#just to buy my own director's gift

[batshit-auspol]

With the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, many of the former empire's resources were sold off to the highest bidder, and their $14 billion space shuttle program was no exception.

Seeking to recoup some of that eyewatering spend, in 1998, the "Buran" (Russia's answer to the American Space Shuttle) was offered up for sale on eBay for $10 million.

No serious offers were received - with most people assuming the listing to be a joke, until the New York Post confirmed the sale, with Russian authorities stating they "actually have two" if anyone is interested.

(Pictured: A later auction of a smaller scale Buran in 2005)

Sensing an opportunity, a group of Aussie entrepreneurs including Australia's first astronaut and the lawyer for Prime Minister Paul Keating offer to lease the shuttle from Russia, to put it on display in Australia during the Sydney Olympics.

After gaining permission from the Kremlin for the lease, in 1999 the Russian military briefly stops bombing Chechnya in order to dismantle the Buran, and it is placed on a barge to be shipped to Sydney on the (soon to be infamous for other reasons) Tampa shipping vessel at a cost of $5 million.

Once in Sydney, after a disastrous few months on display where crowds failed to flock to the shuttle exhibition featuring such compelling educational offerings as "activities is to assist in the development of issues of nutrition and hygiene at home" (an actual quote from their website) - the leasing company declared bankruptcy and washed their hands of the space shuttle completely.

The Buran Gift shop where you could buy soviet space ship themed football jerseys, in case you needed one of those

One of four people listed on the lease, described as a business partner of the Prime Minister, also claims he never knew he was a director of the company, which went on to cause a lot more problems.

This whole debacle presented a slight issue for the cash strapped Russian authorities, who had now only been paid $100,000 for the 9 year lease of the shuttle instead of the $600,000 they were owed. Eventually the decision was made to abandon the once $1 billion Soviet pride and joy in a Sydney carpark, where it resided for a year under a small tarpaulin.

Failed attempts to be rid of the shuttle included a 12 day auction hosted by an LA radio station, where listeners were offered the chance to buy the shuttle for $6 million, however all bids turned out to be pranks and the shuttle remained.

Multiple attempts were also made to sell the shuttle to Tom Cruise, with the exacerbated movie star's representatives repeatedly telling the insistent traders that he was not interested in owning a Russian spaceship.

Eventually a Singaporean group dismantled the shuttle and shipped it overseas, however Russian authorities soon reported they once again had been failed to be paid for the lease. Singaporean representatives responded that they definitely had paid for the shuttle, and that they simply couldn't remember when or how much was paid.

Representing the Russian government, Lawyer Suhaila Turani told the Wall Street Journal “I feel sorry for the Russians. They’re good in space, but they’re very naive in business.”

For a time the shuttle was abandoned in the storage yard of event company Pico, with the company owner telling the Wall Street Journal "I just want this thing out of my life" after three years of being stuck with it.

A few years later the shuttle was found by German journalists dismantled in a junkyard, and it was then bought and shipped to Germany to be put on display a museum, so all's well that ends well (except they dropped it from a crane while trying to set it up, but it polished up okay).

[fairyhaos]

how seventeen act with their bookworm s/o

requested by my dearest 🍒 anon!

masterlist

seungcheol

just. buys you everything you want. bookmarks, books, book signing tickets, bookshelves, hell he'll even build you your own library to house your books if that's what you want. he'd buy u anything you want anyway tbh, but he knows how much you love reading so his gift-giving tendencies have shifted towards the side of fully letting you indulge in your hobbies. what can he say? he likes seeing you happy. 

jeonghan

sometimes he'll just sit there and watch you read bc he thinks that you're just really cute. likes to watch all the different facial expressions you make whilst you're reading through different passages, and laughs when you give horrified gasps whenever the characters make terrible choices. gets bored whilst listening to you explain the plot, but Loves when you explain the drama to him like you're teenage girls gossiping over the latest drama

joshua

doesn't know how you have the time or patience to just sit there reading words for hours, but he supports your hobby for sure. sometimes when you're feeling down, he'll take you to the nearest bookstore and buys every single book you so much as hint at having an interest in. buys you handbags that are big enough for books to fit inside so when you two go out with others, you can bring ur emotional support book for when things get too boring 🫡

junhui

goes “ooh what are u reading???” when he catches you holding a new book. you tell him the title and the genre, but as soon as you begin explaining the plot, his eyes are glazing over and he's already clocked out of the conversation. he tries his best to listen, he really does!!! but he supposes it just isn't for him :(( watches the movie adaptations w you if there is one tho and let's you rant about the deviations the directors made from the novel

hoshi

gets insanelyyyy jealous when you find a new fictional character to fixate and fawn over bc like, hello???? your boyfriend is literally right here????? why are you crying over some character that doesn't exist????? but then you argue that you put up with his tiger agenda so he can at least put up with this. doesn't like reading the books, but loves you explaining it aloud to him, hand gestures and all. he thinks it's really cute. 

wonwoo

entertains all your theories about the lore and character backstories of the novels you've been reading lately. you could look like that one guy in the corkboard meme with the red string and he'll just smile indulgently and ask you to tell him more. he's bought you about 70% of all the books you own, and he's not stopping any time soon. he'll stop when you run out of books to read, probably. and by the looks of it, that's not happening any time soon.

woozi

absolutely loves all those fantasy/ dystopian kinds of books the most. at first he was like “:// no thanks i have work” when you first asked him to read some books but now he likes reading them in his free time bc he gets to discuss lore with you in the evenings. likes watching the movie adaptations if they exist, bc then you both get to either applaud the accurate adaptation or complain loudly at the horrible inaccuracies that distort the plot beyond repair

minghao

forces you to take rest breaks every now and then when you're going on a whole reading binge bc it is Not good for your eyesight okay and he worries about you >:((( brews theeee best tea of all time for u and he'll sit down next to you in bed with his own book as you both read throughout the rest of the day. those are the best kinds of days, tbh. nothing gets better than sitting next to the person you love most and doing the thing you love most too

mingyu

he's the type to watch you with soppy eyes as you're reading your book beside him in bed. raises an eyebrow at you fondly when you finally finished, the “how was it?” clear in his eyes, and he just laughs delightedly when you simply explode with all the pent-up emotions as you rant to him about the ending and all the drama and tension that went on in the lead-up to it. loves that you're so passionate about your books. thinks it's super endearing. 

dokyeom

asks for book recs every. single. month. then adds them to his list before promptly forgetting about them and asks for recs again. thinks that everything you read sounds like theee most interesting thing in the world which is why he's always asking for the titles, but he's just always so busy you know?? he did somehow actually read ‘the song of achilles’ bc of your rec, however, and cried over it for 2 days straight

seungkwan

likes to have, like. a mini book club between the two of you where you both read the same book bc then he gets to fully understand your rants and also bc he actually gets kind of invested??? his favourite genres are those modern slice-of-life ones bc then he gets to trash talk with you about all the bad decisions the characters are making in their lives

vernon

you read books, he plays games. the both of you can sit together in complete silence and be utterly content, and the arrangement works for you both. (seungkwan thinks you guys are crazy for just being able to sit there with your respective hobbies and Not Talk.) he bought you a kindle for christmas which turned out to be the best present ever bc now you never go anywhere without it. you thank him for it at least 3 times a day. 

chan

thinks your love of books is one of your biggest charms. he met you on the train where he made the mistake of asking what book you were reading and ended up sitting through a 25 minute explanation and missing his stop, but it was okay bc he liked hearing you talk and ended the day with your number in his phone, so he counted it as a win. definitely a win in his opinion bc now he gets to listen to your book explanations as your boyfriend <3

request guidelines

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[biffhofosho]

What's Wrong with Director Ortega? | Part One

Fandom: Monsta X

Genre: Smut, natch

Word Count: uh, 18k this part

Pairing: OT7 x OC

Synopsis: In the tallest tower in the city of Seoul, there is a corporate kingdom whose empire stretches around the world. It is ruled by seven vice chairmen, all of whom lord over their own little departmental fiefdoms. With so many different ruling styles, they don’t have much in common save for the one director they can’t live without. Unfortunately for Director Ortega, heavy is the head who wears that crown. Seven demanding bosses and no time for herself forces her to reconsider what she wants out of life, which may just be the thing to force the self-proclaimed Kings of Seoul to reconsider what they want from her…

The Vibe: Reverse harem, ultra-competitive, CEOs, rich and spoiled men, monstas at odds, professional-to-a-fault and overworked and overextended OC who finally decides it’s time to put herself first, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone, harsh awakenings, noraebang, goldilocks implications, atypical biffhofosho ending :D

A/N: OH MY GOD THE EDITING TOOK ME SOOOO MUCH LONGER THAN I ANTICIPATED. First of all, I realized only on edit that the first part is 808974893759874 times longer than the other parts, but there's just so much that needed to be set up... Also, low key I had so much fun writing it. But it's FINE. I can post on this most holy of days! HAPPY FREEDOM DAY, BABY WONHO. THANK YOU FOR COMING HOME TO US.

Obviously inspired by What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?, but reverse harem and smutty af. Also inspired by the business tycoon playboy Fatal Love photoshoot because holy fuck, did that bring me to my knees. Though I’ve been a mbb since 2016, Fatal Love was the first album I actually bought (because I’d finally figured out how to buy overseas by then lol), and when I opened version 3, this was the FIRST thing that got lodged in my mind. Like a popcorn kernel, it had to be worked out slowly, over time, but after months of watching cheesy, soapy Chinese minidramas, I got the swift kick in the butt to finish my CEO smutfest. Enjoy!

Special thank you shout-out to my love, @starlightfantasy, without whom this chapter wouldn't have been nearly so lively or authentic.

Cvr | 01 |

“As always, Director Ortega, impeccable work. You may go.”

“Very good, sir,” came her customary reply. “Don’t forget that you have dinner with Chairman Matsuda of Aeon tonight at the Phoenix. I have already prepared a gift and left it with Secretary Kwon. Be sure to take it when you leave today.”

