Petals of Success

Ch.8: A Happy Holiday

“Okay, how about this camera? I think this is the one!” Milan said to her little sister while holding up a photographer camera, a Canon Powershot SX510 HS Digital camera to be an exact. She and Dana were in Hi-Mart, a Korean based electronic store in Seoul, searching for some new tech. Dana wanted to buy a new laptop since she had hers for about 7 years and needed a major update while Milan was just shopping for Hongbin’s gift for the Christmas party happening the following day. They were having an insane holiday sale so the originally 250000 won (228 USD) camera was on sale for 95000 won (86 USD). She was on a 150000 won budget for her gifts and this helped out a lot. Plus it was also a really good camera, too. Lucky!”

"Yeah, that's really nice. Now for the big one, Mr. Lee Jaehwan." Dana grinned and Milan sighed exasperatedly. Not her little sister of all people. They got to her.

"I'm still not sure what to get him and don't say a kiss under the mistletoe!" Milan huffed and Dana chuckled.

"I wasn't gonna say that but I mean, you could always..." Dana started but the heated glare from her sister made her snort. "I'm kidding, kidding! Maybe you can get him something music related. You did say he's always singing randomly."

"Yeah but what exactly should that be?” Milan asked and Dana shrugged, not knowing either. “You see my problem then. I might have to resort to that...mistletoe thing."

Dana snorted. "You act like that's a bad thing, though. Jaehwan is really cute, especially when that hair is pushed up and his smile, omg. Plus he's funny, both cheesy and legit, and he can sang! What is wrong with you?" she questioned.

Milan scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? I'm saving myself for Kim Wonshik." she explained.

"Okay now tell me the truth." Dana said crossing her arms and Milan sighed.

"Fine. I just want to keep a professional relationship, is that so wrong?" the eldest asked. "I'm not like Cece who's been an intern for almost 4 years and has an aunt who's a higher up. I just got this internship and want to build a career for myself before I think about dating. I know Hadya is cool and all but this is a personal choice I'm trying to follow through with."

"That's very good prioritizing and really great dedication but I definitely didn't hear an "I'm not interested in him" come out your mouth." Dana inquired. "Is he wearing you down?" she smirked.

"...That is such a nice laptop! It's all black and stuff!" Milan exclaimed, avoiding the question and Dana snickered. That was too easy.

"So, does that mean Lee Jaehwan will be my brother-in-law because, dude, that would be so totally wicked!" she exclaimed, quoting that one kid from the Incredibles movie.

"Dana, don't make me kill you." Milan frowned.

"I can’t wait until I’m an aunt!” Dana continued, imagining a whole scenario running through her head.

“Just wait until we get back home. You are so dead!” Milan threatened. “Dode ik zeggen! (Dead I say!)” she added in Dutch but it fell on deaf ears.

“I wonder what color we should wear to the wedding.” the young Inoni thought out loud and Milan groaned in defeat and exasperatedly.

“They said, it would be fun. Siblings are the best thing ever. Have a little sister, they said. Oh, what joy it would bring!” Milan muttered sarcastically. “I was lied to. I knew I should’ve given you back to that stork, like what good are you?”

Dana snorted. “I’m the greatest good you are ever gonna get.”

“Stop quoting the Incredibles!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Pant...pant...pant...

Logan ran down the street as fast as she could. She had her music in and was getting a good run in, all decked out in her Nike training gear. When she worked out with Ashleigh and Miko, it wouldn't be anything too excruciating but oddly enough she was struggling to keep up her pace. It probably, or most likely had something to do with the freezing cold Seoul city air.

It was about 10°C (50°F) when she left out that early morning so she wore her lightweight workout gear because she knew she would heat up but instead of getting warmer it was so much colder, like -6°C (20°F)! The weather people lied to her! Luckily none of her new Korean fan following, which she garnered after her birthday vlog and fansite launching (she was actually serious about that) spotted her because she didn't want to be bothered and only wanted to curl up with a human heat pack in the form of her niece, nephew, or little cousin. Hell, her brother and Nadia were also options as well. She spotted the apartment complex just up ahead and she pushed herself to run faster. She needed heat! Soon she burst through the entrance and released a heavy sigh which attracted the attention of the lobby workers. Logan gave them a quick wave before she trudged to the elevator. She couldn’t even stretch because she was freezing so she focused enough to catch her breath. She then felt a gentle pat on her head before she looked up to she turned her head slightly to see Joonmyeon crouching down to her eye level, along with Kris.

“Lo, are you good? Do you have asthma? Are you having an attack? Oh, please no!” Kris freaked and Joonmyeon remained calm.

“Are you okay?” the leader asked with concerned laced in his voice. “You’re breathing really hard.”

Logan turned. “I’m fine, I don’t have asthma and I’m not having an attack.” she inhaled and exhaled. “The cold air kind of kicked my .”

