Petals of Success

Ch.2: Change Is Coming

Logan stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom, taking down the Bantu knots she put in her sandy brown hair the night before. The common misconception about being multi-ethnic was the luxury of having long hair which, when wet or ever so naturally, coiled up into the most vibrant, fine-textured curly Q’s. Her mother and younger twin sisters were lucky enough but not her. She wished she could be that lazy! While her hair was much longer than theirs, to her waist to be exact when straightened, and not the absolute kinkiest that a type 4 could be, she still had to spend a good amount of time managing the mass. Though, she did find it fun doing all the natural hair techniques, such as braid outs and twist outs, even if it took a really long time. It was like an art which both liberated and beautified. Her friend, Erika, an award winning fashion blogger and wardrobe stylist said Logan made a great hair guru for the natural ladies and also a good skin guru, the latter of which the girl had to give credit to her dad for (he was a doctor and knew a thing or two about the body). She listened to Erika’s advice and made a YouTube channel as her side job which brought in another hefty paycheck aside from her music production career. Her mom deemed her a hustler in training.

She untwisted the last knot and began the task of gently separating and fluffing out her hair. Just as she was about to add her finishing touches, the doorbell to her loft rang. Logan walked out of her bathroom and speedily ran down the stairs to her front door. She opened it to come face to face with a tan girl around the same age as her, with long wavy black hair, piercing dark brown eyes, and partially Asian features. “Holy big hair!” gasped the female.

Logan snorted. “Hey, Mimi. It’s weird for you to actually use the doorbell.” she greeted.

“Well, Derek and I were talking during the car ride over here and I forgot to call ahead.”

“Ah, by you and Derek were “talking”, you actually mean you got here about ten minutes ago and were each other’s faces off?” Logan smirked at Miko’s bright red blush before poking her head out the door to see a tall, rather handsome and built, Asian male walking to the driver’s side of a red Ferrari. “Bye, Dee!” she called and the male waved at her in parting before she closed the door. Miko plopped down on the black microfiber sofa while observing the living space which was packed with boxes upon boxes.

“Someone has been keeping busy. Did you finish everything?” Miko asked.

“Yeah, the movers are coming by tomorrow. I’m so excited.” Logan squealed. She was finally moving into her first house, well mansion, which was the second biggest independent decision following her first car purchase. She had spent nearly two years building the estate using her own savings. All the painting had been completed a few days ago and now all she had to do was move in.

“I can’t believe it took you so long to buy your own house. I bought mine years ago.” Miko chimed.

“See, that’s where you and I are different. You’re more of the obsessive splurge, like my little Jojo, while I am a cautious spender.” replied Logan making a reference towards her younger sister Jordan. If a new Chanel handbag, the latest Stella McCartney dress, or limited edition Cartier jewelry set came out, those are two people she knows that claim they need to have it then once they get it never wear it again. Now she loved pretty things (sista was weak when she saw a cute shoe) but she could never understand them because if she bought something, she would wear it until she couldn’t wear it anymore. They were weird to her.

Miko shrugged not denying the fact. “You should also add to the fact that we live in the now while you think too much about the future. That’s not a bad thing but, dude, you’re only 18.” Logan couldn’t deny that fact. Take her very nonexistent dating life, for instance. She was an attractive young woman (if she said so herself) but it was exactly why she didn’t date. People both male and female hit on her and asked her out but she turned people down because of her pickiness (and because she was straight). She wanted the relationship like her parents, who met the love of their lives at nineteen, married before 21, and stayed together for 28 years and counting. She tried to be more open and outgoing with her romance life but she could be very stubborn and awkward. It’s exactly the reason why her best friend and little sister date more than her, which is sad. Her parents said she was a very special snowflake, which made her feel even lamer. Forever alone, party for one (T.T).

“Well, help me live in the now and tell me which hairstyle looks better. Up do or hang time?” she asked demonstrating for her best friend.

“That depends, are you wearing that?” Miko asked, eyeing the grey sweatpants and oversized Nike t-shirt in contempt. She (vainly) thought of herself as the epitome of fashion from her green Aztec styled Givenchy blouse to the blue skinny jeans of the same brand all the way to the black Jimmy Choo pumps on her feet while her friend was…normal and commoner-ish. “We are not going on a late night run to McDonalds.”

