The Incident
The BodyguardThe weeks following the outburst (nicknamed “Solar-gate”* by Hyunwoo) went by in a stony silence between Solar and Moonbyul. The bodyguard performed her duties as expected of her but did not interact with the idol at all, making sure to vacate the room or slip away through her entourage when she arrived. Wheein had noticed that after “Solar-gate”, Solar was more herself and a lot less snappy, as if she had just needed to let off some steam but she also wondered if this was because the lack of interaction with her bodyguard meant a lack of snide remarks. Whatever the case, they had a more subdued Solar to work with in the last few weeks.
And this was because Solar herself had been feeling guilty and rather embarrassed about what had happened.
Okay, she was mortified .
She was a fully grown adult and she had thrown a tantrum at another fully grown adult over the latter just doing her job. She still had no idea why she had been so angry and she had spewed such poison at the bodyguard.
It wasn’t like her at all.
Solar wanted to apologise but she wasn’t even sure how to go about it when Moonbyul was doing exactly as she had demanded and was essentially avoiding any interactions, averting her gaze immediately when their eyes met and would blend into the background, leaving just as she realised her presence. And yet the ex-soldier would seemingly appear out of nowhere right when she needed something; whether it was water, tissues or a coat - handing it to her and slipping away before Solar could even thank her, let alone apologise. Although a tiny voice in her head reminded her that she lost all courage at seeing Byul trying to evade eye contact and her completely impassive face.
But then just over two weeks of an almost unbearable stalemate later, Solar finally got a chance to look deep into Byul’s eyes.
Solar was performing at a music programme along with several other artists and a few complaints had already been made regarding a flaw in the stage design, where the edge of the stage that led to the stairs were covered with a thick carpet, making it incredibly easy for the artists to slip. There had reportedly been a number of close calls during the dress rehearsals already but the set managers had brushed off everyone’s concerns. And anyone who knew Solar, knew that she could be clumsy as hell.
So, perhaps it was inevitable.
Just as Solar finished her set and was walking off waving at her fans, she missed the step and…
She closed her eyes, fully expecting this to hurt.
But instead she landed safely into a pair of strong arms, as if they had been waiting for her.
Solar’s eyes snapped open in shock and finally met the deep dark ones she had been chasing for a fortnight.
Her breath caught, much like the first time; not only at the proximity of them, but also the concern shimmering in them…
... before Moonbyul immediately slid it all behind her emotionless mask and carefully lowering her onto her feet from the bridal style hold she had caught her in, disappeared smoothly behind her entourage that ran over and crowded around the blushing star.
Wheein later informed her that Moonbyul had warned her about the near accidents, having witnessed one whilst doing her security checks, and when Wheein’s complaints to the set managers had fallen on deaf ears, the bodyguard had taken it upon herself to hover near the steps just in case. Eventually, it hit the news that one of the girl-group idols did end up slipping off the stage and down those steps, injuring her back.** And Solar knew, her whole company knew, that it could have been her. She had wanted to thank her and apologise but once again Byul was harder to get a hold of than smoke.
The bodyguard was starting to frustrate her in a different way.
Then one afternoon less than a week later, Solar was about to leave a studio after filming yet another variety show (seriously, Eric’s schedule had been relentless) and in a scary deja vu, had wanted to stop and greet her fans, who had once again bee
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