We followed Ravi upstairs. I dropped off my things on the way, and by the time we got to their apartment door, Ravi was already growing nervous. He reached for the doorknob, but his hand stopped just short of it. His arm dropped limply to his side, “This is going to ,” he pouted, but took a breath and finally pushed his way into the apartment.

The door made a rather unhappy creak as Ravi pushed through, as if it were foreshadowing something. I followed Leo inside, but opted to stay in the entryway, both to stay out of the way, and for the possiblility of a quick escape.

“Leo? Ravi?” I heard N respond to the sounds of footsteps and he stepped out of his room, a smile spreading across his face when he spotted his friends, “Ooh,” he approached Leo first, reaching up to gingerly touch his hair, “so soft,” he cooed. Leo surprisingly didn’t duck or dodge, he just stood stock still and submitted to the attention silently.

Ken and Hyuk had showed up shortly thereafter, and were whispering quietly to one another throughout this whole ordeal. Even Hongbin’s face popped up from the common room. “Hakyeon hyung,” Ken called, “Leo has his scary face on.”

“Oh,” N suddenly stepped back. While Leo hadn’t moved, it was like his shadow had its own aura of aggression. No one seemed particularly afraid, but it certainly indicated that Leo was no longer going to tolerate being petted like a house cat. Unabated, N turned to Ravi, “Okay Ravi, let me see!”

Ravi, who had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole scene, stepped forward with his head slightly bowed. Hesitantly he reached up and removed the black beanie. I tensed in preparation for the laughter and teasing, and Ravi looked like he was doing the same. But none came. Silence aded the entire hallway as N stood there, the three other members behind him like timid puppies.

“Oh, Wonsik,” N finally spoke, gently and quietly, “What happened?” he spoke as he stepped forward.

Ravi nearly flinched backward, but managed to stay still, cracking one eye open to look in despair at his friend and leader, “They said it was too damaged to keep any of it,” he spoke lowly, his voice practically dripping with sorrow.

They regarded each other for another long moment before N closed the distance and pulled Ravi in for a hug, “I’m so sorry.”

Like a floodgate had been released, Ken, Hongbin, and Hyuk all rushed forward to join their leader in consoling their friend. Leo looked back at me with a confused look on his face. I was leaning against the entryway still, but I simply shrugged. I had no way of predicting such a unified display of support. “Taekwoon!” N’s voice rang out from the center of the hug huddle, “get over here,” his voice was unusually stern, and Leo didn’t hesitate to turn back around and do what he was told, awkwardly approaching the group. N raised his head, separated himself from the hug, and physically pulled Leo into it. “There,” he said contentedly, like a mother who finally got all of her bickering children together.

I started to edge out the door, leaving the six of them to their touching moment alone. “And where do you think you’re going?” I heard a voice call out. I was tempted not to look, hoping the question was not directed at me, but curiosity got the best of me, and I caught Ken’s eye. Damn. He jerked his head to summon me.

N twisted his head to look at me, his face surprised. “Halley Browne!” his accent did nothing to diminish his authoritative tone, “I didn’t know you were there!” Clearly having forgotten our usual status standings, he glared at me, wriggling his way out of the group hug and stomping down the hallway towards me. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me back. I could hear stifled laughter from the rest of the guys as N positioned me where he wanted me in the circle around Ravi. “There,” he said again, “much better,” he lowered his head to rest his cheek on Ravi’s shoulder as he relished the moment.

We all stayed like that for a while, and I suddenly became aware that Ravi was trembling, “Thanks,” he murmured shakily. “I thought you guys were,” he couldn’t finish.

“Going to relentlessly,” Leo finished for him, his flat still flat and quiet as ever.

“Oh don’t get me wrong,” Ken spoke up now, “I’m sure I’ll make fun of you plenty later, Wonsik,” he stopped speaking for a few moments as he adjusted himself, getting closer to Ravi in the huddle, “but we all know how much you loved your hair.”

Ravi’s trembling changed, and he began to laugh, partially in amusement, and partially in relief, “It’s a bit vain, isn’t it?”

“A bit?” N scoffed, but his bright smile grew.

Once Ravi’s laughter erupted, everyone joined suait, the atmosphere relaxing significantly. “Alright, get off me,” Ravi murmured, shaking free of the giant group hug.

We dispersed slightly to give him some space, “Alright, nothing to see here, back to work!” N called as he turned and strode confidently back into his room.

“Work?” Hongbin asked, looking around, “did I miss something?”

“Nope,” Ken said with a smile, “just business as usual,” he, too, turned and made to leave, “Come on Hongbin.”

“Oh Hongbin!” I piped up, suddenly remembering something, “Your gift is ready for pickup whenever you like.”

“Oooh?” Ken turned back around, “A gift for Bean?”

Hongbin ignored his friend and nodded to me over his shoulder, his dimpled smile appearing suddenly, “Thank you Mira, I’ll come by later.”

Once again I began to edge my way out of the room, headed for the main door, leaving the boys to do whatever it is that they do when they’re not working. As for me, I still had plenty to do. After carefully closing the door behind me, I was finally clear of the VIXX apartment. I let out a long breath. Hanging out with them was always fun and interesting, but if I got roped into every shenanigan they came up with, I would actually just never get any work done.

The meeting scheduled for the following was going to be important. I would meet with the video director, VIXX’s PR manager, Jellyfish’s production team, as well as a budgetary chairman. I needed to ensure I was as prepared as possible. Papers in hand, I got to re-writing all of my notes on my laptop. I strongly preferred hand-writing my notes whenever it was possible, but I would certainly look more professional if I had my laptop with me instead of a bunch of random papers strewn across the conference room table. Not to mention the production team would probably want to hear my digital samples for the track.

