The large mahogany double doors that blocked their path from the room were truly impressive.

“Who’s that?” Dae squinted at the name on the door. “Soo… Man?”

Alex knocked on the door, ignoring his question with a slight roll of the eyes. If that boy – no, girl, didn’t even recognize the name of their CEO when it was right in front of him, he was definitely dumber than he looked. Either way, he was in for a surprise.

“Come in!” a low voice boomed from inside. Alex pushed the doors open, then casually pushed the two members of Persona inside, almost throwing them inside. And with a quick bow he closed the doors again.

A man currently had his back turned to them and was talking on his phone whilst seated behind a large wooden desk. Saeko was sitting on one of the big plush chairs in the sitting area of the wide-spaced room and gestured the two of them to sit down next to her.

“Fix yourselves!” She hissed at them. Their little jog to the office had made them slightly breathless and caused them to look a bit flustered. Riku’s hands immediately went to his hair to make sure that every little strand of hair was in place while Dae merely smoothed down his silvery jacket. He couldn’t really care about his hair or anything else of his appearance.

“Sorry, I had to make a quick decision on some schedule related stuff.” The man explained as he made his way over to them and plopped down on the chair opposite of them. Even though his words were directed at Saeko, his eyes were on the boys in front of him and he leaned in to study the two sitting on his chairs. “These are the ones you told me about on the phone?”

It was then that the girls realized who they had in front of them. This was Lee Soo Man. THE Lee Soo Man, founder and CEO of SM Entertainment. He was THE boss that everyone loved and hated.

“Yes indeed, Sooman-nim! They are…” Saeko turned to look at Riku and Dae, her eyes widening when she saw how they were sitting. Coughing loudly to mask her words she gave their legs a pointed look. “Legs. Place your legs properly!” she coughed at them.

Slightly confused they looked down at their legs before realizing what she meant. They quickly uncrossed their legs, spreading them out a bit.

“Ohohoho!” Saeko’s laughter was scary and pitched. “Quick, introduce yourself!”

Riku nodded, standing up first as he puffed out his chest slightly, “Yo! Riku imnida!”

“Yo!” Dae jumped up too, tilting his chin up slightly, “Dae imnida.”

“Right now, this is Persona!” they finished together and stared at the man. They knew exactly how the groups from SM introduced themselves and had agreed to practice on their introduction so they would fit in with the crowd.

Soo Man let out a soft laugh as he sat back in his chair and looked up at the two men, “You did say they had an imposing manner… And yet their appearances are rather cute.”

Saeko let out another shrill laughter as Riku and Dae nervously fidgeted, still keeping their eyes on the CEO.

“Today we have come specially to give our regards to the president of our lovely label,” Saeko motioned the boys to sit down again, “And with the promise that Personal will be the best-selling rookie group the industry has ever seen!”

“Oh? The best-selling rookie group?” he repeated with a hint of curiosity. “Saeko-nim, you have been with our company for years now, surely you must know how that is a promise no one has ever been able to keep, even for our veteran groups.”

“It’s a challenge but I know my boys are ready for it,” she replied with utter determination.

“Are they even capable of rivalling the current top-selling rookie groups? B.A.P? Our own EXO?” he raised his eyebrow and glanced over at the boys once more who were silently listening to the conversation.

“They are ready to climb the charts and steal the hearts of all the fan girls and even fan boys!”

He hummed softly, interested by her determination for these two boys who he had never seen before. It was unusual for them to take in people who had not studied at their own academy as trainees and debut them under their name.

“Actually, I do have a plan for them to show you their potential…” Saeko smirked slightly as she rose from her seat and stared at the CEO. “A showcase!”

“A showcase?” the two boys echoed but Saeko hushed them immediately.

Soo Man stared at the woman for a moment, “A showcase? Do continue…”

“A live showcase, turn it into an underground concert if you have to, but broadcast it online!” she explained calmly. “Let some of the groups perform, EXO, F(x), SHINee, maybe even as BoA to perform. And let Persona close the showcase, introducing their talent to the world in such a manner that it will keep the fans buzzing and questioning for months!”

“I like the idea of an underground concert as means of a showcase. But I hardly see any good in letting an un-debuted group close the concert. The last slot is always reserved for the most talented artist so that they can end the show with a bang! The risks of them ruining the end and leaving the fans disappointed and empty are too high!” he stated.

Riku and Dae nodded silently, they could agree that the two of them were not fit to close a concert or showcase, and especially not after such great and talented stars as the groups that were just mentioned.

“But see, that would be the perfect test!” She clapped her hands together happily, “If they got what it takes to be the best-selling group the industry has ever seen, they will be able to pull off a closing performance successfully, leaving the fans interested and wanting more! But if they fail to ace the closing performance, we won’t let Persona make their official debut.”

Soo Man let out a thoughtful sigh, Saeko’s determination was strong in this matter. She had worked for SM Entertainment for a very long time. Her eye for talent and refreshing ideas have always worked out perfectly for their projects in the past, if she had so much faith in these two scrawny looking boys then there must be more to them than he could see right now. It had him intrigued, though this could be a very risky step to take.

“Arasseo,” he finally spoke as he turned his gaze to the two young boys who were nervously glancing down. “I will give you one chance. Arrange the underground showcase and everything you need. If they manage to pull off a successful closing performance, I will allow them to debut officially.”

Do you guys like the idea of an underground showcase? Will they manage to pull off a closing performance without fans killing them for stealing their idol's spot on the setlist?