Behind the girl stood her manager; a woman wearing black-framed glasses. Her arms were crossed as she glared at Y/N.
She was aware Y/N had her methods, otherwise, how could an outdated model come out successful in a fight with Yoona and end up where she was today. Even so, she couldn't believe Y/N would dare to steal a HYPE model's job. If they didn't stop her now, Y/N would become an even greater threat in the future.
Of course, they had no idea Y/N's next aim would be to join HYPE!
The manager looked at Y/N. Through her contacts, she managed to find out how Y/N secured Luxury's opening; it was because of Kim Taehyung.
He's a pretty big name...
But, now that Y/N was in the industry, the manager felt she should no longer dream of being able to suck up to the powerful while still maintaining her reputation. After all, she was hanging around with the ill-reputed Jungkook and Yoona; she might as well join them...
Not long after, the opening began to the sound of retro music. As the first model on stage, Y/N immediately became the center of attention. Her professionalism, her charm and her style held the show that was filled with newcomers together. It also opened the international media's eyes to the unlimited possibilities of an Asian model. At that time, a few of the guests even recognized Y/N as Kira, who had once gone home with many newcomer awards; they were shocked but also pleasantly surprised...
...because on the runway, no one could compare to her radiance...she was completely dazzling.
At this time, Jimin was sitting below the stage; this was his first time seeing Y/N do a show from close up. It was hard for him to imagine: this was his wife. Taehyung was also close by, as well as TQ's photographer who was snapping away on the camera; the scene in front of them was absolutely perfect. Everyone couldn't help but be amazed by her performance...
After the models took their bow and left the stage, Taehyung headed to the back of the stage to congratulate Y/N, "You are the best."
Y/N smiled as she politely shook Taehyung's hand, "Thank you, Mr. Kim."
"I'm already looking forward to TQ's October edition..."
After talking to Taehyung, Y/N changed back into her own clothes with Mina's help and left the venue; she couldn't wait to walk the streets of France hand-in-hand with Jimin. Not long after the show ended, Mina received a phone call from GC. Jungkook wanted to know what was going on with Y/N.
Mina searched the news online and immediately came across some hot articles about Y/N: [Lee Y/N Vs Kim Yoona: The Support Behind the Scheming], [The Men Behind Y/N]. The main point behind every article was that after every single battle between Y/N and Yoona, Yoona had been completely defamed, while Y/N continued to advance forward; the reason may not be because Y/N used the right methods, but because she had more men supporting her from behind.
One of the articles even mentioned Star Age and Kim Taehyung who had been showing her support.
Most of the netizens still trusted Y/N, especially her fans who immediately started spreading videos of her shows and images from her magazine shoots. They wanted to prove, she completely depended on her own abilities to get to where she was today.
However, there were also some anti-fans. They claimed Y/N's EQ was too high and her IQ was frightening; she was too deceitful and was someone people should watch out for.
At that time, the internet was in chaos.
"How could having a high EQ be considered a negative trait...I really have to give it to them," Mina looked at the discussions online; she was so angry she was about to explode.
Y/N glanced at the discussions and laughed. After casually disguising herself, Y/N headed into the parking lot with Mina and boarded Jimin's car.
"I saw the news..." Jimin said before he started the car, "Now that your fame is increasing, attacks from all different direction will also increase. When faced with competition, people will scheme, you understand what I'm trying to say?"
"Of course. It's just that this time, Yoona has once again been given a chance to insult me..." Y/N understood well, so as usual, she wasn't going to respond; she knew the more she tried to explain herself, the more it would seem like she was hiding something. Since someone was helping her gain exposure, she might as well accept it; this was the reality of the entertainment industry.
"You don't want to contain it?" Mina questioned Y/N. To be exact, she was chasing Jimin for an answer.
However, Jimin and Y/N already had an agreement: he wasn't gong to interfere in her career. He had already broken his promise with the Rosé incident, so this time, he didn't have enough reason to forcefully help his wife.
"Mina, don't forget. My management agency is still GC."
