Word count: 0.7K
News spread like wildfire through the paparazzi. It was all for the buzz, there was no doubt. But that didn’t relieve anyone this time around. It all started when Tae rolled over in bed at 4 am to hear his phone buzzing. He hadn’t been asleep, but regardless, he hadn’t been expecting a call. He answered the call and held the phone up to his ear lazily.
“Hell-”
“Tae! Did you see the article?” Zelda gasped and let out a sob. “I don’t know what to do. No one’s supposed to-”
“Zel, whoa, slow down. What article? Why are you crying?”
There was a long pause. “I forgot how late it is there. Hang on.”
A moment later, Tae’s phone notified him that he had a text message. He opened the article Zelda had sent him and winced.
BTS V seen with model at a restaurant in downtown Chicago.
Tae put his phone on speaker. The two of them were silent for a few moments.
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered sadly.
“What? Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything!”
“I mean. . .I suggested that date, didn’t I?”
“You did. That doesn’t mean we don’t deserve some privacy.” She sighed. “What do we do?”
“Let it blow over?” He sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t want to lie to anyone, but I really didn’t want the fans finding out like this.”
Zelda let out a shaky sigh.
“I’m wondering why they’re reporting this now,” he commented again. “We had that date weeks ago.”
“Who knows.” She flicked through the article again. “You can’t see my face very well in these pictures, but I’m sure someone will figure out who I am.” She paused. “Actually, they named me in the article. Never mind.”
“How’d you find the article?”
“I follow this news account. Most of it is fake news, so I um. Mock it.”
“Have you seen anything on Twitter about it?”
“Not really. Not that I follow anyone that would find it interesting.” She was opening Twitter in the next moment. “Oh no….”
“What is it?”
“Well, my messages and notifications are flooded.” She opened her direct messages and read the first one. “‘You dirty wh’- oh.”
“What?! Who said that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Zelda glanced at another message. “‘Please tell me the rumors are true! You and Tae would be such a cute couple!’ Aw. How sweet.”
She deleted a few more rude messages before reading another one. “‘I’d never heard of you before today, but please ignore any rude messages you get! Some of Tae’s “fans” get way too possessive over him. I’m sure if the two of you are together, you’re a sweetheart. We all know how hard it is to pass his vibe check! Even if you two aren’t dating, you don’t deserve to have your privacy invaded.’ Gosh, your fans are sweet.”
She filtered quite a few more messages before reading another. “‘Zelda!!! Omg two of my favorite celebrities rumored to be dating??? Best day ever!’” Zelda laughed at this one. “Well, someone is happy.”
Tae smiled. “Are there very many bad ones?”
“There’s some. That’s all right. There’s quite a few very excited messages.” Zelda sniffled. “I’m happy. They’re happy. This is great.”
“You feeling better now, Zel?”
“Yes. Thanks for picking up. I should let you go now, right?”
“I’d say I have plenty of time to sleep in the morning, but I really don’t. I’ll call you later, ok? I love you.”
“I love you too. Sleep well!”
“Goodnight!”
◇◆◇◆◇
Sure enough, the news blew over. BigHit ignored the article and eventually the fans turned their attention to a new rumor. Everyone knew in the back of their minds how unlikely Tae was to even be dating a girl at all, let alone one from another country, anyway. A few of the fans decided this was their chance to start a new ship, though, and that was a whole new territory.