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Chapter 3 out of 4 of my publishing spree!

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AKD

---- ---- ---- ----

Donghyuck was sat in his dressing room, practicing his lines for shooting the next scene having just gotten his hair and make-up done. His phone rang and he picked it up, without his eyes leaving the paper.

"Hello?" he answered, skimming through his script.

"Well?" The voice on the other end went.

"Well, what?" Donghyuck asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, what do you think?"

"About what?" Donghyuck asked, putting the script down on the dressing table. Looking at his phone screen only to find an unknown number, "Wait, who is this?"

"It's Mark." the voice said quickly.

"How did you even get this number?" Donghyuck asked.

"I asked my manager who asked yours," Mark said, quickly brushing it off, "Anyway, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"The news!" Mark said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What about the news?" Donghyuck wondered, confused.

Mark sighed, "About how people are reacting to us dating!"

"Oh I haven't had the chance to look at the news yet," Donghyuck explained, "I've been on set all day."

"It's supportive," Mark told him, "There are already fan accounts of us and everything."

Donghyuck found himself biting his lip, "What do you think?"

"I asked you first."

"I'm glad I don't have to hate you," Donghyuck told Mark, looking in the mirror in front of him.

"And I'm glad I don't have to hate you."

"Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other, then," Donghyuck said, finding a small smile appearing on his face.

"Looks that way," Mark said.

"I'll see you around, Mark."

"This is going to be interesting," Mark said before hanging up the phone.

"Yes it will," Donghyuck said to the dial tone of his phone.

"Donghyuck, you're wanted on set!" An intern said, knocking on his door.

---- ---- ---- ----

One Month Later

"Donghyuck?" Mrs. Lee called out, walking into his dressing room just as they were wrapping up the shoot for the day.

"Yes, Mrs. Lee?" Donghyuck answered politely.

"Can we have a minute alone, please?" Mrs. Lee said with a forced smile on her face, forcing herself to look up from her phone and around the room.

The interns and the stylists scurried out of the room. The older woman closed and locked the door behind her as she walked to the younger man.

"What's up?" Donghyuck asked, nervous for some reason, "Is everything okay?"

"Here." Mrs. Lee said, handing him a piece of paper before continuing her typing on her phone.

"What is this?" Donghyuck asked, taking the paper out of her hand and skim reading it.

"It's sample questions that you're going to get asked in your first interview with Mark."

"And you want me to study these?" Donghyuck asked.

"With Mark." Mrs. Lee said.

"You're going to have to give me a little more information rather than two-word answers," Donghyuck said as politely as he could, trying not to show how annoyed he was. He couldn't forget that the woman in front of him, even if she hasn't acted like it in a while, was his mother; not his manager who he didn't have any other connection to.

"You're going to Mark's house first thing tomorrow morning and the both of you are going to come up with plausible answers to the questions on that piece of paper." Mrs. Lee said, looking Donghyuck straight in the eye to show she was not happy with what Donghyuck said, "Get your story straight before the interview the next day."

"Yes, ma'am," Donghyuck said, disappointment filling him.

---- ---- ---- ----

"You better be up, Mark, I told-" His manager said, swinging the door of his room open.

"What the hell!" Mark screamed, pulling the blanket up to cover himself and the naked girl in his room, "Don't you knock anymore?"

His manager shook his head and gave Mark a disappointed look before walking out, leaving the door open.

"Where were we?" Mark said to the girl whose name he had already forgotten.

Just as she smiled back at him and tossed her hair over her shoulder, leaning down to kiss him, Mark's manager walked back into the room with a piece of paper and a pen.

"What's your name?" He asked her curtly, ignoring the glares both of them were throwing him.

"Ashley Matthews." She answered.

"Do you know what this is?" Mark's manager said and handed her the paper.

"No?" She replied, eyes glossing over the paper.

