Chapter Text
That morning, you got up happily, finally you managed to sleep more than four hours now that the shooting of the new drama finished. You finally debuted as an actress however, you weren’t sure if that was a calling for you. The company made you audition for the role out of financial interests. Then you got a call from your manager telling you to go to the company for a meeting with the CEO.
It didn’t sound good with how your manager’s voice was nervous and shaking through the phone. Your girl-band, N3XUS debuted five years ago and you were the only one left who haven’t turned to acting and other options. You were always passionate about music and to be inspiration for others. You weren’t really appreciated in your group and the girls left you out from their group chat. When you arrived at the company, you spotted Lola, the only other foreigner girl in the band. She arrived from Japan and was spending most of her time there after debuting at her home as a solo artist. She was the only one who you were on friendly terms.
So when the CEO told everyone about his decision and slid the paper towards everyone which ended all of your contracts with the company, Lola was the only one who tried to comfort you a little bit before she had to catch her flight back to Japan. You weren’t really shocked to see the band reach an end. It was long due with how everyone only cared about themselves and their money. The other girls were only here for the shine and money while you assigned to be a trainee for the music. Dak-Ho, the manager pulled you to the side on the corridor after you left the meeting room, his expression showing how bad he felt for you to end up in this situation.
“(Name)… it will be hard but you were always more talented than any of the others” he sighed heavily. “So I decided to try at a few places and call a few people. Give a call to Ha-Neul, she’s a manager at XxxxxX Entertainment. I hope that she can help you in the future.”
With that, he said his goodbyes and left. You sighed and decided to return home, there was nothing much you could do at the moment. You stood in your kitchen, your phone on the counter and stared at it while gripping the edge of the counter top.
“You can do this…” you whispered to yourself. Your heart was beating so fast in your chest and chills ran down your spine. What should you say? ‘Hi, I’m (Name) from N3XUS and our company decided to fire us. Can I go over to your company and be your idol?’
“Arghhh!” you groaned and bumped your head against the counter. Your phone then started buzzing making you jump and shriek in surprise. Rolling your eyes at yourself you picked it up.
“(Name)? Are you there?” your mom spoke up making you jump again. You weren’t sure how you would tell her that you lost this time. She sacrificed so much just so you can chase after your dreams. It was especially hard after your dad died but she pushed on and earned the money to let you attend dance classes.
“Yeah, yeah…” you sighed. “How are you?”
“I’m okay but I really miss you” she replied making you smile. “When you can, please come home, sweetie.”
“I’ll try though I have this new project but I will try to take time off as soon as possible” you said with tears in your eyes. You couldn’t tell her. She deserved better from you, you needed to succeed after how much she gave up for you. You had to fight.
“Oh, sweetie, I understand but once you can come home I will make sure to make your favorite” your mom replied and you could hear the sadness in her voice. You made sure to tell her you loved her before you hung up and stared at your phone’s screen. Your lips pulled into a smile and your heart seemed to calm down as you tapped on the number of the manager Dak-Ho gave you.
Time skip ~
You sat on the corridor waiting for Ha-Neul with the news after your audition. You forgot how stressful an audition was but here you were trying all over again. You were used to your old company treating you badly, always choosing you only because they deemed your performance “okay” and because they had no one else who was good. Your heard the door open and close but you didn’t dare look up until Ha-Neul reached you.
“To be honest, the boss was quite surprised that you came here even if you already debuted a while ago” she sighed while she sat down next to you. She had a shoulder length cut hairstyle and a heart shaped face. Ha-Neul was about ten years older than you and had this kind mom vibe. “He was satisfied with your performance and would like to welcome you at the company as a solo artist…”
Your eyes widened in shock and a large grin broke out on your face splitting it in two. Then Ha-Neul put her hand up, her face staying serious as she looked you in the eyes.