“You won’t be joining?”

She lowered her eyes, her breath gathering in her chest. “No, sir. I will leave things in your capable hands.”

“You always join.”

“I know, sir, but not this time.”

“Chairman Matsuda expects it.”

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ve already cleared it with him.”

The vice chairman said nothing, simply twirled his pen between his fingers like a baton.

Finally, she gathered her notepad and stowed her pen behind her ear. She offered a polite bow at his dismissal, but just before she reached the door, she stopped.

She pulled herself up as tall as her petite frame could muster and turned back to the wide mahogany desk in front of the sweeping windows. Beyond the stiff-backed silhouette crowning the complementary stiff-backed desk chair unfurled a smoggy Seoul morning. Dirty clouds filtered the wan light throughout the corner office.

She wet her lips and swallowed. “Excuse me, Vice Chairman Son, but there is one more matter we have left to discuss…”

The corporate auditorium was packed full of employees from every department in the Xtra Mile conglomerate. The thrum of chatter draped overhead like a heavy tarp as coworkers filed into their seats and caught up with people they hadn’t seen since the last company in-service.

As the Purchasing Department filled their rows, they met the Human Resources Department halfway. Normally, the two sides had very little to do with one another, so this gave everyone an excuse to greet each other and gossip.

But just like that, the room fell perfectly silent as a stream of seven very handsome and undeniably powerful men strolled onto the stage at the head of the auditorium. Their figures were projected onto the large screen above their heads so that even those seated in the back could appreciate the clean lines of their expensive haircuts and their even more expensive suits. Each man occupied his own podium across the breadth of the stage, so far apart that it almost looked as though they couldn’t stand breathing the same bubble of air.

At the center of the stage, spotlighted and stone-faced, one of the tallest and broadest men loomed over the employees. Without so much as an attention-grabbing throat clear, he spoke.

“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for your attendance today as well as everything you do to further the mission of the Xtra Mile Corporation.”

“Without you,” boomed an elegant and lively blonde-haired executive from halfway down the stage, “we wouldn’t be a Fortune 500 Global company.”

The room erupted in polite applause as smiles abounded.

The man in the middle’s jaw flexed slightly, and this time he did clear his throat before regaining control of the room. “Without further delay, let us commence this year’s Xtra Mile Company Vision Showcase. I’ll turn things over to our Chief Financial Officer, Vice Chairman Yoo…”

The man in the center turned to the shorter, black-haired executive on his right whose face, despite its prominent cheekbones, looked like it hadn’t seen a genuine smile in half a decade. Right away, Vice Chairman Yoo began his overview of their mission statements and goals while the audience jotted notes and nodded along, save for one row toward the back of the room.

“Who is that?” whispered a young purchaser with expressive eyebrows over starry pecan eyes. He gazed up at the stage where a woman with perfect posture and her own expensive power suit waited at the edge, looking as much like a high-end mannequin as a real person. The waves in her espresso bob curled sweetly around her small ears and accentuated a round face with dumpling cheeks. Dark fox eyes looked even more alert against her honey skin, and they didn’t miss a single silent cue from any of the vice chairmen as her stiletto heels prowled click-clack-click-clack along the back of the stage, setting up each and every transition without a word.

One of the nearby HR managers, an older man with a five o’clock shadow and a soft face, followed the young fellow’s eyes. “Ah, that one. She’s a sad case. A face that doesn’t age, legs that never stop moving, and eyes that won’t look at you unless you’re paying her.”

The young intern’s ears reddened. “A pro- pro- prostit—”

Another older man, this one a fellow purchaser, clamped a hand over the intern’s mouth and hissed, “Aigoo! Are you daft? Intern Wong, don’t finish that sentence if you don’t want to be tossed out on your ear!”

“Forgive him,” apologized one of the young ladies also on the Purchasing team, “he’s new.”

“And stupid if he thinks a major corporation keeps a company call-girl on payroll,” snapped the older purchaser with a flick to his intern’s ear.

The HR manager stifled a grin. “That is Director Ortega. She is one of the most revered employees at this company. If you ever have the occasion to work with her, you will understand why. She knows absolutely everything that goes on in every department better than any of the vice chairmen. Nothing escapes her notice, which is why she’s so heavily relied upon.”

“Which department is hers?” Intern Wong wondered.

“Which department isn’t,” laughed the HR manager. “Director Ortega has a hand in everything because she has to, especially considering to whom she reports, but her actual title is Director of Facilitation. She oversees all administration here, top to bottom, but more than that, for all intents and purposes, she oversees the vice chairmen.”

“Ah, yes!” said a satisfied voice as its owner swiveled to scope out the sunny panorama through his office window. “It turned out to be another fine day, Director Ortega. We should be out there exploring, not cooped up in here, don’t you agree?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Will you stay for lunch then? We can go out? I remember you liked that barbecue place in Jongno. Call Taeyong and have him bring the car around, and we’ll go somewhere with tables outside.”

“You know that I can’t, sir, even if I wanted to.”

“They’re always overriding my good ideas,” he grumbled.

“I’m sure it feels that way, sir. Still, being that we are on a tight schedule, I wonder if I can borrow a moment of your time,” she said hesitantly. “An urgent issue has come up, and I’m afraid it can’t wait any longer…”

---

“She has been here 14 years, longer than any of the men up on stage, longer than even I have,” continued the older company man. “The old Chairman himself hired her when he was on a business trip to the United States.”

“She’s American?”

“Yes, and half-Korean, actually. She speaks four languages as well, and, over the past couple years, she’s been learning two more.”

“She’s a wonder,” Intern Wong marveled.

“She would have to be to impress Chairman Choi. Director Ortega was the Chairman’s personal secretary for ten years before he retired and handed the company over to his seven grandsons.”

“Fourteen years seems like too long for such a young woman,” the fledgling purchaser mused, eyes still fixed to the director on stage.

The HR manager sniffed a laugh. “I told you she has a face that doesn’t age. She’s older than you think.”

“Much too sophisticated for a freshman like you,” teased Intern Wong’s female coworker. “Keep your head in your station.”

“This will be the only glimpse of her you get, young buck,” added the senior purchaser. “She rarely comes down to Purchasing, maybe a few times a year, and when she does, she speaks only with Director Kim Doyoung. I’ve never seen her in our office for more than five minutes.”

The woman smirked. “What Mr. Moon is trying to say, very politely I might add, is that she’s out of your league.”

“And more importantly,” the HR manager chimed in again, “off limits.”

“Employees date each other here,” the intern protested.

But Mr. Moon shook his head. “Yeah, but they don’t date Director Ortega, understand?”

“Aigoo… This is my least favorite time of day, you know that? All the fun ends and you leave, and I’m left with all the work.”

“You will be fine, sir, as always, but remember to please trust your secretary with any help you may need. Secretary Ahn tells me you haven’t been using her to her full potential these days.”

He sighed and chambered his chin on his hand as his smiled at her. “Why would I? All I ever need is you, Director Ortega.”

She cleared her throat softly. “About that, sir…”

“I didn’t even suggest anything, geez,” the intern pouted.

Mr. Moon stared at the young man knowingly. “I’ve seen that look in a lot of men’s eyes over the past decade. I say this as a friend: if you want to be promoted to purchaser full-time, Intern Wong, I suggest you look only on the Director with admiration.”

“I do,” the young man muttered and immediately steered the conversation somewhere gentler. “Director Ortega must know everything there is to know about this place if she’s been here that long and that high up.”

“Exactly!” agreed Mr. Moon. “She’s so important that all seven vice chairmen share her.”

The intern and a few other nearby newer employees leaned in, both interested and confused.

“Now, how can seven executives share one assistant?” wondered the female purchaser.

Mr. Moon looked on the rapt row of coworkers like a librarian leading a storytelling session. “Director Ortega is the only connection those men have beside a grandfather.”

“They’re really related?” Intern Wong asked.

The older man nodded. “Brothers, half-brothers or cousins, right, Manager Cho?”

The HR manager shrugged his mouth sternly. “No one resents that fact more than they do. Were it not for Director Ortega, they’d have nothing to do with each other. You’d think they live on seven different continents if they didn’t share one atrium on the 28th floor.”

Intern Wong’s brow furrowed. “But how exactly does one woman bridge all those continents daily?”

“Every day,” Mr. Moon explained, “the Director spends one hour with each vice chairman, and when his hour is up, she moves on down the hall.”

“Are you serious?” blurted the female purchaser.

“I am.”

“Don’t they each have their own secretary?” asked the intern. “I’m sure they have way too much work for one hour.”

This time, a middle-aged manager from Employee Relations further down the row answered, “Of course! But Director Ortega is in charge of all of their executive assistants, too. The last hour of her day is spent with them, ensuring the day’s work is properly circulated and delegated. Still, she is the only one the vice chairmen trust with their most important business matters, and she’s the only assistant they will bring with them to important meetings. Needless to say, she’s part orchestra conductor. She must follow this rigorous schedule each day to keep the vice chairmen satisfied, which is even more challenging considering how much each of them likes to demand from her.”

“I thought you were leaving,” he said.

“In a moment,” she replied.

She placed a thermos at the edge of his desk and bowed.

Incisive eyes jolted to the container as he finally looked up from his crowded blotter. “What is it?”

“Coffee, sir. Don’t stay too late tonight though. The merger with Aeon should conclude next week, and I know you’ll want fresh eyes before you final review everything of the numbers.”

A finger of black hair stubbornly broke from his clean-combed hairline and dangled in front of his sharp eyes as he switched from appraising the thermos to appraising the woman on the other side of his desk. “I should say the same to you, Director Ortega.”

She smiled as she lowered her chin. “Ah, well, to that end, I think it’s time to break old habits, sir. Before I do, I have something to confess…”

“Doesn’t leave a lot of time to herself,” mused the older purchaser as he considered the woman’s words.

