Chapter 241 - Comeback (1): Rip them Apart

"Cut!" the director yelled. The Six X members, who had just shot the dance break, stood up. 

"Yuna, your right leg is too stiff," the director stated. "Dami, your expression is too fierce." 

Dami nodded. "One more take," she suggested. 

They were doing an outdoor shoot at Incheon. The location was a basketball court which was decorated with fake graffiti for the music video. KJ was there too, sitting beside the director. He was watching the choreography carefully, noting any discrepancy he could. 

The members were wearing heavy leather jackets with black t-shirts inside. It was an extremely hot day as the sun shone furiously above them. Even though their makeup was put on in such a way that it would not melt, the members were sweating underneath the multiple layers of clothes. Different concepts required a particular styling and unfortunately this one needed heavy clothes. 

"Why don't you add a lock step here?" he suggested. "That would make the dance smoother." 

The director nodded in agreement and they started to discuss the overall concept. It was their last day of the music video shooting. They had been travelling to Incheon for the past two weeks. Six X had been staying at a hotel nearby while KJ stayed all day and returned home late at night. He was so busy with the entire comeback, that he rarely got any time to spend with Mirae. 

Mirae was also busy with her daylong meetings with the investors. She had Song Tamlin planted in Ash's company as an investor and he brought troubling news. The new girl group had extremely popular trainees and would debut on the same day as Six X's comeback. 

This was extremely worrying. New groups tend to divide the views online as people shift away from older groups. This was their only shot at taking down Aroma Inc., and they could not afford to lose. Rumors of views' manipulation were also going rounds as Ash's managers were seen talking to some online social media influencers. They were fully prepared. 

KJ personally took up the charge of Six X's preparations. He knew Ash's style of training the best and only he could guess what the latter was going to do. 

"One more take!" the director ordered. The members of Six X took their positions and the camera began to reel. 

…. 

"Thank goodness that's over!" Dami exclaimed, slumping on a chair beside KJ. 

"My muscles hurt!" Yuna complained. 

"These heels are seriously bad for my back," Jimim stated, feeling irritable. 

"The heat was killing me!" Norah said. 

All of them were very tired. For the past few days, they got little sleep thanks to the late night shots. They had finally finished the last leg of their shooting. It was really late, almost past midnight. 

"I should head back," KJ said, yawning. He really wanted to go back home and sleep, holding Mirae in his arms. No doubt she was already asleep since she was an early sleeper. He always got an earful for his terrible sleep schedule. 

"Can you drop me off home?" Dami asked. 

The other members looked at her in surprise. 

"Aren't you gonna stay at the hotel?" Yuna asked. 

"No," Dami said. "Mom will come to my apartment in the morning. I want to be there when she arrives." 

"Sure, I'll drop you off," KJ shrugged. "I'm gonna pass your neighborhood anyway." 

"Alright, I'll get changed." 

She sprang up and headed off to her vanity room. Meanwhile, KJ waited for her outside. He took out his phone to check his messages. There were a few messages from his fellow celebrities, one from Jinhyun and the last one from Mirae. He ignored most of them and read Jinhyun's message first. 

"My early morning classes got cancelled," he wrote. "Can you believe that one professor told me that my high notes were off tone? Me? The Idol King?" 

KJ snickered and wrote a reply. "He must be deaf!" 

Pressing the send button, he opened Mirae's message. 

"Gonna be late again?" she wrote. "Have you eaten?" 

KJ sighed. He did not have dinner. With the hectic shooting, dinner had skipped his mind. She was going to flip if she found out. He braced himself for the volcano eruption. 

Dami came out. She was wearing a pair of very short pants which barely reached enough to cover her bottom. Her white t-shirt was sleeveless and hugged her skin tightly. It was so thin, that on closer look, her pink bra was slightly visible. Some of the crew members were ogling at her. 

Dami pushed out her chest slightly. But KJ, who was typing on his phone, did not notice anything. 

