First Encounter

My shaking hands are holding on way too firmly to CV and resumé. I decided to give this job a chance and texted Minjun, who gave me the instructions to come to the interview today, along with a smug "I knew you'd come around!" message. Well, looks like his intuition about me was correct.

At the end of the day, what do I have to lose, right? It's just an interview.

No commitment just yet.

After a thorough security check, I'm now sitting in one of the waiting rooms of the iconic HA Entertainment building, wondering if there are many girls out there who would like to be in my place right now. Working with YouGe, the biggest boyband in the world. While coming in here, I couldn't help but notice the fans standing around the entrance, waiting to catch a glimpse of their favourites.

I ask myself what it must feel like for them, these six boys. Having the whole world at their feet like that. And if they ever get tired of it, the attention, the responsibility, the overwhelming fame. If they ever just want everything to stop.

I'm sure that's what I would want. I could never live their life.

And still, I'm applying for a job where I'll help one of these boys manage his.

The waiting room is empty besides me, which surprises me a little. I thought this would be the kind of position a lot of people are interested in. I mean, how often do you get the chance to work for a worldwide superstar?

The door finally opens, and out comes a middle-aged Korean lady with round glasses and dyed blonde hair. She smiles at me.

"Rose, nice to meet you. I'm Sana, assistant director of Human Resources here at BigHit. Please do come in." Sana. A Japanese name. I wonder how long she's lived in Korea, and if she ever feels completely at home here. I know I don't.

Hastily, I follow her into her simply decorated office and take a seat across from her, only being separated from each other by her desk.

She says nothing for a while and puts her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her folded hands. Why is she making this more awkward than it has to be? Are job interviews always like that? "So, Rose."

I clear my throat. "Y-yes?" My voice sounds so broken and small in the grand silence of the room.

What was what? I really need to try to seem more confident.

"If I understand correctly from your CV which you so kindly sent to me before this interview, you're not studying right now, is that correct?"

Cutting right to the chase. I already feel uncomfortable at the idea of having to explain the mess that is my life right now. "Um, yes."

Shit, I need to stop saying "um", all the time. Eun and I simulated job interviews before coming here so I could appear more confident, but it clearly hasn't shown its fruits.

"So you have a lot of time, is that right? No other priorities in life right now?" Even if Sana has the faintest idea of what is going on in my head, she doesn't show it, making me appreciate her.

I shake my head. "No, nothing." Isn't she going to ask why a high school graduate has absolutely no plans in life?

Instead, she flashes me the biggest smile I've ever seen. "That's perfect. Because you need to understand, if you work for Hajun, you will have to make him your number one priority."

I sincerely hope she doesn't mean that. Yes, jobs are essential, but I still want to have a life on the side. She's just saying that to intimidate me, right?

However, I don't express my concerns, I just nod. "Of course, I understand."

"Perfect," she gleefully says. "Now that that's settled, let me make a confession: this is not an interview."

"What... what do you mean?" I ask slowly.

"From all the applications we've received, yours was by far the most convincing one. So, if you want it, of course, you've got the job."

I completely freeze. I was coming here with the expectation of chit-chatting a bit with HR, getting a feeling about what kind of company HA is and maybe, maybe, slowly wrapping my mind around accepting this job.

Instead, I get a job offer two minutes into the interview.

This must be a joke. Something's wrong here. I might have never attended a job interview before, but I'm quite confident this never happens.

Then, something in my mind clicks. "Is this because Minjun suggested me to you?"

"Huh?" She seems surprised and perhaps slightly offended by my question. "No, of course not. We're a trustworthy company, we don't do favouritism. We genuinely believe you're cut out for the job. Besides, you're so different from all the previous assistants, and it hasn't worked with any of them. So maybe you could be like a fresh start for Hajun."

"Wait..." as I listen to her and remember parts of my conversation with Minjun – "the company has been struggling to fill this position for a while now"- it all starts to make sense. Of course. How could I not see it before? "Did Hajun chase all the previous assistants away?"

So this is like a cursed position, being Hajun's assistant. It's like being Professor of Defense against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Suddenly, I being to panic. Oh my God. I'm going to be the Professor of Defense against the Dark Arts at HA Entertainment.

"What? No, no." Suddenly, Sana turns uneasy, and I realize I've struck a nerve. "No, let's just say all his previous assistants decided to broaden their professional horizon elsewhere."

...Seriously?

I just stare at her. "So they quit."

Suddenly, the door behind me opens. "Sorry I'm late, noona."

Once again, I completely freeze. It's a voice I've heard a billion times on the radio, in songs, in ads. Somehow, it sounds even more beautiful and melodic in real life.

"No problem." Sana smiles at him. "Hajun, this is Rose."

Why did she not feel like telling me I was going to meet Hajun like, right now? Didn't she reckon that might be crucial information to share with me? I've had no time to mentally prepare, and now I'm in the same room than one of the most famous people on the planet. This is entirely different than meeting Minjun in that nightclub. I knew Minjun before he was famous when he was just a mortal like the rest of us. I've only ever known Hajun as a celebrity, someone I was never supposed to come across in real life, because we have absolutely nothing in common.

And yet, here we are.

Realizing the two other people in the room are waiting for a reaction from my part, I force myself to stand up and slowly turn around, finding myself nose to nose with YouGe's most popular member. But before we even get a chance to accurately look at each other, we both quickly bow as a greeting.

"Nice to meet you," we both mumble, and then, I meet An Hajun's eyes.

I internally gasp. Holy hell, he is so beautiful.

Not that he didn't seem attractive when I saw him on TV, but I feel like the media focuses too much on his cute, baby-ish side, as he's the youngest member.

Real-life Hajun is not cute. Real-life Hajun is hot.

His doe eyes take up most of his face, drawing everyone in. His nose cutely shaped, while his pink mouth is perfectly curved and his jawline makes him look mature and authoritative. His black hair is slightly frizzed and messy, and he's dressed all in black, black T-Shirt, black army pants, black Timberlands. Hajun is so unbelievably attractive. I need to call Eun right after this encounter. She's not going to believe any of this.

While all these admiring thoughts run through my head, very different ones run through Hajun's. His black gaze burns himself through me, and within a millisecond, his eyes darken even more before he turns towards Sana.

"You chose a foreigner?"