~~ Meeting ~~

I gather my things and wait for a moment to catch some air so as to calm my heavy breathing as well as my thoughts. I step in the room and stand at the threshold and see all eyes staring at my direction. I get self conscious and to distract my uneasiness I quickly bend 45 degress down to bow everyone. I think it's been more than 15 seconds that I am still bending staring at my feet trying to put myself together to put my head up. I hear some murmur and I am sure people are wondering what the hell is wrong with me. Without embarrassing myself anymore I pull waist up and watch the many bewildered eyes. 

Someone suddenly breaks the so seemed long silence and aks, "Is she the one for the MV?"

I am confused and don't understand what he is talking about. I don't know what to say, when suddenly I hear giggles from the far end of the long table where everyone is seated at. I recognize the familiar face and let out a relax breath. 

Mr.Lee saves me from further embarrassments and says, " Oh! No.No. She is working in my team. She will take care of business and finance related decisions for the group. But yes, to think of now she is not bad for the MV. "

I hear few giggles and laugh once Mr. Lee ends his statement. But I am still confused and still don't get a thing. I don't know what to do? It seems like the whole world is staring at me and judging me. I can't stand my uneasiness and I again bow but then get my head up within a second to avoid repeating my embarrassing guesture again and I quickly introduce myself. 

"Hello. My name is Mia. It's a pleasure meeting you'll."

Mr .lee guesture towards an empty seat next to his. I walk to the seat trying to ignore the thought that everyone is watching me. I place my laptop and handbag close to the chair and take my seat. 

Mr. Lee gives me a smile as I sit and I immediately apologise for being late. He tells me that I din't miss much and points across the table to say that these are the new group members. 

I try looking up towards the people across the table but I can't get my eyes to lift up. I open the notepad placed in front of me and fidget with my pen still looking down. 

I am glad to see Mr. Lee getting up from their seat and now feel that there are no eyes on me anymore. I get the courage and look up and see the many unfamiliar faces and setting. The room is very simple having only this large table which we are seated at. I assume we are around 25 people in this room. 

I am bought back to attention, when Mr. Lee begins.

"Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a good rest because from today onwards am pretty sure that you won't have much ", he jokes though I know he means it seriously. 

"So, as most of you'll are aware that SM would be producing a new boy band. We will be predominately be launching them in Korea, however as a new strategy for our company, we will be simultaneously targeting China, our next big market. These twelve talented boys will be split into two sub groups of six each, one for Korea and one for China. The sub groups will be promoting separately as well as together depending on the need and occasion. The boys are already aware of the sub groups they belong. Regarding the various management duties; Hyun Kyun and Seung Hyun will be the primary managers for the Chinese and Korean group respectively. Min woo and Ji hyun will be responsible for their grooming and styling. You guys need to hunt for brilliant makeup artists and stylist and will be in charge of getting the best out of them. Alex, you are responsible for their diet and training. Tae-Sun, you and you're team are responsible for public relations, marketing and promotion. Mia, you are going to take care of all the business and financing decisions. You need to work with all the departments to structure a business & finance plan. I want you to make a note of every penny that we are investing and tell me how soon we can break even. Nam hyun, you will take care of the deals, contracts and legal aspects. I will sit down with each one of you and explain in detail what I expect from you. I hope that each one of you will put on your heart and soul into this project. "

I am overwhelmed with the responsibility Mr. Lee has given me. I didn’t expect to look after all the money matters. I thought I would be assisting someone. But this is way too much and too fast in my career. I think I would have to speak to Mr. Lee about this. I don't think I am up for this. 

Mr. Lee breaks the momentary silence and continues, "These are our 12 talented boys who I strongly believe will become extremely popular very soon. A brief profile of each one of them is given in the folder place before you. But I will give a small introduction about each of them from how much I have learnt about them. "

Mr. Lee starts introducing them one by one. 
"This is Suho, he has been with us for the longest, he is extremely dedicated and hard working. He will be the leader for the Korean sub group and the whole group as well. Next we have D.O, he is a very quiet chap. He is one of the main vocals. Baekhyun, here the noisy one, he was recently recruited. He has an amazing voice. Next is Chanyeol, another chatty one. He is a rapper. He has a great personality and I am putting my bet that he will be very popular in the variety show area. This is Kai, he is an excellent dancer. He will be one of the faces of the group. Sehun, is the youngest. He is still a kid in his actions but he is very hardworking. So these six will be part of the Korean line "

Mr. Lee stops to drink water. I feel he is starting to get tired with all the talking. 
He begins, “In the China line, we have two Korean natives, Chen and Xumin. Although Korean, they will be debuting in the China group. This is one of our strategies so that this sub group does not turn into a complete Chinese band and loose its charm in the Korean market. Chen, is one of the new ones as well. He has very powerful vocals and is a very noisy lad as well. Xumin, the oldest one among all. Yea! I know you all look very surprised. He is the oldest but looks the youngest. He is a very polite chap. The next four are Chinese, we have Kris, he is the typical fairytale boy, tall & handsome. He is the rapper of Chinese group and will be introduced as the leader of the Chinese group. We decided to pick him as the leader since he is multi lingual and is in fact very caring.."

