Confusion and worry. It was pretty much what Key felt the moment the assistant had called him for the meeting; when he was told to bring Minho along. The only information leaked to him about this, was that it would be a step in the right direction if the deal passed. Kibum was unable to extract any sort of clue from that mysterious comment, but as soon as he laid eyes on the beaming Sulli next to her representative, a flickering light bulb appeared over his head. His smile faded as his mind glued together the pieces of the puzzle. 

"Ah, Kim Kibum, it's good to see you again," A thin man with an impeccable fashion sense rose at the head of the table. The producer stood at such a young age. "A hello to you, Minho." He said with a slight bow, the other attendees copying his actions.
"Hello Mr. Kwon," The cousins said simultaneously, arching their backs as they did so. Being the last to enter, Minho shut the door with care, as the producer invited them to have a seat across from the actress and her friend.

"How are you two doing today? I assume you all are familiar with each other from our last meeting," Mr. Kwon alternated a pointed finger between the parties on either side of him. Everybody nodded    Sulli's eyes never stripping of Minho's face. He did his best to ignore it. "That's good! Now we won't have to take time for introductions. So," He cleared his throat briefly, "I'm sure you're wondering why I've set up this appointment when the drama is nearly finished. This is actually something that's done outside of the drama."

Minho leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers together in his lap with a scrunched forehead as Mr. Kwon continued on. "Promotions. You've both done this, and it should be a piece of cake for the two of you." He looked at the actor whose his head bowed in thought of Taemin, and to the actress who was focused on examining every single pore dotted on his skin. A sound of exasperation was exhaled, along with the click of his elbow against the table top. The producer rested his forehead against his open hand muttering, "If this reflects the way you've been recording, this dating thing needs to happen."

What was that word? What did he just say about dating? Minho's ears perked up as soon as that key word popped up on his radar. A bit shocked, he cocked his head up to stare intensely at Mr. Kwon. "E-Excuse me?" The young man had caught something in his throat. His heart lodged up there perhaps? The fragments of the older's sentences that had snuck its way into Minho's thoughts while daydreaming began to make sense now. Promoting. Dating. Put two and two together and-

"I want you and Sulli to do promotions as a real life, off-screen couple."

The last of his words reflected off of the bare walls of the temporary rendezvous cubicle. Minho his lips and attempted to find an object he may concentrate on, to avoid eye contact with anybody. Sadly, this room carried nothing but a table, chairs, and the people occupying the outskirts of the simple furniture. He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with four pairs of eyes pin-pointed on his head. Both Kibum and Mr. Kwon detected the level of his distress right off the bat. From under the table Key gently nudged Minho's foot with his own as Mr. Kwon took the opportunity to explain in detail.

"I'm not asking for you two to love one another genuinely, but to make it seem that way. I need you to revolve around each other for the coming months during the drama's broadcasting. The reason, if news spreads around about this new 'couple,' we'll definitely see a major boost in our viewer ratings. I'm aiming to go above and beyond my most famous drama    which won't be easy    and with this plan, success is assured." He paused, giving the other males a moment to soak it in. "You agree to it, right Minho? There's only things to gain in this situation; the more views, the more money."

The star sat in his seat, unmoving. No... no. There was no way in hell he could do this! It doesn't matter if the relationship between him and Sulli is fake, bearing the title of young lovers is all that matters. Bearing a title like that would    no doubt    hurt Taemin. This all for the money? If he lost Taemin over this, would the money he earned in this scandal buy his love back? The most plausible answer: most likely not. Minho isn't about to risk a barely blossoming love for dollar signs.

From under his eyelashes, in the blurry unfocused areas in front of him, Minho made out an outline of a smile spreading across his co-star's face.
"He's speechless! I told you Krystal, he thinks it's a wonderful idea-" She began to say a little above a whisper, before Minho cut it off abruptly with his objection. Faces were stretched with shock    especially the producer's. "W-what?" he stuttered in an incredulous tone.

The Charisma gulped before repeating his refusal to the tactic. He's never turned down something like this before. To be quite honest, in his past dramas, producers have asked him to do similar things. One time, he was ordered to catch and hold lovingly, an actress after she 'accidentally' tripped over her own feet during a variety show. Minho is a flexible man, able to contort himself for special needs concerning work, but he won't be bending backwards for this one. "No."

Kibum leaned back comfortably in his chair, crossed a leg, and then covered his mouth nonchalantly to cover his surfacing grin. On the other hand, Mr. Kwon sat with locked muscles as he battled internally to overcome his temperamental issues. "Minho, do you even realize the riches you'll be pocketing by cooperating with this beautiful, young lady across from you? It's easy-" He paused, taking care with his wording; remembering what the director had said about Minho's challenged mind these days. "For the most part. You do this on set every single day! It's acting."

"For me it isn't." Sulli mumbled to herself, slumped back with a jutted lower lip.
"Minho! Be professional about this! This is going to benefit all of us here! What's the reason you won't take this up?!"  The producer pushed on.
One moment he was calm, the next, Minho was bolting straight up from his chair; driven mad by this hypocrite. "Professional?! Do you even know a thing about professionalism? I am being professional, by kindly declining this option of publicity. You, on the contrary, should be accepting my decision instead of begging me!"

The young actor slammed his hand on the wooden table as he turned to leave for the door. "I refuse to do this." From behind, he could hear his cousin following closely, while quietly apologizing to the others. He was furious. Furious with not only this money craving man, but with all of them. All of those big ego, cash obsessing, fame starving humans who will do anything to grab and take anything to add to their surplus of items. And being shielded with care in the center of this seemingly fun, inviting, industry, lies the souls it has consumed and trained to keep them bent on finding luxuries for only themselves. He shouldn't really be bagging on these types of people though. Even if he has been through a process of change, Minho knows a part of him still lingers in that world.

Minho's hand had landed on the door knob with the intention of immediately excusing himself from the conference, when a woman's desperate scream ripped through the air and iced his body. "Is it Taemin?!" She yelled, transforming the man into a helpless, human icicle.  

A/N: What's Minho's repsonse to this?! Is he being too obvious by freezing up?!
Do you all even understand how frustrated I am by myself? Procrastination is seriously not my best friend. I'm so sorry everybody. I deleted my writing schedule, because I've been abusing it. I'm going to try harder, though. Please, bear with me! I'm sorry this is such a short chapter, but things are going to start heating up soon!
     Annyeonghigaseyo!~ Queen S