There was a light tapping on the office door before Hyunsik entered the room.

            “Sir,” Hyunsik said politely as he stood in his boss’ office.

            “Geez, Hyunsik, you don’t have to be so formal with me,” the young man said from behind his desk. “I may be your boss now, but I still see you as family. Just address me as you always have.”

            “Oh, sorry,” Hyunsik chuckled. “Um, Rain-hyung, do you have a minute?”

            “Sure, Hyunsik, what do you need?” He then looked over Hyunsik’s shoulder to wave at the black silhouette on the wall, “Hey Kiki!”

            Kikwang waved back as the young boss returned his attention to Hyunsik.

            “Ok, hyung, I was wondering, with all this new stuff I’m involved in and these performances and rehearsals and-”

            “Say no more,” Rain interrupted, reading Hyunsik’s train of thought. “I know you can’t put as many hours in as you used to, but I’m not gonna make you quit BtoB, and I’m not gonna fire you either.”

            “You’re not?” Hyunsik raised an eyebrow.

            “Of course not. We’re practically brothers, and I know it’s hard for you to live in a house with five other kids. Your mom and dad work really hard to provide for you guys and I understand you're working to take the strain off them, but Hyunsik, you’re still a kid yourself. You need to enjoy your youth while you have it.”

            Hyunsik smiled at his kind boss, “So... you really don’t mind me in BtoB?”

            “Of course not.” Rain smiled. “In fact, I encourage it. I saw what you did at the charity concert. You’ve got a lot of raw talent. I’ll tell you what; how about I reduce your hours a little? You can work one afternoon and on weekends, freeing up the rest of your week for BtoB stuff, long as you don’t let your grades fall.”

            “Really, but won’t you be shorthanded?” Hyunsik asked but Rain simply shook his head. “Kris has been asking for more hours anyway. I’m sure he won’t mind taking yours.”

            “Thanks Hyung,” Hyunsik leaned over the table, giving his boss a hug.

            “Think nothing of it,” Rain smiled. “Now get out of here. It’s your day off.”

            “Yes sir,” Hyunsik stepped back and bowed.

            “And Kikwang?” Rain glanced over at Hyunsik’s wall shadow. “Remember your promise to me. Keep this boy in line.”

            Kikwang rose his arm in a sign of acknowledgement.

            “He says you can count on him,” Hyunsik smiled at Rain.

            “I know I can.”

            Hyunsik and Kikwang exited the office as well as the restaurant. As they walked the streets outside the diner, Kikwang couldn’t help but be a little giddy.

            ‘You have the coolest boss ever!’ Kikwang cheered.

            ‘He’s alright,’ Hyunsik smiled. ‘I’ve known him all my life. His dad and my dad were really close in college, so the two of us kinda grew up together, or rather, I grew up with him watching over me. He’s eight years older than I am.’

            ‘Still, that’s awesome. I wonder what kind of boss I’d have if I was still human.’

            Hyunsik chuckled, ‘What would you even be doing if you were still human?’

            Kikwang thought for a moment. ‘Not sure. I never actually thought much into the future. I guess I’d be in school, or a dance company.’ He chuckled. ‘Or perhaps I could be a male model. I mean, have you seen my abs?’

            Hyunsik nearly fell over laughing.

            ‘What, you don’t think I could do it?’  Hyunsik could feel Kikwang’s pout.

            ‘I could, I really could see you as a model but...’ Hyunsik tried to bite back his giggles. ‘You wouldn’t even have that body if you didn’t become a shadow. It’s a paradox, hyung.’

            ‘Oh yeah,’ Kikwang sighed. ‘Oh well, I like it better this way, anyway. I don’t need to be human to enjoy life.’

            Hyunsik nodded as he came to a crowded intersection. He was about to press the button to cross when Kikwang stopped him.

            ‘Hyunsik, look,’ Kikwang directed Hyunsik’s attention across the street.

            Hyunsik looked, only to see a certain brunette woman about to cross the street. ‘What’s the big deal? Gayoon is just headed to work.’

            ‘Remember what I told you, Hyunsik. A woman’s heart can easily be swayed by a series of fateful encounters. I think now is a good time for one of those encounters.’

            ‘I’m not so sure about this,’ Hyunsik shuffled his feet. ‘She hates me.’

            ‘The line between love and hate is hair thin. The fact that she already has strong feelings for you makes it easier to make her love you.’

            ‘But...’

