The floor you'd arrived on had only one corridor leading from the small circular area in front of the elevators. You strode down it briskly, past several closed doors until you reached the one at the very end, which you opened without knocking. The receptionist looked up in alarm as you all filed in.

 

"Miss, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to le- " she started to say, but you were already past her, breezing to the closed door behind her desk. Then you knocked. The poor receptionist could only stand by, wringing her hands as she stared at the twelve boys behind you warily.

 

"Yumi, what did I say about- " the stout middle-aged Japanese woman stopped in mid-sentence when she opened the door.

 

"Masako-san, long time no see," you said, smiling and bowing. She stared at you in shock for a moment before (to EXO's great surprise) pulling you into a tight hug.

 

"Hyo-chan! You gave me a heart attack! Oh, look at you!" The woman pulled away from you to look at you at arm's length. "Still as beautiful as ever, and- " she broke off suddenly, finally catching sight of the crowd behind you.

 

"Kami-sama, what on earth happened to them?!" she cursed, walking past you and glaring at EXO. Or rather, their clothes.

 

"Heechul happened," you replied drily. She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.

 

"Of course. This is for the Gala, I'm guessing?" Masako asked, now walking around the members and examining them critically.

 

"They're debuting," you said with a nod. The older woman paused in the middle of turning D.O around in a circle.

 

"Oh, so they're EXO?"

 

You nodded again.

 

"Hmm, well," she said, now seizing Sehun and raising his arms, "the raw material's not bad at all. I can definitely work with this. Was there anything in particular you had in mind?" she asked, now spinning the maknae as she did D.O.

 

"Something classy. Red, black, and white," you mused, eyes also raking over the twelve thoughtfully. Masako nodded in approval.

 

"Right. Well, come along then," she walked out of the office, motioning for you all to follow with a wave of her hand. "And Yumi, cancel my other appointments."

 

"But- " the receptionist began feebly, only to be cut off by the slam of the office door.

 

 

 

 

You were sitting in the small waiting area with SNSD and Heechul again, tapping away on your keyboard. The girls were still flicking through magazines, occasionally pointing out something to one another. Heechul was doing the same, but letting out small huffs of disapproval and shooting you dark glares, which you blatantly ignored. It had been over two hours since Masako had whisked the boys away. You weren't worried, however. After all, there was a reason you had gone to find the Japanese woman.

 

Speaking of whom...

 

"Hyo-chaaann~" You looked up.

 

"Masako-san, it's Jinhye," you corrected.

 

"You know I can't pronounce those names to save my life," she replied airily. You sighed.

 

"Are they done?" 

 

"Yes! Come in, boys!"

 

You shut your laptop as EXO strode in. The other nine girls also looked up from their magazines. There was a moment of silence while the boys stood awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable under the looks they were receiving.

 

Hyoyeon let out a whistle. 

 

"If I didn't know for a fact that Jinnie would put me six feet under if I tried anything, I would so tap that." she whispered audibly.

 

"Which one?" Yoona asked with a giggle and a coquettish look from under her lashes at Baekhyun, who promptly turned a delicate shade of pink.

 

"Are you kidding? Any of them," Yuri breathed.

 

"Yah, quit being such a bunch of pedonoonas," you said exasperatedly, though you couldn't exactly blame them.

 

EXO stood in sharp black suits, with varying amounts of a deep sahde of crimson and white on each person. Some had white shirts, some had red. The arrangement of ties and bowties was in a similar pattern.

 

You nodded in approval, but turned to the smiling woman by the wall.

 

"This isn't all though, is it?"

 

"Of course not! I thought you'd like to add the final touches, since you know their personalities more than I do, and what would work for them. After all," she laughed lightly. "You always finished up your Jae better than I ever could."

 

Your laptop slid off your lap and onto the carpeted floor with a muffled thud. Ten pairs of eyes snapped to your suddenly frozen expression nervously. Silence dragged on.

