Jang Hee Jin exited the stage to cheers and applause. It had been an excellent debut concert. Her single “Catch Me” had already become a hit song and she was well on her way to climbing the charts and becoming a top female idol. Backstage she caught sight of the one person who had made this all possible for, the same person who had stolen her heart. Even in the sunglasses and beanie he had one to hide his identity she would be able to spot him in any crowd.

Lee Joon smiled that cute, charming smile of his as she approached and she shyly took the hand he offered. They’d been secretly dating a little over three months, but no matter how short of time they’d been together Hee Jin knew she loved him. She wanted to shout her love to world so that everyone else knew her feelings, but she knew why Joon was hesitant to share the news with anyone, even their closest friends. Being idols wasn’t an easy job, it meant living differently than others, sometimes not having the same privileges as other young adults. Hee Jin knew that Joon worried not only about how his fans would react to him suddenly dating, but he was also concerned about what dating could mean for her when she had only just begun her career as an idol and no matter what they would say them dating would be seen as a scandal.

Pushing those morose thoughts aside she gave Joon a blinding smile and he began leading her towards a table that held refreshments. “You did really well. I’m proud of you Hee Jin.”

Her cheeks burned pink at his praise. She ducked her head shyly as the approached the table. “Thank you. I’m really thankful that you came to my debut concert. I don’t think I would have done half as well if I hadn’t known you were backstage cheering me on.”

Joon chuckled and flashed her that perfect smile of his. The result was blinding and Hee Jin thought to herself about how lucky she was to be able to be with him. As Joon led her out of the building, through the back exit, she let herself remember how they met. It had been the very beginning of spring, the warmer temperatures just starting to chase away the chill of winter and the flowers were just starting to bloom beneath the last thin layer of snow. She had been by herself walking the paths in the park when she had heard his voice singing an old childhood song. Walking slowly, ears open to the melodious sound of his singing she had inched closer and closer until she spotted him standing before a vast pond, his head tilted towards the sunshine, his eyes closed.

He hadn’t been aware of her standing there and she stayed quiet as he finished the song and launched into another, one she knew and this time she let her voice mingle with his. At first his eyes had snapped open and his voice died away, but a small smile graced his lips and he once again began singing. The voices rose and fell with the lyrics, echoing around the pond and they sounded harmonious together, their voices mingling together as if they were meant to be.

When the song ended they had stared at each other, the silence deafening after the last notes of the song echoed its last call throughout the pond clearing. She had been the first to speak, offering him a bow and her name. Of course when he offered his own name she had already known who he was, but she kept that to herself. There was no reason to let him know that she knew he was a beloved idol and that she was a fan.

“You have a beautiful voice.”

She still remembered those words, those words being the beginning of her own career in the world of music and she had gotten to where she stood now because of Joon’s help. Thanks to that fateful, early spring day she had gotten not only the chance to make her dreams come true, but also the chance to know the man she had coveted since his debut years before.

Now she had the chance to hold his hand, share kisses that made her blush and know him on a level that any of his fans would kill for…and in the time she had known him, even though it’d been short, she had lost her heart and experienced the first stirrings of love. She loved Lee Joon like she had loved no other and she wanted to shout that love to the world, but for now she would be content with the secrets and the hiding because she feared that a day would come when their relationship wouldn’t be as carefree and happy as was now.

For now, she thought to herself as she settled into the seat of her van, her manager already there and waiting for her, she would enjoy the time that they were allowed. Joon shut the door of the fan and Hee Jin waved her farewell as the van began backing away. A fleeting stab of fear pierced her, but she pushed it away knowing that it wasn’t a forever goodbye and that she would see him again soon.

Hee Jin settled into her seat and her manager turned to her with a concerned expression on her face. “Hee Jin I don’t know what you’re up to, but don’t think I don’t know who he is. I’ve seen the two of you together off and on for awhile now and at first I wasn’t that concerned because it’s normal for idols to form friendships, but it seems more serious than that.”

“More serious than friendship?” Hee Jin nervously entwined her fingers, twisting them this way and that in her lap. “What do you mean, Manager Seo?”

Manager Seo sighed, her bangs fluttering with the exhale. “Are the two of you dating?”

The lie that she had practiced over and over again lodged in . Hee Jin felt sweat break out across the back of her neck and trickle down her spine as she thought of anything to say but the truth. “Uh…you see…that is…”

She had always been a terrible liar and it showed now as her manager raised a questioning brow, but nodded her head. She understood and Hee Jin was thankful that she left it at that, but she didn’t give her a word of caution as they pulled up in front of her house. “Be very careful Hee Jin. You’ve just debuted and it’ll be hard if media finds out. It’ll turn into a scandal and believe me you don’t want that hanging over you. It’s very hard to get out from under a scandal once the media had blown it out of proportion.”

“I understand.”

She slipped from the van and headed inside her house. Her manager’s words rang in her ears and she wished that she could as easily shut them out as easily as she had shut the front door. However, her cautious words echoed around in her head.

 

 

That night at dinner her parents studied her, her father more so than her mother. She was a little upset with her parents for not making it to her debut, but she understood that they were both bogged down with work and although she had desperately wanted them there, there was nothing that could be done about it now.

Her father sat down his chopsticks and settled a steady look on her. “Hee Jin there’s something I want to discuss with you.”

“What is it?” She out down her chopsticks and gave her father her full attention. It wasn’t often he wanted to talk to her about anything unless she was in trouble. Now that she was a young adult their conversations were few and far between. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No, nothing of that sort.” He gave her a reassuring smile before he turned serious again. “I had lunch with a dear friend of mine today and we got to talking about you and his son.”

Something in the sound of her father’s voice sent a wave of unease in her stomach. “What about me and his son? I don’t know who his son is so what could you have talked about that involved the both of us?”

Her mother reached over and took her hand in hers as her father continued. “As I said we were talking about the two of you and eventually the discussion turned towards marriage. He and I have been friends ever since we were young and at one time we had discussed having our children marry so that we could become family, however that neither here nor there, the point is although he and I would love to become family there is a side benefit to a union between you two.”

The unease in her belly turned to dread. “What are you talking about?”

“We both think that the two of you together will boost both of your careers as idols. So with that in mind we decided to arrange a marriage between you and his son.”

Hee Jin pushed back from the table so suddenly her chair toppled over. She stared at her father as if he had lost his mind. “I won’t! I can’t! How can you ask me to marry someone I don’t even know?”

Her father stared calmly in the face of her fearful tantrum. “You may not know him personally, but you know of him. He’s in the same company as you and you have his posters plastering your walls.”

She had a number of idol posters on her wall, but not all of them were from SM. “Who is it?”

“Choi Minho.”

The charismatic member of SHINee...Hee Jin knew of him, had seen him at times in the company building, but had never once talked to him. However, as her father’s words sank in her manager’s words echoed in her mind again and the word ‘scandal’ seemed bigger than ever in the face of what her father had just proposed. Hee Jin felt that her world was closing in around her, that her very short career was soon going to be dying a horrible death and there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it. Her father’s word was law and that law had just imprisoned her…what was she going to do?