I sat in the CEO's office, waiting for him to speak. I tried to smile, hiding the fact I was nervous. Him wanting to talk to me is never a good thing, and now he actually has a reason to scold me..

My eyes wandered to his face and I examined his features. He looked like he aged since the first time I saw him and he had more wrinkles, probably from worry. It's not easy to run this company, even if all of us are good kids.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Much better." I smiled. "Only my ribs hurt now."

"Do you want to tell me how did you get to the hospital?" he asked nicely, but I could tell he was making an effort to stay calm.

"I was hurt."

"I can see that, miss Kim. I assumed you stayed at the hospital for a few days because you were hurt and not because you just felt like it." he said sarcastically. "Don't play around and answer me." he raised his voice. I swallowed my saliva.

"Didn't Yongguk talk to you and explained everything?" I asked, trying to buy some time to think of a proper answer. Truth is I still haven't talked to Yongguk about it and I don't know what to tell the CEO or the police.

"Are you going to hide behind your boyfreind forever?" he asked, staring intently at me. "I didn't think you are this kind of person, but I guess love changes people."

"I'm not." I stated. "I just think it's ridiculous to repeat the story if you already heard it."

"I want to hear your version."

"Well, I was kidnapped and attacked at the hut."

"By who?"

"Bullies." I said dryly. It's partially true, since Dino and the rest are bullies.. This answer should satisfy him, at least for now.

"Alright." he entwined his fingers, putting them on the table that seperated us. That's it? He is dropping the subject?

There was a short silence, and it scared me. I have a bad feeling about this..

"You know we had to delay the music video filming because of you." the CEO said.

"Yes, sir. I'm really sorry for that."

"It cost us a lot of money to plan everything in the first place, and the cancellation fees were high as well." he said dryly.

"I am aware of that, sir, and I'm truly sorry I caused you damage. It wasn't my intention."

"Good, then you shouldn't have a problem paying for the damages you caused." he smiled, and I paled.

"P.. Pay.. For.. Everything?" I stuttered. It costs a lot of money, there is no way I can handle it.. Especially when I already have some pending fines for not following orders and other reasons..

"Yes. It was cancelled because of you, so it's only fair you are paying for it. You need to handle the consequences." he said coldly. He has a point, but still..

"How.. Much.. Is.. It?" I was scared to know the answer, but I didn't have a choice. The CEO took the calculator from his desk and typed a long number. He turned the calculator around, letting me see the number. I swallowed my saliva. That high?

"I know you can't pay it back right now, so I'm going to cut it off from your future salary. In the meantime it'll just increase your debt."

"T.. Thank you."

"But this is the last time I'm going to be nice to you. Mess up again and your'e out, I don't care how important you are for the group and if you debuted already. I'm running an entertainment company, not a kindergarten. There is a limit to my patience."

"But you need me." I blurted and immediately regretted it. Me and my stupid mouth.. That's not the right thing to say when the CEO just told me he is going to kick me out.

"Say that again, miss Kim? I think I heard you wrong." the CEO stared at me.

"You need me." I raised my voice. I don't know how I got the courage to say it confidently like this, but I did and it's too late to regret now. There goes your debut, idiot.

"And your attitude is back." the CEO laughed. Huh? Isn't he mad? Why is he laughing?

"I was starting to think you hit your head or something because you were too nice." the CEO continued laughing, leaving me dumbfounded.

"I am a nice person, sir." I tried to sound as calm as possible.

"I didn't say you weren't." he shrugged. "But back to our subject - Show me that attitude one more time and you are out." he glared at me.

"I don't regret what I said. You know it's true." I said dryly.

"You are not that good." he retorted. "You need me more than I need you. I make money even without your group, but you'll earn nothing without me."

"There are other companies." I stated.

"Good luck going there.." he scoffed. "Things go around fast in this industry.. I wonder if they'll accept you after being kicked out of here and after they hear my opinion about you.."

"Are you threatening me right now?" I glared at him.

"No. I'm just letting you know what can happen if you leave." he said calmly. "Make sure you behave and it won't happen." he smiled.

"Are we done talking?" I asked impatiently.

"Yes. Don't forget I'm watching you." he said and I got up from my seat.

