Happy reading 🙂🙂

Shreya happily walked down the street wearing her long padding coat. This thing was a literal saviour. She made her way to her favourite cafe for a cup of hot cocoa. This one was her favourite because the cafe was big and free. It was spacious even though people filled the place continuously. It had an empty feeling and she loved that. It gave her some space. She took her seat at a table at one of the farthest corners. Her smile no longer there. She sighed as thoughts flooded her head. She knew what she had gotten herself into.

One and a half years into her relationship with Mark.

It was a bliss. She wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. As it smooth as it looked, it wasn't. It was also a bumpy roller coaster ride. They were starting to get a little distant. Small arguments here and there. She knew that she was making this a big issue by overreacting. It can't be called overreacting, but yearning. Yearning for his attention. It had been quite a while since they'd had a proper date. It didn't matter to her, the way they had dates. Hiding, with a mask. Always cautious. Always the quick ones. No street food dates. No holding hands. No dates like a normal couple that people saw around the city. The ones without any worries.

If they needed more time to spend with each other, it had to a luxurious date. And she hated that. She hated that he had to shell out so much money just to spend hours with her, without any tension. Just the two of them. All alone. Nothing to bother them.

She looked at the ring that he had given her on her birthday, one and a half years ago. It did feel quite lonely. The buzzer on the table buzzed and she got up with a sigh to go get her order. By the time she was back, there was someone sitting at the table.

"Excuse me?" she called out.

The person turned around to greet her with a wave. She could see that he was smiling from underneath his mask that he was wearing.

"You? What are you doing here?" she whispered, placing down her tray.

She sat down, looking around to see if people were looking at them. But heaved a sigh of relief when no one was looking at their direction. She passed a piece of cake that she was glad she bought.

"Thank you" he smiled, pulling down his mask.

"And yes, me" he winked.

"Here we go with the winks" she chuckled.

"I know you love it" he winked, again.

"Why are you here?" she whispered, leaning forward.

"A small cafe date with you" he smiled, yet again, taking a bite of his cake.

"For how long have you been here?" she asked.

"Ever since you got here" he replied.

"So, you followed me here?" she cocked a brow.

"Yep" he nodded.

"That's more like stalking, you know" she chuckled.

"Well, it doesn't matter as long as I get it be with my special person" he shrugged.

"Stop being so cheesy. If it was the old me, I'd have cringed" she said.

"But you are special" he said:

"Stop" she whispered, siping on her hot cocoa, looking around.

"You're blushing" he pointed out.

"Oh, stop" she whined with a glare.

"I still have forever with me, even if I stop now" he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, that's true" she smiled "are you mad? It's so cold out there and you're not even wearing a jacket!" she snapped.

"Take this" she gave her coat.

"I'm okay" he smiled.

"Oh, the hell you are. Your nose is purple" she stated.

"Fine, give me" he took the coat.

She was good as she had a thick hoodie under the coat. She was never going to get used to the winters here. It was just not something she could take.

"How was practice today?" she asked.

"It was quite hard. But I left midway, so my manager is filling up. And as for Johnny hyung, he's still not back since movie shoot schedule got extended" he replied.

"No Johnny hyung for this comeback?" she asked "so, no Dee for how much longer?" she asked.

"Most probably. But we have his parts recorded. I don't know if we'll have to redo it all" he said "I don't know when they'll be back" he replied.

"It must be quite a hard movie then" she said.

"The weather and female protagonists were the problem" he said.

"Protagonists?"'she asked.

"Yes" he replied.

"I'm curious now" she said, rubbing her palms in excitement.

"Cutie" he smiled.

"Oh, I don't like you" she joked.

"It's just been two years and you don't like me already" he frowned, leaning back, folding his arms across his chest.

"A year and a half" she corrected him.

"Two sounds better" he said.

"You both, just get married already" they heard a voice from behind.

