A/N: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to THE MANAGER! After what I'm calling my summer break, I've returned with a slightly new way of doing things.
My life is getting quite busy, and I won't be able to promise a consistent upload schedule, anymore. I'm aiming for posting to my account at least once a month. This month, I can guarantee you two updates to THE MANAGER. I'll be announcing updates on the "Conversations" section of my account. Unless I post impulsively, expect chapters to come on Sundays at 9PM, EST. Yes, I did it to match HBO's primetime. It felt appropriate.
Without further ado, please enjoy this new chapter!
Now that Nayeon and I had confirmed it was okay to tell a select group of people we were getting back together, I had to spill. The first person I called was my brother. Irregardless of how I thought he would react, he deserved to know first. I didn't anticipate him to answer my voice call and pan the phone over to our mother.
"Hey, Y/N!" he said.
"Oh, uh, hi," I said. "What are you—"
"Jun's visiting!" said my mother. "Didn't he tell you?"
"No, I forgot," said Jun. He leaned over to put himself in the frame. "What's up?"
"Isn't it late over there?" I asked.
"We're just having a nightcap," said my mother, holding up a generous glass of whiskey.
"What's up, Y/N?" Jun asked. "Did you want to talk?"
"It's not a big deal," I said nervously. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell my mom, yet.
"Go ahead!" she said, doubling down.
"I don't know—"
"Yeah, it's fine, Y/N," said Jun.
"Er..."
I sighed. I was trying to build bridges with my mother, right? She was bound to find out, anyway. I suppose it wasn't so bad to tell her, now.
"Yeah, okay. It's about—wait, hold on." I closed the door to my office and sat down on the couch. "It's about me and N—"
"You and Nayeon are getting back together!" my mother said, standing up out of her chair. "Oh my god, really?"
"I didn't even say it," I said, smiling softly.
"Wait, for real?" Jun shoved his face fully into frame. "You two are getting back together?"
Some part of me wanted to drag out the news after seeing how excited my mother was, but it was too late.
"Yeah," I said.
"Holy fuck, dude!" Jun said, at the same time my mother clapped her hands together loudly.
"This is real?" said my mother in a tone of voice I don't remember hearing from her.
"Kind of," I said. "We want to try, and we've set some ground rules."
"That's a good start," said Jun. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Oh, hush!" said my mother, swatting him on the shoulder. "This is great news."
"I thought you didn't like her," I said.
"What made you think that?"
"She told me about that time, you know."
My mother's smile faltered. "Ah."
A lump was forming in my throat. "Surely that was enough to build some resentment."
My mother looked at Jun. "Can I have a moment?" she asked softly.
Jun handed the phone over. I heard his footsteps echo into the distance.
"I understand if you don't like her," I said after a moment. "Nayeon told me the full transcript of what she said to you."
My mother pressed her lips together. "I don't hold a grudge, Y/N."
"Seriously?"
She sighed. "She told me the truth. Right?"
"I mean..."
"That was part of the wake up call. She knew how to take care of you better than I did. Just for a moment, ignore what kind of mother that makes me, and think about what kind of partner that makes her. Why wouldn't I want that for you?" She smiled. "So, yes, I'm happy. Do you believe me?"
"Yeah," I said, surprising myself. "I do."
My phone started buzzing—I was getting another call, from Nayeon. My mother could tell.
"Do you need to go?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Okay. I'll tell Jun."
"I'll call him back soon."
"Yeah."
I hung up the first call and answered Nayeon's.
"Don't be mad," she prefaced.
"That's a great way to start a conversation."
"I may have already told Kim for you."
"Alright."
"And I may have also invited her to have dinner with you. Before the showcase." She paused. "Are you mad?"
I let out a slow breath. "No," I relented. "But I didn't anticipate any of this."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I'm glad she agreed."
"You should call her."
"I'll do that after this."
"Then hang up! We can talk later."
"Will I see you before tonight?"
"Probably not."
"That's okay." I put up my fist like its energy would translate over the telephone. "Good luck!"
"Thank you!"
I let Nayeon go and started up my third call in ten minutes, this time to Kim.
"This is Kim Nayeon," she said when she answered.
"Kim! It's Y/N!"
"Oh, Y/N! Nayeon just—"
"Yeah, she told me."
"She seems happy."
"Tell me about it."
