addiction 》minsung

22

Legs are supposed to keep you sturdy, upright. They are supposed to be strong and secure.

So when Jisung's weren't, it was a terrifying feeling.

Walking through the pristine company building, Jisung wished he could turn tail and run, but he knew he couldn't. He had made a choice yesterday, now he had to face the consequences.

Stopping in front of a large desk, the rapper cleared his throat, earning the attention of a small woman behind it. 

"I'm Han Jisung." He stated, as if the woman didn't know exactly who he was and why he was there. He wished he could say his voice was confident and loud, but it was quite the opposite. "I was supposed to come here for a meeting?"

The woman nodded, analyzing the nervous man. Jisung didn't like the way that she was looking down on him, but he said nothing of it. "They're waiting for you down there. I'll take you to them."

Getting out from behind the desk, the woman led him through the building, making a series of turns. Her heels clicked against the tile floor, only adding to his discomfort. Finally she stopped at a large door, gesturing for him to go through.

As the woman made her leave, Jisung could have sworn he heard a small snicker of disapproval coming from her direction. Still, he ignored it, hesitantly opening the door.

Inside, he was poorly greeted by three people, two men and a woman. He recognized the trio as important people in the company, but due to his nervousness, their names escaped him. 

"Take a seat, Mr. Han." One man huffed, looking to the opposite side of the table. Jisung could tell from the air he gave off that he was of great importance, acting as the leader.

"Well," The man chuckled as soon as the rapper had sat down. He held a file in his old hands, examining every piece of it. "You've gotten yourself into quite the quandary, haven't you?"

Ignoring how the man was mocking him, Jisung just shook his head, his gaze low. "Yes sir."

"So what shall we do about it, huh?" The man was obviously amused by his sense of superiority. He enjoyed seeing Jisung squirm. "Kick you out? Disband the group? There's so many options."

The man's tone was dripping venom, it made Jisung's skin crawl. Despite that, he kept it professional. "I am prepared to receive whatever consequences come my way."

"How noble." The old man's brow furrowed, displeased by how Jisung was still standing strong. Still, he found the hole in the rapper's armor. "What if I told you it wasn't just your career on the line?" 

Jisung looked to the other two people in the room for confirmation, but nothing came of it. He didn't see how this couldn't all be solved by him leaving the group. Why bring everyone else into it? "Sir?"

The wrinkled old man tossed the file across the long table, a vile grin on his face. "The pictures sent to the news stations were enough to start a fire, yes. But we also received... others."

Jisung didn't like where this was headed, but despite the mental alarms going off, he picked up the file. 

His heart sank as soon as he saw what was inside. They were pictures, but not the ones that he had seen this morning. These were more exposing. Through them he recounted his day yesterday, the atmosphere of the activity showing clear on Minho's smiling face.

Flipping through the numerous pictures, Jisung felt like he couldn't breathe. These showed it all. Getting drinks, feeding ducks, even their moment in the rain. Lee Minho was clearly shown in all of them.

How stupid they had been. They should have tried to disguise themselves better, payed more attention to their surroundings. They should never have gone out in the first place.

"They're demanding money for those. If we don't pay it, they'll release them to every news station, and you and your little lover boy will be finished by this time tomorrow." The man looked at him in distaste, but what was the reason? Was it because of the money they'd be losing, or because of what Jisung was doing in those pictures? 

"Please." Jisung couldn't believe he was begging to these people, but he had no other choice. "I'll get the money together myself, I'll leave the group, just please don't bring him into this."

Shaking his head, the old man was prepared to show no mercy. "Why should we do a thing you say? You've cost the company a large amount. You've dragged our name through the mud-"

"Oh, don't be so hard on the kid." The woman, who Jisung had forgotten was even there, spoke up. She turned to the rapper, giving him a small smile. "We're prepared to pay the settlement, Mr. Han. Luckily the leeches who took those pictures didn't have the brains to ask for more."

Her words were heaven-sent, causing the rapper to believe there was some hope after all. 

"Our legal team is perfectly prepared for situations like this. They're already getting the news stations to take the pictures down." The woman was an angel, Jisung would have kissed her if he could. "It will go how these situations usually go: people will talk about it for a while, and then something new will come up and they'll forget."

Jisung nodded, hoping the woman could see how eternally grateful he was.

"There's only one problem." The vile man spoke up again, making the rapper realize it couldn't all be perfect. 

He turned with the woman to see if this was only one of the old man's delusions, but she frowned.

"A number of people have concluded that you were out with a man yesterday." Her narrowed eyes sent a glare to her colleague for the next statement. "While we at the company have no problem with that, the rest of the country does."

"Your fans and our investors don't approve of your..." The decrepit man interrupted, looking Jisung up and down. "Lifestyle."

"But it's your decision, Mr. Han. The company will support you with whatever you choose." She shook her head, obvious that she was deep in thought. "But I just can't figure out how you'd fix it. So you may just have to deal with some nasty words sent in your direction for a while."

"I can live with that." Jisung couldn't help but laugh. As long as neither him nor Minho had to leave the group, he could take whatever words anyone could ever say to him.

"Well, then. I believe that concludes our meeting." The woman nodded. 

Getting up from his chair, he had to express his gratitude, really to only one person. "Thank you, really. I can't thank you enough."

"Don't mention it, Mr. Han." The woman smiled, knowing that it was meant for her, and her only. Laughing a bit, she pleaded with the rapper through her eyes. "Just please, be more careful next time."