"It was nice talking to you, sir." I faked a smile and bowed.

When I left the room I went to look for Yongguk. He is probably curious about my conversation with the CEO..

Not surprisingly, Yongguk was working in the studio on a song, focused in his job. I approached him quietly and put my hands on his shoulders, starting to massage them.

"Over there." he moaned when I touched a specific spot on his back. I chuckled.

"How about you lay down? I'll give you a better massage like that.." I offered.

"Later." he turned over the chair he was sitting on so now he was facing me. "How about a proper greeting first?"

"Hey oppa." I said cutely and waved my hand.

"No that kind of greeting." he frowned.

"Then what?" I asked confused.

"Kiss me." he puckered his lips out and I rolled my eyes.

"Your'e hopeless.." I sighed.

"Babe.." he whined, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I didn't think you will be this needy when we started dating.. It doesn't really match your tough image." I .

"My fans know I'm actually a cute teddy bear in reality.. And it's your fault I'm needy." he stuck his tongue out.

"I'm always at fault.." I sighed, remembering the talk I had with the CEO.

"What's wrong?" he furrowed his eyebrows, noticing my mood dropped.

"Nothing." I tried to smile. "If you don't want a massage let's do something else.. We can watch a movie or cuddle or go for a walk.. It will be good to get some fresh air.."

"Babe." he cut me off, staring at me.

"What?"

"Talk to me. What did the CEO want?" Am I that obvious?

"To ask how I'm feeling."

"And?" he questioned.

"And that's it?"

"Hyeri.." he stopped hugging me and made me sit on a chair in front of him. I guess we are going to have a serious talk since he is in his lecturing mode..

"What did we say about hiding things from me?" Yongguk asked.

"That we shouldn't hide things from each other." I said quietly, not looking at him.

"Good." he ruffled my hair, smiling. "So what happened?"

"Promise me you won't get mad and that you won't do anything about it.."

"Alright."

"He wants me to pay the cancellation fees for the filming and he said he will kick me out if I mess up again." I looked on the floor while saying this, too scared to look at him.

"That's it?"

"And I might have said something to annoy him."

"Hyeri.." Yongguk sighed.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just couldn't help it.. He annoyed me."

"That's not an excuse."

"It is for me. You know my character better than anyone."

"I do and I love it, but sometimes you need to control it. It's not a smart move to annoy the CEO, he is already not happy with us."

"I don't care if he is happy. I care about our happiness."

"Well, our happiness also depends on his good mood, so please try to tone it down a little." he put his hand on my thigh.

"Fine." I sighed, giving up. "I'll go apologize to him tomorrow."

"That's my girl." Yongguk ruffled my hair, smiling.

"Are you that happy?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yes." Yongguk smiled. "Now can I still get that massage?"

"Idiot." I chuckled. "Of course."

18 Days before the debut showcase:

"Ouch." I clutched the side of my body. Maybe it wasn't the smartest move to go back straight to normal practice because after one of the jumps my body started to hurt.

"Are you okay?" Gun rushed over, worried.

"Yes, I think so." I straightened up.

"Do you want to rest?"

"No, let's get back to practice." I smiled, ignoring the pain. Practice is more important and I already missed a couple of days of practicing.. I can't slack more.

"Then let's do it again from the beginning." Gun said and we went back to our initial formation.

When practice finally ended all of us were dead tired. The next time I see cheerleaders in sport events I'm going to cheer for them loudly. Their job is harder than it looks.

"Here." Yujin gave a me a bottle of water. I drank half of it in one gulp.

"Thanks." I put the bottle beside me. "How are you handling the dance?"

"I think I'm getting better.. At least Gun didn't scold me like usual.."

"That's good." I smiled.

"Hyeri.." Jinu entered the practice room.

"What is it?" I asked, turning my attention to him.

"Come to my office, someone wants to see you."

"Who?"

"Come to my office and you'll see." he said dryly.

"Then what do we do if Hyeri is gone?" Sumi asked.

"You have vocal and rap practice.. Hyeri will join you when she'll finish."

"Fine." Sumi sighed and I got up and followed Jinu to his office.

~

"Go inside, I'll be in B.A.P's manager office." Jinu said when we were in front of his office.

"You are not going in?" I asked.