"What in the-" Mark turned around and stopped halfway only to see Mayi, who stood in her hospital scrubs.

"Jieun-ie!" he smiled.

"Hello lovebirds" she laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Shreya asked.

"Well, I know that you're not aware. The hospital I work in, is just two minutes away from here" she replied.

"Doesn't your hospital have a cafe?" he asked.

"It does. I just need some time alone. I don't like being around people all day long. And I am not a social person. So is my sister. This cafe is the right place to get a breather" she replied.

"And now, I will not be a third wheel. Enjoy your date. Toodles" she smiled, walking away with her tray.

"Both sisters hate being around people" he shook his head watching Mayi take the other farthest corner table.

"But look where they are" Shreya shook her head.

Not even a minute later, there was a loud buzz that was heard. Mayi stood up apologising as she shut her buzzer off at her waistband. She gulped down her ice coffee, chewed on the ice cubes and ran to their table with her cake.

"Guys, I'm sorry. It's not touched, finish this off please. It's 'code yellow'" she said and was off running to the entrance.

"Bye?" Mark waved.

"Well then" Shreya spoke.

Let's continue" he said.

"What?" she asked, taking a bite of the cake.

He took her hand in his "how are things going on with you? How are you? I'm sorry I've not been able spend much time with you" he sighed.

"I'm good. It's even better since I have a lot of time in my hands. There's not much to do" she smiled.

"Never apologise okay. We're not a normal couple. We're a super couple. So, I'm happy. Happy that you're there. There for me" she smiled, patting his hand.

"Let's go" he said, getting up.

"Where?" she asked.

"Come" he pulled her along, to which she could just follow.

Mark drove towards Seoul Forest. It was empty at this time as it was slightly drizzling with rain and some snow. They walked through the path of the forest carefully as the sheath of ice was slippery and the rain drizzling made it no better. The trees coloured white in snow made it look like cotton candy.

They walked across the bridge under which the frozen steam glistened and crinkled with the sheath of ice. You could even see water flowing underneath. They walked a little further to see a few security guards. Mark showed a green pass and with that, they walked towards a little hill that was covered in light snow. It looked like white crystal powder sprinkled all over.

"Hehe" Shreya giggled.

"Let's go" he pulled her.

They carefully climbed up the little hill. There was a little bench in the centre that had shelter around it. A big tree whose branches spread out wide, making it look like a canopy.

"This is my favourite place" he smiled, rubbing his glove cladded palms.

"No one knows this place right?" she asked.

"No one" he shook his head.

"How'd they find you if you were here? When you have your phone turned off" she sighed.

"I know you need time alone, but.." she sighed again.

"It was easy because nuna knows. But not exactly where I go. She takes care of it" he smiled.

She didn't want to talk anymore about this. He really did need some time off. And it was not wrong. With all the busy schedules, it was not wrong to put things behind and take time to heal.

"I really want to see how this place looks in spring. If it is this beautiful now, spring must be magnificent" she smiled in awe.

"It is amazing. Especially with the cherry blossoms blooming" he smiled.

"I'd love to see that" she said.

"We'll come together" he smiled, holding her hand tighter.

It had been so long since he had seen her smile her true smile. How he sometimes wished he was not a celebrity. If he was not one, then he'd have been able to give her all the love and attention she deserved. But, coming to think of it, if he wasn't one, he'd have never met her again.

Everything did have it's own pros and cons.

"Hot cocoa?" he heard Shreya.

He turned to see her hold out a flask that had the yummy chocolate drink. Shreya had asked the barista to fill some when she had placed her order. She always did that. Filled up her flask and picked it up while leaving the cafe.

"We just had some, didn't we?" he chuckled.

"I did. You didn't" she said.

"Okay" he smiled.

They sat there for a few hours, happily sipping on their hot cocoa. But they never forgot that they had life, their real life waiting for them after their little bubble burst.

Three months later...

