As mentioned in the previous chapter, I had been thinking about doing an "extras" chapter to go over some of the thoughts behind this story.
So first, the original inspiration for this story came from a Persona 5 character, Haru Okumura. If you're not familiar with Persona 5 or that character, the basic idea is that Haru's father promised her hand in marriage to a politician for his own selfish reasons. Her fiance is an asshole, to put it mildly, but no spoilers.
I was also interested in trying a mafia/mob AU and that's originally what this was going to be. But I figured it would be hard enough trying one AU at a time so stuck with just the arranged marriage for this story and made it about the corporate world instead as originally inspired by Haru.
Characters
Reader/(Y/N) (L/N) - A stubborn and driven department manager. Although her father owns the company where she works, she's had to claw her way to her current position. Even that's not enough to show him that she has what it takes to succeed his position, as he hands it over to Yoongi instead. Believing that Yoongi is a lazy rich kid with no ambitions, this causes a lot of hostility between them at the beginning of their marriage. As noted by other people, for someone who's always had to work for what she wants, she has been known to shut down when things start suddenly to pile up and become more difficult. Eventually becomes the head of two merged companies thanks to the support of those who do believe in her.
Min Yoongi - A rebellious but truly kind-hearted songwriter and hopeful producer. All Yoongi wants to do is get his music produced and usually, that means burning the candle at both ends. His parents don't approve of his ambitions and that leads him to keep secrets and be distrustful of new people in his life. Although initially cold and rude to his new wife, he learns to open up when it's revealed that they're both unhappy in their marriage. Eventually, he creates a producer alter ego inspired by their situation and does find success with an entertainment company.
Kim Seokjin - Min Yoongi's driver turned caterer. Jin prides himself on his work, regardless of what that work is and never had any problems driving Yoongi or making sure that he was taking care of himself. After a particular sudden and scary accident, he finds himself unsure if he wants to continue in the same line of work and switches to work for a catering company. His family life is very strained, so he considers Yoongi and their group of friends the closest thing he has to a real family, so he's always happy to host and feed them when they get together.
Author's Note: The original plan for Jin was that he would become the reader's driver instead of Yoongi's while he was away on work. He was originally going to go with Yoongi to his meeting with the first producer and hear that the reader got into an accident in his absence. This would cause him to redouble his efforts as a driver and not go with Yoongi to his meetings anymore so Yoongi would have to get another driver for work purposes. This idea was eventually replaced with the current version so that Jin wouldn't be just a driver but find another job he liked better. This also forced some Yoongi character development since he had to deal with the aftermath of the accident without him and Jin's eventual quitting.
Jung Hoseok - the owner and operator of Jung Dance Studio. Hoseok is a mutual friend of both the reader and Yoongi and finds it amusing how often two strong-willed people can get on each other's nerves. As a huge supporter of the arts, he spends his free time trying to scout new dance teachers for his studio and arrange performances and special projects to show what his students have been learning. He doesn't spend a lot of time looking for relationships as he considers work his most important commitment.
Author's Note: Hoseok's character is the one that feels like there should have been more to it in my opinion. His studio is often mentioned but rarely used as a location. And a majority of what Hoseok and other characters talk about is only his studio. This is why there's an entire chapter dedicated to his showcase and several mentions of it beforehand, to show that he does put a lot of effort into things and that his friends are always ready to support him as he does for them.
Kim Namjoon - an old college friend of Yoongi's and a hard worker in any situation. Although he gets off on the wrong foot with the reader when Yoongi offers him a job without her knowledge, he redeems himself by working hard at whatever is pushed at him. Reminding the reader of herself, it isn't long before he's promoted. And not long after that he gets an offer to work with Jungkook instead. Namjoon doesn't have a lot of expectations from his own parents, so he simply lives life doing his best and seeing what comes his way.
Author's Note: Namjoon getting an offer to work with Jungkook was not in the original story outline. It was added in later to balance out Jin quitting his position with Yoongi and reminding the reader that people won't always stick around, even if you want them to. There was no bad blood behind his leaving, just a better opportunity to spread his wings.
