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     chapter twenty-five      the press conference.

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Since Taehyung had done all of the cooking, the two of them had managed to reach a fair compromise which was why Arang was cleaning up the chaos he had created in the kitchen. She returned all of the ingredients he had used back to their original shelves and cupboards, disposed of any trash lying around, wiped the counters down and washed the utensils, cutting board and pot they had used. Once she had turned the faucet off, she dried her hands with the small striped towel dangling on the oven handle. “Okay, now it’s really time for you to go.” She declared as she walked over to the boy who was resting comfortably on the couch.

“I will. I just want my stomach to properly digest first.” He reasoned as he patted his tummy.

“It had fifteen minutes to properly digest. That should be plenty of time. Besides, it’s not like you’re going out to run a marathon. You won’t suddenly cramp up and die while you’re walking around. Seriously, get out of my house before someone else comes back. If they see you, I’m going to say that you barged in here own your accord without my permission and refused to leave.” Technically, that was the truth. Sure it sounded highly suspicious but if Arang had to take a polygraph test to prove to everyone that she was being two hundred and ten percent honest, then she would.

“Is this how you repay someone who saved you from starvation?” Taehyung scoffed indignantly. “The lease you could do is give me a simple, well-deserved thank—” He wasn’t able to complete his statement due to the fact that his phone had chirped, notifying him that he had just received a text message from his mother. His mouth dropped down to the floor as soon as he had finished reading over the contents.

“What’s wrong with you now?” Arang frowned. Curious, she leaned down and peered over his shoulder. Her eyes proceeded to widen in shock while she gulped like a fish out of water. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she murmured in disbelief after she had gathered her scattered thoughts back together.

“I guess we both have to leave now.” Taehyung announced as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. Abruptly he turned to the left, underestimating the proximity they were sharing. For a moment, he was completely stunned. They were so close that he was able to catch a whiff of her shampoo which seemed to be a mixture of coconut and a hint of vanilla. Realizing that the space between their bodies was way too minimal Taehyung reacted almost immediately by jumping up and away from the girl.

Arang nonchalantly straightened her posture and cocked her head to the side, sending him an estranged look. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?!” He shot back defensively, jabbing an accusatory finger at her. “Haven’t you heard of a personal bubble before?” With his arms, he drew an imaginary circle around his body. “You shouldn’t invade somebody else’s space unless they tell you otherwise.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Arang snorted as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Stop being a hypocrite. You didn’t have a problem rummaging through my room while I was absent.”

“That’s different!” He cried out.

“Please do explain.” She prodded.

Taehyung had his lips pried apart yet no words were escaping from them. She was right, there wasn’t a difference between what she had done and what he had done earlier. Actually, there was but Taehyung had failed to figure that out. You see, the critical difference between their actions would be that Arang had invaded his personal bubble unintentionally. Taehyung, on the other hand, rifled through her belongings on purpose. So the one who should be condemned is him. He was lucky Arang hadn’t broken any of his teeth. She hated when people touched her things. It was one out of the many pet peeves she carried.

While he was stuck in a stupor, Arang went to grab her bag and phone. She made sure she had everything before she walked over to the door and put her black Converses on. “Yah, aren’t you going to come? Your mom wants us to meet her up.” She reminded Taehyung who then snapped out of his thoughts.

The two of them were sitting on the bus, heading toward the address Director Wan had sent to Taehyung. They didn’t really talk to each other but man were they getting a lot of stares. Arang blamed it on Taehyung’s poor disguise that made him stand out. It was summer for crying out loud. It was obvious he was a celebrity because there was no sane person who’d dress the way he did in this kind of humid weather.

The vehicle came to a jerky stop and two elderly men with canes boarded. Again, nobody offered them their seats so Arang took initiative like she often did. She stood up and waved them over. “We have some seats for you.” She looked down at Taehyung, prepared to order him to get his up but surprisingly enough he had climbed to his feet on his own. Of course she was dumbfounded. The first time they had crossed paths he was stubborn and refused to cooperate with her. She had to drag him out of the seat but what was this?

“Ah thank you, kids.” The grandpa with the huge spectacles smiled, revealing his perfect dentures. “Your parents taught you well.”

Arang and Taehyung hopped off at the next stop. More blatant and scrutinizing gazes greeted them on the streets but they both ignored those prying eyes. Finally they had arrived at their destination. It was a small salon. They glanced at each other before entering the facility. It was empty with the exception of the employees and Director Wan. “That was faster than I expected.” She stated with arched brows.

“We were already together,” Taehyung coughed.

A smirk appeared on the older woman’s face as she eyed her son and then Arang. They were hanging out without her having to tell them to? What in the world was going on? Whatever it was, Director Wan wanted it to keep happening because these two really needed to learn how to play nice with each other. And for once, she was beginning to see some real progress between them. “Very well. I presume you kids know why you’re here. The agency will be holding a press conference in less than three hours from now. It was very last minute but with all of the pressure we’ve been receiving, the chairman wanted us to get this matter under control as soon as possible. We’ve managed to garner some of the most popular reporters and journalists so we have to make sure this conference succeeds without a hitch.”

“We’ve already gone over our cover story. We’ll be prepared for whatever questions they’ll have for us.” Taehyung declared with confidence.

“You mean I’ll be prepared.” Arang muttered. “Is that all you needed to tell us? You could have called and saved us the trip. It’s like the Sahara Desert out there.”

“No that’s not all.” Director Wan sniggered playfully. She had gotten accustomed to Arang’s sarcasm and sharp-tongue and figured the only method to beat the girl was to fight fire with fire. “We’re here to get you kids ready.” She clapped her hands and two women appeared.

“Please come this way.” They ushered Taehyung and Arang to the sinks and began the long process.

Arang had never been to a salon like this before. Her mother usually cut her hair in order to save money. Therefore it was rather uncomfortable for her to have to sit through this while a stranger massaged her scalp with shampoo and conditioner. She was able to get a glimpse of Taehyung who was playing with his phone. How could she forget? This was basically his life style. It made sense that he was used to all of this. “Is this really necessary?” She questioned, staring up at the ceiling.

“You’re going to be on television for thousands of people to see. So yes, it is necessary.” Director Wan answered as she flipped through a random fashion magazine. “After your hair is finished, we will work on your makeup and then I’m going to have you change into the outfit I’ve already picked out beforehand.” 

“This seems a bit over the top. I don’t like wearing makeup and I have my own clothes.” Arang frowned. In her opinion all of this was definitely a waste of money.

“Would it kill you to get pampered every now and then?” Taehyung scoffed.

“I’m sorry that I’m not like you. Not everyone wants to be treated like a princess.” Arang sneered. Her snide remark caused the hairdressers to giggle and Taehyung’s cheeks to flush red in embarrassment. After that, he didn’t dare to utter another word to Arang.

Some time had passed and although Taehyung’s hair was all done, that was not the case for the girl. Her hair had been blow-dried and the ends were still getting curled. If it wasn’t for all of the tugging, Arang was positive that she would have fallen asleep by now.  How did people do this? Didn’t they find it boring? There was some more tugging and when the woman announced that she was finished, Arang’s eyes shot open. She stared at the mirror in disbelief.

A whole hour and a half and this was the result? She could have done this herself! Her hair was nothing special. The ends were curled, gathered over her left shoulder and tied into a simple side