She laughed. "I hope you have some kind of experience with dating idols."
"Oh, just one. I think I'm well-prepared."
"I hope so. Really. I wish you two the best of luck."
"Thank you."
"So, Nayeon told me a place that's close to the venue. It's open all night. Should we meet there? I can pick you up," she offered.
"Sure! I'm glad we're finally getting a chance to talk, Kim," I said.
"Me, too. See you soon!"
"Soon."
I hung up the phone—then received another phone call. I groaned and answered.
"Is this Y/N?" The person on the other end was out of breath.
I frowned. "Uh, yeah."
"I'm sorry, there's a problem. I'm with the JYP maintenance team, and we're here on the street. We've just waved off a vandal, and they've—er—your car, among others, has been rather violently defaced."
"Oh, crap. I'm on my way."
The street out front was busier than I had ever seen it—and that was saying something. The police had been called, and JYP was standing near the entrance, mediating between the cops and security. A crowd of maybe twenty people had assembled on the other side of the road, taking pictures. Reporters were among them.
Three cars had been defaced, tagged over and over again with the word FAKE in bold red letters. Mine especially was in the worst condition: a large gash ran along its side like someone had keyed it, and my side mirrors had been knocked off.
Someone wearing a JYP badge taking pictures of the scene headed over to me. "Y/N," they said.
"I spoke to you over the phone, yeah?" I said, placing their voice.
He nodded. "I'm so sorry. We weren't able to catch the perpetrator."
"Wait—what?"
He nodded grimly. "They knew when the guards out front changed shifts. We're going to do a severe overhaul to make sure that doesn't happen again."
"Did they only target three cars?"
"We're assuming that they were in danger of being caught, so they left."
"Damn." I put my hands on my head, staring at my car. "Do you know why?"
"We can't ask them, so not really."
"Fuck." I chuckled in disbelief. "What am I supposed to do?"
"I dunno, man," the guy muttered. "I wish I could help."
"Y/N!" JYP was hurrying over. "Gosh, about what happened—"
"Yeah, it's fine," I lied. "What is—"
A massive flash went off by the corner of my eye. There was a reporter taking pictures of the two of us, their eyes wide. They held out a microphone pack.
"Any comment about the situation, Y/N?" they asked.
"I, uh," I stammered. "I—"
"We'll release an official statement, soon," said JYP, stepping between me and the reporter. He put a hand on my shoulder and steered me into the front lobby of the building. "We can't exactly hide this situation from the public," he said.
"Sorry, I know I spaced out," I said. "I wasn't prepared for any of that."
"It's okay. It happens." JYP grimaced a little. "I'm sure you know, but you're a hot topic online since you've returned to the company."
"So I've heard."
"The general public hasn't yet pieced together that you're behind all of the social media changes. I mean, they know your position, but not your overreach."
"Uh, okay?" I looked at him blankly. "I don't understand."
JYP sighed. "If you get connected to the onceuponatime account, things might be awkward."
"Awkward, how?" I questioned. "Because it's related to TWICE, and I used to be their manager? We're not on—" I paused. "We're not on horrible terms. Working with them regarding social media is strictly professional."
I wasn't lying, though I may have been misrepresenting the situation.
"Just tread carefully," said JYP. "With everything that happened just now..."
"You don't think this could have been a targeted effort, do you?" I said. "Mine wasn't the only car."
"Yours was the worst."
"I... Who would do this?"
JYP lowered his head knowingly.
"No." I shook my head. "He's in prison."
"Maybe, so. But how many people did he tell?"
"Nobody can know that!"
"Exactly," said JYP. "There may be people still out for you, Y/N. People who know about your shared history."
He didn't even need to mention Nayeon's name. "Why did you hire me, then?" I questioned. "You could have let me stay in America. You could have not approved the new dating clauses."
"Who told you about those?" JYP demanded, his frown deepening. "Those are under company NDA. Only the members are approved to tell other employees."
"And I'm an employee," I said cooly.
"Are you and Nayeon getting back together?"
His question sounded like an accusation, and it took me biting my tongue to avoid telling him straight. "That doesn't matter," I said. "I'm using it as an example."
"You didn't answer my question."
"If you cared—"
"I do care!" JYP hissed. "And I would like to ignore another fiasco, altogether! So, answer me, Y/N. Are the two of you getting back together?"
