After the final wrap up of the press conference, Sung gyu was led back into the main building through a relentless crowd of media men, into a waiting room and both Woohyun and Sung gyu waited until the commotion died down. Sung Gyu did the conference well than he had expected, giving warm, apologetic smiles and promises which Woohyun never expected to come from him. And what with his new debut-styled hairdo which gave him a youthful innocent aura, Sung gyu was radiating with virtuousness and everything good that it easily convinced the press to believe Sung Gyu’s baseless apologies. Everyone who knew Sung gyu also knew it that Sung gyu didn’t mean a single word of it. No, he wasn’t feeling ashamed; no, he wasn’t reflecting on his behavior, and no he wasn’t offering Kim Haneul his earnest apologies. Woohyun could imagine how terribly difficult it must have been for him. He bet Sung gyu wanted to throw all the mics and flowers and glasses at the press.

Sung gyu was sitting peacefully in a sofa, coat thrown off, buttons undone, basking in the cold of the air condition in the warm summer afternoon. His eyes were closed, his favorite song playing in his ears, and everything suddenly felt better as if a massive weight was taken off his back. Kim Haneul was a massive weight, latching onto him all this time. She was never the pretty and virtuous woman he had at the gala ball that night. She was cruel, manipulative and liked to use about ten exclamation marks in every text she sent. She was always on and on about how Sung gyu always questioned her intellect. How his cold heart never felt an ounce of love of another woman and how terrible of a man he made. Sung gyu couldn’t care less about any of it. He was too busy living his life. Besides, it was the twenty first century. Who cared about whether he made a good man? Sung Gyu never wanted to be a good man. He was glad that he left her, he was glad that things took this turn.

“The media people must have gone off by now” Woohyun said loudly, and Sung Gyu opened one eye in response. “I don’t care. I’m leaving in a while”

“Do you have anywhere else to go?” Woohyun asked, and Sung Gyu took a deep breath, closing both his eyes peacefully, as if he was meditating. “I don’t plan on going home”

Woohyun stood up. “Where to?”

Sung gyu opened his eyes, looking serene and calm, and gave Woohyun a small smile. “You go home, have a good sleep. I’m fine on my own”

Woohyun frowned, unable to grasp what he was getting at and tilted his head. “What’s your plan?”

“I don’t have one” Sung Gyu said.

“Where will you be?”

“Everywhere”

With a long, frustrated sigh, Woohyun simply gave up and reached for his keys. “Call me if you need me”

“Hmm…”

The moment the door shut close, however, Sung gyu came out of his pretense stance. He wasn’t planning to be everywhere; he wasn’t planning to let his time to go on waste. Sung gyu had big fish to fry.

He made his way towards the glass panel of the room which looked out on the drive-way of the building and peeked out to make sure Woohyun had gone on his way. He couldn’t possibly have Woohyun lagging around him. He was getting in his way all the time. He could have assigned Woohyun for this task anyway, but Sung gyu just didn’t trust him enough. He quietly watched as Woohyun made it across the driveway and walked towards the main road. He was probably going to take a taxi home, all the better.

Once he was gone Sung gyu located his stash clothing in the dressing room and put on a cap, a face mask and changed into a pair of comfortable shoes. Afterwards he walked his way out of the room, then to the elevator, pulled out his phone and dialed the number he needed at the moment.

“NIT coffee” Sung gyu mumbled through the face mask.

“Got it, Hyung” came the response from the other end.

*

In the years of Woolim entertainment’s success, the agency has managed to debut a total number of fifteen artists, and out of them two were groups, namely Lovelyz and infinite F. Consisting three members in total, infinite F debuted in 2014 as a flower boy group and became a well soughed after boyband of that year owing to their range of vocals, admirable visuals and the members’ personalities. Sung Gyu, being their senior, was not only gratified of their mere existence but also decided to claim himself their mentor. Years had passed, and now the four weren’t juniors and seniors but brothers. Infinite F, despite their occupation, was of many talents. Myung Soo, the gorgeous, gorgeous leader of the team was also a skilled photographer. Sung Jong, the maknae had a rather peculiar talent in performing girl group dances, and then there was the oldest, Sung Yeol, the computer geek. His plans, as Sung Gyu liked to say, was not only to become a successful idol but take over the world one day. This one, specifically, was Sung Gyu’s favorite.

“Hyung!” Sung Yeol greeted, climbing up on his feet the moment he saw Sung Gyu coming through the door. NIT coffee, the company’s own coffee shop was the only place they could meet up regardless of their secretive plans, without being suspicious. Fans hovered about, nonetheless; but most of them went about with their own work as if they hadn’t noticed their favorite idols sharing a mug of coffee; therefore, all was good.

“Yeol!” Sung Gyu greeted back and brought the younger idol into a warm hug. “How have you been?”

“What on earth, Hyung” Sung Yeol chuckled, sitting back in his seat. “We were on the phone just yesterday”

Sung Gyu just smiled and slid into the seat next to him. Sung Yeol had his laptop open, some sort of a tech app on going. Sung gyu frowned into the screen almost thoughtfully and sat back. “So this is it?”

“So far” Sung Yeol said and pressed his fingers onto the mousepad, and did a few moves before they came to a window. “Here we are, the IP address”

Sung Gyu felt the excitement bubbling inside him as he stared at the unrecognizable numbers as if they meant anything to him. Maybe they did, because he probably has found her, finally. The mosaic singer.