Logan snorted. “Of course this isn’t what I’m wearing, Miss rudeness.”

“Thank God but I say wear it down because those curls are hella cute.” Miko suggested and Logan nodded before heading upstairs to her room to change. Soon Miko’s phone beeped, letting her know she received a few new text messages, and she took it out to answer.

From: Derek Lao (future hubby <3) | To: Miko Lang (future wifey <3)

I love you and miss you already! These next few months are going to ~! T_T

Miko laughed at the text. Her boyfriend was such a cute little goober. Derek Lao, or Lao Shang Fa when he was in China, was an American model of Chinese descent that was born in Boston. He was in high demand when it came to his modelling career (there hasn’t been a single fashion show as of late that didn’t feature him as one of the chosen to walk the runway) meaning they didn’t get to spend a lot of time together but she loved him and supported him to the fullest. Distance wouldn’t change that. She quickly texted him that she loved him with a little kiss emoji icon before looking at her other texts.

From: Erika Pratt (Rika boo) | To: Miko “Mimi” Lang

Hey, Mimi! Where and what time r u guys planning 2 meet up?

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From: Miko “Mimi” Lang |To: Erika Pratt (Rika boo)

Hey, Rika boo! I’m just waiting for Lolo 2 finish getting dressed then we’ll be at the spot a little after. Just wait near the front entrance.

From: Erika Pratt (Rika boo) | To: Miko “Mimi” Lang

Alright! Cece, Nini, and I will meet you guys there :)

Miko put her phone away just as Logan came down the stairs. She was dressed in a cute yet simple loose fitting light aqua long sleeve shirt and dark blue skinny jeans with a silver heart pendant necklace dangling in front of her. Part of her hair was twisted and pinned back in a dainty fashion while the rest of the coils hung freely. Point blank, Miko deduced that her best friend looked like the sweet, angelic girl next door…that is until she looked at Logan’s feet, spotting the most beautiful color block pumps with a base and pink and aqua designs. dropped. “Where…How did you get those?! Why am I just now seeing them? Have you been holding out on me?!”

Logan was unfazed by her questioning as she packed her tiny backpack. “Yes I have because you’re a thief that doesn’t know how to return things. I’ll also add that Mr. Zanotti and I are close and have each other’s personal numbers and no I will not give it to you.” she ended before looking at her friend, who was pouting and sulking like no tomorrow, which made Logan laugh. “Come on. We don’t want to keep our girls waiting.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The girls drove for about 50 minutes or so before they made it to Irvine, California and soon after pulled up into a spot in the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater parking lot. Logan parked her Range Rover and turned to look at Miko. “Did the others say they were here yet?”

“Yeah, they’re waiting for us at the entrance.” Miko nodded. They got out of the vehicle and walked their way over to the front area, following behind crowds of people. They saw a few large signs that said welcome to the first annual Kcon! Yes, they were at Kcon. On one hand, Logan decided to go because of her little sister, Jordan, who was a huge Kpop fan but couldn’t attend because she was doing a job out of the country. So, being the nice sister that she was, Logan went so she could bring her back some memorabilia. On the other hand, Logan said that it would be best to go and experience some of the acts up close and in person for possible future references which Miko and her other friends agreed with hence the reason why they tagged along.

Miko and Logan walked to the gate and looked around before they spotted three familiar faces. One was a brown skinned beauty with long layered black hair wearing a blue jumpsuit and black strapped heels. The next was a tan girl with hazel green eyes and even longer wavy dark brown hair dressed in a blue tank top, shorts and black heeled booties. The last girl had a lightly toned complexion and had thick curly brown hair pulled into a bun with an aqua maxi dress and brown thong sandals. The three women were looking off in the distance, most likely trying to find the duo.

“Erika, Cece, Nadia! We’re over here!” Logan called out gaining the attention of the three women, who waved while walking over to them. All of their friends were like them when having self-made fame or atleast aspiring to make it to that point.

Erika Janae Pratt was a truly beautiful woman both inside and out. She grew up doing multiple beauty pageants to keep up her mom’s beauty queen competition record, at times becoming the first African-American female to win titles, but what she was truly known for is her fashion sense. She had a very trendy and fashionable personal style and decided to do a blog of all her clothing tastes. Eventually, her fashion blog gained a lot of followers before she started getting deals with magazines and fashion companies to feature her ideas and style tips. Her ultimate goal was to release her own line of fashion and have her own runway show.

