Chin tried to swallow the lump in discreetly—-impossible to do when in a room as silent as a tomb. She shifted the tiniest bit, desperate to hide the fact that she was internally screaming in agonizing nervousness.

Bang Shi-Yuk PD-nim was boring holes in her face, contemplating her fate. It could have been minutes, maybe hours. She was frozen under his scrutiny. "Are you sure?" he suddenly asked, his expression not giving anything away.

She tried to inhale as much courage as she could. "Yes. Six weeks." It didn't even sound real to her ears. But it was, very much so.

Frighteningly so.

The BigHit Entertainment CEO regarded her with a careful look, but with crossed arms. "You know I'm not firing you, right?"

Chin's head snapped up. "You're not?" she echoed, confusion and relief washing over her and making her dizzy. Stop it, pull yourself together, she commanded herself.

"Chin-ah, no one gets fired for being pregnant." Bang PD paused thoughtfully. "—-at least not here." He leaned back in his seat and set his pen on his desk. "My concern is how this will affect your work, though. Are you well enough to do things how you usually do them? Or do you need to do something else that will let you stay in the office instead?"

Frowning, Chin mulled over her boss' words. She was an external-affairs liaison manager for one of the company's idol groups, BTS, and it required constant traveling, meetings, and a lot of stress. She loved her job, and she needed the money, especially now. "I can do it," she replied, more to herself than to PD-nim. "I'm healthy, and you know I'm adaptable."

Bang PD laughed quietly. "That you are. The boys wouldn't know what to do without you." His face softened, concern etching his face. He sighed. "Things will change, you know. You're only 24, but there will come a point wherein your body won't be able to handle the work. And when the baby comes, your priorities will be different. Your lifestyle will be different."

Baby. Chin furiously willed her heart to stop pounding. Talking about it was making things a little too real. "I know," she forced out an answer, all because PD-nim was waiting for one. "Please let me work as much as I can, and I'll make sure to prepare for when I need to take leave and have someone replace me. Temporarily," she hurriedly added the last word.

Bang PD regarded her with a serious but fatherly look. "You're one of my best, Chin-ah. And I could scold you until next year for not planning this thoroughly." She flinched. "But it will be our loss if we lose you. We'll work something out. In the meantime, we carry on as always until we need to make changes. Arasseo?"

The lump was there again. Chin swallowed hard. "Thank you, PD-nim. Thank you so much."

He nodded. "Okay. We'll need to inform the managers of your, er, condition so we don't overdo things. You have a doctor?"

Chin blushed beet red. "Y-yes."

He stared are her squarely in the eye. "Are you getting married?"

Tears pricked the back of her eyelids. "No. Sung Jae and I aren't together anymore. Please don't worry about it."

Bang PD huffed. "Of course I worry. You came to us three years ago—you were h