Yoongi dropped them off at the lift lobby for the exclusive apartment block that Hana assumed was where Namjoon's house was at. The whole place screamed money right from the moment the car went by the gate. It was dark, but the street lights illuminating the area complemented the lush and elegant landscape as it ushered the road users in. There were pocket parks in between the blocks and despite the modern concept of the building façade, the lively greenery harmonised and toned down the cold surface of the concrete walls. The security was tight but it wasn't as if there were security personnel peppering the ground with their presence. They were there but at the same time maintained their distance so that they weren't that obvious to the residents and entering the premise without a pass card would be difficult. Hana was still stewing but she was still observing her surroundings vigilantly.

That was all she could do to keep her mouth shut from spewing her anger at the person in front of her who was leading the way to the elevator. She wasn't in the mood to talk in the car as Namjoon wasn't giving her a direct answer. Quarrelling with an audience was also not her cup of tea.

"Welcome to my house," he said as he ushered her in after entering his passcode. He changed into his house slippers, gave her a pair she could use and removed his jacket as he turned on the lights.

Hana didn't say anything as her eyes were trained on Namjoon who was at the refrigerator, taking 2 bottles of water out and giving her one.

"I know you're angry. Come and sit. We have a lot to talk about."

She just looked at him as she guzzled down the water.

"I was looking for you at your cubicle. You were too busy working that you didn't notice I was there earlier, so I figured that I would check on you again before I go home. When I did, your office was already dark and I sent you a message which you didn't read. I was on my way to your place with Yoongi-hyung to check on you," Namjoon paused and gave her a conflicted look. "Then, I received a call from someone that you were spooked, ran away and he couldn't find you."

"Did you put a tail on me and that someone freaked me out?!" Hana's voice went by an octave. There was no way she could keep her mouth shut on that discovery. "What the heck were you thinking?"

"I know you're angry-"

"You think?!"

"Some people figured out where you lived after we came back to Seoul," Namjoon started to explain.

"We returned to Seoul days ago and I went to work just fine after. There was no one at my door this morning," Hana responded.

"If you went home just now, you would find out that some people already set camp outside your corridor with lots of hate messages on your door," Namjoon took out his phone, scrolled his file and held it up for her to see.

Hana looked at the screen in disbelief. The door was plastered with insults and messages telling her to go back to where she came from. There were graffiti and some of them were unashamedly camping outside her house.

"Who are they?" Hana finally asked after going through the pictures.

"Some sasaeng who had this misconstrued idea that you were dating Taehyung."

Hana was dumbfounded at his statement. "Where the heck did they get that idea from?"

"Apparently the person who leaked the phone numbers sent out pictures of you with the maknaes doing things together. They zoomed in on you and Taehyung so they concluded that something was going on between you and him."

"That's just crazy! I was doing what I normally do with everyone," Hana burst out. "There was no preference at all, well, except for when I was with you, but we were discreet as hell."

"I know. But those people don't. They misunderstood and set their guns at you."

"This is all messed up. I can't let those crazies drive my world upside down because of what they think. Heck, I'm going out with you, not with Jungkook or Taehyung."

"They don't care that much if I go out with anyone. I'm not as popular as the maknaes," Namjoon stated.

"Dude, you have your own legion of fans who would prove you otherwise. You're selling yourself short."

"It's the truth," Namjoon said. "You would get the attention but the situation won't be as crazy as this."

"Care to try?" Hana dared.

"I'm okay if you are. Maybe it would keep those sasaeng away from you," Namjoon thought.

But then Hana was reminded of her grandfather. Telling the world about them would be a bad idea for now when her grandfather was against the very idea of her getting into a relationship with a Korean guy. She would have a higher chance of hiding it if Namjoon was not a celebrity who was recognised by the world. There's also the fact that the agency might not like it and not extend her contract for another 6 months. She was not ready to not be able to see him around for a long time when she was getting used to seeing him daily. Nope. It wasn't an option.

"Maybe we should hold that thought for a while. I don't know how the company might react and who knows, they might not even let me work with you because of that," Hana reasoned.

"That would be bad," Namjoon nodded. "But Hana, eventually I am going to tell them about us."

"It doesn't mean that they're going to broadcast to the world about us the moment they find out, right?"

"No. They just need to know so that if and when news about us went out, they would be prepared to handle the press. I'm not going to be single forever."

