Well, you look like yourself
But you're somebody else
Only it ain't on the surface

- you're somebody else (flora cash)

65. you're somebody else

The Busan Concert was cancelled and that had caused an uproar in the K-pop community. This was the second concert in a row which was cancelled owing to Han Seojun and stan twitter was going crazy.

The band members were on the down low ever since the scandal of Han Seojun and Kang Soojin came to light but there was an urgent need for an official statement to be released.

The pressure amounting on Han Seojun was immense and he hated the backlash Soojin was receiving.

"Is there nothing to do than deny?" Seojun asked Suho and the other board members of Move Entertainment. "Because I was in fact with Soojin that night and even though the video about her past was true, it does not mean she is a bully now."

The Board Members were furious to know that HFA had associated them with bullies and immediately asked for the contract to be cancelled or for Kang Soojin to be removed from the project. They then confronted Han Seojun and demanded why he was ready to strip down from his reputation for a girl who had only caused trouble.

But Seojun did not care.

"It is in our best interests' to deny you being with that woman and put a stop on these accusations." The Chair of the Board said with a twitch of distaste in his words. "The Busan concert has already caused immense negativity, the last thing we want is Starlight getting revoked from KMF."

KMF.

That got Seojun's attention immediately. He had joined the band, enslaved himself with strict diets and mundane routines only to get enlisted to sing at the KMF. He had lived his miserable life so he could finish his last task on the list and move on from his pathetic nightmares.

KMF was undoubtedly more important to him at the moment and there were less than two weeks for the same.

"They are right, Hyung." The other members of the band added to Seojun's dilemma, H was the only one who did not speak up. "We have been working tirelessly for the past five years to get where we are now. You cannot give it all up for a woman you don't even know."

"Jae-song is right," Ha Min-ju said, shaking his head in disapproval. "You are our front-man, you have to decide what is best for the band and not just for yourself. The KMF is so close, so please, deny this and put an end to this charade. We need this win. Imagine how successful we can all be after the KMF, but the down-fall will be worse than this."

Seojun did not have the heart to tell the boys that there was not going to be a band after the KMF considering that their front-man was not going to continue but they were right, he had to take a stand that would be beneficial for them as a whole and not just for him.

The rest of the band left Seojun to decide for the press conference to be held while H remained back to add in his voice of opinion.

"What?"

"Ani, just wanted to tell you to be selfish."

Seojun glanced at the boy, the youngest of the band. "What do you mean?"

"Hyung, I know I am going to sound so silly as I say this. But you should do what is right." H said, his pretty smile hiding how nervous he really was if the group did disband. "We have worked a lot to be here, that is true. But, is the band, or the festival worth throwing away a relationship that matters to you more than anything else?"

Han Seojun marveled at how sensitive and mindful H was, especially at a cut-throat competitive field like theirs.

"The KMF is very important to me, H." Seojun patted the boy's shoulder, a soft nod in response. "More important than anything else right now. So blow some steam off, we need to get back to practicing."

With that H joined the rest of the band members, leaving Seojun to get ready for the press conference to be held in two hours. He was very sure of what he wanted to do with this month, and no one was going to hinder his plan.

The festival was important to him. And he'd rather break Soojin's heart now than later, when the pain would be immensely grave.

_

Kang Soojin was called back to the office by Mr. Choi the next day. She assumed it was to discuss the penalties she was to pay and take her belongings from the cubicle. She was tensed to face everyone at the office but it was still better than being at home and wondering why Seojun had not called her.

She was an idiot. If only she did not let him kiss her, she would not have been such a pathetic mess right now.

The fact that she was out of a job, would probably not find any owing to the scandal and would have to resort to menial jobs did not bother her as much as Seojun's absence from her life did.

She needed to sort out her priorities.

Soojin headed straight to her office and managed to avoid the mass of crowd standing outside the office for her by entering through the back gate. It was weird, Kang Soojin thought, just last week she was the most popular employee working directly under Mr. Choi and the infamous Han Seojun and now she was the office outcast.

The office scenario was way worse than the media remarks. All of them were staring at her with disdain and hatred. Soojin walked past the deceitful looks of the employees who once looked at her in admiration and warmth and moved to gather the stuff on her desk.

Even her favourite colleagues were ignoring her. Soojin sighed, packing her belongings which was a photo frame of Jaehun and she posing on the very impromptu birthday celebration they had last year, a plain white coffee mug, her personal diary and the tote bags they got from the office last month. She placed them in the cardboard box and looked at the little corner which was her comfort place.

It did not have to end this way.

Yet it did.

Ignoring the glances and the whispering, Soojin walked past the crowd and knocked the glass door of Mr. Choi who was on his laptop, typing furiously.

"Miss Kang."

Soojin greeted the man with a slight bow and stood with her gaze lowered. "I got the termination letter, and I know I have to pay the penalty amount, but I don't have that amount of money at hand right now, so-"

"Penalty?" Mr. Choi did not look up from his laptop, catching Soojin off-guard with his question. "Your termination letter is terminated, Miss Kang. Did you not get the revised e-mail?"

Soojin furrowed her brows, immediately scanning through the tons of notifications she got and found the e-mail stating that she could work back with HFA and that her termination letter was rescinded. She looked at Mr. Choi with a surprised stare and then back at the e-mail, confirming its contents.

