Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 28, 2024 0:52:07 GMT -8
Yeo Taehoon Kim Misuk
[This thread is backdated to 2021/01/04]
[[TW: semi-forced coming out, mention of a past suicide, homophobia]]
Thomas had spent the past week being very amused that the previous year's rumors about him being Taehoon's solo manager had kind of come true. Taehoon had released his solo at the very start of the year, and with the various manager schedules, and the fact that Thomas generally was Taehoon's solo driver anyhow, and Tai had been going on some of the shows as a back up dancer, playing the role of child Taehoon in the choreography's story, the choreography that Tai had helped Taehoon make, well, Thomas had ended up the driver. He was genuinely enjoying it, spending time with Taehoon sometimes with sometimes without Tai. He was proud of the kid, involved in every aspect of this solo debut of Taehoon's, and he knew it was a sentiment Taehoon shared.
The day before, Taehoon had taken his first win for his solo, the second win for anything ever from Yuseong, from Dreams Ent at all, since JBN had no wins yet. It helped that the first week of the year was slow for comebacks, and some shows would only award people who actually showed up, but a win was a win, and this time Taehoon had been smiling and excited, not the sobbing mess he'd been for Yuseong's first win.
Today it was Taehoon's birthday, and his only official schedule was a radio show, though they'd stopped by a few fan projects on the way to take quick pictures that Taehoon had posted with a quick post proofread from Thomas.
Taehoon had mentioned that he'd wished he wasnt getting this particular radio show for his birthday, but he was mostly pleased still, enjoying his solo getting such positive attention, especially with the work of Kangwan and Tai supporting it. They were quiet in the car as they approached the station though, fortunately with a gated parking lot, though there were fans that would see and photograph Taehoon on the walk into the building. Thomas was sure Misuk was among them, though he professionally tried not to see her, even if they went and got tea or dinner together at least once a week. The walk to the building was uneventful. Taehoon's fans were well behaved as they always were, it was one of Thomas's favorite parts of managing for Taehoon solo.
The start of the radio show was uneventful, standard questions about the song, Taehoon bragging about Kangwan and Tai's work, and expressing pleasure that his own had been so well received. Congratulations on the win and Taehoon's birthday from the host. Thomas was honestly sort of zoning out, this was down to a routine, and Taehoon was very good at interviews as long as he didn't have to read anything, and it was part of his standard solo interview agreement that hosts read fan questions.
Thomas didn't catch the whole homophobic joke, though he caught the word "gay" in Korean, which he had not expected to hear here, and he saw Taehoon stiffen and go almost ashen, Thomas was fairly sure with rage. He tried to hiss to the PD to cut to a commercial, anything, but Taehoon was already responding, voice tense and politely seething, "You've overstepped. Thst wasn't funny, and you shouldn't have said it."
The host, old enough to be Thomas's parent but maybe not quite Taehoon's, laughed and said, "It's not that serious."
Taehoon's tone stayed impressively level, "The mental health and safety of our teenagers, many of my fans, isn't a joke. Especially not when we don't have a good track record with keeping LGBT teens or people in general safe here. So no, it is that serious. The people listening tonight don't need to hear someone they respect implying that the world would be better without them."
The host was staring at him now like he'd grown extra limbs, the PD was frozen, looking back and forth between them, Thomas couldn't have seen this coming. The host said, sneering now, "You're taking this awfully personally Taehoon-ssi."
Taehoon hissed, and now his voice developed a waver to it. Thomas wanted to pull a plug, get Taehoon out of there, but it was out of his hands now. Taehoon still managed to speak clearly though, "Yes, I am taking it personally. But I'm an adult who is confident in myself and my own gay-ness. I am taking it personally for the sake of my best friend in high school who killed himself because of those sorts of attitudes. I'm taking it personally for the sake of every single one of my fans and every young person listening right now who heard someone they perhaps respect say that, and it hurt. I'm taking it personally because they deserve to know that they are important, that they deserve to be here, and they shouldn't have to feel like the world is pitted against them."
Taehoon stood up, though there were a good 45 more minutes left in the time slot and said, "We are done here. I hope you rethink what you decided to say."
Thomas was relieved when as Taehoon started to walk off set the PD finally snapped out of it, as if released by Taehoon's silence, and cut the cameras, going to the next music, Taehoon's song about accepting oneself and smoothing over fears and insecurities of childhood. An entirely unintentional, but extremely appropriate punctuation to the speech Taehoon had just made.
