We need to talk.

Yes. Minju did need to talk to Baekhyun. She wanted to grab him by the collar and ask him what the was going on. She wanted him to answer why she was dragged into this mess. 

But of course, she didn't do that because she found her feet glued to the ground. Move! She commanded to her legs but they wouldn't. She wanted to glare at Baekhyun but her eyes betrayed her, staring at him like she saw an angel. 

He got up from his seat and gestured for her to sit down. Minju managed to shuffle to the seat across his, still in a daze. She didn't sit down. His eyes moved to her face and then to his feet. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Imagine Minju's surprise when he gave her a 90° bow and whisper-shouted 'I deeply apologise for causing you trouble!'

Her eyes widened in shock and she awkward moved her hands to stop him. "NO! NO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO!" Wait. He did need to apologise. And why the hell were they whispering? 

She noticed people turning to stare at the odd character in front of her and quickly made him sit down and did the same. She fiddled with her fingers, struggling to find something to say.

"Mr Baekhyun... w-why are you here?" Her eyes flicked to his face and back to her fingers in a nanosecond.

"I'm here to apologise." She heard him say after a beat. "I-It was never my intention to cause you harm. I'm sorry that you got tangled in this mess."

Minju stared at him in awe. She wondered how a person could be so different than what they seemed liked just seconds ago. Judging by the way he looked at her a few minutes ago, she thought he would eat her alive.

"Ma'am?"

"Uh... what? Yes." She cringed internally. She saw Baekhyun staring at her oddly. Great. Now he thinks I'm an idiot.

"Your name is Namgoong Minju, right?" Before Minju could ask how he knew, he nodded towards her apron. Oh, her nametag.

"Don't worry, I didn't do a background check on you." He said with a light chuckle. "I just asked the manager to call the person who did a delivery after midnight on Wednesday. I told her you dropped something outside my house."

Minju awkwardly returned his smile. "And you are Byun Baekhyun." She said stupidly. Kill me now. 

Baekhyun lightly nodded and, after a few seconds, said, "I actually have to talk to you about this... issue. You probably don't know this but I was completely uninvolved with the announcement Kwon Seri made. It came as a shock to me as well. Once again, I apologise for bringing you trouble."

"Oh." Minju looked at him in surprise, not knowing what to say.

"But," Baekhyun continued, "since it's something that the public is now involved in, it's not going to be solved easily. Therefore, I and my manager would like to have a talk with you in regards to this matter."

Minju's mouth dropped. "Now?"

"Whenever you have time, of course."

And that's how she ended up agreeing to meet him at his house on Sunday morning. Baekhyun left after thanking her but her mind was still buzzing. She didn't know if she did the right thing. She wondered if she should have just splashed a glass of water on his face the moment she saw him as Sua told her to. She couldn't even think of doing that now. Not after how polite he had been throughout their meeting.

He'd offered to wait until her shift was over but she had declined. She couldn't do this without talking to Sua first. Also, she wasn't comfortable with going to an unfamiliar man's house after midnight, no matter how much of a fan she was of said unfamiliar man.

That night, she went home and dialled her best friend's number as soon as she finished getting ready for bed. Sua was... surprised, to say the least.

'WHAT THE ? HE CAME TO SEE YOU? DID YOU SPLASH WATER ON HIS FACE? WAS HE HANDSOME?' were some of the questions she asked Minju.

'I know. Yes. No. Yes.', were how Minju's answers went. 

The girls conversed for hours before Minju tired fell asleep, her thoughts still not progressing the fact that she had met her only idol.

Minju woke up at noon the next morning, happily snuggled in her blankets. She knew it was late but the heaviness in her eyes kept her from getting up. Deciding to take advantage of the day to fullest, she buried herself deeper into the covers. Oh, the satisfaction of sleeping in was incomparable. Her happiness didn't last much longer as she was woken up by loud knocks on her door.

She crawled out of the mattress in a hurry, falling down twice while trying to stand up. Barely fixing her shirt, stumbled to the door which sounded like it was closer to falling down than ever with each knock.

Minju unlocked the door and peeped through the narrow opening fastened by the chain lock. It was the landlady.

"Hello, Auntie!" Minju said while hastily sliding the chain lock open. "What brings you here?" 

Minju recalled her paying the rent for the previous month in advance, and the next rent wasn't due until ten days later.

"Hello, my dear." The landlady replied with a smile not reaching her eyes. "I'm... afraid I'm here to give you bad news."

More bad news. Minju didn't even watch the news often. Why was she suddenly a bad news magnet?

"You know how this building is almost fifty years old. And I honestly haven't been able to maintain it at my old age." She paused. "Some government officials contacted me to say that they have to bulldoze the building to construct a new road. I tried to protest but they told me the previous owner constructed the building illegally and that it isn't in standard condition. They said I have no choice but to evict all the occupants in three days, otherwise, they will forcibly seize the building. I'm so sorry, my dear.

