Remember Me

Chapter 18

Jimin
_______________

I thought back to the speech that'd been written for me. A copy was on the table in front of me, but it had to look natural. I took a deep breath, and smiled.

"Thank you for coming to this press conference on such short notice. I wanted to... apologize to the public for my actions that night, when I drank and recklessly got into a fight with an old acquaintance from school." I talked about my recent behavior and apologized for not being able to control my actions maturely.

As I was speaking, I thought to myself that things must have really gotten out of hand for me to be wasting myself away after achieving my dream like this. In a way, this was a chance at restarting, wasn't it?

Once my speech was over, I added in something else too, which made Drey slightly panic and watch me closely from the side of the stage, ready to sweep in in case I said anything stupid. It made me laugh internally, but I meant every word.
"I hope... you can sympathize with me. Recently, I have been going through a lot, in my personal life." It was true for both the current and future me.
"But as I sit here, I am again in awe of the fact that people believe in me, support me, whether right next to me or from afar. I want to thank and apologize to them. I may have forgotten what I owe them, but I am learning anew to appreciate what it means to love them."

I caught Zara's gaze from afar. Drey looked at me in surprise too, and I saw the emotion reflected in his eyes. Heck, it almost made me tear up. Some of the reporters had softened looks in their faces too.

The questions started easy. Inquiring after my health, my work. But as Zara had warned, the questions got a little more brash as the hour went on.
"Did you have to rely on your father, the CEO of Park Corp., to solve the problem for you?" A reporter asked.
I blinked, surprised at the audacity of the guy, but I pressed my lips together, ready with an answer I'd thought of last night. "The man I'd fought was a former classmate of mine, and the heir to a large company. It was not as bad as it was reported to be, and we mutually decided not to pursue legal action. What's a fight between old friends anyway, right?"

The reporter sat back down, satisfied. Another rose, "Sir, what is your relationship to Zara Sando? It seems she's here today."
Caught off guard, the whole room turned to look for her, quickly spotting her in the back, looking shocked. She gave the faintest panicked shake of her head and immediately put on a mask of calmness, sitting relaxed and quiet. I understood her immediately and raised an eyebrow.

"I... know her?" I said, puzzled that they would even ask about her. Was she a recognizable figure in media?
"Do you condone her actions during the trial four years ago?" The reporter asked again. The reporters' eyes got big, anticipating a juicy take from the press conference.
I simply raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused, while Zara turned and tried to look uninvested. Drey immediately walked up the stage and called time. "We have another meeting after this. The press conference is over."
The reporters stood up but congregated around Zara instead of leaving. There was a back door for me to exit through, and Drey tried to push me that way. I resisted. "Wait, what about Zara?"

"She can fend for herself. You're more vulnerable right now." I hesitated but finally relented. I refused to leave the side of the door, since I could listen to the situation.

"Ms. Sando, are you pursuing taking over Sando Corp.? How do you respond to people calling you heartless? Are you here to meet Jimin? Are you acquiring Bulletproof Labels? Do you regret your actions from back then?" The voices got more distant, and I did not hear a single word from Zara.
"What happened to her?!" I whisper-yelled at Drey. "Why are they grilling her like that!"

Drey shook his head. "It's a little complicated, but the media doesn't like her much since the scandal. Not everyone, of course."
He seemed hesitant to speak, and I couldn't force him. But I couldn't just stand by while some reporters harassed Zara like that. I pushed past and walked out with my crutches and saw Zara standing quiet and poker faced as could be, trying to break through the throng of people slowly. In anger, I shoved through with the crutches. The reporters slowly caught sight of me as I threw one crutch to the floor, wrapped the free arm around Zara's shoulders to shield her, but also as support, as I quickly picked up the pace and hobbled to the back door. She looked a little floored, but helped me walk quickly. We were out before any reporter could react or say anything.

Once we were safely in the back, Drey slapped his forehead, and Zara pulled away. I laughed to distract from the pain in my leg. "Did you see their faces?"
Drey glowered at me, "No. I didn't. But they definitely saw your faces. What will you do once a rumor starts about the two of you getting cozy?"

Zara put her hands on her hips and turned away, clearly overwhelmed. I clicked my tongue.

"You can ask literally anyone we've known between the age of like 6 to now and know that we've been close all our lives. How is that a scandal?"

"The media loves twisting things! They'll assume you're dating her! How are we supposed to preserve your image?" Drey said, exasperated.
I grimaced at the implication, and put my palms up in a shrug. "Well if this is such a big deal how are you going to deal with news of our wedding? Or is my entire personal life supposed to be a secret?"

"Your wedding...?" Drey asked, in shock. He looked around to check if anyone else was in the room, but the PR team was sitting elsewhere. He then opened the door to the conference room and saw that it was empty; the staff had cleared it out right away. We were the only three here. He turned back and took a deep breath before saying, shakily,

"Your wedding... with her?"
Zara glanced our way cautiously and I nodded. "Well yea. If I don't marry my fiancée then who am I supposed to marry? You?"
Drey looked like he was having an aneurism. "You guys are engaged?" Zara put a hand to her forehead. I looked at Drey seriously.
"Yes? When was it, Zara?"
She said softly, "Three years ago."

Drey came to me and grabbed my shoulders with seriousness. "Are you sure?"
"Of what?"
"Are you sure you're engaged? Did she-did, did she say that?"
I brushed his hands off in irritation, "Good god, man! What kind of scheme are you imagining she pulled off here? Of course I'm sure! Sure, it happened a little earlier than I'd imagined, but I'm not surprised!"

Zara hung her head, and paced the room with a strange look on her face.
"Do you trust her?" Drey whispered, absolutely serious.
I glared at him in frustration. "Yes."
"Perhaps you shouldn't, Jimin! You should always be careful. You're not an ordinary man now."

Zara added quietly from her distance, sounding a little hurt. "He's not wrong. You should piece together your story carefully, Jimin. But, Drey, we were engaged three years ago, it's true. You can verify it with our–um, my inner circles easily."

Drey finally calmed down and sat down, looking conflicted. I took a seat by him, and turned to him. He seemed to have a million questions, but only one shocking thought lingered in mine.
I whispered, out of Zara's earshot, "I never told you?"
Drey looked at me for a second before patting my shoulder and shaking his head. "Never."