Kim. Tae. Hyung. Just the thought of his name causes you to fume with anger. For the last two years you had been working as his personal assistant. From the eyes of all of his fangirls, the job might seem like a dream come true, but from your point of view it was a nightmare. Despite his devilishly handsome looks and heart-warming voice, Taehyung was a spoiled, arrogant little brat. The only reason you continue to work for him is because the job pays well and includes nice benefits, like travelling the world. You still ask yourself if working for Taehyung is worth the money though.
"Minah!" You hear Taehyung's annoying voice call out from the next room.
You sigh softly and rush to the door of his changing room. You straighten your posture and slowly turn the knob, peeking your head in. The sight before you causes your face to heat up. Taehyung is standing in his underwear, his hair's a mess and his arms are folded across his chest.
"Yes?" You say calmly.
"Is this some kind of joke?" He holds up a ridiculously looking shirt. "Do you expect me to wear this?"
You keep yourself from making a smart remark. "I'm not the one who picked it out. Your stylist--"
"Go fire her." He states.
"But she's the only one--"
"Now."
You nod your head and leave the room. On your way back to the tour bus, you think about how to break it to Mandy. She didn't deserve to be let go just because Taehyung didn't like one outfit she chose.
The bus driver greets you happily, but you only give a weak smile in return. You head to the back of the bus. Mandy is sorting through multiple piles of clothes. She looks completely exhausted. When she looks up, she smiles widely.
"Hey, Minah," she greets you politely. "What's up?"
You hesitate before speaking. "About Mr. Kim's outfit for the interview today..." You cringe internally at the formality. "What exactly were you thinking?"
"I thought the suit would be fine." Her eyebrows pull together.
"Suit?"
"Yeah, I put it on the back of the chair in his his dressing room. It's in a black bag."
You thank her and quickly run back inside of the building. You can hear Taehyung yelling at some poor soul from the door to his room. Before you can even reach the door, a young woman throws it open angrily, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. You stare at her back for a moment, pitying her. A second later, you're in the dressing room again where Taehyung has yet to get dressed.
"Mr. Kim?" You say quietly, taking in the scene. There is a large stain of coffee and an empty cup on the carpet. "Mandy prepared a suit for you to wear today."
He looks at you for a second. "I don't see a suit. All that's here is this hideous shirt!"
You walk over to the chair where the black bag is lying neatly. You pick it up and unzip it, revealing the black suit. Taehyung rudely grabs the suit from your hand. You turn around as he slips into it.
"Why can't I find decent employees?" Taehyung grumbles.
"Maybe you're the problem," you mumble.
"What was that?"
Crap. You turn around slowly only to be met with fierce eyes staring back at you. Taehyung moves closer to you. You shrink back against the wall.
"N-nothing," you stammer.
Taehyung gives you one last looks before slipping on his suit jacket. He adjusts his tie just as someone knocks on the door. It's someone from the show informing Taehyung that he needs to be on the air in five minutes. Taehyung flashes a pleasant smile. The sight makes you wrinkle your nose in disgust. When the worker leaves, Taehyung turns to face you again.
"When I come back, we're leaving," he says quietly, but the finality in his voice discourages you from responding.
Taehyung leaves the dressing room and is escorted to the stage. You begin to clean up his belongings while occasionally glancing at the television. On the screen, the camera scans the crowds. You shake your head at the audience holding banners and cheering for the cold-hearted Kim Taehyung. The camera finally focuses on the star of the show. Taehyung waves and smiles and greets the host and his fans. How can he be such a different person on television?
The host of the show asks a few questions that Taehyung answers easily. He picks out a few people from the crowd to ask questions. You can sort of understand why Taehyung has so many fans. When he speaks to them, all of his answers seem genuine. You let out a small smile when Taehyung laughs. It's rare for you to hear him laugh.
"How about you sing for us?" The host asks.