Park Jimin - a childhood friend and ex-love interest of the reader. Unlike the reader, Jimin was thrust into the director position of his company with barely any warning when his father became ill. He began to take over his father's calendar, going to social and work events in his place but never quite feeling like he was qualified to be there. All Jimin truly wants is to follow his own passions, which are far removed from the corporate world. After his father passes and he learns his friends' predicament, he gets an opportunity to do just that.
Author's Note: Jimin was originally going to be an ex of the reader's and only show up to aggravate Yoongi, which was what his first few appearances had him doing. However, I decided to give him more depth and make him have an opposite situation to the reader. This led to him being the character to help the reader and Yoongi finally break their contract and all have the freedom to live their respective dreams.
He also shows up with a different hair color almost every time he appears, which is a direct contrast to Yoongi who had to dye his hair black at the beginning of the story and keep it that color due to the company's rules. Jimin dyes his hair because it gives him that bit of freedom to do what he wants, even as the head of his company.
Kim Taehyung - a childhood friend of Yoongi's and a model. Taehyung takes a pretty relaxed approach to life, although he admires his friend's ambition and offers to help with his music career. He doesn't take his modeling career very seriously at first, but he does feel immense guilt when he inadvertently causes an accident involving Jin and the reader.
Author's Note: Taehyung's guilt over the accident was always going to be an underlying plot point to make him keep his distance from the reader and Yoongi while other things were going on, but it wasn't going to be portrayed as possibly being his fault, just someone else from his agency. The emotional apology to Jin was added later when the details of the accident were tweaked.
Taehyung's best model feature is his boxy smile. His favorite kind of gig is one where he gets to wander around and meet new people.
Jeon Jungkook - Yoongi's cousin and business owner. Although their parents do frequently compete over which son is better, Jungkook and Yoongi don't hold any hostility toward one another and participate in friendly competitions. Even though Jungkook was given the director position at his family company, he still works hard to create his own apps and inspire new ideas from his employees. Jungkook is also the only member of the family to know about Yoongi secretly continuing to do music.
Author's Note: Jungkook was not originally going to show up in the story as often as he does. He's the last character of the BTS members that was introduced and at first, he was just going to be someone that Yoongi could blow off steam with when things were getting stressful. As the chapters went on, I kept finding new ways to make him show up and keep things interesting.
The Mins - Mr. and Mrs. Min were also an arranged marriage, although they married to join their finances instead of for any political or business reason. Mr. Min tried to start some businesses in his youth, but there wasn't enough money to keep them afloat for very long. When Yoongi was born, this became his chance to change that around for their family. Mrs. Min doesn't care much for business, but she's very interested in money and making sure that they have plenty. She is also adamant that the services they receive are worth the price.
The (L/N)s - Mr. and Mrs. (L/N) had a fairly average marriage. Met in college, started dating. Married and lived comfortable lives since one of them owned a business. Mr. (L/N) doesn't like the idea of his daughter running his business as he thinks she's too "soft" to be able to handle the day to day. Mrs. (L/N) doesn't like conflict and begged her husband to let their daughter work there for a little while so she'd get tired of it. Their plan backfired but once they had a son-in-law, they left everything to him and started reveling in their lives without worrying about the business.
The Parks - Mr. Park and Sooyun Park were friends before marriage. Sooyun was a strict, no-nonsense type before she met her husband, but something about him softened her up. He was like that until his death, often trying to put a smile on her face even in the worst situations. When Jimin was born, he seemed to be a carbon copy of that part of his father. When Jimin had to take over for his father, Sooyun spent a lot of time offering advice and models he could follow to take some strain off his shoulders.
Author's Note: Jimin's mother is the only parent with her first name actually revealed in the story. That being said, I'm pretty sure Jimin's mom's name isn't Sooyun, but I didn't want to dig that far through his actual family history to confirm it. So let's all pretend it's Sooyun for the sake of respecting their privacy. :)
Amy/Ailee - the reader's best friend and an event planner. Like other characters, she takes great pride in her work and loves being able to help others plan out what they need for special occasions in their lives. She loves meeting new people and being able to go out to events like the ones she plans to get inspiration. But going out to a club or a bar just for fun is a welcome idea as well.
Author's Note: When deciding on a "best friend" character, I wanted it to be a solo idol from the beginning. But I also wanted to choose someone a bit older than the usual characters that you see in these kinds of stories. Ailee was easily the one that ticked both those boxes, and I chose to use both her real name and stage name in the story (just used instead as a nickname every now and then).