 

This time, Kris wasn't the only who noticed your change in composure. Luhan's eyes narrowed as he took in your stiff figure. Chanyeol looked quizzically at Xiumin, who gave a small shrug. Lay's face was impassive, but he too, questioned the situation. Suho's brows furrowed at the change in mood, and Baekhyun stepped on Kai's foot when he opened his mouth to ask the question on all their minds.

 

Masako raised a hand to , eyes wide. "Oh dear, I'm sorry Hyo-chan, it just slipped out-"

 

You forced a grin on your face and retrieved your computer from the ground and set it on the table before standing up.

 

"No worries. Why don't you show me where I can find everything?"

 

 

 

 

Surprisingly, Kai had the decency to wait until you were out of earshot.

 

"Who's Jae?"

 

Uneasy glances were exchanged between the group sitting on the couches.

 

"Well, uh...he was- " Sunny started.

 

"It's not our story to tell," Heechul cut her off with an uncharacteristically cold glare.

 

"But-" Tao said.

 

"Tao."

 

The maknae immediately fell silent at the look Kris gave him. Meanwhile, Kris himself was trying to put the pieces together. This 'Jae' was evidently someone important to you. He then remembered the dinner when Tiffany had slipped up and elicited a simliar reaction from you - he recalled that oh-so-familiar look on your face too well. Whoever he was, he didn't seem to be a part of your life anymore.

 

But who was he? Kris couldn't stifle that question, which should have been irrelevant. He didn't know why he wanted to know so badly. There were probably lots of people in your past that he didn't know about. Hell, he realized (with a slight twist in his gut) he knew next to nothing about you, except that you had worked for SM before. But logically, he shouldn't care about that, right? Your history didn't matter to him. It shouldn't matter to him. You were just their trainer.

 

Right?

 

And yet, he could not stop his brain as it listed off possibilities.

 

'A brother? A relative? A really good friend?'

 

'A boyfriend?'

 

He clenched his fist as he felt his heart contract in a similar manner at that last thought. But before he could probe his tangle of emotions further, you returned with Masako, carrying a huge cardboard box in your arms.

 

"Right. Well," you said with a huff as you set the box down by your feet. You stared at Suho, who was nearest you. He already looked quite good, the portrait of the perfect leader. His suit was a very traditional double-ed three-piece, white dress shirt pressed and collars crisp. A neat black tie set off the whole thing nicely. He gave you a slightly embarassed grin. You reached down into one of the bags in the box and produced a red silk handkerchief, which you then folded and placed carefully into his chest pocket.

 

Kai stood beside him, and immediately you knew what he had on wouldn't work. For starters...

 

You reached out to tug off the black tie he had on before undoing the top few buttons of his blood-red dress shirt and loosening the collar. He smirked, and opened his mouth.

 

"Not a word, Kai, or I will make you wear what Heechul gave you."

 

His mouth snapped shut immediately, twisting into a pout. You could feel Heechul glaring daggers at your back.

 

You stood back slightly to get a better view, and clicked your tongue.

 

"Off with the jacket. And someone get me a vest."

 

Grumbling under his breath, Kai did as you asked. You then handed him the vest that one of Masako's assistants had brought you, which he then tugged on and buttoned roughly.

 

Satisfied, you moved on to Baekhyun.

 

This went on for a while until all but three people were left.

 

"This - bloody - bowtie -"

 

"Jinhye - ow - oowwwHURK -!"

 

Poor Chanyeol choked helplessly, his arms practically windmilling as he fought hard not to fall on top of you while you yanked him down to your height by the ruff, fiddling with the aforementioned accessory.

 

The boys who you'd already finished with had diffused throughout the area, leaning against walls or taking over some of the empty seats. Some, like Chen and Kai, were conversing with a few of their SNSD sunbaes, while others were watching the remainder of their teammates undergoing your touchups. Xiumin, whom you had just finished with moments ago, was trying his hardest not to burst into laughter, his famous cheeks feeling very tight and warm as he tried to control himself. D.O was staring wide-eyed at your actions, horrified for his friend's safety. Tao, who was next in line, gulped, and nervously his own tie.