After several hours of staring into the bright screen of my laptop, I needed a break. Leaning back in my chair, I pressed my palms against my eyes for a long moment while taking a deep breath. “Are you okay?” I nearly tipped my chair over when I heard the voice from the doorway. I had been in my own world, oblivious to the fact that I had received a visitor.

“Hakyeon,” I greeted once my eyes refocused and I saw the slightly tanned smiling face leaning on my doorframe. “Sorry, I was just trying to get some work done,” I covered a yawn with my hand as I gestured for him to sit with the other.

“You work a lot,” he spoke with a laugh as he settled on my now designated visitor’s chair, “But are you okay?” When I simply answered with a blank stare, he rubbed at his neck awkwardly as he continued to speak, “I mean, is it true you sat with Taekwoon and Wonsik in the basement after hairpocalypse?”

Was he grateful about something like that? Maybe Leo and Ravi embellished a bit. And by that I mean Ravi almost certainly made it into some heroic story of which I was the star. I shook my head, “It is true that I was recording down there when Leo carried him downstairs. I sat next to Ravi’s unconscious body for a while,” I laughed a little. It sounded so ridiculous to say it out loud. “It’s Leo you should thank,” I kicked idly at the dusty carpet under my desk, “he was the one considerate enough to let him recover before taking him home.” I looked back to N, “Though it was you who surprised all three of us by handling it so gracefully.”

He smiled, but it was strained, almost guilty, “Sometimes I need to be an adult.”

The quiet was not comfortable, but I simply watched him for a long moment, “N, you’re part of VIXX, not its manager. You’re older than everybody else, but,” I paused to sigh. This sounded like the talk I had with Leo earlier that day, “you need to be happy, too. You’re doing a great job.”

His smile widened a little, “I’m supposed to be here checking on you, not the other way around.” His smile suddenly faded and he looked at me squarely, “Are you doing okay?” he repeated. Before I could protest, he held up a hand, “I mean, we’re pretty much the same age, and even you said that age doesn’t matter to you, but I’m still the leader around here, and I’ve done a bad job making sure you’re being taken care of.”

I was stunned, “What?” I responded dumbly. Recovering, I sat up, “I mean, of course I’m being taken care of.”

“Is the staff feeding you well?”

“Yes, quite well.”

“Do you have everything you need to work?”

“Of course.”

He tapped his chin in thought, “There isn’t anything that’s bothering you?”

I huffed a little, “It is a bit that I have to stay inside until our collaboration is announced.”

Clearly thrown by my frankness, it took him a moment to respond properly, “I’m sorry,” he sounded defeated, “I don’t think I can help with that.”

“I know, I know,” I shook my head, “of course I’d never blame you.”

Like a rubber band he snapped back to his perky posture, “You have a meeting with management tomorrow, right?”

I nodded, “Yeah.”

“You should bring it up then.”

I groaned, squinting over my shoulder at the still running laptop, “I think they’re going to be pretty sick of me as it is after that meeting is over.”

“Well,” he scooted his chair a little closer, peering at my laptop for an instant before looking back at me, “tell me what you’re going to talk to them about. I’ve had a lot of experience with everyone you’re meeting with, you know.”

“Actually,” I paused to inspect his face for a moment. He had certainly proved his maturity and responsibility several times over, but part of me kept his goofy, optimistic personality as his primary attribute. He was right, he was a unique asset for this sort of thing. “You’re right. I could use your help,” I relaxed a little, my smile finally breaking through.

N turned out to be invaluable. I went down the list of Jellyfish employees that would be present and he gave me a basic rundown of what I needed to know: personality, expectation, formalities, etc. I opted not to bring up the budgetary chairman, because if there was one uncomfortable conversation I did not want to have with him was how much money I was costing his company and how much I would be negotiating away from them.

“You don’t have any sort of management here, do you?” N’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked up at him.

“No,” I said simply, “but don’t worry, I’m a big girl, I can handle myself.”

He laughed, “I wasn’t worried about that,” his face lit up when he laughed, “it will just be a lot for you to handle all at once on your own.”

I shrugged, “I’ve had worse,” I had a brief flashback to one of my American pop singer collaboration meetings and shuttered. “Trust me,” I insisted.

“Thank you,” he said suddenly, his smile remaining as he gave a little bow from his chair.

I recoiled slightly at his sudden formality, “What is the thanks for?”

His grin widened a little, “For caring,” he said simply.

“Of course I care, silly,” I teased.

“I mean about us, not just the music.”

I paused at that to think. It was true, I did care about each of them. I didn’t just want to make a good piece of music anymore, I wanted to help these guys succeed. But N’s gratefulness wasn’t just touching, it was enlightening. “I’m glad you’ve noticed.”

“You know we care about you, too, right?” he stood slowly from his chair, stretching his arms above his head.

“Yeah,” I nodded, “thanks.”

“Come on,” he said impatiently, “you should realize by now I’m a hugging type of guy.”

I snorted trying to contain my laughter as I stood from my chair. Almost immediately he stepped forward and wrapped me in a tight hug. “Thanks, N,” I spoke quietly as I wrapped my arms around him, “for coming to check up on me,” I murmured as we stood there cheek to cheek.

He reached up and gave my hair a pet as he stepped back. “Well you already know you’re welcome to stop by.”

I nodded once, habitually running my hand over my hair, “Of course.”

“Good luck tomorrow.”