Cecilia Esperanza Jauregui Rosales, mainly Cecilia Jauregui or just Cece as she’s called by pretty much everyone, was the niece of Hadya’s friend and business team member. Her dream was to run her own management company in the future. She graduated at the top of her class at Columbia University with a double major in Global Business Management and Mathematics. She was a Latina that grew up in a borderline poverty, Spanish community and worked extra hard to make her way through college before Hadya offered her the paid internship of a lifetime.

Nadia Anila Agni was Logan’s first cousin and an extremely talented dancer. Keeping the prodigious blood flowing, Nadia was also entered to attend Juilliard classes ever since she was 8 for dancing. She was extremely talented when it came to ballet and contemporary but had a passion for hip hop alternatives, Latin rhythmic styling, and, lastly, Indian dance, which was part of her cultural identity thanks to her dad. She went on to become a sought out choreographer after she graduated from high school at 16. Her goal was to have her own worldwide dance troupe. She and Logan have a really tight relationship because they both know what it’s like to be really different from all the other kids and teenagers and were there to help each other push through the anxiety and stressful times. Through each other, Logan learned how to dance and Nadia learned how to play guitar.

“Took you guys long enough!” Nadia exclaimed before wrapping her arm around Logan’s shoulders. “Hey, lil’ cuzzo! You look cute.”

“Thanks, you too.” Logan replied with a smile. “Miko stop pouting and get over it.”

“Never!” Miko rebelled.

Cece chuckled. “What’s got you all pouty?” she asked the lyricist.

“Logan is just very rude.”

“She’s just mad because she doesn’t have the hook up for special edition Zanotti heels like me and that I won’t break the code of trust we have with each other.”  Logan explained.

“Ouch.” was all Erika could reply.

“Honestly, this is just another case of melodramatic rich girl angst that I’ve heard time and time again.” Cece sighed before pushing Miko along. “Vamos a prisa! Let’s hurry along.” she told the half Latina in her native Spanish tongue as the other three women followed along snickering lightly. They walked further into the surrounding area and saw a bunch of white tents and panels galore filled for specific Kpop events. They decided to check out a few of the tents and got fan insight. For it only being the first Kcon, it was a really big turnout. Since they weren’t sure of where to go next before the Exo fan meet, Cece pulled the other girls towards the fan meet Q&A for her favorite rookie group, Vixx (and her boo N). They were able to be really close to the front, almost directly in front of the panel the six were going to sit at. They had to wait a few minutes before the event started. Cece was filling Nadia in on each of the members and Miko started texted Derek, Logan and Erika were talking amongst themselves until the latter felt her phone buzz before checking it. The girl groaned before promptly closing it and Logan became curious.

“What’s with the groaning?” she asked.

“It’s nothing just a big pile of nothing.” Erika replied.

“It sure doesn't seem like nothing. It sounds just like this mystery man you refuse to speak of.” Logan further questioned.

“Trust me; there is nothing to talk about.” Erika responded and Logan sighed dejectedly. No matter how many times the younger girl tried, she could not get anything out of the blogger. Erika must be really embarrassed about it or...hurt? She didn't have any idea but wished she did. They were then brought out of their thoughts by really loud cheers sounding from around them and looked up to see Vixx walking onto the stage.

“Omg! I love you, N!” Cece screamed for her bias along with the other crowd members. Her friends laughed at her change. She was usually calm anti-starstruck Cece but this was a complete 360 to what she made them believe. The fan meet was really awesome to say the least. The guys even performed their song Rock Your Body and it got poppin’ underneath that tent. Soon it ended and the girl’s exited the tent, ready to go to the next event.

“So were we all going to the Exo-M panel and fan signing or what?” Nadia asked.

“Nah, we’re going to head over to the Kpop dance tutorial. We two non-dancers want to learn a dance alongside some other non-dancers.” answered Erika.

"Since I can dance, I'm just going for moral support and lowkey amusement." Cece shrugged.

Logan chuckled. “I guess we’ll see guys in a little bit. We can get something to eat before the concert tonight.”

