Chapter 5

                Running. That’s all that I seem to be doing.  After yesterday’s talk with Taemin and Kibum, my head has been rushing with what information I give out and what I can keep to myself.  Kibum had told me he would give me a list of people I should avoid, but for now it seems easy enough to just gather information and not say anything. I mean I have nothing to tell.  Not yet anyways.

                The boardroom gave off a calm aura as a view of the Seoul skyline could be seen.  As per usual he was the first one there.  Hard wooden soles press across the carpet as a leather briefcase hits a large leather chair.  He didn’t know why he always had to be the first one there, but it never felt right if he wasn’t.  It was like a ritual for him.  He knew he was ready if he made it in first.  It showed that he didn’t need any more time to prepare.  All he had to do was present.

                A few manila folders and papers were excavated from the leather suitcase, and just as he was about to make himself comfortable he heard the door to the board room open.

                “Early as usual, Minho.”  Another man stated as he walked towards the other side of the table.  He watched as Minho’s back tensed and let out a small cough. The aura in the room became very tense.

                “You are one to speak, Soohyuk.  I just stepped in, but it seems that I wasn’t the only one that thought it would be advantageous to come early.”  Minho cautiously replied, keeping hard eye contact, his face unreadable as he watched the other man take a seat opposite him within the long table.

                The two sat quietly as they both took out laptops, paperwork, folders and various other things to occupy themselves.  Soohyuk smirked as he looked up from his layout to find Minho immersed in the papers in front of him.  The smirk slowly turned into a frown.  Soohyuk wasn’t going to get a reaction out of Minho that he wanted… not right now anyways.

                Work continued to be done as the room slowly started to fill up.  Each new addition to the room could sense the tension, but decided to ignore it.  It had become routine.  The two sides of the table never conversed with one another, but the room started to be filled with conversations that seemed to lighten up the room.

                Minho soon felt a soft poke on his shoulder as he looked up to see Jiyoung take the seat next to him.  He gave a grateful smile as he felt that he could relax just a bit.

                The two gave each other a knowing smile.  It was a concept meeting.  Everyone in the room knew that it was the day that something new was on its way.  And it was the day they set the battle field.  The concept was put onto the table, and the past projects from the last cycle were analyzed.  If they were praised, raises all around.  If they failed… people were let go.  Pinpointing the reasons why things worked this way meant nothing.  It was just the nature of the building, but it was nice to know that you didn’t have to do it alone.

                “Minho-ah, I am assuming you got in at 5 AM this morning.  I’m surprised there isn’t a sleeping bag in the corner of the room.” Jiyoung noted as she took her seat next to him placing her own files on the table. 

                Minho looked fondly next to him as he swiftly replied, “The sleeping bag is in my suitcase.  You learn how to be efficient after the first few times you go through something like this.” 

                Rolling her eyes, Jiyoung took out a few papers with a sense of authority and piling them in chronological order of being needed.  Her face had a warm sense of pride to celebrate the approval of the concepts that they had pitched, but at the back of her mind she couldn’t ignore the dwindling number of people on the other side.  She was reminded that with every success that they have been given, a failure was evident to their opponents.

                A look to her right confirmed that she wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing.  They should be smug in their victory, but every meeting seemed like an execution watching the people under them on both sides wonder if they will be able to keep their jobs for another day.  More reason that made these meetings as tense as they were.

                The pair’s forsaken thoughts were interrupted but the opening of the grand doors of the board room.  Three men made their way towards the front of the board room as everyone in the room stood up to welcome them.  The trio had made a dramatic entrance, and a man in a stylish yellow coat draped across his shoulders elegantly dropped himself on a big swivelling office chair.  He had eyes of an eagle, staring directly into your soul, eyes that made things clear.  He was in charge.  He was the CEO of the company.  He was Choi Seunghyun.

                “Welcome, we are here to review what happened the last period plus push for new concepts and ideas.”  The man to the left of Seunghyun was quickly tapping on his PDA while pushing a button on his Bluetooth headset under a shag of orange hair.  He looked up only once to acknowledge the room for the context of the meeting as if everyone around him meant nothing unless they could offer him something.

                “How are the auditions for ‘Star in Our Eyes’ and ‘Dynasty of a Million Years’ going?”  The orange haired man asked.  Seunghyun sat there intently scanning the room in a low key way.  Overall he looked unaffected by the procedures.  It seemed like a nuisance to be in the room.

                “Budgets have been approved and we have talked to agencies about auditions which are starting today.  We have the script writers tying loose ends with the completion of storylines and have lined up studio days for filming.  If all goes according to plan we should be under budget by 5,000,000,000 Won...”  Jiyoung quickly answered as she slid the first few papers down towards the front of the table. 

