BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 51: falling fast

Jieun was fighting back the urge to cry, but she let out a small chuckle. "Thanks... Thanks, sunbae-nim. I won't give up, don't worry,"

"Alright, I have to go now. All the best, Jieun-ssi," Chungha said encouragingly. "Keep me updated, alright?"

"Don't worry, I will."

-•-•-

"You don't seem as upset as I thought you would."

Jennie looked up. "Hm?"

"I thought you'd be really upset about this, but you aren't..." CEO Yang eyed Jennie suspiciously. "Did you really bully those girls?"

"Sajang-nim!" Jennie pouted. "Just because I don't look upset, doesn't mean I'm not upset. I cried a whole lot yesterday, I'm just trying to keep myself together so that we can think of a suitable plan."

"You're just trying to keep yourself together but you keep smiling to yourself?" CEO Yang scratched his head. "That's a coping mechanism of yours I've never seen before..."

"It's just my way of handling things-" Jennie smiled as she thought of how big a part Yoongi had to play in consoling her last night. "Can we talk about the important stuff now, please, sajang-nim?"

"Okay, firstly, I wanna know what you think-" CEO Yang flipped through the folder laying on the table in front of him before glancing up at Jennie. "What do you think is a suitable measure to tackle this situation?"

"I think..." Jennie thought for a while. "It'd be nice if the company could believe and support me on this, and reiterate that I never would have done such a horrible thing to them, especially since they are my seniors. The photos and voice recording was taken out of context... People need to see the full picture before they can form such conclusions about me."

"Mm-" CEO Yang nodded. "That's fair. We can release a statement with the company's stance on the issue. We'll also make sure we get people to look into the original footage in nearby CCTVs... But in the meantime, it's unlikely that the filming for the movie can continue."

"What?" Jennie gasped as she rose to her feet at once. "Why? I didn't do anything wrong, why do we have to stop filming-"

Jimin, who was seated next to her, pulled her back into her seat gently.

"That's what scandals do, Jennie-ya..." CEO Yang sighed. "I spoke to the gamdong-nim this morning - they're not stopping, they're just putting it on hold for a while. Once the misunderstanding gets cleared off, or all the hate online cools down, they'll continue filming."

"But-"

"I know how important this role is to you," CEO Yang assured her. "But there's nothing much we can do right now, before the truth is revealed to the public."

"So... what? Am I jobless for the time being?" Jennie's jaw dropped. "What am I supposed to do if I'm not allowed to act?"

"That's why-" CEO Yang slid the folder across the table towards Jimin. "I already have it all planned out for you."

"What's this?" Jennie frowned as she glanced at Jimin. "Oppa, what is it?"

Jimin scanned the document and turned to Jennie with his eyebrows raised in alarm. "Love House, a dating programme."