The comeback took place without Johnny as the schedules had gotten messed up due to the weather and set malfunctioning. Well, he was going to be there for the repackage version of the album. And it was spring already.

"Hello guys!" Johnny greeted, walking into the meeting room with a smile.

"Finally!" they heard Haechan groan.

"How did it go?" Yuta asked.

"You look super exhausted" Mark said.

"It went well" Johnny sighed as he took a seat.

"You get a single this time in the repackage since your parts for the title track were removed" Taeyong said.

"We have four songs and start recording from tomorrow" Taeil said.

"Where's Eunji?" Doyoung asked.

"Tan-ta-da! Here I am" Dee peeked in from the door, wearing a mask. She was carrying coffee cartons for all of them.

"Long time no see, my dear children" she laughed, but winced a little.

"Why the mask?" Yuta asked.

"Cold" she replied.

"Liar. Your eyes always swell when you have a cold. And your voice is not okay" Doyoung snapped.

"So much for observation" Jungwoo shook his head.

"She is lying" he said with confidence.

"Just take your coffee and don't overreact. Pass Mark his tea please" she said, passing the drinks.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. Now shush" she chuckled.

"It is a little muffled. It's the mask, I guess" Yuta said.

"She got hit by a saesang" Johnny spoke robotically, playing with his straw.

"Oh, fuck you!" she snapped.

"Kim Eunji!" Manager Lee spoke "if it is the same one from last time, I guess it's time to file a lawsuit" he said.

Dee had bruises on her cheek and chin and it was something that happened sometimes. But not too often. The process of protecting the idol from the overly crazy-obsessed fans was hard. And she being a woman, lacked the strength. She walked out angrily to see Shreya, greeted her with a hug and walked away.

"How many episodes do we have?" Shreya asked, entering the room.

"Six, including the clip you'll be recording from this moment. The last will be a special segment since this is their tenth studio album release with fifth repackage album" he smiled.

"Congratulations to you all!" she smiled.

Manager Lee got off his chair and by then, Shreya was done setting her camera. A few more with the help of help of other staffs and few self cameras on the table. The recording started and all she wanted to do was to go home.

Three months later...

It was just another busy summer afternoon and the 127 members along with the Dream members were practicing for a collaboration. They were going to wait a while more for the WayV members to return from China. They had to continue the NCT 2032 activities.

They were super happy that they had stopped with 23 members and super happy to have Sungchan and Shotaro be a part of NCT 127. The two along with Yuta had formed the Japanese subunit called NCT J.

The guys cheered and sang along as Dee danced to Dream's Boom.

"Jeno-ya, I need you to join me for this" she called out as time almost time for the final chorus of the song.

Jeno happily joined as he took position in front of her and they danced to last segment of the song.

"Nuna, you still remember the choreo!" Chenle cheered.

"It's just been thirteen years. What do you mean by 'do you still remember?' Do I look that old?" she asked.

"Let's do Hot Sauce" Yuta laughed.

"Yeah! Seuka, seuka, seuka, seuka" she laughed, doing the step. And that made the others laugh as well.

"Seuka seuka" Haechan laughed, falling to the ground.

"Not fair. Eunji, I thought your were my friend" Doyoung pouted, as he slightly sulked.

"I am your friend. Your best friend" she smiled, pulling at his chin "okay, sorry" she grinned, hugging him.

He shook his head, throwing his arm around his best friend's shoulder. It had been eleven years since his drama, but people still remembered the seuka seuka part even to this date.

"Any other choreos you know?" Mark asked.

"I know all of the title track ones. I don't know some of the b-sides that were choreographed before I joined" she replied.

"Where's Shreya? Is she so busy that it's so hard to get a glimpse of her?" Jeno asked.

"Oh, she's working on the new reality show for EXO. And also on Red Velvet's vlogs and relay lives. So, girl is busy" she replied.

"Just get married already" he said.

"We will" Mark smiled.

"Y'all have comebacks at the same time and it's a whirlwind" she sighed out loud.

