a couple, it was truly beyond her. She was aware of their supposed couple items and she had seen those hundred article headlines about how they were probably going to get caught soon but the reality was that they had never done anything a couple would.

"Do you know if it will be long?" Jimin asked her again.

"They said they just wanted to confirm with us another time. I doubt it will be long," Seulgi reassured him. "Hm… Jimin," she called hesitantly.

There was also this: she was older than him but he was her senior in the music industry which made their relationship even more ambiguous. Jimin had insisted that she called him however she wanted to not make her uncomfortable but the burden only became heavier as Seulgi didn't know what to do.

"Yes?" he said as his face noticeably lit up. Jimin pushed himself a little closer on the bench to hear her better. It was one of those rare times Seulgi called his name. 

"I wanted to ask you if you perhaps knew about the reason why we're here."

Jimin frowned.

"We're here because your company cares about who you date and that's why we have to tell them that we are not dating. Like last time," he said a bit confused.

"No, I mean the real why," Seulgi explained. "How this all started. How the rumors brought us to this point."

"Oh…" Jimin scratched his head. "I'm not sure."

"Because if you think about it, it does not make sense," Seulgi turned to face him. She seemed a bit livelier and agitated than before. "We have been promoting together since a long time ago, right?"

Jimin nodded.

"But the rumors started in 2016, right?"

Jimin nodded again as he scooted closer.

"I tried to search a bit about it and nothing goes back before that," Seulgi said as she took out her cellphone. "I am used to it now but I was very surprised back then to see that every time I looked up my name, yours would always follow somehow."

"Yeah, I noticed too," Jimin said a bit embarrassed.

"What do you mean? My name does not appear after yours when you search for 'Park Jimin' though," Seulgi blinked in confusion. "I don't think it even appears at all."

"Really? I-I thought maybe it did too," Jimin said with an unconvincing laugh that Seulgi brushed off.

"But the worst is those things," she said as she showed him her phone's screen.

"What is that?" he squinted to see better. Seulgi told him to come closer.

"It's what I think they call shipping videos," she hesitantly said. 

"And what does that mean?"

"They are videos that are meant to show that we are a blind item."

"Videos to show that we are dating?" Jimin frowned. "How?"

"That's how they find and share the proofs," Seulgi answered. She was even more restless than before as she tried to explain to Jimin what was truly happening and how they were the victim of a strange situation. "The m