                The orange haired man quickly grabbed the few sheets and placed them in a pile besides Seunghyun who glazed over the few numbers.  A small nod was given as the orange haired man was permitted to continue.

                “And how about the game show and variety show line up?” 

                Minho straightened up and took a manila folder out of his suitcase as he spoke, “We have talked with agencies about guests appearances and have lined up a few idols and comedians to regularly show on the Variety show.  We also have asked around and set a leak about looking for a new host and have a few comedians and news anchors already inquiring about the job.”  With a small cough Minho looked directly to the front of the table with an unbreaking gaze.

                “Though we do ask in a raise of prize money for the game show from 1,000,000,000 to 5,000,000,000 Won.” 

                Immediately, Soohyuk’s head sprang up.  Eye’s glazed as he spoke, “And where do you expect to get these funds?  I mean, my side is understaffed as is and planning out our projects is beginning to take a toll on some of my staff.” 

                “And what exactly do you need funds for Soohyuk?”  The man to the right of Seunghyun spoke in a drawled out voice, “You have nothing approved but a news slot and a documentary series.”

                “But that doesn’t mean that we should hand over funding to Minho.  I need funding to travel to destinations for the documentary shoot and put correspondents on events that pop up.”  Soohyuk argued as he himself took out a folder of his own with his proposal. 

                “The problem lies within your logic, Soohyuk.”  Seunghyun declared as he looked at his fingernails, “You make it sound like it is going to cost us more than the budget assigned.  If you were paying attention to anything said you would’ve known that Minho and Jiyoung are under budget by 5,000,000,000 won.  They are well within their limits with a 1,000,000,000 won safety net of the budget I have provided for them.”

                Seunghyun’s gaze made its way to the folder put onto the table.  “You played your cards too early, and for that I have no reason to see that proposal because you have made one thing clear.  You need more money when your budget should be sufficient after cutting out at least 15 members of your staff.” 

                The focus was put on Soohyuk’s side of the table and the emptiness and the evidence of the shrinking numbers was evident.  Soohyuk sat silently as Seunghyun continued.

                “This makes me wonder what exactly are you doing with the money we have given you?  Considering the ideas you put forward don’t have international acclaim or bring in any more money than it costs to produce.”

                The meaning was clear.  Soohyuk’s queries were no longer relevant to the conversation.  His input would no longer be valid until the next meeting. 

                “The transfer of funds will be moved from both budgets.  We expect to see at least a 13 percent viewer rating on premiere.”  The orange haired male stated as he tapped at his phone. 

                “Now moving onto new matters.”  Seunghyun declared as the two men moved to the side handing out papers.

                “I feel that you guys are so used to the original routine that we should move forward and diversify what KRTV has to offer.  Some of the biggest investments people have made in the past decade with the biggest but riskiest pay offs come from an industry very close to my heart.”

                Rising from his seat, Seunghyun looked around the room as everyone got their first glimpses at the papers given to them.

                “Idols?”  Jiyoung’s thought had escaped unknowingly and Seunghyun looked over with a smirk. 

                “Yes Jiyoung.  Idols.  This is the trend that everyone feels has the most equity.  And I feel it is time for you to truly push yourselves out of the box.  We all know how I started my career.  No one believed that it was possible to have a TV Station run by actors.  And here we are today.”  The CEO looked across the room as he explained his intention.

                “The people in this room know nothing about creating idols.  Just as I knew nothing about producing and creating content.  This is an opportunity to show me that you guys can take the risk.  This is the opportunity…”  Seunghyun’s gaze intently went to Minho and Soohyuk, “… to prove yourselves.”

                The orange haired man put down his phone to look at the table.  “You are given a timeline of 9 months. To find, train, and debut a new star.  They will debut on a show created under Seunghyun himself.  There they will compete, and every move of your idol will be recorded for the public to see.  Make them loveable, make sure they are talented, and ensure that numbers and targets are met.”

                “Minho’s team will answer to me, while Soohyuk will answer to Taeyang.  We expect a report every three months on progress but we will not help or aid you in any way.” 

                The table looked around silently as the expectations were laid out.  The truth of the matter was that this was the final test.  There were implications that this is what would decide who the next CEO will be.  In the back of everyone’s mind, everyone knew that this would be the battle that would find Seunghyun his heir to the company.

