[The 19th floor of La Rouge Entertainment HQ, at approximately 9.30pm]

It's been four days since Wendy the manager accidentally took Irene's fan café by storm. The quiet night air in the office is interrupted by the sound of frantic fingers dancing across the keyboard. Seungwan hits the ‘Enter’ key with a severe decisiveness. The search turns up nothing. She backspaces and enters another word.

Nothing.

The blonde frowns and leans back into her chair, her hand rubbing her chin as she thinks. Hard. She suddenly shoots forward and seizes her mouse, double-clicking through the folders.

She stops.

There it is. The jarring lack of trainee records from the years 2009 to 2013. Also known as a time of Jang’s reign. She growls in frustration and shuts down the computer. Only one person can explain.

She strides out of her office towards the only other lit room on the floor.

Kangta is startled from his work when the glass door to his office swings wide open and a figure storms in. He breathes a sigh of relief when he realises the intruder is none other than his COO. Who looks positively displeased. Kangta clears his throat as Seungwan stops in front of his desk.

“Manager Son, to what do I owe the pleasure? Did you go viral again?”

“Cut it out, Kangta.”

Realising that Seungwan means business, Kangta sits up straight, resting his folded hands on his desk, “What’s wrong?”

“The trainee records from 2009 to 2013 have been wiped.”

“What? That can’t be,” the CEO frowns and quickly pulls up the database on his computer.

Seungwan folds her arms and watches him. Kangta arrives at a shocking realisation that his COO isn’t wrong. The blank window stares back at him, unchanging.

“What the hell?!”

Seungwan assesses his reaction cautiously and realises the CEO only knows as much as her. Another dead-end.

She groans, pressing her hand to her face as exasperation fills her, “Damn it.”

“Okay, I know this is extremely alarming, but why are you looking for those records—” Kangta’s question dissolves away when the answer occurs to him, “Oh. This is about Jang, isn’t it?”

Seungwan’s silence confirms his suspicions. Kangta sighs and gets up from his chair to pour both of them some water. He hands a cup to her and she takes it dejectedly. The CEO leans against his table and takes a sip, “May I ask why you’re doing this?”

Seungwan’s grip on her cup tightens, “I heard…things. Things he did that weren’t right.”

“And who told you these things? Besides me?”

Beat.

“Joohyun.”

“And now you want to pursue him legally.”

“Yes.”

Kangta swirls the water in his cup contemplatively before speaking up once again, “I tried, you know?”

The blonde snaps her head up to look at him questioningly.

“But no one trusted me,” Kangta exhales defeatedly, “To protect the company’s stocks, the board quietly fired him the moment they discovered his offshore accounts. They put me in charge, but Jang’s leaving was sudden, as was my appointment as CEO. So no one would tell me anything. They just expected me to quietly fill the space he’d left behind.”

“So he didn’t actually resign for his health and family like the news reports claimed… But how did you know about Joohyun having a difficult time as a trainee? Who told you?”

“I overheard it in the cafeteria one day. It was a couple of dance trainers. But they shut up when they noticed me.”

“Kangta,” Seungwan sighs, “This…whole thing is a lot deeper than we all realised.”

“I know. Which is why it worries me that you’re doing this. He’s a cunning man, Seungwan. How do you think he’s survived this long?”

“He may have slipped through this time, but it’s no perfect crime.”

“How sure are you of that?”

“You,” Seungwan focuses her stare on the CEO, “The fact that you know there’s more to this even if no one’s saying anything. You’re the error in the plans to keep things silent. That’s already the first mistake.”

Beat.

“Help me, Kangta.”

“Are you doing this because of her?”

“I…” Seungwan inhales, trying not to think back to tearful eyes that night, “No, not just for her. Something tells me this is bigger than her.”

“Seungwan, this is dangerous territory. You could get hurt.”

However, if there’s anything that the blonde’s unwavering expression can tell him, it’s that she isn’t backing down.

Seulgi will kill me. He huffs.

“Fine,” he finally acquiesces, albeit weakly, “Only because I know you’re going to go ahead with it with or without my approval. And Seulgi will never forgive me if I let you do this alone.”

[Two days later]

“So good to have you back with us, Irene!” Kwanghee greets the soloist brightly, “It’s been like what, five, six months?”

“Congrats on your comeback!” Shinyoung gives Joohyun a pat on her shoulder, before turning to the blonde manager beside her, “And this is your new manager, isn’t she!”

Wendy bows and extends her hand to the two hosts, “Hi, I’m Wendy. I look forward to working with you.”

Joohyun tries not to laugh at how stiff her manager looks.

“Yeah, we saw that viral photo of you on our team’s group chat!” Shinyoung takes the blonde’s hand and gives it a firm shake, “You’re prettier in real life!”

Kwanghee grins at Wendy, “Agreed!”