Mina - the only daughter of the Myoi family and a waitress in her family's restaurant. Although she loves dance, she has a strong loyalty to her family and wants to help them however she can with their work. Eventually, she does become one of Hoseok's dance instructors and finds time to balance that and her family's restaurant.
Sun/Luna - a receptionist and later personal assistant for the reader's company. Sun is sociable and kind, which fits her role as a receptionist. She tends to ramble when she gets stressed or upset, but she takes others' feelings into account constantly. The only thing she really wants is to be true to herself.
Author's Note: Sun's character was originally going to be Irene from Red Velvet. But like with Ailee's character, I wanted to fit in someone a bit older who you don't normally see in these kinds of stories. Amber from F(X) was also an early character idea, so I switched Sun into this character instead.
Mark Tuan - another model that works with Kim Taehyung. He was scouted at a young age and recently started doing some acting classes so he could try branching out. He is very quiet, but he warms up to others when he gets comfortable with them. He is calm in most situations, even those that would be stressful for others. He's always eagers for new opportunities, especially those that involve traveling.
Author's Note: Mark's best model feature is his eyes. His preferred gig is as a print model, showing up in magazine advertisements above other kinds of features.
Other Relationships Featured
Amy and Jin - Amy and Jin was the first pairing idea that I had for this story. The main reason for this was to provide a foil for Yoongi and the reader to show them sometimes it can be that easy. If you have chemistry and shared interests, the relationship may follow without you realizing it. Not every relationship has to be a hard commitment right from the start, sometimes it just fits as time goes on. As the oldest couple, Amy and Jin also spend a lot of time together, cooking or traveling instead of going on lots of small dates like other couples would. They are quite affectionate towards one another at the beginning of their relationship as noted by others, but this easily melts away as they continue dating.
Author's Note: Jin's favorite pastime is to make Amy laugh with his dad jokes, and Amy's is to plan trips of where they should travel together next.
Jimin and Hoseok - Jimin and Hoseok was the last pairing that I settled on, because I was trying to make sure I didn't want to pair them with anyone else. The two of them see a lot of themselves in each other, including a passion for dance and a desire to help others. Hoseok does feel a bit awkward about approaching Jimin at first knowing his past history with the reader. But through a series of small interactions, the pair become close and realize that they do like one another. Hoseok gathers the courage to ask Jimin about helping out around the studio. Jimin agrees if they can go to dinner and discuss the details first, and the rest is history.
Author's Note: The pair have dinner with Jimin's mom twice a month because of how much she adores Hoseok. Hoseok's parents aren't always available to get the same treatment, but Jimin is always inviting over Hoseok's sister when she's got a break from her college classes.
Namjoon and Sun - an office romance that actually worked out. This was a pairing I designed because I was thinking about their ideal types and ideal relationships when I matched them together. It was a sort of "meet cute" at the start, with Namjoon training the new office worker and showing her around. Obviously, they're both attractive but they started to spend more time together and be interested in each other for their personalities and minds too. Namjoon worries that he may be a little clingy when it comes to his girlfriend, often checking in with her and making sure that she's having a good day. Sun always adores the effort and tries to match it where she can. Usually by assuring Namjoon that she doesn't mind his clumsiness even when she sees him knock the books off a desk for the third time in one day.
Author's Note: Sun's sudden decision to go by "Luna" instead of her birth name is both a reference to her stage name and to Namjoon's stage name R.M., which according to him stands for "Real Me". Some relationships bring out the best in one another and allow you to be yourself without worrying about what others think, and that's the relationship I believe they have in this story.
On his first day with Jungkook, Namjoon was surprised to find flowers waiting on his desk. Sun sent him white daisies to wish him luck. He's spent every minute since then trying to figure out how he can match the gesture.
Mina and Jungkook - Mina and Jungkook was a pairing idea I had early on, but had trouble writing.
Author's Note: A lot of people seem to prefer the pairing of Jungkook and Nayeon from Twice, but I personally think Mina would be a better match for him, personality-wise.
Jungkook's favorite date is to go hiking with Mina. Mina's is the same, but prefers it when when one of them had the forethought to bring a picnic so they can relax on the trail together.
