The Day You Saved Me

19.

Your first instinct is to run and hug him, but as you come closer to him you become aware of the place you are in. There must be cameras here, you think. You can see the way Chris's face lits up as he opens his arms getting ready to hug you, but you stop in your tracks and look around before turning back to look at him. "We can't... Not here", you say in a whisper, scared someone might hear you talking.

It takes him a second to understand what you are talking about. He doesn't know about your conversation with JYP, you never told him, so he just says "There's no one here, we are safe."  You shake your head and take a step back, "But it's okay if you don't want to talk here. Meet me by the river in..." He looks down at his watch, "30 minutes?" he says in the same tone you are speaking. His eyes are shining brighter now, but you notice the dark circles under his eyes, and your heart shrinks. It's all your fault. It's the first thought that comes to your mind.

You go back to the meeting room, where you left your bag, phone and the pile of legal papers the lawyers had brought for you to read. You take them and throw them inside your bag and exit the building, taking a cab and ordering the driver to take you to that spot by the Han River you had first met Chris at, waiting for him to arrive.

Chris goes down the stairs and into the studio, in a hurry to take his bag and leave to go meet you, but as he exits the room and bumps into JYP. "Chan! I was hoping to find you here.", he grabs his shoulder and forces him to walk down the aisle. "Is it urgent? I'm kind of in a hurry", Chris says to him as they reach the elevators, "Yes. Come to my office with me, would you?." He huffs, but decides it's better to get it over with, and just see what he wants quickly so he can leave.

They climb into the elevator and get to the top floors of the building, looking for the main office. His secretary greets them on the way in, once they are inside, he sits behind his desk and Chris just stands in front of him, nervously checking his phone and losing his patience as each minute passes. "Please, take a seat", JYP gestures with his hand at the chair in front of him. "You're scaring me now, what's so serious and urgent?." But the man in front of him doesn't answer and places both hands under his chin, as if wanting to emphasize his demand.

Chris drops his bag on the floor and makes an annoying sound while rolling the chair to sit in front of his manager. "Thank you", the older man says, "So, I've noticed you guys are having a lot of fights recently. Especially Seungmin and you. What is going on?", if Chris was annoyed at the conversation before it even started, now his anger is through the roof. "You don't have to worry about that, I have my team under control". He moves to get up, but his movements are stalled by his next words.

"Do you really? Seungmin tells me your mind is somewhere else, and I think he is right. Maybe you are thinking too much about Miss Park?" Chris just stares at him. He can't actually believe all the information he just heard. Seungmin had talked to him? "I'm sorry but that doesn't concern you. And I don't know exactly what Seungim told you, but I am working on the album 24/7, to meet the deadlines you gave us." He gets up and turns his back to him. "Is that so? Where are you going now, Chan? Perhaps somewhere near the river?".

A chill runs down his back as he turns back around, "Are you following her? Leave her out of this", Chris says in a low angry voice. "I'm just making sure you play your cards right, Chan", he takes one more step towards the desk, "Is this a game for you? I'm not a puppet you can just play with." JYP rearranges himself on his seat, radiating superiority as he stares at Chris with a wicked smile on his face. "You are certainly not a puppet for me, Chan. In fact, you are the most important asset I have right now, you and your team. That's why I can't just let this girl distract you from your career." 

Chris tries very hard not to lose his cool at this joke he is hearing from this man who took him in when he was just a kid. "You've just said it. We are the your most important asset right now, so don't ruin it trying to control me or harming Y/N", he turns, picks up his bag from the floor and reaches the door knob, but just as he is about to leave JYP says, "Things could go very wrong for her, you know? I guess she told you about the divorce settlement?", he turns around one more time, his face is flushed red.

"Her husband wants to declare her as mentally unstable", he gets up from his chair, "My team of lawyers are working very hard to make sure that doesn't happen, so it would be very hard if she suddenly loses their assistance." Chris's phone starts to vibrate in his pocket, and he knows for a fact it's you, he had changed your ringtone to make sure he got your calls in case of an emergency. So, his patience is over, and he walks straight to JYP and stands tall in front of him, "Is that a threat? Cause if something happens to her or you withdraw the lawyers from the case, you better prepare yourself to lose some good money."

And with that, he finally leaves the office, and goes inside the elevator. He pulls out his phone to see he has kept you waiting for much more than 30 minutes, and you've sent him several messages asking him where he was and if he was gonna make it. He tries to call you, but it goes straight to voicemail, and he curses out loud inside the small cabin. As he reaches the first floor, the car is already waiting for him, he asks the driver to take him to the stop you have been waiting for over an hour now.

Chris tries calling several times again, and his anxiety grows as you don't answer one single call. He spams your texts as well, but they are not going through. He loses track of time trying to reach you, and when the car comes to a stop, it's only for him to realize he is at the dorms, at the other side of the city, very far again from where he was supposed to meet you. "What? Why are we here?", he questions the driver. "I'm sorry Mr Bang. I had strict orders to bring you here", the driver says apologetically. "Fuck", Chris screams and get out of the car, running to the street and stoping a cab.

On the other side of town, your face is stained with tears as you walk alone under the cold night. You had waited for him for an hour and a half, almost two hours, you had called and texted, and when you realized he was not going to come, you had simply turned off your phone, and started walking towards Suho's house. He had stood you up.