The Prince of K-Pop || Bang Chan FF

Chapter Seventy-Six

          It was all a blur.

          An unenjoyable blur.

          KeumPu had been the only thing Naty consider a contestant as far as her career path in South Korea went. She was never positive she would get Face of the Brand but she was okay with building a working relationship. Naty loved the message KeumPu wanted to represent and loved aligning herself with progression. It would have been great to beat out Donna and put herself ahead of the witch, yes, but that was more than what she truly wanted. Naty was okay just working for KeumPu every so often.

          But that bridge seemed to be burned.

          "Hey, it wasn't that bad. Don't beat yourself. You behaved professionally," Leslie's voice was as defeated as Naty felt.

          Naty gave a slight shrug, "Dae-ho didn't agree."

          His words rang through her mind like a trapped butterfly in a glass jar, "Wow, I did not expect this from you. Either of you but especially not you, Natalia. I am truly disappointed."

          "What value does his opinion hold?" Fred's question brought Naty back to the car she sat in.

          "I guess," Naty paused, "As much value as I give it."

          Fred gave a grunt of approval.

          Naty felt tears burn her eyes as she gave an exasperated sigh, "I give it immense value!"

          "It wasn't your fault, Naty. Donna really messed everything up," Leslie gave a sympathetic smile as her hand came out to grab at the woman's shoulder.

          Leslie's squeeze gave some comfort but Naty returned her gaze out the window to avoid actually crying, "Yeah, I guess I underestimated how much she was willing to sacrifice to see me lose. I didn't think she'd screw herself over just to hurt me."

         "That was our first mistake but we know now. But look at the bright side. She's going home to nothing and you're going home to your boyfriend and his members," Leslie smiled warmly, "You should post a story of dinner with them. That would really put her in her place."

          Naty felt a vindictive joy at the idea but her shook her head, "No. The Kids aren't weapons against Donna. They're Chan's family and I want them to become my friends."

          "That's sweet but I doubt they would mind," Leslie shrugged, "It's your decision though. I think it would serve her right to show her that the antics she pulled don't make a difference to you."

          "I think my silence will do that just as well," Naty frowned as she looked down at her hands, "It was really bad, right?"

          Leslie sighed, "It wasn't amazing."

          Naty closes her hands into fists on her lap. The memory of Dae-ho's horrified expression replayed in her mind along with the screams of the PAs and security. She had done her best for so long to be professional but it all failed. Somehow, the events with Donna made her feel much more low class than the screaming match with Yung Hye. There had to be another way to deal with Donna less public and less out in the open.

          "Listen, I'll be the first to tell you when you've messed up. I honestly feel like you did the best you could considering the circumstances. It wasn't a great sendoff but this is your last job here in South Korea before your trip. You'll be leaving soon so...forget what happened. I'll smooth everything over with Dae-ho," Leslie gave as warm of a smile as she could.