Chapter 4

Today is too long.  And the people here are too extravagant.  I mean, I wouldn’t have minded a manual and a tour of the building.  But instead I got eight hours filled to the brim of monotonous information and apparently another boss?  I don’t even know if he’s my boss.  According to Kibum I’m Minho’s assistant but apparently there are two Visual Concept Heads.  So what does that mean for me?

The three had made it to the coffee shop not realizing how late it had gotten as they sat by a window with their hot drinks in hand.  They sat quietly for a few minutes just watching the busy Seoul traffic pass by.  Students were running their way through the streets, and the sun had just started to diminish behind the tall buildings. 

It was a peaceful occasion, it was something they all craved.  But the real reason they were there loomed above them and they realized they had to move on with business.  And it started with a very important question.

“Why did you bring Taemin along?”  Kibum annoyingly mustered as he watched the violet haired male swung his legs off the stool happily, sipping his coffee beaming like a five year old.

Taemin grinned cheekily as he stuck his tongue at Kibum.  “It’s obvious that my charming good looks and sparkling personality has intrigued Ninomiya and he wants to become closer with me using you as an excuse to take me out on an impromptu date.” 

The two men began bickering as Ninomiya rolled his eyes and took a hefty swig of his latte.  He was content to sit there and wallow in his thoughts and have a moment of silence, only to be reminded that he brought other people with him.

“Well it would help if he looked over at you.  I mean you must be a boring date if he isn’t even talking to you.”  Kibum retorted realizing that Ninomiya was beside the,  mindlessly looking out the window. 

Taemin gave a sly grin as he replied, “I don’t blame him, I mean everyone you train usually ends up a zombie at the end of the day.”  Taemin took a cheeky sip of coffee only to sputter out the little that he was able to put into his mouth as a hand aggressively met his head.

Thinking that he had taken in as much enjoyment as he could from the hot drink in front of him, Ninomiya turned from the window to face the other two.

A quick cough caught the attention of the two bickering males, and eyes stared as the atmosphere drastically changed.

“Well I brought Taemin here because I know for sure that he works with both Soohyuk and Minho.  And I know that you Kibum have a bit more education to give me about KRTV.”  Ninomiya flatly stated putting his coffee cup on the table. 

Taemin and Kibum looked between each other, entranced by the sullen majestic tone Ninomiya had taken up.  It didn’t feel like they were speaking to the Ninomiya that had that strong outburst earlier.  It was someone who was here for business, and they felt like they were obliged to give him what he needed.

“So first I am going to need to know about this system, and then who is Soohyuk.  And of course we are going to have to cover what exactly the relationship between Soohyuk and Minho is like.”  Ninomiya continued as the photographer and receptionist were given the questions that he wanted answered.  “It feels like I was placed between a war zone if I take what happened in that break room earlier into account.”

Kibum and Taemin exchanged wary looks as they realized that this boy didn’t know what he was getting into.  Yet it surprised both of them.  Why would Minho hire someone that didn’t even know the basic structure of the building?  There were probably hundreds of applicants that would’ve loved to take over Ninomiya’s position that knew a lot more of the company’s affairs.  But here they sat, explaining the origins of KRTV drama that everyone but Ninomiya seemed to know.

Kibum shook his head as he grabbed his coffee and swirled it around.  Not for any particular reason, just to calm himself as he started to speak.

“I am surprised that someone working as PR for a magazine doesn’t already know how KRTV works.  I mean I feel like it was a splash to the industry when Seunghyun threw the curveball and gave Minho that promotion.”  Kibum wondered out loud as he put his coffee cup down. 

‘Seunghyun’ Ninomiya thought the name to himself.  He remembered the name.  The head of KRTV.  He himself was a prodigy, starting up a television company that beat all odds.  The man was an entertainer before he got into business.  Rapping in his younger days, and then stealing the hearts of many playing an array of bad boys on television.  He delved into developing ideas he and other actors had.  No one really believed in them at the start.  I mean, a television company run by entertainers seemed absurd at the time.  But with the strategic placement of connections, and the experience he had gained by actually being a part of the magic, he seemed to have taken over the TV world over night.

