To say that Mark was feeling bad about everything was understatement. If anything, he was beyond guilty. The boy felt extremely horrible. What kind of boyfriend was he to not even be able to protect her from all of the antis? He tried. Mark really tried to ask his company to do something about it. He asked his manager, but it wasn't as if the man could do anything; he was just a mere manager over idols. And so, he went to even plead the higher ups at the company. 

What was their response? Well, it was nothing too unexpected. Of course, the company declined his requests. It wasn't like they were ever concerned about her well-being. They really could care less about what happens to her. The refused each and every time Mark bugged them about the same issue.

They had heartlessly replied to him every time the same way, "You chose this Mark. You insisted to stay with her and since you even fought to make it happen, we aren't going to do anything. Frankly, she is not one our idols nor employees so it is not our responsibility to care about her."

Mark was hurt, frustrated, and angry. How could they be so unsympathetic? "What about morals? Don't you have your own morals to follow? Can't you just be concerned just for the sake of another person's safety? Please."

"We're going to say this one last time to you. We are not going to do anything and that's final. It was and never will be our duty to take care of your girlfriend. Try to bother us about this one more time and we will put you on break."

His hands balled into fists as he felt infuriated by their responses. "You can put me on break, I don't-"

"We will put you and the rest of your units on break. If you up, your best friends will suffer in return. Think wisely."

What could he even do? If he was the only one punished, he wouldn't mind. However, if the rest of the group was to be punished for something they didn't even instigate, it wouldn't be fair to them. Mark would hate himself if he became the reason the others are unable to move further in their career. He hated this so damn much. He just couldn't believe they were threatening him like this. At the end of the day, he had no choice and he knew it'd be wrong to do something that would affect numerous careers due to his relationship with Soojung. 

+++

Mark sighed one more time as he glanced at his phone screen that had just lit up from a few new messages sent from Soojung during his small break from practice. Just looking at her name on his phone made his heart sink. He felt incredibly guilty for the way things had turned out. He was so stressed about work, but he was even more stressed due to his inability to help his ow