“Alright, we’ll see you. Don’t spazz too hard for Tao or Lay like Cece just did. Keep them on, little missies!” Miko joked before wincing as Cece punched her in the shoulder. The three older women left and Nadia and Logan linked arms and headed towards the Exo-M panel. The cousins spazzed so much over the sub-unit because they grew up learning Mandarin thanks to their parents and some of their mentors during their Juilliard years were Chinese, it was unavoidable. Nadia was biased towards Lay because she loved his strong, powerful and raw feeling dancing style. She wanted to teach him the ways of stepping and krumping because she felt in her core that he would kill it. The dimples weren’t a bad touch, either. Logan adored Tao because he was so unique and weird, in a good way. One second he was the incredibly cool martial artist that could wushu your in the blink of an eye but another second he was the awkward, shy, sensitive and silly panda cub. He was just very genuine and really cute and pretty, kind of like a girl in her opinion. They always argued about who was better than who but could never agree on such so they just settled on Chen as the neutral option.

They finally made it to the panel and it was packed! There were so many fans there but it came as no surprise because Exo was the growing trend in the Asian music scene. Nadia and Logan squeezed their way towards the front since they were on the short side, both standing at about 164cm (5’4), but farthest they got was towards the middle before giving up. The panel began and the fans cheered for absolutely everything the boys did. When they spoke Mandarin, spoke accented English, spoke in Korean, breathed, blinked, smiled, and breathed again, every single fan applauded. It was pretty funny. When it was fan sign time, the crowd started chanting Taoris really loud and Logan was over the moon. That was the young composer’s brotp and Nadia thought it was really cute but her brotp was the not so popular Layhan (and she wanted to keep it that way because people were weird). Logan would normally agree with Nadia and almost opted to ship Taokai, the two golden boys, or Xiutao, baozi and peach, but Taoris was real, Taoris complimented each other, Taoris was unsinkable because…Taoris was a submarine. Amen.

It was finally their turn to get the signing. Nadia got out the Exo-M version of the Mama mini album while Logan got out a photo card for each member, all of which were Jordan’s. No matter how much the two teens loved Exo, they could never compare to the girl’s borderline obsessiveness. Nadia was right in front of Kris but sat the black cased CD and her own silver marker down before she actually looked up and boy was she dazzled. He was the perfect blend of beautiful and handsome. She just stared at him and eventually he must have felt her stare because she soon stared into curious brown eyes which made her really embarrassed.

“Sorry for my stare. It’s just that the computer and television screen don’t do you justice. You’re really attractive in person.” she laughed awkwardly. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Kris chuckled. “Thank you. My makeup is on point today.”

“Oh my God.” Nadia snorted while Logan giggled, before the dancer moved down to her bias, Lay. Logan came up to Kris next as he smiled.

“Hi!” she greeted as she placed his photo card down in front of him. Her sleeve rode up a little and Kris gently grabbed her wrist to stare at it.

“That is really cool.” Kris told her. She had a tattoo on the inside of her wrist, a small yet very detailed white and pink lotus flower with “strength” scripted in black ink. She wasn’t surprised Kris acknowledged it since he had a few of his own, most notably the black scorpion on his left arm. “It’s right on the bone, too. Did it hurt a lot?” He probably asked because she didn’t strike him as the hardcore tattoo junkie type and he was absolutely right.

“Not a lot. I mean, not gonna lie, I cried in the beginning but after that I felt completely dazed out of my mind and just unaware of everything.” Logan chuckled honestly and Kris laughed in response before handing her the now autographed photo card. “Thank you.” she said before moving along but she couldn’t get too far due to Nadia flirting with Lay, dazzling him with her Mandarin. Logan rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Nadia? There are four other members we have to get to, y’know?” Nadia gave her the hand before slightly bowing to the power dancer, which he returned politely as she moved on to chat with her other fave, Luhan, and Logan could finally get her autograph. Logan found Lay to be really sweet and very easy going and Luhan gave off the calm, easy to approach vibe. Both just seemed like really cool people. Once they got to Xiumin and Chen, they switched up the language and talked to them in Korean. It wasn’t as strong as their Mandarin but still pretty fluent aside from pronunciation errors. The cousins could see the relief etch onto the two Korean males’ faces at hearing their native tongue. They conversed happily with the two. When Nadia came up to Tao, he greeted her with a shy smile and wave.

