In the distance, the crowd roared. For the thousands (millions?) of fans out there, the lights were dimmed, but in the perfectly well-lit hallway backstage, Kim Taeyeon could see quite clearly that Kwon Jiyong was not where he needed to be.

In fact, he should have been waiting in the dark wings, pumping up his dancers and back-up singers with a little pep talk or even vice versa as he wasn't usually the "pep talk" type of person. More the "dark, brooding, with a pole shoved all the way up his so whenever he talked, he spewed out complete and utter bull" type.

Well, Taeyeon growled in her head, he better be ready for another pole to be shoved up…

Her furious train of expletives was cut up by the appearance of a rather flustered intern. Seohyun was new to the company, temporarily shadowing Taeyeon as she watched how on earth anybody managed to… well, manage the 23 year-old singing superstar.

Her heels clacked the whole way down the hallway, her hands clutching her clipboard tightly, and the headset a little askew over her messy ponytail.

"Ma'am" the young intern stammered as she saw Taeyeon's glare. "Mr. Kwon is requesting your- your 'services.'" She looked away, red-faced, mortified to have even said those words to her boss.

Taeyeon sighed angrily, her hands running through her hair. "Did you already send Irene in there?" Irene was recently employed to Jessica's payroll with an unspecified job, but looked so nearly identical to Taeyeon that most everyone knew why she had been hired.

Seohyun nodded. "He refused her like usual. I think he's really angry. He says he wants you. Otherwise, and he said this, he'll walk out and won't do the concert."

Taeyeon's jaw dropped at Kwon Jiyong's dastardly blackmail. That bastard knew how important this concert was! It was his first official show in that city and they had promised that 85% of the proceeds would go to charity (the other 15% to pay for the venue and the workers, of course). If the concert was canceled, the tickets would be refunded, leaving them less money than if they hadn't held the concert at all with no money to donate!

Half of her wanted to call his bluff (he wouldn't, not if the lives of children depended on this revenue), but the other half knew that the last time he had made this demand, the show had been delayed for 40 minutes until she had fulfilled his request.

"Call Jessica and tell her about this" she barked to Seohyun before stomping away to find that insolent brat.

She didn't even bother to knock. As soon as she entered his dressing room, she felt his hands on her shoulders and him placing kisses down her neck.

"Tae." he murmured into her hair, and before she knew it, they were both undressed and kissing on the couch.

--

"This is completely unprofessional," she grumbled, fixing her hair and rearranging her clothes.

"But oh so very right," Jiyong chuckled as he redressed as well. He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he grinned at her saucily.

"Go out there and make us some money." She nearly wanted to give his a slap to hurry him up. About two seconds later, she did just that.

Jiyong winked at her. "For the children." Then he left before he could see Taeyeon's face soften, but, of course, knowing her so very intimately, he knew she would be pleased he remembered.

"Jiyong!" called one of his dancers, a pink-haired one with a sweet personality. "You're almost late."

"Hn." was the reply as he joined the huddle of bodies, already starting to twist and chant, ready for their next show.

--

It all started when Taeyeon's best friend, Jung Jessica decided to break away from the family business and establish her own talent management agency, Lovely Stars. She didn't have a lot of seed money, but she had a charming best friend with a knack for persuasion and well-formed connections to a few important names.

Her first client had been the risky, undiscovered, scruffy 19 year-old Kwon Jiyong, coming from a small town with a guitar, a notebook full of songs, and a whole lot of potential. With his success came their success. Apparently, a lot of girls appreciated his rumbly, deep singing and, even Jessica had to admit, the bad boy look he had going for him.

The last four years had been a struggle, for Taeyeon especially as Jiyong's manager, but it all paid off as their agency had branched out and managed about one third of the talent on Korea's televisions, big screens, and stages. They hired more people, they took on more clients, and they very rarely had to break contracts, but one thing had never changed through the years.

Taeyeon was always Jiyong's.

It was simply Jessica's policy, the agency's secret for success, really. Each manager took on only one client so as to devote complete attention and effort to guaranteeing happiness and fame. Only one client to be at beck and call for.

And unfortunately for poor Taeyeon, Jiyong was a very needy client. For four years ("Four years!" Taeyeon exclaimed to Jessica over a bowl of ramen. "I deserve a raise!"), she had answered Jiyong's every call (including the drunk ones, including the early morning ones, including the crying ones), scheduled every single flight ("I told you, I can't sleep on a plane without at least four manga on me," Jiyong hissed), went to every single concert ("Lucky for you, always getting a backstage pass," he said cockily), and fulfilled every one of Jiyong's requests with a smile, forced or unforced.