“So do you suppose this is the computer which the videos are uploaded from?” Sung gyu asked, just to clarify his assumption.

“Pretty much it” Sung Yeol said and gave an earnest nod. “And if we contact the internet service provider you might be able to find the physical location of the computer”

“Will that be possible?”

Sung Yeol gave a somewhat hesitant nod. “But the problem is, there isn’t an exact, you know, a mechanism to locate the physical location. Unless it’s for digital abuse, they don’t really attempt locating the computer”

“Oh…” Sung gyu looked down at the numbers once more. It was as if he was searching for a trace of her within them, as if this puzzle will solve on its own. It was Sung Yeol who suggested that he might be able to locate the computer which was used to upload the videos and in the beginning, it was a question because they could never be certain if the videos were uploaded from a different device. If that were the case they would have to locate the phone or the tablet which was beyond Sung Yeol’s capabilities, but he promised to give it a shot, and that morning, he called his luck. It was a computer, and he had which one it was.

But only, beyond that point, everything was uncertain.

“But don’t give up, Hyung” Sung Yeol said almost apologetically. “There are million ways to find that girl. Besides, you’re Kim Sung gyu, aren’t you?”

“But the possibilities are endless” Sung Gyu said after a moment of deep thought. “It’s all just beyond me”

Sung Yeol couldn’t argue for that. He was quite right. The possibilities were endless. There wasn’t a certain way which they could follow to locate her. She could be anywhere, and there was no possibility of them knowing anything.

Unless they-

“Hyung” Sung yeol said, his voice coming through the quietness. “There’s something you can do”

“Hm?” Sung Gyu raised his head, somehow hiding his disappointment. “What’s it Yeol?”

“You can get your fans to help you”

“Fans?” Sung gyu echoed.

“Yes fans!” Sung Yeol replied, excitement dripping in his voice. “You’re Kim Sung Gyu, Hyung! You can be anything! And what with your bad reputation and all, this is your chance!”

Sung Gyu angrily dropped his hands. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sung Yeol took a patient breath and clasped his hands together, almost determined. “Do a talent quest”

“A what?”

“A talent quest! Under your name! That way, you can find your voice!”

Sung Gyu mulled it over for a minute, and realized just how ridiculous it all seemed. This was all coming from a hoobae idol. They might be friends but still Sung Gyu had more experience in the industry than Sung Yeol did. And by experience he could say that his idea was simply ludicrous.

“No” Sung Gyu said, and turned to face the younger. “Things just don’t work that way, Sung Yeol-ah”

Sung Yeol pursed his lips, and brought his face closer to the other. “Maybe they don’t” he said, his voice deep and clear. “But it never hurts to try”

*

After her work was done at the main building, Eunji contacted the head coordinator of ‘Lovelyz’ just to make sure if they still needed an extra hand. They didn’t, apparently. Lovelyz was all set. There was no surprise for Eunji in it either. She didn’t expect to be needed anyway, so once she was thrown away like a ragged doll after use, she sat outside at the lobby area of the Woolim entertainments building, playing on her phone and watching people passing by. She counted out all the important people out of the lot. Those who had work, those who were needed, those, without whom, the company couldn’t run steady and stead. There were loads who belonged to this kind. All dressed smartly, carrying about three mobile phones and files and some walky-talkies even. Eunji looked down at her lousy T-shirt paired up with a pair of fitted blue jeans. Her ballet flats had a rip on an edge and were discolored and all the many bead bracelets she wore added no color to her entire get up. Her hair, straight and dark was no match to the stylish up-dos they all had. Hell, even the caretakers did a better job than she did at the agency. For them, all that was, was an extra helping hand, a coffee carrier, a mirror wiper and someone to tell off when they bloody well might. Eunji was tired of being unwanted.

Just as she was beginning to think she should head home, a familiar figure appeared out of the corridor led to the elevators. The certain someone was obviously dressed to not to be recognized, but the white mask he wore together with a leather cap certainly did speak too much. Besides his smart features, perfect proportions were hard to go unnoticed. It was Kim Sung gyu.

Since that morning, after she had shared a hearty conversation with the said man, Eunji was seeing him in a different light. She had figured, somewhat, that Sung gyu wasn’t all just icy glares and bossy rules. She was finally beginning to see him as a person, a person with doubts and insecurities. She had always thought Sung Gyu’s life was perfect. He had fame, he had money, he had people who loved him immensely; and she never expected to hear something even remotely equivalent to ‘ing difficult’ to escape from his mouth. It was unbelievable to some extent. But then again, when he spoke honestly, he was different. He did actually seem like a proper human being.

So it was this proper being that she expected when she started to get out of her seat to greet him, but he was in a hurry. He outright ignored him. Or maybe he just didn’t see. That explained, who would see a minor little handy worker anyway?

Dejected, Eunji sat back in her seat and stared up at the clean white roof above her. She remembered her parents, her poor parents whose dreams she couldn’t fulfil. Maybe if she had tried hard enough. But back then, her band was her baby, it was the most important part of her life. She was the vocal legend, they were her army, and together they did miracles. They went on for years, doing covers of their favorite songs, singing songs of their own. Grown up, it all seemed so far away, as if it was the past of somebody else. This made her feel lifeless. If only she could go back to those days.

