"Thanks for your hard work!" Eunji and Junmyeon bowed to the VJs who bowed back, repeating the message.

"We'll be leaving now," one of them said. "We got lots of good material today."

"You two worked hard," the other one said.

The two cameramen hitched a ride back in the same taxi, and the two waved to the retreating taxi. When it was out of their sight, Junmyeon sighed. "Finally," he heaved.

Eunji turned to him. "You didn't like it?" she asked.

"I did, I did," he quickly assured her. "I just...kind of..." 

He let it trail off, not finishing his sentence. She wisely chose not to pry as he stepped forward a little. "Should I call you a taxi?" he asked her.

She nodded. "That'd be nice," she said.

He hailed down a cab and opened the door for her. She got in and turned the window down to talk to him.

"Do you have enough money to get home?" he asked.

She nodded. "I do." He smiled, beginning to turn away when she called out to him, making him stop and come back.

"Junmyeon, I had fun today," she told him. "Thank you."

He beamed. "I did too, Eunji."

She matched his smile, turning to the driver and telling him the location of her dorm. The taxi pulled away, taking her home, and leaving him alone on the cold night street that was getting crowded with people. 

He pulled on a hat and mask to prevent people from recognizing him and took the opportunity to just stroll down the street. 

At this time, when people were crowding around to do their Christmas shopping and get on with their busy lives, with the street full of the stampede of people, he felt strangely calm.

Maybe it was because this was a rare opportunity he had to be out here, in the cold, with no one, no members, no managers, no cameras, just him and the cold. 

He took in a deep breath, just walking along with no destination in mind. 

The day wasn't terrible, in fact he did quite enjoy himself. The only problem was whenever he spotted the VJs with their cameras. It sort of reminded him that the only reason he and Eunji were out on this date was because they were in a fake relationship.

Fake. Nonexistent. False. Fake.

The word kept repeating over and over in his head, and he found himself clenching his fist at that. 

If it wasn't for Chanyeol's scandal, they would have never gotten together in the first place. 

But then again, if it wasn't for Chanyeol's scandal, he wouldn't have fallen for her as well.

He sighed. He needed to get a grip on himself. At the end of the day, this was all just business. She probably didn't even like him the way he liked her.

Deciding that he needed to get home and have a warm shower, he hailed a cab and got home.

***

The six girls were busy practicing the dance to their newest song, when their manager came into the room.

"Unnie, is something wrong?" Chorong inquired.

Her manager shook her head. "Nothing's wrong," she smiled at them. "Just...the CEO wants to see Eunji."

"Me?" Eunji asked. "Why though?"

"That's something you'll find out about once we get there," her manager told her. "Now...shall we go?"

Eunji nodded, sparing a moment to grab her jacket and zip it up. As the other five continued their practice, she followed her manager who lead her up to the CEO's office.

"President Park, you called?" she asked, knocking at the door.

"Ah, yes, Eunji-ah, come in!"

She walked inside the office, much, much smaller than the office of SM's CEO. Perhaps it was because they were a smaller company. There was no fancy area to meet guests with a coffee table and couches, all there was was the CEO's desk with a couple of chairs in front of it. 

He gestured to her to pull up one of the chairs as he went through a couple of documents.

"You've been doing well with your relationship with Suho," he praised.

She smiled. "Thank you, President Park," she said. "But it takes two to be in a relationship."

"And so I should know, being married for twenty years." He chuckled at his own joke. "Anyway, i called you here for a reason."

"Yes, what is it?" 

"President Lee of SM and I have taken care of our little 'problem'  with almost no interference, and we have you and Suho to thank. And since the problem is taken care of, we were thinking of announcing your breakup."

"B-breakup?" The word brought terror to her heart, though she didn't know why. 

He raised an eyebrow at her stuttering. "Yes, is there a problem?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it. "I shouldn't be saying anything," she said, bowing her head. "After all you've done for me, bringing me to where I am, I should be thankful that I will be getting more time to focus on my solo career as well as Apink. The lesser the distractions the better." Even though she was hearing herself talk, she felt her eyes warming up. "I should be thankful for the chance to have even met Suho in the first place. I put my trust in you because you told me I showed potential. You know the way this industry works better than anyone else, even me. I should trust your judgement without a second thought."

"And yet...you disapprove of this decision," he commented, observing her actions.

She quickly shook her head, clenching her fists where they lay on her lap. "No, no, I didn't mean to. I just-"

"Eunji-ah," President Park took a deep breath before interrupting her. "Do you know why I sent for you in the first place?"

