BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 95: enough is enough

"At the point that Jieun-ssi was presented with that option, I think she definitely was blindsided by the fact that this could make it or break it. As a reporter, there's really a fine line between what is morally acceptable and what isn't... and at that specific point, she felt that it was alright. I guess, all of us felt that it was fine too, that's why she went ahead. Technically, he wanted her by his side, after all. He needed her help, so she gave it to him. She would have been seen  by him as the nice person.

"But overtime, she began to fall for him. I saw it happening before my very eyes, yet I didn't stop it. She began telling me less and less things about his actual work life, but began telling me more about his personality, how he was a genuinely nice person at heart. So I'm not gonna sit here and pretend like I didn't play a part in this whole mess right now. This whole situation blew out of proportion, and I think I need to apologise - to both Jieun-ssi and Jungkook-ssi. To Jieun-ssi, for not being a good mentor and to Jungkook-ssi... for reasons that are rather clear at this point."

Namjoon nodded slowly, as he let Chungha's words sink in. "Right. Hoseok-ssi, what about you? Have you settled your thoughts?"

Hoseok nodded slowly. "I think... I think Chungha managed to summarise pretty much everything I wanted to say. I share the same sentiments that I have a part to play in this whole matter too. In fact, we were the ones, as seniors, who gave Jieun-ssi the advice that she needed a big story to succeed. Yes, she may have taken things a bit too far, but it was our duty as her seniors to stop her before things went out of hand. And at this point, she is clearly struggling to handle things with Jungkook-ssi and I don't think it is right for us to leave her in the lurch right now, even though she legally is no longer under our company."

There was a short silence as Namjoon sat there for a while, his eyebrows furrowed, clearly in deep thought. Then he took a deep breath and sat up straight, leaning forward against his table and nodding slowly.

"I think you both hit it on the nail - I, too, share the same thoughts as well," Namjoon said slowly. "I, in particular, as her boss, had the duty to monitor her progress at every step of the way - something which I had neglected due to how busy I was with other cases. I failed her, I did Jungkook-ssi wrong as well. When she came running to me, telling me she wanted to quit all of a sudden, I should have known. But yet I still asked her to carry on, asking her to give it some more thought as she went for the trip with him to Nami Island.

"I know that right now, this may sound rather absurd - but I'm actually glad all this happened. Because if this whole incident hadn't happened, I don't think any of us would have realised exactly how out of hand the situation had become. It is definitely time for us to intervene - before things get even uglier than they already are."

Hoseok and Chungha nodded in agreement.

"So... I guess the question now is-" Namjoon pursed his lips as he glanced up at the two once more. "What shall we do from here?"

-•-•-

The day dragged on for both Jungkook and Jieun.

They weren't even together before this, but it really did feel like a heartbreak for them both. Maybe it was the fact that they were living under the same roof - they had long become used to each other's presence, each other's weird habits, eating meals together, watching their favourite shows together; and then seeing each other at the company the next day, occasionally sharing a small laugh, teasing each other, making awkward eye contact and both smiling shyly as they looked away... the bond they had formed over the past few weeks was something that some couples in relationships couldn't match up to. Maybe that's what made the separation so hard... and so, so painful.