A drop of perspiration rolled down the side of his face as Yixing placed the last tape into place. He let out a groan as he straightened his back, hands on each side of his waist, and admired the now organised MBC video library. After Jongin had more or less forced him to quit his job at MBC, Yixing worked even harder than ever to sort the video tapes so that he could complete it before he left.

The woman who hired him was pleasantly surprised to find that he managed to clear everything within two weeks.

“We could use a hard worker like you,” she said, reluctantly taking his resignation letter from him. “Are you sure you have to quit? We have other positions here too.”

A slightly sheepish smile hung on his lips as Yixing shook his head regretfully. It wasn’t a bad place to work in, what with all their fixed working hours and job benefits, but he didn’t think it was somewhere he wanted to stay forever. Working in a pub might not be much but at least he’d be singing.

Bowing to his now ex-boss, he shifted the weight of his backpack and turned to leave.  All that was left to do was for him to return the security pass and then there’d be no more opportunities for him to come here. It was a little too bad.

“Ms Kim, I’ll try to see what I can do. But the viewers are just going to start saying I’m being biased again, casting Kris in another one of my dramas.”

Yixing’s ears perked up at the name and he looked around, immediately identifying the source of the voice a distance away from him. The three people in front of him appeared to be in an intense discussion involving a new drama casting.

Like always, he was unable to pull himself away whenever he heard someone talk about Kris so he tried to be as inconspicuous as possible and pretended to be checking out the advertisements on the wall. Out of the corner of the eye, he saw that one of them looked familiar – was that Jinho hyung? Jinho had been Kris’s manager when Yixing was still a trainee in the agency but hadn’t he quit after Kris got the leading role in What is Love??

“’Try’ is not a word in my vocabulary,” the woman snapped. Yixing’s eyes gave her a cursory scan – mid forties, branded luxury bag, ridiculously shiny diamond ring – and decided she was definitely a woman who had too much time and money on her hands.

“You do know if you don’t do what I want, I’m going to pull out my sponsorship?” she continued forcefully. “And if I tell the rest you are not reliable to invest in, you think the other sponsors will still stay with you?”

“—Yixing? Is that you?”

.

Yixing fixed a smile on his lips and turned as the former manager called out to him, feigning surprise at seeing him here in MBC. Too late for him to hide. He walked over, noticing the way the other woman’s face hardened after Jinho hyung whispered in her ear.

“We’ll continue our conversation later,” she said coolly to the producer who almost sighed in relief as he scurried away from the pair. Her eyes flickered to Yixing before they narrowed. Yixing resisted the urge to squirm; something about her stare made him feel really uncomfortable.

“So you’re Zhang Yixing. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Surprise flashed in his face. “Me?” Yixing repeated, baffled. Why would someone like her be interested in him? He looked to Jinho for answers but the latter only folded his arms in response, his stance making it clear he was unhappy.

“Has it been two years already?” she mused, lifting an eyebrow. “What are you doing now?”

Two... years... had they ever met? Too confused and intimidated by her presence, he stammered a reply. “I’m singing... in a pub.”

“Are you still in contact with Kris?” she continued to ask, checking her nails uninterestedly.

The second Yixing said “Yes”, the woman stiffened and glared at him so hard he took a step back in surprise. Her eyes were practically burning a hole on his face. Jinho too looked displeased – angry even – at his reply.

She shoved a name card into his hands. “Come and see me tomorrow. I have something to discuss with you.”

***

Kim Myung Hee.

Yixing traced the letters on the name card. Why was she annoyed that he was ‘in contact’ with Kris? Jinho hyung, too. It had been over a year since Jinho stopped being Kris’s manager. The last Yixing heard, he was starting his own entertainment agency. What did they have to do with Kris now?

“There you are! I was wondering if MBC kidnapped you when you resigned,” Jongin said jokingly, ushering Yixing towards the staff room. “Heard you strumming the guitar at 5 in the morning. Did you even sleep?”

“Of course I did,” he replied, quickly stuffing the name card into the back pocket of his jeans. “Be prepared to be blown away by my new song.”

A wide grin appeared on Jongin’s lips. “I can’t wait.” He nodded in the direction of the booths. “Kris is here to see you. Last night’s talk went well eh?”

He never quite understood why authors always wrote about butterflies fluttering in stomachs until now. Yixing blushed slightly, recalling the heart-stopping moment Kris told him he still loved him.

“Maybe,” he muttered, only going redder when Jongin laughed knowingly.