"It's an NDA," His manager told her, "A non-disclosure agreement that states that anything you did and/or saw since you met Mark stays with you and no one else. That means no social media of any kind, no telling your friends, no whispers, no selling that information to the media because if you do - We will sue you for everything you have. I would say that includes the clothes on your back, but you're currently wearing none. Not only will we sue; we will make sure you are publicly known as a liar and we wouldn't want that now would we?"

"No." She answered in a small voice, gulping in fear.

"Sign it." He said, passing her the pen.

"Thank you." His manager said curtly, snatching the paper back after the girl had finished signing it, "You may leave now. The exit is the same way you came in."

Ashley pulled the duvet as she picked her clothes up from the floor and scurried past him.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Mark said with a resigned sigh.

"What did I say about your sexual escapades?!" His manager practically yelled.

"To be discreet," Mark answered.

"How was this discreet exactly?!" His manager asked, seething, "You already know about the contract you have with Donghyuck! If anyone found out about this it would be over before it even started!"

"Relax!" Mark said, leaning back into his pillow, "The band is on break so the boys are all either busy or back home with their families. They weren't going to come back anyway."

"And what if that floozy took pictures, huh? What if she has voice recordings or something on you!" His manager said, "You would think you would be more careful than this, Mark!"

"What did you come in my room for, anyway?" Mark asked, ignoring his manager's comments.

"You have a prep session with Donghyuck in an hour," The older man said, sick of Mark's games, "I knew you would forget."

"I didn't forget." Mark lied.

His manager sighed, shaking his head, "I knew something like this would happen but I just hoped that it wouldn't."

"Taeyong-" Mark started to say but his manager cut him off.

"If I'm not here, just make sure they sign an NDA before leaving." He said, hand on the doorknob, "They're in the second drawer of the study."

---- ---- ---- ----

Donghyuck was told to dress casually but not to dress too comfortably because there would be a few paparazzi who were granted 'exclusive access' the moment that he was entering Mark's house alone.

Donghyuck had no idea what that meant, so he just dressed like how he would for rehearsals on a set - it wasn't any different to the situation he was in now anyway. This was simply a rehearsal for the real thing that was happening tomorrow.

Donghyuck parked his car and almost immediately could spot the two photographers trying to be stealthy behind the bushes. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag off the passenger's seat.

Donghyuck opened his bag, before exiting the car, to check if the papers were there and folded them and hid them, just in case. He couldn't afford to be caught, especially before they even started.

He got out of the car, locked it behind him and pretended not to hear the loud shutter sounds coming from the camera. He walked up to the house and rung the bell, unconsciously holding the strap of his bag tightly to his body. Donghyuck heard the side gate open and Mark comes out from it.

Donghyuck forced a smile and before Mark could even say anything, and mumbled, "There are papz here. Hug me."

"What?" Mark asked, confused.

"Shut up and hug me." Donghyuck said, wrapping his arms around Mark's neck and hugging him close, "There are photographers hidden in the bushes."

"Why didn't you say so?" Mark said with a big, fake smile already plastered on his face for the pictures.

"I did!" Donghyuck answered and untangled himself from him.

"Come in." Mark said, taking Donghyuck's hand in his and pulling him to the door.

Once they were away from the photographers, hidden behind the giant, steel gate, they immediately separated, each to their own corners of the gate.

"Nice house," Donghyuck commented, looking at the garden that seemed to stretch out and then to the simple yet modern archway leading into the foyer.

"Thanks."

"So..." Donghyuck said, awkwardly rocking back and forth on his heels.

"Come in," Mark said, oblivious to the nervous tick Donghyuck was exemplifying. He led the way into the living room and sat down after closing the door.

"Do you live alone?" Donghyuck asked, looking around the house.

"No, I live with the rest of the band but since we're on a break, they're off doing their own thing."

"And you're stuck with me."

"So, what are we doing today?" Mark said, clasping his hands together.

"Your manager didn't tell you?" Donghyuck asked, eyebrows furrowed while getting the paper out from his bag.