When Jiyong had explained with exasperation, "I need a hot water bottle and a bowl of cherries with the pits taken out after every concert!" Taeyeon had said, "No problem!"

When Jiyong had demanded, "Cook me breakfast! I don't want to go to a restaurant I don't know. And I don't trust any hotel's room service!" while they were touring, Taeyeon had gritted her teeth and reminded herself that she loved to cook so it shouldn't be any trouble...right?

When Jiyong had begged with those eyes of his, "Stay the night. I don't want to be alone," Taeyeon had repeated in her head that it didn't mean anything for her or for him and told herself it was only because of his past.

And when Jiyong had pinned her against his hotel bed, ravished her lips, and whispered all those naughty things in her ear, Taeyeon had only hesitated for a second before pushing him away with a stern warning.

Only for him to ask again. And again. And again.

Taeyeon wasn't sure when she gave in. If she had pick an exact moment, she would either pin it down as the time he had come to her apartment on the anniversary of his sister's death, inconsolable and desperate, or the time he had somehow managed to convince her to skinny-dip in a hotel's pool, only for them to be ambushed by the paparazzi ("And you two are the reason why we now have a 'No intimate relations' clause in our contracts for all our clients," Jessica muttered at 2 AM, hurriedly going through her address book for the head of the top gossip magazine in Korea, fixing their problems as always).

But Taeyeon had few, if any, regrets; her friendship with Jiyong definitely not being one of them. She was actually pretty happy with her life, especially the part where she got to travel, see new sights, and spend time with someone who had grown to be very important in her life.

He could be sweet when he wanted to. He had been there for her when her grandfather died (cancelled his show against her protests and took her to the beach), when she fought with Jessica about how to run the agency (brought her cookies, listened patiently to her ranting, and watched those stupid romantic comedies until she laughed), and when her favourite senior had gotten married (as her date, he was obligated to bring the tissues and hide her ugly bawling face from everyone).

And he had always remembered her in his thank-you speeches when he won an award, which happened frequently, and he never forgot to bring her along so she could watch with her own eyes, with the rest of his cheering fans, as he pointed especially (which Taeyeon almost hated since he forced her to watch the footage of all the awards shows so he could pause at the exact moment the camera zoomed in on her red, blotchy yet smiling face and about how ridiculous she looked).

Despite his sometimes outrageous demands, he always managed to make her feel appreciated for what she did, and that had been enough.

--

"You know," she mumbled sleepily into his chest. "I was a before I met you. Now look at what you've done, you ert. I should really make you take responsibility." She accused him lightly, jokingly, with her eyes.

He chuckled, making a very pleasant rumble against her ear. "I'm looking. And I like what I see." He nipped at her lips. "What about you, erted old woman? I was one, too, before I met you. You should take responsibility for me."

Her eyes closed as she snorted in disbelief, letting him lull her to sleep with his steady breathing.

--

He strolled confidently into Jung Jessica's office. It was most likely time for his quarterly review, the only time he heard from the head honcho, "I don't know why the girls like you so much, but you're bringing in the sales. Keep it up."

And Jiyong would make his cheeky quarterly reminder, with that arrogant little smirk, that he worked best only with Taeyeon by his side and that she should not interfere with what he did, no matter how much Taeyeon complained to her, no matter how unprofessional it seemed, no matter what gossip was whispered.

This time, though, Jessica didn't have her usual presentation, full of graphs and charts that showed profit.

Instead, when he walked in, he had to walk right back out. Jessica stated simply, "Taeyeon is no longer your manager," and dismissed him, leaving him dumbfounded and confused.

--

She sat in the corner of the couch as she watched the crew prepare for Jiyong to start recording. Ever since Jessica had founded Lovely Stars, they had never changed studios since everyone in the business knew Teddy was a master at finding just the right sound.

Teddy gave Jiyong the thumbs up, and Jiyong nodded.

It was so different from Jiyong's first songs, which were loud and full of teenage angst. Sometime throughout the years, he had transitioned from rough, raw emotion to smooth, almost romantic affection. These songs still had emotion, but a much different kind than before. No wonder he had so many fangirls.

As Taeyeon heard the lyrics, she vaguely recalled waking up at an unholy time of night to her phone's ringtone set for him and his silky voice crooning those words before groggily hanging up on him.

