"I was really worried! I thought you wouldn't wake up anymore!" Dahyun said through our video call as she was crying her eyes out.
I've been awake for two hours now from a two-day coma. After the incident, I was rushed to the hospital. According to Dahyun, I almost died since I lost a lot of blood. Because of that, I was almost pronounced brain dead because of the damage I received from the lack of oxygen in the brain. The machines that were hooked up to me were the ones that were keeping me alive and were slowing down the progression of brain damage. If I was brought any later than that, I would have completely died.
Fortunately, Dominic didn't fly back to Korea yet because he went to handle some matters in his hospital in Hong Kong. When he heard the news from Dahyun, he immediately went and handled the operation from there on. He worked his magic and was able to save me. Dominic then had me transferred to his hospital where the facilities and equipment were far better. Despite having the best equipment and with his miraculous skills, even he wasn't certain if I would wake up because of the extent of the damage to the brain. Thankfully, Seiji-hyung flew back to Hong Kong the following day to inject me with his new serum. Hence, I was able to recover fast.
"I'm sorry, princess. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just trying to protect you after all. There was no time to think about what to do." I tried to explain.
Dahyun was still pretty much angry as she continued to yell at me. "Don't ever do that again! I don't want you to die! I already saw you go in and out of the hospital many times. Can't you just think about yourself for once?!"
I gave her a smile. "There was no other way, Dahyun-ah. What did you want me to do? I didn't have any choice. You would have been stabbed."
She became quiet as she tried to stop herself from quiet. After a few moments later, she suddenly whispered something. "Instead you got stabbed... because of me... You were even saying goodbye."
It made me sigh deeply. "I'm sorry. I really am."
"Are you really that sorry?" She asked in a low tone.
I nodded. "Yeah. I really am."
"I should be the one to apologize. If only I listened to you the moment you told me that something was up." She started blaming herself for what happened. It was heartbreaking to watch especially since it wasn't her fault.
Right now, I wish I could just go through the screen and give her a hug. But sadly, I could just stare at her while she cried. "I'm fine now, Dahyun-ah. Don't worry about it anymore. I heard from Mina-ri that you haven't been sleeping and eating well lately. Is that true?"
Dahyun didn't say anything. She stayed quiet as she bit her lower lip. "I just… I just didn't feel like eating. I couldn't sleep either."
Her words made me sigh again. "I know you're worried and all, but you have to take care of yourself too. Now that I'm okay, can you promise me that you'll eat and sleep properly? Hmm?"
She nodded slowly. "I promise. When are you coming back?"
"Domi-ya told me that I'm getting better, but he's going to have me stay here for one more day since he just ran some more tests earlier today just to be sure. If it's all good, I'll be hopping on the first plane to Incheon by tomorrow."
"That's good to hear. Once you're back, I'll be able to hit you properly." She glared at me.
I jerked a little from what she just said. "Ah… I think I misheard you. Are you planning on killing me?"
She gave me a sarcastic smile and I could still see that she was really angry. "Oh you did mishear me. I said that once you get back, I'll be able to take care of you properly."
"I'm sure that's not what you said." I smiled wryly.
"I don't know what you mean by that." She continued smiling sarcastically. Even though she was smiling, I could definitely sense a dark aura coming from her. I know the moment I set foot back home, I'd die by my wife's hands.
We both laughed at our current situation. I then reached out for her holographic projection and started caressing her face. "I miss you already."
Dahyun rolled her eyes. "You slept well for two days while I'm here being worried sick." She sighed before she continued speaking. "I miss you too. I'm just really grateful that you woke up."
"Me too." I replied.
Suddenly, Jihyo's voice echoed in the background. "Dahyun-ie, break time's over. Let's go."
"You should go, princess." I told her.
She gave me a sad smile. "Come home soon, hubby."
"I'll see you soon. I love you." I gave her a reassuring smile.
She nodded. "Me too."
Dahyun hung up the call and I sighed afterwards. I'm worried for her. Mina told me everything. Dahyun didn't sleep well at night. She would cry herself to sleep despite the busy schedule during the day. She also seemed so out of it during practices. Even during their TV appearances, she seemed distracted. Sana also told me about how she hasn't eaten anything in three days. It was obvious since she looked pale and weak during the video call a while ago.
"You guys will be fine. You're going home tomorrow anyway." Dominic startled me as he said that. He was leaning on the door frame as he said that.