I didn't avert my gaze. "No," I said.
"You—" JYP stopped, and took a deep breath. "Fine," he managed. "I overstepped."
"Thanks," I said stiffly.
"Even if you were getting back together, I wouldn't expect you to tell me unless things were serious," he said. "But you should tell me."
I couldn't disagree without igniting a public argument, so I just nodded. "What about my car?" I asked.
"I can get you a replacement in two weeks, or you can look at our current stock."
"Stock?"
"We have a couple of unassigned vehicles on hand for emergencies like this," he said. "I can have someone take you to look. If you want, you can use one of those. But be warned: they're not in very good condition."
I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it was certainly more than the two dilapidated cars snuggled together in the corner of the garage. The same employee who had called me—a member of the maintenance team named Dowon—laughed nervously.
"They're pretty beat up," he said.
"And small," I said, looking at the tiny cars. "I don't think I'd be comfortable in any of these."
"Sorry," he said. "It's dumb, I know. Our other cars are completely booked for the next month. We've got a few bikes, but that's about it."
"I'll take a look at those bikes," I said reluctantly. Any form of private transportation would be useful.
"Right there." Dowon pointed to the other side of the garage.
"Oh!" I jogged over and examined three clean, albeit old, motorcycles. "You never told me they were motorbikes!" I said when he caught up.
"I figured it was irrelevant," he said.
"No, of course not!" I said, grinning. "I know how to ride these!"
"Really?"
"I had a bike my first few years of high school." I wrapped my fingers around the handlebars of the nicest looking one. "It was similar to this, actually. A Yamaha."
"We can get you a rental car," said Dowon weakly. "You don't have to pick from what we have here."
But I shook my head. "Is there any way, any way at all I can ride this? I know it's a long shot."
"You're going to need a license," he said. "And insurance. I don't think the company is going to be fond of you riding dirty with their property."
"Shit." I sighed. "How long is that going to take?"
"Maybe... a few hours?"
"Actually?"
"The insurance and license offices are close to each other." Dowon shrugged. "All you need to do is get your insurance, then do the road test. As long as your driving record here is clean—"
"It is."
"—the first part should be easy. The company will cover the costs and get you a better rate than you would as a regular foreigner. But you're going to need to take your passport..."
"Can you write all this down?"
Three and a bit hours later, I found myself spaced out in a single file line with nine other potential motorcyclists. Some looked nervous, some bored. After thirty minutes of practice in the company parking lot, I was feeling okay.
"Right!" said our instructor, a woman with a white baseball hat and a matching whistle. "You will be completing several exercises to ensure that you have the ability to operate a motorcycle safely. Your test result will be based on the efficacy with which you complete these tasks. Falling off the bike, accumulating enough deductions, and not complying with safety standards will cause you to fail this test. Are these instructions clear?"
The instructor led us through two minutes of basic safety checks—the lights, turn signals, brakes, and the horn. Our first exercise seemed simple enough: to drive a certain distance while staying between two lines, coming to a complete, smooth stop at the end.
One person failed out, immediately, after falling off of their bike halfway through the stop. I thought this trend would diminish as the tests went on, but most people were duly unprepared. After a U-turn test, a weaving test, and a sudden stop test, there were only four of us remaining. The final test, a curved path we were required to accelerate through, eliminated one more person, leaving our group with only a 33% pass rate.
I stopped to get the instructor's attention as the others headed back inside. "Yes?" she said.
I struggled to find a nice way to say it. "No offense, but is everyone normally this... bad?"
"Actually, yes. Most people take two or three tries to get their license."
"But this test is so simple."
She chuckled. "You've had a motorcycle before, right?"
"Yes. In the U.S."
"That explains how you did so well." She reviewed my sheet. "One minor violation, putting your foot down too early during the sudden stop. Other than that, you passed with flying colors."
"What are my next steps?"
"Is the bike registered to your name? Insured?"
"Yes."
"Then, you're done," she said. "I'll take you inside with the other two, where you can get your license."
Another thirty minutes, ten legal forms, and a two-helmet purchase later, I was pulling out of the parking lot on my brand-new-old motorcycle. I stopped by my apartment to pick up a leather jacket—I was being buffeted by the wind, and it was on brand. I pulled into the JYP parking lot feeling fresh and rocking my new helmet. I had the stereo system blaring an ATEEZ banger, and I pulled into an empty parking spot—
Right next to Jihyo. She had been in her car, getting ready to leave. She had an unreadable look on her face, obscured by her sunglasses.