Taehoon was shaking by the time he made it to Thomas. He almost crashed into Thomas, head going down on Thomas's shoulder and muttering, "I didn't mean to do that, but I'm not taking it back, fuck, what do I do."
Thomas patted his back and said, "Right now, you put on your best face, we walk back out to the car, and you figure out what you are going to say to the CEO, because I'm pretty sure that's our first stop when we get back to the company. If there's anyone you need to warn, do that as soon as you get to the car, then put your phone on do not disturb and give it to me, I suspect that you don't need every single notification you're about to be getting."
Taehokn nodded and pulled himself together, fans would take pictures as they walked back to the car. They were almost to the entrance, and Thomas gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He said, "I'm going to do a piece of damage control before we go out there."
He pulled out his phone and messaged Misuk, "I normally would never mix our friendship with business, but I know you were watching that, and I'm pretty sure you're out there. If there's something you can do for damage control, please, please do it."
He didn't know what she could do, but he figured that she knew fans far better than he did. Taehoon gave him a quizzical look and Thomas said, "I'll tell you if it works. Ready?"
Taehoon's head was high and he looked almost serene if it wasn't for the slight tremor. Thomas suspected from where the fans were, the illusion almost worked. As they reached the car, he heard a small chant starting, not something that he was used to with Taehoon's fans, "We support you Yeo Taehoon!"
He couldn't help but smile a little, the fans knew Taehoon pretty well, he wasn't sure this was truly a surprise to a lot of them. He hoped Misuk could manage a miracle between now and when they got to the company.
As they started driving, Taehoon said mournfully, "I hadn't told Shihyun yet, or my sister, let alone my parents. What about the trainees and the girls? What about the fans?"
Thomas saw him sending some texts out of the corner of his eye, he said firmly, "It's going to be OK somehow. Shihyun-ssi can deal, your sister loves you and probably won't be surprised, none of the trainees or girls will mind though some might be confused. Tai already knows, Seojin may well suspect. And I have it on very good authority that Yuseong has a lot of queer fans and you are a big reason for that. There was a fan advice call on a show not long after debut."
Taehoon sighed and said, "I am just going to have to muddle through. I would have rather done this prepared and on purpose, I was furious, now I'm just upset. What a birthday."
They were quiet the rest of the ride back to the company. When they got there, there was a message on Thomas's phone from the CEO, "Both of you come directly to my office."
Thomas sighed and said, "Ready to have another argument you win with the CEO?"
Taehoon chuckled tensely and said, "He can fire me, but he can't make me take it back."
As they walked, Thomas went to check if there was a response from Misuk and what the fan response was.
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 28, 2024 16:17:31 GMT -8
Misuk was in the crowd, waiting for the van to pull up. She was enjoying Taehoon-oppa's solo stuff, if anything because it meant she typically didn't need to keep an eye on the crowd and make sure there weren't any fans who could embarrass Taehoon's fandom by acting out. She had a friend hold a sign for when he stepped out of the car to go in, calling out his name loud enough to be heard, but not a scream, and showed him the sign. It wasn't anything special, just congratulations on winning the day before. She made sure to take pictures, especially as she gave him a smile. She was nervous about this radio host. In fandom circles, the host was known to be brash, and occasionally homophobic. The host had received backlash before though, so Misuk hoped the host would use some common sense. The station did not shoo away fans, but also didn't let any inside, so she was able to get some pictures through the window to the studio, but couldn't hear the broadcast. While some fans left, she pulled out her earbuds and pulled up the stream on her phone. She was snapping pictures when the host said the "joke," and she froze, hands tight on her camera. She wondered if something had gone wrong with the sound for a moment, but her eyes darted to inside and she knew she was hearing correctly. It seemed like fans that had wandered off were returning, chattering amongst themselves. Misuk instantly went to social media once Taehoon left the studio, keeping an eye out for him and Thomas leaving again. On social media, it was already being talked about. She logged in to her Tsuki account, the name she used for the queer spaces, only slightly less known than her main account, before taking a deep breath and switching to her main account. Mini-Mimi
It's time to step up and show we can be as supportive of Taehoon-oppa as he has always been for us. Please share these hashtags. #WesupportyouTaehoon #WeloveyouTaehoon
She wrote the same message in English. She'd have to ask Thomas how to write in Chinese, though. She had learned some, but her writing was atrocious on good days. She looked up as she heard some cheering. "We support you Yeo Taehoon!" She called out quickly, then began chanting it, glad when other fans joined in. After Thomas and Taehoon had left, she got on her scooter and went straight to the company building. For once, she was relieved to see it was empty in front of the building. After parking her scooter a safe distance away, she checked the hashtag, surprised to see it was already trending. She reposted someone who has translated it into Chinese for her, making sure to add a comment to say thanks to the translator. She went to her KakaoTalk chat room, and asked for locals in the Yeouido area who were available to come and help show support.