Seeing the couple remaining calm, Mina relaxed, "OK, you guys have fun. I will keep my eye on the situation in South Korea."
Y/N smiled at Mina in relief, "Help me reassure the fans. Tell them I have not been affected."
Meanwhile, it was almost night time in Seoul. Under Jungkook's coercion, Yoona agreed to keep their child. Of course, she only did this to buy time. With the sudden release of Y/N's news, Yoona sat in Jungkook's office and sneered, "I told you before...there was no way Y/N would be pure...now that she has been exposed, will you help her? or will you take the advantage to step on her even harder?"
"Shut up!" Jungkook warned.
After the incident with Yoona, Jungkook had become warier than before. Although he did consider reconciling with Y/N...the thought of Star Age's CEO and Kim Taehyung, made his heart become cold like ice.
Yoona was disgusting, but Y/N wasn't any better.
It seemed he couldn't place his hope on either woman.
"If you won't get PR to help her, then I won't be able to resist defaming her. It wasn't easy to get this opportunity," Yoona laughed.
Jungkook did not respond; it didn't seem like a bad idea to damage Y/N's spirit a little.
Afterwards, Yoona rang her assistant, "Leak some information: while shooting for the magazine in the US, Y/N didn't follow the organizer's arrangements, instead she was fooling around with an unknown man and went to live with him. Releasing this information right now would be perfect timing...be careful not to let anyone know you did it."
Yoona was an eyesore to Jungkook as the coldness in his heart thickened...
However, he didn't realize, he was merely the pot calling the kettle black...
Of course, it was expected that Yoona would defame Y/N like this; Y/N just treated it like Yoona's last hurrah because as the Annual Model Awards approached, Yoona was getting closer to falling into the depths of the abyss...
Although she had received negativity out of the blue and there were mixed reactions online, Y/N didn't let it affect her mood. She changed into a Bohemian-style maxi dress and relaxed on the deck of a yacht with Jimin, who was wearing a casual white suit. All she brought along was a camera; even her phone was left in the drawers of the villa.
Jimin looked down at her as he wrapped her in a warm embrace. At first, he thought she was forcing herself to stay strong, but, Y/N was indeed calm like she had completely stripped herself of her model identity.
"Do you really not want to return home first?"
"Why do we need to return straight away?" Y/N turned her head and questioned Jimin. "President Park, did you think I would easily give up on the holiday that I made you work so hard towards? My career is important, but...right now, you are the most important..."
Jimin gazed at Y/N as he planted a kiss on her lips.
"Do not feel burdened and have faith in me. I will find a solution."
Jimin nodded before grabbing the back of her head; he couldn't help but deepen his kiss. Amongst the beautiful scenery of the Seine River, the couple indulged in a passionate kiss as their bodies overlapped each other...
In an instant, the 'Entertainment Industry's Big Boss' and the 'Outdated Model' no longer existed. All that was left, was a simple husband and wife, strolling through the streets of France hand-in-hand.
As they strolled, they happened to come across a small alley filled with couples that were kissing. They were stunned for a moment before looking at each other and smiling; in their eyes, there was no trace of awkwardness.
It seemed, although the couple didn't have a heartwrenching love story, their relationship would still be longlasting...
The couple continued to stroll around casually for the rest of the day. After returning to the villa, apart from Y/N's camera being almost full, Jimin's hands were also filled with Y/N's belongings. But, he didn't mind, because this was a rare moment of relaxation in his life and he felt extremely fortunate.
This amazing woman....because of her, it felt like his life had once again found meaning.
That night, Jimin embraced Y/N in their huge bathtub. Both of them had their eyes closed as they enjoyed the peace and quiet of the moment. After being silent for a while, Jimin finally reached out his hand and touched Y/N's partially wet hair as he leaned her closer to him, "Let's return tomorrow..."
"Huh?" Y/N slowly opened her eyes as she questioned him.
"One day is enough for me. I know what kind of situation you are in, but since you won't let me interfere, I am really worried about you. Miss Lee, don't you know I am your fan?"