"New ride?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said, my voice muffled by the helmet.
"I heard what happened. Sucks."
"Yep."
"Okay." She nodded stiffly.
I cleared my throat. "So, how is—"
"Bye."
She peeled out of the garage so fast she left tire tracks on the pavement.
I racked my brain on the elevator ride up, trying to think of how I could have managed that interaction better. Jihyo had said she needed time. How much time did that mean? Weeks? Months? Years? I wished I could show her my thoughts, so she could know how dearly I wanted to fix things.
I took my two helmets up to my office. Kyeongjun was waiting for me.
"I heard what happened," he said. "Is everything okay?"
I put the helmets on the table. "It is now," I said.
"You're riding a bike? Cool."
"There's something else." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Nayeon and I."
His smile dropped. "You got into a fight."
"No..."
"You didn't get into a fight?"
"We got back together."
"Shit, Y/N!" He gave me a short hug. "Congratulations! I'm happy for you."
"Just try and keep it on the down-low," I said in a low voice. "We don't want to tell anyone else, yet."
He put his hands over his heart. "You trust me that much?"
"I do."
"So... you got a motorcycle to, what, impress her?" he asked.
"Not quite. It's a bit of a long story."
- - - - - - - - -
"Not that long of a story," Kim remarked. It was hours later, dinnertime, and we had just ordered our food.
"Eh, it's fun to say that." I took a sip of my beer. "Right?"
"I hear the phrase maybe five times a day."
"Not fun for you, then."
Kim put her glass down. "You and Nayeon. That's big."
"Yeah." I couldn't prevent a smile from drifting across my face. "It's really nice."
"You look like you're a high school kid with a crush."
"I feel that way." My smile dipped. "But..."
"But, what?"
"It's hard." I sighed. "It's been only a day, and the secret is already proving to be more than I asked for."
"How do you mean?"
"Don't get me wrong, I was down for a secret office romance. It sounds like a hell of a time. But PD—JYP—he grilled me today." I explained the situation to her. "I don't know if I did the right thing," I finished. "Lying to him."
"Are things serious?" Kim asked.
"Well, yeah," I said. "We're taking it seriously. I just, I dunno." I shrugged. "I don't want to tell our boss the morning after we decide to get back together."
"And that's completely fair," said Kim, nodding. "You shouldn't, and you shouldn't have to. You did the right thing."
"I lied."
"And he will understand why. Especially if Nayeon tells him."
"You think?"
"He loves the girls," said Kim. "Maybe a little too much. He listens to almost everything they say. There's a reason he agreed to the dating clause in the first case."
I scoffed a little. "He could have at least apologized."
"It takes a lot for that man to apologize."
"My car got keyed."
"He didn't even apologize for that?"
"I don't think he ever said the words I'm sorry. But then again," I muttered. "I was pretty bad at that, too."
"What's that?"
My smile completely disappeared. "Jihyo. I really messed up with her."
"Oh, god. What did you do, hit on her?"
"No!" I glared at her. "Why would I hit on her?"
Kim shrugged. "You're a guy. Guys suck, especially when they're friends with girls."
"No, I didn't hit on her," I said. "But I left her behind, too, when I had to go. I tortured myself over my relationship with Nayeon, but I hurt other people too. I may have hurt her the most."
"There was nothing you could have done, right?" she said. "What other choice did you have? Even JYP—" She stopped. "You know what I mean."
I shook my head. "Whatever. It's passed. There's no point thinking about what could have been."
"Mhmm..."
"What kind of noise is that?"
"An 'I'm not sure' kind of noise." Kim leaned forward. "Think about it. What would you have done differently?"
"That's stupid."
"Entertain me." She shrugged. "We're just talking."
I set my jaw. "It started with the call. That's when it all went to shit."
"Do you remember the details?"
I nodded. "He knew about my past. My parents, their money. He knew about Nayeon and I; he had pictures of us, from Paris."
"He was stalking you," said Kim.
"He was stalking Nayeon."
"No, he was stalking both of you." Kim pointed at me. "He had to do research on you, learn about you. He was invested in you because of your relationship with Nayeon, sure, but that put you in his line of fire. Keep going."
