Chapter Text
Mae was standing across from where Kim was seated on the couch, attempting to hide a smile and doing a terrible job of it. Kim sighed, reminding himself for the hundredth time that this was an important and necessary meeting if he wanted to keep Chay from dealing with his fans.
“You don’t have to look so happy,” he observed in an even tone.
“I am happy,” she shot back. “I’m finally meeting Chay, wouldn't I be an awful friend if I wasn’t happy?”
He huffed in response, choosing not to answer. She was his friend, though it had taken him ages to admit it out loud, and he’d only managed it once so far. She was dressed in her typical work clothes, a bold-colored suit with matching heels, her long hair parted to the side and curled at the ends. She was outright grinning at him now, clearly picking up on his nervousness and relishing in it, knowing how rare it was for him to show his emotions outwardly. Kim’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out immediately, glad for the distraction.
Chay 🌈☀️💗👼🦌
hey bb im here 💗
Kim smiled to himself, ignoring the snicker it elicited from Mae. “Chay’s here,” he let her know, getting up to let him in.
Mae didn’t have an assistant or anything, and she didn’t work with a company, either. She and Kim had met in college and she’d taken over negotiating his first record deal, claiming that he was making an absolute mess of things. Somehow, she’d managed to get him a much better deal than he would’ve thought possible for an up-and-coming singer, and he’d hired her as his agent without a second thought. It turned out to be one of his better business decisions, and she had dove right in, handling his growing career with ease.
He was lucky to have her, he reminded himself, as a devious smirk appeared on her face. He opened the door, unable to help a soft smile at the sight of Chay, who looked equally happy to see him.
“P’Kim!” was the excited greeting he received, before he had an armful of Chay. Kim hid a smile in Chay’s hair and pulled him in closer, feeling tension leak out of his body with every second spent in Chay’s immediate vicinity. To Kim’s utter disappointment, Chay pulled out of the hug a few seconds later, stepping further into the office and smiling at Mae.
“You must be P’Mae,” his tone was one of legitimate pleasure as he gave a quick wai. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Mae responded kindly after a beat, caught slightly off guard by his genuine tone. Kim snorted quietly, all-too-used to this phenomenon. Something about Chay’s unassuming sincerity caught people by surprise, and they ended up trying to cater to him without even realizing it. Even his bodyguards had often bent the rules for Chay, prior to Kim handing down that directive. He’d come home many a time to Chay in his apartment, innocently informing him that King, or one of his other guards, had kindly let him in. He couldn’t exactly blame them for it, he was more guilty than anyone of making allowances for Chay, but still. It was the principle of the thing.
“So, how did you two meet?” Mae’s voice snapped him back to the present, and he tensed up slightly at her question, aware that the full story was not exactly flattering to him.
“He played some songs at an open house I went to, and we talked afterwards,” Chay told her, still smiling. She awwed at that, shooting a look towards Kim that meant she would definitely be teasing him about that at a later date.
“You’re so cute,” Mae pinched his cheek as she spoke. “You could do a lot better, you know,” she added playfully, sending a wink in Kim’s direction. He rolled his eyes at her, refusing to give her the satisfaction of any other reaction.
“Aren't we here for a reason?” He brought up, hoping to shift her focus.
“Right!” She clapped her hands together and gestured for Chay to sit down on the couch. He obliged, and Kim followed suit. “So, despite the fact that I was told you two weren’t going public with your relationship,” she leveled a glare at Kim, “we’re here because someone decided to say something anyway.
“I didn’t decide—” Kim started indignantly.
“To ruin my career?” Mae interrupted. “No, but you’re certainly trying your best,” she sighed, dramatically brushing her hair back as she did so. Chay looked entertained by their exchange, biting his lip slightly to keep from laughing.
“It’s okay, P’Kim,” Chay comforted him. Fantastic. At least Chay was on his side. “I’m sure you didn’t mean to ruin her career.” Unacceptable. They were clearly conspiring against him.