After a while, her phone began to buzz in her pocket, she was almost too happy to hear someone calling her that she picked it up at the fourth ring. She couldn’t even check the caller ID. It was the head coordi-unnie.

“We’re just around the corner” she said in a hurried voice. “can you get the girls their coffee? The same list, you remember right?”

Eunji hadn’t much to memorize that she knew the girls’ coffee preferences by heart.

“Alright” Eunji said, already up on her feet. “I’ll be down with the coffee”

She felt suddenly energized. It felt so good to be needed.

*

After Sung Yeol left, claiming that he had a schedule in an hour, Sung gyu sat quietly on a table for two, watching people passing by the glass panel of the coffee shop. His mind was all over the place, trying to figure out a way that he could possibly locate the mosaic singer. Sung Yeol had left with the idea of a talent quest gritty in his mind, so much so that he was almost convinced that it was really something that they could succeed. Sung Gyu wasn’t sure how he should explain to Sung Yeol that this industry never listened to you regardless of the fact that your idea is good enough. It was all about being driven by fame; he knew this with clarity. But young Sung Yeol was still a junior. He will take as many as years Sung Gyu took to understand that.

Having waited for quite a while, Sung gyu decided to have a cold glass of coffee himself. At least that would freshen his mind. He knew that he must be all over the news sites already, what with his impressive act pulled out with Haneul’s unjust claim of assault. He could hardly care at that point. All he could care for, now, was a glass of Iced Americano.

He pulled out his wallet which carried his VIP card and joined the queue with the rest. It was almost lunch and half of those in the line were Woolim employers grabbing a quick coffee or a brunch before getting on with their hectic schedules. All didn’t seem to mind Sung Gyu’s presence, which was how it usually was. And then, he noticed something unusual. There was that girl from the morning, the girl who did his hair, whatever her name was.

The thought of her suddenly made him feel lighter. He had jolly good fun, talking to her. She was…interesting. Although he hadn’t much memory of seeing her around all the many staff he had, he was quite sure she was a keep. Maybe he will request to have her as one of his personal hairdressers. At least she spoke a bit, unlike the others who did only their job.

With a smile on his lips, Sung Gyu moved from behind the queue towards her just as she was turning around, carrying about dozen paper cups of coffee, both her hands heavy. Upon seeing him however, she almost dropped everything, taken by surprise, and let out a loud gasp. “Oh my”

Sung gyu removed his mask and gave a little wave. “You drink too much coffee” He said.

“Oh um…these are for Lovelyz” she replied.

“Lovelyz?” Sung gyu inspected his watch. As he remembered, their fan meeting ended at twelve. It was barely eleven fifty. “Their thing ends at twelve” He said, giving her a questioning look.

The girl frowned. “But the coordi-unnie said…?”

Sung Gyu smiled, understanding what the problem was. “Ah the coordies…don’t believe them”

“What?” She gasped.

“The coordi-noonas usually tell ahead of time because the girls aren’t efficient enough”

The girl looked stunned, or even worse, completely horror stricken and maybe even insulted, so many emotions in her eyes that he couldn’t help but give her a chuckle. “Relax, you’re pretty efficient”

She nodded slowly, her eyes still widened in something between surprise and horror. “Um…okay, but I better get-,”

“Hey” Sung Gyu said, reached out and took one stack of coffee from her hands. “While we have to wait, why don’t you have a coffee with me?”

“Oh, thank you but-,”

“Nuh huh” Sung Gyu raised a finger and gave her a bossy look. The kind of look he always gave the hairdressers if they weren’t listening to him. “Nobody rejects a coffee with Kim Sung Gyu”

“B-but!”

“It’s on my tab” Sung gyu said and gave her his card. “Iced Americano for me”

*

With two glasses of coffee balanced on her tray, Eunji stealthily made her way towards the café area and searched for the other through squinted eyes. She was half believing that she was still in a dream, having been invited to have coffee with the man of her dreams, and the other half of her was convinced that Sung gyu was going bonkers enough to hand over his VIP card to her without question and ask her to join him for a coffee. She was reconsidering her choices just when she noticed this said person sitting in a table for two, waving at her. She pursed her lips tightly. It was either that she was having a dream, or Kim Sung gyu was going insane. This couldn’t be real.

As she approached the table, Sung gyu pointed at his wrist watch and gestured that they were tight of time. “Hurry up, new girl!”

Eunji gasped as she placed the tray on the table and wondered if she should really sit down. So far the whole encounter had been all sorts of weird and sitting down together with him made her feel even weirder. But Sung Gyu wasn’t buying it. He was, yet again, giving her that annoying bossy look. “Sit down” he said, and Eunji obediently followed, and quickly handed over his VIP card.

Sung Gyu took it, took out his wallet and pushed the VIP card inside. All the while, Eunji was watching this, singing a giddy song inside. ‘Oh my god I touched his VIP card, oh my god I saw his wallet, oh my god I’m having coffee with him!’

Sung gyu put his wallet aside, picked up his glass and tilted his head upon seeing Eunji’s strange facial expression. She looked as if she was having a tummy upset. “Um, are you okay?”