She looked up to the floor she knew the CEO's office was, a look of determination on her face. She didn't know exactly where that office was, but she could only imagine Taehoon was in there now. It didn't take long before she was joined by enough fans that a chant could possibly get noticed, if not by the CEO himself, then by someone who could tell the CEO what was happening. She sent Thomas a link to the hashtags, still trending and the reposts skyrocketing in Yuseong fandom circles, even among usernames she had never seen before.
It seemed the other fans were waiting for her directions, and she looked around and noticed everyone looking at her. "Okay, um," She swallowed nervously, she never meant to be the leader of this. She closed her eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath, calming herself. "We want Taehoon-oppa to know we still love him, and more importantly, we need the company to know. We don't want him in hiatus hell or to be kicked out of Yuseong." Some fans cheered, and she cleared her throat and shouted out, "Yeo Taehoon we support you! Yeo Taehoon we love you!" The other fans soon joined in, and she recorded a quick clip, phone pointed at the building so as not to show fan's faces, and sent that to Thomas as well, just to make sure the message could get to the CEO, or at least Taehoon. |
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 28, 2024 16:43:15 GMT -8
Thomas saw the messages from Misuk right before they got to the CEO's office. He quickly toggled over to social media to look through the tags. He didn't get a chance to show Taehoon though before they were being called into the CEO's office.
The CEO took a while just staring at Taehoon, clearly not entirely sure what to say. He finally sighed and said, "You couldn't have told us before coming out?"
Taehoon's posture was rigid and he said, "You can't make me take it back, I meant what I said, and you can fire me, but you can't make me take it back."
The CEO sighed again and said, "None of that, we're not firing you. You're an important member of the group. We just have to figure out how to manage this. I'd have appreciated warning though."
Taehoon deflated, his earlier shaking coming back. He said, "It wasn't exactly planned, I just couldn't not respond to what he said and it got away from me. I'd have rather had a plan."
The CEO looked contemplative, "That makes sense, I was a bit surprised that you'd do something like that so secretively. Not that you'd be closeted, though I'm guessing people knew. Who knew by the way?"
Taehoon glanced at Thomas who gave him a small smile and a nod. Taehoon replied. "Josh-hyung, Thomas, Kangwan, Qiwang, probably Tai. Anyone else who knew figured it out on their own."
The CEO turned and looked at Thomas then, "You didn't think that this was information that the company would maybe need?"
Thomas gritted his teeth for a second then composed himself to calmness, "Sir, Taehoon-hyung has been slowly sharing that information with the people he felt comfortable with knowing and he thought should know. I supported his right to have a private life in that way."
The CEO sighed yet again, looking like he wanted to just put his head down. He looked at Taehoon and said, "Well, you've gotten into this mess. Any thoughts on how to get us all back out of it?"
Thomas was watching the trending tags on his phone. He had an idea. It was perhaps the worst idea he'd had in a while, or perhaps the best.
He messaged Misuk, "Thank you, that is an incredible response. If you think you want to be in on managing this longer term, there's an open PR and Social Media Manager position on the Dreams Ent website that's been sitting there for months. Apply to it, let me know when you're done, and I'm going to make a crazy suggestion."
He sent an immediate follow up message with the link.
He told the CEO softly, "You might want to check the trending tags right now."
The CEO looked up at him startled, then checked his own phone, a look of surprise starting to mount on his face. Thomas saw the video clip Misuk hadsent and added, "Uh, you also might want to look out the window."
He and Taehoon followed the CEO to the window. The crowd wasn't huge, but it was visible, starting to have a ton of rainbow signs, a few flags, and a lot more clearly very quickly made signs. Everyone who was out there seemed to be supportive. Thomas almost wanted to cry. He glanced over, Taehoon had tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes that were squeezed shut.
