Somehow this ended up laying around on my laptop since almost a month. I posted it on EGS, but forgot to add it here. I'm so sorry _

Chapter 10

"Director!"

She saw Young-Jae flinch at her shout as she greeted him like this, as he only had made it halfway down the corridor. The last time she had been this flustered, one of his idols had thrown a fit and destroyed a whole hotel room. Considering his recent luck with his idols and starlets, Young-Jae seemed to expect something similar again. At least, he regarded her with a suffering gaze.

"What happened? In one sentence or less."

She rolled her eyes at his harsh tone, but she had gotten used to it over the years she has worked as his secretary. This boy was particular. There only existed a few people he had handled with honest care; he was good at calming and coaxing those he desired something off, though.

"You've got visitors, Mr. Lee and an employee."

"Mr. Lee? The chairman of the Ye Ran highschool?"

Of course he knew the name. She almost rolled her eyes at him but resisted. Chairman Lee was one of the most popular people of this city, and additionally, Im Suyi went to his school. Two reasons it was almost natural for Young-Jae to know him. He didn't need her affirmation, but she gave it anyway.

"Yes, exactly that man. They are waiting in the seating area."

Young-Jae nodded, his brows furrowing, but he started to walk by her side towards his office. She was wise enough to keep quiet. She could see him brooding, though she couldn't tell if he was deeply lost in thought or worried.

As they turned around the next corner, she could see the diverse couple waiting in the small sitting area in front of the bureau. The chairman rose at their sigh and gave them a brilliant smile.

He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, and coming from a secretary in a talent agency it had to mean something. The silent man, who leaned at the wall, looked handsome, too, but in a more rough way. While chairman Lee smiled radiantly, the younger man glared at their approaching forms as if he expected an ambush. Maybe it was an occupational disease? From the short conversation she had had with the chairman a few minutes ago, she understood that the younger man belonged to his school's security guards.

"Mr. Lee, what brought you here to my office?" With such simple words he set some ground rules. A simple "Mr. Lee" to show that the chairman held no title here, and the "my" staked the claim to this place. She hide her smile and stood in the background. It was still uncertain if she would be asked to bring tea into the office for the guests or to escort the visitors out immediately. Young-Jae had played this game countless times before.

The chairman seemed to know the rules, too, for his smile got a sly glint. He told that he acted on Im Suyi mother's wish, immediately turning the tables. Now, Young-Jae was left with no other choice than to invite the two men into his office and ask her to bring some tea.

She missed much of the following conversation, almost everything. She only heard some minor details as she brought the tray with the cups into the room. If she understand the basics right, the idol's mother wasn't too content about how the agency has handled her daughter's safety. At least that was what the chairman said.

Back at her own desk in front of the Young-Jae's office, she didn't have too much time to ponder about the two guests. She was busy receiving calls and juggling her boss' schedule.

Half an hour later, Young-Jae escorted the two men out of his office. Mr. Lee gave her a nod and smiled at her, which almost made her heart stop beating. Blushing, she turned her head away to look at the other two men. The young man with the scar on his face still glared at everybody and everything, although he might have relaxed a slight nuance and a slight smirk played around his lips. Was it coincidence or did he keep the manager in sight on purpose?

The manager himself? Well, she would only forward the most important calls or visitors for the next hour. He was in a bad mood, which would make his already blunt way of speaking even more impolite.

Finally, the phone rang. He didn't need to look at the screen, he already knew who called. For one, he expected Tao's phone call. Additionally, the hacker somehow had programmed a 80s superhero theme song as his call sign, and Takeo hadn't found out how to turn it off yet.

"Yes, Tao?"

"Takeo! Do you have time to talk?" The hacker only waited for a short affirmative sound, before he rambled on. "Frankenstein and M-21 just came home from the agency. The boss wore a satisfied smile, and '21 wasn't as much on the edge as the last few days. So I think it went well. Oh, here he comes!"

