It’s been a tranquil few days, the public eating up my statement like it’s a Thanksgiving turkey. I’m now strapped on the backseat of Byun Baekhyun’s van, heading to his first public schedule ever since the drunk driving article came out, to make sure that he doesn’t say anything wrong in front of the public.

He’s leaning lazily against the car’s window, on his phone instead of sleeping, even though it’s four in the morning and that’s the only rational thing anyone with a schedule as packed as his can do. Jessica is sitting next to him, asleep with no make-up on, looking more tired than Byun Baekhyun himself. Minseok is sitting shotgun, and Seulgi couldn’t come along because she had to cover for Yeri’s sick make-up artist for her MV shooting today.

It’s the perfect kind of quiet with a low-volume song playing from the radio, the sound of Jessica’s breathing slowly but surely lulling me into sleep along with her. Until my phone rings, that is, earning me an annoyed glare from Byun Baekhyun.

“I’m at work,” I answer as quietly as I can, tired that he’s already picking a fight with me when the sun’s not even risen yet. We had a fight last night before he had to take a flight to Singapore for work, because he thought that I shouldn’t be working in an entertainment industry with all the troubled men and women around me every day. He’s especially upset that I’m working for Byun Baekhyun, because he thinks that the man is too manipulative and charming for his liking.

We had to cut the fight short because he had to board the plane, and it’s amazing how he managed to stay upset for six hours because I’m pretty sure he’s just landed in Singapore.

“This is exactly why I hate your job even more! You don’t spend enough time resting and is already up to chaperone a grown man at four in the morning. Are you a hundred percent sure he’s not interested in you?” I groan, and that earns a concerned look from Minseok who is now staring at me from the rearview mirror, and I duck my head down to avoid unwanted eye contact.

“You’re being ridiculous, babe, I don’t even look half as good as all the other people he’s working with. Can you just drop this, please? You’re embarrassing me,” I whisper-scream, covering my mouth with my free hand, agitated that Junmyeon is being such a child.

“I know men, Seyun. You can look like a plastic bag and they’d still want to you.” I can practically picture the annoyance on his face.

“Are you saying that I look like a plastic bag?” I unconsciously raise my voice, and this wakes Jessica up, making me feel guiltier than I already am by disrupting the silence that had been so tranquil previously.

“No! I would never date someone who looks like a plastic bag, what do you take me for? Why are you being so dense, babe? Just,” he pauses to take a breath as if I am the one that’s being a difficult little child, “just quit your job. I earn enough for both of us, you can stay at home and shop for as much as you want to!”

I’m pretty sure the rest of the car heard Junmyeon’s thundering wrath, and I quickly end the call before he says anything that might embarrass me even further. Pressing my lips together, I try not to let my emotions get the best of me and turn my phone into silent mode.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb,” I apologize tiredly, eyes looking down in shame. I can feel Byun Baekhyun’s dissatisfied glare at me, and it’s hard to not swear at him and tell him to mind his own business.

“It’s fine. You should get some rest too,” Jessica smiles reassuringly at me, before snuggling against the car seat to return to her dreamland.

“I knew you were a , but I didn’t know you were a pushover too,” Byun Baekhyun says after a beat, and it takes everything in me not to kick his pretty face into the ground.

***

Byun Baekhyun debuted at the young age of seventeen, propelled into the music industry after a talent scout spotted him as a vocalist on his local high school’s band. His debut album sold more than a hundred thousand copies, and that pretty much helped with his presence in the entertainment industry for the years that came after.

What made the nation love him is the fact that he debuted looking like a boy who could live literally next to your house, but sounds like something else altogether. His looks, when transformed, is loved by men and women—especially when it’s so drastic compared to the innocent and cute image he portrays without the glitz and glam. He’d charmed his way into being the nation’s sweetheart, who eventually grew up to be Asia’s pride.

Two years later, he debuted his first Japanese album, which was an absolute hit in the neighboring country, and that cemented his first step into the worldwide entertainment industry. The way he eases and morphs into all kinds of concepts earned him thousands of love-calls and invites to appear in various fashion events from all over the world, which eventually caught a film an American film director’s eye, and landed him the role that lasted him for a life time.

His English was subpar, to be honest, but he somehow managed to catch the world’s attention by playing a supporting role as this Asian nerd in this sci-fi movie that the public still continues to rave about. He played in the franchise for six long years until his character eventually gets killed, and to this day, the fans are still playing with the idea to bring him back into the franchise.

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