Accidentally Assisting

Chapter 45 - Come Home, Once Again

What the heck? I've never given an interview?

"You okay, Rose?", my dad asks at the other end of the line.

"Holy shit, dad," I say breathlessly.

Then, there are the photos. So, so many photos. Jungkook and me in the car, the day he was driving, dumbly smiling at each other. Our walk in the park in Berlin. Him squeezing my shoulder at the airport as the huge masses gave me anxiety, even though I never voiced it out loud cause I didn't want to appear as unprofessional. There's a collage of at least five photos. One of them would have been insignificant, but all of them connected are more than suspicious.

"At least there's none of us kissing," I think out loud. Big mistake.

"So it's true?", dad exclaims, shocked. "You were dating your boss?"

"Only for a few weeks, dad-"

"But that's so wrong, Rose!" I know him well enough to be aware he's not saying this to be judgemental but out of concern.

"I know, why do you think I moved to New York all of sudden?", I answer a bit impatiently since we've got more pressing matters to discuss.

"Everything makes so much more sense now.", my father mutters. I can practically see him shake his head.

"This is such a mess, dad," I groan as I try not to panic without success. "Oh my God, I'm in a scandal. I'm in a fucking nationwide scandal, dad. Me, Rose!"

"Calm down, sweetie. Jungkook's not the center of everybody's world."

"Maybe, but the information is so spread already that even you have found out! And you probably wouldn't even be capable of naming any entertainment company aside from BigHit."

"What's BigHit?" He sounds so confused.

"My point exactly. This is such a big deal, dad. If my boss here finds out, my career is ruined. Actually, my future is ruined. Who's going to want to employ the girl who did the only thing she was not supposed to do, which is to fuck her boss?"

"No need to use such vivid language, Rose. And I reckon you're overreacting since you're forgetting one crucial thing here."

"Which is what?"

"You're not the only one whose image is at risk. Aren't idols not supposed to be in public relationships? Like with the Kai and Jennie scandal a while back?"

"How come you know that but not who BigHit is?"

"My point is," my dad completely disregards my comment, "that you should contact Jungkook."

Is not at the absurdity of that idea. "For what? To listen to him yell at me about how I ruined his life, dad? I'm aware he hates my guts, dad, I don't need a constant reminder."

He sighs. "Whatever really happened between the two of you is your business only. However, now you've got bigger fish to fry, like saving yourselves from a nationwide scandal. As you said yourself, this situation is a mess. A mess that is much more relevant than everything that ever happened between the two of you."

"I agree with you, dad, but Jungkook doesn't need my help to solve this problem," I argue anxiously. "A whole team of very well-paid managers has got his back, remember?"

Das clicks his tongue annoyedly at my question, making my heart twitch because it is in the same way Jungkook used to do it. How come simple, random gestures like these remind me so much of him? "Come on, Rose, this is basic PR. What is the point of all his super-smart managers inventing a nice excuse for the journalists if you don't play along, hmm? They need you on your side."