            ‘Hyunsik remember, we’re not going to make you into her type, but we’re going to change her type to you. Now go. I’m right behind you, and don’t forget to show some confidence.’

            Hyunsik nodded as the light changed and the two began crossing the street through the crowd of people. Gayoon was too busy reading a work pamphlet to watch where she was going. She was halfway across the street when something caught her food. She started to fall and expected to hit the ground hard when a strong arm caught her.

            “Are you alright?”

            “Y-yeah, thanks...” Gayoon opened her eyes only to look up into the eyes of her savior she froze seeing the raven-haired, high school boy she loathed staring down at her in concern.

            “Yah, Lim Hyunsik, get off of me!” She pulled away from the boy, dusting herself off. She tried to hide the faint tint of red on her face as she picked up her pamphlet. “Y-You should get out of the street. I got to get to work.” Gayoon ran off, annoyed by the fact that for a split second, her heart skipped a beat looking at Hyunsik.

            Hyunsik blinked, standing to his feet and crossing the street. “What just happened?”

            Kikwang chuckled. ‘A fateful encounter.’  

            “You what?!” N grabbed onto Hongbin’s collar. “How could you volunteer us to do some stupid audition?! I don’t wanna sing in front of thousands of people in Seoul!”

            “Hey, hey, you haven’t even heard who we’re competing against,” Hongbin retaliated. “Besides, it was Ravi’s idea!”

            “He’s right,” Ravi responded. “I overheard Ms. Gina talking on the phone in the teacher’s office earlier and came up with the challenge.”

            “Challenge to whom exactly?” Hyuk asked, not clear of the entire situation. He was playing an online game on his ipad, so he wasn’t completely paying attention.

            “We’re challenging BtoB!” Hongbin yelled, “I’m gonna make sure those brats never steal our popularity!”

            Hyuk groaned, “Are you still worried about that, Hyung?”

            “Of course I am!” Hongbin clenched his fist. “I worked hard to become a kingka; I can’t let some dorky little upstarts steal it away from me, not when I’m this close.”

            “She still doesn’t like you, Hyung.”

            “Shut up!”

            N was pondering the situation. Personally, he didn’t care to perform anything, however, he had an opportunity to get close to BtoB and figure out just what he needed to do. He glanced over at Leo. Leo simply nodded and N sighed.

            “Fine, we’ll do it,” N started to walk away but turned back to Ravi and Hongbin. He quickly flicked the two boys on their foreheads.

            “Yah!” Hongbin whined.

            “I’m the leader here,” N responded, “Don’t make big decisions without telling me, got that?”

            “Yes leader,” Hongbin responded.

            “Yes, oh dark-skinned one,” Ravi joked, earning another flick to the head.

            “Speaking of insubordination,” Hyuk looked around the room. “Where’s Ken?”

            As if on cue, a certain brunette ran through the doors of the classroom, panting. “Here I am!”

            “Where were you, Hyung,” Hyuk asked the sweaty boy, carrying what looked like a heavy backpack.

            “Tutoring,” Ken simply answered. “Is it true?! Is Vixx gonna perform on stage?!”

            “Guess so,” N pointed to Hongbin. “Ol’ big mouth volunteered us to audition.”

            “WHOO HOO!” Ken cheered. “Finally something I wanna do! I can’t wait to sing again.” He ran over to Leo’s side, wrapping his arm around the quiet boy’s shoulder. “And I can’t wait to hear the silent lion’s amazing voice again.”

            “You have three seconds to stop touching me,” Leo scowled causing Ken to let go.

            “Ken,” N said. “It’s not for fun. We’re doing this to get things back to normal and stop BtoB from advancing on us. This is a war, not a game.”

            Ken sighed heavily, “Right, BtoB. It’s never about enjoying ourselves anymore.”

            “We can still have fun with it, hyung,” Hyuk smiled, looking up from his tablet. “Don’t let the fact that we have to squash BtoB’s hopes and dreams deteriorate you from singing.”

            Ken sighed, he knew Hyuk was right, but he hated the malicious things he had to do to remain a kingka. Regardless, Ken kept smiling, knowing in his mind that eventually things would return to normal and maybe he could sing with his friends again without having to worry about social status.

            “So what are we performing?” Ken asked, “‘Light Me Up’, ‘Rock Ur Body’, ‘Superhero’ is always a classic.”

            “No,” N remarked. “Ravi’s go