"He told me to leave in 24 hours, or he would go public," I said. "I had no time... he said I couldn't tell the girls..."
"And your first move was to leave?"
"It had to be."
Kim pressed her lips together. "Was I the first person you spoke to after the call?"
"Did you know?" I asked without confirming. "At the time, did you know?"
"Of course, not!" she said. "I knew something was troubling you, but I couldn't have imagined it was so serious."
"That time, why did you let me go?"
"I didn't want to bother you." Kim's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell me? Did you not trust me?"
"I trusted all of you. I just..." My palms grew sweaty. "I don't know."
"You couldn't get out of your own head." Kim exhaled. "I'm no professional, but I think you wanted desperately not to be a victim."
"I thought it wasn't about me."
"It was absolutely about you!" Kim stared at me. "You should have—"
"It wasn't that easy!" I snapped. I stopped, took a sharp breath. "Sorry. Sorry. I shouldn't do that."
"No, I may have pushed too far."
"You didn't. And I do trust you."
Kim hesitated. "Y/N, you don't have to share with me if you don't want to."
"I do. And you're right. I never talked to my friends about anything real."
"I never said that."
I smiled somberly. "You didn't have to."
"Tell me, then. If you knew what you know now, what would you have done first?"
"Tell you," I said immediately.
"What?" Kim laughed a little. "Why me?"
"Because you care, and you're good at making things happen." I had to avert my eyes. "Because you're my friend, and I regret pushing you away, too."
"And because I would have yelled at JYP if he tried to make you leave, right?"
"Exactly."
"I respect it."
Our food arrived. We ate in silence for two minutes, stuffing our faces until I found it within me to speak.
"So, Kim, tell me!" I said. "You're getting married! When did that happen?"
Kim let out a long breath. "Recently. We only got engaged two months ago."
"How long were you dating?"
"About fifteen months. But I knew him before that."
"What's his name?"
"Jiwon." She smiled. "I knew him from SM. He had worked there for a while, then left to be an investor."
"Is he good to you?"
"He's better for me than most people." Kim brought her arms together. "He accepts me from who I am. It took me long enough to do that, given my body type."
I nodded. "I understand. I was a fat kid."
"You were?" said Kim, surprised.
I shrugged. "My parents didn't know how to properly communicate with me. They were rich, and food was an easy solution. It started out innocent enough, until it became a problem."
"How long did it take you to get back into shape?"
"Until my senior year of college."
"No, way!"
"Here, I have pictures!" I pulled them up on my phone. "It took me a while to come to terms with my weight."
"I bet," said Kim solemnly. "I would like to change things, but... I got a lot of flak from my parents for years."
"Take it at your own pace," I said. "Obviously, being thinner is the ideal. But your body type doesn't make you any less awesome."
Kim laughed. "Yeah, thanks. Took me half of my adult life to figure that out."
"Jiwon didn't have a problem with it?"
Kim shook her head. "He's the sweetest. He didn't bring up my weight until I did. God, I was so insecure for weeks. I didn't know how to bring it up with him, and one day it all just..."
"Came out?" I said.
"Yeah. He just laughed. He said I had nothing to worry about. I still remember his words." Kim glanced up, like she was reading something suspended in midair. "'I think you're beautiful because of the way you are, not despite it.'"
I put my hands over my heart. "That's so sweet!"
"Isn't it?" Kim seemed to melt into her seat. "I can't imagine my life without him, anymore."
Just like a couple weeks ago, I couldn't stop smiling. "I'm so happy for you," I said. "Really. You deserve the best, Kim."
"Thank you!" Kim was turning red, whether from the alcohol or subject material, I couldn't tell.
"When do I get to meet him?"
"Soon," said Kim. "I promise. My schedule is busy for the next two weeks, but I'll find some time, for sure."
"Do you have a wedding date set?"
"Not yet. It's still early. You and Nayeon are invited, obviously. If you're still together."
I laughed nervously. "Nice one."
"Oh, no, I was serious." She pointed at me. "You better not screw this up. If she screws it up, fine. If you do? It's bad."
"I get it. I don't plan on messing it up, that's for sure."
"And I don't think you will. I just had to tell you." Kim smiled. "As a friend."
A/N: I'm not sure exactly when I'll post the next chapter, but I'll keep you updated. It's good to be back again!
with love,
jolofjester