Mark and Taehyung - Mark and Taehyung's relationship is hinted at in several chapters before it's revealed they're actually dating. Taehyung is a social butterfly and has a natural charm that draws people to him. Most people see his actions as flirting, but Taehyung always denies this as being the case, because he's already dating someone else. Mark is not revealed until much later in the story, but his presence is always there as Taehyung's boyfriend, even when no one says his name. Even with conflicting schedules and traveling for work, the pair make time to spend together when they can, and that's enough.
Author's Note: Mark and Taehyung have worked on three modeling gigs together. One for skin cream, one for sports drinks, and one for boxer briefs. (Taehyung continued to do underwear modeling after that, but Mark decided it wasn't for him)
Mark usually doesn't tell Taehyung when he has free days, just surprises him with dinner reservations at nice restaurants around town. Taehyung loves taking Mark to museums between shoots where they can enjoy some quiet time together without a lot of prying eyes.
Other Groups and Idols Featured
Author's Note: Some idols are referred to by their real names and some by their stage names. I tried to use the real/birth names where I could since they're not idols in this universe, but some just roll off the tongue easier in my opinion. For example, Vernon with Seventeen is referred to as Vernon even though that isn't his birth name. Meanwhile, Moonbyul from Mamamoo was referred to by her birth name. It's a personal choice, but I did want to address it.
f(x)
Amber - marketing head, and later the digital marking lead at Park-Min Industries. Amber loves finding new ways to gain clients' attention. She was one of the only female leads at the reader's company before it was merged with Jimin's. This was due to the fact she never backs down from a challenge and has a near-perfect track record at exceeding her quotas. She still handles the planning for the annual company parties, as Jimin's office didn't have anyone in charge of that.
Crystal - the department head overseeing China's relations with Park-Min Industries. She oversees a lot of client information and enjoys visiting China on her business trips. She spends a lot of time with Victoria and Amber to get new ideas for marketing to more of her clientele and likes brainstorming with the two of them.
Author's Note: Victoria and Crystal's roles were originally supposed to be reversed (since Victoria is Chinese), but I had to remember a lot of names when identifying all the employees and got them mixed up. It's fine - I'm sure they do a great job in either department.
Victoria - marketing manager at Park-Min Industries. She creates a monthly newsletter for the whole company so she keeps tabs on every department's growth and performance as well as her own. As the manager, she often plans competitions or joint campaigns with different members of the department to keep morale high.
Absent: Sulli - I didn't include Sulli because she did officially leave the group, but also because her death is still fairly recent and it felt like it would be in poor taste to put her in this particular story.
Twice
Momo - one of the instructors at Jung Dance Studio. She taught classes in ballet and interpretive dance, but she is currently in grad school to continue studying different disciplines. She plans to come back to teach with Hoseok when she can figure out exactly what kind of dance she wants to specialize in for her studies.
Jeongyeon - a hairdresser/stylist at the Double Take salon. She frequently does Jimin's dye jobs and has done Hoseok's as well.
Author's Note: Any other Twice members not mentioned in the story work at the same salon. Jeongyeon is the only one mentioned by name since she's the only one Jimin knows.
Jihyo - the HR manager at Park-Min Enterprises. Despite being one of the younger leads, Jihyo knows her role inside and out and prefers to have one-on-one meetings with her department employees to discuss expectations and new protocols that are being implemented. She also handles billing and expenses as those are a common cause for complaint for clients and employees alike.
Dahyun - the first shift manager for the shipping department. Dahyun was originally the second shift manager but changed to first shift to be able to train Park Sungjin, her new colleague. Since she took over first shift, there's been a rise in production during that shift and most people contribute it to her energetic attitude.
Sana - the department head overseeing Japan's relations with Park-Min Industries. Sana's clients rarely complain about anything since she manages expectations well with them from start to finish, following up on things every step of the way. She does seem to ask Dahyun for favors to make things happen on some tight deadlines, but at the end of the day, she gets her job done. And she and Dahyun get drinks afterward.
Got7
Youngjae - paralegal with Choi Siwon's law firm. He likes meeting and assisting new clients with their legal needs. Siwon gave him the front desk job because his bright smile calms people down. Youngjae's favorite part of his work is knowing that he can make a difference to someone.