“Seunghyun said it himself, Minho was the Youngest Visual Concept head in the last half century.  But to be given such a title would bring up a lot of criticism, wouldn’t it?  Seunghyun knew that Minho had a lot of potential, but he wanted to see how far he could push him.  So he created the two head system.  It was made in thoughts that there would be a more competitive spirit around the building and that would create more unique, boundary pushing ideas.”

Kibum’s eyes hardened as he spoke.  The handle of his coffee cup felt a big amount of pressure as Ninomiya looked between the two people in front of him.  They both seemed to look distraught.

“A lot of good that did.”  Taemin whispered as he took a sip of coffee.

Curious eyes hit Kibum, urging him to continue.  After hearing what Taemin had to say he could only assume the rest of the story wouldn’t be so nice.

KIbum let out a sigh as he returned to his storytelling,  “As you now know, the one he hired to be the other Visual Concept Head was Soohyuk.  The two were very similar, and it made sense at the time.  They were both very big in their fields, Soohyuk a very strong actor while Minho took over the fashion industry.  They both had similar work experience, heck they were born in the same year."

Taking all of it in it made sense.  Two heads were better than one, and the competition for ideas would explain the tension Ninomiya heard in Soohyuk’s voice.  It just didn't seem... right for some reason though. 

"And that all sounds wonderful and dandy.  I mean two successful, similarly professional men working head to head to create new ideas..."  Ninomiya iterated playing with his cup as a snort could be heard from across the table.

Taemin's eyes glimmered as he gave a quick cough to cover up his snort,  "I don't really think you understand the severity of it all.  I mean the way you put it makes it sound that they are all buddy buddy."  Taemin sarcastically explained.

Kibum sat at the wayside looking down at his coffee cup.  The pair looked sullen as they both took a long swig of coffee.  Ninomiya sat across from them patiently waiting to see if they would continue.  By the looks in their eyes, he just knew that the rest might become interesting.

"And they WOULD be too.  It's just...Seunghyun isn't one for... conventional authority."  Kibum blurted.  He thought that that was the best way to explain the situation.  Clearly the boy beside him didn't seem to agree.

"That's a stretch."  Taemin's voice came out bitter.  Memories flashed before his eyes as Ninomiya watched and tried to take in as much information as he could from the man's body language.  "Seunghyun stated what he wanted.  A competitive atmosphere that would create wonderful, new, innovative ideas."

"The only problem was.  There weren't any rules.  They were given the concept and that's it.  It started a dark age the moment they were chosen to become heads."  Taemin shook his head thinking about the past.

Ninomiya's eyes widened.  He looked across the table and the flirty, coy eyes turned into something dark and angry.  And beside the looming figure, Kibum sat shaking his head having memories of his own.  An eerie tension came up, which lead to a silence that was unbearable to the only one out of the three that wasn't there to brood.

"Dark age?"  Ninomiya asked breaking the silence.  Just by uttering the two words he couldn't help but let out a cough.  The tension that was cut was something that he couldn't seem to handle. It wasn't everyday that you hear something named so drastically. 

Kibum nodded at the words.  He knew he would have to talk about it eventually.  It just reminded him of a time that was different.  It saddened him to think that it has gotten to this point.

"Look, it’s wasn’t always like this.  At one point, we were all quite close.  We all entered the same internship program.  We all came from such different backgrounds and for a few years we grew together.  We learned how to take an idea and create something together.  We all found out strong points and we were a unit that at the time had a lot of potential.”  Kibum’s words leaked with a nostalgia of a past that made him happy. 

Ninomiya believed that everything used to be different.  It just it wasn’t the past anymore.  He would never see that part of KRTV, he needed to know what happened now. 