I slowly sat up. "Really? How are the test results?"
Dominic approached me with a smile on his face. "I was worried since your spleen was heavily injured from the stab wound. A part of your intestine was also damaged. Good thing you didn't pull out the knife, otherwise it would have been much worse. But based on the results today, you're good to go. The serum's healed up most of your internal wounds. I just need you to rest up for the next few days. That means no dance practice for you, young man."
My jaw dropped at what he said. "But the concert's in two weeks. How am I-"
"You take a break, or I'll MAKE you take a break. Choose." Dominic warned.
I gulped at how serious he suddenly became. "I'll rest. But can I at LEAST go to the practice room and sing with you while you guys practice the routine?"
He nodded in response. "Sure. That way, you can still practice while you rest physically. But you have to go home and rest at 9PM. No buts."
"Understood." I responded.
Dominic gave me a smile before he pulled my blanket. "Can you stand properly now?"
"I can stand, but I can't walk that much." I answered.
"Your wound has already closed and is healing well. Is it still painful when you walk?" Dominic asked.
I nodded. "There's a stabbing pain once I take more than 5 steps."
He took a deep breath in. "The serum's working fine since it closed the wound and has repaired your brain tissue to perfect condition. But since you still feel a bit of pain, I guess we'll be wheeling you tomorrow through the airport. Don't worry, I can prescribe you some painkillers once the pain gets worse."
"I'd like that. Thanks. Thanks for everything." I told him.
He chuckled. "If you're really thankful. Please stop worrying me to death. I swear I'm going to die of a heart attack one day because of you guys."
His words made me laugh. It was still hard to laugh since it would bring a stinging sensation to where I was stabbed. "I'll do my best to stay away from trouble."
Dominic rolled his eyes. "No, you won't. You always rush head on. There wasn't a year, where I actually haven't gone to the hospital to treat you."
"That's true though." I smiled at him.
"Don't smile as if it's funny. It's not okay. It's scary. I'm scared that one day, I won't be able to save you." He honestly said.
I sighed. "Don't worry, Dom. I'm not gonna do anything stupid that'll get me killed for good."
"You better not." He glared.
"So are you paying for my stay here?" I asked.
"Shut up." Dominic rolled his eyes.
________
"Are you sure you're okay?" Director Youra asked through the phone.
Dominic was pushing my wheelchair through the VIP section of the airport. I was finally going home today. I could already walk but my stab wound kept on hurting for some reason. Dominic decided to wheel me in and prescribed me a couple of painkillers to numb the pain. Dahyun was pretty excited when I called last night to tell her the news about me going home. It was 4AM in the morning. The hospital was supposed to get me discharged at 2PM today, but Dominic decided to let me go home early since it was safer to go through the airport where there were less people.
"Yeah. Don't worry about me. I'll visit you soon once I'm back in Seoul." I told her.
She sighed from the other end. "Again, I'm really sorry about what happened. I really don't know how to face you now."
"Youra-noona, you don't have to apologize. It was all a planned assault. We couldn't do anything about it. You guys did your best in protecting us. You always have. So please don't beat yourselves up because of it. And please send my regards to the rest of the crew and staff." I assured her.
I could hear her sniffling from the other end. "You're too kind, JayB-ya. We really apologize for it. Thank you. I'll give them your message. Take care. I'll see you soon."
"Alright. You too." I replied before hanging the phone up.
"Was it the director for the show?" Dominic asked as he continued to push the wheelchair I was sitting on.
I nodded. "Yeah. It's really heartbreaking for her to be this guilty. She really did her best after all."
Dominic chuckled. "It's weird to watch you be this calm considering what you just went through while being under that show. If it was the old you, you'd probably sue their butts off to kingdom come."
"That's true though. I wonder what happened to me." I pondered.
He patted my shoulder. "Dahyun's kindness rubbed off on you."
His words really made me smile. "You think so?"
"I know so. Ever since you've dated her, you seemed… brighter and more cheerful." Dominic said.
"I have, haven't I? I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out." I chuckled.
Dominic laughed. "You guys definitely deserve each other."
"Thanks, man." I replied as I gave him a fist bump.
"No problem. Oh and by the way, you should call Zee once we get back." He said.
I raised an eyebrow. "Zee? What's wrong with Zee?"
"It's better if you ask him yourself. He didn't tell me the details but it seemed urgent. He just didn't want to bother you because you just recovered from the incident." Dominic informed.