Closing her eyes, Taeyeon let herself get lost in Jiyong's voice.

Even if he were isolated in the recording booth, trapped behind a glass wall where others watched him like a caged animal, Jiyong didn't feel alone as he kept his eyes glued to the sight of her.

He sung to her, for her only now. She had closed her eyes so she couldn't see how intensely he stared, though the rest of the crew could see how obviously in love he was with her. The connection between them was palpable, and Teddy smiled knowingly, listening to Jiyong through the headphones. He knew every line, every dirty verse, every sweet song Natsume sung was for Taeyeon.

If only she could see that.

--

Henry Lau was his name - that filthy, manager-stealing bastard. He was a pianist (Jiyong had scoffed) and was eager to share his music and make a name for himself. He wanted to be known and known fast; that was why he requested only the very best management.

And everyone, especially Jiyong, knew Taeyeon was the very best.

That was why, within a day of Lau unofficially agreeing to be managed by Lovely Stars, Kim Taeyeon was currently treating him out to a dinner at SUM, one of the most classy and most expensive restaurants in town that belonged to a friend of Jung, and was wooing him with her charm, making him laugh and attracting him with her beguiling smile.

That should be me, snarled a very irate Jiyong who was murdering his dinner with his fork. He made no effort to hide his animosity toward that stupid blonde, Taeyeon-snatching son of a . Who the does he think he is anyway? Probably even isn't that talented. He's just a wannabe who somehow convinced that ing Jung to let Taeyeon go to him. you, Jung.

"Um, Mr. Kwon, sir. Is there something I can get you?" whimpered his new manager, Kang Daesung.

Jiyong closed his eyes in annoyance and took a deep breath before he opened them again.

And double you, Jung, for giving me this piece of manager instead.

Daesung was new to the company, and Jiyong was his first "real" client that he took on by himself. He was useless, spineless, and completely incapable of fulfilling any of Jiyong's requests. When he had asked his new manager for dinner, it took Daesung two hours just to find a place to eat, only to figure out that every manager ate at SUM's with their clients because Jung got a heavy discount for being a friend. It had taken Daesung half an hour to get Jiyong a seat, and it wasn't even at his favourite table! Taeyeon had always been able to accomplish this without fail every single time very efficiently. Daesung was simply very ineffective. Jiyong was sure Jung kept Daesung around because he had this hopeless crush on her, always obeying her every demand and hanging around her like a lovesick fool.

"You can get Taeyeon back," he said tersely. Daesung mumbled some bull nonsense about, "But Ms. Jung said I was your new manager now, and she's the boss."

He continued to glare at the two of them, only a little at Taeyeon for agreeing to be Lau's manager and especially at Lau for being a bastard, when he saw Lau place his hand on Taeyeon's arm and give her a smile.

Jiyong wanted to flip over the table and maybe throw something at Lau's stupid, ugly face. Instead he clenched his fork so hard, it bent. He knew that smile, he knew what it meant; he had given that smile to Taeyeon many times when he wanted something only she could give.

"If anyone's getting into Taeyeon's tonight," he whispered viciously. "It's me."

"Did you say something, Jiyong?"

That was it. God, he was already sick of Daesung.

Jiyong abruptly stood up and stalked over to Taeyeon and Lau, his heart beating fast and his blood thrumming with angry adrenaline. He roughly pulled a chair from some other table and unceremoniously plopped himself down next to a startled Taeyeon.

"Jiyong," Taeyeon started angrily.

He inclined his head toward her, instantly feeling so much better and a lot calmer now that he was next to her. "Taeyeon," he greeted before turning to the other person with a much meaner face, "and Lau."

The blonde fool smiled, either completely oblivious to Jiyong's harsh tone or playing along. "Kwon. I've heard a lot about you."

Jiyong shrugged nonchalantly. "Sounds about right."

"Jiyong," she warned, one foot jabbing its heel hard into his own foot.

Jiyong ignored her.

"Is there something wrong?" the pianist inquired politely.

"You know, now that you mention it," Jiyong said to Lau casually, glancing around, "you chose the wrong table."

"Is that so?" Lau said with intrigue, leaning forward.

With a mischievous smirk, Jiyong said maliciously, "Of course. See that one in the back? Perfect for getting off under the table."

He kept his eyes on Taeyeon as she spluttered and choked on her words before settling on glaring murderously at him.

