The lecture dragged on in a way that made Hyerin actually wish she was pretty much anywhere else then listening about politics from probably the most pretentious  man she has ever had a chance to meet. He was babbling on and on how their generation would never rally in protest these days and despite disagreeing on the topic Hyerin had no desire to get caught in a discussion with a man who wouldn’t change his opinion no matter how many good arguments the other person had.

As Mr. Kim continued to speak from his incredibly high horse Hyerin’s mind wondered of to the message Hwang Minji sent her. I have an amazing story for you, it read and Hyerin could perfectly picture her boss typing that up while sitting in front of her computer, looking over the photos of whatever ‘proof’ one of her lackeys had managed to gather up this time with a satisfied smile on her lips.

Gossip, very true to its name, was one of the grossest excuses for journalism Hyerin had the displeasure of reading. It was also her workplace she tried to hide from everybody that went to university with her. She knew they wouldn’t judge her for earning money but the mere fact that Gossip published articles with titles along the lines of ˝Person A was seen glancing at person B. Have they been secretly dating this whole time?˝  made Hyerin ashamed to tell anybody that her works were getting published even if it could give her extra credit with some professors. But on the other hand Hyerin needed money and Gossip was the only place that would hire her and was willing to not make her miss any of her lectures. That was probably due to the lack of effort it took to write the garbage the published.

But no matter how distasteful every aspect of working for Gossip was, quitting wasn’t an option. Coming from a family of six with one paycheck and three kids all of which were going to university meant that Hyerin had to roll up her sleeves and up the humiliation of working in a place that spit into the face of professional journalism with every article published under its name.

Once the lecture was finally finished with Mr. Kim asking if anybody had any questions only to be answered with silence and everybody trying to avoid making eye contact with him Hyerin tried to gather her belongings as quickly as possible in order to hide somewhere in order to call Minji and find out what the story she’d need to write was. Before she could do that Bae Joohyun had turned to her and asked, ˝Are you free today?˝

˝I’m not sure yet.˝

Somebody else might have pried more but if there was one thing Hyerin liked about Joohyun it was that she didn’t ask any questions despite Hyerin’s sometimes a tad bit suspicious behavior. Instead Joohyun said, ˝Some people were planning to go to some newly open bar tonight and they asked if we would come. So just tell me when you find out and I’ll let them know if we’ll go.˝

Hyerin pulled her lips into a well practiced smile. ˝Sure. I’ll tell you as soon as I find out.˝

Sometimes Hyerin wondered if Joohyun was aware that the propositions to hang out outside the university were aimed solely at her and pretended not to notice, or if she was blissfully unaware of it. Whichever it was Hyerin couldn’t help but feel a smidge of pride about the fact that a large factor in Joohyun’s answer to those questions was if Hyerin would go with her. It might have been a selfish thing to feel but Hyerin felt that she had the right to be selfish even if it was in that one instance.

Hwan Minji, just like always, looked impeccable as she slowly sipped her macchiato and typed on her phone while she waited for Hyerin inside a coffee shop. Hyerin took a deep breath before approaching the older woman.

˝Hello,˝ she greeted as she sat down opposite of Minji.

˝Hey.˝ Minji smiled at her. ˝How’s it going?˝

˝Good.˝ Hyerin nodded along as she answered. Her sister had told her once that it made her look like a bubblehead of like she was trying to convince herself that she was telling the truth. Hyerin never bothered asking which one of those two options was worse.

Minji clasped her hands in delight. ˝Well then I hope you’re ready for more good news.˝

˝I sure am.˝ Hyerin could only hope that she had gotten better at acting from that disastrous time she decided to join her high school’s drama group.

Minji leaned over the table and Hyerin had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at the gesture instead of mimicking it so she could hear what the older woman wanted to say and quickly leave. ˝I’m guessing you know who Oh Sehun is?˝

One would have to have been living under a rock not to know. The boy’s or man’s (Hyerin didn’t know how old he was) face had been plastered over every magazine cover, billboard and commercial for the last few months. She nodded in answer to Minji’s question dreading whatever the model had done to end up on Gossip’s radar.

˝And Kang Seulgi?˝

Hyerin probably wouldn’t have known about the solo idol if Joohyun wasn’t an avid fan. Nonetheless, she nodded in affirmation once again.

˝They are dating.˝ Hyerin wasn’t sure what reaction Minji was hoping for so she offered nothing but another nod to witch her boss huffed. ˝Sometimes I wonder if you’re even interested in celebrities.˝

˝I am.˝ It wasn’t a complete lie. Hyerin was interested in celebrities but only at things that involved their jobs and not what they did in their own free time. After all, one of the first things she learned at university was that journalists needed to report on things that were important for the public and in her own opinion celebrities consensually hooking up with other celebrities was very low on that list.

But then again moral compasses didn’t pay rent. And maybe Hyerin wasn’t that good of a person anyway.

The empty word document taunted Hyerin from her laptop that she had pushed to the other side of the coffee table in an attempt to get it as far as possible from herself even if it was only physically. Yet, the blank page wouldn’t leave her mind and let her watch the cheesy drama reruns that were playing on the television in peace.

She got up to make coffee for herself while trying to not think about the lecture her mother would give her if she saw her drinking caffeine after ten p.m. As she waited for the water to boil Hyerin’s mind kept going back to what nobody with a functional brain cell would consider iron clad proof of the two celebrities dating.

The low quality pictures showed Sehun and Seulgi walking side by side inside some supermarket. The two did look pretty close but nothing that crossed limits of what Hyerin would consider friendship. Then again, the general public didn’t care much for reasonable explanations and instead preferred to jump onto conclusions to spice up their boring lives.

By the time her coffee was made and she was seated in front of her laptop Hyerin wasn’t any closer to writing down anything about the celebrities whose public image’s she might taint in a week when the article hit the public.

Hyerin spent another half an hour writing and deleting words until the point she wanted to rip her hair out from the roots. Before she could do something as drastic as quitting from Gossip she reached for her phone and called Joohyun.

The bar was nice. The walls were decorated with various album covers of artists that Hyerin didn’t recognize, the music wasn’t deafeningly loud and the people from their university were more welcoming than Hyerin had imagined. All of that mixed with her third gin and tonic of the night were doing a good job of keeping the article she’d have to write sooner or later out of her mind.

But if there was one thing Hyerin was certain of at that point it was that peace was something she wouldn’t have in a long time. And much to her surprise nobody other than Oh Sehun and Kang Seulgi walked into the bar. She could hear everybody around their table commenting on the two celebrities but she couldn’t focus on anything else except how she might get a bonus if she provided more evidence for the article.

She remembered somebody telling her that inspiration was a wild and unpredictable thing and in that moment she couldn’t have agreed more.

_________________________________________________________________________

✉(A/N).

I know it’s been a long time coming but finally the first chapter is here. I hope you like it!

( h a r l e q u i n. )