"Really? Zee knows he can come to me anytime. It's so unlikely of him." I was confused with how Zee was acting.
"That's what I thought too. That's why I'm asking you to check up on him." Dominic suggested.
I nodded in agreement. "Alright. That's probably the first thing I'll do once I get back."
________
"Domi-hyung! JayB-hyung! Over here!" Jiwoo waved as soon as we exited the VIP section of the airport.
The two hour flight was definitely tiring. I may be able to walk properly and be able to move around but I was still pretty much tired and exhausted most of the time for no reason. It's probably because my body is still recovering from my near-death experience. On the brighter side, some of our members came to fetch us in the airport. It's sweet that they're here to see us, but I still prefer if they were back in Seoul to practice for our concert. With less than two weeks to go, we can't afford to slack off. Sadly, I got myself heavily injured and almost had to sit out in the first half of our tour. Luckily, Dominic was able to convince JYP PD-nim to change his mind. Otherwise, I would have missed out a lot.
Dominic grabbed Jiwoo's hand to put it down. "I'm happy to see you, but please don't try to get other people's attention."
Jiwoo had a look around to see people starting to talk in whispers and some girls were even squealing when they realized who we were. Jiwoo scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I got a little excited."
Some of the girls started approaching us. Dominic hurriedly pushed my wheelchair towards our car. "That's our cue to leave. Let's go."
Dominic and Jiwoo helped me up to the front seat. Zee was on the wheel as he gave me a wave. As soon as I sat on the passenger's seat, Jiwoo and Dominic quickly loaded our things inside the trunk. Before our fans could start mobbing us, Zee quickly took off and started heading back to the company. It's not that we didn't want to see our fans, it was because I was in no condition to meet them. Dominic decided that it was best to avoid the public for now. Especially in my condition.
Our trip to Seoul was kind of boring. Dominic fell asleep and Jiwoo was busy with his phone. The weirdest thing was seeing Zee being out of it. It was unusual to see him zone out every once in a while. He wasn't even being his loud and usual self. His smile was nowhere to be found. Not being able to handle it anymore, I sighed and finally asked him what the problem was.
Zee turned to me and gave me a small smile. "It's nothing, hyung. Don't worry about it."
I rolled my eyes. "Zee-ya, I've been trying to get your attention twice now. You didn't respond."
"I'm focused on driving." He replied with a high pitched tone.
"Oh really? I even tapped your shoulder and you didn't even look at me. Obviously, you're in deep thought. You're always completely unaware of your surroundings when you're thinking too hard." I reminded him of how he couldn't hide anything from me.
He sighed. "It's just… I have this friend… who's having trouble with his girlfriend."
Jiwoo snorted at the backseat as he heard Zee. "It's about Yuna-ya, isn't it? Just tell JayB-hyung already. I bet he can do something about it."
"Ya! Lee Jiwoo! I was about to tell him when you started cutting in!" Zee complained.
It made me chuckle. "So what is it about Yuna-ya? Did you guys break up?"
Zee's mouth fell open in shock. "Do you want us to break up that badly? And for the record, we didn't."
"My bad. So what is it?" I apologized and just went straight to the point.
Zee sighed heavily before he bit his bottom lip. "Yuna-ya's been really disappointed with the MIXNINE results. It's been weeks now but she's still quite hung up on it. It's even affecting her training. What's worse is it isn't just her. Her friends are also at their breaking point too."
I pondered for a while. "I think I might be able to do something about that."
"Might?" Jiwoo asked.
"Yeah. It's possible, but JYP PD-nim can always have the last say." I replied.
Jiwoo rolled his eyes. "Oh please, we ALL know that you can overrule his decisions easily."
"I'm not that abusive, Woo-ya." I scoffed.
Zee cut in the conversation before we could start arguing. "Whatever the case is, hyung. Please, I'm begging you. Do something. Anything that'll help them."
"No need to beg. They are ALSO my friends after all. I'll do something about it as soon as we arrive at the company." I assured him.
He gave me a quick glance. "PD-nim told us to take you straight to the dorm."
"Well PD-nim can bite himself. Let's head to the company." I rebutted.
Jiwoo laughed loudly from the back which woke Dominic up. Zee chuckled "I knew I could count on you at times like these. Thanks a lot, hyung."