               The first day for Ninomiya was everything he expected.  Breaks weren’t properly planned, he walked into the wrong room more than once and just scathed in a small fish taco for lunch as he rushed over to an audition call to ensure that all the actresses that he needed were accounted for.  To make matters worse, his stature as a PR person was starting to dwindle as he didn’t even realize that he had shunned out three of the industry’s biggest stars out of an audition. 

              A small ping took Ninomiya out of his head as he realized the elevator made it to his floor.  He was grateful that the physical part of the day was over, but it still seemed hard for Ninomiya to lug his feet across the carpeted hallway to the safe haven of his desk.  With a lot of effort and determination he miraculously made it into his swivelling office chair, finally able to breathe. The heaving bag stuffed to the brim with props, papers, and photos that were needed for his report made a loud smack to the ground.  A paper coffee cup made a home on his desk as Ninomiya slumped into his chair.

                “Running around the building and going to all those meetings and….” Ninomiya looked at the clock on the bottom of his computer screen,  “.... I should’ve been home 2 hours ago!” 

                A soft groan escaped his mouth as the brown haired boy realized that he still had a report to do.  But a part of him didn’t want to touch it yet.  With all the effort Ninomiya had left, he tried his best to focus on his computer screen.  But instead he found himself spinning around in circles in his office chair.  The bookshelves seemed to meld themselves into one brown mass as the setting sun glittered across his desk.  It was kind of soothing to not know where anything was, just repeatedly spinning as if nothing else mattered.  Just him, this room….

                And the world seemed to stop as his boss unexpectedly pushed his presence into this little world he has created for himself. 

                Minho’s eyes glared into Ninomiya as a frown was etched on his face.  The need for personal space apparently didn’t matter as Ninomiya got a hold of himself and could feel a breath brush his face.

                “Using your time wisely, I see?”  Minho asked unamused.  There seemed to be a part that gave pity to Ninomiya as he gave him his space. 

                Winded by the sudden stop to the numbing spinning of his life, Ninomiya looked around as Jiyoung stared tiredly as if this was a normal occurrence.  Ninomiya sat there opening and closing his mouth for a few seconds comprehending what he was just told.  His thought process a bit slow as a response was carefully being placed together. Patience was not something Minho or Jiyoung had at that precise moment.  Not even caring to hear a response the two walked away leaving the new hire to himself.

                “I mean… yes?  I spent the last 8 hours running around a building I barely know, getting lost once or twice but still able to reach every appointment given to me with 2 hours overtime I’m expected not to get paid for, while being here a bit more because I have to give you a report due on your desk tomorrow morning.  Is it against the law for me to deal with my numb mind for a few minutes since I just entered this room not too long ago?” 

                Ninomiya’s eyes glazed over as he could feel the amount of work he had done throughout the day catch up with him again just by speaking about it.  His shoulders were heavy only to find out his outburst was directed to no one and Minho’s office door was securely shut. 

                “And here I am… speaking to absolutely no one.”

                Taking a deep breath, Ninomiya stood up and dragged his feet towards the needlessly gargantuan doors.  Thinking back on this, it probably wasn’t the best decision to walk into the office when a report was supposed to be done, but at this point a very tired and mildly confused assistant had opened the dark mahogany doors to see two people huddled around the large desk engrossed in a teenage girl’s face.

                “Her eyes are too small and far apart.  Plus she’s been here for an audition before, her hand eye coordination is not even close to what we want.”  Jiyoung whined as the picture of the girl flung its way off the desk next to Ninomiya’s feet.

                Bemused, Ninomiya looked down at the picture noticing that the blank white space on the back had scribbles of pros and cons.  The cons heavily marked and underlined.  The only thing that would make the rejection more obvious would be a gigantic X across the girl’s face.  Taking a bit more interest into his surroundings, the assistant realized two things.

                One, that he was spaced out a lot longer than he thought he was and that he should re-think his new hobby of spinning around in his chair.  Two, that Ninomiya worked for really judgemental people as the floor was already filled with rejected pictures.

                “It may not be my place to ask, but why, pray tell, are pictures of girls being thrown to the ground?”  Ninomiya queried as he picked up three pictures and dropped them to the floor, interest fading from their content.

                Minho looked up from the pictures at hand and took a long stretch.  “I am assuming looking into space wasn’t entertaining enough for you?”  The doe eyed man asked, quirking an eyebrow from his desk.

                Ninomiya indignantly stuck his tongue out at his new boss as he turned to Jiyoung. 

                “We are looking for a new idol.  A triple threat.  Talented, Appealing, and Charismatic.  We’re taking a step into the music industry.  It doesn’t help that all our connection are actors so we are delving into schools.”  jiyoung stated.  Eyes focused on the back of a picture vigorously writing in red pen, then throwing it to the ground, “As you can see, it’s not going so well.”