Intern Wong cocked his head as he considered this new information. “But isn’t it a good thing to be so in demand at your company?”

“Aish,” chimed in an older lady on the other side of the group of busybodies, this one from the Accounting department who wore a thick pair of glasses to match her role, “it would be if you’re not a woman. Director Ortega is 38 and, as far as anybody has heard, never dated.”

“There’s no way a woman like her hasn’t dated!” the intern protested as his eyes returned to the serious beauty on stage.

“Even if she wanted to,” continued the accountant, “she would have to turn down any suitor. The vice chairmen keep her way too busy to even think about dating someone.”

“You don’t know that, Miss Lee,” said the employee relations manager.

“The hell I don’t, Manager Kwon,” the accountant scoffed, causing a few other uninterested coworkers to pivot toward them before everyone whispered apologies except the accountant. At least, she bothered to lower her voice enough that the rest of the row leaned in. “I process Director Ortega’s overtime. I’m telling you, there’s no way that woman has a life outside of this company or those seven men. It’s downright outrageous. They should be ashamed.”

“I told you,” said Manager Cho, “she’s a sad case. I heard Director Ortega had to fly back from her sister’s wedding in Mexico because Vice Chairman Chae needed a translator, and she’s the only one he trusts to give him an unbiased translation.”

“That’s too harsh,” objected Intern Wong.

Miss Lee hung her head. “Director Ortega will never find a match. Ah! It’s too sad to see a woman of her caliber give up her whole life like that.”

“I’ll leave the initial scouting reports in your inbox for your review, sir. After you’ve made your notes, please trust Secretary Lee with their transcription.”

“Could you stay a few extra minutes to finish that? Only you know how I like things organized.”

“Secretary Lee is more than capable if you just explain your preferences to him, sir. Forgive me, but he should know that after a full year.”

The vice chairman huffed, his broad shoulders slumping, too. “Yes, of course, but he isn’t— Of course, Director Ortega. You are correct.”

“I will sit with him tomorrow and show him personally, sir, so there is no confusion.”

“That’s not necessary!” He reached toward the director across the desk but pulled his hand back quickly. “I should handle it myself.”

“I am happy to hear it, sir. On that note…”

“But isn’t there something admirable about that?” Intern Wong mused as he looked up at the dark-haired director waiting at the edge of the stage, hands folded in front of her hips. “To be so loyal and dedicated to your company that you are trusted by everyone?”

A big-eyed girl in front of them whirled around in her seat and clamped her hands over the back of it to stare at the group. With wide eyes full of shock instead of innocence, she said, “I can’t believe none of you know.”

“Know?”

“Know what!”

“Tell us instantly, Secretary Heo!” urged Manager Kwon, and the whole row shifted forward.

The secretary puckered her thin lips and lowered her voice to a whisper just loud enough to catch over the drone through the sound system of Vice Chairman Im’s speech on streamlining database growth.

“Director Ortega handed in her resignation yesterday.”

“Sir, please don’t make that face,” she said.

Yet the vice chairman sat there with his cheeks in his hands, his bottom lip jutting out. “What do you expect me to do? I hate knowing where you’re headed next.”

“I do this every day, sir,” she reminded.

“And I hate it every day. He always gets more of your time than we do.”

“You know that isn’t true, sir.”

“It is!” he complained. “Wouldn’t it be so nice to have one desk in one office and report to only one person?”

She closed her eyes and steadied her breath. “I think I may have a solution to this problem. If I may have one more moment please…”

“Impossible,” Mr. Moon scoffed. “She’s been here fourteen years!”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” scolded the female purchaser.

“I’m not,” insisted Secretary Heo. “Secretary Ahn told me yesterday at lunch. She’s Vice Chairman Lee Minhyuk’s personal secretary. If anybody would know, it would be her. She’s not a gossip.”

“Like you,” retorted the accountant.

“Game recognizes game, Miss Lee, but in this case, it’s just fact. We all need to be prepared for the trickle-down. Even if we don’t work personally with the vice chairmen, without Director Ortega as our shield, we’re sure to feel the brunt of things.”

“Now that you mention it, look how dull the vice chairmen look,” said the other young woman as she stared sadly at the stage where the tallest vice chairman now spoke. Her eyes darted down to the straw-haired executive at the far end, and she shook her head. “Even Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon looks flat. He never looks so flat! Oh, this is terrible. I love his smiles.”

Intern Wong elbowed his coworker and retorted, “Keep your head in your station, Miss Kim.”

She rolled her eyes though the bespectacled accountant nodded. “And Vice Chairman Lee Hoseok looks much smaller than usual, don’t you think? Normally, you can see his shoulders from space.”

“I’m telling you,” reiterated Secretary Heo, “Director Ortega put in a month’s notice. She’s definitely leaving.”

“Have you heard this?” asked Mr. Moon to Miss Lee. “You process her overtime, you said.”

The older woman shook her head. “I’m not in HR. Isn’t that your department, Manager Cho?”

Everyone glanced down the row to the HR manager who had grown progressively quieter. “It is, but I don’t work in Executive Resources. But…”

Everyone leaned toward him like plants straining for sunlight.

“It is possible,” Manager Cho said guardedly. “I can’t outright refute it.”

Jaws dropped right and left, and a few hands fell over hearts.

“Why would she resign now?” asked Intern Wong when no one picked up the conversation.

“Is she not being compensated well enough?” asked Miss Kim.

“I have worked here through Chairman Choi’s reign, and I can tell you for a fact that her salary would make you blush, especially when she works for holiday pay. Plus, I have heard from Director Jeong that Director Ortega receives a bonus from each Vice Chairman at Seollal,” Miss Lee said vehemently. “No, no. But money matters less when you have no time to spend it and no one to spend it on. I told you. Director Ortega is 38. Aish, she must have realized that if she wants to marry and have a family, she has a very small window left.”

“Hwaiting, sunbaenim!” Miss Kim said a little too loudly, and a few more rows turned back toward them.

“No, that’s not it,” persisted Secretary Heo. “Secretary Ahn said Director Ortega already has a man, and she’s quitting to marry him.”

“Is there anything else, sir?” she said, head cocked to the side.

“There is not.”

The usual silence filled the space between them. After several years, at least it was no longer startling.

“If you’re sure, sir.”

She bowed, and also as usual, he blurted, “One final thing, Director Ortega.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

“I need five extra minutes of your time today.”

“I’m sorry, but not today, sir.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You never say that.”

“I know,” she agreed. “It turns out that’s because I need a minute of your time instead…”

The older employees broke into quiet laughter.

“There is zero chance of that,” Miss Lee assured.

“If you knew her workload…” agreed Mr. Moon.

Secretary Heo scowled and jabbed a finger at the seniors. “Secretary Ahn was sure.”

“I don’t buy it,” asserted Miss Lee. “Look, there’s no ring!”

All eyes turned to the jumbo screen, to the bare, slender fingers of the director.

One of the other purchasers whisper-shouted from farther down the row, “Do you think they’ll post for her position internally first?”

“How can you be so insensitive, Assistant Lee Yubin!” chastised Miss Kim. “The vice chairmen look miserable. They’d never fill her role with such a vulture.”

The assistant rolled her sleepy-looking eyes as she informed, “You don’t get to that position without being an opportunist.”

“No one’s asking the most important question,” interjected Intern Wong, his bright puppy eyes still fixed on the glowing silhouette of the director. “If she’s no longer going to be an employee—and she’s not engaged—do you think she’s on the market?”

Both Manager Cho and Mr. Moon sighed and exchanged hopeless glances, but now, a few more men down the line swiveled from the intern up toward the stage. The whole group grew silent as Vice Chairman Lee Minhyuk took over on the mic, but nobody was really listening to his outline of new product roll-outs for the upcoming quarter. They were mounting strategies of their very own.

“Why are we meeting here?” a surly Jooheon griped as he plopped down onto a couch in the center of the round atrium that connected all seven vice chairmen's offices. “Shouldn't we go somewhere more private?”

“This is easier,” Jackson replied as he took a seat into an armchair across from his friend. The president was known for looking as cool as his voice sounded, so when he cocked his head and crossed his legs, he looked more a boss than the vice chairman. “How are you doing?”

Jooheon hissed and launched forward, though he managed to stay seated. “How am I doing? I’m upside down, man! I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“I don’t—” The vice chairman ran his hands through his hair and rolled his neck. After a steadying breath, he said, “I don’t understand why she’d leave?”

“Director Ortega?”

“Of course, Director Ortega. Who the hell else did you think I brought you here to talk about?”

Jackson raised an eyebrow. “Well, I don’t know what you want me to do about it. You guys wouldn’t let me near her.”

“You can’t be trusted.”

“A fine thing to say to your President of Operations,” Jackson laughed, and it was clear he didn’t take an ounce of the vice chairman’s insults seriously.

“You know exactly what I mean.”

The president kept laughing and nodded. “I do.”

“But I have always trusted your vision. You see bigger pictures than I do. Since we were teenagers, you’ve always been a barometer of the people, and at least I trust your insights,” Jooheon began as professionally as he could sitting in front of one of his best friends. “Plus, you’re a busybody.”

“I’ve been accused of worse,” the president said with a grin.

“I know. I was the one who accused you.”

Jackson shrugged. “So, what do you need?”

“What have you heard about Director Ortega’s threat of quitting?”

“Is it a threat?” the president asked with a brow raise. “Because it sounded pretty damn certain to this busybody’s ears.”

“Don’t get coy, Jackson. I’m not in the mood.”

The grin dropped from the president’s face, and he leaned across the coffee table. “Everyone’s talking about it, of course. Rumors abound. Some say she’s getting married.”

Jooheon scowled and shook his head.

“Some say she’s pregnant.”

This time, the vice chairman gasped, unable to feign his usual confidence.

“But most people are saying she’s dating or wants to date, so she wants to make more time to do those other things.”

“That’s stupid,” Jooheon fired off. “Director Ortega has plenty of time to do that now. She could be married already if she wanted to be, but she’s not.”