The CEO said, "I'll be honest, I wouldn't have predicted that. I guess it makes some things easier, but we are going yo have to say stuff ourselves. And deal with media. It's better to be proactive, especially since I suspect this won't just get ignored."
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 28, 2024 17:05:41 GMT -8
Misuk paused her chanting and looked down at her phone when it buzzed, and noticed a message from Thomas. She opened the link he had sent, and realized it would be extremely easy to apply to, especially since she kept her documents so it was easy to access from her phone. She didn't think twice - she wasn't planning to get a position in education anyway, and her dead end part time job was not her passion in the least. She filled out the necessary fields, and uploaded her resume, and very quickly wrote a cover letter explaining her skills with running an online message and picture boards, added a few example pictures, some landscape and some of idols (trying to make sure it wasn't just Taehoon) and pressed submit. Even with the application being easy to apply to, it still took more time than she had wanted. She sent Thomas a message telling him she had applied.
When she heard cheers, she looked up at the window, seeing the CEO and Thomas and Taehoon. She chanted louder than she did at the last concert she went to, locking eyes with Thomas for a moment. She was handed shoddily made a rainbow heart fan, and waved it enthusiastically. Taehoon looked understandably upset, but Thomas seemed calmer than when she had seen him leaving with Taehoon from the radio station, so she hoped that meant good news, or at least not bad news.
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 28, 2024 18:14:20 GMT -8
Eventually, after watching the crowd for a bit, the CEO made his way back to his desk, and Thomas and Taehoon followed him back. Thomas had spotted Misuk in the crowd, had seen her on her phone.
The CEO sighed, "The two of you might as well sit down. I feel like we will be a while."
As Thomas was sitting down, he saw the message that Misuk had applied, and he was relieved that she'd been quick.
The CEO looked at the two of them and said, "Now what?"
Thomas replied, "We actually hire that PR and Social Media Manager?"
The CEO looked at him and said, "That position has been up for months, no one remotely qualified has applied."
Thomas replied, "Someone did, just now."
Now Taehoon was staring at him in confusion too, and the CEO looked between the two of them, then looked back to Thomas and said, "Explain," before pulling up the applications on his computer.
Thomas sighed, "Kim Misuk, she's run a fansite for Taehoon for years, and she was at school with me and Qiwang-ge. She was a big part of what let me get the on campus fans wrangled into leaving him alone. She is also the one who just started that trending tag and post the couple of videos that are trending. I would vouch for her personally, she's a friend."
Taehoon smiled a little, "She's a fan I recognize. Always very polite and very organized. Puts together a bunch of fan projects."
The CEO took his time looking over the application and said, "She takes good pictures and seems reasonable. This is very rushed though."
Taehoon replied, "It's a rushed situation. She's apparently done a remarkable job of handling the social media just on her own. And she definitely understands how fans work."
The CEO shook his head and said, "This is highly irregular, but I do think you're both right. Thomas, go let her in through the entrance on the other side of the building from that crowd. I'm going to send a reply. And if Josh is hovering in the hall, you can send him in too."
Thomas stood and said, "Of course sir."
Josh was indeed hovering in the hall when Thomas came out, and as soon as the door was closed, he asked, "Is he alright? Are things alright with the CEO?"
Thomas patted Josh's arm and said, "Yeah, things are going to be alright. We're apparently hiring a PR and Social Media Manager about it. Check the trending tags if you haven't in the past few minutes, then go on in there, the CEO said to send you in if you were hovering."
Josh looked chagrined, then checked his phone and said softly, "Oh wow."
He headed into the office as Thomas headed for the back entrance to the building.
In the office, the CEO finished sending a message to Misuk, telling her to come in for an interview and where to meet Thomas. He looked over Josh and Taehoon but didn't say anything at first. Josh grabbed another chair and pulled it up by Taehoon's, taking his hand and squeezing it. The CEO grumbled, quietly to himself, but didn't comment on their hands staying linked.
Thomas was glad that there was a small grated window on the back entrance so he could watch for Misuk while he waited. He messaged her, "Check wherever you get responses to job applications."
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 28, 2024 20:49:05 GMT -8
Misuk was still chanting with the others, though felt like she was hardly breathing. Was she really about to get the job break of a lifetime? Was she about to get to work with Dreams Entertainment personally?
