"Please don't leave me. Please don't fall. Never never fall, don't go far away."

0:00 |───────── 4:27

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The group hung out for a bit after the music video was over. They changed into civilian clothes and hung out in the lounge room, where alcohol was served. However, Rein found it within herself to not touch even one glass of champagne. She felt antsy, as she was waiting for Namjoon to leave the group to do something, anything, but it was no use. He didn't budge, but instead opted to peer down at his lap almost the whole time while she talked with the other members, as if it would look any different from the last time he did it. They barely noticed as they were too wrapped up in their own little conversations, and they took Namjoon to just be his quiet self.

But she knew there was a difference in the silence.

The invisible wall was back up again, and there was no getting around it with a shortcut. Not this time.

After what seemed like years, he eventually excused himself and left. As soon as he was out of sight, she grabbed her belongings.

"I think I'm gonna head out, y'all," she said feigning fatigue. The members gave her disappointed looks.

"So soon?" Taehyung asked. She shrugged.

"I know... I'm just a lot more tired than I thought I'd be." At least that was a partial truth.

"Oh... Well, when Namjoon gets out of the bathroom-"

"No! No, no," she said a little too loudly. Taehyung's eyes widened at the outburst. Rein composed herself and started again. "I don't want to bother him or anything. I'll see you guys..." She thought. When would be the next time she would see them? She would come into the studio less now that the songs were mostly written and the music video was more or less complete. She wasn't sure if she would have an excuse to talk to them to this extent again.

"But... He might get worried..." Taehyung said, twiddling his thumbs. Rein tilted her head.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, isn't it kind of obvious?"

"Uh, no?"

"He kind of li-" Jungkook grabbed his arm and pulled Taehyung down with him. Taehyung seemed to have an epiphany after a moment, his face glowing bright red.

"It's fine. You get some rest," Jungkook said with a warm smile. "We'll see you around." Rein looked at Jimin and Taehyung, slightly confused.

What was he going to say? Though her curiosity burned hot, she didn't press the issue further. She wanted to leave before she had to see Namjoon again.

"Have a good afternoon!" Rein called as she made her way out of the building as the boys waved at her. She let out a relieved breath as she stepped out into the open air, realizing how stuffy the inside of the building felt.

The wind chilled her to the bone, bringing violent shivers along with it, but the pain was a bittersweet distraction from what happened that day. She bit her lip as she hugged her coat closer to her body, looking at the gentle frost gripping the windows, the leafless branches above.

Rein sighed and let a tear slip down her cheek. She just had to ruin everything.

She climbed into the car, not daring to say a word to the driver. It sped her away wordlessly from the place she discovered heartbreak, and somehow, the hurt cut deeper as the building became just another addition to the Seoul cityscape.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Ms. Cho invited Rein to dinner at Luka 511, one of the most esteemed restaurants in Seoul, and likewise where Rein felt the most self-conscious about her clothing. However, she wasn't painfully underdressed like the first time she was at Luka 511. Ms. Cho hadn't overseen her wardrobe choices then, and upon opening the door to the restaurant, she was almost kicked out by the staff until Ms. Cho convinced them of Rein's importance in the music industry. However, this time, Rein dressed to fit in, begrudgingly letting Ms. Cho pick out a lilac Valentino dress and a Dior evening bag.

She strode in, looking around at the Burberry, Chanel, Gucci. The whole place stank of money and privilege.

Rein wondered how she got so good at picking out name brands.

Ignoring the people's bored yet snooty sideways glances at her, she sat down at the table facing Ms. Cho.

"So, you must be happy about completing the music videos, no?" Ms. Cho asked, taking a sip of water. Rein shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. I think I'll miss the band since they're the only people I've been around other than you for a couple of months," she said.

"Understandable. But something else to think about is your own promotions here. Now that you're in the Korean spotlight, you need to make the most of it. Now, I've already scheduled a few interviews..."