"I'm cool with that, but is it okay for you to wait until after I get my contract renewed? I'm not ready to be far away from you just yet."

"The feeling's mutual," Namjoon said.

"Anyone who Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook would go out with in the future have to have a strong heart and steely spine to survive this. I hope that they would be able to go out with whoever they wanted to without that overzealous attention on their future partner. They have their own life too," Hana said.

"The company will release a statement about them not having a girlfriend. Seems like Hong Hyejin and Oh Sunmi were getting the same attention as you at their houses. The only thing the three of you had in common was your numbers were shared way before the fan site leak and you work with the maknaes in close proximity. Hong Hyejin got the worst brunt."

"Hyejin is Jungkook's hairstylist and they called Oh Sunmi a cradle snatcher because of her age. Damn to all those crazies," Hana said. She drank her water as she felt winded. "How am I going to get to my apartment with those people waiting for me there?"

"I figured that this is the best time for you to move in here," Namjoon proposed.

Hana sighed forlornly. "You know what? I have this image in my head that when the time comes, I would move in with you with a happy prospect of us living together. Willingly. Just like that. Not because of a situation that I can't avoid."

"If you're not comfortable with me being around, I could still stay at the dorm while you're here. I just want you to be safe."

Hana knew Namjoon was trying to be diplomatic with the choices that she had and she could detect a little hint of hurt when he said it. "Namjoon, you got this all wrong. I love the idea us of living together."

"But?"

"This is a huge step to take. I mean, don't get me wrong but... how am I going to say this..." Hana was at a loss for words for once.

"What is it?"

"I can't be all blasé about moving in with you like it's a common thing I've done before. I know we have spent our nights together in either your room or mine but that's not the same as cohabiting."

"Cohabit?"

"I love you and I really like to be with you, but this is way too fast."

"Hana, as I said, you can live here while I'll stay at the dorm. I'm not making you do things you're uncomfortable with. You can think of this as your new rental."

"Dude, I definitely can't afford this with my paycheck. People would think I suddenly got a sugar daddy and move into this cushy crib."

"If you don't care what they think, they won't hurt you."

Hana sighed. "Or I could just brave that hoard of sasaeng and keep on living in my apartment. It's not as if they would get violent because of what they think."

"They would," Namjoon said.

"You can't be serious," Hana interjected.

"The fans over here are different from other places. When they're obsessed, they would do all they could to make sure their target caved and flee. Normal ones know their limits but the sasaeng didn't have a stop button. You're dealing with the second type," Namjoon explained. "It's hard to have your life turned 180° but I want you to think of your safety."

"Mr Nam said this fiasco would die down," she knew she was grasping at straws but she had to try.

"The leak from the fan site did. The good thing was the article inspired some of ARMY to work hard, the downside of it is that HR was going to really have a hard time screening for future employees. But now we're talking about the sasaeng network that already got your info much earlier. I can't forgive myself if you get hurt when I can do something to prevent it."

Hana's curiosity then went tenfold at Namjoon's remark. Something was niggling at the back of her mind when the conversation started. "Hold up. Let me play back to the first part of our talk. Did you actually hire someone to follow me?" Hana suddenly became incensed.

"I did."

Hana lost it and stood up instantly. "Kim Namjoon! You should at least ask me about it before you do that. I hate being spied on."

Namjoon stood, trying to reason with Hana. "I hired them just to make sure you get to wherever you need to safely. I didn't tell them to spy on you or report to me on your whereabouts or what you do. They only need to tell me if you're in danger and protect you from it."

"How generous of you," Hana said with sarcasm. "What's the difference in that? I would still have someone tailing behind me all the time and you did that without my consent!"

"They will be gone the moment you're really safe from the crazy attention from all of this. Please, this is the least I can do to protect you," he pleaded. "That way you don't have to keep on looking behind your shoulder thinking if anyone would harm you."

"There are too many things to process at once," Hana looked around her as she ran her fingers through her hair. "God, I can't think," Hana sat heavily back on the sofa. 

She knew her limits and fighting back was futile when she didn't have enough resources to do so. She also knew Namjoon was worried about her and he was the 'do first, ask later' kind of guy. She understood his reasoning but there was one part of her that wanted to resist and take control of the situation. For now, she knew she was losing it. She took a deep breath as she tried to recover her equilibrium and think objectively. "Answer me this. Did someone actually follow me after I get off work just now, or was I spooked by your own security guy?"