“O-Oh, thanks, I guess…?” Wendy smiles bashfully.

The host pair peer behind the soloist and her manager, “Well, we’ll have to go prep now.”

Joohyun and Wendy bow politely to the hosts as they take their leave.

“Thirty minutes till taping! Hosts, get your touch-ups done. Crew, we’ll be on standby in twenty!”

The familiar voice jolts both Joohyun and her manager. They whip their heads around, searching for the owner. Their eyes land on a central figure on the set at the same time.

Seulgi watches the production staff shuffle around. Sensing people watching her, she turns and the corners of her lips slide upwards when she spots her best friend. She sprints over and barrels into Seungwan, wrapping her arms around the blonde in the greatest bear-hug she can possibly give, “Wani!”

Joohyun raises a brow, “Wani?”

Seungwan feels her heart leap into . She pulls away from her best friend quickly and throws out the first explanation she can come up with, “She couldn’t pronounce Wendy the first time, so she said Wani and it stuck.”

Seulgi is confused by the blonde’s reaction at first, until she remembers Seungwan’s secret, “Ahhh…”

“But you said Wendy properly the last time…” Joohyun regards Seulgi with a questioning look.

“It’s a nickname I use with her!” Seulgi chirps, not missing a beat, “Since she’s my best friend! I’m sure you and your best friend have nicknames for each other as well?”

Ah, a best friend… Joohyun feels her heart clench painfully, once again remembering the fractures in it left behind by the person she’d hoped to forget as time went by.

Not anymore.

Sensing the soloist’s dropping mood, Seungwan pats the small of Joohyun’s back comfortingly, “I’m sure she’s got cute nicknames.”

Like Unnie and Seungwannie.

The feel of Wendy’s hand on her back staggers Joohyun out of her haunting thoughts back into the conversation. She nods wordlessly.

“Anyway, where’s Choi PD?” Wendy asks, her eyes scanning the studio, “I need to ask her for the script so we can adjust for any changes.”

“Oh, I see she hasn’t told you,” Seulgi hums, “I’m taking over for today!”

Dread creeps over Seungwan, “…What?”

“I’m in charge of filming today’s episode, so you can call me Kang PD!”

[15 minutes before filming]

“Pssst, Irene.”

The whisper snaps the soloist out of her wandering thoughts that have been trailing back to a certain blonde neighbour.

Joohyun casts a side glance at a grinning Seulgi, “Yes, Seulg- Kang PD?”

“Psh, you can just call me Seulgi,” the producer waves it off like it’s no big deal, “I figured since Wendy just went to the washroom, this is the best time to talk to you.”

“Another shovel talk?”

“Nah,” Seulgi snorts and holds up the episode script, “But an offer.”

“What kind of offer?”

“To get back at her for spilling bubble tea on you and trolling you with that shirt. I’m talking revenge.”

“I thought you said you’d fight me if I were to hurt her.”

“Well, that was before she found out that I’m a member of your fan café and teased me endlessly for almost a week,” Seulgi admits boldly, then wriggles her eyebrows, “So…you in?”

Joohyun’s curiosity gets the best of her and she turns to face her manager’s best friend fully, attention completely taken, “I’m listening.”

When Seungwan steps back into the studio, she senses a shift in the atmosphere. She can’t put a finger on it, but she notes with fear that Seulgi looks particularly more ecstatic than earlier. She glances at the script in her hand and flips through it. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary.

Maybe she’s just happy because Joohyun is here.

She lets out a sigh of relief and looks up, only to find Joohyun staring at her, a glint in her eye. She snaps away from the brief eye contact, feeling its burn. She looks back down at the script, praying hard that today’s filming would go smoothly without a hitch.

[During filming]

Joohyun sinks to her knees for her final move, flashing her classic ending fairy smile at the camera. She gets back up and settles on the high chair provided for her as the hosts applaud her for her performance.

“That was fresh and amazing! Your comebacks are always explosive, Irene!” Kwanghee exclaims gleefully, “Number one on the charts within the first hour!”

“Thank you,” Joohyun tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear with a smile, “I’m glad to be back.”

“You know, Kwanghee? That’s not the only explosive moment in Irene’s comeback!”

“Is that right? What’s the other one, Shinyoung?”

Seungwan frowns. She doesn’t remember that being in the script. She checks her copy again. Are they ad-libbing?

“Remember the photo that went viral on SNS about a week ago?” Shinyoung answers energetically, “That’s her new manager!”

Seungwan pauses mid-flip, her hands frozen on the page. She swivels her eyes to stare at Seulgi in horror. Her best friend simply flashes her a peace sign and goes back to monitoring her screen.

Kang Seulgi, you didn’t—!

“Since she’s with us today, is it all right if we invite her on set?” Kwanghee turns to Joohyun, “What do you think, Irene?”

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