Jackson just glowered at his friend.

“Fine,” Jooheon conceded, “we keep her pretty busy, but it’s never bothered her before.”

“Are you sure? Did you ever ask?”

“Why would I ask that!” the vice chairman shouted indignantly. “It’s not workplace appropriate.”

“Then it sounds to me like you’re talking out of your ass,” and a beat later, Jackson added cheekily, “sir.”

Jooheon studied his fingernails as he asked carefully, “So… which one did she say it is?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think anyone does for sure. Director Ortega is the most professional person in this whole damn company. You lot should know best. What did she say when she resigned?”

“She didn’t resign,” Jooheon said tersely. “She just threatened to.”

“Oh, is that what ‘Please accept my letter of resignation’ means?”

The vice chairman sighed. “Why the hell did I put any faith in you.”

“C’mon, man, I’m ribbing you. The truth is I think you know everything, but you just don’t want to acknowledge it. What did she say exactly? Not what did Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon hear?”

The straw-haired man sank back into the couch, his hands spread across the cushions as he stared up through the glass ceiling to the obnoxiously blue sky above. “She said, ‘After fourteen wonderful years at Xtra Mile, I have decided I need to step back from my position as Director of Facilitation and spend some time on myself. I know this may be rather surprising, but it's something I’ve been considering for a while. It has been an absolute pleasure working for you…’

“From there, pretty much all I heard was static. I was too in shock.”

Jackson hummed. “Doesn’t give me a ton to work with. What did her resignation letter say?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t read it yet.”

At this, Jackson let out a groan. “You didn’t read it? What the hell kind of boss are you?”

“A blindsided one! What do you expect me to do after the rug was pulled out from under me?”

“Man up and fix it. I figured Xtra Mile’s Chief Marketing Officer would already be mounting a campaign to court back his most valuable employee. Instead, you’re whining in your ivory tower.”

“How am I supposed to do that when I don’t even understand why she’s leaving me?”

“Read the damn letter, man,” Jackson scolded. “Maybe it’s as simple as she took another job.”

“You think?” the dimpled vice chairman asked eagerly.

“No, unless she sparing your feelings.”

“This is all their fault,” Jooheon griped, only too happy to shift the blame. He waved his arm around the atrium at the six other mahogany office doors. “They're driving her away. She's always happy when she's with me.”

“Is that what you really think?”

The vice chairman narrowed his eyes at his president. “Obviously.”

“Just remember I've known you long before you were a head honcho…” Jackson said ominously. He braced his elbows on his knees and leaned across the coffee table. His hand rose, middle finger tucked beneath his thumb, and swiftly and unexpectedly, he flicked the forehead of his friend.

Jooheon yelped and cursed as he bounced in his seat. When he dropped a hand to point angrily at the man across from him, a big red mark lingered like a bullseye in the center of his forehead. “You're fired!”

“Fine, fine, I’ll clean out my desk tomorrow,” the president said without an ounce of concern. “But did I knock some sense into you?”

“You pissed me off is what you did.”

Jackson rolled his eyes. “I think you’re better off worrying about that mammoth bruise to your ego than a little welt on your forehead. The second Aeon gets wind of her leaving, they’re going to wonder about the merger.”

Though he was still babying the bump on his head, Jooheon shook it. “Director Ortega said she’d build in more than the month in case things run long with Aeon. She doesn’t want to jeopardize the project.”

“Leave it to a woman of her caliber to be acutely aware of that. She’s been in all of the merger meetings, hasn’t she?”

“She personally brought Chaiman Matsuda on board. Yeah, the Aeon merger is probably more her baby than any of ours.”

“Good. That’s good then.”

“Why?” Jooheon asked.

Jackson shrugged a shoulder. “It means she’s not running off to elope at least.”

“Elope!” At this, the vice chairman finally leapt back up.

“Calm down. I said she’s not eloping. Probably also means there’s no fiancé either yet.”

“Yet?” Jooheon deflated completely back down to the couch.

Again, the president shrugged. “I’m just puzzling out the fifty different rumors I heard today. Seems like those are the least likely now that I know more.”

“Terrific…”

“But now that I know what she said when she resigned, I think the most likely theory is that you all have zapped her personal life completely. Sucked her dry like a swarm of mosquitos.”

Jooheon sighed. “You really like to rub salt in a wound, man.”

“Hey, I call ‘em like I see ‘em. Unless she’s already married? Maybe she’s leaving to spend more time with her husband. Work on building a family.”

“She doesn’t have a husband,” the vice chairman snapped.

Jackson let out a chuckle. “I imagine you seven have seen to that, huh? Thought you were all the men she needed, I’ll bet. Guess today was your wake-up.”

“Is she dating?” Jooheon’s voice creeped up uncomfortably high, and he cleared his throat to correct it.

“How should I know? You barely let me talk to the woman. You keep her locked up like Rapunzel with you and your dysfunctional family.”

The vice chairman narrowed his already narrow eyes. “That smacks of bitterness.”

“Maybe it is. She’s a beautiful woman, and I’m a good-looking guy.”

Jooehon unleashed a wicked snarl at the corner of his lips. “You’re not just a busybody but a playboy, Jackson. I was right to keep her away from you.”

It was Jackson’s turn to narrow his eyes. “I knew it.”

Jooheon waved a hand dismissively. “I don’t need you distracting my executive team.”

“I didn’t hear you balk when I asked out Secretary Guk, and she’s at your full disposal all day, every day.”

At this, the vice chairman grumbled, “Well, you just said it. I can call on her whenever I need her. I only get an hour with Director Ortega. I can’t have her distracted for a minute of it.”

“Don’t you think that’s part of her reasoning, Honey?” Jackson said, testing the boundaries of their decades-long friendship. “Every second of her day is monopolized by a tycoon. How do you expect her to just be a woman?”

“If you’re saying this just to make a window for yourself to her, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Look, man, it doesn’t even matter at this point. Her dance card is already so long, I’d need to take a number.”

“What do you mean?”

Jackson pursed his lips. “Exactly what I said. As soon as news of her resignation trickled down all 28 floors, guys were brushing up their marriageable resumes and dating profiles.”

“She’s not a sweepstakes,” Jooheon barked. “You don’t just try your chance to get lucky.”

“Hey, I agree with you, but you don’t speak for the vast majority of guys. Everyone has always assumed she’s unmarried, but no one’s risked courting her for fear of their careers. But if she doesn’t work for you anymore—”

Jooheon growled. “That doesn’t matter. They’re still risking their careers.”

Jackson leaned back in his chair, mouth screwed up to one side and eyebrow popped.

“For your own good, Honey, I really think you should ask yourself why that is.” A little louder, he proclaimed, “You all should.”

Almost as if scripted, six silhouettes stepped out of the shadows of six separate doorways.

Jackson swept his hand in a circle and smiled smugly at his friend. “See? Told you this was easier. Now I don't have to repeat myself six more times.”

“Jackson,” said a burly platinum blonde in a three-piece suit so tightly tailored that it looked more like an American football uniform, “do you really think Director Ortega will be that much of a target?”

Jackson scoffed that faded into a wry smile. “She's gorgeous, driven, charming, whip-smart, and well-off. A woman like Director Ortega is in a class of her own. Yes, Hoseok, she’s a catch. The only people who are going to care she's 38 are the ones she would have never entertained anyway. Hell, just between the horn dogs and the sugar babies, she's going to have her plate full, never mind her long-term secret admirers. You'll see. You won't even have to wait a day, I promise.”

“I don’t love that,” Minhyuk said as he took a chair beside the president.

“Yeah, but what are any of you going to do about it?”

The seven vice chairmen traded appraisals, but none spoke.

Jackson chuckled. “Can’t see the forest for the trees… Director Ortega really has been carrying all of you.”

“Watch it,” Jooheon growled, yet his subordinate waved him off.

“Since you’re all in one room for a change, let me pose a question that’s been eating at the back of my mind for years. I may never get another chance to ask it in case one of you actually decides to fire me after half a decade of playful threats, but why do each of you insist on sharing one assistant when you can have as many as you want?”

This time, none of the vice chairmen risked a glance at each other. Instead, they thumbed their ten-thousand-dollar watches or fiddled with the cuffs of their bespoke suits.

Sharp-jawed and sharp-tongued, Kihyun jutted his chin out as his neck twitched. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as he answered evenly, “Director Ortega is an invaluable—”

“Director Ortega is indeed invaluable,” Jackson interrupted. “No one would dare challenge that for fear of their life. But that doesn’t really answer my question, and you know it. As formidable an assistant as she is, you’re each only capable of utilizing her skill set for a maximum of an eighth of her day. Now, imagine, if you will, how much work you could accomplish if you each trusted one other person as much as you trust her. Don’t all of you have your own secretaries as it is? You can’t rely on them to mastermind your days? Or…”

The way the president said the word had seven sets of eyes snapping to him. Jackson’s handsome face hovered just on the professional side of a smirk.

“…is it that you just don’t want to?”

“Get to the point, President Wang,” snapped the most restless of the chairmen, Minhyuk.

Jackson’s palms turned up. “That is the point. This company is full of fresh young upstarts looking to make a name for themselves. They’re all more than eager to work overtime and make an impression, yet you all continuously come back to your Director.”

“Exactly,” Jooheon said as if it proved some other point, but judging from the smile creeping onto the president’s face, it may not have worked as intended.

“Exactly.” Jackson hummed as he tapped his smart watch screen and checked the time. “You know, I’ve been accused of playing with words before—”

“You’re a regular Loki,” Kihyun corrected.

“Mm, maybe. Or maybe it’s to provoke a thought. It’s served me well closing deals for you all these years. Word choice is everything. Say the right word, and you plant a seed, and the next thing you know? Boom! We’ve got a seven-figure sale. The customer thinks it’s all their idea—always has been. They leave feeling clever, and I leave knowing I’ve orchestrated one hell of a victory for the company.”