Jinyoung - the doctor at the hospital who treats the reader and Jin after their accident. He takes his job very seriously as one of the youngest doctors on staff. He prides himself on his work ethic and ability to follow procedure even in stressful situations.
Jaebum - police officer that was on-site at the car accident. He gave Yoongi the information on his car and the severity of the accident. As a police officer, Jaebum is on friendly terms with a lot of the towing companies and hospitals in the area since he's been to most of them as part of his job.
Jackson - sales manager at the reader's company and later at Park-Min Industries. Jackson can honestly talk to anyone about anything, which makes him a great salesman. He also knows when to buckle down and work, but he rewards himself by having a lot of fun afterwards. He and Amber typically organize social events for the company.
BamBam - a model and club enthusiast. When he's not working, he can be found at nightclubs or other social events. His biggest job to date was a smartphone commercial but he tries to distance himself from that to give himself more opportunities. He's in talks to do a fried chicken commercial soon if things go well.
Yugyeom - a part-time model and dance teacher with Jung Studio. Yugyeom is a great model, but met Hoseok at an event and got offered a position at his studio. He wasn't able to say no and currently works there when he's not modeling.
Super Junior
Leeteuk - car salesman at the rental place Yoongi uses for his car. He's fairly easy-going under the right circumstances and does anything for his best customers, Yoongi included. He loves being able to say the Mins' son does business with him, so he makes sure to do as much as he can to keep it.
Heechul - former HR manager, now the department head overseeing Korea's relations with Park-Min Industries. Heechul, despite his laid-back attitude, is intelligent and handles issues with the utmost care and professionalism as long as he's on the clock. Off the clock is a different story.
Siwon - lead attorney at the Choi Law Firm. He specializes in private business affairs, particularly accidents or issues that a company would like to avoid making public. He always has them admit fault and then pay a fair amount to those affected.
Author's Note: The joke behind Siwon's family all being in politics is because every Super Junior member pokes fun at his haircut looking like a politician's and the fact it hasn't changed in years.
Yesung - former IT manager at the reader's company. When it was being merged over, Yesung decided to step down and have Kyuhyun take his place instead. He felt that being the manager of a larger more stressful company would be in better hands with the younger man. Rumor has it he's taking some time off to travel.
Shindong - one of the dance instructors at Jung Studio. He specializes in hip-hop dancing and his students are often amazed at how well he's able to move. When Hoseok is swamped, he often helps at the front desk because he's been at the studio for a few years already.
Donghae - the groom at the wedding the reader and Yoongi are invited to. His parents are in the investment industry, but Donghae is just a regular accountant at a smaller firm. He prefers that lifestyle so he can be more of a family man anyway.
Ryeowook - the cab driver outside of Donghae's wedding that takes the reader to the hospital. He likes driving as his job since he can meet all sorts of interesting people. He'll definitely remember Yoongi and the reader's encounter with him for a long time.
Author's Note: Ryeowook was considered to come back and work as Yoongi's driver, but that plan was later redone to what it is now.
Kyuhyun - an IT technician and later manager at Park-Min Industries. Kyuhyun often spends his time at work goofing off or figuring out how to leave work early. Yesung is a bit of a pushover and the younger tech uses that to his advantage where he can. He was surprised to be invited to interview for the IT manager position, but promised to do his best.
Author's Note: In Wake Up Call, there's a mention of Kyuhyun switching a phone line at work so it would ring to his phone instead of someone else's. He played that trick on Yesung to see how long it would take for him to figure it out.
Sungmin - since Sungmin is technically still a Super Junior member, he was added as the Mins' personal driver in Rides. I know that his status as a member is still considered controversial, so you can take his inclusion however you'd like.
Absent: Eunhyuk - Honestly, I never meant to leave Eunhyuk out specifically. He was one of the characters I wanted to have as part of Hoseok's studio, but there were already a lot of names flying around. I'm sure he was the best man at Donghae's wedding and spends most of his time with him.
Seventeen
All members of Seventeen are part of Seventeen Catering. Their specialities are listed below:
Food Prep
Seungcheol - specializes in vegetable prep.
Mingyu - head chef and preps the meat.
Wonwoo - preps and bakes desserts.