That was when the Head Managers of both groups stormed in with angry faces. The others looked confused just as their smiles dropped and wondered what had happened.

"What happened?" Dee stepped forward.

"Is this what you do?" Manager Lee snapped at her.

"Manager Lee!" an angry Johnny stepped forward.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"This" he showed articles and pictures of Mark and Shreya together.

She turned to look at Mark and he just looked away. Their faces weren't seen, but it was easy to identify Mark and not Shreya. She was happy they had their masks on. She slowly heaved a sigh of relief.

"I.. I" she stuttered.

"Quit if you can't" he screamed, smacking the papers at her face.

"One more time, I will not stay still" they heard an angry Johnny again.

But this was not the time to pay attention to him. There was no time to think if he was trying to protect her for real or if it was all an act.

"You were supposed to keep track of the member's activities. All the member's social media accounts have been deactivated. Are you even aware of the ruckus that's happening?" he snapped again and this time he glared at Mark's personal manager as well.

"This is.. it's not true. We can always release a statement saying it was fake. It's not the first time that something like this has happened" she sighed, massaging her temples.

"They want Mark out of SM" he said.

"Why aren't you ready to listen to me?" she snapped and the whole room went silent.

"I'm saying it's not true" she whisper-hissed.

"But nuna, it's true" Mark stepped forward.

"Mark" she glared at him.

Why was he like this? Couldn't he see that she was trying to take care of it? To fix it. To untangle the mess. It was not wrong to date. He was a grown man and was at the right age to settle down.

"I will leave the company" he said.

"Mark, no!" Taeyong gasped.

"I'm not ready to let you and the other members suffer for my selfishness hyung" he sighed.

"It is not selfishness. It is your happiness. It's not wrong to love. And we are happy only when you are and when you are here with us. Together" Renjun spoke up.

"You will not suffer for me" he spoke with absolute seriousness.

"If this is your decision, go ahead. We are with you in this" he heard Jisung.

"I will take care of this. Mark, you are not going anywhere. No one suffers" it was Dee who spoke now.

She looked at Chenle, who stood at a corner, all silent, looking lost. His eyes snapped to her's the moment he felt her eyes on him.

"I will quit. Since, you said that I didn't do my job good. Nobody gets to control and tell my little brother what to do" she snapped at Manager Lee and walked out. She could hear the practice room in chaos right behind her.

"Nuna!" she heard Chenle from behind.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Are you sure Mark won't leave?" he asked.

"Yes, he'll not" she smiled.

"Or do I need to talk to my dad? He's a shareholder here" he said.

She knew that his dad was a board member. The boy was trying to make full use of it now. Her grandparents were too.

"That's not needed. My grandparents are enough" she smiled.

"How?" he asked.

"With me quitting" she smiled.

"How is this relevant?" he asked. He was getting annoyed and she could see it. None of his questions were being answered.

"Who do you think 2(EJ) belongs to?" she laughed.

"You got to be kidding!" he gasped.

"I'm not" she laughed "and you're the first one to know about it" she laughed harder at his shocked face that got shocked even more.

2(EJ) Entertainment was a company run by Dee's grandparents. The company was not an old one compared to SM, but had proved that it could take it's to the top 3 ranking. With some good groups and soloists, they had managed to grab the top spot.

"The initials of yours and Jieun" he said to which she nodded.

"My grandma will help and for that, I need to quit SM and take over 2(EJ)" she smiled.

"Do you have to?" he asked.

"To win some, you need to lose some" she smiled.

"If I am to ever leave this place, I will join 2(EJ)" he said.

"You are always welcome" she smiled "I'll see you later, okay" she walked away, patting his head.

Shreya, who was in the editor's room sat shivering. The articles that kept getting posted. And each one was published with something added. The comments everywhere on social media made her blood boil.

Why was it wrong to try to lead a normal life?

Who were they to judge him?