“Just say it, Jackson,” mumbled the feline-eyed youngest chairman, Changkyun, from his lean in his door frame.

The president waggled his fingers like the conductor he described, and a chill descended upon the room.

“I just did. Consider my words carefully. I don’t use them lightly.”

Jooheon rolled his eyes. “Yes, you do.”

With a sigh, Jackson raised both brows. “Fine. I’ll be blunter then. If there ever was a thing to unite the seven kingdoms under one banner, I think the whole of Xtra Mile would place their bets on the same banner. Maybe losing Director Ortega is the kick in the pants you all need.”

“Watch it,” Kihyun warned.

Jackson shrugged. “You asked what I thought—”

“We didn’t,” said the tallest, Hyungwon.

“He did,” finished Minhyuk with a glance at Jooheon.

“What a family you are,” Jackson laughed. “I honestly can't tell who among you is delusional, who's in denial, and who's been harboring secrets they've been way too afraid to voice.”

The seven other men exchanged wary scrutiny while the president rose and knocked the wrinkles from his slacks. “Well, look, you've got a month to figure it out, probably way less if I'm honest. The way I see it? You better speak now or forever hold your peace. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I've got a brush up my dating profile.”

With that, Jackson bowed to his bosses and walked out of the chairman’s wing with one insufferable hand in his pocket and one even more insufferable hand waving over his shoulder.

“Remind me to fire him,” huffed Minhyuk.

“Not before I clobber him,” growled Jooheon.

But without Jackson there to stir the pot, it left the seven vice chairmen staring at their feet or the wall. For all the silence, it felt very loud, and it was no surprise to anyone that the first to speak again was Minhyuk.

“What are we going to do?”

Hoseok laughed bitterly. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard us use the word ‘we’.”

A few of the men hummed as the truth of that statement hit.

“Do you think Jackson’s right?” said Changkyun hesitantly. “Do you think she’s leaving because of us?”

Hyunwoo stacked his arms across his thick chest and nodded, eyes fixed on a scuff on the marble floors. “I read her resignation letter. I don’t see how it could be anything else.”

“I read it, too,” interjected Hoseok, “but she said it was about her, right?”

This time, it was Hyungwon who sighed. “Isn’t that the thing you say to spare the other’s feelings during a breakup? ‘It’s not you, it’s me’?”

More silence, this one infinitely darker and deeper.

“So it is us…” conceded Minhyuk.

“Looks that way,” said Hyunwoo.

“I still don’t get it,” Jooheon said. “I’m a great boss. I’m not the one who made her miss her sister’s wedding.”

Hyungwon narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t make her do that. She chose to come back.”

Kihyun tilted his head as he squared off with his half-brother. "Everybody here knows that you’re passive aggressive if you don’t get your way. ‘Kihyun, are you sure you want to use the gochujang? The recipe calls for doenjang. Don’t mind me, I’m just getting a pitcher of water for the table.’”

“What are you talking about? Passive aggression is your MO,” Hyungwon retorted. “And being hyper-critical.”

“You both are,” Changkyun groaned.

“Yeah, well, I’m not,” swore Jooheon. “I praise her work every day. I ask her about her day.”

Minhyuk let out a puff of air. “Yeah, to see if you can steal some of her time from the rest of us. No one’s more of a gatekeeper than you, Jooheon."

"Am not."

“Are too. You throw a fit if anyone asks for five more minutes of her time, and if they do, you demand a makeup the next day.”

“Enough,” Hyunwoo said brusquely.

“We can’t let her resign,” Hoseok agreed.

“Obviously,” Jooheon snapped.

“Can we just refuse her resignation?” asked Minhyuk.

Changkyun shook his head. “I would never test Director Ortega’s commitment. She’ll just quit on the spot, and then where will we be.”

As brains churned, tensions mounted. It was always tense when the seven men gathered together, but for once, desperation was something all seven shared, and instead of retreating to their offices, they remained at their posts—far enough away to still make boundaries clear yet approachable.

“We should apologize,” Hyungwon volunteered.

“If apologies made a difference, would we be where we are?” challenged Kihyun.

“Well, they can’t fucking hurt.”

“It’s a starting point,” Hyunwoo asserted, “which is more than we had a minute ago.”

“What if we switch up her schedule?” Changkyun suggested. “Routine can be crushing.”

Hoseok nodded. “And she could use more vacation.”

“We can throw more money at her,” Kihyun added.

A moment passed. Hyunwoo typed something into his phone. In the gathering silence, Minhyuk and Jooheon rattled the vase in the center of the coffee table with their opposing jackhammering legs.

“What, no snide remarks? No backhanded critiques from any of you?” Kihyun said with a pointed gaze finally landing on Hyungwon.

But the tall man simply scoffed as he pushed up from his lean against the wall and moved toward his office door. “Who has time for that? You heard what Jackson said. We don’t even have a month to undo our screw-up.”

“We run a sixty-billion-dollar company,” said Minhyuk. “There’s no reason we can’t strategize a way to undo our biggest ever loss.”

“Let’s just throw everything at her tomorrow and see what sticks,” Hyungwon suggested.

“Not much of a strategy,” Minhyuk observed.

“I don’t care as long as it keeps her here with us.”

“What do you say, Hyunwoo?” asked Changkyun.

The resident senior raised both eyebrows when he discovered six sets of eyes looking at him simultaneously. “You’re asking for my opinion?”

“Yeah,” Jooheon agreed.

“I’ll get some breakfast tomorrow and think on it.”

The other six sets of eyes switched between rolls and furrows, between disheartened and annoyed, but the vice chairmen settled on meeting again in the morning—after their COO had a full belly.

Just before Hoseok could enter the cafeteria, something caught the corner of his eye, and when he turned, he found his cousin, Hyunwoo, lurking like a houseplant behind a banner announcing the upcoming Xtra Mile company picnic.

“What the hell are you doing?” asked the Chief Security Officer.

“Eating,” answered Hyunwoo.

Hoseok popped an eyebrow. “In a corner? Behind a sign?”

“Evidently, our employees are very surprised to see me. It was too much attention eating at a table.”

“You’re the COO. Attention comes with the title.”

“I don’t need it right now,” the older man replied evenly.

Hoseok had both brows raised now as he took in the rigid figure of the COO who was usually considered the face of the company, yet here Hyunwoo was, literally lurking, eyes staring blankly across the early morning company cafeteria.

Slowly, the COO shifted his attention to his cousin. His face remained as placid as ever, though his tone deepened as he asked, “What are you doing here, Hoseok?”

“I protein up here every day after my workout.”

“You’re later than usual,” Hyunwoo observed.

“How would you know? I’ve never seen you here.” At this, his cousin turned to look at him and Hoseok sniffed. “What? I can't keep track of your schedule too?”

“Hey! I was here first!”

The vice chairmen looked at each other before they realized neither of them had said it. Instead, there were three suited men clustered at the other side of the dining hall with scowls and furrowed brows. They jostled shoulder-to-shoulder as a few other employees tightened around the action.

It was clear there was a line forming, and evidently, somebody had cut it, but it wasn’t for the register.

Director Ortega sat at a table clotted with flowers and gifts and cards as men and women alike waited for their turn to speak with a figure more mythical than a phoenix.

Hoseok soured, first at the sight of the long line but further when he looked back at the burly man hovering behind the signage. “You're not here to eat. You're here to observe the Director.”

The COO presented a sandwich and took a bite, and through a mouthful, he said, “I can do both.”

With a sigh, Hoseok shoved the other vice chairman over and hunkered beside him, eyes peeking around the banner.

Director Ortega greeted each of her admirers warmly but professionally, with the same gentle but sincere office smile they’d seen every day for four years. She accepted all the cards, rejected most of the presents, and divvied up the flowers with the other ladies hovering nearby. One overzealous fellow waited in her orbit, phone out, hoping to get her Kakaotalk information, though she was steadfast that she’d had enough networking to last her a lifetime.

Hoseok puckered his lips, but just before the CSO could escort the insistent prick from the building, Hyunwoo clamped a hand on his shoulder. He looked at the meaty paw and then to its owner and back again.

“She’s got it,” Hyunwoo assured.

Hoseok shrugged his shoulder and the hand fell away. “How did you know she would be here?”

“Director Ortega often brings me a sandwich from here in the morning.”

“You make her bring you breakfast?” Hoseok said sternly.

“I don't make her do anything. She just does it.”

“She doesn't bring me anything,” his cousin pouted.

Hyunwoo didn't respond. He just took another massive bite and kept his eyes on the director.

“Seems like everyone is excited for her to leave,” observed the platinum blonde, but Hyunwoo shook his head.

“Before it got so noisy, I could hear better. I think it’s more that they’re proud of her.”

“For leaving us?” Hoseok exclaimed, and his cousin silenced him with a grave scowl. Quieter now, the CSO continued, “We need to tell the others. I’m not sure our plan of attack will be effective if she’s being showered with gifts to quit.”

This time, at least, his cousin nodded. Hyunwoo stuffed his mouth with another bite.

They lingered until the clock neared the company start time, when the last person in line finally made it to the director’s table. She was standing now, mulling over how to cart a table full of unexpected gifts elsewhere, as the young, black-haired prince with a white smile offered to help.

“Why is she smiling so much?” Hoseok said. “Is she—is she laughing?”

Hyunwoo narrowed his already thin eyes.

“Did she just give him her business card?” the younger chairman gawked.

Director Ortega bowed and thanked the young man as he helped gather her offerings into a box he’d somehow manufactured out of thin air.

Hyunwoo chucked the last bite of his sandwich in the garbage, and it made Hoseok jump.

The blonde started, “You never waste—”

“Time to go, Hoseok,” said the COO, and his cousin jumped again. “We need to talk to the others immediately.”

No sooner had the pair made it up the chairmen’s elevator to their floor than they caught some of their secretaries gabbing in the atrium.

“—vowed to get Maria plastered tonight—oh my god, sirs!”