Vernon - prepares the bread dishes.
Mood Setters
Soonyoung - the dance machine.
Junhui (Jun) - the joker.
Minghao - the complimenter.
Chan - the talker.
Author's Note: if there's ever a lull in conversation, the mood setters will intervene, usually with their "specialties". Once, Chan spent fifteen minutes discussing the best and worst of Michael Jackson when the serving of the next course had to be delayed.
Aesthetics
Joshua - floral arrangements.
Jihoon - in charge of music.
Jeonghan - table and utensil placement.
Seokmin - lighting, coolers, and chilling of wine/alcohol if it's needed.
Seungkwan - themed items like placecards, centerpieces, etc.
Mamamoo
Byul-Yi (Moonbyul) - the reader's former mentor and supervisor. She was the only one to take a chance on the reader and let her learn about a department in the company. It wasn't long before she moved on to another company to work with some old friends.
Absent: Wheein, Hwasa, and Solar. This was due to a scrapped storyline as mentioned below.
Author's Note: Moonbyul's new job has "something to do with radishes" as a reference to Mamamoo. "Moo" in Korean translates to "radish" in English. There was originally going to be a storyline with all four Mamamoo idols where the reader would get advice about her situation and merging of the companies, but it never went anywhere.
The reason Moonbyul went into food production was to leave a potential Red Velvet introduction open, but that idea was also scrapped later.
Day6
Sungjin - the shipping manager and later second shift manager at Park-Min Industries. Sungjin takes his job seriously and never asks any of his workers to do something that he can't do himself. If they're ever down a few people, he jumps in the line to help out. He's a true example of a dependable leader, which is why most of the employees followed him to the new company.
Young-hyun (Young K) - a sales representative with Park-Min Industries. He's one of the top salesmen on the team, usually rivaling Jackson. Rumor has it that he may be assistant manager of the department soon.
Jaehyung (Jae) - the assistant manager with the IT department. He was originally going to take the manager position but didn't want the added stress and responsibility, so it went to Kyuhyun instead. He and his new manager get along like peas in a pod.
Wonpil - an IT technician. He enjoys working out problems which is how he got into IT in the first place. He is one of the few in the department that prefers being able to see and work on a problem personally than explain it over the phone or email.
Absent: Dowoon - I love Dowoon, but he didn't seem like he'd fit in any role where I would have put him for this story. So unfortunately, he is absent from the main storyline. Maybe he's one of the part-timers in the shipping department.
EXO
Kai - one of the instructors with Jung Studio.
Author's Note: Jimin was originally going to become an instructor with Jung Studio and take Kai's place since they both studied contemporary dance. But as the story went on, it seemed like Jimin should be doing more than just teaching.
Absent: All other members. Truthfully, Kai is the one that I definitely had a place for in this story. I was originally going to reference the other members as being part of other dance team Kai wanted to join, but it didn't fit anywhere.
K.A.R.D
B.M. - aka the "bar master". B.M. being a bartender for hire just seemed like something he'd do in another life. If he can't be the life of the party himself, he'll do what he can to keep the energy up. He's also a bouncer for hire, but he prefers hanging out behind the bar.
Somin - one of the HR representatives under Jihyo. Somin's favorite thing is staffing new employees and walking them through the initial process of working with their new company. She thinks HR is one of the most versatile departments so she never gets bored of her work.
Jiwoo - one of the IT technicians at Park-Min Industries. Jiwoo can look cold to people who don't know her, but most of the time she's joking around with the rest of her department. Kyuhyun thinks she may be the most dependable in the department, himself included, but he'd never admit that.
Kim Taehyung (J. Seph) - Yoongi's new driver, appointed by Bang Music's team. He goes by "J" and currently does background work in some of Bang Music's videos. He hopes to get into acting eventually, but for now he's happy getting to see the sights as a driver.
ASTRO
Jinwoo - marketing coordinator. Jin, or "JinJin" as he's sometimes called is a fairly laid-back coordinator most of the time. When Victoria starts creating competitions or joint campaigns, his competitiveness takes over and he pushes himself to come up with ideas the department has never seen before.
Moon Bin - one of the other sales representatives. Moon Bin prefers the old-fashioned approach of taking clients out for food or arranging a meeting to go over what their company can do for the client. It makes it feel more personal and wins him clients' favor.