“Where are your clothes?! It’s freezing outside!” Kris chastised and Logan rolled her eyes.

“It was warmer earlier but had I known it would be frozen hell outside, I wouldn’t have did my run!” Logan argued, annoyed. “Meteorologists are a bunch of two-faced liars. They were all like “It’s going to warm up as the morning progresses, we’re 100% positive. Trust us! Make sure to venture out on this lovely day with a smile because sunshine, sunshine, sunshine!” and I trusted them but they lied to me! Cold blooded with no loyalty!” she frowned and the two leaders chuckled. The elevator door opened and the three walked in but Kris held the door open. Soon four other Exo members, Baekhyun, Minseok, Jongin and Tao, came inside.

"Logan? Hey!" Tao smiled, happy to see her.

"Hello, heat pack." she replied.

"What?" he asked but soon he felt Logan wrap her arms around his waist and lean her head against his chest. Normally, he would be shocked by a pretty girl hugging him but that was overshadowed by the fact that he felt like a block of ice was clutching onto him for dear life.

"Ah, lovely 37°C (98.6°F)." she sighed.

"Why are you so cold?" he asked.

"She went to exercise but since the weather people lied to her she didn't wear the proper training gear." Joonmyeon explained. Tao nodded before he took off his puffer coat to wrap it around her, wrapping his arms around her while resting his cheek against her forehead. He was such a sweetheart and Logan was definitely enjoying his warmth in more ways than one.

"Aww, muah muah muah!" Baekhyun teased and Tao rolled his eyes. "Get a room you two."

"Don't be a hater because you don't have a girl wanting to use your tainted body heat." Minseok announced, defending his baby panda. Logan snorted at seeing Baekhyun's pout before slowly pulling out of the embrace.

"Thank you, my human heating pad. I'm semi-normal now." Logan smiled as she stood on her tippy toes to pat him on the head. "You did good." she added and Tao chuckled. "So what're you guys doing for the rest of the day?"

"I'm not sure. We don't have to go to SM today and we just came from breakfast. Maybe we'll see a movie or go to sleep, who knows?" Kris shrugged. "What about you?"

"I'm just going to drop off part of Cece's gift for the Jellyfish Christmas party tonight." Logan informed. "Maybe we can hang out when I get back."

"Sounds cool to me." Kris nodded.

"Us, too." Tao announced for the rest just as the elevator door slid open when they hit their floor.

"I'll call when I leave there or you can hit me up. It's whatever." she added before the door closed, seeing Kris nod before they shut all the way.

Logan made it up to her living quarters and the first thing she did was grabbed every little sleeping baby in the apartment and laid them on her bed. She then turned the heat on in her room and, after taking off her workout gear, took a well-deserved nap.

About an hour and a half later, Logan was awaken to a teething Lincoln slobbering on her arm, Leigha sleeping on her face, cheek to cheek, and Megan playing with her hair. Such was the life of designated babysitter Lolo but atleast she was warm and very well rested. Logan gave the children to their parents before she got dressed, remembering to rock her warm, cute, and comfy sweater so there wouldn't be a repeat of that morning. Yeonji ended up coming over and soon both of them left out of the apartment complex and drove to Jellyfish Entertainment.

After some time, Logan parked in the lot and the two walked to the Jellyfish entrance. They cautiously walked into the building and as soon as she got in she saw Cece and Siva talking with each and she greeted them.

"Hey hey hey, people!" Logan greeted, gaining the attention of the two. She then ran over to her uncle and hugged him. "Uncle Siv, I feel like you've been gone for a long time. How was Kuala Lumpur?"

Siva chuckled. "I've only been away for 10 days and it was a nice getaway, even if nearly all of it was business related.” Siva was the creator of Agni Corp., which dealt with a lot of top tier celebrity accounts. He seemed to be really busy all the time but he was a hustler after all. He rummaged through his bag before he pulled out a small box. “Here you go. Happy belated birthday.”

“Thank you.” Logan smiled.

"Now I have to meet up with a client so I'll take my leave but you ladies have a good day." Siva told them before he took his leave.

"Bye, Mr. Agni!" Yeonji farewelled.

"Hello, ladies. Step into my office." Cece instructed. "I've always wanted to say that." she added and the two giggled before entering the room. She closed the door behind her and the former prodigy sat at the chair in front of the desk. Yeonji sat down on the sofa and Cece sat down in the leather chair behind the desk. “I have a question.”

Logan nodded. “Shoot.”

“Do you think I should go get my license asap or wait until next year? Because I took the bus over here one time and...I don’t wish that on anybody.” she said and Yeonji laughed.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and it is rather terrifying. I couldn’t wait until I got my license.” the Korean girl inquired.

“I don’t know what’s worse, the subway system in New York or this? They seem like they’re on the same level.” Cece added.