Secretary Ahn spluttered the instant she saw the two chairmen enter the atrium. Immediately, her mouth shut, and she bowed her head. Secretary Guk was less respectful and more deer-in-headlights, with her round eyes fully white and her small mouth popped open round as a bottle cap.

“Hello, sirs,” Secretary Ahn added and then elbowed her coworker until the other woman managed the same greeting. Neither of the men said anything, so she asked, “Is everything all right, Vice Chairman Son?”

“Why wouldn't it be?” he returned flatly.

Secretary Ahn’s eyes darted to the other vice chairman and then back to him and then back to the other vice chairman again as though he should understand the singularity of the moment of the two men side-by-side.

“Is there a meeting we don't know about, sirs?” she said gingerly.

“I should ask you the same.”

Both women paled until they were nearly transparent. They looked at each other again, but this time, Secretary Ahn couldn’t seem to find her polite words, which left Secretary Guk scrambling to pick up the slack.

“Oh, not at all! We were just discussing Director Ortega's going away party tonight.”

Secretary Ahn elbowed her coworker again, this time nearly hard enough to knock the other woman out of her kitten heels.

“Her going away party?” repeated Hyunwoo. “I was unaware that she’s going anywhere.”

Secretary Guk outright shivered, and when she spoke again, her voice was shaking, too. “The secretaries organized it, but… But it would mean so much if all of the vice chairmen could join us.”

The other secretary looked frantically at her, but there was nothing to be done.

“It’s just dinner, drinks, and noraebang after work, but the more, the merrier.”

Hoseok glanced up at his cousin with urgent eyes and whispered, “President Wang said we should show sincerity. This is the perfect way.”

Again, the secretaries exchanged looks, which only amplified when Vice Chairman Son said, “Secretary Guk, please email the time and place to all the vice chairmen as soon as you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

The secretaries bowed to the vice chairmen as they headed toward their respective offices, and when Secretary Ahn rose, she scowled and slapped her friend on the arm. “Maria is going to kill you!”

“Please,” said Secretary Guk as she sat down in front of her keyboard and began to type. “The vice chairmen will never show up. When have they ever showed up for anything, let alone together? Maria’s ready to leave Xtra Mile, but I’m not. What was I supposed to do?”

“Just keep your mouth shut,” her coworker hissed.

“It’s fine. You’ll see. Maria will agree with me.”

“Aigoo, Aera!” Secretary Ahn growled as she tapped her coworker on her arm again. “Have you learned nothing? Keep your mouth shut.”

“No way. You think I want Maria grinding me to a pulp?”

“Look, you said yourself they’ll never show anyway, so why say anything? We’ve worked so hard to organize this thing. I’m not going to be the one to tell everyone it’s off when she invariably cancels it. You are.”

“I didn’t think about that…”

Secretary Ahn rolled her eyes. “Of course you didn’t. You’re not the one who’d clean up the mess.”

“Okay, but if something does go wrong—”

But Secretary Guk didn’t get to finish that thought before the work day officially started and the phones began to ring.

“Oh my god, I didn’t know Maria was capable of getting tipsy, but wow,” laughed Secretary Kwon. “She is gone.”

“Yeah,” agreed Secretary Guk, “color me shocked. I always figured her for the straight life.”

Secretary Kim rolled her eyes. “All these years at seven typhoons’ beck and call will force sobriety on you. I have a hard enough time convincing myself I can have a drink on the weekend. Can’t imagine what Maria’s dry spell’s been like. She must be making up for lost time.”

The women traded laughs and then another round of shots as Director Ortega scream-shouted her noraebang lines into the microphone and they had to hurry to cover their ears.

"Holy. Shit."

It wasn’t just the sudden appearance of the English curse or that it came from the Secretary Lee in his overly dramatic alto that made all the other secretaries pivot sharply. It was the way everything else fell silent except a drunken Maria caterwauling to George Michael’s “Freedom” on stage.

“They actually showed up,” Secretary Ahn gasped.

“Who?” said Secretary Kim.

“Who do you think?”

“What!” exclaimed Secretary Guk. “Which ones?”

“Uh…” Vice Chairman Yoo’s secretary, Song Jiyoo, squinted into the foggy shadows at the entryway as more silhouettes parted the club haze. “Oh my god, it looks like all of them.”

“No way,” said Secretary Kwon. “You're plastered, One. You have to be.”

“I am not. Turn around, Haeun!” Secretary Song grabbed her pocket-sized coworker by the shoulders and swiveled her like the rest of their mob of meerkats.

“I don’t believe it...”

“We’re dead,” said the second Secretary Song Jiyoo, Vice Chairman Im’s assistant, whom the entire department simply called Two.

Secretaries Ahn and Guk looked at each other with crinkled brows. Together, they murmured, “Maria is going to kill us.”

Bumbling through the speakers, they could make out their director wailing louder than she had all night.

“All we have to see is that I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me. Freedom! Freedom!”

Secretary Lee looked at the two wide-eyed women, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek. “So. What do you two want on your urns?”

“Secretary Guk!” came the dreaded call no one had expected to hear from her boss, Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon, tonight.

“Sir,” she stammered as she stepped forward, her hands rushing to her cheeks to hide the alcohol coloring them. She looked frantically at her superior before she realized he was flanked by his seven fellow vice chairmen, every last one in their requisite three piece suits and ties, every hand stuffed in their pockets. She may as well have been coming face-to-face with a firing squad. “Sirs, you came?”

“We said we would,” he replied.

"Yes. Yes, you did…”

Vice Chairman Lee Jooheon took a look around, his bottom lip protruding. “We’re late?”

“No, sir,” Secretary Guk was quick to jump in. “You are right on time, of course. A bunch of us simply got here early to pre-game.”

“Is that what kids call dinner these days?” said Kihyun with a popped eyebrow.

“Ah…”

“You didn’t include the dinner in the invitation?” Secretary Ahn hissed into her colleague’s ear.

Secretary Guk simply stood there with her mouth open.

Secretary Ahn elbowed her friend, but the other secretary just looked at her helplessly. Jooheon narrowed his already thin eyes as he assessed his assistant like a lie detector, but he didn’t say anything further.

“There are a lot of people here,” mused Hoseok to Hyungwon.

Men and women clustered around tables—and soju—many with their drinks stilled in hand as they spied their bosses’ bosses. There were faces the vice chairmen recognized from their various departments, but there were just as many they didn’t, lower level managers and assistants too far down the totem pole for them to have met. No doubt Director Ortega knew them all by name.

Past the honeycomb of booths, at the head of the room, there was a packed dance floor, though once again, the revelry seemed frozen as though by a curse. Everyone watched the seven overlords.

As distracting as it all was, it couldn’t distract from the party’s crown jewel.

Dressed in an oversized buttondown and a denim skirt, Director Ortega bounced from toe to toe in a pair of blindingly white sneakers. Her waves were full-blown curls tonight, bouncing with the beat pulsing through the speakers. Mic in hand, she belted out her third encore, a booze-saturated, warbling rendition of the chorus of Cher’s “I Got You, Babe.”

And she wasn’t alone.

On the mic next to her was a young, effervescent man who seemed to be the only one in the room who didn’t have eyes fixed anywhere other than the woman next to him on stage.

Hyunwoo hummed as he glared. “I know him…”

“Hey,” interjected Hoseok with a nudge to his elder cousin’s shoulder, “isn’t that the guy from breakfast? Mr. Helpshimself.”

The COO’s eye twitched.

“Secretary Lee!” barked Hyungwon to his assistant. “Who’s that with the Director?”

“Uh, on stage?” echoed the younger man. “Mm, I don’t know.”

“Secretary Guk,” Jooheon pressed, “do you know that man?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, sir, I don’t. Maria invited him.”

The vice chairman glowered, and the secretary crumbled.

“Er, Director Ortega invited him, but I can find out?”

“Immediately,” he insisted.

Secretary Guk scampered away toward one of the HR managers who hadn’t moved so much as a muscle since the vice chairmen had strolled in, but if the paralyzed look in his eyes was any indication, he wanted nothing to do with her.

Meanwhile, Kihyun huffed. “A man nobody seems to know is dueting with Director Ortega?”

The secretaries shifted uncomfortably even as two voices, one rich in bass and the other ripe with alcohol, stampeded through the silence like a pair of frolicking elephants. Secretaries One and Two cast worried glances back at their director, who was beaming lopsidedly at the handsome fellow who was hamming it up on his knees now, hand reaching up toward Maria.

“Now, Secretary Guk!” Jooheon called back.

His assistant scurried back with her head bowed and said, “Manager Cho believes his name is Intern Wong Kunhang.”

Secretary One hummed. “Oh, that’s Intern Wong? I think I heard he was brought on to the Purchasing Department from our Macau division a month or two ago.”

“Hm,” hummed Changkyun. “What’s an intern doing at a senior level director’s going-away party?”

Secretary Guk’s head dipped a little lower. “Apparently, I had heard correctly. The Director invited him personally. He wasn’t on our executives list, sir.”

As the vice chairmen stared green-eyed at the stage, the director and her partner finished the last lines of the song with breathless laughs.

Maria bent back into a light stretch as she caught her breath, and when she straightened, she squinted out into the eerily calm party room. Gone was the soju-greased dance party, noisy conversation and uproarious laughter, replaced instead by an ambient background soundtrack and muffled parties in nearby rooms.

“Why is nobody dancing?” Maria complained as she looked around the crowded club of stricken guests.

“Hey, no worries. I can fix that. I have a song that will get them going,” assured Kunhang. He shuffled through the playlist for a minute as he added over his shoulder, “What do you think about—”

Just then though, the young man was yanked by his wrist toward the edge of the stage where his direct supervisor, Supervisor Qian glared at him with imploring eyes. “No more encores, Intern Wong.”

“Ah, come on! It's the Director's big day. If she wants another song—”

But the supervisor shook his head vehemently. “I'm doing this for your own good, Intern Wong. Hurry up off the stage now, come on. I’ll give you money for a cab. Go home early and safely.”