Who were they to interfere in his personal life?

For God's sake, he was not the public's puppet.

Dee ran into the room and pulled away Shreya's phone. Shreya who was ready to throw hands attacked Dee, but she dodged.

"Shreya, calm down. Calm down" Dee whispered, hugging her tight.

"No one's leaving. Mark is not leaving this place" she said, pulling away. She cupped her cheek and patted her head.

"You sure?" Shreya asked.

"Yes" she nodded "just take a few days off" and with that, she walked out.

She made a call "Halmom" she sighed.

"Let's talk at home" she heard her grandma on the other side of the phone.

By the time she was at home, she had already spoken to Minah to help her in claiming that the pictures clicked were fake and photoshopped. Minah was a photography and photoshop expert at the forensic department. It was a petty thing, but Minah was ready to do that to help her friend.

"Tell me" she sighed, as she walked into her grandma's study and bowed.

"Quit SM and I'll help you" her grandma smiled.

"How did you know?" she looked confused.

"This" she turned her laptop to show multiple tabs that had articles regarding Mark's dating scandal. And graphs of SM's fluctuating stocks. It mostly was dropping.

"Halmom" she sighed "Mark is one of the most popular members. He's the one who get's noticed first. By anyone. Ones who are not into Kpop. Or the ones who are new to it and to the group. It's going to be a big loss for both NCT and SM" she said.

"And as you see, the stocks are already dropping" she said.

"Why must that bother you?" her grandma asked.

"Because... because I still work there and I care for the boys" she replied.

"You will not from coming Monday and I'll help you with that" her grandma said "and with what I'm going to do and if that get's into the media's hands, the stocks will plummet" she smirked.

"What do you mean? Halmom, what have you got?" Dee asked.

"Kim Eunji! That's for me to know and for you to dot dot dot" she smirked.

"Oh, not the Vampire Diaries reference" Dee scowled and then sighed.

"Alright. Thank you! Love you Halmom!" she smiled "how's harabeoji doing?" she asked.

"The same. There's nothing that can be done. Go see him" her grandma sighed, walking towards her.

"Not now. Now's not the time. I'll go see him when I've left that place" she said.

"Good girl. There's a board meeting tomorrow. So, I'll take care of it then. You just have four more days" her grandma said, patting her cheek.

"I'll leave now. You'll have something you'll need for tomorrow. You'll get it tonight" she bowed and walked out.

"This girl" the old woman shook her head with a sigh, clicking her tongue.

By the end of the day, the pictures that Minah had edited reached Dee and she smirked going through them. What did her grandma have in hand that she was not aware of? She knew everything, but was there more? Well, that didn't matter. As long as Mark got to stay and get all of the allegations cleared, things were good. She gave them to her grandma's assistant so that she could use them tomorrow.

What made the agency not want to put out a declaration saying that the accusations and pictures were false and fake? Why were they not ready to do anything for Mark? Had something happened? Was something not right between him and the management? What was she not aware of?

Well, she had no answers and she didn't have the energy to think about it. She didn't even want to think about it.

"Oh, I get to leave that place!" she cried out in happiness as she stretched.

The next afternoon, even before the meeting was over, news channels were all about Mark and how he had been falsely accused and that he was still going to be a part of SM Entertainment. The board members walked out and Lee Soo Man looked like had seen a ghost. Well, maybe her grandmother's trick did work. Dee walked to him with a smile, holding out her resignation letter.

"How was I not aware that you're her granddaughter? Now that I see it, I see the resemblance" the old man chuckled, going through her resignation.

"Did you underestimate my granddaughter SooMan?" her grandmother asked.

"Absolutely not" the old man chuckled.

"I'm glad you know it now" Dee smiled.

"I'm sad you're leaving" he said.

"Did you expect me to babysit all sixteen of them till the end?" she scoffed softly "there'll be someone who can do better than me" she smiled.

"Good luck Eunji-ya" he smiled.