“Well, if that’s how you feel you should get on it ASAP because you have to bring in a lot of certification and identification to get a Korean license which the US Embassy won’t provide once the New Year hits. Then you would have to take all the exams to make sure you can drive in Korea.” Logan informed. “Starting now would make an already long process that much shorter.”

“Well damn, I’ll get on that right away especially the next time I feel bored, bored, boooooored, bored~!” Cece sang.

“Cece, stop!” Logan exclaimed embarrassed.

“Why? I’m just singing a song I found on ITunes. It was the cutest freestyle song that talked about the struggle of life.” the Latina responded with a teasing smile.

“To add on, it was not just any ITunes song, it was a top ten most downloaded single, both in the US, Korea, and Brazil.” Yeonji added. “You’ve done what a lot of people couldn’t, eonni. You should be proud, both you and Leigha!”

Logan groaned. “Now I’m gonna be known as the Super Bored weird girl.” she sighed and the other ladies chuckled. Logan rummaged through her bag before she slid an object over to Cece, a signed Trey Songz album. “Here you go!”

“Yes, thank you so much! I love you!” Cece squealed, marveling at the album. “It’s even signed with silver marker not the generic black.” she added and Logan chuckled.

“Yeah, he owed me a favor even though he still owes me money.” Logan pouted.

“Trey Songz owes you money?” Cece asked.

“Yes, that punk, Tremaine Aldon Neverson, owes me five dollars!”

Cece laughed out loud. “Five dollars, Logan? Really? It's that deep?”

“Do you know what I could buy with five dollars? A lunch special in Hongdae! A package of macaroons! A big bag of hot Cheetos and a can of pop!” she exclaimed, letting her inner Ohioan seep through with the mention of pop instead of soda. Cece was almost to the point of tears, clutching her stomach while in her silent laughing fit. Yeonji also laughed in amusement. “I want my money.” Logan added trying to contain her giggles.

”Ah, I can’t with you!” Cece smiled. “I hope you get your money, someday.”

“Thank you.” Logan said and the other women snickered. "I wish I could've helped Milan."

"Oh, don’t worry. She'll be just fine, trust me." Cece assured. “Now, I need you two to read something.”

“What is it?” Yeonji asked curiously.

“Okay, for one part of my gift I decided to write a letter to him, telling him that we can be closer because I still feel he's kind of guarded and distant with me since he's so shy. I don't know, just read it for yourself." Cece said sliding the card over to them and the two read it. There were a few moments before Logan and Yeonji stared at the senior intern.

"Aww!" they said collectively.

Cece chuckled. "So you guys like it?"

"Yeah, I would totally be your friend!" Logan exclaimed and Cece chortled.

"Thank you, I feel a little more comfortable now. I'm just trying the "from the heart" thing that Nadia suggested."

"Don't worry." Yeonji said. "Taekwoon-oppa is going to love it!"

"I hope so."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, it's now time to commence our end of the year meeting." Erika announced to the group gathered before her. "2013 is nearing quickly and we've got to prepare for what's to be a big year for Pratt Group and the overall marketing of Forte. So who wants to start us off?" she asked, mentioning her growing clothing brand. One little hand was raised. “Yes, Eggy?”

“When do we get snack time?” Megan asked seriously. The older women laughed at the toddler’s simplicity.

“I’ll go get you something, little one.” Dana giggled.

Miko stood up from her position in the back. “Me, too. This isn’t really my line of duty so I’ll go find her something to eat. Come on, my little egg lover.” she said. The toddler’s nickname didn’t only have something to do with part of her name, she loved egg dishes to the point of being an obsession which her mother found to be weird since they weren’t her favorite and the father...was out of the question. Miko was only an occasional model for Pratt Group’s fashion features along with her boyfriend on occasions so she just had to come when they blew the whistle.

“Okay!” Megan exclaimed running over to the lyricist and Miko placed the toddler on her hip as the three left out of the room.

“Back on subject, we’ve been invited to have a small editorial shoot in Tokyo this coming March and showcase in Seoul, Paris, and Shanghai in June and July. How much preparation needs to take place?” Erika asked. “So far we obviously have sponsorship from Rampant! but who else?”

“Well, according to our inquiries, we have another reach out from Vogue Japan to do an exclusive editorial and cover all expenses of photo shoots. The same goes for Harper’s Bazaar China and Vivi Magazine." announced an Asian woman with light skin, dark brown hair and matching eyes. Laurie Phuong, born Phuong Na-anh, was a Vietnam born, Hawaii raised member of the Pratt Group. Being a math and tech addict that graduated from MIT, she was one of the main people to deal with financing and money management. She also ran their website and was the go to person for bookings and inquiries.

Erika raised her eyebrows. "Really, Vivi Magazine? That's a new one." she thought out loud. "We can take them all up on that offer."

Laurie gulped. "There is one catch, though."

"What could that be?"

"Vivi made a suggestion that we use one of their models with one of our own, specifically...Kiko Mizuhara." Laurie added and Erika laid her head down in her arms.

