A/N: Hi, guys! So sorry it took a while again.

But, honestly, I had no idea how I was going to write this chapter! I mean, obviously, I knew what exactly I wanted to happen here. But, gah, I didn't know how to put it into words. So yeah, that's why it took a while.

And I'm not even sure if I did it justice. This is such an important chapter, and I'm not sure if I even executed it properly. Gah.

Anyway... here goes nothing.

“This is mad. This is just plain mad,” I muttered to Kang as he led to me towards the side entrance of the court building, unnoticed by the media and fans crowding the front, whose attention were all focused on the boys who were making their way through the sea of people with the help both the court security and their personal security.

“I mean, look at all those people… This is mad,” I said yet again.

Kang nodded to guards of the side entrance as he showed this ID to them. They opened the door for us and let us in. Only when we were safely inside the building did he turn to me to answer.

“You obviously haven’t been around the boys long enough if you’re still surprised by the mass of crowds that they gather everywhere they go. That's how it always is for most artists. And, of course, it would be even crazier than usual for them today. Final hearing for that lawsuit and all that,” he told me, smiling a bit.

“Oh, I know they attract crowds of people wherever they go, alright. Seeing it in real life is just totally different from hearing about it or seeing it on TV. It’s just surreal,” I shook my head as we walk down a hallway.

"Surreal," he repeated. "Well, that's one way to put it, I suppose…"

As we turned around a corner, I noticed a small crowd of people gathered outside a room, which must be the courtroom where the hearing will happen in a while. I looked up at Kang questioningly, and he nodded, saying, “Yes, we’re here. This is it.”

Just then, a group of snotty-looking business man in uptight suits walked down the corridor towards us, surrounded by what looked like a battalion of guards.

‘What exactly are they expecting to happen, a full-fledged war?’, I thought dryly.

But then, yeah, that must be it.

I was really starting to get the feeling that it was going to be war in there.

Gulp.

“Those are the SM people, aren’t they?” I muttered to Kang in an undertone as the huge group marched past us towards the doors.

“What alerted you to that fact, their horns, their spiked tails, or the devil’s pitch forks that they’re holding?” Kang whispered back to me with a distasteful expression on his face.

 I stared at him.

“I used to work for them, too,” he explained to me, guessing the thoughts behind my expression. “My agency assigned me there before. Couldn’t stand it, though. I only spent a few months in SM before my guts couldn’t handle it anymore and I requested my agency to reassign me.”

“No wonder Yoochun oppa speaks of you most highly,” I smirked.

“Yes, and I really have to agree with Mr. Park- the management of SM is really full of s. Particularly that one over there,” Kang nodded towards one of the men at the front of the group who were now entering the doors into the courtroom.

“That’s Lee Soo Man, isn’t it?” I whispered. His face was fairly familiar to me, having seen him in some videos before back in my time. The arrogant and superior look on his face right now, plus everything I’ve heard that he had done to the boys, didn’t endear him to me one bit.

“Honestly, what won’t I give right now just so that I can smack that arrogant smirk off his wrinkled face?” I said darkly, my eyes narrowed as the president and the rest of his “entourage” went into the courtroom.

Kang immediately placed a restraining hand on my shoulder.

“As much as I would be the first one in the front row cheering for you with pom-poms, I can’t allow that to happen,” he told me firmly, though there was also a slight smirk on his face.

“Pom-poms, really?” I couldn’t help but snort.

“I may be a big, tough bodyguard, but I’ll swallow my pride and even wear a cheerleader’s outfit to see you do that,” he said, making me snort with laughter again. He grinned at me, before continuing, “But I need this job and I actually enjoy working for the boys. It’s so different from my time working in SM and guarding that devil and his minions… So, yeah, I can’t let you do that. Not if I don’t want Mr. Shim to fire me, then cut off my head and serve it on a platter.”

That had my previous good mood dissipating at once. “Let me guess, he gave you a list of things that are and aren’t ‘safe’ for me, didn’t he?” I scowled at Kang.

“Well, you’ve obviously been with him long enough to know that, at least,” he chuckled.

I can’t decide which infuriated me more: the situation that necessitated a lot of precaution on my part, Changmin, for being so overprotective, or Kang, for getting too much amusement from how one of his bosses goes overboard with my protection.

Nah, actually, the answer was easy. Changmin. It was definitely Changmin that I was more infuriated with right now.

Damn his overprotective .

There was a sudden commotion and we saw the boys’ being led around the corner by their security team.

As they passed us, the other members of Kang’s security team just ignored us as though we were part of the wall behind us, but the boys all glanced at Kang and I. Changmin, in particular, still kept glancing back at us right until they also disappeared into the courtroom as well.

How odd.

“Is it safe that they’re in there with the SM people?” I asked Kang with wide eyes as I realized that fact. “They won’t murder each other in there, will they?”

“Relax, we’re also all about to enter soon. And the two parties aren’t exactly alone in there, the members of the court are also starting to go to their places. Besides, this isn’t the first time they’re going to be with SM in a hearing session about this lawsuit, so I’m pretty certain they’ll make it out alive,” Kang reassured me. Then, he frowned and added, “But if the boys do make it out alive, I will be the one murdering them.”

“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in confusion.