Her phone vibrated, and she almost jumped at the two messages sent approximately around the same time, one an email from the CEO of Dreams, the other a text message from Thomas.
She told the nearby fans she had to leave, and to keep up the support, even if they go home. Keep the tags trending. She ran around to the other side of the building, making sure no one else followed her before going to the back door. "Thomas??" She called in a low voice. "Is this actually going to happen?" She asked, not even sure if he was there to hear her yet.
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 28, 2024 21:23:34 GMT -8
Thomas was already in the process of opening the door for Misuk when she said his name. He smiled at her, it was clear she was kind of at a loss at the suddenness of it all. He said softly, "Hi Misuk-noona. Yeah, this is really happening, I'm about 90% sure that he's going to offer you the job. He's probably running your basic background check right now, and he might be asking Taehoon-hyung some questions while I'm not in the room since it's clear Taehoon-hyung knows which fan you are."
He thought about what he needed to tell Misuk before they got up there as he was leading her up the stairs. After about half a flight of silence, he said, "Let's see, things you should be forewarned about. The CEO, Taehoon-hyung and Josh-hyung were in the room when I left to come get you, Josh-hyung may or may not have stayed, but assume he'll be there. The CEO is more resigned to what's going on than anything, he knows what Taehoon is like, and he's generally supportive, but this was a surprise to him in its entirety. He was impressed with your work with the tag and the videos though. So he's not annoyed at you. He is probably annoyed at me a bit as well as Taehoon-hyung since I wasn't able to circumvent that situation in manager mode. The whole thing was very sudden though."
He realized he was babbling and gave Misuk a sheepish smile. He said, "The CEO will likely want to give you a brief interview without the rest of us in the room, but like, they've been trying to hire someone for that job for months, and now we really need someone."
Too soon, they were at the door, and he looked at Misuk, trying to judge how she was doing. He poised his hand to knock and said, "Ready?" waiting to knock and go in until she said yes.
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 29, 2024 17:27:18 GMT -8
Misuk followed Thomas up the stairs, listening carefully to everything he was saying while also taking in her surroundings. She was relieved Taehoon-oppa was going to be alright. As they approached a door labeled "CEO Office," she took a few deep breaths and nodded to Thomas.
The office inside was fairly plain, she almost expected more knowing the CEO was a first gen idol. She noticed Joshua and Taehoon sitting with their hands clasped together, and she tried to keep her face neutral at noticing it. She gave a polite bow to the CEO and then to Joshua and Taehoon, "CEO-nim, you wanted to meet with me?" She asked. She wasn't used to being this close to Yuseong when it wasn't a fan sign or event.
The CEO nodded, "Yes. Taehoon, Josh, please stay nearby as I may need to talk with you two again, but I'd like to do a quick interview." He said, waiting for the two to leave before looking to Misuk, "please, sit down."
Misuk did as he asked, and put her hands in her lap. She wasn't dressed down, but in a knee-length plaited skirt, a simple blouse, and her comfortable sneakers - no matter how clean she kept them, it definitely wasn't her typical interview outfit. At least her hair was cute today.
"What qualifications do you have in PR or as s Social Media Manager?" The CEO asked.
Misuk did some quick math, also stalling because it felt weird to tell this to the CEO of the group she ran the fan site for. "I have been running a fan forum site since 2014, it has held over 500 members at any given time since then, besides the first couple of months after it opened. I post the pictures I take personally, um, actually, I can give you the link..." She offered. This felt extremely weird to do for a job interview, but this also wasn't a typical job interview. She gave the CEO the website name and guided him to the latest post with pictures she took.
"You took these yourself?" The CEO asked, looking through the pictures. He seemed impressed.
"Yes, sir. Um, if I'm going to an idol event, I always bring my camera..." She explained, pulling the case out from her bag. It wasn't a super fancy camera, but it was significantly better than the digital camera her dad bought her when she first showed an interest in photography.
"Oh, I also run a KakaoTalk chatroom that currently has over 2,000 people in it. I have some help, of course, but I started it as soon as chatrooms was implemented in KakaoTalk." She showed the chatroom stats on her phone, currently showing about 1200 people were actively chatting, staring pointedly at the photocard of Taehoon she kept on the back of the phone, give me luck Taehoon-oppa...