He dumped his backpack into his locker and tuned the pub’s guitar, in a deep breath to calm his jittery nerves. When it was time for him to go onstage, his face was burning from another reason. This was the first time he had ever showcased a personal song of his to a crowd of strangers. What if they didn’t like it? What if they booed him off stage?

The worrying thoughts faded to the back on his mind as he sat down on the high stool and adjusted the microphone stand. Swallowing the nervous lump forming in his throat, he strummed the first chords of his new song, inwardly praying that he wouldn’t blank out and forget the song. The encouraging grin Kris directed him caused the corners of his lips to tilt upwards until he saw Chanyeol stalking across the pub to Kris.

Judging from the grown on Kris’s face, they looked like they were arguing over something and before he knew it, the actor shot him an apologetic look before he strode out of the pub with Chanyeol.

Yixing tried to pretend it didn’t hurt.

***

Just as he expected, this Kim Myung Hee was rolling in riches. Her office was at the top of a prominent high-rise building in the central business district, overlooking the Gyeongbok Palace.

Windows stretched from the ceiling to the floor, filling the office with natural lighting and making it look even bigger than it is. Suspending from the ceiling were crystal chandeliers, reflecting sunlight to every corner of the room. Two red long velvet couches were placed against the wall opposite the receptionist’s mahogany desk.

Yixing fidgeted uncomfortably under the scrutiny of the stick thin receptionist who would have made a gorgeous model if her facial features weren’t so plastic.

“You can go in now.”

Relieved he didn’t have to be under that piercing stare any longer, he muttered a ‘thanks’ and quickly stepped inside the office.

“I’m glad you came,” Myung Hee said with a ghost of a smile on her lips and gestured for him to sit. “Although it shouldn’t be a surprise since you’re evidently the type that keep promises.”

He sat down tentatively, his eyes catching sight of a thick B4 envelope with his name on it. The older woman’s gaze followed his and a smile formed on her lips as she pushed the envelope towards Yixing.

“This is for you,” she told him. “Open it.”

Despite his suspicions, Yixing reached for the hefty envelope and opened it to reveal wads of ₩50,000 bundled together. Money!? Why was she giving him money?

“I don’t understand...” he murmured slowly.

The smile on her lips broadened a little. “This is your reward for going to prison for Kris,” she drawled. “So you wouldn’t feel like you’ve wasted two years of your life for nothing.”

The colour vanished from Yixing’s face. His reward... for going to prison for Kris. How did she know? Nobody was supposed to know he lied for Kris!

“Who are you?” he blurted out, dropping the envelope back on the table. “What is Kris to you?”

 She pretended to muse over his question even though she clearly had an answer ready. “His woman?” Myung Hee mused, the smile on her lips transforming into a smirk. “I’ve been with him for nearly 3 years now... yes, even before you were arrested. You think he’d be able to hide from me his drug addiction? That stupid boy... well, he’s really lucky he has you to rescue him. So consider this a reward for my gratitude.”

His lips parted in shock. No way. She looked at least a decade older than them... Kris would never go for someone like her. Unless... Yixing recalled the conversation he overheard in prison.

“You’re his sponsor?” he breathed, horrified. He couldn’t believe it. He had been adamant how the other inmates had been lying about Kris depending on some heir to get his career booming for him and it turned out there was actually some truth to it? Yixing recalled of the stories he heard of what celebrities did with their sponsors to keep them... how could Kris do something like this?

“If that’s what you prefer to call it,” she shrugged offhandedly. “Either way, he belongs to me. I want you to stay away from him and if you promise you will, there will be more money in it for you. Consider it compensation for a jail record.”

“NO!” he burst out. “I don’t believe you.”

Myung Hee rolled her eyes as if he was being the ridiculous one and jabbed the buttons of her desk phone. “You can always ask him yourself,” she suggested, and pressed the speakerphone button. “Jagiya... are you there?”

 “Hello? Noona? What’s up?”

Kris. It was really Kris’s voice.

“Nothing. I just suddenly miss you,” she cooed. “Do you miss me too?”

“Of course I do. Listen, I’m in the middle of an interview – I’ll call you back later.”

A dial tone replaced Kris’s voice, signalling the end of the phone call. Myung Hee raised an amused eyebrow at Yixing. “Believe me now?” she asked triumphantly and tapped on the envelope with her long fingernail. “Just take the money and forget about Kris. He’s out of your league.” 

A/N: Sorry for the general crappiness of this filler chapter! It's essential for the future crap to come. I'm thinking the fic will probably reach its end by Chapter 20. |: