The lemonade she had made tastes nasty and Choi Aerin's face immediately turned sour, not alone the lemonade, but after hearing what her friend and work mate, Hyeon Jiah, had said.
"Enhypen? Are you kidding me?" Aerin's eyebrow quickly raised.
"I'm serious. And if not with this stupid fever I won't ask you to do it in behalf of me. Hybe wouldn't allow people that are unwell to be near of the members, much more interviewing them."
Aerin, stubborn as she is, shook her head in disagreement.
"No. I'd better finish this one hell of a lemonade than talking to them. Thanks but no thanks."
"Not all. Only one member is allowed to be interviewed. He's the male rising star for the month of September. He's undeniably famous but still needs to steal the spotlight, so you also need to do the best write up."
Aerin sighed and throwed herself in the couch. Jiah is persuasive and she knows she can't say no. But still she's not feeling it.
She's on probation and needs to step up her game. She's a staff writer along with Jiah, but on her part is a different story. She had bunch of rejected works, and a big scoop is what she needed at the moment. 
But Aerin finds it hard to hit that needed break because she writes the opposite of what the netizens want. She hates K-pop and everything that comes with it.
"This might be the needed break you've been waiting for. I told you long time ago, join my team. Your life will become easy, like, seriously."
"I know I can do it. Sports writing is something I find interesting. It's just that people are so lazy to read about sports and other stuff."
"Because that's old news, Aerin. We live in Korea, home of K-pop and K-dramas. Those things are ruling the world right now. It's a fact. And if you will continue being stubborn about it then you will definitely lose your job."
Aerin stood silent. It's not everyday that Jiah hit her hard emotionally. Losing her job is the one thing that scares her. She'll end up coming back to her abusive mother with her drunkard new man. That wouldn't happen anymore.
"Which member?" she finally gave up.
Jiah's face lights up. Aerin frowned even more.
"Please tell me it's Kim Sunoo. He's the only one I think I can be comfortable with. Among the seven members I think he's the most geniune. Don't give me Lee Heeseung. Please. Don't even think about it."
Jiah bites her lip upon hearing it. "Well, Aerin, the thing is, we writers don't have the right to pick whoever we like to interview. Our editior in chief chooses him not us."
"So, it's Lee Heeseung?!"
Jiah nods slow. "Yes. Unfortunately?"
Aerin slaps her face in disgust. "God! Why?"
"What do you mean why? And why do you hate him so much? He seems nice. And he's handsome. No debate on that."
"Eeww. Are you turning yourself to be one of Lee Heeseung's delulu fans now?"
"I cannot understand where the hate is coming from, Aerin. You don't know him personally so stop slandering him with your twisted tongue."
Even Aerin couldn't point out where the hatred is coming from. Maybe it's because Lee Heeseung is the coolest man she had ever seen. She hates cool guys. It's like they are born to be heartbreakers and are no remorse about it. She knows idols act like they are the nicest person in the whole world but in reality, they are masked puppets corrupting girl's minds leading them to delusion.
"Don't let me answer that. I don't want to go to jail because of cyberbullying."
"Is it because Lee Heeseung is a cool guy like Kang Minho? Geez, Aerin. Not all guys are like your stupid ex boyfriend--"
"Jiah, stop." she cuts her fast.
A moment of silence covered them both. It was so awkward and Aerin was guilty by her sudden bitterness. She don't mean to get frigid so easily.
"When is it?" she finally asked.
Jiah bites her lip not to let go of that scream. She knows Aerin hates being giddy, or any idea of it, not after what happened a couple of months ago. 
"Tomorrow. Hybe Building, Room 204. 11 AM sharp. Please wear something nice."
"Nice? What kind of nice? We are wearing corporate attire like everytime. Are you trying to tell me to dress up like those phantasmagorical fans wearing skimpy skirts and spotting on wigs and the heaviest makeup just to face an idol? No freakin' way!"
"I don't mean to say it like that. You need to be a little more exciting, you know. Like you need to let go of that oomph, if you know what I mean. Do you want me to curl your hair, Aerin?"
"Stop! Like seriously. You're disgusting, Jiah!"
Jiah laughs hard and it freaks her out even more. It was a long time ago when she got a chance to interview an idol and it doesn't go well as planned. 
She was an intern, a normal girl with big dreams, and a silent K-pop stan. Aerin put her best foot forward and was ready for the scheduled meeting but was cancelled without a warning because the singer wants another presenter, a male to be specific. Aerin overhead her making statements about interns and female writers, that they are brainless and the most biased journalist she had ever encountered.
On that day, she promised herself not to have any encounter with an idol on her entire writing career. She focused in sports writing and current events and struggled for years. Those categories are male and senior dominant fields and she finds it hard to fit in.
"I need to call Hybe you're doing it instead of me! This is it, Aerin! Who knows, this is the needed break you always been dreaming of!" Jiah exclaimed.
"Entertainment writing? Worshipping idols just to make them more famous? Not the break I'm trying to get. Thank you very much."
She didn't know where the stubbornness is coming from. She was once an optimistic girl with full of dreams but her life turned into something different and far enough from what she imagined it to be, hence the pertinacity appears. It suppressed her. Controlled her for years. It was her healing emotion, a protection from any more ill-treatment, trauma and harm.
Some say, life is wonderful and live it with gratitude. Aerin finds it hard to agree for she cannot see eye to eye the truth in it. It's just an opinion that is overused and betrays everyone. 
Life sucks. And that's reality.
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