“However, he has his conditions, (Name)… The company spent all the money on the newly debuted boyband and so we cannot afford to send you right away on stage. He said that he would have an easier job if you worked on a full album with your own songs so once you debut we can start selling your albums right away. You have about three months until everything will be arranged and you will be working with Sue.” Ha-Neul said calmly before she looked behind you and motioned for someone to come over to her.
“Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Sue, I will be your assistant” a girl around your age approached you with a shy smile on her face. You got up from your seat and grabbed her hand before bowing.
“Nice to meet you, Sue. I’m (Name).” you grinned at her. “Please take care of me.”
“I’ll let you talk things out” Ha-Neul smiled at you both before she left.
“I’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone, alright?” Sue spoke up again and you nodded before following her to the elevator.
However, the media quickly learnt about N3XUS’ end. You found yourself trying to avoid paparazzi while you tried your best to produce new songs. Fortunately, during your years as a member of N3XUS you quietly composed songs in the background and you had a lot to choose from. They needed adjustments and instrumentation but you were confident about them.
Sue was a fantastic help and she managed a lot of things on her own. Days passed by and you were still stuck with one last song you needed on the album. None of the songs you wrote and haven’t yet made their way on the album were good enough but you had only one week till your debut. You were singing the refrain in the recording room still thinking about what was missing but then you reached the part where you always got stuck and groaned disappointed.
“Why did you stop?” someone asked from behind the controls making you jump with a shriek.
After calming down, you looked up and tried to not blush seeing who the intruder was. Jackson Wang was looking back at you with a friendly smile while waving at you. He wore a yellow beanie and some comfy baggy T-shirt with sweatpants. You always had a crush on him and really hoped that you would meet him after you debuted with N3XUS. You quickly hurried out and greeted him.
“Nice to meet you too” he replied as he shook your hand, then he pointed at the microphone. “So? Why did you stop? It sounded great.”
“I… I think the song is missing something” you shrugged. “I just don’t really know what that is.”
“Can I see the lyrics?” Jackson asked pointing at the papers in your hand. You quickly gave it to him and pursed your lips in anticipation and nervousness. Jackson was a talented “veteran” in the field compared to you and his songs were all so good. To say you were shy was an understatement. You watched his handsome features for any indication of his opinions then Jackson’s lips pulled up into a half-smile and averted his gaze. “Please don’t stare at me like that.”
Your eyes widened at that but somehow your eyes were glued to his person. Was he being shy? What…? You forced yourself to look away from him by going to your bag and taking out your water bottle. Drinking some cool water helped you calm down a bit. When you turned back, Jackson was already sitting by the controls, pushing and pulling the small buttons as he started playing the song. Your song.
You watched him getting into the song, bobbing his head up and down and his left foot tapping the floor. Never in a million years would’ve you imagined to be in the same room as him. Then he started rapping right where you always got stuck and felt like there was missing something. Though Jackson got stuck too and leaned back in the chair while crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“A rap part would fit here quite well…” he mumbled then turned to you. “You know… I need a song on my new album and I was about to record something today but… it would be great to collab. What do you think?”
“That sounds great” you nodded with a bright smile. “Do you want me to leave the studio to you? I can come back later to finish my other two songs.”
“No, no, we could work on this one” Jackson jumped up abruptly his hands shooting out from his sides like he wanted to grab you so he could stop you from leaving. Then he quickly put his arms down with a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was hoping that I could put your song on my album too if we collab… and maybe get something to eat later?”
You blinked surprised but nodded while chuckling. By the time you finished the song, you felt exhausted and wanted to sleep for the next two days. Getting to know each other better and making friends relieved the tension from you and maybe from Jackson too. You had no idea why he at certain moments seemed like he was shy around you. You remembered how big of a scandal it was a few years ago when his fiancée, the heiress of some large company cheated on him with an American rich guy who was the heir of some IT company. Jackson learnt about it from the magazines and the paparazzi who asked him about it. For months, he disappeared from any TV shows and only released music. You remembered how much in love he seemed to be back then.