“Are you nuts? I’m not leaving yet. Maria invited me personally.”

Supervisor Qian slapped his hand over the intern’s mouth and hissed, “Do you want to lose your job the same month you got it? Stop talking for once, Intern Wong, and go!”

The supervisor yanked his subordinate down the steps, leaving Maria squinting alone into the haze ahead of her.

“Hyeongseo!” she shouted into the hushed crowd. “Hyeongseoie! Where are you?”

Secretary Kim, Vice Chairman Lee Hoseok’s personal assistant and Maria's best friend in the company, turned to Secretary Ahn and hissed, “Fix this, Minha!”

She raced to her friend’s aid on stage, leaving Vice Chairman Lee Minhyuk’s assistant gasping like a fish in front of the heads of the whole company.

“Uh,” Secretary Ahn began hesitantly, “sirs, maybe you would like to meet us later for some barbecue across the street? Everyone will be more presentable in a half hour, especially with some food in their bellies.”

“Why?” asked Hoseok. “We’re already here.”

Minhyuk cocked his head to the side, his warm blonde hair feathering across his forehead as he did. “It seems Secretary Ahn is trying to get rid of us.”

“Not at all, sir!” she squealed as she waved her hands. “It’s just that maybe noraebang is a little noisy and chaotic for leaders of your caliber who are used to quiet offices and boardrooms.”

“She means you’re bringing down the vibe,” came a voice from behind Jooheon followed by a pair of hands clapping on his shoulders.

“Jackson!” said the startled vice chairman. “What are you doing here?”

“Maria invited me,” he said with a cheeky smile that got even cheekier the more flustered the rest of vice chairmen grew. “I’m surprise she invited you.”

Kihyun sucked his teeth as assessed the president, who downed the shot in his hand with a grin on his face. “Having a good time I take it, President Wang?”

“It was a party, so I was.”

“Was a party?” questioned Hoseok.

“Until seven wet blankets dampened the mood.”

Kihyun pursed his lips now. “The soju seems to have loosened your lips.”

With a nod to the stage, Jackson replied, “It does have that reputation, yeah. If I were you, I’d by worried about the number one consumer of soju here tonight. When she sees you, you’re done…”

“How the hell did they find me!”

Though there was no mistaking the clear outrage, the seven vice chairmen had a hard time believing the voice was that of their esteemed, reliable, punctual, efficient, unwavering Director Ortega.

And yet one glance to the stage, where the director stood, arms flung wide and eyes blasted open as she challenged Secretary Kim, left no doubt it was the legend herself.

“Hm,” said Jackson, “I’m going to need a beer and a front row seat for this. Good luck, sirs.”

With that, the President of Operations disappeared into the crowd of fish faces all watching and waiting for what came next.

They didn’t have to wait long.

The director took the stairs remarkably well considering the booze counteracting her anger, but then purpose had always driven every move Maria Ortega had ever made. She headed straight for her seven moving targets. Several of the vice chairmen took a step back, huddling ever so slightly behind the wall of Hyunwoo and Hoseok.

They barely recognized the woman they’d seen nearly every day for years. Though her fine spray of freckles still dusted her face and neck, it was harder to make out under her heavy rose flush. Her ever-alert eyes were hard and narrow, and even though she was swaying as she planted her feet wide, her hands found a brand new home on her hips, giving her small stature the hulk of a professional wrestler.

“Director—” began Hyunwoo, but she waved him off instantly.

“Apologies, your highnesses, I know I’ve given you four years of contradictory evidence, but this is my night off,” she declared briskly. “Your offices are two streets down and around the corner.”

“Director Ortega—” tried Hoseok now, but she cut him off, too, with a shake of her head.

There was no sign of their perennial diplomatic as she ordered, “You should go. All of you.”

“But why?” said Jooheon in a blatant whine.

“We just got here,” insisted Hyungwon.

Maria scoffed. “Oh, I know. You’ve flatlined the mood.”

“I’ve never been accused of such a thing,” Minhyuk swore.

“Look!” she said and swung her arm toward the door, where a pair of coworkers were slinking out until her voice immobilized them in the doorway. “People are already leaving because they don’t want seven spoiled brats lording over their good time.”

“Brats?” said Hyungwon.

“Spoiled?” Kihyun balked, too. “We’re not spoiled.”

Another scoff. Maria scowled as she said, “I’ve never seen silver spoons lodged farther down throats. And now no one is going to want to have a good time with me because they don’t want you brats to fire them.”

“Somehow President Wang still has his job,” Jooheon shouted to Jackson, who was sitting cross-legged at one of the nearby booths, beer in hand.

With a sigh this time, Maria said resignedly, “What are you even doing here?”

“We’re here to celebrate you,” said Changkyun.

“Because we care about you,” Hyungwon added.

Maria’s eyes shifted to the Chief Sustainability Officer. Her face fixed on an expression too foreign for her face.

A beat passed. Then another.

Her lips parted. Before she could respond though, the puppy-eyed intern appeared at the director’s side, a tail practically wagging behind him. He rested his fingertips on her forearm, and her attention shifted to the young man.

 “Sorry about that, Maria. Supervisor Qian thought I was too drunk to stay or something, but considering he's already six shots in, I figured he wasn't one to judge. Oh, hey!” The intern pivoted on his foot and smiled at the seven stone-faced men across from him. “You must be the vice chairmen. It's nice to meet you, Your Excellencies.”

Kunhang bowed and rose with two high eyebrows and a toothy grin.

“Your Excellencies?” Hyungwon said flatly.

The intern nodded. “I hear you're the seven princes of Xtra Mile, at least, that’s what everyone in the office says.”

“And we hear that you’re from our Macau office,” said Hoseok.

“Yes, sir.”

Hyunwoo’s jaw flexed. “Do you miss Macau, Intern Wong?”

Maria narrowed her eyes, but Kunhang simply shrugged his shoulders and his mouth. “I did at first, but I’ve gotten pretty used to things here now. I really love Seoul so far.”

“That’s no reason to stay,” Jooheon added quickly.

“Internships run their course,” agreed Hyungwon.

With a tilt of his head, the intern smiled brightly. “I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

“You shouldn’t. Maybe you should head out before your job—” grumbled Kihyun before Maria stepped between the factions, her back to the vice chairmen.

“Kunhang, Secretary Lee needs a drink. Why don’t you two have one together for now?” she suggested as she spun the younger man back toward the stage.

“Okay, but we’re still doing another song to wake up these zombies, right?”

Maria nodded and sent him off, and when she swiveled back to her bosses, albeit teetering slightly, gone was her gentle smile.

“I invited Kunhang,” she asserted, “and I want him to stay. You have no authority to order my guests to leave.”

“Actually, we own 51 percent of this—”

Hyunwoo gave a discreet punch to Minhyuk’s side to shut him up, but it had about as much impact as a car accident. While the blonde cradled his gut, Maria glared.

“You're not the bosses of my party! In fact, you're not even my bosses anymore.”

“We are for the next month,” Kihyun reminded.

“Hey, Two!” the director shouted over her shoulder. “Clear that back booth for me please. I’m putting these seven children in time-out until they can learn to play well with others.”

An audible gasp circulated through the room along with one very inebriated giggle somewhere in the back that was quickly silenced. The vice chairmen stood there dumbfounded as their secretaries nervously followed their director’s instructions and shooed away partygoers from the back corner where a C-shaped booth lurked in the neon shadows. The table cleared, and Maria thrust her arm forward and instructed, “Sit.”

They did.

Another pair of guests seized the distraction and made a break for the exit, but the director trumpeted, “Nobody leaves until everyone’s had a good time!”

“Woohoo!” Kunhang cheered from halfway across the room. He was the only respondent though the escapees did retreat back to their tables.

“Can’t we talk about this?” Hyunwoo said in his usual steady tone.

Maria shook her head. “Your lordships talk to much as it is. Sit here and be quiet for once.”

Kihyun hummed. “Director Ortega, I think you’ve had a bit to drink. Maybe—”

“Psh, I’m not nearly drunk enough for this conversation.”

Jooheon let out a resentful sigh as he scrunched his nose and challenged, “We really did come to support you.”

But Maria swept her pointer finger from end to end of the rainbow of vice chairmen and barked, “Pinches egoístas! Todo lo que hacen en tomar y tomar! ¿Y que obtengo a cambio? ¡Solo molestias! Y ni siquiera me pueden dejar en paz. Hijos de puta.”

“That didn’t sound great,” Hoseok said with a grimace at Minhyuk.

Hyunwoo cleared his throat and started, “Director—”

“Nn-nn, no. No, no. I'm so sick of that name. That's the only name I've heard for the last 762 years.” Kihyun and Hyungwon exchanged looks at her embellishment, but the woman didn’t notice as she continued, “I have a real name, a person name not a job name. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Minhyuk with a lopsided smile.

“It's Maria. It's a pretty name. It was my mother’s name and my great-grandmother's name. Isn't it pretty? Maria. Say it.”

“Maria,” said Hyungwon slowly, testing it out.

But she surprised him when she launched across the table, both of her hands clamping over his thick lips. “Shh! Not you! Shh!”

“Why not me?” he grumbled behind her fingers, but she shook her head vehemently.

“Why are you so loud?”

“Loud?” Kihyun chuckled with a furrowed brow as he turned toward his half-brother. “You’re not loud. I can barely decipher half the mumblings that come out of your mouth. Maria, do you mean the music’s loud?”

“Not loud enough!” she shouted.

“Maria,” repeated Hyungwon, softer this time, but she plugged her ears then and shook her head.

“I said it's too loud. Shh! You call me Director Ortega.”

The silver-haired vice chairman scowled at his half-brother as he folded his arms across his broad chest. “Why can’t I say it… He just did.”

The director narrowed her eyes at the vice chairmen and said, “I’m going back to get drunk like I deserve for the first time in ages, and you are not ruining that yet again, got it? Hopefully I’ll forget you were even here.”