What? Minju couldn't believe her fate. First, she was taken advantage of by people she didn't know and now she was being kicked out of her house. Isn't this too much? Why me? She wanted to cry out but stopped herself when she looked at the landlady's face. The poor lady looked awfully guilty.

"Did they offer you compensation?" Even situations like these, Minju still had the heart to care about others.

The old lady broke into a sob of exasperation and slapped Minju's shoulder. "Stupid girl! You should be worrying about yourself!"

Half an hour later Minju was sitting on the ground eating breakfast. Well , she thought to herself as she chewed on her cereal.

The landlady told her that she didn't have to pay the month's rent. She said she felt extremely remorseful and that was the least she could do for Minju, for which she was very grateful.

Minju called Sua and gave her the news. With her shift starting in a couple of hours, Minju freshened up and took a quick look at her books. 

The day passed in a frenzy, and Minju found herself on her way back home. Home for three more days at least. Or was it two days now? Sua had texted her in the evening that she would accompany her to her appointment with Baekhyun. Minju told her it wasn't necessary but Sua insisted. According to Sua, Minju was a 'newborn fawn' who didn't know how to walk yet, and she was there to guide her.

Morning came faster than Minju expected she found herself busy getting ready. A call from Sua indicated that she was waiting for Minju outside the building. Minju hastily applied eyeliner and mascara, for the first time in a while. She didn't know why. Or at least she pretended not to.

"What are you wearing?!"

"What are you wearing?!"

The two girls shouted as soon as they saw each other. Minju stared at Sua, slack-jawed. Sua was adorning the most expensive-looking outfit Minju had ever seen. She was dressed in bright red pants under a frilly white shirt and a matching red blazer. Her white stilettos made her a couple of inches taller than Minju, and her makeup, oh God her makeup. Her red lipstick could kill men and women alike. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

But awfully inappropriate.

"Minju what is that abomination of an outfit that you are wearing?", Sua asked, scandalized.

Minju pouted defensively and looked down at her clothes. What was so wrong with her jeans and plain shirt? The shirt wasn't even old. She got it for free at the college fest that was held a month ago. And her tote bag was spacious and pretty. She got that at the fest too.

But Sua was up for no arguments and dragging Minju back to her room. Fifteen minutes later, Minju was dressed in a pink printed T-shirt and a white miniskirt. 

'The shoes can stay'

'Thanks, you gave them to me for my birthday last year'

'Exactly'

Sua looked out of the window and whistle when they reached their destination. "You weren't kidding when you said his house was huge."

They got out of the car and rang the bell. Minju shivered as she remembered the last time she came to Baekhyun's house. The intercom beeped and Baekhyun's voice sing-sang to them to 'wait a second please!'. Minju tried not to dwell on how cute he sounded. Tried. 

As they made way to the door, Minju's hands started shaking, finally realising that she was about to meet Byun Baekhyun. Her heart leapt up and down in anticipation. Thank God he was an actor and not an idol who gave her boyfriend fantasies. Otherwise, she would have been dead by now. She had already made herself look like a fool the two times she had met him, she didn't want to again. Confidence is key. Confidence is key. She chanted to herself the slogan which Sua had taught her in the taxi.

The door finally opened and a smiley Baekhyun greeted them. "Hello. You're here sooner than I— whoa." Baekhyun stopped talking as soon as Sua came into view. 

A pudgy little man appeared from behind Baekhyun, "Is she here?" He then also caught sight of Sua. "Whoa." Minju assumed he was Baekhyun's manager.

"You are...?" the manager asked timidly.

"Greetings," Sua said as she took off her sunglasses. Wait... where did the sunglasses come from? "I'm Namgoong Minju's legal representative, Kim Sua." She her hand out for a handshake. Her chin was so high, she probably couldn't even see the little man.

"N-no!" Minju exclaimed as she pulled Sua's hand down, thoroughly embarrassed. "I brought my friend along. I hope you don't mind." She placed her hand on Sua's protesting neck and pushed her head down to a bow. Minju looked up and shot a sheepish smile when she saw Baekhyun looking extremely amused.

"I don't mind at all. Please, come in."

Minju ignored Sua's glare and pulled her inside. She looked around the house as Baekhyun lead them to the sofas. The house was huge indeed. It was like every house of a rich person she'd seen on TV. Chic furniture and sparse decorations. She wondered what it felt like to live in this big house, all alone. At least, she assumed Baekhyun lived alone, considering that he'd invited Kwon Seri over for some fun times. Ugh... thinking of that woman brought a bitter taste to .

"Please make yourself at home.", Baekhyun's manager said as they both took a seat on probably the comfiest sofa Minju had graced her derriere on.

"Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffe—" the manager had taken a seat across them and was asking when Sua interrupted.

"Do you have wine?"

"..."

"Aha-ahahaha." Minju pinched Sua's back but she doubted she even felt it through the thick material of her blazer. "Oh! What a jokester she is! We'll just have water, thanks."

Baekhyun, who was waiting like a nice host at the side to take their order smiled at her awkwardly and disappeared into the house.

