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It was January. It was cold. Especially the atmosphere in the rooftop meeting room. Daera heard her blood rush through her body and she pressed her lips tightly shut. The aura around Lee Soo Man was scary and she wasn't sure how she should answer his question.
"Shall I repeat it?" The CEO said calmly. Daera looked at her folded hands that were lying in her lap. "Sir, please don't forget that she is still a Teenager—" Hamin started but stopped when Mr Lee shot him a threading look. "I don't care if she's a teenager or a grown up!" He yelled and Daera flinched in her seat. Her whole body was shaking.
"Sir!" Ari started. "I know I'm in no place to say this, but this girl is my niece and I don't want you to scream at her like that. She is only eighteen years old!" Ari's outburst made the room quiet. No one was saying a word and Daera was too afraid to look up and see what her boyfriend was doing.
Donghyuck had widened his eyes at the outburst of his manager and had folded his hands. He was nervously fumbling around with his fingers and looked at the white polished table. He had never thought that the chill MC Ari could explode like this.
But Donghyuck knew that this wasn't just about him. It was an attack on one of his family members. To his niece that he looked after while her parents were everywhere but at home. Donghyuck felt like it was his fault, this drama was happening.
"When we were eighteen, Ari, we had to act like grown-ups already." Lee Soo Man had started speaking again, looking at the manager dead in the eye. "If they're old enough to have a relationship, they're old enough to see what consequences it has." Mr Lee looked at Daera and she felt cold sweat form on her neck. She was afraid of Lee Soo Man.
"Look up", the CEO demanded and Daera carefully lifted her head. "Listen, we're here to discuss Haechan's future." He said and Daera nodded. "If we see that Haechan is lacking, we have to take measures, no matter in what relationship you are with him." Daera nodded again.
"I wish I could just force you two to break-up." Lee Soo Man sighed and looked over to Donghyuck, who had lifted his head. "But Hamin and Ari already told me that it's useless." The CEO sighed and folded his hands under his chin. He opened his mouth to say something when a knock interrupted him.
"Excuse me for interrupting", the desk-lady burst into the room with a bow. "We found the source that sold the pictures to Dispatch, Sir." The woman said with a discrete look towards Donghyuck. Lee Soo Man looked up and followed the look to Donghyuck.
"I understand." He whispered and stood up. "I'll be back in a while." He said and left the room.
Once the door fell into its angles, Daera relaxed. She had no idea what was happening and she was afraid of the outcome of today. "Daera!" Donghyuck called her and she finally locked her eyes with those of her boyfriend. "He said he won't force us to break up! Isn't that relieving?" He asked with a big, goofy smile on his face.
Daera sighed. "I guess so..." She whispered and looked at her uncle. "What will he do to us?" She asked and Ari shook his shoulders. "I've been to meetings like this before, but the past meetings had all been between two celebrities. I have never been confronted with a non-celebrity x celebrity relationship before." Ari confessed and Daera nodded.
"Don't make such a long face, Daera! I told you I'll do anything so we can stay together. Okay?" Donghyuck asked and Daera nodded. She felt secure, now that Donghyuck promised her. She liked him a lot and she wanted to stay with him for a long time. Even if that meant that she had to deal with SM's scary CEO.
While Daera looked at Donghyuck, that was staring back at her, she thought about all their memories, they had shared together; the beginning, when Dongyhuck had always been grumpy towards her, the times he was jealous of how much love she had for Seulgi and how she always said she would marry her. The times when they laid in her bed and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling. The times they snuck out in the middle of the night, to watch the city lights and the stars. Their fights, as horrible as they were.
She liked him— no, she loved him. He was her first true love and even if she was inexperienced, she would shower him with even more love, if that was possible. Her thoughts always ended up being about him. When she had to concentrate in school, she suddenly ended up thinking about the mole next to his nose and how he always giggled like a school girl when she kissed it.
She sighed and tilted her head, Dongyhuck watched her every move and tried to hide a smile. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and thinking about how confused and angsty she might feel at this moment, made him realize how scary it must be falling in love with him.
He was a celebrity and she was a normal high school student. There were worlds between them; Donghyuck could still only think about her.
When he was recording songs about unrequited or broken love, it was difficult for him to stay focused, since all memories of the love he had, were beautiful ones. He opened his mouth to say something when the door opened and Lee Soo Man entered the room again.
"Hamin, Ari could I talk to you for a second." The CEO seemed troubled and shot a look towards Donghyuck once again. The two managers stood up and followed the CEO out of the room. "I wonder what the problem is", Daera started and looked at Donghyuck. "I dont know, but the CEO kept looking at me, right?" The singer asked and Daera nodded, before turning back to Donghyuck.
"I hope we can leave this room with a smile." She said and Donghyuck nodded. "Same."