"I didn't realize that was an option," said Lau smoothly, turning to a very red-faced Taeyeon with a raised eyebrow. She tried to ignore the problem by taking a sip of her drink.

"Because it isn't," Jiyong snarled, his rage spiking again, drawing Lau's eyes away from his Taeyeon, but that bastard had other ideas and looked at Taeyeon expectantly.

Lau said, quite unctuously, in Jiyong's opinion, like the slimeball he was, "I heard you were the best manager in Lovely Stars, who always managed to get her clients what they wanted."

Before Jiyong could say something rude to her client, Taeyeon smoothly cut in, "I can arrange for something later in the evening if you'd like. Do you have a preference for type?"

Lau flashed his eyes at Jiyong, and for the first time that night, Jiyong then realised what Lau truly wanted that night.

Whops. He picked up Taeyeon's drink, earning a light smack on the hand, and took a sip coolly, quenching the embarrassment inside of him.

"Someone like him would be quite lovely," Lau informed Taeyeon bluntly. She turned to Jiyong with a teasing look and made a thoughtful sound, as though she were actually considering the idea. Jiyong looked back at her desperately. She wouldn't.

Then Taeyeon faced Lau with a more professional face, "Someone like him sounds doable. Unfortunately for you, Jiyong here doesn't quite swing that way, Henry." She placed her hand on Jiyong's arm with a gentle touch.

"What a shame," he hummed amusedly, making one last sweep of Jiyong's body. He didn't know if he should have felt flattered or not.

"Why doesn't Jiyong skedaddle out of here now?" she suggested lightly to Henry, but Jiyong could hear the implied order in her tone. "And we can get back to talking about what you need from me as your manager."

Jiyong nodded obediently. He had already made a fool of himself in front of the woman he loved.

"Ciao, Jiyong," said Lau suavely, winking. Taeyeon dismissed him with a tight smile and a glare that said, "I'll deal with you later."

"Bye," he mumbled, slinking away. Why did he have to act this way?

And in front of his stupid new manager, Jiyong grumbled as he saw Daesung's -eating grin when he came back to their table.

"Wow, you must really love Taeyeon a lot, Jiyong," teased Daesung, somehow thinking they were now friendly enough to be on informal terms.

"Why don't you shut the up, Mr. Cool Blue Sky?" he taunted mockingly.

"Ah," Daesung sighed, unaffected by Jiyong's roughness now that he had seen how affectionate he was with Taeyeon, "unlike you, I happily embrace and am not embarrassed by my all-consuming love for Ms. Jung."

Daesung said her name with such reverence that Jiyong wondered if that was what he sounded like whenever he said, "Taeyeon." Maybe he'd have to revert to calling her by one of her nicknames like "Polka Dots," though he knew for sure she no longer owned any polka-dotted lingerie.

Jiyong decided not to let Daesung bother him anymore, even though he desperately wanted to punch that smug look off his face, as though he were better than Jiyong, which, of course, nobody was.

"Get me dessert," he ordered, pushing his half-eaten plate away. If Taeyeon wasn't around, he craved something else sweet to fill in for her absence.

"Sure, what do you want?" Daesung answered, effectively no longer intimidated by Jiyong.

"Isn't it supposed to be in my folder or something? Aren't you supposed to know everything about me?" he snapped.

Daesung didn't even quiver. "I mean no disrespect to Taeyeon, but honestly, she did a job updating your folder. At first it was creepily going into detail about the small things you do like the fact that you purposefully push girls over to peek at their underwear," Jiyong smirked at the memory, "and that you tend to have nightmares when you sleep alone in the springtime, but I guess after a year or so, she just stopped writing everything down." He paused as admiration flickered across his face. "That's pretty impressive actually because that means it's all in her head. Wow, I wonder what it's like to memorize - Oh my God, she's coming over here."

Immediately Jiyong hunched down in his seat before he remembered who he was. "How?" he hissed. "They weren't even done with their entrees when I went over there."

"I don't know! So what? Are we acting cool or are we - "

"Play it cool!"

It was clear by Daesung's panicked face that he would have to lead by example. He pulled himself upright and smoothed over his face, picking up the dessert menu, only to drop it a second later to face the cross brunette looming over their table.

"So how has your evening been?" Jiyong asked as though he weren't in deep .

Thankfully, her anger wasn't directed at Jiyong first. "Daesung," she scolded, "you're supposed to be taking care of your clie