Saturday arrived.
Yoongi had barely slept. He cleaned his house twice, arranged fresh flowers on the table, took them away, and put them back again. He had checked the living room so many times that even he was beginning to get annoyed with himself.
At ten o'clock, the doorbell rang.
He hurried to the door.
Seo-yeon stood outside in a loose cream dress and flat shoes. Behind her was her father, dressed in a full suit and tie, his arms crossed and his expression stern.
"Good morning, Father," Yoongi greeted him with a respectful bow.
"Hmm," Han Dong-wook responded.
"Daddy insisted on coming," Seo-yeon whispered. "I couldn't stop him."
"I heard that," her father said. "A man must see who is questioning his daughter."
"Nobody is questioning her, Daddy. It's only a conversation."
"Then I will sit and listen to the conversation."
Yoongi stepped aside. "Please come in."
Kwon Dae-sung was already inside.
He sat on the living room sofa in a plain grey jacket. He had arrived thirty minutes earlier, and the file resting on the table in front of him remained untouched. The tea Yoongi had served him was still sitting where he had placed it.
When Seo-yeon walked in, he stood up.
"Miss Han."
"Mr. Kwon."
"Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for meeting me."
They bowed to each other.
Kwon then looked at the man standing behind her.
"And you are...?"
"Han Dong-wook," her father introduced himself. "Her father."
"A pleasure, sir." Kwon bowed deeply. "I am Kwon Dae-sung. I am the group's manager."
"I know who you are."
"You do?"
"My wife is a fan of that group. She has your face on her phone." Her father settled into the armchair and folded his hands. "I will stay."
"Of course, sir."
"I will not speak unless necessary."
"Understood."
"But I will listen to everything."
"Yes, sir."
Yoongi briefly looked at the ceiling. This was going to be a long hour.
Kwon sat down. Seo-yeon settled on the sofa across from him, while Yoongi sat beside her.
"Miss Han," Kwon began, "let me be honest. I am not here to attack you."
"Okay."
"I am here to understand you. I am going to ask difficult questions. Some of them may sound rude. I ask them because the agency will ask them, and the press will ask them even worse."
"I understand."
"Please answer honestly."
"I will."
Kwon opened the file. "You are twenty-seven. You worked for three years at the event planning company. You resigned recently. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Why did you resign?"
"Because I'm pregnant. My father didn't want me working."
Her father nodded firmly.
"Did you know that your company was handling the group's anniversary concert?"
"I knew about the project. I wasn't assigned to it." She paused. "Actually, I was assigned to it the week before I resigned. But I never had a meeting with the group."
Kwon wrote something down. "So you did not know the group would be in your office on the day you resigned."
"No."
"It was a coincidence."
"Yes."
"Miss Han, forgive me, but your resignation, the meeting and the pregnancy all happened within the same month. It sounds very convenient."
"It wasn't convenient," Seo-yeon replied calmly. "I resigned because I couldn't hide the pregnancy at work. I had no idea Yoongi would be there. If I had known, I would have stayed home that day."
"Why?"
"Because I was trying not to see him."
Kwon looked up. "You were avoiding him?"
"Yes."
"For four months?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Seo-yeon lowered her eyes to her hands. Yoongi wanted to say something, but her father shifted in his chair before he could speak.
"Because I was afraid," she finally answered.
"Of what?"
"Of ruining him."
The room fell silent.
"I've been a fan since I was seventeen," she continued. "I know how this industry works. I know what happens when an idol has a scandal. I've watched it happen to others. The fans turn against them. The company turns against them. They lose everything." She raised her eyes. "I didn't want that for him."
"So you decided to keep the pregnancy secret."
"Yes."
"Alone."
"Yes."
"With no support."
"My parents supported me."
Her father let out a small, proud grunt.
Kwon leaned back and studied her for a moment.
"I had a different idea of you," he admitted.
"What idea?"
"A girl who saw an opportunity. A fan who got lucky."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"You did not." Kwon almost smiled. "You surprised me."
He turned another page in the file.
"Next question. I must ask about your past."
"Okay."
"Your ex-boyfriend. His name is Daehyun?"
Seo-yeon's expression tightened. Beside her, Yoongi felt his hand curl into a fist.
"Yes."
"And your former best friend?"
"Yerin."
"What happened?"
Seo-yeon told him everything.