The CEO was quiet, and she wasn't sure if that was his normal disposition, a good thing, or a bad thing. "I heard you also started the hastags currently trending?"
Misuk nodded, "Yes sir. I didn't want to give antis a chance to take over. I am a well-known fan in fan spaces, so I called to action my other friends and the other fans who I knew would be able to help me flood social media with positive reactions. I didn't want us to lose Taehoon-op-uh.. sshi due to negativity and homophobia. Of course there will still be some, but I needed the company," she gestured to the general area, " or especially Taehoon-sshi to think his fans aren't going to turn their back on him just because of this, when he's done so much for fans."
"You seem passionate, I like that. There's one thing - this has almost nothing to do with your college major, why do you want this position?" The CEO asked, hands resting under his chin.
"With all due respect, my major was because it was what my parents wanted me to do. My passion lies in photography, and I have loved what I've learned with coding and Photoshop while running my blog." She explained. "To be a Social Media Manager sounds easy, I've already been doing that. As for PR, well, you can see from the tags I'm good at that, too. I have been the start of at least five trending hashtags for Yuseong." It still felt weird to be bragging about this sort of thing in a job interview of all things, but she felt like this was useful information.
"Final question. Are you willing to leave the fandom spaces if you get this job?"
Misuk felt like a bit of the wind got knocked out of her. Leave the fandom spaces? She supposed she understood, it could be a conflict of interest if she shared photos she was taking for the company on her blog, or let out a company secret by accident. Her heart ached a bit as she smiled, "Yes."
"Alright. You're hired." The CEO went through his desk drawer and pulled out paperwork.
Misuk blinked in surprise. "Just like that?"
The CEO looked her dead in the eyes, "We needed a PR Manager yesterday, now we're without one and in a PR nightmare." He placed the paperwork on the desk. "Fill this out for me real quick." A notification on the CEO's computer got Misuk's notice, and he glanced at it and then smiled, "Your background check came back, it's cleared."
Misuk filled out the paperwork as quickly as she could, only just now remembering Taehoon and Joshua were probably still waiting outside the office, and were probably nervous wrecks. As she finished, she put the pen down and handed the papers back to the CEO.
"Perfect! Can you start now?"
"Um..." Misuk thought about her grocery store job. She hated it, and the manager was terrible. She wouldn't feel bad giving them no notice and just quitting. "Yes."
"Great." The CEO said, opening the door, "We finally have our PR and Social Media Manager. Taehoon, Josh, meet Misuk. Thomas, you already know her."
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 29, 2024 20:55:22 GMT -8
Once the CEO had started the interview, Taehoon, Josh, and Thomas were left to wait in the hall. Taehoon and Josh sank to the floor on one side, still holding hands, and Thomas sat across from them. Taehoon said, "Can I have my phone back, I want to see if my sister responded."
Thomas fished out Taehoon's phone and slid it across the hall to him. Taehoon listened to the voicemail his sister had left while the other two were quiet, "Oppa, it's not the way I would have wanted to find out, but it's OK, I love you and I support you, and I'm not exactly surprised. I'll handle the rest of the family, I'm sure you have plenty of other things on your plate right now."
He sent her a quick reply of, "Thank you, love you, I'll come visit you soon."
There were more other messages and notifications than he wanted to contemplate, and he shuttled his phone back over to Thomas, "You're right though, I don't want to deal with the rest of that right now. Might need help dealing with it later."
Thomas pocketed Taehoon's phone again. Taehoon asked, "I know Misuk is very organized and good at doing fansite things, and she takes most of my favorite fan pictures of me, and always has interesting questions at fan chats. Do you think that she'd actually be good at the job?"
Thomas nodded, "She organizes people, and she was behind that trending tag. Like she knew what to say when, and what would catch on. She's good at people wrangling. And she gets the fans in a way I certainly do not. She's not going to be weird about you guys either, like maybe a little overwhelmed, but not in the way some fans are."
Thomas nodded, "Yeah, I recognized her voice the first time she showed up to a fansign right after debut, there was call from a variety show we were on."
Josh turned surprised, "Wait that was her?"
Taehoon squeezed Josh's hand and said, "Yeah, I was really glad when she kept showing up to things, like it's nice to have reliable fans, but also I was a little worried for her at first."
Taehoon turned back towards Thomas and said, "And you're friends friends with her?"