"He probably did but you know how I am," Mark brushed off.

"Okay, putting it simply - We need to get our story straight."

"Let's do this!" Mark said, getting up.

"Where are you going?" Donghyuck asked, following Mark with his eyes.

"To get us some food and drinks," Mark told him, "It's rude to let a guest starve in your house."

"Oh," Donghyuck said surprised, not knowing that Mark actually had good manners. "Thank you."

"What's the first question?" Mark asked, voice sounding far as he entered the kitchen.

"How did you two meet." Donghyuck read, loudly so Mark could hear.

"That's easy!" Mark said, "At an afterparty! That's how all celebs meet."

"That wouldn't work," Donghyuck said.

"Why not?"

"I don't really go to parties and that's kind of common knowledge," Donghyuck told him, "If we said that we would be caught right there."

"What about through mutual friends?" Mark asked, walking in with chips and dip on one plate and two bottles of soda.

"What mutual friends do we have?" Donghyuck asked him while helping him set the food down.

"It's called a lie, Donghyuck," Mark said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just thinking from all possible angles here," Donghyuck explained, taking a sip from his drink.

"We could say that a mutual friend of yours knew a friend of mine and introduced us," Mark said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What if your band members ask which friend of yours and which friend of mine it was?" Donghyuck asked.

"Oh."

"So much for easy, huh," Donghyuck muttered.

"Oh, I got one!" Mark said.

"What?"

"Ask me the question and I'll pretend like this is the real thing," Mark said.

"So," Donghyuck said putting on his best interviewer voice, "How did you two meet?"

"It's a funny story actually," Mark said, with a little laugh, "I had just finished watching Superhuman and I had to congratulate Donghyuck for his amazing performance but I hadn't met him before so I didn't have his number. I actually begged my manager to get his number and the rest is history."

"If I didn't know any better I would have actually believed you," Donghyuck said, impressed.

"I'm amazing, really."

"Modest too," Donghyuck mumbled.

"Next question!"

"Who made the first move." Donghyuck read, "That's easy - You."

"Why can't it be you?" Mark complained.

Donghyuck simply raised his eyebrows, "Do I really have to say it, Mr. Womanizer?"

"Point taken," Mark said, shutting his mouth.

"What if they ask what you did?" Donghyuck said.

"I just wooed you with my boyish charms," Mark said with a smug smirk.

"There's literally no follow up question that can be asked," Donghyuck said.

"That's the point." Mark deadpanned, "Next question."

"Was it love at first sight?" Donghyuck read.

"I think we should try to be funny with this," Mark suggested.

"How so?"

"Ask the question again," Mark said.

"So lovebirds-" Donghyuck tried out in his interviewer voice.

"Lovebirds?" Mark asked eyebrow raised.

"I'm trying a thing, here!" Donghyuck said and cleared his throat, "So you two lovebirds, was it love at first sight?"

"For me, it was but definitely not for Donghyuck," Mark answered, "He hated me when we first met. He said I was cocky and...What was the other word you used, honey?"

"Okay first off - honey?" Donghyuck asked.

"It's the same as your lovebirds thing!" He said, waving his hands about.

"And what was that?!"

"I was making you a part of the conversation! It's what couples do!"

"Fine try again." Donghyuck said, clearing his throat and getting into 'character'.

"He said I was cocky and... What was the other word you used, love?"

"Arrogant and stubborn." Donghyuck answered with a sheepish smile, "But once I actually got to know him, he was really charming and cute."

"I see why you won Best Actor," Mark said.

"We can totally pull this off," Donghyuck said. "We're so good!"

"Any other questions?"

"Oh yeah, there are a ton of them," Donghyuck said, showing him the paper.

"This is going to be a long afternoon."

"Get used to it, honey," Donghyuck said.

Not Edited

Saturday, September 7, 2019

The next chapter is going to be the last one I will update until next week....