She shook her head silently, sure that if she spoke anymore tears might fall. "Because a relationship involves two individuals, two individuals over whom we may not have control. Even if we did announce a breakup, who's to prevent them from meeting in secret? Of course, this can lead to a scandal we may not have time or energy to deal with." He sighed. "President Lee wanted to announce it at once, but I persuaded him to hear out your side of the story first."

He leaned over the desk. "So, Eunji, do you want to end this fake relationship with EXO's Suho?"

She looked up, surprised that he was giving her the choice. "I-I-uh..."

"What do you want, Jung Eunji?"

"I-I...I don't want to break up with Junmyeon..."

***

"Sir, you called?" Junmyeon poked his head into his CEO's office.

"Yes, Suho, come in."

Suho, huh?

He knew it was serious if he was being addressed by his stage name instead of his real name. Despite the known relentlessness of this man, he took care to remember his artists' names. He had also personally overseen the development of EXO, so he was a bit closer to them than he would be to a couple of the other groups. 

He came in and bowed. "Is something wrong, President Lee?"

President Lee shook his head. "Why don't you have a seat, Suho. There's something we must discuss." He gestured to the couch opposite him.

Junmyeon sat down. "What is it you wanted to see me about?" he asked.

"First of all, you've been doing well with Eunji, I forgot to congratulate you on that," the older man said. "The problem concerning Chanyeol has been taken care of."

"Is that so..." Junmyeon said, letting his voice trail off. He seemed to predict where this would be heading.

"So I was going to announce your breakup to the press this morning."

Yep, there it is.

"However, President Park has been insistent that we get your opinions on this as well before making any action concerning the two of you." Junmyeon looked up in surprise. "Hence, my question is, should I or should I not announce the breakup?"

Junmyeon stayed quiet in fear of saying something wrong. 

This was not how things usually worked. President Lee would usually make the decisions himself, sometimes leaving out the members. He also didn't take kindly to scandals. Junmyeon had to personally come and plead with the CEO to not kick Jongin or Baekhyun out for starting scandals. He also came up to ask him not to announce their breakups whenever he wanted, and to let them come to him first.

He was a very frequent visitor to this room.

But even then, there was only so much he could do. He had to use everything he knew to connect it to EXO, as this involved his members' personal lives. And at the end of the day, he was just the leader of their group, he was not their actual brother. Often he wondered whether his trips up here to talk to President Lee were even worth anything, whether his words were ever considered.

"Well?"

"Pl-please don't announce the breakup," he finally managed out.

Yes, it was uncommon for him to be given a choice in this matter. Very often, these types of decisions were taken by the agencies to help the idols' images, and so him getting a personal choice in this was something rare.

He'd take it.

"I don't want to break up with Eunji just yet," he said. "The relationship has received mostly favorable views, and the approval from the fans has gone up in the last two months. I suggest we take this a little longer and see what happens."

"And do you want to come and tell me when you're breaking up?" 

Junmyeon raised his eyes to meet President Lee's. It was clear he was referencing the numerous times he came in stead of his members, trying to reason, plead and negotiate a deal. 

President Lee put his cup of coffee down on the table. "My Soonkyu wishes you two luck and longevity, by the way," he informed. "She seems to be a fan of you two."

Junmyeon bowed. "I'll thank her when I see her next."

President Lee nodded. "You may go."

Junmyeon stood up, bowed once more and muttered a goodbye and walked to the door. Just as he put his hand on the handle, President Lee's voice made him stop.

"Oh, and Suho? I always appreciate your love for your members. However, I have only so much love for you. Do not make me overstep my boundaries."

***

A/N: I enjoyed writing this chapter. I'd written some other stuff too, but I think that'll be more suitable for other chapters.

I always wonder whether I'm portraying Suho right. I know a guy experiences love differently than a girl does, and I didn't want to be that person who wrote guys as girls, because they just aren't. However, my own perception of love isn't all that mainstream too, so I hope I'm doing this story justice.

I've always seen attraction as something you feel for a certain person. You'll feel physically attracted only for a period of time, but that's not enough to sustain a relationship. yes, it's important, much more than what one might think, but I also think that we feel attracted to only certain people, one person or maybe two at a time. I've always seen labels like gay, straight and bi as simply identity politics that serve to divide us.

But, what do I know? I'm 17 and have never even had a crush on someone.

So I wonder...am I writing it right? 

Anyways, enjoy!