Please Don't Get Too Friendly

"Sir, do we have your permission?" Chanyeol repeated hesitatingly after a good 2 minutes of complete silence.

We glanced at each other with concern and apprehension all over our faces.

"You love each other?" finally spoke up the CEO.

We both nodded nervously.

"For how long?"

I cleared my throat to speak up, but Chanyeol was faster than me.

"I've loved her ever since she first came to our dorm. It feels like it's been an eternity, but it's actually only been for about 6 months. But still, these emotions are stronger than anything I've ever felt. When I see her, my heart skips a beat and my legs turn to jelly. When she smiles, I want to hug her and hide her in my arms so no one would ever see how perfect she is. When she's feeling down, I can't help but feel down as well, as if my whole being tried to lift a bit of the burden she's carrying. And I know that going out with her would be a long and hard battle with the fans and the media, and that it might even put her in harm's way. But I can't stand not being able to call her my own anymore. And if she does get hurt, then I'll take full responsibility. But before that happens, I would do my best to protect her, with my life if I have to."

"There, there," interrupted the man at the desk. "No need to be so intense. If, during your relationship, Amy gets hurt because of it, it would have to be me to take care of it officially. My boy," the older man sighed. "I understand your feelings, and I'm sure it's the same for your friend here, but I can't just agree and let you two run around happily hand in hand. Official statements have to be said, and that's a long process. It's especially a whole lot of mess. But if you are to tell me that you are both willing to go through all those hardships just to be together, then I guess I can let you date."

We looked at each other, beaming with glee and relief.

"But before all of that, I require that TetrA becomes successful and famous, and here we are talking about SNSD's level. And, if possible, that you two get considered as a probable couple by fans of both your fandoms. I know that it's going to be a lot of hard work for you, Amy, as fan girls tend to be much more possessive of their favorite idols. But if you do manage to be acknowledged by his fans, then you can consider that your relationship will be officialized and made public in the next few days. And you have to know that there is no time limit to this deal, so wether it takes a month or ten years for you to get recognized internationally, everything said here will still stand. So, what do you say?"

I looked into Chanyeol's big, round and worried eyes, thinking about my reply.

"I agree," I replied almost immediately. Ignoring the questioning look of the man I loved, I took a deep breath and I went on. "After all, this is mostly things that I have to accomplish, right? And again, I would have had to go through those challenges, wether it be now or later. So I accept your conditions."

"Oh, I also forgot to mention that during that period of time, I won't allow any kind of unrequested skinship and/or intimate meetings outside of schedules between the two of you. Don't worry, you can still go over to the other's house, as long as you are not alone or followed by fans. You know, just like friends," the CEO added, emphasizing on the last word, making me flinch slightly.

I still nodded, this time not trusting my voice to talk.

"Very well. Shall we write all of this down? Then, you may go on and do your thing," the CEO said, grinning up at us as he called his secretary to bring him a contract form.

Wait, did he know we were going to ask him this? Ugh, I don't even want to know anymore. It's definitely something in the water, it's just that I haven't got it yet.