I look towards this person Mr. Lee introduces, Kris is his name. He is the guy I just bumped into. Now when I look at him, he looks extremely beautiful. He has the most powerful aura in this room. His eyes have a sparkle and I see happiness in them. He smiles as his introduction is done and looks towards me, I quickly look away and pretend to write something in my notepad. 

Mr. Lee clears his throat and continues,
"..This is Luhan, cute isn't he? He will be one of the faces of the group. He is good in singing and dancing. Sweet personality. Betting that he will break many hearts", he says jokingly. 
"Lay, he is an amazing dancer and a well-mannered kid. He is very talented and is exploring his musical instincts. Lastly, we have Tao. All though he looks extremely mature but he is the most kiddish. He is a very fussy lad and needs someone to babysit him all the time. His martial arts is very good. So yeah... These are the boys who will be the faces of their as well all our hard work. I am putting my belief in each and everyone of you in this room. I hope no one will disappoint me. Before we end the meeting. I would love to introduce the name of the band that the CEO has personally recommended. Say cheers to 'EXO'. Wish you all the best!!"

I see huge smiles and excitement on everyone's faces. All applaud and the 12 guys whisper to each other and stand up. 

The all bend down and Suho speaks, "On behalf of my new team, I would like to thank everyone for turning our dreams into reality. We will not disappoint you. Thank you again. We would like to give our first group greeting.." he looks at s on both the sides and gestures them. 
All speak at once, "Hello!! We are EXO" and bend 45 degrees greeting us. 

I along with the rest of others stand up and applaud them. 
Even though I have come to know these people for only an hour, I feel happy for them. Seeing their smiling and overjoyed faces brings a smile on my face as well. They all seem like little happy kids. 
Everyone starts leaving for breakfast. I put my note pad and folder in my handbag. Mr. Lee taps my shoulder and gets my attention. 

"Mia, come with me. I want to have a small chat with you."

I follow Mr. Lee to a room on the second floor.

"Mia, this is your office. I hope you like it."

I look around the room. I always dreamt of my own office. I am over joyed but then a fear creeps in.

Mr. Lee looks at me and asks, "Mia! What's wrong, don't you like the new office. If you don't like it then I can get you another one"

"No. It's nothing like that. It's perfect. It's more than perfect. It's just that I am scared"

He raises his eyebrows asking "Why is that so?"

"It's just that you have given me such a huge responsibility and I am scared that I may screw it up. I am new here and I don't know much. I was assuming that I would be assisting someone; I didn’t expect to lead the team. I know I won't do justice and I am scared that I will disappoint you and may cause problem to everyone here. "

He looks at me and gives me a fatherly smile and says, "You should not worry. You think that I would give such a responsibility to anyone. Of course I know your potential. I know you more than you know yourself. I have seen your hardwork and dedication. I am no fool to appoint someone without giving much thought. I believe in you. You should believe in yourself too. And you don't need to worry. I am not asking you to do everything. You will have your own team, you will be accountable and responsible for them. You need to overlook their work. I know your job is with a lot of pressure and I also know that only you will be able to pull this. You should not worry. At any point of time when you doubt yourself, you can always seek my help. I will always be there to guide you. Think of this as a new challenge. You will learn a lot. You will get a lot of professional as well personal experience. It's a great opportunity for you to grow. I have trust in you. Do you trust me?"

I think about what he says and yes it's a wonderful opportunity that I got so early in my career. I look up at him and give in and say, “I trust you!"

"Good! Now cheer up. You can arrange your office as you like or get rest for sometime. Meet me at 3pm and I can brief you with the jobs to get done and hand over you the necessary documents for you to study. Seung Jo, will assist you and you'll can put together your team. He is back tomorrow and can then get started. "

I am a little less nervous now and my shoulders feel more relaxed. I tell, "Thank you. I feel more confident now. Thank you for this opportunity. I will do my best."

"No worries Mia. All the best. See you at 3."

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