Min-hyuk (Rocky) - a marketing coordinator. He's is pretty serious about his job, often studying up on new strategies and trends in the marketing field. When the others start working on new ideas, he's often a soundboard for them to test presentations and mock-ups on.
Absent: Myung Jun (MJ), Sanha, and Cha Eunwoo
Author's Note: Cha Eunwoo was going to originally be Yoongi's new driver instead of J. Seph, but it felt weird to write him as that character for some reason. There wasn't a plan for MJ or Sanha specifically, but maybe they're all students at Jung Studio together.
Ateez
Hong Joong - the print marketing lead in the marketing department. Hong Joong prefers the glitz and glamor of magazines and print ads over everything else. He once organized a campaign that increased sales calls by 10% in two weeks.
Seonghwa - sales rep. Seonghwa has amazing phone etiquette and could easily make all of his sales over the phone if he wanted to. He prefers to meet with long-standing clients in person and check on what else they can do to exceed those expectations.
Yunho - IT technician. Although he can troubleshoot any problems within the office, Yunho's the go to when it comes to setting up meeting room technology since his height makes it much easier for him. When he went on vacation for a week, he left a stepladder at his desk to fill in for him.
Yeosang - assistant manager in HR. Jihyo's job is to deal with problems as they arise, and Yeosang's job is to sniff out those problems beforehand to prevent them. He has an ear for gossip and can usually figure out if something is going to need HR intervention.
San - marketing coordinator. San is kind of the jack of all trades in the marketing department as he dabbles in every medium. His main job is to keep up with the company's website and make sure that their information is up to date.
Mingi - sales rep. Mingi rivals Jackson on his enthusiasm to make sales but sometimes bites off more than he can chew. Other departments (mostly shipping) have regularly had to work harder to get his sales out on time. Jongho usually gets coffee deliveries in the middle of the night on those days.
Jongho - night shift manager for the shipping department. Jongho originally worked on first shift, but his habits of singing to himself while he worked and breaking apples with his bare hands tended to distract other workers. Now he's the night shift manager, so he can do whatever he wants and no one seems to care.
Absent: Wooyoung - I was going to have Wooyoung be mentioned as part of one of the modeling agencies that Mark, Yugyeom, BamBam, or Taehyung work at, but it never came to fruition. Just know that he is doing well in this universe, and he usually models clothing.
Oneus
Keonhee - an HR representative. Keonhee's usually behind mass emails informing employees of any insurance changes, additional title training, any bonuses during the holiday season, etc. He makes sure everyone has access to all the same information and always leaves his door open for questions.
Kim Geon-Hak (Leedo) - third shift manager for shipping. Leedo runs a tight ship during his hours, as he's often fighting the clock to get things prepped for the last shipping pick-ups. Leedo also helps with the heavy shipments and pushes his team to try just that little bit harder.
Absent: Kim Jeong Ho (Ravn), Seoho, Hwanoong, Son Dong Ju (Xion) - While these four are not mentioned by name, I like to think that they are part of the workers with the shipping department as well.
Big Bang
Lee Seunghyun - the sales rep that Jackson and Yoongi fired.
Author's Note: I asked my friend who a terrible person was in the Kpop industry (because you don't want to fire nice people) and this man was a perfect choice. If you don't know about his scandal, you're more than welcome to look it up but I personally don't want to give him publicity in my story information.
Solo Artists/Entertainers
Eric Nam - works with Amy in the same department. Even though they both handle event planning, Eric usually takes the jobs that involve parties and feel-good celebrations. This is also why he keeps a list of bouncers, bartenders, and caterers on call. He does work long hours periodically to make sure his events go off without a hitch.
Jieun (I.U.) - the bride at the wedding the reader and Yoongi go to, and one of Yoongi's former classmates. Her parents are donators to almost every major museum in the area and she's a large fan of the arts herself.
Author's Note: There was originally going to be a small plotline about how Yoongi's parents talked to Jieun's about marrying Yoongi to her instead of the reader. That felt like it would make their relationship too messy so it wasn't used in the end.