“Oh?” Eunji squeaked, finally coming to herself. “Oh…um, yeah…”

Then she picked up her glass of coffee, in quite a rush that she spilled some all over the table and also into her lap. She stared up, absolutely horrified. She could actually feel her life falling away in embarrassment. Sung gyu didn’t seem to mind though. In fact, he seemed delighted. He was laughing like there was no tomorrow.

“You’re totally klutz!” He exclaimed, handing her a couple of tissues. “Relax, seriously. I’m not going to bite you”

Eunji just nodded disbelievingly. In fact, she couldn’t wait until she got home. Bomi has got to hear this.

Sung gyu merely watched the girl for a moment as she fiddled with the tissues and the spilled coffee. She seemed preoccupied, but she was a good conversationalist. Exactly what he needed.

“How long have you been working here?” Sung gyu asked after a moment, while dipping his straw into the beverage. “I haven’t seen you around much”

“Er…two months?” Eunji supplied, finally putting away the coffee dampned tissues. “It’s probably because I’m not very important”

Sung Gyu laughed, giving her an amused look. “You are too honest. Why would you think so, really?”

Eunji looked up and gave him a smile. “I’m only a hairdresser”

“And I’m only a singer” Said Sung gyu. Eunji just frowned, unable to grasp what he was getting at, and just shrugged. “Well, I suppose there is a huge difference there”

Sung Gyu nodded, understanding her. It was nothing new that new employees of the staff were treated differently in the Woolim entertainment bounds. He had seen this many times, them being ordered to do simple things like cleaning shoes and carrying water. But Sung Gyu being Sunggyu, actually had no time to entertain this matter. His own life was difficult as it was. And he also was quite convinced that these employees chose this life.

Until he met this girl, until she said she felt unimportant.

“What’s your name, by the way” Sung Gyu asked after a sip of coffee. It was only then that he realized he never really got her name.

“Eunji. Jung Eunji”

“Well, Eunji, Jung Eunji” Sung Gyu began with an amused smile. “It was interesting talking to you in the morning. And I should say, I did the press conference quite well”

“Glad to hear that” Eunji said non-committaly.”Is it why we’re talking now?”

Sung gyu shrugged. “I was bored” He said. “I was talking to Sung Yeol from Infinite F just now, but the bastard has schedules”

“And you have none I guess?”

“I chased out my manager”

“Poor thing”

Then they went quiet for a while, staring at each other before suddenly they both burst out laughing.

“You’re funny” Sung Gyu said after the laughter died down “and you’re so honest that your face just says it all! You hardly care, do you?”

“Nope” Eunji shook her head.

“I figured” Sung Gyu replied. “So you said you live away from home?”

The conversations between them rolled on for a while and Sung gyu managed to learn a few quite important points about her. Eunji was from Busan, but she didn’t use her dialect because her best friend thought it was funny when she did. Her parents were both teachers and his father did music. She was the only child of her family and back at home she had a dog named “Tofu” who was deaf. Apparently he could only understand body language, like a real deaf person. She didn’t have a dream, or did she? He couldn’t tell because when he asked, out of curiosity, that is, all she said was “Don’t we all?”

Eunji had a weird way of speaking. She was on point all the time, or whatever she said would eventually lead to the point that she wanted to say. She was honest, and didn’t seem like she appreciated any kind of pretense. But she was a good conversationalist, and she entertained the other party, although non-committed to it, but to the fullest. She had strange hand gestures, and liked to express a lot with her eyes. Like that one time when he had asked how she felt about her job, she only rolled her eyes heavenwards and held out a hand, palm up. Whatever she meant, Sung Gyu could say that  she did mean something along the line of a sarcastic ‘I enjoy it like ’. All in all, Eunji was good company. At least he could speak to her, unlike a number of other staff members, so he thought she was quite the keep.

It was for this reason, when Eunji’s head coordinator called up to say that they were really around the corner, that Sung Gyu suggested they change numbers. This immediately changed her stance.

“, are you serious?” She asked.

“, I am” Sung gyu replied, pulling out his phone. “Now you can’t refuse because there are million other girls out there, dying to get my number. You’re just lucky”

“I wasn’t going to” Eunji replied. “But I might leak it to the fan sites”

“Oh yeah?” Sung Gyu gave an amused smile. “I bet you would”

Eunji shrugged. “Take down my number. I’m in quite a hurry actually”

“I’ll drop you a text” Sung Gyu said, once she was done. “You must feel privileged, The Kim Sung Gyu is dropping you a text”

“Tch” Eunji rolled her eyes and got up on her feet before she gathered the stacks of coffee for Lovelyz which was already beginning to go warm. “It was nice talking to you anyway”

“I expect I will hear from you” Sung Gyu replied, and Eunji just nodded.

“Seriously very honest” Sung Gyu laughed, and Eunji gave him an amused smile and raised her brows. “Bye?”

“Bye” Sung Gyu said. He was quite reluctant to let her go, however. It’s been years since he had a proper conversation with someone. She wasn’t even gone yet, but he was quite beginning to miss their small talks.

*

Eunji headed home, practically floating on her feet. The day has started out pretty well for her, and although most of the Woolim employers had relentlessly made her feel pretty unimportant, she was still over the moon because of Sung gyu. She had spoken with Sung Gyu, she had him buying coffee for her. She had been allowed to touch his VIP card, she was complemented by him. Sung Gyu made her feel important.

