"Do I have to stay? I'm probably the last person he wants to see right now," Chanyeol muttered as Ga In straightened his jacket. "I mean, the man is suing me on top of destroying my career years ago. Having me here might hurt your case."

"Oh, sure he does," Ga In reassured him, fixing his collar and smoothing his lapels down. The jacket was nothing fancy, just a gray tweed two button affair that didn't look too out of place with his tattered skinny jeans. Chanyeol didn't remember the last time he'd bothered wearing a sport coat. "You were his golden boy. I'm sure the old man could use a reminder of what he lost because he was a coward and a homophobe." Ga In's red lips quirked up at the corners, eyes lifting under her long lashes with a cunning glint. "You look like a billion won, love. The billions Park Ji Il lost when he gave up on you."

Chanyeol managed a halfhearted smile. It wasn't like he had made billions himself. In fact, his career progression showed that he hadn't amounted to anything without a big company's support. He ate cheap and lived in one of Ga In's properties free of charge. Compared to Park Entertainment's lowest grossing idols, he was basically poor--and lucky as hell to have Ga In's backing.

The fancy dining establishment just drove the point home. He was sure Kris dined in private restaurants like this one pretty often, both for the safety away from fans' prying eyes, and because he could afford it. But Chanyeol could only remember dining in one of these boardroom style dining halls once in his life--when he and Kris had been tapped for a duo debut. The executives had held a dinner with investors and influencers and rich folks of all walks to introduce them, and to see if anyone wanted to invest in them. It was pageantry, all of it, and he remembered the evening with distaste. Some of the looks he'd received that night had been predatory, others apathetic, like he was invisible. He wasn't sure which he hated more.

They had been celebrated for their chemistry--that being the reason they had been tapped for a duo which was rare enough for debut. And yet when the cards had fallen, it was that very chemistry that had been his downfall. Chanyeol swallowed a bitter sigh and gazed down the long table to all the empty place settings.

The room could easily seat twenty, and the floor seating, low tables, and mood lighting gave the space a lofty feel. It was a room where terse conversations took place over obligatory niceties and the most expensive sushi that money could buy in all of Seoul.

When the door slid open, Chanyeol's heart lurched into his throat. The man who entered seemed slighter and frailer than he remembered him, the lines in his face deeper, the gray in his hair lighter. Despite his height, he did not seem to loom. Chanyeol scrambled to his feet and offered the man a full 90 degree bow and did not look up until the man spoke.

"Such formality," Park Ji Il mused. He returned their greeting with a shallow bow. "Please do sit, Son Madame, Chanyeol." Gracefully, he took the seat at the head of the table, Ga In to his left, and Chanyeol to her left. Chanyeol kept his eyes down.

"To what do I owe the honor of such an unorthodox meeting?" Park Ji Il started, as unobtrusive wait staff served them. Chanyeol didn't know how he was supposed to eat with his stomach in knots. But he supposed the food was for appearances. Only the rich would meet over expensive meals they didn't intend to eat.

"Don't tell me you have no idea," Ga In smiled, and it was razor sharp. "What do you think, Park-sshi? Shall we speak like old times?"

"I expect nothing less than candor from you, Son Madame," the man said graciously. His right hand rested on the table in a loose fist, his left on his leg. He raised his right and gestured to the room, and to them. "I must admit I'm surprised you didn't bring Junmyeon. He is quite the diligent ally, was he not available? That's rather unlike him."

"Will I need my lawyer present to have a civil business discussion?" Ga In's brows rose in challenge.

"Since when was business civil?" Park Ji Il smiled, and it was the patient, understated smile of a man who always got his way. Chanyeol's jaw was clenched so tight he was getting a headache. How badly he wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

"Oh, Ji Il, you haven't changed at all." Ga In snorted softly. "You know business is just mutually beneficial agreements between friends who can make each other richer."

Park Ji Il chuckled. "I have missed your point of view dearly, Son Madame. The board meetings just haven't been the same since you left."

"In that case, I hope you'll pardon my getting to the point." Ga In's smile thinned, and wasn't all that different from Park's.

Park Ji Il lifted a hand magnanimously. "By all means. If you are in a rush."

"I mean, I'm happy to reminisce over the good old days, but you've got more pressing matters on your plate, haven't you? LADY spectacularly under-performed expectations, I hear. The stock took a beating."

"I didn't realize you still take an interest in our stock," Park Ji Il's words suggested surprise, but his face and voice were anything but. "Considering you no longer own any."

Ga In smiled pleasantly. "How are you doing on cash flow? That was quite the blow to come just before the end of the fiscal year. What will the investors think?"

"They'll be unimpressed, I'm sure," Park Ji Il smiled. Chanyeol was on the edge of his seat and that was no small feat, given he was solidly seated on