A/N: hi, guys! here's the next chapter! :)

uhm, this chapter is a bit darker than usual, though... D:

Warnings: language, hints of ual exploitation, etc.

Also, Changmin is a bit scary in this chapter D:

There was a sharp knocking on the door, and the President of SM Entertainment looked up from his the mountains of paperwork on his desk.

“Come in,” he called out, wondering who on earth it was that was interrupting him, since he knew he didn't have any scheduled appointments right now.

The door opened and in came one of his most prized idols- TVXQ’s Shim Changmin.

“Ah, Max,” Lee Soo Man said, smiling a bit as Changmin crossed the room and stopped right in front of his desk.

Changmin bowed his head slightly. “Good morning, sir,” he greeted quietly.

“Take a seat,” Lee Soo Man said, gesturing towards one of the chairs by his desk. “And to what do I owe this pleasant surprise, Max?” he asked curiously as Changmin sat down. After all, Changmin very rarely visited his office, unless it was the President himself who asked for his presence there. And even more rarely did he come by without Yunho.

“I have… a bit of a favor to ask you, sir,” Changmin replied, still as quiet as before.

The President’s previously clear expression immediately clouded at once. “Oho,” he said, now looking a bit suspicious. “A favor, you say? And what exactly might this favor be, my dear boy?”

“Well, actually, now that I think about it, it’s not really a ‘favor’, sir…”

“I thought you just said it was?”

“Yes, but doesn’t a favor entail that it’s more of a request? That it’s something that I have to ask from you, and that it will be completely up to your choice as to whether or not you will agree to it?”

“Yes, it does…” Lee Soo Man said slowly, even more suspicious now. He didn’t seem to like where Changmin was going right now.

“Well, then, I suppose this isn’t me asking for a ‘favor’, then, sir. This is more of me demanding that you do something. You have no choice in the matter,” Changmin said bluntly.

Lee Soo Man glared at him, shocked by his audacity. “You might be used to bullying your other hyungs and fellow idols around, Max, but might I remind you that this is a slightly different scenario! I am still this company’s president, and-“

“-and I have my hands wrapped around your neck,” Changmin finished for him with a slight smirk on his face.

“What are you talking about?” Lee Soo Man demanded.

“Nothing, really. Just the fact that if you don’t comply to what I want… well, let’s just say that I can destroy your reputation, your family, and your company’s image in one single move.”

“Are you threatening me?” Lee Soo Man thundered.

“Yes, I believe I am, sir,” Changmin answered calmly.

“You don’t have the means to make me do as you wish, you little-!”

“Oh, don’t I?” Changmin raised an eyebrow. He pulled out a brown envelope from the inside pocket of his coat and threw it on the President’s desk. The envelope slid across the varnished wood and skidded to a halt right in front of Lee Soo Man.

“What is this?” Lee Soo Man asked, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“I’m giving you the honor of finding out its contents, sir,” Changmin smiled coldly, waving a hand and indicating that the President should open it himself.

The President abruptly opened the envelope and turned it upside down so that its contents spilled out on his desk.

Lee Soo Man’s eyes widened impossibly large as they took in the dozen or so pictures in front of him.

Pictures of him and… a girl.

The photos showed him kissing her, him running his hands across her thighs, him her neck, him palming her s… and so on.

And that’s not even the worst part.

The girl in the pictures certainly looked as if she was-

“Underage, isn’t she?” Changmin said with a frown, his expression distasteful as he also looked down at the pictures.

“Where. Did. You. Get. This,” Lee Soo Man said quietly, though every syllable he uttered hinted that his temper was about to do a volcanic eruption any moment now.

“Honestly, sir, it doesn’t really matter where or how I got them,” Changmin shrugged easily. “What matters is that I do have them. And if you don’t agree to do a thing or two for me, these pictures would find their way into the hands of your wife, the media, the police, and every single person working for SM right now, from the board members all the way down to the maintenance staff. Everyone would know about your erted ways, sir.”

“How dare you use this against me!” Lee Soo Man roared, his temper finally reaching its boiling point. “After everything I’ve done for you! You little bastard, you think you can take me down with this! An affair cannot ruin the empire I have built in the entertainment industry! My wife might be furious as hell, but this is just an affair! I can claim it was just a simple mistake!”

Changmin raised his eyebrows disbelievingly. “With all due respect, sir,” he said in a tone that clearly showed that he wasn’t aiming to be respectful at all and was just saying so to mock Lee Soo Man. “This isn’t just your usual ‘affair’. The girl is clearly underage! Even if you turn out to be right and it doesn’t destroy your ‘empire’, it will most definitely land you in a stint in jail, at least!”

“She has given her consent!” Lee Soo Man hissed, his eyes narrowed into slits. “That little agreed to it! You can’t say I was taking advantage of her! You don’t know how much she asks from me every time we meet!”

“I’d prefer not to hear how your ‘liaisons’ work, sir, thank you very much. And also I don’t really care if she agreed to it or not, and frankly, neither will the authorities,” Changmin said flatly. “The point is that she’s underage, a minor. God, she’s even under the age of consent! And the law clearly prohibits that kind of ual relationship! Whether she has given her consent is not a matter to be considered. You will still be charged with statutory !”

Lee Soo Man gave Changmin a loathing looked that clearly showed how he wished the younger man a slow and painful death. But, still, he realized that his hands were indeed died.

“What is it that you want?” the President gritted out angrily through his teeth.

“Excellent,” Changmin said with a satisfied smile, pleased that the President is finally going to stop fighting and just comply to his wishes. “I’ll go straight to the point, then, sir. I want Dong Bang Shin Ki to reunite as five.”

Lee Soo Man’s eyes bugged out of their sockets.

“You want what?”

“Why does everyone that I tell of my plans always have that kind of response?” Changmin muttered mostly to himself, rolling his eyes.

“Are you mad, Max?!”

“Yep, then, they follow with that,” Changmin continued to mutter, shaking his head. Then, he said in a slightly louder voice, “I'm not mad, sir, and neither is my plan. Think about it. Think how much profit both SM and C-Jes will make from