Chung-ha - a dance instructor with Jung Studios. She is one of the only ones that still work with Jung Studio full-time even after they were allowed to cut back on hours. Hoseok compensates for this by allowing her to take longer vacations during the holidays (even though she insists he doesn't have to do that).
Henry - the foreign relations representative for America and Canada. Henry was originally only supposed to be the representative for American relations but begged to have Canada included since that's where he's originally from. It was approved on a trial basis, but Henry now handles both and spends every day making sure he does his best for everyone on his list.
Author's Note: Although Henry was originally a member of Super Junior, I put him here as a solo artist because that's what he is now.
Unused/Extra Plot
Christmas chapter - Originally there was going to be a Christmas-themed chapter where several characters were going to exchange gifts. This was mostly centered around the idea of Amy giving Yoongi a white sweater since she didn't know what else to get him. That idea was eventually discarded since the timing was going to be hard to pin down.
Seventeen Catering thinking that the reader was Mrs. Min - this is mentioned in a later chapter but there was originally going to be a whole back and forth between the reader and Seventeen Catering when she went to hire them for their party. They previously flagged Mrs. Min (Yoongi's mother) as a problem client and are confused that the reader could be the same person. This section was cut down as it didn't seem to fit with what else was going on.
Moonbyul coming back as a mentor figure - mentioned in Mamamoo's information, Moonbyul and potentially the other members of Mamamoo were going to provide guidance to the reader about her situation. This idea didn't make it to the story because it involved a lot of additional backstory and was most likely going to be a one-time thing (which made it seem pointless).
The "See Goals" app - Jungkook's app, See Goals, was originally going to feature more in the story. The early draft had Jungkook showing Yoongi or the reader their data on the app and them realizing that they had feelings for their fake spouse (the app has information on heart rates, physical activity levels, overall body temperature checker, and other information that would have shown random spikes when they were around their fake spouse), but eventually that was discarded to have them both figure it out on their own.
Song Choices - All songs used in the story are actual BTS/Agust D songs that had a distinct "Yoongi" vibe about them. At least in my opinion. They are listed below for your convenience.
Tomorrow
Baepsae
Hip Hop Lover
First Love (Instrumental and song)
Agust D (Instrumental only) - Agust D is the song that Yoongi is working on with Bang Music and will release after the end of the story. There wasn't a great place to add that information into the last chapter, but that is the one that he's going to release under his new producer name.
Let Me Know
**Daechitwa - referenced. More information below.
Other Easter Eggs
Blue Whale - in one of the chapters where Jin is in the hospital, Amy brings him a blue whale to try and cheer him up. This is a reference to BTS's song Whalien 52, but also a big blue whale sweater that Jin has been known to wear.
Daechitwa dream sequence - the dream sequences referenced in King or Boss are pulled directly from Daechitwa's music video, putting Yoongi in the shoes of both versions of himself.
"Seagull" app - Jungkook's app, See Goals and the logo being a seagull are a reference to "Justin Seagull". Jungkook named the app and did the logo that way just to win a bet with Namjoon.
Lamb skewers - in Free, Mina brings Jungkook lamb skewers and Yoongi accuses Jin of lying about their availability for the party. This is a reference to Jungkook and Yoongi wanting to open a lamb skewer restaurant because of how much they like them.
Mark's referenced before he's introduced - (magazine ads) - Mark's advertisements are in the story before he's fully introduced. In Moving Forward, Taehyung flips through a magazine and stops on one of a model with a foam cleanser. This is implied to be Mark, who's done endorsements for skincare products.
Mentions of adopting a dog - in Dinner Party, the reader mentions getting a dog and Yoongi seems excited at the idea. Originally, the two were going to get a dog by the last chapter (probably a dog similar to Holly) but it seemed like they wouldn't have time for a dog with everything else going on.
Author's Note: All chapters in the story aside from Celebrations were semi-drafted before they were published. Celebrations was written in one day on a spur of the moment. It was not originally part of my outline for the story but it's easily one of my favorite chapters that I wrote.
Author's Note:
Thank you all again for your support of this story. I hope you've enjoyed these extras and if you have any other comments, questions, etc. about the story or my process of writing it, feel free to let me know.
I hope to start publishing another like this eventually since it was really fun to write and edit, but it will be at least a few months before I could commit to something else. As soon as I have any updates, I'll be sure to let you know!