Chapter Text
Sungjin jogs off the stage, finally able to breathe easy for the first time in three hours. Without any major hiccups, he wraps up the first stop of his world tour.
He thanks all the staff members he sees, and they congratulate him on a job well done. He takes pictures with friends and family and fellow artists that came to catch the show, then takes some individual shots for the social media pages. It’s all a routine that he’s used to by now.
What breaks the routine today, is his manager pulling him aside when he's getting ready to leave.
“I know you’re probably exhausted,” she says. “But there’s one last thing before you can get off work tonight.”
She hands him a black name card. Sungjin glances at the name of the company. Eternal. He doesn’t know much about it, but he’s heard this name floating around in meetings before. He knows that whatever they deal in, it’s worth a lot of money.
“One of their Directors wants to meet you.”
“For...?” Sungjin asks wearily. He is exhausted.
His manager looks at him sympathetically, but she has no power to deny orders either. “They’re a new investor. Big one, I think.”
“Then ask him to meet PD-nim or something, why is he seeking out a small fry like me,” Sungjin grumbles, but manager-noona knows he doesn’t have it in him to disobey.
He gets dropped off at a swanky hotel nearby. Sungjin is half worried that they’re sending him up to a hotel room to get abducted, but he’s escorted to a small meeting room on a quiet floor.
When manager-noona said Director, Sungjin had been imagining someone much older. But the man in front of him looks no older than himself, and looks so sharp that Sungjin instantly feels out of his depth. This man looks like he could be the celebrity here. More so than him.
Word on the street is that he's some chaebol son, manager-noona had told him. Those were just the rumours, anyway. But the family is extremely low profile.
Sungjin bows and greets him politely.
They go through the motions. They talk about the concert, about upcoming releases and projects, about the weather. It isn’t so bad. Sungjin doesn’t learn much about his counterpart other than his name is Kang Younghyun, and his company has just recently expanded into investing within the entertainment sector.
When enough time goes by and the conversation feels like it’s starting to lull, Sungjin decides to bite the bullet and ask the question that’s been on his tongue since he walked in.
“Why me?”
Younghyun doesn’t respond for a while, just looks contemplative. Sungjin can’t quite read his expression. He worries if he’s spoken out of line.
Eventually, Younghyun replies.
“I saw you on a billboard.”
Sungjin,
I was in the city today, and there you were on the big screen. It seems you're having a concert soon. The moment the ad started playing and you started singing, I knew it was you.
But so many people know you now.
YH