Thomas nodded, "We were in a bunch of classes together, and after she graduated we started going to get tea or a meal or something at least once a week. She's probably the person I interact with the most who isn't in Dreams Ent or my roommate. She's always been really good about not talking shop with me though. Like, I think you guys will get along with her."
They were prevented by continuing the conversation by the CEO returning to announce that Misuk was hired. The CEO looked at Thomas hard for a second and said, "You get to train Misuk-ssi on all the management stuff. I'll be working on my end of things, but get her on social media, and very first thing, deal with getting yourself off the social media spaces. You don't have to delete archives, but you need to make that a clean break."
The CEO sighed and said, "And make sure that she gets introduced to the rest of Yuseong and that these two eat something. Manage some social media, figure out what the Yuseong posts need to be, group and members, send them past me before you actually post anything. If I like what I'm seeing I'll give you the go ahead to just post things."
The CEO closed the door, leaving the four of them in the hall. Thomas managed a smile and said, "Alright, let's go back to Yuseong's apartment then, follow directions. There are leftovers in the fridge and we can start planning, get you introduced, and get everyone fed at the same time."
Taehoon squeezed Josh's hand as they walked, but he said to Misuk, "It's nice to meet you properly. Ages ago, when you came to your first fansign, I recognized your voice from the fan call to the advice segment, and I kind of tried to keep an eye on you."
He and Thomas both watched for Misuk's reaction. Thomas wondered if it had ever even occurred to Misuk that Taehoon had known who she was the entire time.
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 29, 2024 21:17:41 GMT -8
"Okay," Misuk said to the CEO, bowing as the door to the office was closed. She looked at the three men standing in front of her, a less confident "okay" escaping her lips. When Taehoon started talking to her, it took everything in her not to freeze in her spot. She definitely felt her face heat up, and she looked at him with wide eyes, "You knew that was me? All this time?" She asked, her voice betraying her emotions as it shook. She was trying to keep her breathing normal, and felt she was doing mostly okay with keeping her face neutral.
That meant Taehoon probably could guess she wasn't straight. She was fine with that, especially now. She tried to focus on what she would write for social media, her heart aching a little again as she reminded herself she'd have to say goodbye to her blog. She could transfer ownership to her friend, and at least then she can keep an eye on what was happening in fandom spaces, even if she had to delete her accounts.
More of what the CEO said finally registered, and she realized she was about to meet the rest of Yuseong in a non-fan setting. She had gotten used to Qiwang, even though they didn't really talk much, but she had only ever met Shihyun and Kangwan at fan events. Even being this close to Josh felt unreal, though the fact he was still holding Taehoon's hand didn't escape her notice. Other fans had also been noticing they were closer these days. She wondered if she would ever find out what, if anything, happened between Taehoon and Shihyun.
So many thoughts and emotions were going through her head, she couldn't keep them straight. She didn't show the CEO any of her queer spaces, so she could probably get away with keeping those. She hardly posted photos on that account anyway, so it would probably be okay if she just stopped all together. She tried to get into business mode, she should actually start thinking of what she was going to write, preferably something that could appease everyone. "Taehoon-oppa, is there anything you do or don't want me to include in a statement?" She finally asked. She realized they were on a new floor, she'd have to ask Thomas how to get to the dorms again at some point when she was more clear-headed.
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 29, 2024 21:36:20 GMT -8
Taehoon seemed almost startled that Misuk was startled. He nodded and said, "Of course, I'd heard your voice a few times at that point."
Taehoon looked thoughtful over her question and answered slowly, "I want to make it very clear that I was sincere, but also that I wasn't planning to come out this soon or in this way. And I guess reiterate what I said to that man, that it's important to me to show all the young queer kids who don't feel good enough that they are enough and that they deserve to be here, that they're important, and that's why I am willing to be so open about it."
He sighed and said, "This really isn't how I would have wanted to do this."
He squeezed Josh's hand again and said, "I'm sorry I blindsided you especially."
Thomas had noticed Misuk watching the two of them holding hands. He said softly, "We should make sure that you're fully up to speed with what you're PR managing before you have to start PR managing too."
He paused as a realization struck him, and Josh, who had caught where he was going with this, said awkwardly into the pause, "Taehoon and I are a couple, have been since last spring. I'm definitely not ready to be out, though I want to be openly supportive, and I don't really care if fans put the pieces together, we've been shipped long enough that it's not even going to be new news."
