::
Hoshi didn't know he would feel so strongly about someone he had met only days ago. There was something past justification that was hidden in the way she acted, the way she smiled and the way she cried. From the moment he had first laid eyes on Mina, he'd been captivated. She'd been friendly and he'd been caught off guard by her occasional smiles. She'd been covert and he was caught unawares by the curiosity that grew within him. She'd been upset and he'd become a ready clown just to stop her tears.
But then, she was disappointed in him and he no longer knew what to do.
"Hoshi-ssi," She had spoken his name but for the first time, it sounded like she was no longer talking to him. "It was nice working with you. I hope we never cross paths again."
"No." Soonyoung had spoken without meaning to, "Mina, I-I didn't know! I thought you knew who I was. I thought you acted the way you did because you knew. I misunderstood..."
Mina looked down, averting her gaze from him, "Its okay, Hoshi-ssi." Watching him look so hurt, pained her. But she held on when she remembered what the crazy fans had accused her of doing. Scornfully, she answered, "Its my fault for making a celebrity as distinguished as you work to the bone under an incompetent amateur like me."
Hoshi grew confused once more. Taking her by the shoulders, his palms pressing her shoulders softly, he asked, "What are you talking about? When have you ever overworked me?!"
She looked at him, meeting his eyes for the first time then, tears welling up. The set for her very first project had been thrashed, she had been blamed for overworking the man she liked, gotten berated to bits by her supervisor and then ultimately humiliated in front of the entire world for being an inconsiderate fool. Eyes red, she looked at him,
"Do you really want to know?"
::
Mina was emotionless as she walked into the police station with Hoshi in tow. A group of girls, barely over the age of eighteen sat in one corner, their parents arguing with one of the officers, disrupting any kind of peace that the station could have. At the sound of her heels clicking on the floor, the group grew quiet, turning to look at her and the hooded man behind her.
"I'm Yoon Mi Na and I'm here for the case you've called me to discuss." She spoke, offering her card to the officer who was speechless at the sight of her.
Hoshi supposed it was an obvious reaction considering how Mina was dressed for war, her full-sleeve black V-neck hugging her curves and the black free-flowing pants putting models' heights to shame. Mina's make-up was on point and with her jacket purposely folded and draped over her arm, Mina fought with perfection. Hoshi smiled proudly from underneath his mask as he watched the jaws drop. Hmm, yes, that was his girl right there.
"A-ah yes." The officer finally found his words and offered the two a seat, "The parents here claim that their children were not the cause of the destruction in SBS's 22B, Warehouse 2 of Yeongnam-gil set station. But the black box of a car nearby recorded their faces clearly."
Mina looked at the girls, "You should be focusing on studying instead."
"That's why we suggest a settlement." The officer spoke, "If the two parties could settle to a particular amount..."
"We don't want to!" One of the girls erupted then, much to their parents' shock, "This bitch has been overworking our oppa for her personal agenda! You should arrest her instead!"
Mina frowned, knowing better than to argue with kids. Showing patience and realising that she had won, Mina turned to Hoshi who had been silently sitting at the back, unrecognised in his disguise. Smiling with sarcasm, she asked him, "Do you see now? How I was destined to know who you were, one way or another?"
Hoshi nodded, frowning. He had not expected this. Apart from the surprise revelation of his identity in front of the cameras, another had occurred behind it all. Somehow the news of him working at Mina's office had leaked and as it had passed on, it had churned into a disgusting lie. A lie that Mina had to face the consequence of. Sighing, gasps went around the room as Hoshi pulled the mask away from his face and faced the officer.
Taking a firm stand in the situation, Hoshi put his hand down, "Mina will not settle until she is paid for both her emotional and financial loss." He addressed the officer, his gaze sharp, "I'm Kwon Soonyoung, Hoshi of Seventeen and alongside Mina's case, I will be filing a case along with my company against these girls for stalking, harassment and falsifying rumours."
Mina looked at him, shocked, "Soonyoung-ah, that's too-" but her words were drowned by the complaints from the opposing side. Hoshi grabbed her hand in his the moment those squeals started and led Mina out the station. He didn't care how much those girls had liked him, they had infiltrated his privacy and harmed private individuals in the process.
They had hurt Mina. And he was not going to stand for it.
::
"Did you really have to go that far? They're only students." Mina asked once Hoshi drove them out and away from the noise in her car.
Eyes on the road, Hoshi spoke matter of factly, "They deserve it. And despite how harsh you think it is, it will come down to simple apology letters and fines in the end. Its important to shake them while you can or they never learn."
Mina nodded, realising he was more knowledgable in the area than she had imagined. Hoshi knew what he was doing and what had originally seemed like a reckless move was perhaps a very smart one. "Okay."
But despite everything, things weren't okay. Hoshi was driving Mina back to the office where she still had to clean up after the mess and work to make the ends meet somehow. Between the two of them, things were still not okay.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Hoshi spoke, breaking the harsh silence they faced as he drove on.
Mina looked at him, observing his side profile in the night lights of the city. "Its okay. Its not your fault the set broke down. Its theirs."
Facing the unending traffic of Seoul at peak time, the car came to a stop, lined behind various other cars. Hoshi looked back at her with an apology written all over his face. He felt bad about it and she could tell. "I'm sorry about the prank too. I thought you knew when I got involved with you behind the camera but it just ended up hurting you even further in the end."
Mina shook her head, "Its okay. You don't owe me an explanation. Something unexpected happened while you were working. I understand." Mina looked away and through the window. "Nothing much transpired between us, anyway. It's not like we fell in love in just 3 days. I understand."
She understood but it didn't lessen the pain. It only widened the gap between them further. Hoshi looked at her, guilt-ridden.
"We kissed, Mina."
"Yes, we kissed." She turned to him, slightly angry that she felt this way, "So what? I had my eye on you from the very first time we met. I got invested. I kissed you. I was after your looks. It was me who lied, me who strung you along."
"Yes but-"
"You told me the other day that I was just like anyone else. You know what? You were right. I am just like anybody else. I fell for the way you looked, the material, made-up side of it." She paused, "We dont have to be emotional about this."
Hoshi was like a transparent sheet of paper. When hurt, it coloured his face in pain as he watched her. "But I can't let you go. If you took one step towards me, I took two. I like where this is going."
She looked at him, shaking her head, her voice surprisingly calm. She sounded like she had given up, "Don't let me go then."
He grew hopeful for a second, meeting her eyes, "Really?"
She looked down, "We can meet up once every two weeks. I'll book a room at some high-end hotel so no one will know. It's alright. We can be casual about this."
"Casual?" He looked at her with disbelief, "I want you. You. Your mind, your lies, your laugh. I don't want to be casual about this. I want to see you seriously."
"That's not going to happen. I may lie but it's never about big things. The very least I would want from the man I date is honesty."
"I am honest, Mina-yah."
She looked away, "Yeah, I thought so too. Until today."
::