 

"Which - abysmal - idiot - tied - this - thing?" You enunciated each word with a tug on the cursed neckwear. Chanyeol whimpered.

 

Jessica snorted. "You know, Jinnie, you could just cut it. It's not like one bowtie is going to make a huge dent in SM's wallet."

 

You paused in your miniature warfare to glare at her.

 

"That's not the point. I refuse to be defeated by this measly bit of cloth!" you fumed, and resumed your attack.

 

"But Jinhye-ssi...you're suffocating Chanyeol," Seohyun murmured quietly.

 

You looked up sharply to see Chanyeol grin at you sheepishly. You'd apparently forgotten that there was a person attached to the object of your hatred. You let go immediately.

 

"Oh, crap. Sorry Yeollie."

 

"It's okay, Jinhye-ssi!" he gasped out, massaging his neck as he stood upright, stretching out his cramped back.

 

You took the pair of scissors Masako offered you and leaned up on tiptoe to snip off the bowtie, then promptly stomped on it in a fit of childish vengeance. 

 

Glancing back at the tall boy in front of you, you couldn't help but feel that he looked too strapped down in his trim black suit. His endless energy seemed to cut off as severely as the edge of his suit jacket, which reached just past his hips.

 

You snapped your fingers as it hit you, before dashing off down the hall. The others barely had time to question your disappearance when you came dashing back, a shapeless black mass hanging off your arm.

 

"Right. Yeollie, take off the jacket and put this on," you said, handing him the article of clothing.

 

It was a longer black overcoat that reached to his knees. with a dark red silk lining and silver tassels hanging off the shoulder pads - enough to add a little something that set him from other mere suit-wearers, but not so much that it was overly eye-catching. You smoothed the lapels out, and left the front ed so the black vest and white shirt he was wearing underneath were still visible.

 

Chanyeol grinned at you, but now the effect had a certain eerieness to it. The austerity of his outfit struck a chord of dissonance against his wide smile (that still showed too many teeth, in your opinion). His formerly cute habit of twitching his eyes when he smiled was now leaning more on the creepy side. You were very pleased with your work.

 

Meanwhile, Tao was still fiddling nervously with his tie, making sure that it was loose enough for easy removal, in case you didn't like it. When you did turn your eyes on him, he swallowed. 

 

To his surprise, you smiled easily.

 

He was wearing an all-black two-piece, accented with a red tie. You thought that it worked quite well with his shadowy eyes and added to the intimidating first impression people got of him.

 

He let out a small yelp when you suddenly dropped out of sight, and he felt a soft tugging at the belt of his pants. Wide-eyed, he looked down to see you tinkering with something shiny in your hands and his belt loops.

 

"Jinhye-jie- w- what are you- ?" he didn't get to finish his question before you popped back up. He glanced down to see two silver chians hanging off his belt loops at his side. He looked back up at you to say a word of thanks only to find you glaring at Kris with murder in your eyes.

 

Or rather, what was around his throat.

 

A mothering bowtie.

 

You let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a whine.

 

"Are you out to get me or something?" You reached again for the scissors, but Masako stole them from your reach. You stared at her questioningly.

 

"Sorry darling, but you're going to do that one the old-fashioned way. It's a little too pricey," she said, indicating the row of miniscule gems encrusting the edges of the material around Kris's throat.

 

"You've got to be kidding me."

 

Kris sensed incoming danger, and as he had no intention of being victim to another Chanyeol-esque asphyxiation, he quickly strode over to an empty armchair and sat down. You raised an eyebrow, but did not question his actions. Instead, you let out a sigh of resignation before following him, settling yourself on the edge of the coffee table in front of him.

 

You soon became again engrossed in undoing the damned knot, hence not noticing the sudden silence in the room as eyes turned pair by pair to the two of you.

 

At first, Kris was confused by the looks he was recieving, from Sooyoung's rather smug grin to Tao's pink cheeks, to Lay's bemused expression, to Luhan's small frown. Finally, his gaze met Kai's mischievious one. The younger male's eyebrows raised suggestively, a lopsided smirk on his lips as his eyes flicked between you and him.