“Aww, he’s so cute! Logey, your bias is so cute! I didn’t expect that.” Nadia giggled to her little cousin.

“I’ve already explained to you that he’s a cute cuddly panda cub. Not scary in the slightest.” Logan smiled as Chen finished signing the photo card. Nadia got the CD back after Tao signed it, apologizing about his signature which made the dancer think he was absolutely adorable and tell him not to worry about it. Nadia walked away from the panel before the event coordinators started asking her about the experience while Logan went to get the final signature from her beloved bias.

“Hi!” he smiled looking up at her before pausing to stare at her and loved that the Kpop fans in America were so diverse and cute. Tao quickly went back to signing his photo card before she caught him staring.

“Are you enjoying your stay in California?” she asked and Tao looked at her in shock. Her Mandarin was literally perfect and she even had a slight regional accent he couldn’t think of at the moment. It was amazing.

“Yes, I like California a lot. Everything is so big here, even the food!” he exclaimed and Logan chuckled. “Los Angeles has been a really nice place to come to for my visit to America even if for just a short amount of time.”

Logan smiled. “Well, that’s wonderful to hear but remember that there are 49 other states you could visit besides California. Your fans would be very grateful.”

“I’ll remember that and will try to do so.” Tao nodded earnestly and Logan laughed as he handed her the card. “Bye!” he waved and Logan did the same before she walked away. Tao glanced at her retreating back with a small smile. He thought she was really nice and friendly and felt very comfortable around her.  He wished he could've got to know her better but he didn't dwell on it as he signed the next fans items.

Logan walked out of the tent after talking to the event coordinators and caught up to Nadia who waited for her.

"So how was it? Did you get them digits?" Nadia asked jokingly.

Logan rolled her eyes. "Being biased towards a person does not mean I want them to deflower me." she retorted.

"Suit yourself." Nadia laughed. "I'm glad to see how humbled and easygoing they are. They genuinely seem like nice guys."

Logan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it makes me even more excited about what's to come."

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee Sooman knew how successful he was. He was a pioneer in the whole Kpop industry for creating some of the most well-known groups in Korea. He had achieved an unbelievable amount of milestones for over a decade. When people heard his name, people became nervous by its mere mention but he never thought he would be the one to feel such. He was very wealthy and powerful himself but he had a meeting with someone of an even higher caliber. The buzz from his phone brought him out of his reverie and he pressed the speaker button.

"Sajangnim, your 10 o'clock meeting party is here." said his secretary.

"Thank you, send them in." Sooman replied. Not long after the door opened to reveal four people wearing fancy Armani suits. There were two men, both of whom were Asian (he presumed one to be Chinese while the other was Indian) and two women, one black and the other Hispanic. His main focus and source of intimidated anxiousness came from the black woman who was a foreign beauty but also a woman who held a strong authoritative presence. It made him feel inferior and it was not a good feeling. He stepped up to her and cleared his throat. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hadya-ssi."

Hadya nodded with a slight smile and held out her hand to shake his. "Pleasure is all mine, Sooman-ssi." she greeted before motioning to her group members. "This is my management team, Yun Lang, Siva Agni and Talia Rosales."

Sooman bowed in acknowledgement. "Nice to meet you all. My team is Kim Dohyun and Sun Hoseon." he introduced as the two men bowed. "Please, have a seat." the foreign business team sat down across from Sooman.

Hadya stared the older man, down. "So do you want to bead around the bush and make small talk or do you want to dive right in?" she asked bluntly as Yun took out a loaded manila folder. Lee Sooman was taken aback by her straightforward approach but quickly recovered.

“As you wish.” he responded and Hadya nodded before staring at the SM founder.

“I’ve done my research on your whole business empire in Korea and am thoroughly impressed. From creating some of the first groups, to building each one as a brand, to making people happy through the music and for giving the idols a chance at success, and for initially starting the Hallyu Wave. You’ve helped advance the Korean music scene throughout your home country. That’s a very honorable feat.” Hadya said respectfully. “Though, not all good is left unscathed.”