All day after their encounter that morning, Eunji was on her high horses. She went around busying herself with mundane things, but her mind was always recalling their interactions as if she was trying to engrave them on her heart. She had known Sung Gyu all her life to be a bossy, cold hearted idol with anger management issues who always caused trouble and had a washed-up bad reputation; but her impression, in a matter of a day had already changed. Sung Gyu was, in fact, a good person. He had a good smile and honest opinions. She liked it that he picked her to be the one to be sitting and talking to him. He didn’t discriminate her; he didn’t undermine her. He saw her as just as he would see any other person. She was only a part of his day, and it made her happy.

When she arrived at home, carrying grocery to prepare the day’s dinner, Bomi was in the living room watching tele, and Eunji was so excited at the mere sight of her that she rushed to the kitchen, dumped the grocery on the cabinet and came running back into the living room, only to fall into the sofa beside her best friend. “Woah, what’s the rush?” Bomi said.

“Bomi, oh god, you won’t believe this-!”

“You got promoted?” Bomi supplied.

“No! It’s something bigger”

“You got fired?”

“No!” Eunji caught Bomi’s hand in both of hers. “I practically spent hours chatting with Kim Sung Gyu! Oh god, he bought me coffee at NIT and he let me use his VIP card and he and I talked there for hours!”

“No !” Bomi quickly located the TV remote and turned it off before turning to her best friend. “Calm down and tell me from the beginning”

“You won’t believe this” Eunji sat comfortably in the sofa, both her legs up and hands animatedly going about in all directions. “Just this morning Sung gyu had…”

And she told everything that happened to her all the way from that morning from the first conversation she had with the idol to when they met at the coffee shop and exchanged numbers. Bomi was reacting to every moment with a high pitched squeak and a series of nonsensical words, and Eunji ended up convinced that Sung Gyu was going to text her any moment from now.

“I’m sure he would text you”  Bomi was telling her while she followed Eunji around in the kitchen, eating a raw piece of cabbage while Eunji tried to put together a decent dish of rice for dinner. “Or even better, call you! Oh god, you lucky girl!”

“I hardly doubt he would call me” Eunji said, draining the grains of rice in the kitchen sink. “He’s a busy guy, besides, who would remember this stupid old me?”

“Eunji” Bomi flung her feet up and sat down on the kitchen counter. “Girl, be positive! Kim Sung Gyu wouldn’t talk to just anyone!”

“Maybe he was just bored” Eunji thought out loud, as if she was answering to her own doubts. “Or maybe he always speaks to his lousy hair dressers on a regular basis”

“Maybe he thought you were fun to be with!” Bomi suggested quite seriously. “Everyone knows that you’re fun to be with”

“Well, thank you, Bomi-ah!”

Bomi pouted, and then smiled. “I love you, you stinking little pabo!”

And then Eunji and Bomi were bickering for a while, preparing their day’s dinner as they did, and while Bomi set up the table, Eunji picked up a spoon and sang her favorite song of Sung Gyu’s. she was in an incredible mood tonight, as if she had actually gotten promoted in her job. It wasn’t that she was obsessed of Sung gyu that their encounter made her happy. She was over the moon, all for the fact that somebody saw her as important, even for one single day.

They were sitting down to eat dinner then, when Eunji’s phone began to ring on the counter. Bomi almost jumped, but Eunji picked it up and announced that it was her parents.

Her parents lived in Busan together with their deaf dog Tofu, and refused to move into Seoul with their only daughter for number of reasons. Every time they called, Eunji would be stricken with guilt. Her parents had big dreams for her. They thought she would go a long way. Eunji was a passionate singer and always showed the prospects of going big. But her indie band held her bag, changed her routes, and she was uncertain as to how she would ever forgive herself for that.

“Hey!” Eunji’s father greeted on the other end. “How is our big girl doing?”

Eunji laughed in response. “Hi appa. Where’s omma? How are you guys doing?”

“She went over to this friend’s place. You remember this guy whom you played with in middle school? He’s getting married apparently”

“Who, Il-Guk?”

“Yes, him…ah, we were thinking of when our little girl will get married…”

“Appa!” Eunji cried in embarrassment.

And for the next few minutes, Eunji and her father hung onto the call, talking about their lives and mundane things. Her father was her best friend before Bomi, the person whom she shared every bit of her life with, so much so that she couldn’t bear to let the phone down. By the time she did, dinner was already running cold and Bomi was quietly feasting on, a smile gracing her lips.

“I love your appa” Bomi said. Bomi’s appa was uptight and hardly spoke beyond two words. She was horrified of him, and she always wished he would ever be like Eunji’s father.

“I love him too” Eunji said fondly, and dug into her food.

After a while, her phone began to ring again. Eunji picked it up, while munching on a cold piece of radish kimchi, and the moment she noticed the unrecognized number, she dropped the phone onto the table.

“Holy ” she said and looked up at Bomi with horrified eyes. “Bomi-ah…I think it’s him”

*

After returning to the comfort of his own home, Sung gyu filled a warm bubble bath, carried a bottle of wine along with a tall glass, stripped out of his clothes and sank in, reclining into the warm, welcoming feeling, his mind deeply engrossed in his thoughts. He’d been thinking about the mosaic singer a lot lately; a lot more than he usually did. He doubted if he was in love with her, he couldn’t be, but there was something about her which made him feel attached to her, some kind of a hidden force which constantly drew him towards her. Perhaps it was her voice, deep and soulful, serenading in all the perfect ways, it was out of this world. Or maybe it was the fact that she was hidden behind a mask, making it possible that she could be anywhere. He had always wondered if she was right beside him, and he hadn’t known. He was a celebrity, and he could go anywhere he very well pleased, and be anything that he wanted to be; and if anything, he’d take the chance any day, go anywhere, be anything, and find her. It was his greatest wish.

