Rain poured heavily against the windshield as Kim Mi-rae impatiently tapped her fingernail against the steering wheel. Traffic was painfully slow, barely moving for the past twenty minutes, and every red light felt like a personal insult. She checked the time for the fifth time and sighed, gripping the wheel tighter.
Her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen and groaned quietly. The one person she absolutely did not need to hear from right now.
"Ah, Director Cha," she answered quickly. "I'm almost there. Just give me a few more minutes. I promise I'll be there."
A soft chuckle came from the other end. "Relax, Mi-rae. Another driver has already picked us up. Both the traffic and the weather are bad. I'll see you at the office."
"Oh." She exhaled in relief. "That's great. See you at the office."
She ended the call and leaned back against the seat.
I am Kim Mi-rae, an employee of Phantom Entertainment, manager of the global pop star Ahn Yeon-seong. What do I do as a manager? I drive the artist around, book music shows and meetings, attend strange events, and of course get yelled at by the director. Today, another driver had picked them up, but if this traffic delayed for even a minute longer, I might as well brace myself for an earful anyway.
An hour later, Mi-rae finally arrived at the office. Director Cha sat on one side of the long mahogany table, his expression unreadable.
"I'm sorry I'm late," she said politely, taking a seat. "The traffic was really, really bad."
"Well, it's fine," he replied. "I assume the preparations for the tour are going well. Is there anything you need?"
She hesitated, fingers curling together. "About that… Director Cha, I need to discuss something urgent with you."
"Go ahead."
"This is a decision I've thought about for a long time," she said carefully. "I'm having my wedding in a few weeks, and after further thought, I've come to the conclusion that I should quit my job here at Phantom."
His eyes widened slightly. "What? What does your wedding have to do with your job? You do realize you're talking about having Yeon-seong go on tour without a manager. Seriously, why?"
"My wedding has everything to do with my job," she replied quietly. "They'll collide at some point. I know this is out of the blue, but you need to understand me. If you don't understand, who will make Yeon-seong understand?"
Director Cha sighed. "For the sake of all the days you've been at Phantom, I'll pretend to understand. But will you tell him, or should I?"
"I'll tell him myself," she said. "Later. I'll come by tomorrow to sort everything out."
Later that evening, Mi-rae was on her way home when her phone rang again.
"Hello," she said lightly. "What is it this time?"
"Sorry, ma'am," a nervous voice replied. "Could you come to Sky& Bar and pick him up?"
"Oh," she said, startled. "I'll be right there."
Half an hour later, Mi-rae arrived at the bar and immediately spotted Yeon-seong slumped over the counter.
This fool just does whatever he wants and expects me to be there every single time to clean up the mess.
"Hey!" she snapped, aggressively hitting his shoulder. "Wake up. Get up!"
Startled, Yeon-seong immediately sat up, half-sober and blinking. "Wha… what?"
Visibly angry and frustrated, she glared at him. "What do you mean, what? You bastard. This is literally the last time I'm picking you up. Get in the car. You're sober enough to walk, right?"
She stormed ahead, slid into the driver's seat, and aggressively honked while glaring at the still-tipsy idol through her window.
Finally, Mi-rae dropped Yeon-seong off at his house. He staggered inside and threw himself onto the couch as she stood at the door, watching him pitifully.
"I was going to wait for a proper time to tell you," she said firmly, "but you give me no choice. I know you're listening. Next week, you'll be getting a new manager, since I'm resigning this week. I already found someone willing to take the job. So don't you ever, and I mean it, call me to pick you up. You'll call your new manager instead."
"Wait," he said hoarsely. "You aren't even giving me a proper explanation?"
"Director Cha will explain what I haven't," she replied. "Good night."
She walked out and closed the door.
The next morning, Mi-rae arrived early at the office. To her surprise, Yeon-seong was already there.
What is he doing here? He has never been this early in all the years I've worked here.
"What brings you here so early on a Friday?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
"I have practice with the choreographers at seven," he said. "I came early to warm up. Also… I didn't get much sleep last night."
"Oh really?" she replied. "I figured you should've slept like a baby."
"I would have," he said, walking toward her, "but because of what you said, I couldn't. What do you mean you're resigning? Why out of the blue? Are you uncomfortable, or is it your so-called boyfriend pulling the strings?"
She immediately looked down, embarrassed, and stayed quiet.
"You see?" he scoffed. "I knew I was right. He told you to quit before the wedding because he's unsure about the relationship between us, right? If he controls you like this before marriage, don't you think you're walking into a cage? What job does he want you to do? Or does he want you to be a housewife?"
"Stop it," she said sharply. "I know it looks like that, but I made this decision on my own. Tae-kyung has nothing to do with it. Regardless, you have no right to speak about him like that. I've made my decision, and you won't persuade me otherwise."
After a pause, he nodded. "Okay. I understand."
Later that afternoon, Mi-rae returned home and found Tae-kyung in her kitchen.
"Ah," she said as she slipped on her slippers. "Why are you here so early? I thought you'd come in the evening."
"I thought I'd come by and cook something for you," he replied.
"Oh… you didn't have to."
"So you don't want me to cook for you?" he asked gently. "I mean, we're celebrating the beginning of this new chapter for us."
"Stop overthinking," she said, walking into the kitchen. "You know I don't mind."
"So," he continued, "how did the director and Yeon-seong react?"
She sat down. "The director was calm. Yeon-seong was surprised, but he understood."
"Of course he should," Tae-kyung said with a smile. "I want my wife to rest, not go on tour."
A few days later, Mi-rae was on her way to her dress fitting, stuck once again in traffic. She glanced sideways as the driver in the next car lowered his window.
Yeon-seong.
She lowered her own window. "What now?"
Instead of replying, he texted her.
LET'S GO TO A CAFE. I'LL BUY YOU COFFEE. ALSO YOUR WEDDING GIFT.
After a brief internal battle, she replied,Fine.
They sat across from each other in a quiet corner of the café.
"Why the sudden meet-and-greet?" she asked. "How's your new manager?"
"He's okay," he said. "I just thought we didn't really end on a good note." He placed a gift bag on the table. "Here's your gift."
"What is it?"
"Something I guessed you'd need. It also comes with advice."
His expression turned solemn.
"Don't marry him," he said quietly.
She scoffed. "Are you serious?"
"For your safety," he continued. "Don't marry Tae-kyung."
She rubbed her temples impatiently. "Explain. Why shouldn't I marry him?"
"He's not a good man," Yeon-seong said. "He's violent and aggressive. He's capable of murder. He'll mistreat you and keep you in a cage like an animal."
She laughed sharply, clapping her hands. "Wow. You know how silly you sound? Are you trying to turn my fiancé into a thriller movie villain? I've known him for ten years. Instead of planning your tour, you cooked up this ridiculous story."
"I'm protecting you," he insisted.
"As who?" she demanded. "As what?"
He looked at her, voice unsteady. "As someone who has loved you for a long time. And still does."
"What?"