"Thank you, sir" she bowed and with that, he walked away.

"Halmom" she almost cried.

"We won baby" her grandma smiled.

She walked her grandma out to her car and walked back in happily to the practice room. The moment she entered, her eyes searched for Mark, but she couldn't find him. Right at that moment, Johnny slipped and fell.

She walked to him "come on big boy, let's get you up" she sighed, trying to pull him up.

"Always been heavy" she chuckled to herself and it was loud for him to hear.

She helped him to the nearest sofa and Johnny could just watch. She had always called him "big boy". So, she did remember. She knew it all, but said nothing to him.

"Where's Mark?" she asked, looking around, sounding a little worried.

"He hasn't come today" Doyoung replied.

"We tried calling, it's switched off" Jungwoo said.

"Was he home last night?" she asked.

"Eunji, I'm sorry" Johnny said.

"Shut up Johnny, this is not the time" she snapped, but turned around the moment she realised.

"What did you just do? You apologised to me? For what?" she asked, confused.

"For how terrible I've been to you" he sighed.

"Forgiven. You really are" she said.

"As I was asking, was he home last night?" she asked the guys.

"No" Taeil shook his head.

"Even Shreya hasn't come today" she said "wait, I asked her not to" she said.

"Kim Eunji!" Manager Lee walked in, banging the doors open.

"Hmm?" she cocked her brows.

"Why didn't you tell that you were 2(EJ)'s heir?" he looked like he had committed a grave mistake.

"What?!" the guys choked altogether.

"How fast do the words spread?" she sighed, massaging her temples.

"My grandparents own 2(EJ). So, yep I am a part of it. My sister too. And today's my last day here. I am leaving!" she jumped and let out a happy squeal.

"You're leaving too?" Taeyong asked.

"Deal's a deal" she shrugged "and I know where to find Mark" she said and with that she was out of the room.

"Mark, why are we here?" Shreya asked.

"I really need to find a way to get us both out of here" he said, as he walked up and down the living room.

"When it's all alright, why?" she asked.

"I don't think I can" he sighed.

"You have to! Why would you when it's all been proved false?" she snapped.

"When it's all true?" he scoffed.

"Mark, you've worked so hard. Don't" she sighed.

They heard the lock of the door unlock with a beep and looked panicked. Who could be here at this time of the day?

"What are you two doing in my house?" Dee walked in.

"Don't tell me you wanted to elope" she pursed her lips.

"Nuna, why?" he asked.

"I told you you're not leaving" she smiled "now go back" she said, patting his cheek.

"Thank you!" he smiled.

"Oh hush. Now go. Shoo! Shoo shoo shoo you both" she laughed "and be extra extra careful from now on, okay?" she warned.

"Bye" Shreya smiled and the two of them walked out with happy smiles.

"I can take the vacation I needed now" she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Shall we have some ice cream?" Shreya asked.

"What else do you want?" Mark asked.

"Just an ice cream. That's enough" she smiled.

"Ice cream it is then" he smiled.

He took her hand in his and held on tight as they walked towards his car. He didn't have to give up on either of them. He could have both his career and lady love to live a happy life.

Shreya smiled looking up at him. He seemed the most happiest he was of all the days she had known him. And she promised to never let that smile of his waver. They were going to be happy people. Just like everyone else.

OHKAY.. I DID COME UP WITH THIS BONUS/ ALTERNATE CHAPTER AFTER THINKING ABOUT HOW I ENDED THIS.. MY FRIEND NESS BROUGHT IT UP AS TO HOW SHE WAS A LITTLE UPSET ABOUT THE ENDING.. ABOUT NOT BALANCING PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE.. SO YES, THIS IS THE REASON THAT I CAME UP WOTH AN ALTERNATE ENDING.

YOU HAPPY nessajoyelle ?

I HOPE THIS WAS FINE.

LOVE,
SHREE ♥️🤍