The Idol and The Manager

The Guy From The Airport

Jay’s POV

Oh, right! That’s why she looks familiar. The woman from the airport.

It felt like a twist of fate, bumping into her here of all places. He didn’t expect to see her again today, especially not in such a random setting. It’s a small world after all.

A smile formed beneath his mask as he thought about the unexpected encounter. The way her eyes widened when he pulled out his phone. She looked so adorably flustered, and something about her was just so genuine, so real. It was an unintentional charm that made my heart skip a beat.

“You can call me Carm,” a flashback from their first encounter crossed his mind.

He chuckled inwardly, remembering how she had introduced herself back at the airport. There was something about her – the way she spoke, the way she carried herself – that made him feel at ease.

Even with Jen poking him in the ribs, teasing him relentlessly, he couldn’t ignore how the idea of being teased by her wasn’t as bothersome as it might have been with others. While he stood there, lost in his thoughts, he noticed that Carmela was rummaging through her bag.

She looked both frustrated and determined, and for a split second, Jay wondered what she was searching for. She seemed so flustered, and for some reason, that made him smile. She looked real. So real, in fact, that it almost made him forget that they were strangers. As she dug through her bag, he could feel Jen’s constant nudging, trying to get his attention, but Jay didn’t look at him. His focus remained on Carmela, silently waiting for her to find whatever it was she was looking for.

Deja vu. I bet you won’t find anything in there. It seems like you always end up empty-handed.

Jay watched her, amused by her persistence, and then he heard her sigh in defeat. As expected.

“Ahm, about your clothes…” Carmela finally spoke, her voice a little strained as she continued to look through her bag.

“I don’t have my calling card right now, but you can call me here.” She paused for a moment, taking a pen and scribbling something on her palm.

Jay watched her, curious.

It was a little funny how she tried to salvage the situation. After all, it wasn’t her fault that she spilled coffee on him, and her attempt to make things right only made her seem more endearing. When she showed him her palm, where she had written her number, Jay couldn’t help but smile again. The way she raised her hand, so nervously, was undeniably cute.

“You can copy it here. Just contact me, and I will pay for the damage. Thank you,” she said, her voice a mix of gratitude and embarrassment.

Jay’s eyes flicked from her palm to her face, taking in every little detail. The way she was trying so hard to fix the mess she unintentionally caused only made him like her more. But it wasn’t just that.

There was something about the way she looked at him, shy yet confident in her own way, that caught his attention. She wasn’t like anyone else he had met before. He decided to take a different approach, one that he knew would surprise her. Instead of just copying her number, Jay took her hand gently, positioning it so he could take a photo of her palm with her phone number written on it.

Her face was visible in the background, caught off guard by his sudden action.

Cute.

He looked at her hand one more time before releasing it, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“I now have your number, but what’s your name?” he asked, trying to hide the grin spreading across his face. He knew it would catch her off guard, and he liked how she reacted. She blinked in surprise, a little taken aback by his unexpected move.

“Really? Jay?” Jen’s voice cut through the moment, teasing Jay for his boldness. Jay rolled his eyes, but his attention never wavered from Carmela. He couldn’t help but feel like there was something special about this woman.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I am Carmela Reyes, but you can call me Kim Shin Bae. That’s my Korean name,” she said quickly, as if she was trying to cover up her earlier embarrassment. Jay raised an eyebrow at her.

“Hmmm… new version of introducing yourself, huh?” he teased, clearly enjoying her discomfort.

“I’m sorry?” she replied, her voice faltering as she tried to make sense of his comment.

“Never mind,” Jay said with a shrug. “But I prefer Carm.”

He looked at her, a playful glint in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what it was about her, but he felt drawn to her in a way he hadn’t felt before.

Carmela's POV

She blinked once. Twice. Three times.

What was happening right now?

The way he said her name, her nickname, made her heart race. It sounded so natural coming from him, like it was meant to be said by him and no one else.

He made her name sound beautiful, as though it was the most precious name in the world.

“O-oh! Yes! Of course, you can call me Carm, Carmela, Shin, Bae, anything you want,” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, and she cursed herself for getting so flustered.

Why was she acting like this? She wanted to leave, to get away from the intense feelings swirling inside her. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she couldn’t deny the strange pull she felt towards this man. The way he looked at her, the way he made her feel… it was all too much.

“Ahm, I have to go,” she finally said, forcing herself to pull away from the moment.

“You already have my phone number, you can contact me there. Thank you.” She tried to walk away, but before she could, she heard his voice calling her name.

“Carm.” Her heart skipped a beat. She forced herself to meet his gaze, to look him in the eyes.

“Yes?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

“I’m Jay,” he said simply, and then, as if to further prove his point, he removed his mask.

Carmela’s breath caught in her throat. Wait, what? His face! She knew it! She couldn’t stop herself. “Oh my God! You’re the guy from the airport!” she blurted out, her words tumbling out in a rush.

She quickly realized what she had just said and immediately regretted it.

Why did she have to say that? It was so embarrassing, especially after she had tried so hard to act calm and composed.

The awkward silence that followed made her want to disappear into the ground.

“You just remembered it now?” Jen’s voice broke the silence, his teasing tone cutting through the tension. Carmela felt her face heat up even more. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

She just wanted to vanish, but all she could do was stand there, frozen in place.