"Don't thank me just yet. I'll do whatever I can on my end. But I can't promise anything." I told Zee.
Finally, his smile returned as he fixed his eyes on the road. "I know when you say that you'll do whatever you can, it always ends up with you pulling some strings to gain the upperhand. That's why I'm thanking you ahead."
I rolled my eyes. "That is SO not true."
Jiwoo scoffed. "Do you want us to enumerate how many times you've done that?"
"Please don't." I jerked as I could feel a smirk coming from Jiwoo's face as he said that.
The rest of the car ride became more fun after that. Zee shared about how tired they were because PD-nim was the one who was handling their practices the past few days. He was still pretty much angry at how things turned out in the show. It was really sad that he took it out on my members. But as soon as PD-nim heard about my successful surgery, he started treating them nicely again. He even brought snacks and treated the entire staff and all the other artists in JYP Entertainment for a company dinner.
Things changed however when the company gave an official statement about what really happened. There were a bunch of rumors that were circulating on the web that the company couldn't hide it anymore especially when a lot of people were talking about it. PD-nim was also thinking about the well-being of Dahyun and the other members of Twice as well as my members too. So the company HAD to release an official statement to at least have some damage control. After doing so, a bunch of protesters started gathering outside the company to demand an explanation as to why they allowed us to go abroad unprotected. It was a total mess.
"What the heck is going on?" I asked.
Jiwoo sighed. "It's been days now. I can't believe their numbers aren't whittling down."
Zee shook his head. "They are your 'loyal' fans, hyung. They were really angry about what happened to you."
"Well they shouldn't be blaming the company about it." Dominic said. There was a hint of irritation in his voice.
I pondered about what to do. "Is there a way inside the company without being noticed?"
Jiwoo scanned through the window. "The parking lot in the basement is still closed because some of the protesters sneaked in through the basement. I don't know how they managed to do it, but they actually did it."
Zee massaged his temples. "The only way in is through."
Dominic shook his head. "Absolutely not. I won't allow JayB-ya to go through that."
Jiwoo nodded. "I agree with Dom-hyung. It's too dangerous. JayB-hyung might get hurt."
Zee then turned to them. "Then do you have any better ideas?"
"JayB-ya, let's go back to the dorm for now. Once it settles down. We can go in." Dominic suggested.
I shook my head in response. "I need to fix things today. I need to talk to PD-nim about Yuna-ya and the rest of the girls. Besides, I need to see my wife."
Jiwoo sighed in disbelief. "Dahyun-ah can wait. You need to stay out of danger, hyung."
I chose to ignore their words and turned to Zee. "Zee-ya, call Ming Do-hyung. Tell him to have security ready. I'm going in."
"I won't let you, JayB-ya." Dominic warned as he gripped my shoulder.
I chuckled at him. "I have to. I have to show the fans that I'm okay. It's not like I can't walk. It just hurts if I move for a long time. And if I can't overcome this now, then how can I practice days from now?"
Dominic glared at me for a few seconds. We both had a staring contest to see who gives in. After a while, Dominic finally gave in as a deep sigh escaped his lips. "Fine. Let's do it your way. But if the pain shoots up, I'm not giving you any prescriptions. That'll be enough to punish you for not listening."
"Fair enough." I chuckled.
Jiwoo smiled as he patted my shoulder. "Now that THAT's settled, let's show them how you roll, hyung."
__________
"I thought I told you two to bring him straight to the dorm." PD-nim angrily said as we entered his office.
He was in the middle of a meeting with the girls who lost in MIXNINE. Zee already filled me in on what happened. Apparently, the rest of the girls were doing poorly after losing in MIXNINE. It affected their lifestyle and their training. Their coaches and mentors were already complaining about it. The show must have affected their mental health really badly. It was obvious that they lost the fire to give it their all. I could see it in their eyes too.
I ignored PD-nim as I sat on one of the vacant chairs before giving a nod to my members signalling them to leave. "I'm fine PD-nim. You don't have to worry about me. You may continue."
"Not worry? You have no idea what kind of chaos the company was in these past few days!" He angrily said.
"Zee filled me in on the details." I smiled at him.
He scoffed and started ranting sarcastically. "Oh did he now? Did he also tell you about how our stocks dropped? Or the fact that Dahyun-ie was almost mobbed when they were about to go home? Have you seen their dorm? Or do you even know about the board members wanting THESE girls kicked out of the company because of poor behavior?"