As Y/N's status was hard earnt, it was very important to Jimin. She had been walking on thin ice to get to this point and had given so much, he didn't want her to let it go to waste.
"People often say, 'The amount of people that like you, is equivalent to the amount of people that hate you; the amount of people that adore you, is equivalent to the amount of people that are waiting to see you humiliated.' Jimin, I am well aware of this..."
Jimin hugged Y/N tightly without a word. After she finally fell asleep, he got up to phone Lu Che, "Have you found out who released the information?"
Lu Che assumed Jimin would ask this as he promptly replied, "HYPE's manager: Kim Jennie. Her younger sister is a model signed with HYPE who was originally invited to do the opening for the Luxury show. However, she was replaced with the madam. Later on, GC added oil to the fire by also spreading some false rumors."
"Since it's HYPE, we'll leave it for now."
As for GC....their days were numbered!
After all, once Y/N was signed with HYPE, she would have plenty of opportunities to teach these self-righteous people a lesson. Most importantly, Y/N's ultimate goal at the moment was to completely defeat Jungkook and Yoona; by holding back, she would make them doubt themselves.
Y/N predicted Jimin would phone Lu Che about her situation, so she wasn't in a deep sleep. She sat up and wrapped her arms around Jimin's waist, "Are you not going to listen to anything I say?"
"Just trying to gain some important information so my mind can be at ease," Jimin smiled.
"President Park, I think you must not be tired enough..." Y/N said with a double meaning. Her nose brushed past his back muscles, sending tingles down his spine; the passion in his body was reignited, "Come, let's do some exercise in bed..."
****
10pm in France; 5am in Seoul.
Jungkook awoke from his sleep. He walked over to the guest bedroom with a frustrated expression. He could see Yoona lying under the glow of the moonlight, however...the thought of this woman sleeping with another man, made his heart fill with hatred. He was so angry his eyes started to turn red...
Online, news of Y/N using men to advance her career was spreading like wildfire; at the same time, Yoona had just been caught cheating...
Jungkook endured for half a second. In the end, he couldn't help but pick up Yoona's phone to see the messages Mr. Lim had sent her.
Mr. Lim wanted her to calm Jungkook down while he tried to find a way for her to break free from his control. Scrolling down, Jungkook saw Yoona's response and fell apart.
"He actually wants to keep the child...I'm really not sure who the child will look like after it's born."
Jungkook clenched his fist before saving the phone number.
Rather than waiting to be dumped, used and treated like a stepping stone, it would be better for him to swap Yoona for something more useful. So, he made a phone call to Mr. Lim as he held in his humiliation and demanded, "I can let Yoona go, under one condition!"
The man smiled shadily; he knew Jungkook would do this, so he calmly responded, "Go ahead."
"Any competition or awards presentations that you are a judge in, if there is someone from GC, you will need to guarantee them an award!"
Mr. Lim was silent for a while, before laughing out loud, "It's just Yoona...as if I would do something like this for her. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"How about you add in Y/N. All along, I had thought she was pure and clean. But it turns out, she was just another cheap model that uses men to advance herself. Since that is the case, why don't you let me play with her...I can give her some benefits."
"You also want Y/N?" Jungkook's voice got louder and more aggressive.
"Both women have betrayed you. Using them to exchange for opportunities for your newcomers, is worth it, right?"
Jungkook's eyes deepened. His chestnut-colored pupils contained a sense of hatred. So it turned out this old sleazebag not only slept with Yoona, he also had his eyes set on Y/N.
On the night of the Bright Night Gala, he was frightened by Jimin, so he was careful. But now that he found out Y/N used men to advance, he, of course, did not have to hold back.
"Deal?"
"Words mean nothing, we need to sign an agreement!" Jungkook was worried Mr. Lim would lie to him.
"That's fine with me...you select a meeting place."
Jungkook's voice echoed from his bedroom. At this time, Yoona was leaning against the door listening to the conversation without making a sound..She did not know that Jungkook had sold her off, all she heard was Y/N's name.