"You have got to be kidding me." the fashionista replied, slightly muffled.

"Ah, hell to the naw! We don't need to take this offer." Ashleigh huffed. "We should not be forced to share the air with her."

"But this is unavoidable. If not Vivi, we'll run into her at a fashion show in Tokyo. If we're reaching out to Japan we can't avoid her." Erika reasoned. "Go ahead and book the photoshoot, Laurie."

"Okay." Laurie nodded.

"So we'll do a photoshoot with her looking pretty but after I take my shots, her face will be my scratching post along with her sleazy boyfriend." Ashleigh added and Erika sighed. Her sister was feisty and very open about her distaste but she wasn't always like that. Ashleigh Denise Pratt was a well-respected woman in their industry, a co-founder of Pratt Group. She’s a well sought out miscellaneous model, having posed for Ralph Lauren and Givenchy to name a few. She also has runway experience but her biggest passion is photography. She is the designated photographer for Pratt Group when doing fashion spreads, seasonal look books, and inspired looks. Ashleigh, as well as the other Pratt Group members, knew about her situation with Jiyong and the elder Pratt wanted revenge but oddly enough, Erika was the one to tell her to not bother. Though, it did prove how close they were. Even though they’re half-sisters, due to circumstances, they were raised as full and both regard each other as nothing short of that. Ashleigh’s been through a lot and is very protective of her loved ones so she’s kind of brash when thinking of revenge but it’s touching in a way.

“No, no, no. We can’t damage her merchandise. Regardless of how I feel about her, it’s not in me to ruin a career she’s actually worked hard for.” Erika shrugged.

“You a good one. I'm way too petty for that." Ashleigh declared and Erika chuckled.

“What else do we have going on? Oh yeah runway shows, what’s the deal with that?” the younger Pratt asked.

“Well to have a nice runway show we need a lot of nice equipment so first things first we need sponsors and I’m your girl.” Kayla announced. Kayla Mariana Ganza was not only the mother to an adorable two year old but also the main financial budgeter for Pratt Group. She has her fair share of baggage but the small town Montana native knew how to sweet talk and get those sponsorships. It must’ve been a hereditary quality if one carried the Cardoso or Rousseau bloodline. "TRESemme is offering hair care for the show and Shiseido is offering cosmetic sponsorship which is pretty funny."

Ashleigh raised a brow. "How so?"

"Well for the past year or so Shiseido, along with Lancome, has been getting on RM's good side for the chance of having Logey be the face of their line. She always avoids them because she doesn't really know how to use makeup, everyone knows this. Mascara plus lip gloss equals Logan's makeup knowledge." Kayla said, shaking her head with a slight smile. "She is not like our Neutrogena Nadia or Ms. Maybelline Miko."

"Well, since they are so willing to donate, I for one say let them." another woman, with brown skin and eyes, wavy black hair, and bright red lipstick. Tara Marie Rhodes was an Aussie female who was the leader of Pratt Group's makeup and hair team. She's an award winning stylist, having participated in and won many hair shows and makeup styling competitions. She’s a rising well-known and Erika was grateful to have her on their team because she knew how to make people look fly. “I’m a TRESemme girl but we should also try to get little noodle to agree to atleast Shiseido because I love their Bare Escentuals subsidiary.”

“So you want Logan to sign up for a makeup endorsement deal so you can get free makeup?” Erika asked.

“I’m not seeing the problem here.” Tara replied and the others snickered.

“Moving on. We have makeup and hair covered; now we need models.” Erika added as she checked off a list on her IPad.

“I’ve got a list right here!” came the English accented voice of a tall sorrel skinned woman with straight black hair and brown eyes. Yasmin Saba Lodhi was the modelling coach and designer for Pratt Group. The Bradford native was also a miscellaneous model but a little better known in the industry compared to Ashleigh, having had the opportunity to become a Victoria Secret Angel and still be an active one. She also has the most modelling experience out of their whole group, having modelled since she was 10, so she knew the skills it took to be an efficient model. “I have a list of models right here but I don’t know what you’re looking for.”

“I think I’ll use the usual models, Miranda Guerra, Anika Njeri, Julia Iliopoulos, Paul Abasi, Rafael Fuente, Ty Smith, Derek, Miko and little brother.” Erika listed as Yasmin checked off. “I also want to add a few more, possibly some natives or idols to get the public super interested.”

“Well, there’s Lee Soohyuk and Hong Jonghyun who would be down for it, I could also audition Choi Sora, Park Soojoo owes me a favor and I can get your favorite, Park Jihye.” Yasmin added.

“She’s interested?! Yes, get her please! I love her look.” Erika exclaimed, struggling to keep her fangirl at bay. “Now let’s talk idols.”

