NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Would rather go to prison
His lips touch my cheek suddenly. A swarm of butterflies rises from my stomach and hammers my heart. It feels like my heart is ready to race out of my chest and disappear into the sunset. I am sure that I am one step away from passing out again. Right at that moment, our eyes meet. His beautiful green eyes are full of undisguised anger. With a flicker, it changes to adoration when he turns to the journalist. I almost clap my hand. His acting skills are top-notch.
"When did you meet?" The lady journalist gives me a look-over. I realize that I am still wearing my work uniform. I am bare feet. I have forgotten my shoes at my grandmother's house. I didn't wash my hair or properly comb it. There must be dark circles under my eyes because I barely had good sleep ever since I saw myself die in the future. Even without the mirror, I can imagine how I look. Perhaps, I should not have gone through this. Dying might be a better option than letting the nation see me like this.
It can't be helped. What's done is done. I have made a decision to grab the opportunity. My reasons are simple. I have to know my enemy. To know my enemy who has a nearly royal (celeb) status in the country, I must do whatever it takes to get close to him and find out why he would kill me in the future. Besides if the girlfriend of a celebrity is killed like that, the cops won't let this go easily. The guy won't be an idiot to do something like attempting murder, right? He seems like a kind person. He must have an extreme reason.
I must find out and remove that reason. I will do everything in my power to change my fate. Just six months. If that day passes without any incident, I will live.
"We will release the official article later." Manager Jeong shows a professional smile to the journalist. Kang Si An doesn't let go of me. He leads me to the car smoothly. As soon as the car door closes, Manager Jeong and Kang Si An give me a deathly stare. I swallow down and say, "I am a fan. It's my dream to be close to him. Try to understand my feelings."
"I am trying to understand," Manager Jeong says to me with a cold smile. She looks like she wants to chop me into pieces. I am not worried. It will be Kang Si An who will kill me. There are certain advantages to being a time-traveler. She adds, "It's alright. Girls come and go in a star's life. After a week, he will say that you are just his close friend. After two weeks, people will easily forget a character like you."
"I know girls like you." Kang Si An chuckles sarcastically. "Gold-digger girls like you are like to grab on to the opportunity. Do you think that you can force me to date you? I will suddenly start having feelings for a creature who doesn't even know how to dress. Even if you are the only woman in the world, I would not look at you."
"Even for a fan, you have gone too far." Manager Jeong rests her head in her hand and closes her eyes. "If you are really a fan, you should know that you can ruin his career by doing something like that. Still, you went ahead and lied. Are you really his well-wisher?"
I am not a fan. I am not a well-wisher either. But, they don't know one thing. My skin is thicker than
a rhinoceros.
"You are right." I hold my chin and look at the smirking Kang Si An solemnly. "I have done wrong by lying. You can drop me here. I will go back to the journalists and tell them that he and I are not dating. I will tell them that I lied because I am a fan."
"You will do that?" Kang Si An's eyes shine with excitement.
"Yes, I will do that." I smile at him. "I will also tell them the truth. How you came to the store dressed like a psychopath. How you like to buy sweets. How you threatened me. Now, I should go to the police station and correct my statement. I will tell how I was threatened to not tell the truth. That was not a kissing pose. That was a threatening pose."
They both shut their mouths. I bat my eyes at Kang Si An. "Is prison better than dating me?"
I am not personally interested in dating my murderer. His celebrity status doesn't make it easy for me to know more about him.
"I would rather go to prison." He gazes into my eyes. "I won't let you blackmail me."
Atta boy! I want to slap him. Am I enthusiastic to date someone like you? Nope. I don't want to die. If I must die, I would choose the way I die. Dying in the dark alley is not my choice even if you are handsome.
"Six months." I have the upper hand here. "For the next six months, he must become my boyfriend. I want to spend the most time with him even if it means going to his workplace with him. After six months, I will leave. I will forget everything that happened between him and me."
I will know about his temperament and come up with solutions to my future problems. If I am close to him, I will make it to the news. There are fewer chances of getting killed that way.
Right now, my head is not working. I can't think of a better solution. If I get close to him, I might do something that might make him angry. He might kill me anyway. If I don't get close to him and go back to my usual life, what is the guarantee that he won't appear in my life again and kill me for an unknown reason? Life has a funny way of twisting things. I can't take chances.
If I get close to him, I will know the reason. That's better, right?
"Are you out of your mind?" Kang Si An pulls me by my collar. There is an evil gleam in his eyes. He is trying to challenge me. "You want to get close to me that much? Are you sure? You might end up dying if you do."
"Can you stop threatening her?" Manager Jeong smacks the back of his head. He lets go of me and massages the back of his head. "You created this situation because of the way you speak."
"Manager Jeong, she is crazy." Kang Si An grimaces at her. "She is trying to use this situation to stick to me like a pest."
Manager Jeong scorns him and glares at me.
"Fine. We accept."