Chapter 42 - A Scandal

"What problem?"

Phillips sighed and wondered how they will handle what he was about to say. But it had to be said, "The problem we have right now is that the woman in question was actually aware of Gyeom's identity and deliberately started all this with the intention of blackmailing him and using him to make easy money. However, when we suggested this to Gyeom, he went ballistic on us! We already have external problems we don't need more internal ones. Felix and I.M are both out of the country and will only reach by tomorrow. So I can only ask that the two of you talk to Gyeom and handle the mess. We need to make a statement either way till morning."

Apollo and K looked at each other as Phillippe placed the room key on the table and walked away. Adam leaned back his head before saying, "If it is indeed a gold digger then Gyeom is going to be broken. He won't be able to handle it easily. And if she is innocent then his guilty conscience will torture him."

Apollo took off his cap and started to fidget with it as he pondered what could be done letting his brown hair fall over his shoulders in a disarray. "We need to talk to Gyeom and the woman if we want to know the truth. But we can't wait for the company to take a decision. They will not care if the woman is innocent or not. If Gyeom and her are unable to prove her innocence then the company will throw her to the wolves without a care and then he would be even more guilt ridden.. We need to find a way to get to the bottom of this."

This comment made K look up at his friend and say, "Bro! You already found a way to make him talk! He will not respond to any threats made to him, we know that! But he will talk if he really cares about the woman and is intent on protecting her!"

But Apollo objected to this as he said, "And are we going to let her off even if she is guilty? That would mean inviting more trouble in the future! And if we take any action against her, knowing that Gyeom wants to protect her then we would have even more problems as he will feel we have betrayed him! This is a catch twenty two situation!"

Adam pressed his hand against his forehead and tried to think of a way out. Finally, he went asked, "What do you suggest we do then?"

Apollo rubbed his hand through his long hair as he thought their next move. Gyeom was their most pampered member as he had been the youngest in their group. They could not help worry over him like big brothers.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "We can only go with the flow. But you are right we need to talk to Gyeom first."

Finally, they picked the room card and the two men walked out of the airport lounge. The company had arranged for them to stay on a hotel room and by leaving the key card for Gyeom's room, Phillippe had indirectly ordered them to handle this before he did. He was giving them a last chance to handle matters themselves. Apollo turned to look at K and could not help but ask ,"What about you? Don't you think that when your relationship is exposed you could have an even more negative reaction? Out of all of us, you have the most female fans who are obsessive about calling you husband. Will your girl be able to handle it? From the way you had described her in the past she seems to be quite a delicate flower?" Without waiting for Adam to answer, Apollo continued philosophically, "It is sad, isn't it? In our profession we have so many people loving us and wanting to shower us with love. But when it comes to us loving someone, we are not allowed that. We have been able to protect Gyeom for this long and if the women is really innocent then we can try to protect her but if the woman is really at fault, then we will need to see him suffer. And even if she is innocent there is no guarantee that she would be willing to take on this task of handling the crazy fans. We already knew the risk when we chose this career. But how do we ask our loved ones to suffer with us as well?"

Adam patted Apollo on the back and ignoring the man's first question, he said, "Yes, he may have some trouble but as long as we are all together, we will handle everything. And so will out loved ones."

Adam too had worried about looking for Alice in the past and thought countless of times about making her go through the trials of fans to get their approval. And in those moments he had wondered if she would be willing to take on so much just for his sake. If she would be strong enough to take it. But now he knew that his girl was very strong so he did not need to worry much. His only worry now was getting her to like him and fall for him!

The hotel lobby was quiet as the two beautiful men walked into the elevators on silent feet and soon reached the thirtieth floor of the hotel.

Instead of using the keys directly, Adam knocked softly on the door waiting for Gyeom, giving the man a chance to ignore them. Which he did. This time Apollo called out as he knocked, "Gyeom-aa open the door. We are just worried about you and want to know how you are holding up!"

When there was still no reply or movement from inside, Adam and Apollo looked at each other all sorts of troublesome thoughts running through their heads. Finally Adam placed the card at the door and as soon as the access was given, he pushed open the door and raced inside followed closely by Apollo.

The room was pitch dark and it took them a few moments to assimilate to the darkness.. a heavy stench filled the speaking Adam grimace.