“Well SM artist are ours for the picking so we could use Choi Siwon since he's regarded as the most eligible future husband of Korea or whatever. He also has runway experience as well. I also think Choi Sooyoung is another good option and she’s in the same boat as Siwon.” Yasmin suggested. “I think I want some fresh meat though so I can train them.” she said before the model’s mouth stretched into a smirk.

“As much as I don’t want to put them through that torture, I have to agree. I want to go towards the growing phenomenon that is Exo.” Erika stated. “I would love to use all of them but over half of them don’t meet the height requirement so such is life. I would like to have Tao since he’s a distinct member, he’s very unique looking. Chanyeol, the baby Lee Kwangsoo, looks like the tall Korean boy next door so he works as well. It’s a toss-up between Jongin and Sehun, the Korean face and visual of the group. It would’ve been Jongin hands down if you asked me a few months ago but Oh Sehun is growing up and I don’t know if my noona heart is prepared for it.” the fashionista added and her crew laughed out loud. It was funny sounding but it was an honest struggle. “Then there’s Kris, who’s totally down for the catwalk.”

“I swear that Kris guy looks like someone I know.” Ashleigh deduced.

“You probably do know him. He went to Sir Winston the same time you did.” the younger Pratt clarified. “He was a year under you and played basketball.”

“Oh snap, for real?!” Ashleigh gasped in surprise. “That’s crazy but I don’t remember a Kris Wu. He kinda looks like this dude Kevin Li only a little prettier.”

Erika chuckled. “His name was Kevin Li before he changed it.”

“Shut up! No wonder they look so similar! He looks so good now.” Ashleigh exclaimed, completely shocked that she went to school with a Kpop artist. “I should ask if he wants to get a coffee or something. I need to make a clean slate since he saw me during the time I was really crazy.” she convinced herself and the others snickered slightly.

“You do that, Ash.” Erika smiled. “I also want to add Jung Taekwoon from Vixx because he has the silent chic look and Hongbin for visual clarity."

"I love those choices but Taekwoon just dyed his hair red and...I can't get with it. It may be my favorite color but it’s not working for me on him.” Tara stated.

Erika snorted. “Really? I like it but I’m sure that by the time we have our fashion show he’ll have his hair back to black, I’m almost certain of it. What Kpop idol keeps their hair the same color forever?” she asked, jokingly.

“She does speak truth.” Ashleigh co-signed and Tara nodded in agreement.

“I also want one more person and he is also a fellow Choi.” Erika started just as the door opened once more and in walked a tall and handsome Bingu holding a little egg, munching away on a sandwich, as they were followed by Miko and Dana. “And here he is the handsome actor Choi Seunghyun, who shall become my newest runway model.”

“I object!” the rapper whined. “I’m only here to help deliver an egg!” he said while giving Megan back to Kayla.

“Aww, come on! You would look so amazing in my designs.” Erika pouted. “Please?”

Seunghyun sighed. “Though I am a very busy, talented, and handsome movie star, for you, I will do it.” he promised and Erika grinned from ear to ear. Ashleigh looked between the two, being super skeptical of their exchange.

“Okay, people. We have a show to bring to life!” Erika exclaimed, smiling. “Let’s get to it!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Milan and Cece walked towards the building, wrapped Christmas party presents in hand. Milan was unusually quiet during their whole venture to the Jellyfish building and Cece found it funny. The Dutch girl was much more nervous than she was letting on. Even though she found it amusing, she didn’t bother to joke around with her because she felt the same pain. She was so nervous about giving a gift to her kind-of-sort-of crush because there was a high chance of him not liking her card and if she was completely honest with herself, she would be utterly devastated but he wouldn’t break it to her on purpose. Well, she hoped.

"Don't be so nervous about this Milan! We're going to have a blast!" Cece cheered.

"W-who said I was nervous?" Milan retorted.

"Oh, please. You're a cheerful person with very loud and random thoughts so your silence tells that something is wrong." Cece puzzled together and knew she was right when Milan turned away. "I'm also pretty nervous but let's try not to be."

"I'll try." Milan sighed as they entered the building. As soon as they walked in, they heard Christmas music with blasting throughout. They went to their office to put up their coats before they ventured up to the second floor and into the meeting room which had most of the workers present well except for the group that was their responsibility.

“Oh, Milan-ah, Cece-yah, welcome!” greeted CEO Sejun. The girls smiled before bowing.

“Hello, sajangnim.” they greeted. Before the man could say anything more, he spotted his newest project walk in next.

"Ah, my Vixx boys! Welcome!" he greeted and the two girls turned around to see the tall young males of the company. They bowed to their superior and then turned to the girls with bows, who mirrored their gesture. While Milan tried her best not to stare at Jaehwan, Cece briefly glanced at Taekwoon to see him staring at her. Man, was it getting hot in there? She instantly felt her internal pep talk turn to nothing upon looking at him.

"Help yourself to refreshments and light snacks before we exchange gifts and eat dinner."

