the 1 | chaennie

13. Ours

They were planning on releasing it in autumn, following the precedent of her last two albums, which meant that she'd need to release her lead single in a few months' time and wrap everything up. It wasn't even halfway into the year yet, but she could feel the pressure surrounding this album. Her fame was growing with each day, with each hit, and she needed to keep the ball rolling before she faded back into nothingness and let her career snuff out with a dull album that didn't sell. But Rosie was too wilful and headstrong to not put every ounce of herself into her work, and she had faith that the album would be a success. A part of her was determined to make sure it was because, for the first time in her life, it was personal. Too personal. It was about her and Jennie, and her family and Suzy, and how all of these new changes in her relationships were affecting her. A part of her wanted it to succeed just so that she would know, deep down, even if only for herself, that her budding love for Jennie was universal, that nothing changed just because she loved a woman, and that no matter if she changed the small details, her love was real to her and everyone else.

But when she pulled up at the office and breezed in through the lobby, smiling at the receptionist and spending a few moments talking to a few of the employees crowded in the elevator, she stepped out onto Chanyeol's floor and found herself staring at the back of the CEO, who turned and gave her an easy smile as he beckoned her forward.

"Hey kid, how're you feeling?"

She shrugged indifferently as he slung an arm around her shoulder. "I think I might have a new song for the album."

"Fantastic! You can play it for me after the meeting and we'll see."

Giving him a warm smile, she let him guide her towards the conference room, and he opened the door before ushering her in to find three women already sitting there. Clare, Hyeri and Irene. Pausing just inside the door, Rosie blinked in surprise as suspicion crept up on her, and she realised that this wasn't an album meeting. Her publicist and manager didn't concern themselves with the tiny details about her songs and how they were produced and whether she needed to amp up the folk music aspect in one song and the country in another. Her mother wouldn't have been called in either. With dread, Rosie felt the blood drain from her face as she met Clare's eyes with an accusing look on her face.

"You told them?!"

"Take a seat, Rosie," Chanyeol softly ordered her from behind, and she found herself stumbling forward, feeling numb as she took a seat at the end of the long table.

She all but collapsed onto the chair, her hands trembling as she balled them in her lap, and she watched as Park Chanyeol walked to the other end and sat down, staring down the length of the table as he reclined in his chair with an unreadable expression in his eyes. The room was dimly lit with yellow lights and bright sunlight streamed in through the wall of windows behind him, giving a glimpse of palm trees and dusty foothills on the horizon. She'd spent hours in that room, on both of her previous albums and the upcoming one, poring over possible album covers, debating track listing and discussing the details of her first tour. It had always been filled with passion and voices clamouring as they tossed ideas back and forth and hashed out their disagreements.

Never had the room felt so quiet and tense and left her feeling cold inside as she stared down at the wooden grain, unable to bring herself to speak. It was a relief when the door opened again a few minutes later, and she eagerly looked up, hoping that it was some kind of business emergency that would mean that Chanyeol had to rush off and she could postpone this meeting until another day, giving her some time to pull herself together. As she looked at the tall man that stepped in, she jolted with surprise in her seat as she took in the sight of her father.

"Dad? " Rosie exclaimed, quickly climbing to her feet and rounding the conference table to hug her father.

The smell of his expensive aftershave brought back memories of her childhood, and she pressed her cheek against the collar of his grey Italian suit jacket, unable to hold back a smile. It had been months since she'd seen Mason and a long time since she'd spent any regular time with him. His arrival was completely unexpected, but she found herself glad for it and smiled up at him as she pulled back.