America had the Avengers, space had the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Korea?

The Fantastic Four.

You have heard of them on the news. Who didn’t know of them? A bunch of alienated people who had powers beyond human capacity. Everyone talked about them and they wouldn’t stop any time soon. You stood there in the store that you managed, your hands gripping the broom as their faces flashed through the news.

Na Jaemin, Huang Renjun, Park Jisung, Zhong Chenle.

The special ones, they called them. In front of the four stood Lee Haechan, their investor. He was said to have found them, housed them and invested in them. He was their spokesperson, their bank account, and the source of their fame and well-being.

You sighed, turning to put off the TV right in front of you when you realized that someone was at the counter. You quickly stored the broom, scurrying to help check out the items when you looked up and your eyes connected with his. His cheek bones lifted up into a smile and you wondered why he would be out at 3 a.m at night when the male patted his belt as if to answer your question.

“Stake out,” he said and your eyes fell onto the police badge. “Not a serial killer or anything.”

“Normal to be skeptical,” you answered, passing him a small smile. “Crimes in Korea have been growing.”

“Mhm.” He nodded, his eyes going to the TV behind him. “But with our new heroes, we have a chance, don’t we? Good always wins.”

He was pertaining to The Fantastic Four and you nodded, scanning his chips and his tea.

“Only if you can control them. Good people are good only under good reign,” you replied, heaving a sigh. You were a literature degree holder and you had views on life that made you realize that you weren’t necessarily a pessimist. You were simply realistic. “Good people can turn bad, too. With power, their morals may be fragile.”

“Why do you say that?” he asked, his eyes furrowing into a frown.

“Because you put those people in every situation where they have to save others, they will be forced to be selfless. Once tired of it, they may snap. Not all superheroes are solid… sir.” You had no idea what his name was, the police looking deep in thought when he nodded.

“Mark Lee,” he introduced himself. “Interesting.”

“Just a thought.” You never really had conversations with people at 3 am, let alone a conversation about morals with a policeman. “Here are your items.”

“Thank you.” You could feel his eyes on you and you give him a soft smile. He finally stepped to the side to leave the store when something made him stop, Mark Lee turning to look at you.

“You work here?” he asked and you nodded to his question. “Every day?”

“No place else to be.” You gave out a dry laugh, Mark Lee mirroring you before he turned to leave.

You bit down on your lower lip, the reality of your own words settling into your core.

“No place else to be,” you repeated to yourself. “No place else to be.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mark Lee became a constant customer. Odd hours, of course. He popped in from time to time and there were moments when Mark Lee would check if you were on your shift. You seemed rather well versed, a very intellectual person and Mark wondered what put you behind the counters of a not frequently visited store.

“Korea’s economy,” you said one day, Mark Lee finally asking you to sit outside with him. You were waiting for the next part-timer to come and you knew that he would arrive soon enough—or even later, considering that he had a knack of being disgustingly (By disgustingly, you mean often an hour or two.)  yet fashionably (By fashionably, you meant he always came with the weirdest clothes and you were under the impression that he was a theatre major.) “The cost of living here is high. What can I say?”

“And you never thought of putting your degree to good use?” he asked and you scoffed at the question. “I’m sure there are publishing houses that require someone with a good literature degree.”

“There are. As a coffee maker. Or sometimes, a janitor.” You gave out a chuckle before leaning back, sensing Mark Lee’s eyes on you. “I just want to be useful; you know? I hate sitting here, taking up space and being useless.”

“There is a place in the world for everyone.”

“I disagree. The world isn’t for everyone. Some people are just lucky to have found a spot in society.”

“And why do you think that society has to accept you?” Mark asked back, your eyes going down onto the empty table in front of you.

“Because that is the measurement of doing good,” you answered, Mark lifting up an eyebrow. “But society is different thing. We all co-exist, don’t we? You know what I want?”

You leaned forward and propped your elbows up on the table, Mark nodding.

“I just want to have a purpose. Sweeping shops and scanning items are definitely not it.”

“Live for your parents,” he answered. Mark said it so carefully but you didn’t notice it. Until now, you have never spoken about your parents or your lack of friends. Mark was never one to intrude but he had something in mind. “There must be someone.”

“Nah. Nada.” You shrugged, clicking your tongue. “Orphanage, worked through university. Was so busy, could not make friends and now I’m here. Started at the bottom and still at the bottom.”

“Now, now,” Mark tutted, his eyes twinkling. “Have you ever thought of doing something else? Maybe… be a manager or something?”

“Like, for idols?” you asked. “You need a business degree for that. Experience.”