You couldn’t understand why would someone cheat on this man, like he was almost perfect. He was funny and kind, had a large heart and cared about others around him much. Maybe that woman left him because she felt undeserving of him. You’ve heard about that feeling from other women and even some love songs were about that reason for cheating. You sipped on your green tea that was cooled by the many ice cubes you asked for at the little shop across the building. Jackson was an absolute gentleman, pulling out your seat for you and taking off your jacket for you when you arrived. The people in the shop seemed to be chill about Jackson’s presence which let you feel a little relieved.
“So, tell me something about you” you spoke up between two bites of your meal. He kept asking about you in the studio but he revealed little about himself. “I’m curious what the great Jackson Wang is doing after becoming world famous.”
You winked at him and laughed at his ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ look. He was a CEO at the age of twenty-eight it was pretty impressive, but he seemed like he didn’t care about it at all.
“That is a little bit exaggerated, I might have some international fans but K-pop and C-pop is not that known to people outside of Eastern Asia.” he shook his head after swallowing his bite. “Well… what do you want to know? Other than the fact that I’m fabulous and a great person.”
“And the humblest of them all” you poked his shoulder while laughing. It was a long time since you had something so laid back, something so nice like this. Ever since you entered the entertainment industry it felt lonely as hell. You hummed then. “Maybe tell me about your family. I saw an interview piece a long time ago where you were gushing about you mom. She must be really proud of you.”
“Yeah… she’s the best” he said with a fond expression on his face making you smile warmly at him. Jackson was easy to talk to and was really funny. You loved to listen to him talk and before you realized, it was quite late in the studio. So late that there was no bus you could catch to go home.
“Ah… How am I gonna get home?” you groaned when you looked up at the clock. “I’m afraid to call an Uber…”
“I can take you home” Jackson shrugged. “I have my car in the parking lot.”
“I wouldn’t want to impose” you shook your head to which he just rolled his eyes and grabbed your bag for you along with your hand pulling you towards the elevator. In the elevator, he kept holding your hand without realizing it and only let go when he took his car keys out of his pocket. His car was shiny and cool but wasn’t the most expensive one out there.
“I thought you owned the newest Porsche or Lamborgini…” you frowned confused once you were sitting inside making him laugh.
“Some people choose by the efficiency not by the look” Jackson replied. “Besides, I prefer this brand. Never let me down before.”
“It makes sense” you nodded. You quickly gave him your address and he pulled out of the parking lot. You leaned against the window and closed your eyes. His car smelled so good, clean and fresh… just like Jackson. Before you could really fall asleep, you arrived to your apartment complex. You yawned tiredly as you grabbed your bag meanwhile feeling Jackson’s eyes follow your every movement. Your hand was on the lock when you turned back and leaned over to him, kissing his cheek before whispering a ‘thank you’ to him. You left quietly and waved back from door with a bright smile.
Time skip ~
After your debut, the company wanted the two of you to make a videoclip from your collab. Quickly after that you were asked to perform it on stage in the new Idol Producer TV show. The two of you kept in touch through texts and funny Instagram posts which the internet quickly grew fond of and many people started shipping the two of you. The hype was big and when you appeared in the live stage of Idol Producer, people were screaming so loud you barely heard the music.
Then things quickly turned sour. Magazines released photos of Jackson hugging and cozying up with some Chinese actress in Shanghai. You had no idea how you should react or if you are supposed to react. Jackson had his life, he was a free man, he was free to date whoever he wanted to. Netizens though had a different idea. Many people turned against him and the actress, but Jackson was quickly forgiven by them a while later. Sue tried to make you watch the live stream he spoke about the issue but you refused to and kept on working hard.
Life a solo artist was everything you hoped for. You were free to do whatever music you wanted and the company only asked you to keep the dating down especially after the scandal you got dragged into. Jackson in the meantime kept messaging you even called you a few times but you never replied. You had to close him out of your life before you got dragged into the whole thing more. Your career was the first. Or at least that’s what you told yourself.
You felt stupid for hoping for something more. You never stood a chance against a shiny, super model looking actress like that Chinese woman.
To be continued…