"The Busan concert was cancelled, and the company has assigned the client to another team but we still have to move with the other pending clients. You have two days' worth of assignments to finish." Mr. Choi looked at the stunned woman, still no expression on his stoic face. "I hope you know that I hate tardiness."

Soojin smiled. It would have been a battle for Mr. Choi to keep her on his team considering she had already been terminated and was reinstated by them. She was not an idiot, she knew that Mr. Choi played a pivotal role to keep her around even if it meant for them to give up on the Starlight project.

She was grateful and at the same time, ashamed. She lowered her gaze and cleared her throat.

"So you don't care?" She asked.

Soojin knew how hard it must have been for Mr. Choi to give Starlight's assignment to another team considering he earned that work.

"Care about what?"

"About the video and the accusations?"

Mr. Choi stood, buttoning his suit and looking just as handsome as she had last seen him. She on the other hand looked miserable with bags underneath her eyes and traces of the horrors of the couple of days evident on her worn out face.

"I choose to live in the present, Miss Kang." He articulated his words in his determined tone, each of his words slicing through Soojin's numb exterior. "And I believe humans make mistakes, some learn to grow from them, some choose to remain the same. If we all dwell in the past and keep going back to what we were, doesn't that make us stupid?"

Soojin felt heard at that moment. She couldn't believe that Mr. Choi, the stoic expressionless and cold man, was the only guy who was standing by her.

In the past year, all Soojin did was curse his methods of working and all he did was observe her carefully. He could tell whether a person is right or wrong just by their facial expressions and body language and in that year, he knew everything there was to know about Kang Soojin.

She had nothing to hide, because her eyes did all of the talking.

"Thank you, Jang-nim. I know it must have been insanely difficult for you to let go of this assignment because you earned it."

"It is just a client." Mr. Choi had a faint smile on his face, enough for Soojin to be rest assured. "We can get more."

Soojin nodded, grateful for Mr. Choi who took a stand for her and helped her not lose her job and possibly, her confidence. She held the new files she was handed by the office boy and did not frown at the huge pile of the pending work.

"The press conference has started, you wanted me to remind you." Mr. Choi thanked the office boy and switched on the TV in the cabin to the press conference of Starlight.

Soojin looked at the boyband and her heart miserably pounding at the sight of Seojun, seated in between with the spotlight on him. He looked just the same, lack of light in his eyes and no smile on his beautiful face.

Mr. Choi watched Soojin fixate her gaze at the man on the screen. He realized that Soojin had heart eyes every time Seojun was in the picture. He ignored the pang in his heart and focused back on the boyband.

Starlight's members and their manager along with a few of the important staff of Move sat on the panel. The interviewers were all ready to ask questions about the latest scandal to Han Seojun, but the host of the conference wanted to direct the questions to be about KMF more than the scandal.

However, when one daring interviewer raised the question about the scandal, Seojun and Starlight could no longer hide.

"What do you have to say about the latest rumor about dating a school bully, Seojun-shi?" The reporter asked a question that made everyone hold their breaths. "Are you in any relation with the woman as per the news?"

All eyes were now on Seojun, including Soojin's who held her breath. She knew that he had to deny everything if he wanted to perform at the KMF and let his boyband live to see another day. She knew that was indeed the right decision, to act like she was unimportant and that she did not matter.

"First of all, thank you for this conference and giving Starlight a chance to speak against the rumors circulating."

Seojun's voice was always the charm of both the band and the audience. The moment he spoke, no one dared to speak up.

Being a man of few words had its advantages of its own.

"To answer the earlier question, yes, Starlight is still going to perform at the KMF and we are apologetic for the cancellation of the Busan Concert owing to the news in circulation." Seojun crossed his hands, interlacing them and brushing his thumb over the tattoo on his finger. "And with regards to the dating rumors with my former classmate Soojin Kang..."

Former classmate.

Soojin hated how small that made her feel.

"The rumors are, in fact, false." Seojun had the same brooding expressions which he carried for the past years. "I am in no association with Kang Soojin other than being bound in a business contract, which we have now terminated. Be rest assured, neither Starlight, nor Move Entertainment, nor me, would ever be in any cahoots with a bully. We do not condone bullying, nor bullies. We extend our deepest sympathies to everyone who has ever been bullied."

Soojin was quiet. She had nothing more to expect given Seojun did everything she thought he should have. Then why was she feeling so heartbroken?

Was it all she was? A former classmate who bullied people?

"Thank you once again for this platform and for our fans who have been patiently awaiting our response. Please refrain from circulating rumors on social media and we hope to see you in large numbers at the KMF."

That was the end of their conference and what possibly seemed like an end to whatever they had.

Soojin excused herself from the cabin and walked out of the office cubicle fearing that her heart would explode.

What was she expecting? For Seojun to declare in front of the country that she was in fact his friend – not just a friend, but beyond that?

The notifications poured in like rain, with messages and calls from her friends and the twitter mentions of relief that their favourite Han Seojun was not dating a bully.

It stung to be at the losing end of the bargain she made. She knew that it was not going to be easy but she did not expect herself to be heartbroken again.

Why in the world did she believe that someone like her would also be loved?

_ 

a/n 

Mr. Choi raising standards and for what reason T__T

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