Chapter 38: Seize

", , ." Baekhyun wrung his hands through his hair. "Can you--" Baekhyun turned towards Jongdae, then changed his mind. "No. I'm going to-- I need to call her right now." He pulled his phone from his pocket but his fingers were shaking and he nearly dropped it on the floor.

Jongdae made himself scarce. Baekhyun barely noticed.

Powering the phone on, he swiped to view notifications. There was a missed call from Jaehee and a couple of texts. Dialing her, he waited as the phone rang. It rang four times, and then went to voicemail. He paced around his office like a wildcat, yanking at his hair with one hand, holding the phone with the other. He didn't leave a message. He called her again.

It went to voicemail. He tried her a third time.

"Damnit, no!" He yelled and threw the phone across the room. It ricocheted off the couch and crashed to the floor. Baekhyun sank down beside it and picked it up. It was still on. He blearily rattled off a text.

Fr: Baekhyun: I am so sorry, Jaeheeyah. Something came up at work and there was nothing I could do. I had even made the reservation. Please pick up.

He sent it. Minutes passed in silence, the only sound his pounding heart, his halting breaths. He tried counting them. 4 in, 6 out. His chest only tightened.

A buzz from his phone made his pulse leap. He swiped to view his notifications. 

Fr: Jaehee: I thought things would be different, after everything you said. I don't want to make the same mistake twice, Baek. Let me know when you actually have time.

Fr: Baekhyun: Please, Jaehee. I can leave now. Give me a chance to explain. 

Fr: Jaehee: I think you just did, Baek. I don't feel like seeing you anymore.

Fr: Baekhyun: Jaehee, I'm not above begging. Please, give me a chance. Can I see you tomorrow?

Fr: Jaehee: I don't know, can you?

Fr: Baekhyun: Yes, I'll find a way. I'll do whatever I have to, even if it means calling out sick.

Fr: Jaehee: Does the company really own you? Or have you gone back to your boyfriend?

Fr: Baekhyun: Please, Jaehee. I swear to you, that's not the case.

Fr: Jaehee: I'm tired and I feel awful right now. Call me tomorrow.

Fr: Baekhyun: I will. I promise. Goodnight, Jaehee. I love you.

After a few minutes of staring into the bright screen, his eyes began to hurt. It wasn't a stinging but an ache that filled his whole head. Heart pounding, he pressed his forehead to his knees. There was nothing else he could do, he told himself. He had done all he could for now. Tomorrow, he would call out sick, come hell or high water, and live up to his promise.

Climbing to his feet unsteadily, the pain in his head stabbed unpleasantly, but he rolled his neck and shrugged his jacket back onto his shoulders. He opened the door and wandered into the hallway to find out what he'd missed.

The executive floor was still as a graveyard. Baekhyun peered into the conference room and meeting rooms. The lights were off in the C-suite. He made his way down the stairs to the dance studios. From outside LADY's practice room he could hear the thump thump of their title track, and the call of the choreographer picking out a mistake. Baekhyun stepped inside and watched from the doorway. The three girls looked defeated, their faces were blotchy and red. If they had looked lifeless before, they looked even worse now.

The Creative Director was inside as well, with a few members of his team. Everyone looked exhausted. They had a large piece of paper spread out over a table in the corner and were intermittently pointing at it and sizing up the girls. Baekhyun walked over to them and looked over their shoulders.

"Executive Byun." They bowed in greeting. "We're redoing the storyboard. What do you think of making Aimee the lead?"

Baekhyun looked up, narrowing his eyes as he studied their movements. He didn't know a lot about the girl, that is, beyond her notoriety. Aimee had been around since well before he'd joined the company. She had the unique misfortune of having been recruited at a very young age by a former company stakeholder, an investor who had left the company soon after Kris' debut. It hadn't been smooth sailing for the girl. There had been speculation about her going solo, which alienated her.  The fact that she was a 'parachute' recruit from above - nakasan - incurred animosity towards her. Her fellow trainees and even staff questioned her talent at every step. It hadn't deterred her, however; she had worked twice as hard to prove herself, and had been tapped for LADY at long last.

Unsurprisingly, Aimee was known for her attitude and other trainees were a bit intimidated by her -- unlike Tena, who was rather well-liked -- but her dancing was clean and her voice was clear; she was the other anchor in LADY, opposite Tena. Even now, she wasn't letting her performance falter. Under the hoodie she'd pulled down over her face, Baekhyun couldn't make out how she was taking the news.

"Have you talked to her about it?"

The team glanced at one another and shook their heads. Baekhyun folded his arms and looked her over once more. She was the strongest member left, even if she was academy to the bone. She wasn't a 'pretty experiment'. She was safe -- and unlikely to cause the group trouble.

"I think she's a good choice. I'll approve it, if you're sure."

The Creative Director nodded. "We should let the girls know. The sooner they know whom to follow, the better."

"They look ready to drop anyway," Baekhyun agreed. "Give them a break to sleep it off tonight, and they'll be stronger tomorrow."

No one questioned him, somewhat to his surprise. They rounded the girls up and sat them down at the table. Mia was doing her best to look composed, while Aimee sulked, and the youngest, CJ, looked so lost it made Baekhyun's heart ache. The girls needed a hug and a long night's rest -- not this. He explained it to them as gently as he could, saying that each of them had an important role to play now, and that they would have to be one another's strength. Mia had to be their backbone, leading them well. Aimee would take the lead dance roles. And CJ, the maknae, had a lot of people to charm, and a wonderful voice to do it with. They nodded, and sniffled, and Baekhyun hated himself more with each passing moment. They stood up and bowed and offered monotonous thanks.

That was when he heard it. It was so quiet, that he wondered if it was his imagination -- or his conscience.

"Hypocrite."

Baekhyun glanced up and frowned. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing." He thought he saw a glower under Aimee's hood, but then she was turning away and gathering her things to h