They arrived at SM Building and as they made their way to the floor of the CEO’s office they could feel the nervous atmosphere rising, majority of it coming from Baekhyun.

They didn’t know what to do to calm him down. It wouldn’t be a good idea to let him go in there while he’s nervous or they might not get the result they want. That’s when Chanyeol realises something. He still hasn’t given Baekhyun his present. That might even calm him down, he thinks as he reaches into his shoulder bag and digs around a bit until he finally takes out a small navy blue box. He taps Baekhyun on the shoulder and Baekhyun turns around to look at him – nervousness radiating from his tiny frame. Chanyeol gave him the most reassuring smile he could muster in the tense atmosphere and held out the box to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun’s nervousness faded into confusion as he looked up at Chanyeol with puzzled eyes. “I told you I’d be the first to give you a present, right?” Chanyeol’s smile widened a little in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Baekhyun’s eyes lit up in realisation. “Oh!” He exclaimed. “This is for me?” He asked, unsure.

“Yeah.”

Baekhyun beamed at him, eyes sparkling with happiness. “Really? I haven’t been given something as a present in a long time!” He carefully opened the box to reveal a simple silver chain bracelet with a small silver Rilakkuma charm attached to it. “Thank you!” He almost yelled as he bear-hugged Chanyeol.

Chanyeol laughed at his reaction and squeezed Baekhyun tightly, earning himself a laugh from Baekhyun, too.

At that moment the elevator doors opened to reveal their intended floor. The other members gave Baekhyun an anxious-but-reassuring smile for the last time before Baekhyun was ushered towards the CEO’s office by his secretary.

Baekhyun was happy. Ecstatic, even. He’d been nervous at the prospect of the meeting that he was about to undergo, but Chanyeol’s surprise gift and the other members’ assurance that he’d be fine and that he’d done nothing wrong had managed to reduce him to a calm state. Well, as calm as Baekhyun will ever be in this type of situation.

The CEO’s office was smaller than expected. He figured it would’ve been massive with chandeliers and expensive leather couches, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t basic by any means, but it was nothing like you would expect.

He was motioned to sit in one of the chairs opposite what Baekhyun figured was the CEO’s desk.  Nothing was happening for a few minutes and Baekhyun started to panic. What is he supposed to do? Say hello? No, that’s not how you would get the attention of someone as important as him. He doesn’t even know this man’s name. Maybe he should’ve asked someone. Maybe he should’ve gotten one of the EXO members to come with him. Surely they wouldn’t have minded. Or maybe they would. Either way, Baekhyun is panicking at the moment and he can feel himself starting to sweat profusely.

“Hello, Baekhyun-ssi.”

The sudden deep voice made Baekhyun almost jump out of his skin, he looked up from his hands and his eyes met with cold dark brown ones.

“Sorry I startled you.”

This snapped Baekhyun out of whatever he was thinking, and he immediately stood out up from his seat and gave a ninety-degree bow.

“I’m sorry!” He yelled, voice overly apologetic. “Hello, I’m Byun Baekhyun from YG Entertainment. It’s nice to meet you, sir.” He gave him the best smile he could in hopes that he wouldn’t get mad at Baekhyun for not introducing himself sooner.

“I know who you are, Baekhyun-ssi. I tried to get you to enter my company a few times. You rejected the offer, though.” He smiled at Baekhyun and Baekhyun was at a loss for words. When had he asked him to join his company? He doesn’t recall that ever happening. It’s possible, though. Baekhyun has never really had a great memory.

The CEO reached for a bottle of something and poured himself a glass of whatever the red substance was. “I’m assuming by your face that you were not aware that we had offered you a job here. Your company probably never informed you.” He looked towards Baekhyun and made a gesture to the bottle in a silent question if he wants some. Baekhyun shook his head meekly.

The CEO took a short sip from his glass before continuing. “In regards to your manager, Baekhyun, are you aware that what he is doing to you is illegal?” His eyes flicked from his drink to Baekhyun and Baekhyun paused.

What? His manager is doing something illegal? To him? Is he referring to his manager hitting him? How could he know? Baekhyun was told to keep it a secret and as far as he knows the only people that know about it is EXO. Unless they told him. But they wouldn’t do that. They just wouldn’t.

“I-illegal, sir?” He stuttered, not wanting to make this man angry but wanting clarification.