"Ready to go?" he asked casually. 

"Yeah," Dami replied, feeling a little disappointed. He did not even react to her outfit. She knew her voluptuous figure stood out in it but there was no hint of l.u.s.t in his eyes. He was being…normal.

They got into his car. Dami briefly glanced outside. There was a small, white flash coming from another car, parked a few meters away. Thankfully, KJ did not notice as he revved the engine. He backed the car before hitting the accelerator, speeding off. 

The traffic was clear during that time, so they managed to reach Dami's apartment within half an hour. 

"Thank you, oppa," she said leaning over to kiss his cheek. KJ was used to her gesture since they have been friends for many years. 

"Anytime," he smiled. 

"See you tomorrow," she said with a wave. 

She got out of the car and started to walk towards her apartment. KJ was about to start the engine when he heard a loud scream. He spun around to see Dami sprawled on the ground. 

"Dami!" he cried, getting out of the car. He rushed over towards her. She was writhing in pain, her eyes welling up as she held her ankle. 

"Ow!" she cried. "I must have sprained it!" 

"Here, let me help you up," he offered. He tried to help her stand up but she lost her balance and fell to the ground again. 

"It hurts!" she whined. KJ was worried. 

"I'll carry you upstairs," he suggested. Before Dami could reply, he picked her up in his arms and began to walk towards her building. 

"Ninth, right?" he asked. Dami nodded. She held onto him tightly. Her chest was pushing against his. But KJ was focused on dropping her home and return to Mirae. 

They reached the ninth floor. He carried her till her apartment. She typed in the passcode and the door opened. KJ then carried her towards the couch in the living room. 

He gently dropped her on it. "Where's the medicine cabinet?" he asked. 

"There," Dami pointed at a cabinet in the kitchen. KJ strode over and took out some balm. He dropped to his knees in front of her and took her wounded ankle. 

He rubbed the balm on it. Dami kept on looking at him. Her hand reached out to touch his neck. 

Startled, KJ looked up. Her hand was stroking his neck, making him uncomfortable. She had lowered her t-shirt, her cleavage visible. 

"Dami, what are you doing?" he asked slowly. 

"This was the spot, right?" she whispered. "Where she bit you?" 

KJ was puzzled. Dami leaned in towards his neck but he pulled away. "I should leave," he said shortly. Her actions were beginning to anger him but for the sake of their friendship, he was willing to let it go. It was best for him to leave. 

"Why her?" Dami burst out. "I've been with you all these years and yet you chose her! You knew that I love you!" 

"Dami, it's late," he said in a quiet tone. "You should rest." 

He was about to stand up and leave but Dami pulled his collar. There was a crazed look in her which KJ had never seen before. 

"What does she have that I don't?" she demanded. "Is it the s.e.x? Is she better than me in bed?" 

KJ's temper was reaching dangerous levels. He pushed her away. 

"I don't think I have to explain to you why I'm in love with her," he stated, feeling disgusted. He would have to take a million showers to get her stench off him. "Get help, Dami." 

With that KJ stood up and left her. Dami watched him go. She threw a pillow against the wall, screaming in frustration. He rejected her again. No matter how many times she confessed, he kept on letting her down. He still maintained a friendship with her but this time, he had enough. 

But she was prepared too. She took out her phone and dialed a number. 

A lazy voice answered from the other end. "Hello Dami." 

"Junki, when will this news come out?" she demanded. "They got the pictures!" 

"What's the rush?" he asked. "The news will come out day after tomorrow as planned-" 

"Tomorrow!" Dami ordered. "I want it out by tomorrow afternoon!" 

"But-" 

"I'm done waiting!" she snarled. "I can't stand them together anymore! I want it to be done tomorrow!" 

There was a pause from the other end. 

"Very well," he said. "I'll talk to Dongsik." 

Dami hung up the phone. If KJ would not break off his relationship then she will make Mirae  break it off. 

Tomorrow will be the end of the Nation's Couple, she swore.