"Two girls were following you, my guy intercepted them and then lost you when you ran. They managed to get away but he was able to get some information about them. We need to file charges against them before this gets out of hand."

Hana felt her hair stand at the revelation. When she ran, she honestly scared herself witless. Now that she knew she was actually being followed by not just the security people made it even worse. She shrugged the feeling away as she went on. "When will the company release the statement about the maknae line?"

"The PR department should have done that within this week but the upper management was still having second thoughts on the necessity of the statement since the news was only circulating in the sasaeng's network, not to the public. They're the type who would do something after everyone else knows about it, not before. From what I could see, it would only be a matter of time before it does."

"And the fans, in general, would go berserk thinking that Taehyung is dating the translator and Jungkook dating his hairstylist. That's going to be bad," Hana prophesized. " James is attached to the PR department. Why hasn't he given me a heads-up about it? We're a team."

"It's probably because he didn't know it is linked to you. You know how secretive people in that department could be. It's all on a need-to-know basis."

"You guys would be having your merit award tomorrow. If the press release about Jungkook and Taehyung comes out before or immediately after that, the attention would be diverted from the award that you guys deserve," Hana thought out loud. "Oh god, now I'm starting to think way too much like the people in the PR."

"So, what do you think? Moving in here would be the safest choice."

"I know," she relented. "Before I do, I'm going to have to file a complaint to the residence management about the unwanted visitors at my house. I would be delighted when those people are bodily removed from the premise."

"That would be tough when one of them is the daughter of the building owner," Namjoon supplied.

"Damn! How sick could that be? They were trespassing. That's a misdemeanour. Heck, it could even be a felony," Hana exclaimed.

"That would be tricky as they were outside the house along the corridor for everyone to use, not inside."

"That's a disturbance of peace!" she exclaimed. "Wait a minute. How did you find that out? About the fan being the building owner's daughter," Hana asked.

"I told you; I'm not going to sit still and do nothing and see you get hurt. You mean so much to me," Namjoon said adamantly.

"If I'm not still angry at you, I would just fling myself at you after what you said," Hana mumbled to herself at his chivalrous statement.

Namjoon raised his brow. "What did you say?"

"I said fine, I'll move in," she said petulantly. "How can I get my stuff out from there at this rate?"

"I could arrange for some people to get your things out," he proposed.

"I have some clothes drying at the rack and I hate the idea of random strangers going through my things," Hana said.

"Then, I would have them escort you there and get your things out."

"Like, can it be right now? I hate to be a bother but I need my suit for the merit award tomorrow."

"That could be arranged," Namjoon said as he took his phone out and began giving out instructions to the person on the line. "Done," he said as he ended the call. "Get ready in 10 minutes."

"As you can see, I'm raring to go," Hana said wryly as she stood and swept her arms to herself.

Namjoon then engulfed her in his arms. "I'm sorry that you had to go through this."

"It's not your fault," Hana held him tight. She then pulled herself back and narrowed her gaze. "I'm still angry at you for hiring security without asking or telling me. Give me a heads up before you do anything that involves me."

"I don't have any excuses for that. I just wanted you to be safe," Namjoon repeated for the umpteenth time. His phone buzzed, alerting him about her escort. "Let's go."

"You're following?"

"For sure. I'm not going to let someone I love go through this alone," Namjoon stated.

"Stop saying that. I'm still angry at you and the last thing that I should do is to get these primal thoughts about pouncing on you," Hana blurted and cringed after that went out of her mouth.

"Okay," Namjoon nodded.

"You shouldn't agree with me that quickly," Hana objected as she went to the door.

"I know," Namjoon nodded again.

"Then why did you?" Hana removed the house slippers for her sneakers.

"Don't you know that the best part of an argument is the making-up that comes after?" Namjoon flashed Hana his dimpled smile and she went putty in an instant. 

"Dude, I hate arguing," Hana said.

"I know," he repeated.

"Stop being so agreeable with me."

"The argument can hold until after you get your things here," the darned man winked at her.

Hana rolled her eyes at him. "How quickly can the guys move?"

"As fast as we can go. It's nighttime. Traffic would be smooth," Namjoon predicted.

"Good. Move it, dude."