“The abuse, Baekhyun-ssi. When he hits you, that is illegal. It’s breaking the terms that are in your contract. Did you read your contract, Baekhyun-ssi?” The man asked. Yes, of course he read it. He might not have understood some parts and he only remembers a few of the terms and conditions, but he did read it.

“Yes. I read it.”

“Then you should know that he is breaking the terms stated. I hope you realise that it means you are entitled to file a lawsuit.” He announced casually.

File a lawsuit? Baekhyun isn’t really familiar with legalities and all of that. He was never good at those kind of subjects back in school. He was always better at the creative arts.

“W-what does that mean?”

The man looked like he was beginning to get annoyed, but kept his composure by releasing nothing more than a sigh. “It means that you can sue them, Baekhyun. You would most likely have to appear in court, but with the already substantial amount of evidence of the abuse and your testimonial as well as a few other peoples’, it would be almost impossible for you not to win.”

Court? Baekhyun doesn’t want to have to appear in court. Court is for criminals. What if he messes something up and gets sent to jail? Can that happen? Baekhyun doesn’t like the prospect of going to court at all.

Baekhyun averted his eyes to the floor, despite the fact that it was rude. “Do I have to?” He muttered.

“It’s your choice. But if you win, you’d be out of that company and away from that manager. No one would hurt you anymore. You’d be free. We will offer you a place here and you can either continue your solo activities or you could join a group. You know, one of our most popular groups has recently lost quite a few members, and seeing as you’re already loved so dearly by the public we might be able to fit you in with them. Do you know EXO?” Baekhyun’s head popped up at the mention of their name, but the man didn’t wait for Baekhyun to reply. “That’s them. I’m sure they’d be open to the idea of a new member.” The man grinned. There was something off about that smile but Baekhyun paid no mind to it, his new focus was the possibility of joining his friends and getting away from his manager. “So, what do you say, Baekhyun-ssi?”

Baekhyun sat there for a few moments, trying to figure out if he wanted to go through with this or not. If he left his company, he will be away from his manager that hits him and he could join this company and be with his new friends, but can he really risk losing his job?

“I think…”

The members of EXO were currently waiting outside the CEO’s office, despite the man’s secretary asking them to leave. They wanted to be there when Baekhyun came out so they could get every single detail about his meeting with the CEO. They honestly hope nothing bad happens, while they doubt the CEO would ever do anything to hurt Baekhyun, there’s no telling what he might manipulate him into doing. Their CEO was a good man, but in this business in this world, anyone can have ulterior motives.

Jongdae spent the entire time pacing back and forth to the point that Kyungsoo got so annoyed that he threatened to cut off his legs and stab him with them, the rest of the members were scattered across the seating area either playing games, having light conversations, or sleeping, in Jongin’s case.

The meeting had been going for a lot longer than they had anticipated it to. They’d figured it would go for about twenty to thirty minutes, but they were nearing fifty as of now and the members were beginning to get restless.

The moment Baekhyun walked out of the CEO’s office and bowed to the secretary he was swarmed by EXO. Jongdae, who was probably the most restless for some unknown reason, was the first person to speak up, grabbing Baekhyun by the shoulders.

“How did it go? What did you talk about? Was he mean to you? Are you alright?” He spoke so quickly that it was hard to keep up.

Baekhyun smiled softly up at him, slightly surprised that they were all still there waiting for him. He relayed to them what had occurred in the meeting and they were all a little shocked that it hadn’t taken much for Baekhyun to be convinced. Minseok said he wasn’t too sure about the whole ‘joining EXO’ thing, not because they didn’t want him, but because of the fans. When the others left, the fans were heartbroken and quite a few of them still are, and adding another member right after might not be the best plan. Then again, doing it now while everything is a mess might be better than doing it later and causing another mess.

That’s if everything goes smoothly. It’d be a while until Baekhyun would actually be able to join anyway. He’d have to go through the whole lawsuit first, join the company, sort things out, and it might take months for all of that to happen. Minseok – and the rest of the member for that matter – could only hope that everything goes well and that Baekhyun made the right choice in doing all of this.

“Are you sure about this, Baek?” Chanyeol asked, voicing all of the member’s thoughts.

The smaller male looked over towards Chanyeol, his eyes full of resoluteness. He’d made up his mind. “Yeah. I’m sure.”