Steamy Talks

Two hours later, Sana describes to me how to get to Hajun's training room.

"You'll most likely find him there.", she says. "Good luck with lunch today."

After she's spent the last two hours patiently explaining to me what my job position entails and how HA Entertainment as a company works, I feel a little bit more confident. However, Hajun will probably make that confidence sink to rock bottom once again.

Seems to be his special talent.

"Rose!" I look up, and standing in front of me is no other than Kim Minjun, the man who got me into this mess in the first place. "May I help you?"

"Oppa!" Even though I'm kind of mad at him that he failed to mention what a brat Hajun is during our previous conversation, I'm still relieved to see a familiar face here. "Is the Training room B-101 here? Were you training with Hajun?"

"Yes, he should be out any minute," he glances back at the door he just exited and then back to me. "First meeting went well, I heard?"

So he mentioned me to Minjun already. I wonder what he told him. Minjun's face is not giving me any clues. He's got that professional poker face that most celebrities seem to develop over time. Not Hajun, though, I think as I recall the way he glared at me earlier. Rarely have I ever met someone this intimidating.

"Yeah, about that." I scratch my neck. "How come Hajun was surprised to find out I was born in the US?"

I avoid the word "foreigner" on purpose.

"You're Korean, so it felt irrelevant to mention it to him," Minjun just shrugs and I can't help but feel pleased with his words. "Besides, it's a good sign he's not convinced with you yet."

I frown. "Huh? How?"

"With all his previous assistants, Hajun's expectations were so high because they all seemed so competent on paper. However, in real life..." the young man laughs but it does not sound genuine. "Well, you can see they are obviously not working for him anymore."

"So, what you're saying is that it's good that he has low expectations for me?", I ask, my arms crossed.

"Yeah," Minjun scratches his head as he considers my words. "The way you put it, it doesn't sound very convincing."

"What doesn't sound very convincing?" Hajun has appeared out of nowhere, suddenly standing behind Minjun and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He's sweaty and a little bit out of breath. Even hotter than before. It is hard to not stare at him when he's quite literally the most handsome man I've ever met in my life. Nevertheless, I attempt to control my facial expressions and hope I seem neutral and unaffected on the outside. Quite the contrary to what I'm feeling on the inside.

Hajun's dark eyes quickly glide over me. "Well, at least you're not late. Let's go."

If he's surprised to see me here, having actually accepted the job, he doesn't show it. Then again, the young idol doesn't seem like the kind of person who would admit being wrong about anything.

"Hey! Why am I not invited to your little lunch date?" Minjun pouts, and I can't help but send him a pleading look. This lunch would be a hundred times less dreadful with at least one friendly person around.

However, Hajun just rolls his eyes at him and pulls me by the arm, his simple touch sending electro waves through my whole body. "See you later, hyung."

Minjun shoots me one last empathetic smile before I follow Hajun down the hallway.

Gosh, I'm really am another level of pathetic. This is my boss who just touched me in the most platonic way possible, and here I am, suddenly wanting to giggle at him like a twelve-year-old girl. The idea that I'm going to be interacting with one of the most famous people on the planet hasn't sunk in just yet.

In the elevator, he leans against the wall, crossing his arms and staring at me quizzingly. "You eat Korean food, right?"

I have to hold back a sigh. When is he going to understand that I'm perfectly integrated into Korean society? "Yes, I do."

"There's this jiggae place not too far from here. The owners know me, so they always get me a quiet table where no one will recognize me."

He wants to go eat hot soup while the temperatures outside still make you feel like you're in hot soup? "Jiggae during summertime?" I ask, sceptical, but the way he raises an eyebrow at me suggests that he wasn't planning on taking my opinion into consideration.

I chuckle nervously through the thick air in this elevator. "Jiggae then it is."

Boy, this lunch is going to be fun.

...

After we've ordered our food, Hajun asks me: "So, is true that you used to be a dancer?"

How come Minjun considered it relevant enough to mention that I'm a dance not that I'm a mix? This guy really is a mystery. I laugh awkwardly as I try to avoid Hajun's intense gaze which hasn't stopped resting on me a single second since we've entered this restaurant. "It was in middle school. And yes, I was pretty good back then, but it was a long time ago. I would hardly call myself a dancer, especially in front of someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean, in front of someone like me?"

"Well, in front of someone who actually knows how to dance." I clear my throat. "I've seen some of your shows. You're an incredible performer." I'm being genuine. Regardless of what I think of Hajun as a person, he is absolutely unbeatable on a stage. There are reasons YouGe became successful enough they could export their music internationally. Hajun is one of them.

"Thank you." He sounds a little bit surprised, perhaps not expecting me to be so frank. "So you were a fan before?"

"Well, I was following what Minjun oppa was up to, of course," I shrug. He does not need to know how starstruck I feel solely by conversing with him right now. A few days ago, I never even considered breathing the same air as him in my entire lifetime. "But I wouldn't call myself a fan, no. However, I must thank you for making Korea seem so cool. My old friends from the US ignored my existence for years; now, they all want to come and visit me."

"When's the last time you've been to the US?"

"Two or three years ago, maybe." The United States seems like such a distant country now. I keep forgetting that I used to live there.

"Why so long? Don't you miss it?" Out of everything he could ask, it's a little weird he focuses on this but I decide not to dwell on it.

I wrinkle my nose at that, thinking. "There's nothing for me to miss. Everyone and everything that matters is here with me in Korea."

Suddenly, Hajun leans forward, his eyes two black holes sucking me in, and it takes me all my self-control to not jerk back at his sudden proximity. "Why did you accept this job, Rose?"

If only I had an answer to this question. To spite him, that is certain. However, it is also only a tiny part of the truth.

"What do you care?" I mumble. "All that matters is that I've accepted it." Speaking to my new boss that way might be risky but it's not like being polite with him has brought me very far.

His face is an impenetrable wall as he narrows his eyes at me. "HR might believe your bullshit, but I don't. Why would a fresh high school graduate have this much free time? Last time I checked, people normally go to college after school."

The way he describes "normal" people makes me realize he does relate in any shape or form to my situation. An Hajun never had to worry about trivial matters such as college applications and student loans. When he was my age, he was literally already famous and wealthier than I would ever be. How the hell am I supposed to work for someone I have nothing in common with?

"Well, I decided to do it differently, to start working right away." My smile is becoming thinner and thinner, just like my patience.

"You don't seem like the type to take the alternative route," he just retorts, making me scream internally out of pent-up frustration. Of course, Hajun is freaking right. All my life, I've done things by the book and commencing a job at age 18 without even telling my own parents about feels like ripping out every single page of that book and throwing it into the fire. Koreans find comfort in the idea that everyone "lives the same life." Everyone goes to school and studies hard to attend college, goes on to base their entire self-worth on their college's prestige during their university life, finally gets a depressing 9-5 job and then dies, leaving nothing behind than children conditioned into repeating that exact life cycle. This is the destiny of the average Korean. Boring, yet so appealingly safe.

However, An Hajun is everything but an average Korean, and his life certainly not boring. So why is he judging me for wanting to take an alternative route as well? Judging is all he's done since the second he's laid his eyes on me for the first time and it's becoming already becoming incredibly unbearable.

"Hajun... oppa," I force out, the honorific sounding so unnatural when it leaves my lips, "let me prove myself, and then judge me, okay? You don't even know me yet."