It was this thought that led him to ponder upon Sung Yeol’s idea. Now that he had gotten home, leaving his stressful idol life behind, it all actually seemed plausible. A show of his own, a talent quest, a quest to find the voice of his dreams. Sung gyu could, and had the ability to, manipulate anyone in a way which he could make this idea work. But the only thing was, he was pretty sure Howon would get on his way, and possibly even Woohyun. And he was still stuck with the bloody scandal. It hadn’t entirely gone away although he wasn’t hearing anything from Haneul. There was also the trouble that the whole idea of finding her was farfetched, the possibility of him succeeding in it being minimum. And he wasn’t sure how to go about with it. What kind of a show? What should they be looking for? What was it that they planned to achieve? It all seemed to end in question marks for him. He was in doubts. He needed someone’s opinion. Someone who wouldn’t judge him. Someone like-,

Sung Gyu kept his glass of wine aside and reached around the tub in search for his phone with his wet hand. He found it eventually, and he looked into the call logs. There it was, her number saved under the contact name of ‘new girl’. Jung Eunji was interesting. She was honest, and he was certain she would have a good opinion about it.

He didn’t think twice as he immediately dialed the number. It went into engaged tone then. The line was busy. He stared at the phone for a while, just thinking, and decided to try again in a while.

He then tapped at the phone screen blankly, muttering to himself under his breath; “Eunji, Jung Eunji, what are you doing?”

He had accidentally pressed the call button again, and it dialed. Quite miraculously, Eunji picked up on the seventh ring.

“Hello Eunji Jung Eunji” Sung Gyu greeted cheerfully, his free hand playing with bubbles formed around him. “What are you doing?”

“Umm…” Eunji sounded hesitant, and he could hear someone giggling in the background. “I was having dinner. Uh…what are you up to?”

“I am having a bath” Sung gyu replied. There was silence, but he could hear her meddling about and hissing under her breath. Soon she was back on the line. “Uh…well, then you better call me later- “

“No wait!” Sung gyu said and sat up in his bath. “I wanted to talk about something”

“W-with me?” asked Eunji.

“Otherwise I would have called someone else” Sung gyu said. “Say, Eunji Jung Eunji, what do you feel about my own show?”

“Um, I don’t quite understand”

“What do you feel about me having my own TV show?” Sung Gyu repeated, this time, all his wordings crystal clear. Eunji was quiet for a moment, and she spoke with a doubtful tone. “Why do you ask me this?”

“Because I wanted to” Sung Gyu merely replied, and with his free hand, he brought more bubbles towards his bare chest before he carried on. “It’s going to be a talent quest. I would probably be the MC, or a judge, or I don’t know…both, maybe?”

“Why are you asking me, honestly. Maybe you should ask someone more, I don’t know, important?”

“I am asking someone important” Sung Gyu replied. “I don’t want to take this to my stupid representative yet, or the manager”

“So you’re talking to a coffee-carrying girl?”

“Hairdresser. Geez, don’t think so lowly of yourself”

There was silence, and Eunji sighed. “Okay…so, um, this show you’re talking about?”

“Talent quest” said Sung gyu slid deeper into the bath. “I haven’t really thought about how to go about it, but its going to be a reality show for singers. The show is going to be mine so I will probably be the MC or something. That’s not the important bit. I wanted to know your opinion on it”

Eunji’s silence was as if she was mulling over it. “Why do you want a show all of a sudden?” She asked.

Sung Gyu couldn’t quite possibly tell her that he was trying to locate the girl who owned the voice he was obsessed with. It was their little secret, and he had gotten to know her just today so she was still an outsider for it. He wasn’t sure he would ever really let her into that small detail. He only needed her opinion, just because she was honest. “Just, you know…I wanted to try something new…”

“Hm…” Eunji said thoughtfully. “Well, if you need my opinion, then the idea isn’t half as bad. I think it would garner loads of attention. You’re Kim Sung Gyu after all”

“Do you think the company would consider it?”

“Hm, I don’t know…but the idea itself is good. It never hurts to try though”

“I have given it loads of thought” Sung Gyu said. “But I’ll give more thought onto it, because a production is a big responsibility…”

“It sure is” Eunji said. “But I think it will be a hit. Like JYP entertainments, its run by a talented idol itself and its huge and successful. Wherever real talent stands, I think you have a chance”

Sung gyu smiled, appreciating the simple meaning of her words. “You’re really good” He said. “You should stop carrying coffee, you know, if it makes you feel inferior”

“Humph” Eunji sighed, and Sung gyu could almost imagine the look on her face. “It’s a part of my job”

“Did it ever apply in your job description?”

“Not really” She replied, sounding dejected. “But you know, there’s always a nonexistent line there. I’m here and you’re there. That’s how the world goes”

Sung gyu mulled her words for a while, narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “You know, although you’re so honest with everything, you just degrade yourself”

“Can’t help it” Eunji said.