Thomas told Misuk slightly shakily, "That's uh, not all. You know how I told you once I couldn't tell you who I was dating or introduce you? Well I'm going to have to tell you now."
He paused, kind of wanting to wait until he could pull Kangwan aside for a moment before telling her, realizing that she might put it together just from that.
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 29, 2024 21:49:18 GMT -8
Misuk was still surprised Taehoon knew it was her, even though she knew about his ability to remember fans based on their voices or faces. Of course..." She said, somewhat breathless.
She pulled her phone out and wrote down what Taehoon wanted her to say. She got it all down as spark notes, wanting to make sure she didn't miss anything. She actually froze when Josh said he and Taehoon were a couple. "Oh..." She said simply, snapping out of her freeze. She added a couple notes about Taehoon's band mates being supportive.
She looked to Thomas when he seemed nervous. "What, are you dating someone in Yuseong, too?" She said jokingly. Then she realized Thomas and Kangwan had known each other since they were in high school. "Wait. Are you???" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 29, 2024 21:58:09 GMT -8
Thomas had the past several hours and the chaos of the entire situation all sort of hit him at once, and just about doubled over laughing at Misuk's reaction. He leaned against the wall, holding a hand up as he tried to get his breath back. Taehoon was starting to giggle just a little as well, and he muttered, "What a fucking day."
Once Thomas got enough of his breath back, he managed to choke out between bursts of laughter, "Sorry Misuk-noona, very not how I meant to tell you, and I'd have rather warned Kangwan-ie first, but yes, for coming up on five years."
He managed to compose himself and said, "So, uh, like I'd said, complicated PR situation that you're walking into."
Taehoon's eyes widened then and he said softly, "Shit, I still haven't told Shihyun, like he knows I'm not straight, but not that Josh and I are together, and uh, I've not said it to his face."
Josh's face fell, and he said, "Ah, an extra PR layer, fans are going to end up thinking you fought again."
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PR & Social Media Manager @ Dreams Ent..
Homosexual.
single.
01/27/1998.
26.
Ox (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Misuk on Jul 29, 2024 22:40:22 GMT -8
"Aww," Misuk cooed before she was able to stop herself. She had a feeling Thomas was starting to feel like she was - overwhelmed, exhausted, and ready to be done. There really was a lot of PR situation in this. "Fans already were assuming something happened between you and Shihyun-oppa, and noticed that you and Josh-oppa were seeming closer lately. We just had no proof -" She faltered for a moment, "I won't tell anyone until you and the CEO give me the green light, of course, but it was definitely already being noted in the fan community." She told the group.
It really was going to be a hefty PR job. But a task feeling insurmountable never stopped her before. Hell, just over a week ago, she had spent over a month coordinating a worldwide fan project to celebrate Taehoon's solo debut, and it went amazingly well, with fan letters from over 20 countries. She could do PR. She wasn't quite worried about that, more concerned about the type of language and structure she should use for the company statement. She'd seen enough from other companies she felt that wouldn't be too hard to do, though.
No, she was most concerned about what she'd write to her fellow fans on her blog. The CEO didn't say she couldn't say why she was leaving, but she still had a feeling it wasn't agreed upon that she could. It would be difficult to stop seeing the fandom spaces as her own, she'd been there for so long, it was like home.
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Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
25.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Jul 30, 2024 0:05:06 GMT -8
Thomas thought about the whole situation for a moment, and he realized that there were some pitfalls in their current amount of rushing. He switched into the manager mode he'd mostly developed for dealing with getting the whole group through crowds or quick schedule adjustments and said, "Alright, small plan adjustment. I am going to take Misuk-noona on a tour of the building, as her official trainer apparently, I am deciding that she needs to be oriented."
He looked at Josh and Taehoon, and he continued, "The two of you are going to go in and talk about things with the rest of Yuseong first. I suspect it will go over best if we aren't hovering over your shoulders. Josh-hyung can message me when you're ready for us to come back."
Josh nodded and said, "That sounds like a good plan. I suspect there will be some yelling."
Thomas turned to Misuk and added, "I can introduce you to J.B.N. members and the boy trainees if we cross paths with them, make sure you know your way around, and we can talk boring managerial strategy stuff."
Once Josh and Taehoon had gone into the dorm, Thomas looked her over critically and said, "Misuk-noona, are you doing ok? I realize that this whole day has been a lot."
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