palpitations | s.k. + j.l. (soonhoon)

쉰셋 (swinset)

"Explain," Mr. Kang said, crossing his arms. "Start from the beginning. You're dating someone?"

"I...yes," Soonyoung answered timidly. Mr. Kang rubbed his temple silently before speaking up.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Mr. Kang demanded.

"We just started dating yesterday, sir."

"It's a guy?" Mr. Kang checked. Soonyoung nodded, and the CEO sighed.

"Soonyoung, I don't personally have anything against your preferences, but you know that not everyone here is accepting of gays yet," Mr. Kang lectured him. "This scandal could ruin your career."

"Sir, the picture isn't entirely incriminating. They're only hugging in the photo. Friends do that all the time," Seungcheol spoke up, attempting to maintain peace.

"We can hold a press conference to rectify the situation," Seungcheol proposed. "Chan's debut is coming up, right? We can tell the press that Soonyoung isn't seeing anyone and then tell them about how he's been helping Chan out with the choreo for his debut song."

"I think we'll have to do that. There's no other way out of it," Mr. Kang sighed. "Seungcheol-ssi, you and Soonyoung-ssi will have to work together on the story you're going to tell the press."

"Of course, sir." Seungcheol nodded. Mr. Kang turned to Soonyoung.

"Soonyoung, you must be able to recite it perfectly at the press conference. If you make even the smallest mistake, the reporters will be able to spot it, and they'll use it against you," Mr. Kang warned him. "If you want to protect your career and your boyfriend, you cannot mess up. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be careful from now on as well," Soonyoung replied.

"I trust you two. Don't let me down. Your career shouldn't have to end because of this little thing," Mr. Kang said. "I'll send some people from PR over to help you."

"When will we have the press conference?" Seungcheol questioned.

"We'll try and schedule it for tomorrow at noon. Doing it today afternoon would be too soon. We'll say that you had today off and were out with friends, so we couldn't have it today," Mr. Kang decided.

"Seokmin doesn't have a schedule, right? Go out with him for lunch and then hang around somewhere for an hour," Mr. Kang continued. "We'll have some people take photos of you to post online just in case. We'll begin getting things ready for the press conference. Work on your story while out if you can."

"Yes, sir," Soonyoung responded.

"Oh, one more thing. Your boyfriend won't cause any trouble, right? Can you ask him to keep quiet about the whole situation?" Mr. Kang told Soonyoung.

"Of course, sir. He won't say anything. He's not that kind of person," Soonyoung affirmed. "I'll still ask him not to say anything though."

"Good." Mr. Kang nodded. "You may go now then."

"Sir?" Soonyoung spoke up, and Mr. Kang raised an eyebrow. "Thank you for being understanding with me and not demanding I break up with him."

"I don't have time for this sappy crap, Soonyoung. Go." Mr. Kang shooed Soonyoung away, but Soonyoung smiled when he noticed the grin on his CEO's face.

♬

"Soonyoung-ah, you should go home soon," Seungcheol said. "You need to rest properly for tomorrow."

"Just a second, Seungcheol-hyung. I really need to memorize this," Soonyoung mumbled.

"Soonyoung-ssi, your manager is right. You should sleep," one of the PR department employees, Seo Ji An, interrupted. "You know, psychologists have found that people are more likely to remember things they've studied if they go to sleep immediately after studying those things."