Takeo could hear a soft click in the connection, subconsciously noting that the conversation now was on speaker. A short skirmish broke out on the other end of the line, and in his mind's eye, Takeo could almost see Tao bodily drag M-21 towards his desk while hollering a greeting. He smiled and leaned at the wall, his eyes on the girl on the other side of the glass window in front of him. Animatedly, she talked to the radio moderator.

Finally the two men at the other side of the line seemed to have settled down because he couldn't hear Tao move around things anymore,which he had done most likely to make room for M-21 to take a seat.

"Soooo. Now tell us in detail how you scared the manager to agree to you as an additional bodyguard." Takeo could hear M-21's snort to Tao's words.

"Frankenstein talked. I tried to keep an eye on the manager. He was nervous." Takeo almost laughed out aloud. When Tao smiled at you or M-21 glared at you, it was time to leave the country. It was no surprise that the manager had felt irritated with M-21 being in angry mood around him.

"So, Suyi has two bodyguards from tomorrow onwards?"

"No." M-21's answer was a mix between frustration and anger. "But I'm allowed to join the backstage security during the concerts. That guy pretended to be worried for Suyi, but I felt like he was more concerned for his agency's reputation."

Considering the tone in his voice and his nasty habit of losing his temper, Takeo thought the manager had been pretty lucky that Frankenstein had tagged along. He felt someone watch him and rose his gaze from the floor. On the other side of the sound-proof glass, Suyi looked at him, and she used the short music break in the interview to raise her eyebrows questioningly. Takeo smiled at her, and pointed at the cell phone on his ear. Their silent conversation got interrupted as Tao on the other side of the line wanted to know what had happened during his day.

"Young-Jae, the manager, visited Suyi in her changing room again. He said he wanted to talk to her about the radio interview and some minor changes in the security set-up, but the most time was just spent sitting on the couch with the two women and with idle chatter."

"Two women?"

"Suyi and Eun-Mi. The make-up artist I told you about. She's spending a lot of time with Suyi, and keeps her thoughts light."

Takeo could hear Tao start to whistle, only for the sound to end abruptly. Some muttering and movements followed, some hissed words he couldn't fully understand. It seemed like M-21 won the short scuffle for dominance because he started the conversation anew. Takeo kept his answers low, due to the technician organizing the radio program.

The conversation took only a few sentences before M-21 interrupted it. "Stop speaking about it. We're going to get visitors."

On the other side of the line Tao looked up to his comrade in surprise. He strained his ears, and he could actually hear soft pats coming towards his door. Everything in him ached to make a pointed remark about dogs and hearing, but he had to keep his mouth in check. Not because M-21 would wish to strangle him—he could live with that one—but because there was a knock on his door. He asked the kids in and seconds later Ikhan peeked through the gap of the now open door; Yuna's head appeared behind one of the smaller boy's shoulders, and a red-head on Ikhan's other side.

"Hyung, Ajussi! We wanted to start a game. Do you want to join us?"

"We're going to come. Just give us five more minutes to finish our call," Tao promised the bespectacled boy. He ignored the annoyed glance from his side as he covenanted M-21 without his consent.

"Is that Takeo on the line?"

M-21 nodded while Tao grinned, waving them closer cheerfully, "Yes, do you want to speak to him?"

"They have seen him yesterday," M-21 interrupted his chatter and rolled his eyes only to have Tao glare at him. The hacker flashed him a grin as the kids came further into the now overcrowded room, seemingly eager to talk to Takeo. Greetings were exchanged, and Tao made room on his bed for the kids, which basically meant to move the wires and electronic gadgets lying there to a heap on the floor. M-21 had retreated a bit and now leaned against the wall closest to the desk.

"Where is Suyi?" Yuna asked.

"She's giving the radio interview. I'm standing outside of the recording studio to not disturb them."

Tao could hear a silent laugh from the other end of line.

"She just waved."

The two men exchanged a hidden glance. For now they could lean back and enjoy this show the kids entertained them with, but tomorrow they would need to give their best. Suyi's first concert would be risky.