With a snarl and shake of his head, Taemin was willing to give him the present reality that Ninomiya needed to know.

“And then we realized that our group had gotten split.  We started out fine.  We thought that we would be able to help out both sides easy enough.  It just didn’t turn out that way for long.  We had to pick sides.  The same ideas were hitting the table.  Accusations of plagiarism, stealing information, and office espionage got the better of us.”  Taemin explained. 

“It got out of hand, things were being kept from Seunghyun.  Both sides were trying their best to keep their ideas secret.  Key, Jiyoung and I seemed to be the only middle ground.  We were on the verge of quitting because SBS had seen the drama and offered us work.  And we almost took the offer too.  We didn’t know who to trust, we could barely do our jobs with the minimal information given to us.  It was just a train wreck.  But then it happened…” 

Taemin sighed looking Ninomiya straight in the eye.  Key shook his head and a tear left his right eye as he quickly looked out the window.  Ninomiya handed him a napkin as his attention returned back to Taemin.

“Minho’s intern was caught sneaking ideas over to Soohyuk’s side.  It was horrible.  The whole building was up in an uproar because that day was also a board meeting to introduce new ideas.  As expected the presentations were both the same.  Seunghyun questioned why that was.  Minho laid it out on the table.  His ideas were being stolen by one of his interns and given to Soohyuk.  Before Soohyuk could even let out a defence, I remember Seunghyun giving nothing but a shrug.” 

At this point Taemin’s hands were in fists.  The anger sprawled through him as he tried his best to compose himself.  Kibum put a hand on Taemin’s shoulder, a bit calmer than he was before knowing that he should probably make sure his friend didn’t blow up.  Taemin took a few deep breathes before he decided to continue.

“Seunghyun made it clear in that boardroom that there were no rules.  He had stated right then and there that Minho should’ve kept tabs on his people better.  In an industry like this one it isn’t about who thought about the idea first, it’s about who can prepare a better pitch.  And that day Soohyuk created a better pitch.  That was the day the three of us left the middle ground.  We just couldn’t work with someone like Soohyuk anymore.”

Ninomiya watched as Taemin seethed the last part of his story through.  It didn’t seem right.  To hear that ideas were being stolen and used by someone else.  It reminded him of the reason why he had been let go from Style.  But the thought did cross Ninomiya’s mind.  If Style thought the way Seunghyun did, he would probably still be working PR.

The three sat in silence as Kibum tried his best to calm down Taemin.  Ninomiya took everything he had just been told in.  The coffee cups were empty for what seemed like an eternity as the three noticed that it was already pitch black outside.  Ninomiya decided that it was time for him to speak.

“So I am guessing that means being hired by Minho, I have to keep everything that is happening a strict secret.  I am going to have to learn who his allies are within the company, who to avoid…”  Ninomiya sighed as the reality of the situation hit him.  “… and most importantly I am going to have to show Soohyuk and Minho where my loyalty lies.”

The two boys across the table looked at Ninomiya wide eyed.  Kibum’s mouth started blubbering like a fish at the words he heard, and Taemin’s face turned blank.

“W-what do you mean… where your loyalty lies…?”  Kibum asked looking straight down at the table.  Taemin’s jaw clenched as both of them stared intently at the new employee.

Ninomiya gave a sigh.  “Exactly what it sounds like.  I will tell you this, I am indebted to Minho.  Without him I would be worrying too much about a lot of things that wouldn’t need to be worried about.  But the reality is this.  I am the weakest part of Minho’s circle.  I am new, I am a receptionist that just started.  If this is as bad as you guys say it is… what’s stopping Soohyuk from trying to win me over to spy for him?” 

Ninomiya looked both boys across from him with a warm glare.  It was sinking in.  He had entered the jungle.  And it seemed like Ninomiya became the most valuable piece in the game being played at KRTV.