“I cannot believe this,” Taeyeon proclaimed loudly, waving about a cup of hot coffee dangerously, “I cannot believe this. Our resident ice princess is actually developing a soft spot for a person? And a reporter at that!”

Sulli tittered nervously as she tried to rescue her burning muffin from the 15 years old White House oven, which had been malfunctioning for the past quarter of its years. It was a miracle no one had been struck dead by its radiations yet. “Is he cute?” she asked distractedly as she juggled the piping hot muffin from hand to hand.

“He’s a bastard,” Tiffany declared. She then Jessica and frowned, “And I can’t believe you would actually like a person like him! Do you know how badly he and Jonghyun fell out?”

Jessica rolled her eyes, took a sip of her Lipton tea, and said exasperatedly, “Has no one been listening to me to the past few minutes? I said I don’t like him.”

“He’s cute,” Taeyeon informed Sulli.

“But still a bastard,” Tiffany added in.

“So he’s a cute bastard,” Sulli mused on that for a second, at the melted chocolate chips that had gotten on her hand, “Sounds like a handsome rogue.”

“Why do I even bother?” Jessica murmured into her cup as she leaned against the counter, resigning herself to the gossip that inadvertently descend every Wednesday afternoon. Put 3 or more White House secretaries in the pantry, and you would have yourself a party.

Of the most juvenile kind, Jessica thought. Because who in the world still gossips about who-likes-who at this age?

“One day, Sulli,” Taeyeon shook her head, “One day, we really have to bring you to meet him. I can’t believe you haven’t met him yet.”

“I have seen his pictures though,” Sulli pointed out. She then added thoughtfully, “And he looks cute in the pictures too.”

“It could have been photoshopped,” Tiffany planted doubt and suspicion like a master.

“Nope,” Taeyeon was quick to unravel Tiffany’s hard work, “He’s cute in real life too. I’ve seen him.”

“He is a bastard.” Tiffany nonetheless stubbornly insisted.

“Is that all you are going to say, Tiffany?” Taeyeon passed a slice of homemade avocado sandwiches to said woman.

“It’s true,” Tiffany said with conviction in between her bites, “Jonghyun seldom gets that pissed off.”

“Probably a fight over football or something,” Taeyeon brushed it off easily, “You know how men are.”

“Jonghyun likes Arsenal,” Sulli observed, “And I have heard that Onew likes Manchester.”

“See!” Taeyeon triumphantly crowed, “Nothing more than football rivalries.”

“No,” Tiffany said, “I know it in my guts that it’s something big.”

“You have been wrong about your guts many times before, Tiffany,” Taeyeon said.

“Not this time. I know for sure,” Tiffany said, “Onew is a bastard.”

Sighing, Jessica finally entered the fray. She could bear it no longer. While she didn’t particularly think this was a topic worth debating, she could not stand having a poor man’s name slandered before her anymore.

“He is a rather nice guy, Tiffany,” Jessica said.

And for the first time in this entire conversation, three heads snapped to look at her and Jessica finally felt that she was not just some invisible man sitting in.

Taeyeon and Sulli exchanged knowing looks and (goddamn annoying) smirks—she did not like Onew for goodness sake!—while Tiffany gasped loudly, looking at Jessica as if her mind was addled.

“Jessica!” Tiffany exclaimed.

“I have spoken to him on multiple occasions, which is more than I can say of any of you,” Jessica continued mildly, “And I think Onew is rather nice.”

“True love has spoken,” Taeyeon dramatically declared, “Our Jessica has finally found a man worth her love and attention.”

Sulli smiled, delicately picking off a piece of muffin, “How sweet.” Jessica did not know whether she was referring to Taeyeon’s delusion or her muffin, but she did not care enough to find out either way.

“Onew is a rogue, Jessica!” Tiffany said urgently, “Please don’t let yourself get swept off the feet by him.”

“Tiffany, I am not about to have Jonghyun act as my ‘nice guy’ barometer,” Jessica started peeling her orange, “In fact, I would rather trust my judgment over Jonghyun’s any other day.”

“What in the world did he put in your food, Jessica?” Tiffany looked as if she was about to faint.

“Nothing. We haven’t had lunch together before,” Jessica then fixed Taeyeon with a pointed look, “So stop it with the ‘I am falling in love with Onew’ thing. We are only casual friends who haven’t even had a meal together.”

“That,” Taeyeon said smugly, “Could be easily fixed.”

“Don’t.” Jessica narrowed her eyes warningly, “Don’t make things awkward.”

“Awkwardness is the first stage to love,” Taeyeon said.

Jessica threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, “Oh my god, someone save me from this love-crazed idiot.”

Taeyeon lightly slapped her shoulders in retaliation, stealing a piece of orange in the process.

“Jessica,” Tiffany seemed to have finally recovered her wits, “I know it in my heart that Onew has done some terrible wrong to Jonghyun. You’d best keep your heart safe.”

“I am not in love with Onew!” Jessica nearly yelled. How many times did she have to repeat that?

“That’s what she said,” Sulli produced a granola bar and begun unwrapping it.

“Oh no, Sulli,” Jessica narrowed her eyes, “You’re not going to use that one me.”

Sulli shrugged before producing a Mars bar and giving that to Jessica as a peace offering, “It’s ok. I think the 2 of you look cute together anyway.”

Jessica burrowed her head into her hands, mussing up her hair in the process, “I can’t deal with this anymore.”

Why did all the assistants in the White House have a screw loose in their heads? Why did they all insist on driving Jessica crazy? What was with this group of cray-crays she had to deal with on a daily basis?

