The Request (13): Proposal

Jinhyun was having his medicines when his phone began to ring from the living room. Gulping the pills down with water, he set the medicines aside and went to the other room to pick up his phone. It was Jenna.

He hesitated. Should he talk to her about the fire? What if she was offended? After much debate, he decided to answer the call.

"Hey Jenna!" he greeted in a casual tone. "How are you doing now?"

"I should be asking you that!" she exclaimed. "I'm fine but what about you? Are you alright? You had to stay at the hospital for two days! What did the doctors say?"

She spoke so fast that Jinhyun could not catch half of her words.

"Calm down," he assured her. "I'm fine. I've been discharged already. So don't worry."

There was a sigh of relief from the other end. "I'm glad you're alright," she said. "That fire was so scary. Thank god no one was hurt."

"Yeah…" Jinhyun said. He did not know how to broach the subject. What will her reaction be?

"Wanna grab dinner?" she offered. "Let's meet up at the club and hang out. This whole episode had left me kinda rattled."

Jinhyun paused to think. Should he accept? It might help him to get some information out of her and prove her innocence.

"Alright," he agreed. "I'll meet you in half an hour."

"Cool!" Jenna said. "Let's meet up then."

He bid her bye and hung up the phone. Quickly putting on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, headed out of his house. He was still feeling a little feverish from the medicines the doctors had prescribed him but this was more important. He had to find the truth.

….

Jenna was waiting for him at the club, sitting at their usual table. With her was another guy in his early twenties with bright green hair. Jinhyun recognized him as a rising idol, Kang Minho. No doubt he was Jenna's new paramour.

"Hello sunbae!" Minho immediately greeted Jinhyun when he approached closer.

"Jinjin!" Jenna exclaimed, giving him a hug. "Are you alright?"

She was worried about his health since he always over exerted himself.

"I'm fine," he reassured her for the umpteenth time. She may not show it but she was a worrywart. He sat down next to her.

"When did you get discharged?" Jenna asked.

"This morning," he replied. "What about you? When did you return home after the fire?"

"They let me go that very day," she said. "I fainted out of shock as soon as the fire started. So I did not really inhale a lot of the fumes like you did."

"I'm glad you made it out of there alive, my dear," Minho piped up. Jenna threw him a dirty look, indicating him to stay quiet.

"So, did you find out how the fire started?" Jenna asked.

"It started from your room," Jinhyun pointed out. "I thought you'd be able to tell."

"I honestly can't recall anything," Jenna admitted. "All I remember is that the smoke was coming from somewhere and the next thing I knew, we were surrounded by the flames. I passed out and later woke up in the hospital. The doctors said you saved me. I really can't thank you enough for this."

"Don't worry about it," Jinhyun shrugged.

"You saved my life, Jinjin!" Jenna said sincerely. "I really want to repay you the favor."

"You really don't have to," Jinhyun said. "We're friends! No need to talk about repaying favors!"

"But I insist!" Jenna said in a stubborn tone. She turned to her boyfriend. "Sweetie could you please get us some drinks? One vodka for me and a beer for Jinjin."

"Sure dear!" he said excitedly and scrambled to get their orders.

"He's so gullible," she sighed. "Need to end it with him fast."

"Why can't you settle down for a guy already?" Jinhyun asked, rolling his eyes.

"I'm too much of a free spirit!" Jenna claimed. "Not everyone wants to fall in love like you do. Anyways, I wanted to talk to you. I really want to repay you for saving my life."

"Jenna you don't-"

"Just hear me out," she said sharply. "There's this amazing business opportunity."

She lowered her voice so that only Jinhyun could hear her. "There's a company called Zen Riser. They're involved in the online distribution of entertainment content. Music, TV shows, Variety shows and many more online streaming content. They're looking for investors and also a brand ambassador. You remember my group mate, Hyebin? Her husband owns it. He requested me to talk to you. If you want, he can send you all the details and even meet up with you."

"I…"

"Oh come on Jinhyun!" Jenna begged. "This online platform is really promising. If you invest in it, you'll get double the money back within three months. You know that television is now a dying trend. People are nowadays more on the streaming sites and Zen Riser is a very well known streaming site. It's a really good business opportunity. Besides, you can benefit from the publicity."

Jinhyun thought hard. He was pondering his options. Cherry's words were ringing in his ears. Was Jenna really creating ponzi schemes? Or was this a legitimate business deal?

He had heard of Zen Riser. It was recently gaining a lot of popularity for its content and many idols were trying to sign up with them. It was difficult to fathom that it would be a fake. So why did Cherry say that Jenna was trying to mooch off insurance money from the sets of Rogues 101?

"Tell him to meet me and send the proposal," Jinhyun said carefully. "I'll look into it."

"Really?" Jenna exclaimed. "That's great! It's gonna be an amazing deal!"

Jinhyun merely smiled. There did not seem to be anything off about her reaction and she seemed genuinely happy for him. Was Cherry really wrong?

Please be wrong, Jinhyun hoped. He really did not want Jenna to turn out to be a culprit.

He twitched a little. His body temperature was increasing. The doctor had mentioned that the medicine prescribed to Jinhyun had fever as a side effect and that he should be on full bed rest. But Jinhyun was so curious about Jenna's secret that he neglected the doctor's orders.

"Oh look there's Minho with our drinks!" Jenna said, not noticing that Jinhyun was slightly swaying. Jinhyung shook it off and concentrated on the evening. They chattered for a while longer and had a light dinner. Jinhyun did not eat much because he was not feeling hungry anymore but tried to keep up with the conversation. His mind was becoming more muddled as he struggled to stay awake.

"Are you alright, Jinjin?" Jenna asked, feeling concerned.

"I think I'm gonna go home," he said sheepishly. "The doctor told me to rest anyway. I'll catch you guys later."

"I'll tell my chauffeur to take you home," Jenna said at once. "I'll be going to Minho's house anyway. He can drop you off using your car."

Jinhyun nodded as Jenna called her chauffeur to give him instruction. Within fifteen minutes, Jinhyun left the club and got into his car's backseat. The chauffeur knew his place well and they drove off.

Upon reaching his apartment, Jinhyun thanked the chauffeur and as a token of thanks, gave him some tip. He then staggered towards the elevator. His stomach felt queasy as the bile almost reached his throat. Upon reaching his floor, Jinhyun could not hold it in anymore. He leaned against a large pot plant and threw up in its container.

His vision was blurry and his skin was burning. He did not think that the effects of the medicine would be that strong as he struggled to keep his balance. He almost fell forward but suddenly, someone grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey!" he heard a familiar voice calling him out but his mind was too dazed and confused as he completely blacked out.