“No you can” Sung Gyu said in his bossy tone. “I’m doing this because I like your honesty a lot. Not everyone’s like that. So listen. I’ll be having you as my hairdresser, permanent”

Eunji was silent for a while, and she muttered; “What the hell?”

“I have schedules in the morning. Weekly idol, I think. I’ll have my manager contact you”

“B-but-!”

“Nah huh” Sung Gyu said, an amused smile on his lips. Eunji was fun. He was definitely enjoying this. “You can’t argue here. You work for me. Make sure you’re there in the morning”

“But Sung Gyu-ssi-!”

Sung gyu didn’t respond at that point. For some reason, he was hell bent in making this girl understand that she should stop looking down on herself. He’s been there, being a trainee of four years and watching people who joined after him debuting before he did. If he had always thought he wasn’t important or that he wasn’t good enough, he would never have come to the place he was now. Although he was facing troubles in his idol life, he got there with a struggle. It was this lesson that he wanted to give her, this honest girl who didn’t realize what her true capabilities were. He didn’t understand why he would even do it. But he was an idol. He did whatever the hell he very well pleased.

*

The next morning, Eunji was blankly pacing from hither and tither at the underground parking lot, debating whether she should go up to the dressing room or just simply go home. She’d thought Sung Gyu was just kidding her the previous night when he had made his ambiguous exclamation of making her his hairdresser, but just as he promised, ten minutes later, his manager Woohyun phoned her up. They spoke on the phone for a while. Woohyun was a nice guy. She had heard about him from the other makeup artists and the hair dressers. The story was that he was also a trainee of Woolim entertainments, and he had left the agency due to his health reasons although they say that there’s certainly more to it. There sure was, because it was no secret among the staff that Woohyun was Sung Gyu’s best friend. They shared a history, a history which nobody knew about. Despite all that, he really was a good person. So he had explained to Eunji about how Sung gyu was persistent about having her to work for him. It turned out that he wasn’t in good terms with most of the hair dressers. It was no secret anyway, what with Sung Gyu’s angry outbursts. Woohyun had also mentioned that if Sung Gyu said he wanted her there, he meant it, and there was no going back. Sung Gyu had power over the agency. He was as manipulative as that. And the last thing Eunji wanted was him trying to fire her, so there she was.

Her phone begane to ring just as she decided to go up to the dressing room. She was imagining Sung Gyu angrily waiting up there, tapping his foot maybe, wondering which of the things he should throw at the door, so she quickly picked up the call. “I’m coming!” She yelled into the phone.

“Geeze, not so early in the morning” Sung Gyu said, and Eunji stopped at the foot of the lift. “Huh?”

“Hurry up! I have a show to shoot!”

Eunji arrived at the dressing room in a run, her shoulder bag flapping on her side and trying to catch her breath, running so fast in a warm summer morning. She felt as if she were dehydrated.

“I told you to be here by morning!” Sung Gyu yelled from where he sat, already in a chair facing the mirror and Woohyun, standing by the sofa set gave her a smile. “Don’t mind him” he said.

“No, you mind me and get my hair done” Sung Gyu said sternly from his place and Eunji merely rolled her eyes at his early morning wrath before dumping her bag on a chair and making her way towards the waiting idol.

Sung Gyu was in a sleek black and white suit that morning, his shirt crisp white and well pressed and a thin tie, shoes as shiny as mirrors and his coat hung on a side. His makeup was already done although there wasn’t a single makeup artist in sight. She could say that he had possibly chased them away. Eunji took in his attire and met his eyes on the mirror. “Um, anything specific in mind?”

“Do whatever you want” Sung Gyu said. Eunji had guessed much. He was mad. She could see Woohyun giving her an apologetic look on the mirror from behind her and decided to overlook Sung Gyu’s anger, all because that poor lad possibly went through it every day.

Sung gyu’s hair was soft and dark, wavy since he had washed it that morning, and tinted in a shade of chocolate brown and dark tan on the edges. It was really nice on him, went incredibly well with his complexion, and Eunji instantly knew what she had in her mind. Sung Gyu wasn’t getting any younger. But she could make him look younger. At least that would keep his anger down.

Quickly getting into business, Eunji put on her apron, dumped all her needed tools into her pocket and picked up a blow drier. She busied her hands with brushing it and styling it, her eyes following every little detail. She brought the grown strands of hair in the front to his face, tousled it and brushed it to a side. Then she tousled around the rest in all directions, carving a masterpiece with the wavy bits of hair and as for a finishing touch, she formed a tiny inverted heart shape on a side, placing it so delicately and sprayed hair spray all over it. It was all done.

“Done” She said. Sung Gyu assessed her work on the mirror as if she was there to pass a hairdressing test, and shrugged. “Good”

“Anything else?”

“No thank you” Sung gyu grunted and Eunji simply moved away. She could really do without his early morning anger, honestly. She wished he never made her to follow his stupid orders. It was as if he never really wanted her there.

But then as he filed out of the room with Woohyun following behind, he stopped right beside her and gave her a look. “Feeling important yet?”

She wouldn’t admit to it. But that did actually make her terribly blush.

*

“A talent quest?” Woohyun echoed incredulously, sounding as if Sung Gyu just said that he would bald his head and go into exile. “Hyung, are you out of your mind?”

