Chapter 7: Fine

MAL rubbed her temple in distress, then took her turn to glance at her friends, who stared back at her in sympathy while they sat across from her.

"So, you can already tell that I have no idea what to do." She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. "Should I just tell Junwon? I'm afraid he'll get hurt and I'm really, really scared my brothers would try and hurt him to make me give away my share."

Yacht ran a hand through his chocolate brown hair, already fed up with the fact that his best friend might be in danger, let alone her boyfriend as well.

"Did you file a restraining order, Mal? I feel like they're willing to do anything to get some money. Almost like..." Yacht's voice trailed off, his lower lip quivering in the process. He closed his eyes for a moment, his lips parted slightly open in attempt to fix the sentence, to say anything else.

But he couldn't speak, despite taking many gulps to clear his throat.

And despite him not finishing his sentence, the two other friends understood the rest without him needing to.

Almost like Mal's brothers would kill for money.

And despite the sentence being a little too hurtful, Mal knew that it was the bitter reality.

Because it didn't take a detective to know that her two brothers would kill her for money.

And for her, it almost didn't matter if she got hurt. What mattered the most was the fact that they might try and hurt Junwon, the love of her life, to get what they wanted.

Over her dead body, for sure.

"I know, Yacht." She replied with a tone of sympathy. "I did file a restraining order, but don't worry, I'll be fine."

Yacht nodded his head, eventually stretching his arm out to hold Mal's hand while Santa reached out to hold her other hand, trying to gulp away the lump in his throat.

"Are you sure? I'm... I'm scared." Santa replied, his gaze set on the floor. "We don't want to lose you."

Yacht nodded his head in agreement, his eyes hopeful while he stared at his friend.

"I'll be fine, you guys." She squeezed their palms to reassure them. "Promise."

Would she?

Because, for all she knew, her friends had a right to be terrified.

The last thing she needed at that moment was to break Junwon's heart if her brothers tried to hurt her.

Or worse, kill her.

She could almost imagine the look on his beautiful face if he knew such fact.

She shook her head at the thought, heat of anxiety rising to her cheeks, turning them light pink.

The last thing she needed at that moment was for her brothers to hurt her in the first place. After all, she couldn't imagine not seeing her boyfriend or being away from him, let alone not living for another day to show him how much he meant to her.

The thought burned her insides.

"I'll be fine."

Her voice came out soft yet baffled, and for a moment, Santa had no idea if she was reassuring him and his friend, or herself.

. . .

"What do the fans need to know about your debut album?" Mal questioned, glancing at the paper in her tight grip before raising her head to take a long glance at the group members before her.

And despite her attempt to keep her eyes on whoever was speaking, she found herself staring at who she believed was Junwon. The same hairstyle and chocolate brown hair colour, the same outfit he had showed her that morning, the tight, black pants that highlighted his figure, and the familiar blue shirt, and the same features that could've made her recognize his handsome face if it wasn't for the terrible truth.

"We're doing our best in every category so we can impress our fanbase, and the entire world..."

His familiar soft, calm voice that helped her recognize his figure almost immediately. The same voice that she admired a lot. Every night, when it was their favourite time to fall asleep after a long, exhausting day, she would ask him about his day and keep him talking, just so that she could get enough of his voice. The thought sent a smile to her face as she asked another question, directed at Soul this time.

She took small glances at each member, in a failed attempt to memorize their faces and names. A younger boy with dyed-pink hair. A boy around Junwon's age with a similar outfit to him, who sat down close to her boyfriend and nodded at every word he said. She counted twelve boys sitting in front of her, and she nodded to herself as she knew that it was the correct number of members in her lover's group.

"We can safely tell our fans to expect a great debut album and expect a lot from us..."

As soon as the director ordered to turn off the cameras, Mal sighed heavily in relief and got up from her seat, stretching her arm out with the papers in her grip to hand them to the person in charge. After gathering her Gucci bag and shoving her possessions inside in a hurry, she took a final glance at who she assumed was her boyfriend before storming out of the studio, heading towards the exit.

. . .

Minseo glanced at the room they were in, mindlessly shoving his belongings inside his bag. He spotted the familiar figure of Junwon standing at a fair distance, having a small conversation with Wooseok as he gathered his things.

He nodded to himself before grabbing his bag and hurrying out of the room.

Staring at the empty corridor he found himself standing in, he clutched the strap of his bag tighter in his grip before taking a few steps away from the door frame, into the long, seemingly-endless corridor.

The loud chattering of his group members faded into soft mumbles as he hurried away from the room, eventually fading until the only thing he could hear was the noise of his footsteps, which continued to grow louder and more frantic with each moment.

His eyes caught the familiar, bright light that went through the main door, the same door that they were supposed to leave through in a few moments. He huffed and hurried towards the exit, already fed up with his surroundings, his group members-everything around him, in fact.

With a few more steps towards the exit, he closed his eyes and inhaled, his breath shaky and unstable.

And when he opened his eyes once again, his mouth gaped open in shock as soon as he spotted the familiar figure standing at a fair distance from the door. His eyes squinted themselves in the dim light while they recognized the image of a female figure. The familiar high pony-tail, the familiar black jumpsuit and the expensive purse.

Mal.

He gulped, suddenly aware of how fast his heart was beating between his ribs. He squinted once again while he met the image of her holding her phone between her grip. For a mere second, all he could think about was getting out of the building and going to his second job.

But the devil inside his head couldn't leave him alone.

He took close steps towards the slightly older woman, and coughed to grab her attention. His breath was caught in his throat when she managed to look up to him and stare at him in pure confusion.

"U-Um, hi." He greeted, waving a little with his palm.

"Is this Junwon? I think it's time to go home already, sweetheart." She spoke, staring at the boy's face in a failed attempt to recognize him.

And as soon as he took his time to absorb the question, his eyebrows furrowed themselves in shock and bafflement.

"Excuse me?" The only two words he could get out failed to help him understand what was going on. He continued to stare at the famous CEO in bewilderment, his head spinning in the process.

"N-No, it's M-Minseo. You just talked to me and my friends just a few moments ago?"

His voice came out small and filled with uncertainty.

What was going on?

"Oh! My apologies." She began, gulping in anxiety while she waved her hands as if it would magically take back what she said. "I have a problem with recognizing faces."

"Um, what?"

"It's... It's a medical condition." She replied, her voice high-pitched. Minseo could tell how anxious and uncomfortable she actually was as she cracked her knuckles and glanced in different directions, avoiding his gaze in the process. "I was diagnosed with it when I was fourteen. It's called prosopagnosia."

Called-what now?

"W-What?"

Mal glanced at his baffled expression, biting her lower lip in regret and guilt. "You know it's not that-"

"Hey, noona!" A soft voice interrupted from behind the boy. Mal turned in the direction of the voice, a smile forming on her lips as she spotted her lover stepping closer to her with a wide, enthusiastic smile.

"Hey, sweetheart!" She greeted, nervously glancing at Minseo, then back at her lover. "Are you ready to go yet?"

He nodded his head, taking occasional glances in the direction of his group member, slightly baffled as to why his girlfriend was talking to Minseo.

"Yes, I'm ready, noona!" He nodded once again, a tight smile over his lips. "We can leave."

She stretched out her hand to hold his own and lead him out of the place, taking one last glance at Minseo before she pulled Junwon out of the corridor, then out of the gigantic building.