"No. Go back to practice when your'e done." he said and walked away.

I took a deep breath before entering the room. The detective that visited me at the hospital was sitting in Jinu's seat, near his desk.

"Good morning, Hyeri." she smiled.

"It's noon already." I stated.

"I see you still have that attitude.." she commented.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Sit down." she pointed at the empty chair. I took my seat and waited for her to continue. She took out her notepad, placing it on the table.

"Since you are feeling better it shouldn't be a problem for you to remember now.. I still have a few questions for you." the detective said.

"What do you want to know?" I asked. The sooner I'm over with this thing the better.

"You said it was you and three other people in the hut when the explosion happened."

"That's what I remember."

"What did you do there in the first place?"

"I was kidnapped." I should stick to what I told the CEO.. Which is also the truth.

"By who?"

"I don't know."

"Really?" she questioned. "Because there are pictures of you entering a car with someone, and it didn't look like you were threatened."

"He had a gun pointed at me and my wrists were tied."

"So you do know who I'm talking about. Why did you say you don't know him?" she glared at me.

"Do you have other questions?" I glared at her. She kept glaring at me for a while and then scanned her notepad.

"What do you remember from the explosion?"

"There was a loud boom and then I only know I woke up at the hospital."

"Where did the boom came from?"

"From the other side of the hut.. Maybe from outside."

"You know, when we got there there were three bodies inside, and none of them was inside the hut when the explosion happeneed."

"How is that related to me?" I asked impatiently.

"Do you know who they were?"

"How would I know? I barely rememebr who was inside the hut, how am I supposed to know what happened outside?"

"Here." she took out a three pictures from her bag. They were pictures of Dino and two other thugs that looked familiar. I didn't see them at the hut, but I saw them at the warehouse. "Do they look familiar to you?"

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"I'm asking the questions here." she raised her voice. "All of them were wanted by the police and all of them were found dead in the hut."

"Dino was there that day. I didn't see the others at the hut, but I've seen them before."

"Where?"

"You know who they worked for?" I asked.

"Zico.. Who also brought you to the hut."

"Where is he?" I asked

"He is still alive."

"Is he free?"

"No. We found drugs in his place so he is arrested for that for now.. But we are trying to charge him with other things as well."

"I'll help you put him in jail if you help me as well." I offered.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Make sure he stays away from me and my friends and none of us gets charged with anything."

"You have nothing to worry about if you didn't break the law." she said dryly.

"Then we don't have a deal. Good luck arresting him without me."

"You know I can arrest you for lying and for not cooperating with the police.."

"Well, whatever you think you know is probably just the edge, so I'm not talking without being sure you'll protect me. This guy is after me, and I'm not taking risks."

"You got some nerve.." she glared at me.

"Well, sometimes you need nerve to get what you want.. Especially in this industry. If we are done, I have practice to go to." I said and got up from my seat, heading out of the room.

"You just started a war."

~

Himchan was on his way to the cafeteria when he noticed the girl that visited Hyeri at the hospital. Something still bugged him about her, so he decided to follow her.

"Hey, pretty lady." Himchan approached the detective, smiling.

"Get lost." she shot and continued walking towards the exit.

"Have we met before? You seem familiar.." he asked, still following her.

"Is that your best pick up line?"

"No. But I meant it. Are you sure we didn't meet before?"

"Yes. Now get lost before I arrest you for disturbing an officer."

"Alright." he gave up. "Have a nice day." he bowed and walked away.

Outside the building she sighed in relief. At least he still don't know who she is.. But who knows how long it'll last.

Author's Note:

I'm sorry for the late update.. I had exams and a writer's block :\

I know this chapter , next one will be better.

Just to make things clear - Hyeri saw Dino at the hut becuase he drove the car there and he caught her when she tried to escape. The other thugs were guarding the hut outside, so she didn't see them and she didn't know they were there.

I know Hyeri is a little annoying and over-confident\self-centered here, but keep in mind she doesn't know if she is in trouble or not and she is really confused about this whole situation, so it's just her way to protect herself (and her friends).

I hope it helped you understand some things about the explosion.. It will be revealed slowly.

The next chapter will probably focus more on the girls.

Thanks for reading, subscribing, commenting, etc.! <3

M.