The thing is, I knew that the stocks would drop. I predicted it as soon as the incident happened. But Dahyun being mobbed? Why didn't she tell me anything about this? I'll have to see her after I deal with the issue with these girls.
Without breaking my smile, I pretended to know everything. I took my tab before sending a quick email to my secretary. After doing so, I turned my attention back to PD-nim. "Let's deal with this one at a time. Let's start with the company. Regarding the stocks. Kim Group will now hold 60% of the stocks in JYP Entertainment. I just sent out an email to my secretary to buy out the stocks that were recently forfeited from our previous investors. This means that I am now the owner of the majority of the company. I've also increased my investment funds to about 10% making JYP the largest profit making entertainment company in all of South Korea."
PD-nim's eyes widened in surprise. He took out his holo-phone and started checking if what I was saying was true. His mouth fell wide open as he alternated his gaze from the statistics then to me. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not.
I chuckled. "Now that THAT matter is settled, I want to talk about the future of these girls."
The girls started to shiver as soon as they heard that. They were receiving information that they shouldn't even be even hearing in the first place. I basically revealed that I was THE Kim Jinbo, the business prodigy in front of them. Based on their reactions earlier, some of them were really shocked with the sudden revelation. This also meant that their future was in my hands. They didn't want to offend me now. I could feel them cower as they bowed their heads. Their reactions made me laugh lightly.
I slowly stood up from my seat. "I've invested my money in this company. I want to see it in good use. Let these girls debut in four different groups next year. One per season. It would still be enough to train the girls until then. As for their group assignments, group line-up, positions and other details, I'll email it to you tonight. I've already studied their profile and scores from the previous training. I'm sure they'll fit in quite well in the industry. Well then, now that I've said my piece, this meeting is adjourned."
After dropping that bomb, I started heading for the door. It was then that PD-nim finally snapped out of his daze that he called me out. "Wait, JayB-ya! I haven't agreed to this yet! Are you willing to risk your money for these women who easily fell apart after failing one show?"
I laughed loudly as I turned to PD-nim. The rest of the girls jerked as they heard me laugh. The room temperature suddenly dropped as I stopped laughing and stared at all of them with a malicious grin. "Oh please, PD-nim. When did I ever bet my money on losers? Remember who you're talking to. Even though I'm an idol now, I was first a prodigy in money-making. Don't ever forget that. And oh! Make sure they sign a nondisclosure form before they leave. Well then."
Without waiting for his response, I made my way out and started heading to where Dahyun was while I endured the pain with every step.
______
"JayB-oppa! When did you arrive?! It's so good to see you!" Momo hugged me as soon as she saw me enter their practice room.
After our "meeting" in PD-nim's conference room. I went straight to Twice's practice room. Dahyun wasn't answering my calls which got me worried. I had no choice but to see her for myself to see if everything was okay at her end. When I took a peek at their glass door, I saw Twice's members sitting on the floor while some were lying on the floor resting. There was no sign of Dahyun anywhere, so I went in to see where she was.
"Just now. It's nice to see you guys too. Is Dahyun-ah around? And no pranks this time Mina-ri." I said.
Mina shrugged. "I wasn't planning on joking around anyway. It's been a long day. In fact, it's been a long week."
"What happened?" I asked.
Sana sighed. "You and Dahyun-ah happened."
"Is it because of the post-wedding incident?" I decided to pry further for details.
Jihyo tossed me a bottle of water. "It's not just that. Dahyun-ah was a victim too, yet some of your fans started throwing mean comments at her. They're blaming her for what happened."
"I can't believe your fans would turn against Dahyun-unnie just like that, oppa." Tzuyu complained.
I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "I'll do something about it. Don't worry. And I'm sorry for what you guys had to go through because of it."
Jeongyeon scoffed. "You better do something about it. Otherwise-"
Nayeon didn't let Jeongyeon finish her sentence as she covered her mouth. Nayeon then gave me a smile. "Don't worry about us, JayB-ya. You should check up on Dahyun-ie."
"Where is she by the way?" I asked them.
"Here…" Dahyun replied plainly as she entered the room. I immediately ran towards her to give her a hug.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did the fans do to you?" I began to ask her a series of questions after I pulled away from the hug.
Instead of answering herself, she chose to stay quiet. Chaeyoung probably couldn't take it anymore as she grunted loudly before she started speaking sarcastically. "Oh they didn't do much. They just pushed her down and threw eggs at her while calling her degrading names such as 'whore' and the like."