                With a curious gaze around the photos and taking a few steps in to see the titles of the covers of the books they were using, Ninomiya realized that they were yearbooks from a Dramatic Arts School. 

                A soft cough could be heard as Ninomiya’s attention was given to his boss.  A shy step back was taken as Minho eyed him in a frustrated manner.  Minho didn’t seem to be very amused by his new assistant’s presence, it didn’t seem like Minho had patience for anything really.

                “Is there anything that you need from me?”  Minho asked.  His tone deflated as if he was losing the energy to even try to be authoritative.

                Ninomiya sat on top of the desk and grabbed the yearbook while perusing the contents.  With a small smirk he replied, “Not really.  But I feel that you guys could use a few things from me.” 

                Jiyoung’s head popped up from the mad scribbling on the other side of the desk, eyes holding a smolder as if she didn’t believe what she had just heard. 

                “Not to be rude… well really I guess it doesn’t matter since you work for us, but what exactly do you mean you have something we can use?”  Jiyoung stood up from her seat walking closer to the newly hired assistant, “You’re an assistant.  You have no use being in this office.  We give you a schedule and you ensure that tasks get completed.  Tell me exactly what you have to offer.” 

                The tense mood went straight through Ninomiya as he looked behind him to see doe eyes with conflicted emotions.  The brown haired boy could see pity for opening a can of worms that he didn’t know contained such a nasty sight, but there was also that same disdained look that Jiyoung was giving him at this very moment.  Turning his head he was faced with a woman who knew what she wanted, and what she wanted to was push Ninomiya back to the place where she think he belonged.

                “W-well… First of all I think you guys are looking in the wrong places.  Cheongcham High School has given great artists, but their significance in performing arts has dwindled over the past few decades.  Plus all the yearbooks you have are from schools in Seoul.  Have you thought about moving to Daegu?  The biggest idols and voices are discovered in Daegu, plus the connections to the model world.  You haven’t even considered diving into the pool of models with extra talents.”  Ninomiya explained as he jumped off the desk dusting his pants from imaginary dust.

                The two seniors looked at the boy in front of them as Ninomiya nervously looked around the room.  All the assistant wanted to do was go back to his desk and go back to his spinning world, or do that report.  The report he probably should’ve finished an hour ago.

                “Why… do you know all that?”  Jiyoung asked, her features softening ever so slightly.  The look of mistrust still heavily instilled sent another shiver down the boy’s spine.

                “I was a PR Representative for Style.  I did interviews with idols, models, a few of the actors you’ve hired.”  Ninomiya stated, but the thoughts in his mind raced.  This was something that he knew about.  It was actually a job perfect for him.  He’s been around and made connections with these types of people for the past year of his career.  All he had to do was convince them.

“The industry that you guys are delving into is something that I have worked with for the past year.  I mean I probably can call one of my contacts from Style to help you guys recruit a few familiar faces if you...”  Ninomiya started to excitedly babble, the potential in his head growing.

A loud slam on the wooden desk stopped him from his reverie as Minho looked him straight in the eye. 

“We do not need your services for this.  We hired you not as a PR person or a recruiter for our team.  What we need from you is organizational skills and confirmation reports on the work that we have planned and are now executing.  You are not, and will not be a part of this.  This is a task that my team and I hold on our own.”  Minho declared as his eyes never left the brown of Ninomiya’s.

Jiyoung’s look was calculating and looked between the two, her judgement told her to keep quiet as she let the encounter happen.  But she could see that Ninomiya was cracking.  That something big was going to happen to this new hire.

Ninomiya took a deep breath trying his best to keep the hurt out of his eyes.  “So you’re saying that after being hired that I’m not really part of this team?”  He asked not breaking eye contact with fiery doe eyes, “You’re telling me that you picked me off the street to do nothing but remedial labor.  After giving me a speech about the knowledge I had and experience that I have accrued, you’re telling me that all I’m worth is a report at the end of the day?” 

With a small huff Ninomiya turned around not noticing that Minho decided to look out a window.  “Then that’s what I will give you.” 

Walking through the big doors, they fell closed behind him before he could hear the change of tactics in the office.  Long strides were taken to get to the glass desk sitting beside the door and a belittled assistant harrumphed into his chair.  Opening a Word document on his computer to begin his report, he eyed his phone sitting beside his mouse and the untouched cup of writing utensils.

A determined look went through his eyes as he picked up his phone and dialed.

“Minki… do you think you can help me with something?”