“So, Cece-yah, who’re you being Santa for?” Hakyeon asked looking closely at her red wrapping paper covered gifts to see a name. Cece chuckled seeing as she didn’t put any labels on it because she had it internally memorized.

"Nah-ah, you'll have to wait and see." Cece smiled and Hakyeon gave her his signature stank face, not liking her idea, which made her laugh. The interns walked over to one area and sat down setting their gifts aside. Cece heard Milan release a very loud sigh which made the older girl stare at her curiously.

“He keeps staring at me.” Milan answered Cece’s unanswered question before the latter looked ahead to see Jaehwan staring their way every now and then with a hyper grin on his face. “I want to punch him in the face.”

Cece laughed. “Don’t be rude. He just excited about something, who knows? He might be your secret Santa and got you the most bomb gift ever.” she said and the Dutch girl frowned.

“Whatever.” Milan pouted and Cece just smiled at her.

“Hey girls!” Sejun said walking up to him. “Sorry but do you know if we have anymore cups here. I thought I got enough but we just ran out.” he admitted sheepishly and the girls chortled.

“I think I remember seeing some in the storage closet down the hall.” Cece thought. “Allow me to get them. I wouldn’t want you to walk out and get lost, sajangnim.” she teased and Milan giggled.

“Yah!” he said with a slight smile. Cece hopped up from her seat and walked out of the room, stepping further away from the booming Christmas music to more quiet areas. As she approached the storage room, she began to hear voices, which was weird since everyone should’ve been in the dance room. She walked closer and clearly heard the voice of a male come from a room.

“Sanna-yah, you do love your job, right?” Cece heard and distinguished the voice as Sunjin as she stepped closer.

“Y-yes I do.” replied a shaky soft voice. Sanna Rey Acampo was the newest worker for Jellyfish Entertainment, no association with Rampant! Management, and hailed from the Philippines. She was only a few months older than she was and recently moved to Korea for a job opportunity as Jihae's assistant. She was soft-spoken, petite, demure and very sweet towards everyone but why would she hang around Sunjin?

“Then you should be extra nice to me.” he added. "Don't make a sound." What the hell? Cece quietly walked over to the door and was mortified by what she saw. Sunjin had her cornered in the back of the room with his hand travelled well up her skirt groping her, as his other hand held her wrists above her head. There was clear discomfort on Sanna’s face and Cece felt nauseous. The elder man had a negative reputation amongst the female workers along with many rumors and allegations going around but it was a different thing seeing it for herself. He had a wife and three kids yet he was doing this to a girl more than half his age. Completely abusing his power, Sunjin got the girl alone to attack and since the Christmas music was so loud no one would hear anything. She felt so disgusted and angry but she had to help Sanna first and foremost.

“Come all ye faithful! Joyful and triumphant!~” Cece sang, much louder than needed and, as she hoped, the two immediately separated. Cece walked away from the door to make it seem like she just got there. Sanna was the first to walk out but Cece gently grasped her arm shocking the girl, giving her a firm, knowing look. Sanna looked away from her gaze before bolting into the ladies room to pull herself together. The next to come out was Sunjin and Cece's exterior hardened, her eyes holding no sign of pleasantry towards him. Sunjin stared at the Puerto Rican intern for a moment before he smirked her way and turned to head back to the party. Slimy bastard! She wanted nothing more than to bring up this issue but it would ruin the joyous occasion everyone was excited about. So she would talk to Sanna when they went back to work so she could tell her side of the story and be absolutely sure of what she saw. Cece sighed before going into the storage room and grabbed the pack of cups, walking towards the party after she did so. When she got there, she was spotted by Sejun.

"And you said I was the one who would get lost! Thank you, though." he said to the girl.

"Y-yeah, you're welcome." Cece said with a halfhearted chuckle as she spotted Sanna walk in.

"Are you okay?" the CEO asked, both worriedly and curiously.

“I...I’ll tell you later. Let’s just enjoy the party, okay?” Cece suggested and Sejun agreed very confused. Cece speed walked past him and over to Milan, just as Jaehwan was approaching her, to pull her by her arm out of the room.

"Hey!" Jaehwan whined.

"Sorry I need to borrow her for a second." Cece said with a serious face, one that halted his whining. The two walked into the room and Cece paced slightly.

"Girl, what's wrong?" Milan said placing a hand on her shoulder, concern showing in her brown orbs.

"You know all that negative gossip we heard about Sunjin?" she asked and Milan nodded. "Well, I just learned that they are indeed true."

"What did you see?"

"I saw him groping Sanna with his hand up her skirt and inside her pantyhose." she told. "He also threatened her saying that she would lose her job if she didn't play...nice."

Milan gasped. "Did you tell Sejun?"

"I'm going to talk to him after I make sure of what I saw." Cece explained. "Plus I didn't want to make a scene since this is a party." she added and Milan nodded.

