Some call it fate (Ahn Hyoseop x Kim Sejeong)

Thirteen

Sejeong poured soju into her glass and downed it immediately while her manager grilled the meat they had ordered.

"Need something stronger?" she asked.

"Don't tempt me," Sejeong replied, immediately refilling her glass.

From her pocket, her phone buzzed once again. It was probably the hundredth notification she received that day. She had been ignoring Hyoseop's texts and messages as she didn't know how to respond. She pulled out her phone to look at what he sent now.

효섭 오빠♡

Can you please just let me know you're okay? I'm going crazy here. I miss you so much and I'm sorry for letting you down.

Sejeong sighed and put her phone away, staring blankly at her plate. It's been a while since she felt like this, and it was tough to not break down and cry every time she thought of it.

"You need to eat," her manager said, interrupting her thoughts.

She picked up the chopsticks and pushed the food around her plate, "Can you just tell me what you know?"

Mae-nim shut the grill off, "Okay, I need you to listen with an open mind. I know it looks really bad right now, but believe me, when I say Hyoseop had your best interests in mind, he always does."

Sejeong nodded, "The least I could do is give him benefit of doubt,"

"Hyoseop approached me before you left for Canada, saying he had an idea and wanted my thoughts on it. We had coffee together and he told me that he's interested in having his company manage you after your contract has expired. In fact, if there was any way he could get transfer your contract over to his company before the expiration date, that'd be preferable. You and I both know we're done with Jellyfish after this year, and that you haven't been happy with them for quite some time now."

"I know,"

Her manager poured her another drink, "I asked him if he's discussed this with you and he said not yet because he had bigger plans for you at his company."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure," mae-nim shook her head, "but he promised me that he would tell you sooner than later. I had assumed that he would tell you while you were both in Canada, but he jumped the gun and started having conversations with Jellyfish immediately. If you saw the email trail, you'd see that he and his team had tons of questions about what was and was not possible. They really did their research, and he wants you out of there as fast as possible."

"It still doesn't make it right."

"I know, he should've gone to you first before even doing anything. But like I said, he seems to have a bigger plan for you than what he told me. He also promised me that I would come with you, no matter what. To be honest I think he just got a bit excited, Sejeong-ah. You know how he can be."

Sejeong drew circles around the table, "I do appreciate him thinking about my future, but it just doesn't seem right for him to manage my career, don't you think?"

Mae-nim looked at her in surprise, "Manage your career? Just because he owns the company doesn't mean he'll have any say in direct decisions. In fact, I think that's why he wants you to move to his company because he'll be the only CEO who will treat you like an independent artist. Imagine, Sejeong-ah, we get to make our own creative decisions and choose only the opportunities that we want!"

"Sounds too good to be true,"

"You thought Hyoseop was too good to be true."

At that comment, she blushed, "I suppose that's true,"