"No, president," Young Chul protested, but it was too late. The president had already stopped him from moving and before his very eyes, the man stooped down and already began to examine the damage.
"It's really stuck," Daniel said, trying to figure out a way how to undo it without causing more damage while Young Chul was stuck to the body of the elevator with a flushed face.
This was so embarrassing and ambiguous, what if someone stepped in at this moment and mistook them as two gay guys. He wouldn't know how to explain it, not to mention if the chairwoman hears of it? He'd be as good as dead.
As if Young Chul jinxed their luck, the elevator opened with a ding and one should see the shocked expression on his face. Thanks to the zipper problem, none of them had noticed the countdown and didn't know when they reached the lobby.
But the scene that greeted Young Chul wasn't the one he expected at all and his face blanched with shock. Neither did Daniel who was busy trying to push up the zip notice the change at all.
Because standing in front of them was a ton of reporters who were about to step into the elevator until they stumbled upon the scene.
These reporters were no other than the ones alerted by their colleague upstairs about Daniel. Just like gossip flows like a tornado, the news had spread from one colleague to another who hurried to get this exclusive news.
Who was Kang Daniel? He was one of the youngest and most successful entrepreneurs in the country, even verified by Forbes, hence every one of his actions made the headlines. Moreover, he seems to have an affinity with the media because they always had news on him. Anywhere he goes or does, reports are sure to follow.
In one word, Kang Daniel was even more famous than a celebrity. Hence one could understand the shock on their faces when the man they were about to capture was seen crouching, his hand on his secretary's crotch in the elevator.
Daniel Kang was Gay?
Daebak!
It was huge news!
It wasn't until a single flash of a camera went off that Daniel finally understood what was going on. He immediately stood up just as uncountable camera flashes went off. In one word, it was a single reporter who got that scene perfectly and the others were envious of him.
But this was not the time to be envious, they had to get this exclusive - they would beg for the photos later. So the reports snapped Daniel and his secretary enthusiastically.
He knew it! This was the end for him! Young Chul was alarmed when the reporters continuously took photos of them. He tried to hide the president's face but it was too late, they had seen and taken everything. He better prepared his obituary, the chairwoman would kill him today.
Young Chul stood in front of the president defensively as the reporters continued asking questions and shoving microphones in his face.
"How do you explain this situation, President Kang?"
"Are you gay?"
"How long have you been in a secret relationship with your secretary?"
"Was it your reputation that stopped you from being open with your relationship?!"
"President Kang, how long have you been gay?"
"President Kang, you seem to be the top in this relationship?"
"President Kang, how do you intend to face the people's outrage over the exposure of your secret relationship?"
Young Chul almost spat blood at the atrocious claims laid before them. He began to shout, "You're mistaken here! The president is not gay!"
But the reporters did not believe him anymore, "Secretary Young, you do not have to deny it anymore! We have the evidence now!"
No matter how much Young Chul tried to explain to them, his voice was drowned out by the commotion and the reports formed their opinion of the situation already.
Thankfully, the hotel noticed what was going on and released their guards to help them out. The president was their VIP customer and they made sure to hold back the reporters till the chauffeur had driven them away.
"What is going on here?" Daniel finally asked. He had been overwhelmed by the scene, it was something like never before. Each time he tried to talk, the noises from the reporters would drown him out.
"Why are they calling me gay? How could they jump quickly to the conclusion? Couldn't they see I was helping you out with your zipper?" He complained.
But Young Chul didn't say a word, if anything he pressed his lips together knowing that he was close to flaring up. Why couldn't this president listen to him for once! He told him to leave the zipper! Leave the damn zipper alone yet he wouldn't hear! Now, see what he put them into?!
The president's phone rang but before Daniel could answer, Young Chul snatched it from him and turned it off.
"Don't say anything before you add more fuel to the fire," He told him and Daniel sighed before looking out of the window.
At once, Young Chul picked up his phone and called the PR team, asking them to block the articles from coming out. However, it was too late, the incident was too big a sensation to block. Being gay in this country was a big issue.
"He's not gay! The president was just helping me with my zipper!" Young Chul was already tired of explaining of to them.
In the end, they agreed to focus on doing damage control before he ended the call and answered the next call that came in. If his phone was ringing incessantly, he wondered about the situation in the company.
"This is not the way to the company," Daniel pointed out while he was in the middle of the call.
"You can't go to the company now, the place would be crawling all over with reporters. You need a place to lay low until this is settled," Young Chul told him.
His only prayer was that they survived tonight from the hands of the chairwoman.