«How can you talk about it so easily?» He asked indignantly.
«Relax you!» I laughed as I headed for the elevator, «just a month ago you didn’t even want to look at me, and now you’re worried about my safety. Besides, isn’t it me who tastes food for you?» I continued to laugh, «and never complained about it. I almost forgot! We can start training. Today I’m moving into a separate apartment,» I announced smugly, feeling that I was on the threshold of my new life.
«I hope you don’t stop coming to work on time now. What area are you moving to?» As if casually, he asked.
«My new neighborhood is closer than you think,» I chuckled, «I’ll live a floor lower than you live.»
Sung Joon raised his eyebrows in surprise and thought for a moment.
«Then you don’t have to ride that motorcycle and put your life in danger?» He asked hopefully.
«You should be so worried about your little one, not about me. He drives even faster than me,» I chuckled.
«He rode a motorcycle? Where did you see him?» He shook his head in annoyance, and I realized that I created a problem for Cho Hee in the face of his older brother, «I have a job in the studio right now. I need to finish the song, so you can hang around the office for a couple of hours. If I need anything, then I’ll let you know,» he suddenly changed the subject, arriving in thought.
«Okay,» I agreed and exited the elevator on the floor where Sung Joon’s manager’s office was. Even though it was early morning now, I’m sure he was already here.
«Oh, Min Hee! Come on in. I was just compiling a list of addresses that Sung Joon received gifts from last month,» Min Hyuk smiled as if he was sincerely glad to see me.
I looked around and found hundreds of boxes, letters and gift bags that filled his office.
«Wow! Is this all from fans?» I asked admiringly as I sat down on the sofa, where I could barely find an empty seat.
«These are just the ones that have come down to us. In general, we try to accept everything and respond to fan letters fairly quickly. Feedback is important. Both for us and for the people who send all these gifts,» Min Hyuk breathed out and threw on me a sympathetic look. «Today, Sung Joon will be at the agency all day, so your job for the day will be sorting out the letters and sorting out the presents. You need to do it in two days at most, as Sung Joon has to sign letters that will then be sent to his fans. But this will be taken care of by the deportation of public relations. In addition, select ten letters that Sung Joon will personally answer. Arrange the letters by topic: thanks, requests, wishes, and so on.»
«Okay,» I replied and tried to smile, not imagining how I could deal with this on my own. I would rather be running errands for Sung Joon.
For a month of working with Sung Joon, we were able to find a common language and coexist peacefully without violating each other’s personal space. Sung Joon is a complex, I would say closed person who has certain characteristics. For all the time we did not discuss anything other than work, but the more I was in his environment, the more I was imbued with sympathy for him and understood why he was stingy with the manifestation of emotions. With his pace of life, it’s hard to remain polite and courteous, but he somehow manages to do not only this, but also maintain energy and generate ideas.
I decided to start with the most difficult, so I started with paper letters, of which there were hundreds. Written by both girls and boys of all ages. They mostly wrote about how they love and admire Sung Joon. They ask him not to stop there. In the initial stages, I came across a couple of letters in which the fans threatened to hurt themselves if they found out that Sung Joon was in a relationship, and wrote that he was their life and they would not let him love anyone other than them. The tone of the letters was so persuasive that it took me a moment to digest what I read. I pushed them aside to show Min Hyuk. I’m sure the agency should respond to this in some way.
I grabbed a bottle of water and a biscuit dessert from the vending machine, then went up to the roof of the building, feeling a little tired from having plunged into Sung Joon’s life. He was responsible for all the people who called themselves his fans. And I could hardly imagine how much strength he needed for this.
Watching the noisy city from above, I thought about the fact that success is an unbearable burden for a person, and they need to share with others so as not to go crazy and drown in the madness that is happening around. I felt really sorry for Sung Joon and hoped that he could find a source of energy because I would have to force him to stay at the agency.
Back in the manager’s office, I continued sorting the letters. At some point, someone sat down on the sofa next to me and, looking up, I found Sung Joon in front of me.
«Hey!» He waved his hand at me and smiled tiredly. «I hope you haven’t been here all day. Looks like you did. Aren’t you going home?» He chuckled, leaning forward slightly to look at the contents of one of the stacks of letters, while I tried to discreetly push the stack of threatening letters under the table.
«No. I want to finish today with at least these letters from fans.» I smiled tiredly and glanced around the office, as if showing that I still have a lot of work to do. «What are you doing with all these gifts?»
«I know that toys are sent to shelters, hospitals and other institutions. Something goes to the museum, which is located on the first floor of the agency, and something is sorted out by the employees themselves.»
«You don’t take anything for yourself?» I asked surprised.
«No,» he answered quickly, and pretended that all his attention was focused on the letter in his hands. «I look at the list of gifts and thank the fans on social media, noting the most interesting and unusual ones.»
«Interesting system,» I breathed out, feeling dryness in my eyes.
«I don’t have any system. I just don’t like gifts,» he stated.
«It’s usually the other way around. People love gifts.»
«Who said I’m an ordinary person?» Through weak laughter he asked.
«I didn’t even think about it,» I laughed, but then I looked at him, deciding that I should share my thoughts with him. «On the contrary, every day I get more and more confused about who you are, what you are, and most importantly, until today I could not understand why you work so hard.»
«And what prompted you to think like that?» He asked, looking at me point-blank with genuine interest in his eyes.
«In all these letters…» I glanced at the piles of sorted envelopes, "…sincere words of gratitude and love for you and an expression of admiration. You give hope, heal souls and help people overcome difficulties, surviving in endless problems. Your departure from agencies will be a personal tragedy for many. But at the same time, I realized how hard it is for you. You bear the burden of responsibility for all these people.»
«If that’s how you tried to convince me to renew the contract, then it turned out exactly the opposite for you,» he laughed, leaning back against the arm of the chair. «Why did they make you do this? Normally, the PR department handles sorting.»
«I’m not complaining. It was an interesting experience. Only my back was a little stiff,» I answered, unable to suppress a yawn, and straightened my back, hoping that my fatigue would go away.
«Leave everything and let’s go home,» Sung Joon commanded. «Looks like you were going to move into a new apartment today.»
«I have to finish so I don’t have to come back