~~1 month later~~

I felt sweat drip down my face as I felt my whole body shake nervously. I wiped it quickly and paced around the waiting room as I heard the low beat of Ji Yoon's solo song begin. I could imagine her walk on the stage confidently, looking right in front of her as if she was alone in the stadium. As if there weren't 5 thousand curious people looking right at her. I felt yet another knot forming in my belly and I breathed in again. I decided to go out of the much too hot, small room, and join my others members to watch our maknae steal the show with her amazing dancing skills. The first time we had actually practiced dancing all together, we immediately noticed how confident and beautiful she looked, as if she was in another world of her own. That was why it had been decided she would begin the showcase with her mesmerizing dance. I walked up the stairs in my heels, trying not to fall as I gripped on the ramp next to me. I finally reached Seung Hye and Seo Hyun, and judging by the looks of their faces, it had already began. I hurriedly looked at my younger sister-like friend and was completely subjugated by how amazing she looked. Her long, brown hair had been done into a French braid that started from the left side of her head, went to the right behind the ear and returned back again to the left, before finishing as a simple braid that laid on her shoulder. During exactly 2:46 minutes, her whole body moved and made precise, sharp yet graceful movements, with the constrasting energetic and rough music at the back. But it all seemed to fit together like a glove. At the end of her performance, she fell on the ground as planned, and all the lights went out. As soon as the music stopped, the whole crowd applauded and cheered her on. She quickly walked out of the stage, breathing hard, beads of sweat all over her forehead. She grinned and smiled at us shyly as we praised her before Seung Hye had to go and make her own solo. Her personal talent was, surprisingly enough, rapping. Nobody could have ever guessed that she was in fact an wonderful, natural rapper. The company was more than pleased when they heard her rap and decided to take her as the main rapper and sub-vocal. To amaze the crowd, she decided to rap her own composition that she wrote while living with us. In it, the lyrics talked about how hard it had been for her to admit that someone could beat her at what she thought she was best at. But that, thanks to that, it permitted her to open her eyes and see the world around her differently, this time with grey tainting it, instead of always being black and white. Was it really just an advice for myself, what you said that day? After her rap, which once again made the crowd go wild with cheers, it was Seo Hyun's time to shine. She would, for her part, play the piano, once again her own composition. I had to say, during that last month, we didn't have much more than 4 hours of sleep per night and worked all the rest of time. It had been immensely stressful, and we had snapped at each other a few times, but in the end, we had been in much more troubles than that and we were never really affected by what was said. As I listened to the music flowing from her fingers to the silent crowd, I felt myself being so moved that tears pricked my eyes. I was reminded of the many tough things I had been through during my trainee and pre-debut period. But I was also reminded of how many people had been there for me and I felt so grateful it hurt. Even more so when I thought about how my best friend, Sasha, who I hadn't been able to contact for the whole month, still agreed to come to the showcase to support me. I quickly blinked to keep the tears from falling and ruining my beautiful makeup. At the end of the song, the first part of the showcase came to an end and Seo Hyun bowed, walked off the stage and hugged all of us tightly. I could feel her shake beneath me and I squeezed her ligthly.

"You were all really wonderful," I praised my members once we walked into the waiting room.

"Don't you dare disappoint us and make our debut crash, or I swear to God..." threatened Seung Hye jokingly.

We all laughed , mostly to relieve the stress, and chatted away for the next 10 minutes, until a staff member came and knocked on our door.

"Amy Lee? Come and get prepared please, it's going to resume soon."

I nodded, fear taking control of my whole body. A stylist came in and retouched my makeup and hair before encouraging me and sending me off. The staff quickly brought me a mic and they told me once again what song I would be singing first before the surprise came. What's the surprise though? Nobody told me about it. Ah! I forgot to ask the others. Oh well. I got to focus on singing well. I hummed my song nervously as I saw the people backstage move around more and more. Okay, it's real. You can do this. Fighting! I cheered myself on and breathed in.

"Okay, you can go," told me the stage coordinator.

I nodded and walked in as confidently as I could, trying hard not to mind the whispers in the crowd. I positioned myself on the X on the floor and right after, a shower of light opened above me and shone, making me unable to see the crowd. That strangely relieved a lot of my tension and I felt much more natural. I breathed in deeply one last time until I heard the piano accompaniement begin. I transported myself in another world and began to sing.

Mianhae mianhae hajima...

This song, that I learned to compose myself, helped me communicate the message I wanted to tell everyone near me, but especially towards her, who had hurt me the most.

Notes

Hi again! I hope you liked this chapter and how it turned out! And yes, for those who noticed, I used Taeyang's 'Eyes, Nose, Lips' for Amy's solo song, but you know... It represents really well her situation, plus it's really beautiful so... Why not? Please no hate because of that, no one can dislike that right?... I'm sorry >.< ^^ Thank you so much for reading, it's really heartwarming to know that people actually take their time to read what I wrote, as silly and unreal as it is. And please don't hesitate to comment or vote your thoughts, although this story might end quicker than I thought. There are approximately 2 chapters left O.O I can't believe it, but whatever.
Thank you guys so much for reading and support me until the end and as always,
Saranghae :) <3<3<3<3