"I've always got a weird vibe from him but I wouldn't have assumed this."

"I know, I'm so disgusted." Cece replied, massaging her temple. "But we have to make sure Sanna is well in our sights from now on so this won't happen again."

"Okay." Milan nodded. The two left out of the room and entered the party once again. When Sejun noticed them he gathered everyone’s attention.

“I think we can give the gifts now.” the man announced. “Secret Santas...reveal yourselves!” he added and after a quick chuckle from the group, all the workers went to give their gifts. When Milan went to get her gift, she turned to see three Vixx members, Wonshik, Hongbin and, of course, Jaehwan surrounding her which shocked her.

“I thought we were only supposed to get two Secret Santas?"

"I picked the note with your name on it." Wonshik said.

"Me too!" chimed Hongbin and Milan stared at Jaehwan.

"I'm just Kenyonce." he explained and Milan snorted. Wonshik pulled out his gift which was in a small pink gift bag. She took it and opened it to find a cute white hat with cat ears on them.

“Aww this is so cute!” she exclaimed putting the hat over her curls it happened to match the fluffy white sweater dress she was sporting. She then went to her own gift bag to pull out a black snapback with “Go Hard” written on it just for him since he had such a dominant street style. Even though he wasn’t the one she was supposed to give a gift to, her and Cece decided to give all the people they were close to a gift and the Vixx members happened to be that. "You weren't my person but I still got you something." she smiled.

"Sweet! Thank you!" he thanked while hugging her before he put on the snapback. Hongbin then pulled out his gift which was a furry white backpack which made her chuckle.

"I can tell you two went shopping together." she deduced as she put the bag on. "I must not be cute enough for you guys since that's all I'm getting, cute things." she joked.

"No, you're very cute, noona, so that means it matches." Hongbin clarified.

“Aww, thanks!” she smiled.

“Yah, yah, yah! Back up!” Jaehwan exclaimed stepping protectively in front of Milan. The girl pushed him to the side and rolled her eyes. She then pulled out his gift, his new camera. Hongbin's eyes went wide and Milan laughed at his expression.

"I think this is very befitting for Vixx's artwork, don't you think?" Milan asked.

"Woah! Thank you so much, noona!" he exclaimed bowing before pulling her into a tight hug. He must’ve hugged her for a little too long (not really) becuase Jaehwan stepped in a broke them up.

“Yo, yo, yo, pretty boy! You’re hugging a little too close!” Jaehwan exclaimed sizing up his dongsaeng who didn’t pay him any mind.

“She’s all yours, hyung.” Hongbin smirked before walking off so he could play with his new camera.

“You’re such an dork.” Milan sighed and Jaehwan smiled before he held out his gift. Milan opened it to find a medium sized box and when she opened it she gasped. It was a small tennis bracelet with her turquoise birthstone and silver design. She saw the same exact one during a shopping trip with Cece but they sold out of the design she wanted. How did he get it? “Oh my God! I...I...how?!”

“I know you probably think I’m amazing, right?” he said, expecting her to give a snarky remark but she just stared at him in awe which made him kind of flustered. “That is what you wanted?”

“I’ve been trying to get this same design for a month now and the only way I could get it was if I ordered it from Italy! How did you know?!” Milan exclaimed.

“Oh, you know, I have my resources.” he answered rubbing his neck slightly. Milan looked over to Cece who just finished giving her gifts to Jihae, Sanghyuk, and Hakyeon.

“Cece, you told him?!” asked the Dutch girl.

“Me, what? No~!” Cece replied in the most unconvincing voice and Milan snorted. It was really sweet of Jaehwan to get it for her because he must’ve gone through a lot to get it since it wasn’t a popular find.

“Thank you so much, I love it!” Milan told him with the biggest smile.

“You’re welcome.” he responded with his own smile but his eyes widened when Milan hugged him and kissed him on the cheek softly. At that moment he could literally feel his crush on her increase drastically and he assured himself of something. He was wearing her down, oh yeah!

“You definitely beat me in the gift department but, yeah, I hope you like yours.” Milan said feeling slightly nervous as she held up the rather large sized gift in her arms. Jaehwan took it excitedly and ripped the paper off; looking at the karaoke machine and squealed really loud which made Milan burst into laughter. “I take it I didn’t screw up too bad, huh?”

“I love karaoke machines! I’m gonna put all of my music on here and sing throughout our dorm! Thanks!” he exclaimed. Hakyeon came running over to Milan and grasped her forearms.

“Milan-ah, what have you done?!” he asked with wide eyes, shaking her gently and she started laughing.

“I’m sorry!” she chuckled. “But he has a beautiful voice, so it shouldn’t be too bad.” Milan complimented, not noticing the large smile spread across Jaehwan’s face at the mention of her words.