Kim glowered at Mae, unsure of how she’d coaxed Chay over to the dark side and already coming up with a plan to get him back. She smirked in response. Also unacceptable.
“I did not,” he argued, trying not to let any petulance leak into his tone. Judging by the twin looks he received, he was unsuccessful. “Can we move on?” he asked, eager to get to the point of the meeting, figuring that way, it’d be over sooner.
“Fine, fine,” Mae acquiesced, shaking her head slightly. “Okay, originally, I know you wanted to keep things quiet. I’m assuming that’s still the plan?” Kim and Chay glanced at each other, then nodded in confirmation. “Great. Obviously, they know you exist,” she directed this part at Chay, “but they don't actually know anything about you. Except, well…that you’re hot,” she finished, snickering when Kim groaned. “I want to keep it that way. Kim, don’t talk about him. Don’t mention his name, age, where he goes to school, anything. Even if it doesn’t seem important, people can start putting the pieces together.” Kim nodded in understanding, not feeling particularly eager to give anyone any additional information about Chay. “Also, try not to talk about him too much, even vaguely. It’ll just make people more curious. And don’t warn people off of looking into him, that’ll have the same effect.”
“So basically, say nothing?” Kim summarized, raising an eyebrow. “I can do that.”
“That’s news to me,” Chay observed innocently, causing Kim’s mouth to drop open in betrayal. “Sorry, sorry,” he backtracked a moment later, unable to follow through with the teasing, his nose scrunching adorably.
“Also, I don’t want you following him on any social media,” Mae added, directing them back to the topic at hand.
“What?” Kim cried, indignant. Chay was the only person he actually cared to follow on any of his platforms. Especially Instagram.
“You don’t follow that many people,” Mae explained. “People might wonder who he is.” Kim grumbled at that, acknowledging that it made sense, but absolutely unhappy about it. “It’s just on your public accounts,” she attempted to soften the blow. “You can follow him on your private accounts, that's fine.” Kim relaxed at that. He didn’t have any private accounts, but he would now. Mae redirected her attention to Chay, content that Kim had been pacified. “What social media do you have?”
“Um, insta and twitter?” It came out as a question, Chay glancing at Kim for reassurance. “And, I have, um…two twitters?” Mae raised an eyebrow at that, looking at Kim for an explanation, who was just as lost as she was. “Only the first one has my name on it, or anything.”
“What’s the second one?” she asked, looking perplexed. Chay blushed, and Kim’s confusion grew.
“Um…” Chay was refusing to look at Kim now, playing with his fingers as he stared determinedly at the ground.
“What is it?” Kim echoed Mae’s earlier question, intent on knowing why he was acting this way.
“Is it important?” Chay squeaked, blush deepening.
“...it could be,” Mae answered after a beat, shooting another questioning look at Kim, who shrugged, equally clueless.
“Um…I’m kind of…on stan twitter?” Chay finally responded, looking at Mae rather than Kim, who couldn’t hold back a grin as he realized why Chay was so embarrassed. Chay had absolutely tweeted about him before they’d met, and Kim was absolutely going to read those tweets if it was the last thing he ever did.
“No name, no pictures of you?” Mae asked, not having the same pieces to put together that Kim did, as he hadn't mentioned to her that Chay’d been a fan prior to them dating. Chay shook his head in response. “That should be fine, then,” she nodded. “Just don’t follow Wik from any of your public accounts.”
“Got it,” Chay confirmed, nodding. Kim continued to smirk at him, and he continued to avoid eye contact.
“What’s your twitter handle?” Kim asked, relishing in the renewed blush that appeared on Chay’s face.
“You know my handle,” he deflected, elbowing him.
“The other one,” Kim clarified.
“Absolutely not.”
“Chay,” Kim wheedled. “Tell me.”
“No.”
“...Fine.” And it was fine. Absolutely fine. Because Kim could absolutely find it on his own.