“According to our research, you’ve had two major publicized lawsuits over the past three years both of which had similar key points in argument, such as extensive thirteen year contracts also known as slave contracts, severely underpaid, and lack of recuperation time for injuries or illness.” Talia listed off as she went through the files. “The point in which they differ is with Hangeng being discriminated against for being foreign.”

“According to SM revenue, there has been a serious decrease in overall investments ever since mid-2010. That’s not to say stock is making SM suffer but it can surely be higher.” Siva added. “Most companies have a negative opinion of this company from a business standpoint and won’t take a chance with investing in such.” he added as the papers were passed over to Sooman. He couldn’t deny the allegations. They were embarrassing and appalling.

“We are also aware that SM hasn’t been paying taxes to the Korean government for just over seven years which also equates to, considering large scale of the company, around 10 billion KRW. That’s a hefty amount to pay and a serious offense of the law which makes surprised that none of you have been sent to jail yet for bank fraud. But, with all the supposed “scandals” that ensue from the company at very convenient times, I guess it’s not all that surprising. Don’t you agree, Sooman-ssi.” Hadya asked with a raised eyebrow and Sooman’s face twitched ever so slightly to show she had an effect on him. “After looking through all of these flaws and loopholes, I can see that there is a lot of work to be put in so I’m willing to strike up a deal with you. Are you interested in hearing it, Sooman-ssi?”

Sooman nodded. “Yes.”

“Rampant! Management is willing to pay off the tax debt in full and purchase SM Entertainment in the process.” Yun stated at last filing through his documents and handing the three men typed of contracts.

“I-In full?” Sooman choked.

“Yes, the pricing isn’t a hassle. Our marketing team is almost certain that we’ll make twice as much as we spend on this.” Yun responded. “The only catch is the removal of Kim Young-min and his management circuit.”

“I’m not sure how that can happen. I’m the face and founder of the company, yes, but Young-min runs everything.”

“That is true but, according to our research, you own the highest percentage in stock shares so you have a say over how you want the company you invest in to run. With this contract, your signature overrides his and forces Kim Young-min into agreement.” Yun explained.

“But what happens when Rampant! takes over?”

“Well, as you can read in the contract, you will get a decrease in the amount of shares you hold but the value of each individual share increases by double. Our missing team member, Son Hyunwoo, will become co-CEO alongside Hadya Cardoso and Rampant! will handle the management operations from the inside. It will still be regarded as SM Entertainment from the outside.” Yun then pulled out a pie chart on his tablet to show to the three men. “While under Rampant! operation, this is how revenue shall be distributed; 30% is for the management, 40% is for the artist, vocal trainers, music composers, choreographers, etc., 20% to public relations, advertisement, music distribution, etc., and 10% goes to investors and shareholders, to put it very simply. No discrepancies shall take place.” he finished and Sooman couldn’t help but admire the fairness in the contract. SM Entertainment was a business but it was all about the music and acts under it so they should take precedence over the management. Management books the event but the artists have to stand out and experience whatever happens.

“Sooman-ssi, I’ve read up on your background and saw that you have such a love for music that it became your driving force towards creating SM. I’m trying to get it back on track to what is truly important.” Hadya told the man wholeheartedly. “I may not know a lot about the music aspect but my eldest daughter loves music and is a huge fan of Kpop and wishes SM could be a better place for both the artist and the music, not some corrupt money making scheme. Her thoughts mirror that of the millions of Kpop fans around the globe and I know my team can fix that. So what do you say? Are we in agreement, Sooman-ssi?” she asked and Sooman looked thoughtful for a moment. It would be nice to have a clean sleight for the company and his name wouldn’t have to get tarnished because of Young-min’s actions. He was tired of taking all the blame because of Young-min's actions and not being able to do something about it. Now he could. Also, given Hadya’s success with Rampant!, he knew SM would be in good hands. He whispered to his colleagues before staring at the foreign business team.

“We have a deal.” Sooman nodded and the Rampant! team smiled as they watched him sign the dotted line on the contract before passing it over to them. Both parties stood and bowed to each other before shaking each other’s hands.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Sooman-ssi.” Hadya smiled. “I hope we can make this venture a success.”

“I hope so as well.” Sooman replied with a smile of his own. “Now should I break the news to Young-min or…?”

Hadya chuckled. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” she said, smirking slightly. “We’ll handle that for you.”

<3