Cece smiled at the groups exchange before she looked ahead. There stood her target, Jung Taekwoon and after she steeled her resolve she walked up to him. Tapping him on the shoulder, Cece held up her gift in front of his curious face. “Secret Santa delivery!” she informed and he took the gift from her hands. He sat the box down and handed her his gift bag.

“Secret Santa delivery.” he said softly.

“Wow, we got each other? That’s kind of funny.” Cece chuckled as she looked inside and saw a powder blue infinity scarf inside along with a lot of candy at the bottom of the bag and Starbucks gift card. She laughed at how cute the gift was and how accurate he portrayed her likes. “So I get a pretty scarf, a bunch of candy, and a coffee card. It’s like you’ve known me forever.” she said and he smiled a little. He then proceeded to open his gift as Cece put the scarf on which went really well with her royal blue sweater she was wearing. She looked down to see him completely frozen as he stared at the autographed Trey Songz album before he looked up at her with the most shocked expression. It was so cute! “A little birdie told me that you liked Trey Songz and helped me get that for you. From your expression I can tell you like it.” she added and Taekwoon nodded vigorously which made her giggle. He then removed the extra tissue paper and saw a blue, white, and black striped scarf. “I’ve also learned that those are your favorite colors. I didn’t see any that had a good design in the store so I made it myself.” she shrugged.

“You made this?” he asked, surprised.

Cece nodded. “Yes, I did. My mom taught me when I was little. It came in real handy when I was living the broke college student life my first two years.” she chuckled and he smiled.

“Thank you very much.” Taekwoon told her before he noticed something else. “Oh, there’s a card as well.”

“Umm, yeah. So while you’re reading that I’ll be over...somewhere else.” Cece laughed nervously before walking away. Before she could even think about speed walking away, Taekwoon grabbed her forearm and pulled her into his side with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Cece was shocked.

“You’re supposed to watch me open all of my gifts.” he ordered softly and Cece covered her face with her hands. He then opened the card and saw legible, handwritten Hangul.

Dear Jung Taekwoon-ssi,
I know it’s not really something you celebrate but I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! I hope you liked the gifts that I gave you. I really didn’t know what to get you because we haven’t talked a lot in the few months that I’ve been here and I was at a loss. I hope that in the future days to come we could grow to be friends because I think you’re a really nice guy even though you kind of have a nonchalant exterior ^_^! Anyways, I hope you have a happy holiday and that you will accomplish a lot in the year to come. I feel like you will achieve something great I can honestly feel it. Fighting~
Sincerely,
Cecilia “Cece” Jauregui

Taekwoon was touched by how thoughtful her card was. She really went through a lot to make sure he enjoyed his gift. People don’t really do that for him and he felt really grateful. The main vocal looked down to see the intern still had her face covered with her hands. He used his finger to poke her cheek twice before she slowly peeked up at him from in between her fingers to see him smiling at her.

“Thank you.” he said to her and Cece’s face spread into a really wide smile.

“You’re welcome!” she replied.

“But I already considered us as friends. I’m just, well...me.” he said awkwardly.

Cece chuckled. “Well, atleast it’s been clarified.” she assured. Taekwoon then wrapped the scarf she gave him around his face. “So cute!” she exclaimed. Cece could tell he was smiling by the crinkle of his eyes despite his covered mouth.

“Everyone!” they heard the Jellyfish CEO announce. “We can now head into the dining hall and eat!”

“Finally!” exclaimed Sanghyuk and Sejun put him in a headlock. All the workers headed down to the first floor were food was laid out on various tables. As everyone dispersed, Milan and Cece chose one of the tables and took their seats. All of the Vixx members followed them, Taekwoon sitting calmly next to Cece while Jaehwan fought Wonshik for the spot next to Milan (cue eye roll from said girl). She spotted Sanna wandering around the room.

“Sanna, over here!” Milan called out and the assistant walked over to their table, taking the seat next to Hongbin. Cece commended her friend for being on the lookout. “Yay, this is the 90s and under crew!” she exclaimed. Not even a second later, Sejun came to take the final spot at the table.

“Sajangnim, when Milan said 90s she meant 1990 not 1890.” Cece informed.

“Cece, we’re going to fight one day.” Sejun replied.

“You see I don’t fight senior citizens. I don’t have the money to pay for a hip replacement.” she added and the whole table snorted.

“Children these days...I can’t.” the CEO sighed and Cece laughed out loud. She genuinely enjoyed the founder and saw him as a person she both respected and could joke with. He cared about all of his workers which was sadly not a shared quality amongst other entrepreneurs in this industry and he was really chill. She was appreciative of how he tried to be a cool person and really took the time to make company events that make everyone comfortable with him which was why it was not in her to ruin this party, even with Sunjin sending her looks that were meant to scare or intimidate her.

She would save that for the following work day.

Hey I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I added a little more drama starting stuff in the mix of my happy, silly story and I hope you anticipate what's to come. I'll try to update atleast every two weeks but college life ain't easy so please bear with me.