“My team and I told them perfectly clearly that they are not so much as to give the slightest indication that they know you,” Kang hissed, scowling. “That’s a breach on our orders, what they just did!”

“I’m sure they’re just worried about me. Add that to their other worry about the lawsuit, and you’ll have to excuse them for their slip,” I shrugged offhandedly.

“There is no excuse for a slip in security!” Kang said hotly. “Even the most minor breach might damage the whole security system planned out! Our work is to ensure the boys’ safety! And it’s also my special task today to keep you safe, not only physically, but also from the possible scrutiny of others! And what they’ve done could have just made our lives much harder than it needs to be!”

Boy, he really took this security thing very seriously, didn’t he? I’ve never heard him talk this much before.

“Careful there, Kang-ssi, or you might just beat Changmin in terms of paranoia,” I shook my head at him.

“That boy,” Kang just continued to mutter in annoyance. “He was the one that was so worried about you! And yet he practically stared at you the whole time! Good thing there are no paparazzi allowed in the building, or we’d have a lot of explaining to do if they’d spotted him practically gawking at you…”

Then, he frowned even more as went on, “I can’t say I really blame him, though. Must be at his nerves’ end, worrying about you, the poor guy. He really cares a lot about you, you know…”

I might have laughed out loud too much that a few people near us turned to look curiously at me.

Kang glared at me, before smiling and bowing to them apologetically. When the curious people have all returned to their own excited conversations, Kang went back to glaring at me.

“What did I just say about you needing to stay inconspicuous?”

“It’s your fault! Did you even hear what you just said? That had to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard of in my whole life!” I snorted.

“What was so funny about what I said?” he asked, puzzled now.

“’Changmin cares a lot about me’? Are you mad? The guy doesn’t even like me! Why the hell would he care about me?” I said incredulously, snickering at Kang’s astoundingly wrong impression about Changmin and me.

Kang pursed his lips as he looked at me carefully. “You mean don’t know that he-?”

But just then, some of the people in the crowd with us started approaching the doors of the court room, too. The guards by the doors were checking their IDs and passes, one by one letting them into the room.

“C’mon,” Kang muttered, distracted from our conversation as he pulled me towards the doors.

We joined the few people queuing up to be let into the courtroom. I noticed how most of the small crowd gathered at the front of the room didn’t even bother to come forward. Weren’t they going to come in? Why were they here, then?

Kang let them see our passes that showed that we were permitted to witness the hearing session to the guards, and they allowed us pass the doors.

“How come the other people aren’t coming in?” I asked Kang quietly as we walked into the room. “I mean, why are they outside in the first place, if they weren’t going to attend the actual hearing?”

“Let’s just say that those people are important enough to be allowed inside the building, but not important enough to actually be in here to witness this,” Kang answered.

“I don’t understand.”

“Let’s just say that they’re kind of ‘important’ people. From SM, labor unions, government agencies, and representatives of other companies, and the like. It says they’re ‘something’, being here…”

“But they’re just out there! They won’t even actually witness the hearing!”

“Being out there is already something. This case between Dong Bang Shin Ki and SM is a lot more serious than just a simple complaint by artists against their agency. It’s become a nationwide issue, opening questions about working policies and conditions and all that. I'm sure you know that, seeing as you're the boys' personal assitant. So, you can bet that those people left out there would be making it out to the press and to various others that they know more about the hearing, even if all they actually witness is just the two parties entering the courtroom,” Kang snorted, shaking his head at the antics of some people.

I wondered why people would feel the need to add more drama to this issue. I mean, isn’t there enough drama going on already? No need to turn this into a fanfare more than it already is, right?

Still not really getting it, I just shrugged to myself as we sat down at the boys’ side of the room. We were seated near the very back of the room (at Kang’s insistence, since he didn’t like anyone to so much as even glance at me), but we still managed to get a clear view of the boys’ backs as they sat at the front with their lawyers.

At the other side of the front, the SM executives were sitting with their lawyers, and throwing nasty looks at boys occasionally.

The moment I noticed this, I felt like pulling their eyes out, as sadistic as that sounds. Geez, talk about being so blatantly obvious! Sure, they were goddamn furious with the boys, but Ggod, we were in the court! Surely it would be of much better help to their side if they at least tried to pretend to be calm, rather than showing how much they were wishing the boys to hell?

I looked at the boys again, their lawyers having finished talking to them and giving them last-minute instructions. They were all just sitting silently now.

Yunho and Changmin were just looking down at their laps, probably bracing themselves for what was about to happen. Poor Junsu was obviously squirming in his seat in anxiety, and the way he glanced nervously at the other party showed that the nasty looks that they were getting from SM weren’t helping his nerves one bit. As for Jaejoong and Yoochun, well, I was proud of them. Jaejoong’s eyes were fixed on the SM people and their lawyers, not even bothered by their nasty looks. The eldest member was just looking coldly at them. And Yoochun, with his great nerve at showing how much he despises SM, was throwing nasty looks right back at them. Particularly, unless I’m very much mistaken, at Lee Soo Man.

A hushed silence fell over the place as the judge walked into the courtroom and took his position at the raised seats in front.

The usual protocol for a court hearing went on. Naming the parties and the legal members presiding over the case today, reminding of the issues that brought everyone here, and giving a review of the things that have been founded and claimed in the other sessions of this lawsuit tha