My heart broke as I heard Chaeyoung. I turned her hand to see a couple of bruises and bandages covering her wounds. There was also a band aid covering her right knee. Whatever happened. It wasn't just a simple attack on her. She had to go through so much while I slept for two days. My eyes became watery at the thought of what my wife had to go through because of me.
"Where have you been? Why didn't you answer any my calls?" I spoke as I tried to hold myself from crying.
Dahyun gave me a weak smile as she wiped the tear that escaped my eye. "Youra-unnie called. We… talked. They're coming over in a bit. They wanted to talk to me in person."
"Did she say what it's about? I'll go with you." I asked Dahyun.
She shook her head in response. "It's better if I go and meet up with them alone."
"We're a couple now which means we handle our problems as a couple." I caressed her face as she started to tear up.
Out of nowhere, Dahyun suddenly broke down and started crying as she crouched on the floor. "I'm… scared oppa."
"Don't worry. I'm here now. As long as I'm here. I'll protect you." I assured her.
Her members were kind enough to leave the room to give us some space to talk it out. Dahyun told me everything that she went through the past few days. Some of the sasaeng fans were stalking their dorm. There were even a few of them that vandalized the walls outside their dorm. Fortunately, her members were able to call their managers. The company then exercised their authority by calling the police and sued some of the fans. They haven't seen them since then. Then there were the sasaeng fans who tried to get in the company to attack Dahyun. Thankfully, the security personnel were able to arrest them before they got to Dahyun. These people were armed which terrified me.
It was a rough time for Dahyun since she wasn't just harassed physically but mentally as well. According to Jiwoo, she seemed fine. She must have been holding it all in the past few days. She didn't even tell me about it when I called her after waking up. This was the only time that she was able to finally let it all out. We talked for a long time before she received a call from Youra-noona telling her that she was in the building. Dahyun and I asked her to join us in my recording studio since no one would dare disturb us there.
"I'm glad to see that you're okay, JayB-ya. I really am." Youra-noona shook my hand as soon as she entered the studio.
I gave her a smile before gesturing for her to sit down. "It's nice to see you too. Please, have a seat."
She sighed before she turned serious. "I know that you're both busy so I'll get to the point. I was only supposed to meet Dahyun-ah today. I didn't know that you'd be coming here too, but that's okay. At least I can tell you both in one go."
"What's so important that you came here personally to talk to us?" Dahyun asked.
Youra-noona nodded. "Right. The truth is, after the incident, our company was in utter chaos. There were petitions being filed left and right for the two of you to drop out from the show. Otherwise, people would file petitions to cancel the show."
Dahyun gasped as soon as she heard that. I knew how much this show means to her, and I knew what it would entail once we'd suddenly halt our activities regarding that. I calmly took a deep breath in. "I see. Did your company come into a conclusion?"
"Yes. Unfortunately… our president has decided to drop you off from the program." Youra-noona went straight to the point.
Dahyun started crying as she shakily spoke. "That's it? We're just… done? Just like that?"
"I'm really sorry, Dahyun-ah. If I had the power to change things, I would." Youra-noona bit her lip. I could see that she was sincere about this. She must have tried her best to at least come into a compromise. Sadly, things must have gone south for her too.
"I have a proposal." I spoke out which caused the both of them to look at me in confusion. Seeing that I got their attention, I continued. "The problem here is that your company is facing legal threats from the people who want us gone, right?"
"Yes. That's right. It's hard to deal with it right now since there are a lot of things to sort out. Not just from a legal standpoint." Youra-noona tried to explain.
I nodded. "I know someone who can help. You don't have to concern yourself with that. I'll make sure to send that person over to your company today."
Youra-noona was still confused with what I was telling her. "You don't understand. The board has already decided to withdraw the Kim Couple from the show. And even if they DO change their minds, how are we going to edit out the post wedding episode?"
I chuckled. "You just have to end the clip before we landed in front of the haunted house. The editing team can also cut out the parts where we mentioned the haunted house. I'm sure your team can handle that at least. As for your boss…"
Youra-noona stared at me as if she was talking to someone she didn't understand. I slowly took out a golden business card that I kept in my card holder and handed it to her. "Give this to him and tell him this, if the company doesn't change its mind, I'll make sure to make some changes to your company myself. And trust me, I don't play nice."
Youra-noona gulped. "I understand. I'll get right to it. I'm sure they will change their minds. I'll contact you once everything is settled. Well then."
It was obvious that she knew who I was. Her eyes widened the moment she read my name and credentials on the card. I'm pretty sure that I'll get a call by tonight. After that, she left to handle our matters for us. The chaos has finally slowly died out. For now, I've taken care of most of the things. The trainees, Dahyun and our virtual marriage. I just need to make a phone call and handle the legal matters. As for our fans, I need to do something about them.
"You know, oppa. I've seen you handle your business many times. But it still catches me off-guard." Dahyun finally calmed herself down.
I gave her a smile before sitting beside her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Much better. Thank you. You saved our marriage." She smiled in return.
"I know you mean it in a genuine way, but that sounded really weird since our marriage is virtual. Still, it's true that I somehow saved it." I chuckled as I wiped her tear-stained face.
She then gave me a sad smile. "What now?"
"Now… we wait. Let me make a phone call first. Okay?" I told her as she nodded in response.
I went out of the room to call Jeong Do. After a few rings, he finally picked up. "JayB-ya! I heard you're back! How are you?"
"I've seen better days." I chuckled in response.
He must have caught on as he noticed the hint of worry in my voice. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"
"Actually, I need your help with something." I told him. I then began to explain the situation to Jeong Do.
Jeong Do made a hissing sound from the other end of the line. "That's going to be a challenge. But I can work something out. But if Zee-ya could find something, then it'll probably make things easier. Don't worry. We got this. Just take better care of your wife, you hear?"
"Thanks, Jeong Do-ya." I replied.
"Oh yeah! Should we have the girls transfer dorms? The fans already know where they live." Jeong Do suggested.
I pondered for a while before agreeing. "I think that's a great idea. We can also get them a bigger dorm this time."
"Agreed. Well then. I'll see what I can do on my end. See ya." He concluded.
After hanging up, my phone suddenly rang again. I placed it on my ear as I answered. "Yes, PD-nim? Is there something wrong?"
"JayB-ya… I'm sorry about earlier." PD-nim suddenly said.
I was taken aback but quickly composed myself. "Don't worry about it. I know you're just looking out for us."
"I'm glad you understand." He replied.
I raised a brow. "So… you didn't call just to apologize now, did you?"
"Ah! Right! I almost forgot. I've already done what you asked. The girls are excited to finally have their debut. I'll wait for the details regarding their line-up and positions. You're going to email it to me tonight, right?" He informed me.
"I'll send it to you tonight like I promised. I just need to handle some things before then." I replied.
PD-nim sighed. "Well… I have a question though… Are you finally okay with your solo debut?"
"What made you suddenly bring this up?" I asked.
"Rumors suddenly spread online about your solo debut. I was planning on releasing a statement to deny the claims. If that's what you want. But the thing is, it'll probably look bad once you finally decide to make a solo debut." PD-nim explained.
Great. Just as things were finally simmering down, it just had to get worse. I massaged my forehead as I pondered on what to do. "I'll do it. I'll announce it myself."
"Really? Are you sure about that? You don't have to if you're not REALLY sure about it yet." PD-nim asked.
I sighed. "I was planning to go on VLIVE now with Dahyun-ie to clarify some things with my fans regarding the recent incidents. I need to put out the fire completely, PD-nim. It's a mess that I need to clean up myself. I'll announce my plans for a solo debut then as a piece of good news to the fans. Although it might seem premature since we still have our tour coming up, you're right about clarifying the rumor now so it wouldn't come back to bite me in the future. So that's what I'll do."
PD-nim gave a hearty chuckle. "Alright. I'll leave it up to you. It's a good idea to clear things now before tomorrow's schedule anyway. It would be horrible if we don't fix things now."
I was curious with what PD-nim just said so I asked. "What do you mean? What's with tomorrow?"
He sighed deeply. "Did you forget? You have a schedule with Twice tomorrow. Don't tell me you forgot about it? You guys have been looking forward to it!"
"What schedule? In case you forgot, I was in a coma for a few days so my head's not exactly in the right place yet." I rebutted.
PD-nim scoffed. "Yeah right. It's still in the right place to make threats and demands though."
"Whatever. So? The schedule?" I went straight to the point.
He laughed. "It's Idol Room. You'll be filming for the show tomorrow."
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