 

Suddenly, Kris understood, the immediately wished he hadn't.

 

You were sitting on the very edgeo fo the glass table, leaning over his legs to work on the tie, which put your face very close to his neck. Your own legs were spread on either side of his, as there was evidently not enough room between the couch and table for any other comfortable arrangement. He saw the two of you in his mind's eye, and the provocative nature of the image hit him like a freight train.

 

Abruptly, he became aware of just how tight and uncomfortable his collar was. And was the room always this warm? He could practically feel sweatdrops forming on his forehead. By stark contrast, your fingers felt like ice cubes against his hot skin, and he resisted the urge to shiver, despite the overwhelming heat.

 

Unbidden, the stray thought strolled almost mockingly into his brain, of how those fingers would feel trailing down his chest, or perhaps scrabbling down his back during perusal of activities at a similar temperature, involving less clothing, and you would be huffing and cursing for another reason entirely-

 

Stop.

 

Where the hell was all this coming from? You were just another woman, practically a girl! He'd been trained in the presence of ing SNSD for crying out loud! They were pretty much the image of female and perfection if there ever was one, yet he'd never felt anything even remotely like this before. 

 

A soft moan slipped from between your lips as you tugged at the Hell-sent piece of fabric, and it sent his thoughts scattering like air released from a popped balloon.

 

Speaking of release...

 

He gulped, biting back a groan, and Kai's smirk widened, earning him him a glare from the tense man.

 

Kris was not religious, but he found himself praying fervently to whatever higher powers that be that this ridiculous torture would be over soon, lest that you look down for whatever reason and notice the growing problem in his pants. Or that, god forbid, his control snap. 

 

It seemed that his brain was out to get him that day, as it brought forth a barrage of images that had him clawing at the armrests so hard that the leather would bear permanent marks. Images revolving around bending you over that damned coffee table and-

 

"Ha!"

 

Your shout of triumph practically made him jump out of his skin. Fortunately, you didn't notice, as you were too busy leering evilly at the abused ribbon in your fist.

 

He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding as you made to get up. Unfortunately for the man, the higher powers that be had other plans. Or, in this case, a certain dark-skinned dongsaeng.

 

Because at that moment, Kai chose to stretch his legs out under the table, accidentally nudging it forward sharply, right into the back of your knees.

 

It was strange how muted the collective intake of breath from the shocked onlookers was to Kris compared to your small gasp of surprise as you stumbled onto his lap.

 

He let out a grunt as your weight hit him, his hands instinctively reaching out to hold you steady by the waist. It was only then, after this bit of self-initiated contact, that his brain restarted, and notified him of all the points at which your body touched his. It was also then that he consciously cursed the traitorous organ.

 

Your head had nestled itself into the hollow of his neck after hitting his jaw in the process, quick gasps of air causing goosebumps to erupt on his skin. Had he been slightly more lucid, he would probably have remarked to himself that there might be a bruise there later. Unfortunately, he was not lucid, due to the simple fact that while one of your hands was braced innocently on his shoulder, the other had pressed itself against his upper thigh, dangerously close to the apex of his steadily tightening pants.

 

Add that to the fact that the way your body arched against his left no air between you, you chest and his separated by only a few layers of clothing (something that he was simultaneously grateful for and fiercely despised), and Kris was pretty much a goner as he felt all the blood that had flooded his brain to formulate this quick analysis rush downwards.

 

The sight of the younger boy as Kris stared straight ahead over your shoulder and his tell-tale anti-Christ smirk sent one last coherent thought through his fried cranium.

 

Kim Jongin was a dead man.

 

 

 

 

--

 

83

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because I thought it was relevant. 8D

But uh, aside from ually frustrated duizhang, I'm hoping that someone caught/remembers the huge hint I threw out in that chapter. Namely, a certain name? Please take a guess at it~

 

(Hint: He's tagged as Supreme Bias Overlord on my tumblr X3)

 

Please do give me some feedback though, because I always feel so damn awkward writing scenes even remotely ual. Any advice would be great OTL

- Ace