______________

| January 14th, Thursday, 2021 |

Surely, Annie's day wouldn't go so nicely after getting into a scandal, let alone a dating one.

Just five minutes after she met her actual boyfriend inside the studio, she got a call from Yujin. It was time to explain herself to the company.

"...for God's sake, if you were going to date at least make sure you don't get caught!"

"Where were you two when she was meeting him?"

She stood in silence as the older people talked (yelled).

"I...I left the girls with Dongchul to get them some food."

All eyes turned to him.

"I told her to wait for me because I was busy! But she couldn't stay without her phone for a few seconds, so she grabbed the car key and went on her own."

Dongchul spoke frustrated and Annie couldn't help but let out a scoff.

"Is there something funny, Annie?"

A man with greyish hair and rectangular glasses asked.

Now it's the time you're supposed to "respect your elders" and say "no", then agree with your manager and get in trouble instead of him.

"There is, actually."

Annie locked eyes with her male manager, just to see despair in his eyes.

"...that day, I asked Dongchul to go with me towards the car because I forgot my phone. He refused at first, saying I should wait until the ceremony was over, but I said it was important so he agreed. Just as we were about to go down, he met a woman...an old friend, I assume. He then gave me the keys and aske- no, pressured me to go on my own."

As if I would protect this man's career.

The room got silent.

Annie pretended not to see the looks she was getting from Yujin and the glares from Dongchul.

"Dongchul? Is that true?"

A younger woman from the marketing team asked.

"Partially, yes."

Annie let out a quiet laugh.

"Well, it's useless to question that now. Annie, you should've known better than to meet your boyfriend in the middle of a parking lot filled with cameras."

"He's not my bo-"

"We should discuss whether to confirm it or hide it. Heesoo, do you think admitting their relationship would do us any good?"

"But we're not-"

"It will definitely bring attention to the group. We could say they broke up in a month, but I doubt HYBE would agree."

The idol let her body fall to the back of the chair.

Why were they making things harder? Isn't the rule number one to listen to your artist first?

"Yujin, have you talked with them yet? What did they say?"

"They decided to follow what their artist wants."

Should I sign with HYBE?

"...Choi Yeonjun said he's okay with what Annie decides. If she wants to reveal the relationship, he won't be against it."

Annie immediately pushed her body to the front, pressing both hands against the table.

"He said what?!"

"Haerim..."

Yujin whispered carefully.

"We're not dating, you know that!"

"There's no point in hiding, Annie. We won't kick you out."

"We will cut your payment for two months and cancel a few of your public appearances, but you'll still be in the group."

Her shoulders dropped.

"I don't get why you're doing this. Yeonjun is my friend, he probably said that because he wants what's best for me. I also don't understand how confirming the rumours would do any good. I don't want our group to be known because one of the members got caught in a dating rumour."

A few staff members slightly nodded their heads.

"Are you sure you'll be fine saying you're not a couple? And that you've never dated?"

Yujin asked with her very familiar motherly tone.

"Ye-"

Ah.

Jongwon.

So I either say that was an act for a creep to stop following me and make him mad, or I say me and Jun dated for a month only and make our fans mad.

"Yes, I'll be fine. You can tell them the truth, Yujin."

Our group mates should not be harmed because of this.

● ● ● ● ●

"Hey, Ahn Haerim!! Why didn't you reply on the groupchat!?"

"Are you two really dating?!

"Are you okay?"

The girl was bombarded with questions as soon as she stepped inside their dormitory.

"I'm fine, Rem, thanks for asking."

"What happened? You dated Yeonjun when you were trainees?"

Jaein asked one more time.

"We fake dated for a month to get rid of a creep."

She answered tiredly while entering the kitchen.

"What!?"

They yelled in unison, making her flinch.

"The company will put out an announcement in like an hour or so, you guys can read that."

Annie waved them off.

It's not like she meant harm, she had explained the same story four times today. She also spent three hours inside of a meeting room, losing the chance to work on a really nice track she had thought about.

As much as she tried, Annie couldn't help but go on social media, and the hate comments were worse than she thought. Let's just say getting death threats wasn't on her wishlist for....ever.

Anyhow, It was a tiring day.

"An...I don't want to know about you through articles."

The maknae pouted.

"Sorry. Let me shower first, then I'll tell you, okay?"

They all nodded, giving her some space.

As she walked to the shower, Annie thought about telling them about her actual boyfriend. She hated lying to Boram, but it was getting harder and harder to find the right timing.

Telling Jaein, on the other side, wasn't her priority. She had a feeling the leader wouldn't be able to keep it a secret.

Ah, right. Maybe she should tell Changbin first. He spent the day congratulating Yeonjun and her on their group chat, also bragging because he had always known.

"Yeah. I'm telling Boram tonight and Changbin tomorrow...I'll figure out how to deal with Jay later."

_________________