Rein zoned out as her manager droned on about scripts and questions, thinking about the day for what felt like the thousandth time, probably because it was. Despite what a better part of her thought, she knew she had to sort out the ordeal with Namjoon. If not for him or a working relationship, then for herself.

It won't matter in a few weeks, anyway, she thought bitterly.

That much was true, as she had no reason to see any of the band for the rest of her life after she left Seoul, except for award shows and the like, but even that was unlikely. She knew this was how it was with most features, as they almost always started from the prospect of gaining and ended with reaping the benefits of their collaborations, going their own separate ways to repeat the process once more.

Though she could grasp the reality of the situation, it didn't make her any less melancholy.

She thought about talking to Namjoon in the studio. A real talk, where they could hash everything out without having to worry about anything around them. But was that really a viable option? She thought of the unwanted attention it would draw, Rein insisting on the both of them going somewhere private to "talk", and with Yoongi always in the writing studio, it would be difficult getting him alone.

Think, Rein Erin Jones. If you can't talk to Namjoon in real life, how would you figure it out?

The lightbulb in her head clicked on.

Of course! She thanked her lucky stars that she was born in the 21st century.

"Can I get Namjoon's number?" Rein said suddenly, cutting Ms. Cho off mid-sentence. Ms. Cho sighed.

"You weren't listening to a word I was saying, were you?" she asked, raising a thin eyebrow.

"No, I totally was. All of that sounds great," Rein said with a grin. "So, can I?"

"Your Korean is improving."

"Thank you, and don't get off-topic." Ms. Cho gave Rein a disapproving look.

"Why would you need to get Namjoon's personal phone number? Anything business-related can easily go through me, and I will figure it out."

"Yeah, but..."

"Furthermore, even if I had access to that sort of thing, it would be very inappropriate for me to give it out to a mere acquaintance, and you know that," Ms. Cho argued. Jeez. Inappropriate seemed to be her favorite word these days. Rein put a hand to her chest, pretending to be offended.

"Me? An acquaintance? I've been working with him for, like, two months! People sometimes start dating in that amount of time!" she exclaimed, earning some rude glares from the surrounding people.

I wish.

"I still don't understand why you need his phone number," the shrewd manager said, squinting her eyes. She was getting suspicious of Rein's motivations, but Rein expected that. The key was to keep a level head and use logic to her advantage.

"I need someone to bounce ideas off of sometimes, and he's not there with me in my hotel room to do that, so it would be helpful, in my humble opinion," she said, a note of teasing in her voice, disguising the fact that lying was next to impossible when Ms. Cho was involved. When her manager still looked at her with that unconvinced look, Rein added, "This is for business, of course."

"Well, if you're so close with Mr. Kim, you should be fully capable of getting it yourself, correct?" she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.

She got me there.

Theoretically, she could ask Namjoon for his phone number. But what would she justify it with? She imagined the scenario: "Hey! Can I have your number? I need it because I hate leaving things open-ended with people and I'm too much of a coward to have that conversation face-to-face!"

"Alright, you caught me," Rein said, hands up in defense. "It's not about work. It's about something else that's pretty important, and I seriously need his number to do that."

"As I said, I can handle any issues that are business-related," Ms. Cho replied.

"I mean no offense, but I think I would feel more comfortable talking to him without a middle-man."

"Here's what I can do," the singer's manager said with a sigh, "I can set up a secure meeting with him, approved by Bighit, of course. It'll give you a good few hours to talk." Rein grinned. It wasn't like her manager to respect her privacy in any way shape or form, but she could get used to it.

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" she cried, grasping Ms. Cho's hand which was resting on the table. Ms. Cho smiled and put her other hand on top of hers.

"You're welcome. I hope you figure out whatever it is you need to do."

Rein smiled.

"Me too."

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A/N: Thank god it's labor day 'cause I literally cannot handle finals ugghhhh.... english and math on the same day does not work for me. at all. anyone else have finals tomorrow?

Also, I'm contemplating whether I should do some... explicit.... scenes... in here... It'll be a ways away but I'm still thinking about it. Thoughts??