Do you guys want me to sing?" Taehyung asks the audience. A roar of "yes" sounds from the hundreds of fans. "What song? Someone Like You? Okay!"
You take a seat on the chair just as the lights on the stage dim around Taehyung. He smiles before bringing the mic up to his face. An instrumental version of the song plays and Taehyung begins to sing.
This was the first time that you actually listened to Taehyung sing live. Sure, you had heard a few of his songs, but after meeting him in person for the job interview, you vowed to never indulge in his music. A stuck-up celebrity doesn't deserve fans. The promise that you made to yourself is slowly being broken, as you realize that maybe the Taehyung on stage was actually the real Taehyung. Also, Taehyung's lovely deep voice is much too noticeable to ignore.
The song ends much too quickly for your liking. The audience erupts in cheers and you find yourself clapping along with them. Taehyung sits back down.
"That's just about all the time we have for today," the host turns toward Taehyung. "Is there anything you would like to say before going?"
Taehyung faces the camera. "I would just like to thank the show for having me today and all of my fans who continue to support me." The audience screams. "But I would also like to thank someone really close to me. Recently, I've been going through a really tough time and I'm not always the nicest person, but this someone has always been by my side, even though I know that I annoy her all the time." Taehyung smiles into the camera. "Minah, thank you for always being there for me."
You stare at the screen in disbelief. The host says a few closing remarks and the show is over. A few minutes later, Taehyung comes back into the changing room. He avoids eye contact with you as he begins to undress. You turn your back to Taehyung as you stand and collect the remaining things strewn around the room.
"What was that?" You ask as you try to zip the large bag shut. It doesn't budge.
"I'm not sure what you mean," Taehyung responds. "Where's my shirt?"
"Behind you," you answer, meanwhile you're still struggling to close the bag.
Taehyung walks over and kneels beside you, setting his shirt down of the floor next to him. "I got it."
He tries to pull the zipper shut but it still won't close. You catch yourself staring at his muscles flexing as he struggles with the zipper. You tear your eyes away from his arms and push down on the bag. Taehyung places one of his hands on top of the bag too and finally closes it.
You stand up and fix your shirt self-consciously, even though you were sure it was perfectly fine. Taehyung stands and faces you. You try to concentrate on his face and not his torso.
"About what I said on the show," he starts. A hand reaches up to rub the back of his neck. "I meant it."
"Mr. Kim--"
"We know each other well enough. Call me Taehyung."
"Um, Taehyung." It feels weird calling him by his first name in his presence. "Why?"
Taehyung smirks and begins to walk toward you. "Why what?"
You slowly begin to back up. "Why on television?"
Your back hits the wall as Taehyung speaks. "It was an in-the-moment kind of thing. Maybe you were right. Maybe I'm the problem."
He stops just as he's right in front of you and places his hands on the wall on either side of your head. Your breath hitches and you can't seem to make words come out of your mouth.
"Thank you for putting up with me," Taehyung whispers.
He leans forward, planting a gentle kiss on your lips. You hesitate for a moment before kissing back. One of Taehyung's arms wrap around your waist as the other one moves to your neck.
"Taehyung," a soft voice comes from the door. The two of you quickly jump away from each other. You both look toward the door to see Mandy staring with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry."
"Didn't I fire her?"Taehyung looks down at you.
"You're the one who messed up. She doesn't deserve to get fired," you reply, surprising yourself that you have the courage to talk back to Taehyung.
He raises an eyebrow at you. "You shouldn't disobey me," he warns. His hands rest on your hips. "I'll have to punish you."
You push him away and duck your head so he can't see how red your face is turning. You grab the handle of the large bag after tossing him his shirt.
"We're leaving," you tell Mandy who's smirking at you. She sends you a wink which you return with a menacing look. You turn your head to face Taehyung. "I expect a raise in return for this unwanted attention."
Taehyung stares after you with an amused expression. You haul the bag toward the door with Mandy asking a ton of questions. You try to hide the smile on your face as you board the tour bus.