She explained the message she had received at work, the apartment, and the shoes she had found at the door. She told the story plainly, without crying or exaggerating anything. Her father stared at the floor, while Yoongi watched the muscles in his jaw tighten.
When she finished, Kwon continued.
"Do either of them know about the pregnancy?"
"No."
"Do they know you have been seen with Yoongi?"
"No."
"Are they likely to find out?"
"I don't know."
"Do they have your social media accounts?"
"They did. I blocked them both that night."
"Do you have pictures of them? Messages? Anything that could be used against you?"
"I deleted most of it. But Daehyun has many pictures of me, and he knows my parents' address." She paused. "He also knows I'm a fan. I used to talk about the group all the time."
Kwon wrote that down.
"That is what worries me most," he said. "A man who has been betrayed may decide to sell a story. If Daehyun learns who the father is, he could go to the press."
"He's not that kind of person," Seo-yeon said.
"He cheated on you."
"Yes. But he cares about his reputation. He wouldn't want people to know."
"You are certain?"
She hesitated. "No."
Her father finally spoke.
"If that boy comes near my daughter," he said quietly, "I will take care of him."
Kwon looked at him.
"Sir, I would appreciate it if you did nothing illegal."
"I never said illegal."
"What did you mean?"
"I will talk to him," her father replied. "Sternly."
"Daddy," Seo-yeon protested.
"Very sternly."
Yoongi pressed a hand over his mouth, pretending to cough.
Kwon closed the file.
"Miss Han. Last question."
"Yes?"
"What do you want?"
Seo-yeon blinked. "What?"
"From Yoongi. From the agency. From all of this. What do you want?"
She looked at Yoongi, then at her father, before turning back to Kwon.
"I want my babies to be safe," she answered.
"That is all?"
"I want them to have a father." She swallowed. "I want Yoongi to be in their lives, if he wants to. I don't need money. I don't need my name in the news. I don't need him to marry me."
Yoongi turned to look at her.
"I only want them to grow up without being hated," she continued. "I don't want them reading headlines about their mother when they're ten years old."
Kwon remained silent for a long moment.
He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"My daughter is eleven," he said. "I do not know what I would do if someone wrote about her that way."
"I'm sorry," Seo-yeon whispered.
"Do not apologize." He put his glasses back on. "I came here ready to dislike you."
"Why?"
"Because it is easier. If I dislike you, I can tell myself you are the problem." He shook his head. "But you are not the problem. You are a girl who made one mistake, with one man, on one terrible night. The same as him."
"Hyung," Yoongi interrupted.
"Be quiet. I am speaking."
Kwon turned back to Seo-yeon.
"Here is my decision."
Everyone went still.
"I will help you."
Seo-yeon's eyes began to fill with tears.
"I will not lie to the chairman. But I will not go to him until we have a plan. A real plan. How to announce it, when to announce it, what to say, and how to protect you, your parents and the babies."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Do not thank me yet. It will be very hard. The company may not agree. The fans may not forgive him. Yoongi may lose his career."
"I know," Yoongi answered.
"I know you know." Kwon stood up. "But I will fight for you. For both of you."
Seo-yeon's father rose as well. He walked across the room, stopped in front of Kwon and held out his hand.
"Mr. Kwon."
"Sir."
"Thank you."
"It is my job."
"No. It is not." Her father's voice was gruff. "It is more than your job."
Kwon took his hand.
They shook hands for a long moment.
Later, in the hallway, Kwon pulled Yoongi aside.
"There is one problem," he said quietly.
"What?"
"Manager Yoon."
Yoongi's stomach tightened.
"Jaemin told you?"
"He told me. And I checked." Kwon lowered his voice. "She is not only from Planning. Three weeks ago, she asked the chairman's office for your schedule. All of it. Every day for the past six months."
"Why?"
"I don't know yet."
"What do we do?"
"We find out."
Kwon glanced back at the living room, where Seo-yeon and her father were talking.
"Until then, nobody leaves their house without telling me. Nobody posts anything. Nobody speaks to anyone from the agency."
"Understood."
"And Yoongi."
"Yes?"
"I am serious about the plan." Kwon met his eyes. "We have a week. Maybe less."
Yoongi nodded.
Kwon put on his coat. As he reached the door, he turned around one more time.
"Miss Han."
"Yes?"
"Your father is a good man."
Her father coughed, and his ears turned red.
"My eyes are dry," he muttered.
Kwon blinked. "Sir?"
"Nothing," Seo-yeon quickly explained. "It's a family joke."