Jessica knew she should have never signed up the job. She still remembered the premonition she had the moment she saw Kibum’s face; she should have just ran out of the interview room while she had the chance.

But now, she was too deep in. And while she might just be a cog in this entire machinery known as the Administration, Jessica had found cause to trust in the President who was helming the White House, and she wanted to be of support to him in whatever ways she could. If this could only be accomplished by being Kibum’s assistant and subjecting herself to the torture of having to work with this bunch of lovely, yet absolutely irritating—

“But really, Tiffany,” Taeyeon begun just when Jessica thought the quiet would last, “Why are you so antagonistic towards Onew?”

“You guys don’t know this because you don’t work for Jonghyun,” Tiffany heaved a heavy sigh, “But you should have seen him on the day they fell out. I had no idea what happened, but Jonghyun was so ashen-grey and wound-up... It was almost as if some terrible tragedy had fallen onto him… and, and I just couldn’t be of any help to him. It was terrible.”

“He got so withdrawn,” Tiffany continued, “And it was as if there was this bundle of anger that kept simmering beneath the surface. And you know how it’s with Jonghyun, he simply immersed himself in the work we had for the day and refused to leave before it was finished.”

“But this is the White House,” Tiffany laughed self-deprecatingly, “And when do things ever finish? Jonghyun didn’t leave the office till 2 days later.”

Another round of silence fell onto the group as they contemplated what Tiffany had just told them. This was the first time they were hearing any of this, because the assistants were usually guarded with what they observed around their bosses (they worked for important people, and they could never know when someone was trying to find a weakness to exploit. So rather than having them to be constantly on their toes about who was listening in, it was best for them to simply keep quiet about everything). But the fact that Tiffany was willing to unveil that much showed how she felt about this entire affair—it was no laughing matter—and the 3 other assistants began their re-evaluation.

There was, after all, a grain of truth in every rumour.

Taeyeon swirled her cup of (rapidly cooling) coffee thoughtfully, while Jessica examined her fingers with alarming intensity. These were the habits of the two women whenever they were deep in thought, Tiffany had discovered in the years of working with them.

Sulli, however, showed no signs of contemplation (as always), as she continued nibbling at the granola bar.

Nibble, nibble.

Nibble, nibble.

Nibble, nibble.

“Lovers spat, maybe?” Sulli finally stopped chewing and offered her opinion.

Once again, heads snapped up and turned to fix the speaker with their gazes. A good mixture of incomprehension, disbelief, befuddlement and confusion faced Sulli, as she nonchalantly resumed her attack on the granola bar.

“No way,” Taeyeon said even as she sounded as if she was considering the possibility.

“Jonghyun slept with Onew,” Sulli said as she furrowed her brows, “I heard that from somewhere, but where?”

“I was the one who told you that,” Tiffany said, “And you promised me you wouldn’t tell anyone else.”

“I figured you’d probably told Taeyeon and Jessica too.”

“I thought you just said you couldn’t recall who told you that,” Tiffany pointed out.

“Details,” Sulli smiled, “Who needs them?”

Just when Tiffany was about to give Sulli a lecture on how details were especially important to assistants like them, considering how their superiors required them to catch all the little mistakes that might slip past them, Taeyeon put her mug down with force, distracting Tiffany. “Ladies,” Taeyeon said, “We’re getting distracted.”

“Onew is gay?” Jessica chose that moment to ask quietly.

“Only Jessica is on track,” Taeyeon said.

“Jonghyun is not gay,” Tiffany declared.

“How do you know?” Sulli asked.

“He dated Luna for 5 months!” Tiffany exclaimed.

“How does that answer anything at all?” Sulli tilted her head to the side.

“Well…” Tiffany fumbled for words, “For one, it shows that he is into girls!”

“Ok,” Sulli acquiesced after considering the logic, “Biual then. Or maybe Luna is a beard.”

“Jonghyun is biual?” Jessica echoed in a somewhat dazed voice.

“Oh my god, no!” Tiffany denied vehemently.

“Why are you denying this so strongly, Tiffany?” Sulli asked even as she rummaged about her bag to bring out a small packet of cereal, “Are gays that bad?”

“No! That’s not what I meant!”

“Then why are you so against the idea of Jonghyun being gay? Or biual?”

“Because he isn’t!”

“And how do you know that?”

“He dated Luna for 5 months.”

“He slept with Onew.”

"Oh for crying out loud, they didn't do anything! They were just sleeping beside each other."

"That's what they say."

"It was really nothing, and only for a night, Sulli!"

"Hmm... One-night stand, huh? I can understand if they want to keep it quiet."

When Tiffany spluttered about uselessly for a second or two, Taeyeon jumped in to sharply note that “That sounds quite reasonable actually.”

“Onew and Jonghyun are together?” Jessica looked shell-shocked.

Sulli reached out to pat Jessica comfortingly, “I am so sorry, Jessica. But it’s alright, I am sure you would be able to find the right man for you one day.”

“No, I don’t like Onew in that way,” Jessica said weakly, even as she searched for a chair to rest on.

“Then why are you so upset?”

“I am just surprised that’s all,” Jessica replied, pinching the bridge of her nose, “I’d always thought Kibum is the gay one around here.”

Sulli is Hyori's assistant, as mentioned in some earlier chapters haha.

Oh, and arc 6 is over, people. The 'falling out' arc is done and over with. It's time to start afresh and make amends :)

NOTE: Edited for better clarity regarding the 'sleeping' issue :)