It was a few days later after that day, and they were sitting in the board room with Howon and Woohyun as Sung Gyu had requested, and he had already explained to them his initial plan. Just as he guessed, both Howon and Woohyun weren’t taking it well. Although he had given much consideration to it for days, he was still convinced it was actually a good plan. Perhaps it was. Perhaps it led them somewhere. So he really hoped both the men would stop staring at him as if he had run ballistic.

“You’re trying to run a huge production under your name, all for the sake of finding one YouTube singer” Howon deadpanned and looked up at Woohyun. “Manager-nim, this is why I told you, we must consider treatments”

Sung gyu sighed and sat up. “I’m being as nice as I could so don’t say I need ing treatments”

“If you did take treatments” Howon continued. “You wouldn’t get such crazy ideas”

Sung Gyu could only sit back and press his fingers to the nose of his bridge. Trying to convince his stupid representative was like trying to drive a ing bullock cart. He really wanted to try other methods of getting his message through. But he didn’t want to go unheard. He had to keep on trying.

“Nobody’s going to mention a YouTube singer” Sung Gyu further explained. “This is only going to be just another reality show for new singers, the only difference is it’s going to go under my name”

“And you think it’s a great idea?” Howon asked.

“It is! Sung Gyu said, gesturing with his hands. “Have you ever heard of any other soloist with his own reality show? This is going to be a sensation!”

“No channel would want to take up such a show Sung Gyu!” Howon said. “It would be a ing waste of money!”

“Okay then” Sung Gyu nodded. “I’ll invest myself”

“You’re not entitled to such privileges, Sung Gyu, you’re still under a contract”

“Well then I’ll do it as a personal investment…or whatever”

Howon sighed. “Don’t act like you don’t know the roots of this industry, Sung Gyu”

“I know the roots ing well”

Howon turned to Woohyun. “Tell him! If it’s the bloody mosaic singer you want, we’ll find her for you”

“You’re hardly even trying”

“We are, Hyung” Woohyun said. “I am. I have tried to locate them for months but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack”

“There” Howon said and turned to Sung Gyu. “Now do you think that needle would suddenly resurface if you give the same thing Woohyun is doing a fancy name, a stage and a channel to show it off?”

“I didn’t say finding her is the only intention!”

Howon raised his brows. “So then what are the other intentions?”

Howon’s words successfully silenced him. The truth was. Even after much thought, he wasn’t sure what he did try to achieve except for finding the mosaic singer. Is it fame? Fame he already had? Or is it him trying to pave the path for young dreamers who were left behind? He wasn’t certain anymore. It all remained as a big load of doubts.

“Put that idea aside, Sung gyu” Said Howon in the end. “Focus on your work more. You already have a big life ahead. Why do you invest it so much on a girl you’d never find?”

This, somehow, gave him reason. This gave him hope.

“I will find her” said Sung gyu and got up to his feet. “You watch me”

He stomped his way to the door then, leaving the two men behind him hanging in frustration. And just as he was about to pull open the door, it opened itself. Sung Gyu stepped back, befuddled, and in came one of the directors, followed by another, both giving him a questioning look. Following after them came in a familiar face, and Sung Gyu’s face brightened.

“Sung Gyu, my boy!” Greeted the CEO, holding up his hands. “We were just talking about you. What brings you here?”

There it was, Sung Gyu’s only chance. He was going to have his ways.

“Hyung” he said and bowed his head before taking a huge gulp. This is it.

He stepped forward and warmly took the CEO’s hand. CEO Lee Jung Yeop was friendly, and he loved his idols as if they were his children. They all had the privilege to personally confide in him, so it came as no surprise to the directors.

Sung Gyu took a deep breath then, and said, deep but clear; “Hyung. I want my own television show”

Woohyun hissed in the back and Howon slapped his hand on his forehead. They had known he would do this. That’s exactly the kind of man Sung gyu was.

Jung Yeop stared at Sung gyu for a moment, and everyone just waited in the stunned quietness of the room. All of a sudden then, Jung Yeop reached out and patted Sung gyu on his back.

“Sung Gyu, we are here to discuss your future plans and I’m immensely happy that you brought up your own idea”

“And?” Sung Gyu gasped and thoughtfully waited.

Jung Yeop gave him one prideful smile. “And I think it’s an incredible idea! Let’s do it!”

Sung Gyu looked around, surprised that he actually agreed and looked at the directors for help. For his amazement then, the two directors were nodding in encouragement. It was all falling into place.

“It would clear out your name, Sung Gyu. And it will be a sensation! What kind of a show do you have in mind?”

“A-a reality show. A talent quest”

“All the better!” Jung Yeop said. “A talented singer doing his own talent quest. It’s all great. Sung Gyu, now, we will discuss this and we will let you know, hm?”

“Ah yes” Sung Gyu nodded and gave him a bow. He felt like he owned the world. He had just manipulated the owner of the agency. What else could he possibly ask for? With a victorious smirk at his two fellow discussion participants, Sung gyu exited the room. He was going to find her, and he had just taken the first step. It was all going to be great. He just knew.

I swear this is all I'm going to do before september. I must get on with revising or I'd drown this semester. -_-

On a side note, Sung gyu is such a diva here. In his ing bubble bath, sipping his ing vine ;)

Ciao!