“Now before you say anything – “

“What the heck, Kid?! Leaving the hotel just like that, with no notice, without me or any one of us!” Minsik-Oppa, Chaeyoung’s manager pointed at the few bodyguards that came along on the business trip with her. His tone and expression was a mix of authority, concern and frustration.  He paced around in her suite, hands waving around seeming too jittery top put in one place as it went to ruffle his hair, resting it on his waist, to folding them across his chest.

“No note or anything – just gone! Do you know what could have happened?”

“I’m sorry. It was supposed to be a quick one. Walk a few blocks from here and stop by that convenient store I saw before and then back here again – that was it!” Chaeyoung stood up from her seat on the sofa and shrugged her shoulders.

“I think you missed out the walk in the park with Miss Suzy - or is there anything else I’m missing from your itinerary, Miss Ma’am.” His said pointedly with a tinged of sarcasm which made Chaeyoung clam and narrowed her eyes accusingly at him.

It turned silent at that moment. Awkward silence strained the room as one of the guards in a breath and widened his eyes at the burn. The other guards had a similar reaction with less surprise and wished they had disappear not wanting to be in the room so they all decided to look elsewhere.

Chaeyoung pursed and puckered her lips before them and scoffed, a bit embarrassed.

“That was a spontaneous meet up. Where I have no idea she was going to be there, Oppa.” Putting up her hand. “I swear.”

“Then you should’ve been responsible enough to know when to cut things short.” Minsik responded which earned gasps from Chaeyoung and a tiny one from that one bodyguard who quickly hid himself using his hands.

“Oh, you did not just say that.”

“I did and I hope that hurt.” He said with a monotone expression.

Chaeyoung really wanted to strangle all the sass right out of this man. Yes she made a mistake, yes she might seem irresponsible but…

“But it was Bae Suzy.”

“And?”

“Who in their right mind would turn down Bae Suzy?!” She opened her hands with an ‘are you serious?’ look. This happened to get some support from Oppa bodyguards who nodded their heads but was cut short by Minsik-Oppa’s narrowed eyes towards them. Whistles and uncomfortable coughs escaped their lips as they turned elsewhere to avoid his piercing gaze.

“They get it!”

“That’s them, this is you we’re talking about!”

“Yes, that was a bad comparison. I realized that now –“ Chaeyoung blinked immediately.

“Not even close to your situation here. Very, very far from anywhere close to it.” Her manager sat across from her at the other long leather sofa of her suite. An arm swung rested behind him and one leg crossed the other.

“I know, god, I know.”

Chaeyoung exhaled, only momentarily looking down to her fingers and them up to Minsik who gave her an unreadable expression.

She didn’t want to ask, but she believed she couldn’t run from it either way. It stuck at at first but she forced it out, almost not believing how she could as without her voice shaking.

“Did the boss reached you about this?” And before she had a solid answer from him, she already knew he had from this one look of his. It was something of a ‘What do you think?’ and a “I can’t even begin to explain.’

“He did, didn’t he. Oh god my contract is terminated, hasn’t it? He’s throwing me in the gutter – my future and my career is over – I’m a dead woman.” The girl panicked, spitting words one after the other as she stood up with an arm hugging herself in a sense of security. “I let my friends down – my family – I should have followed with the other plan by at least getting a degree if things didn’t work out like my old man advised me but noooo I am so determined I was going to succeed without this path crashing and now it has and I’m doomed –“ Her voice cracked and she went pacing around the sofa she sat previously. Clearly hyperventilating, not hearing the people around her hushing her. The few bodyguards tried to stop her from moving around but she pushed their hands away. Her eyes started tearing up when Minsik-Oppa stopped her by the arm.

“Kid – Kid! Calm down.”

“I can’t breathe.”

“Whatever you are thinking about it’s not gonna happen! Far from it.”

As he said that, tears had already spilled down her cheeks and nose filled snot dripped. Her shoulders tensed as he let him calm her down. She sniffed and wiped her nose.

“Breathe slowly. Okay? Calm down. It’s alright.”

He gestured for her to mimic the way he breathed and she followed through. After a while she nodded. Rubbing her hands, she cleared .

“So what do you mean?”

-

-

Morning came after the whole chaos of a night. Chaeyoung was having her morning breakfast, sat at the outer side of the hotel restaurant. After berating where they wanted to sit, she felt like she needed some fresh air.

Her sunglasses propped onto the bridge of her nose whilst she looked at the waiter who came by gesturing the coffee she had requested earlier when she entered the area. Tea or Coffee was the questioned. Nodding at the man with a polite smile as he poured the liquid into her cup.

Chaeyoung took in the aroma of caffeine, it passed through her nostrils and somehow her taste buds igniting every fiber of her being. Which in turn put a smile up to her face, bringing the small cup and blowing into it slowly. A wisp of smoke floating around her face, warming it up and she accepts it wholly. Eyelids flickered once she noticed the man responsible of her waking up early in the morning with little to no people were at the restaurant as it was still barely bright.

The morning sky was as blue as the ocean as can be, even bluer. Birds chirped happily she assumed or could be passed as a hungry call as they