Minju turned to Sua and glared at her with enough intensity to make herself look like an angry puppy. 

What? Sua mouthed innocently.

I'm going to kill you. Minju replied through her smouldering gaze. Or at least she thought.

"Ahem." The girls finally remembered the person in the room with them. A few more awkward minutes passed as they exchanged forced smiles with the manager and sat in silence.

Minju took a breath of relief when Baekhyun finally appeared with their precious water. When they finally settled themselves, the manager introduced himself.

"I'm Kim Jaegook, Baekhyun's manager and CEO. You can call me Manager Kim.", he said handing both Minju and Sua his business cards. QM Empire.

Minju looked at him, surprised. "Oh! You are a CEO, we can't possibly address you as a manager!"

Manager Kim waved his hands bashfully, trying hard but failing to hide his pleasure at Minju's comment. "Oh. No, no! Manager Kim is what I'm comfortable with!"

Minju smiled and her eyes flicked to Baekhyun, who was looking at the man with proud eyes. Anyone could tell how much liked his manager.

Sua killed the mood when she asked "There's no office address on the card. Why?"

"O‐oh right. That's because I'm the only employee and Baekhyun is my only artist. We're a two-man company."

Stale silence hung in the room for a second and Sua diverted the topic. "So, what did you want to talk to us about? You know we don't want Minju to be involved in this 'scandal' any further. Her identity was used without permission to fraud the public. That's a crime punishable by law. I've heard from Minju that your side wasn't involved but there must be something you can do about it."

Manager Kim sighed and tensely replied, "Yes, I am aware that Kwon Seri's agency has committed a crime but you must know that Baekhyun was also used without his permission. The only action we can take is to sue them, but unfortunately, we'd be on the losing side. That agency is famous for having connections with the law."

"Can't you just deny it? Can't you just say that she was mistaken and we're not dating?" Minju asked.

Manager Kim and Baekhyun both awkwardly shifted at that. "Yes, uh, about that... that is actually the reason we called you here."

Minju listened puzzled, indicating them to continue.

"We actually can't do that. We want you to pretend to be dating Baekhyun, at least for a little while."

"What do you mean?" Sua asked before Minju could.

Baekhyun spoke up this time. "As you might know, the scandal... our scandal has gone extremely viral. I'm not sure why, but it has really exploded. I guess people find it that two seemingly 'normal' people got famous because of Kwon Seri." Minju noted how Baekhyun pronounced the name with great difficulty.

He continued, "You might have already seen parodies and advertisements that have been made using us as inspiration"

Minju nodded. She did see those. It had already been three days but she was still on top of the search rankings. She had seen too many 'for-hire' ads saying 'Find your dream man at XYZ Restaurant!', with the poster showing different types of animated women in helmets.

Minju frowned, "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Manager Kim answered her question. "You see, this scandal has also brought our Baekhyun some fame. We've already been contacted by five advertising agencies and three drama producers. They all want him to advertise chicken restaurants and the drama roles are either chicken restaurant owners or chicken restaurant employees."

Minju almost gasped in shock. This is was great! Baekhyun would finally be recognized for his talent. Her fangirl heart was crying.

"But we didn't accept any of those offers, of course."

"YOU DIDN'T?! WHY?!" Minju exclaimed. She realised far too late how weird she was acting. Everyone was staring at her, weirdly. Great.

Baekhyun laughed awkwardly, "We just didn't want to use you. That would make us the same as everyone else. And criminals, that too."

"But! If you were to kindly give us consent, we would be extremely grateful!" Manager Kim continued for Baekhyun.

Minju was elated. She was happy that she could help Baekhyun advance in his career. And the pretend dating didn't sound half bad either. She mentally slapped herself for thinking that.

"Of course you c—", Minju felt a slap on , a physical one this time.  It was Sua.

"At what cost?" She asked sternly. "You don't honestly think she'll let you use her for free!"

"It seems like she will—"

"Not under my watch!"

Minju tried to move Sua's hand but her grip was iron tight like she knew Minju would spout more nonsense as soon as she let's go.

Baekhyun and the older man looked at each other and seemed to come to a conclusion. "Name your price."

"One billion won." 

"..."

"500 million won."

"... I believe you are overestimating us, Miss."

"Alright, alright! 10 million won."

"... believe it or not, that's all of my savings."

"Well, what can you offer? Why ask such a question if—"

Minju somehow managed to free of Sua's hand in time and interrupted, "My dorm fees! Pay my dorm fees for each month until I graduate!"

All three pairs of turned to look at her in surprise. Minju peeked at Sua to see if she disagreed but she didn't seem to protest.

After a few waited breaths Manager Kim announced, "It's a deal!"

Minju got into the uber that was waiting for her and Sua outside the house. Baekhyun closed the door for her and waved goodbye as the car drove away. If it was under different circumstances, Minju would have been on cloud 9, but now she barely paid attention to Baekhyun's blinding smile. Her attention was focused on the far too heavy piece of paper in her hands. DATING CONTRACT.

What had she gotten herself into?