“Or nepotism,” Mark mused, making you snap your fingers in agreement. You did not know, however, what Mark Lee had in mind. As you continued to ramble on and on about the things you would do if you had the sources, Mark Lee’s fingers were pressing a quick text message onto his phone.

The policeman gave out hums of encouragement, a text message from someone making him frown when he heard you call out his name in the background.

“Hey, the part timer is here. See you tomorrow, Mark,” you said and Mark nodded absentmindedly. You were used of him fazing out, back and forth. Mark was distracted easily and you guessed it was another one of those times. “Earth to Mark.”

“Oh, yes. Yes. See you tomorrow.” He nodded, giving you a wave as you went back into the store to gather your things and head home. Once you were gone, Mark hastily went towards his car, the male skimming through the text.

He looked around to make sure you weren’t around when he finally confirmed that you were out of the ear shot. He quickly entered his car, sighing to himself when he pressed call and someone answered the phone almost immediately.

“He ran out of the house, screaming.” Haechan’s voice floated by, his voice strained with stress.

“Who was it this time?”

“Renjun. Scared him at the middle of the night with a floating knife,” Haechan answered. Haechan was to the boiling point. Yeah, he had money. But what he didn’t have were the skills to handle a group of rampant super heroes. And maybe one mad crazy scientist who believed that robots were his only friend. “You should come and visit.”

“And what? Not like they listen to me. Chenle calls me his son,” Mark snipped.

Mark Lee and Haechan were not strangers to one another. Childhood friends and maybe a bit more—brothers. Both of them were orphans and Mark always knew Haechan was different. He had a certain power to him, able to hide items in his little pocket regardless of size. They all thought that it was normal until it was proven not.

They have been through thick and thin together, Lee Haechan finally growing his own empire as Mark went out to become a detective. From police academy, Mark then realized that Korea had an influx of crimes that normal people could not stop.

And that was when Haechan told him that he had found a few people like him.

It was still a wonder how they got their powers but Mark then began to slowly and surely give them small missions here and there. Stop a bank robbery, handle hostage situations, save the president—

Yeah, that wasn’t that small but it worked.

Saving the president was what gave them their fame, Haechan playing it to his advantage. Marketing and PR departments were hired, people to protect The Fantastic Four…. You name it, Lee Haechan had it.

What he didn’t have was someone to manage them.

To feed them, make sure they were emotionally and physically well. He could try to do it, Haechan was a man of many talents and making money was one of them—but handling a screaming Chenle, a jumpy Jisung, a hyper Jaemin and a moody Jeno?

Nope. Haechan was sure he’d end up retiring way before he was supposed to.

They needed a manager.

“What do I do?” Haechan finally wailed, Mark shaking his head at the cry of the younger male. He hated seeing Haechan that way. As much as he hated to admit it, he had a soft spot for him.

“Look, it’s a long shot but have you tried to hire a woman?” Mark asked, Haechan sniffling. “Aw man, don’t cry, Haechan. You know I hate it when you do.”

Some things never change.

Haechan smiled at the care in Mark’s voice, telling him that he did try to hire a woman. An old woman. She almost got a heart attack and he had to pay for her hospitalization fee.

“Well, I might have someone,” Mark answered and Haechan immediately perked up with a string of “Really? Who? Where? Where is he?”. “It’s a she. You’ve been trying to get someone who is skilled in management, Haechan. But the boys aren’t actually your typical group, are they?”

“Straight to the point, Mark.”

“You need someone who will be able to endure it.” Mark leaned back. “And I have a good feeling about this one.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Mark came up to you with a proposition, you were kind of surprised. He was holding up the line and refused to move, which was kind of weird because Mark was usually very polite. You had passed on the baton of the cashier tasks to another part-timer and began to stock up the food, Mark following you.

“Look, all I’m saying is… Just give it a try. You said you wanted to make a difference!”

Mark watched as you struggled to load the milk onto the shelf, the male grabbing it and putting it up for you and you turned to him with your hands on your hips.

“I know nothing about managing idols.”

Okay, so… Mark did not tell you that you would be brought to a faraway house with four (five) very volatile men. Six, if you counted Haechan and his momentary break downs. He did not tell you that you would be handling the superhumans and he definitely did not tell you how hard the job was for the previous managers.

“They are normal people! You’ll learn!”

And Mark made a mental note to go to church and beg for forgiveness for the lies he had spurted out.

For the sake of national security, he kept repeating in his head.

“It’s hard managing myself and you want me to manage idols? Nothing worse than a bunch of men living