CHAPTER 40

[Sol Han Na’s POV]

“Double time, people! We need to get to the company quick!” Manager Song yelled as she pushed the door to every room open, surprising the still sleeping members out of their wits. I heard a series of yelps and groans and some curses which eventually made me laugh. I know, I know. Been there  done that, I wanted to tell them. I was woken up early in the morning by a call coming from her, ordering me to meet her at the dormitory quick. I didn’t understand why I had to go all the way here when I could easily head straight to the company. But still, I obeyed. Manager Song’s words are law.

“What’s going on, Manager? Is something happening at the headquarters?” a half-conscious Oh Sehun asked when he stepped out of his room. He only has a single eye opened and he’s ruffling his tousled hair, trying to put it to place.

“Yes, there is something happening and it’s something big,” the woman answered before resuming on her wake up call. I chuckled. “Good morning, baby,” I greeted the youngest whose face already bears an adorable pout. He seemed to snap out of his reverie the moment he heard me speak.

“Noona! You’re here!” he exclaimed, suddenly wide awake. Shuffling sounds came  from other rooms before the members’ heads popped into view one by one.

“HANNA!” they shouted all together.

“That’s the reason I chose to bring you,” Manager Song muttered with a pleased nod. “You wake them up better than any kind of alarm clock could.”

I shook my head at her in disbelief. So she made me go all the way here just so she could use me to wake the boys up? Unbelievable.

“I’ve got food prepared downstairs,” I announced. “Eat first before showering.”

The boys cheered in delight as soon as they heard ‘food’ being mentioned. They orderly marched downstairs, leaving me and Manager Song behind.

“What’s with all the fuss so early in the morning, Manager?” I asked. She opened and was about to respond when another door burst open and Baekhyun appeared.

“Oh. You’re prepared already?” Manager Song mused, scanning the man from head to toe. Unlike the others, Baekhyun looked thoroughly arranged – his hair was combed into perfection, his clothes  smooth and unruffled. His face was clean and fresh. He looked like he’s just finished washing up.

An evident blush crept on his cheeks as he gazed away and replied, “N-No. I-I just washed my face, that’s all.”

Manager Song scoffed, obviously unconvinced. She patted Baekhyun’s shoulder and mumbled before walking away, “Reasons. Just admit you wanted to look good because Hanna’s here.”

Baekhyun’s face turned even redder and I heard Manager’s evil chuckle when she passed by me. The two of us stood in silence before I was snapped back to reality.

“There’s food downstairs,” I talked first, turning towards the staircase. I went down without waiting for him and it took him quite a while to join us at the table.

***

There were yells and cheers and applause resonating all around me but I stood frozen on my spot, too stunned to even move a muscle. I’ve had a lot of expectations in what might happen at the company but this was never on my list.

“It’s about time for me to step down and let the original leader claim his rightful place,” I remember the CEO – or should I say, the previous CEO – say during his speech. It has been quite an awkward situation for all of us since none of us really know how to react. We were supposed to act like we’re sad about the thought of him leaving but in all honestly, all I wanted to do then was to rejoice and celebrate.

And now his father, our real president, is standing at the center of the stage – smiling kindly at us. A sliver of hope blossomed within me. A lot of problems arose during his long absence and now that he’s back, I was praying he’d try to set things right. I wonder if he knows what his son did to the company.

The CEO ended his speech but before dismissing us, he announced that he’d be meeting with each group separately. He gave us the order in which we’d be spoken to and I was glad I’d be joining EXO. I don’t think I can handle talking to him alone. We waited at the practice room for our turn and left for his office when Manager Song came to fetch us.

“Among everyone, I have to admit I feel the most sorry about what happened to your group,” the man spoke weakly behind his desk, his eyes raking us with pity. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help fix things. You lost not only one but two members. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy thing to cope with.”

Everyone shifted on their seats. It’s been ages since we last talked about that topic and now that it’s resurfaced, it’s surprising how much it still burns and stings.

The CEO talked about more things and mentioned some of his plans for the group’s career and mine. We were dismissed but the man asked Baekhyun to stay, making us all frown in confusion.

“I need to have a word with you, Mr. Byun,” he said in a neutral tone that effectively hid whatever intention he has. Baekhyun sat back down to the white velvet couch and we stomped our way out the office with hesitation.

“You think Baekhyun’s in trouble, hyung?” Jongdae whispered close to Joonmyeon who only shrugged and replied, “I hope not.”

***

I was pacing back and forth inside the practice room, feeling restless about Baekhyun’s long absence. I kept wondering about what the CEO could possibly want to talk to him about – I have this intuition it isn’t something good.

It must have been a half an hour when the double doors finally swung open and Baekhyun stepped in. I stopped on my tracks to check on him. His face was wiped off of any emotion but he looked pale as a ghost. I was about to approach him when the boys beat me to it. I decided to stand back and listen as they asked him about how their conversation went but he refused to give away anything. Instead, he excused himself and fled again.

***

We are now back at the dormitory, watching the evening news. The members managed to convince me to hang out with them and here we are, waiting for our orders to arrive. Kyungsoo and I are in no mood to cook so we decided to just order some Chinese for dinner.

“What’s taking the delivery guy so long?” Jongin whined. He’s currently lying with his head on my lap, ordering me to play with his hair. The boys only replied with an impatient grunt. They’re already hungry. No one was paying much attention to the television but every head snapped to its direction when two familiar names were mentioned by the announcer.

“Their company had already released a statement confirming the Idols’ break up, saying it’s because they needed to focus on their work and promotions,” the woman continued but my mind could barely process any of her words. All I could think about is the picture of the people involved flashed largely on the screen accompanied by the news title on bold red letters.

‘EXO’s Baekhyun and SNSD’s Taeyeon Confirmed to have Broken Up’

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