“How long do we have to sit here?” Jooheon griped.

Maria folded her arms. “You act like children, I treat you like children. You stay here until you learn your lesson.”

Changkyun laid a hand on his dimpled cousin’s shoulder before took the lead and said, “We came here to talk to you, Maria.”

“Well, I came here to party because it’s my party, and I’m not talking. I’m partying.”

She turned around, but before she could take three steps, Hoseok blurted, “What are we supposed to do?”

Over her shoulder, she answered, “You’re in timeout. You don’t do anything… unless you decide to leave. You want to reconsider?”

None of the men moved, save Kihyun and Hyungwon crossing their arms in unison in an unexpected reminder that they shared some genes.

Maria huffed. “Fine. The only way you’re getting up from this table is if you leave or you join in.”

“What does that mean?” asked Minhyuk.

“Seriously? You drink and you sing duets or you get out. There's no way I'm letting you stone sober tyrants hold anything over my secretaries after I'm gone. ¿Te quedó claro? Drink and sing or get out.”

“Is that all? I can do that,” the Chief Product Officer said with a smile and presented his hand. “Will you do me the honors of singing with me?”

Maria cackled, and all seven men froze at the unfamiliar sound. “With you, Mr. Lee Minhyuk? Oh, no way.”

“You’ll sing with an intern but not with us?” Hyungwon pointed out tightly.

“That’s the easy way out,” she countered, “and I've spent way too much of my life by each of your sides already. No, you have to sing with each other.”

“With each other?” they exclaimed as a united front for once.

Maria cocked an eyebrow and a hip and stared them down. “If you've got the guts. If not, there’s the door.”

With that, Maria returned to her party, stole a snack from a nearby table, and bellowed out a war cry for the party to continue. With the help of Intern Wong’s impromptu DJing and the out-of-sight, out-of-mind vice chairmen, most guests were swaying and drinking again, this time with much more moderation.

That is until everyone got the surprise of their lives.

Just as Manager Gong of the marketing department finished her off-key solo performance of XG’s “New Dance,” two sharp silhouettes climbed the stairs to the stage, and once they’d selected their song, they turned around and stepped into the lights.

Minhyuk and Kihyun each grabbed a mic and waited to catch up to the beat of TVXQ’s “Spellbound”. At the first notes out of their mouths, a couple shot glasses fell to the floor, but it was nothing to the number of jaws that followed.

“My god,” murmured Secretary One, “they could be idols. How did I not know Vice Chairmen Yoo could sing like this? I see him all day every day!”

“I didn’t know they could sing either!” said Secretary Kwon. “Did you, Maria?”

A rice cake now sagging in her hand, the director couldn’t even find the strength to shake her head as her two bosses prowled the stage looking like they’d always belonged up there. They’d shed their suit jackets in favor of their dress shirts, each having rolled their sleeves up to their forearms, which was more skin than Maria had ever seen them show in all their years together. As they glided across the floor, their buttons winked in the spotlights, taunting the woman who’d been so confident up to that very moment that she’d known everything about them.

“This feels like a concert!” one of the managers screamed over the music.

“I can’t believe we get to see this for free!” shouted another.

“Why do they have to be good at everything they do?” bemoaned yet another.

“Feels like they’re singing to you, Maria,” whispered Hyeongseo into her friend’s ear.

“Hush,” the director said because it was all she could manage.

She was too caught up in the two men, ever at odds with one another, harmonizing so effortlessly over the effervescent melody. Minhyuk was definitely the bigger ham of the two, swaying back and forth like a jazz cat with equal cool. Kihyun, on the other hand, had a way of stroking the mic that was so dizzying, it left Maria wondering how much of the room’s spinning was just the alcohol coursing through her now-racing blood.

“They’re even dancing in sync? They have moves?” Secretary Lee exclaimed at their little dance break, eyes bugging out of his skull.

Their performance ended all too quickly, and once again, the club room was silent. The two vice chairmen stood on stage, chests heaving, sweat beading on their brows, expressions tight.

Nobody bothered to hit the artificial applause since the real thing erupted from every corner, including whoops and hollers and chants for an encore. Their bosses merely bowed and made their escape from the limelight toward their mandated timeout, but not before taking a very particular route past their dumbstruck director.

As he blew past her, Kihyun lifted both brows in a challenge, and then the pair was gone… only to be replaced on stage by Hyunwoo and Hoseok.

“There’s more?” said one guest.

“Are they all going to perform? Oh my god,” exclaimed another.

The two largest members of Xtra Mile’s boardroom hiked the stairs to the stage as the applause finally dwindled for the last performance. Maria barely had time enough to process what had just happened in when the first percussive notes of Shinee’s “1 of 1” began.

Hoseok took the lead in the song, his voice sweet and melodic and his lisp clinging to the lyrics, before his cousin picked up the retro beats and flavored them with his own surprisingly lustrous RnB tone.

“These song choices, oh my god,” gasped Secretary Ahn.

“How am I going to go back to work on Monday?” Secretary Kwon lamented as she watched her boss reach his hand out toward them, his voice straining with a high note. Dreamily, she reached back, and Secretary Kim swatted her arm down.

“You’re embarrassing yourself, Haeun!”

“Probably,” Secretary Kwon whimpered, entranced.

“Is it just me,” said Secretary Lee, “or are all these about Maria?”

“I told you,” Hyeongseo sing-songed.

Abruptly, each of the secretaries turned toward the director, who waved them off. “You gossip just as much as ever, Yujun, which always adds fuel to Hyeongseo’s fire. Cut it out, both of you. They’re just showing off. When do they not? Pack of jerks, trying to make me feel bad about having a good time.”

Only then, as the weight of her bosses’ gazes bore down on her from the stage, did Maria realize she hadn’t had a drink since the vice chairmen had stormed in, and, resentfully, she grabbed for a shot glass. But the second she brought it to her lips, it stilled, and nothing she could do could tip it back.

“Damn them,” she cursed under her breath as she slammed the glass back down. “Can’t even get drunk anymore even though I don’t work here anymore.”

But with every cell she sobered up, Maria was more and more aware of how smooth her bosses were on stage, how natural and comfortable they looked under a spotlight, and how enticingly they sang into a mic. It wasn’t fair, and it just amplified her resentment.

“Hey, girl, you all right?” Hyeongseo asked her friend.

“Pack of jerks,” Maria muttered even as Hoseok stared straight into her soul with sparkling eyes.

Finally, the duo finished their serenade, bowed to the crowd and again to their director, and then hurried off stage to make way for Hyungwon, Jooheon, and Changkyun.

“Not again,” the director groaned and Hyeongseo rubbed her back.

“Worried they’re going to be as impressive as the first two duets?”

“I thought they’d leave. I didn’t expect them to take me up on it. Why didn’t I make them leave?”

Vice Chairman Yoo’s secretary quirked a finely plucked brow. “Seems like they’re figuring out what it means to lose you. I wonder what they’d say if they knew the real reason you’re leaving.”

Maria hissed, “I’ll throw you out, too, One!”

“Aera! Hey, Aera!” whispered Secretary Lee to Secretary Guk, who could barely tear her eyes from her boss, Jooheon, as the dimpled man centered himself behind a mic. “Aera, other than a boardroom, have you ever seen the three of them together?”

“Vice Chairman Lee looks so handsome…” she murmured with dimples that matched her superior’s. Her colleague swatted his hand in front of her face, and she blinked and snapped, “What do you want, Yujun?”

“I asked you a question!”

“Shh!” she said, ignoring him. “We’re witnessing history, and I’m not missing a second of it.”

Secretary Lee rolled his eyes, but his fellow assistant was right. The whole room could feel it, even the transfixed director.

“They can't possibly be a skilled as the other vice chairmen, can they?” asked Secretary Two.

A familiar throwback beat bumped out of the speakers, and Hyeongseo’s eyes glided to the director as Shinhwa’s “Perfect Man” emphatically kickstarted.

“Don’t,” Maria warned her friend.

Hyeongseo grinned as cartoonishly as an emoji.

Hyungwon took control of the opening lines with his raspy vocals, which melted right into Changkyun’s chocolate murmuring and, finally, Jooheon’s power serenading. Before anyone knew it, the latter two were trading some of the fastest, smoothest rap lines anyone in the company had ever heard.

“They can rap?” squealed Secretary Ahn as she pressed harder against the edge of the stage. “I take back what I said. Thank god your big mouth invited them, Aera.”

If Secretary Guk heard the praise, it took a backseat to the tidal wave of senses bearing down on them from the stage as the three men harmonized in ways not a soul in Xtra Mile could have ever anticipated. They shared lines just as easily as they shared the spotlight, and when they joined voices in the chorus, hearts stopped.

“They're not treating this like noraebang,” marveled Hyeongseo. “They're acting like they're on Music Bank.”

“What a pity they hate each other,” shouted Secretary Kwon over the music. “Imagine if they cut a record together.”

Secretary Lee wrapped one arm around the director and another around Hyeongseo as he muscled in between for a better look of his boss on stage. “I am never letting Vice Chairman Chae live this done. Never. And here I always thought Maria would be the one to bring them together. Who knew it would be music?”

“Who said it isn’t Maria?” said Jackson, who appeared at the director’s other shoulder. His mouth hovered by her ear as he added, “You did tell them to perform after all.”

“‘Cause you are the one!” came the line from the three performers, this time borderline shouted down on the crowd—maybe, more specifically, one President of Operations.

Maria looked up and away from Jackson, though not with stars in her eyes as the rest of the crowd did, but rather with crossed arms and a hard expression.

Hyeongseo shook her friend’s bicep. “Not even a smile? They’re singing right to you, babe. Damn, Maria, I really underestimated how pissed you are at them.”

But the director wasn't pissed. She was in shock.

She looked around at her colleagues, now flush with the stage, hands reaching up, cheering and squealing, all hoping for a crumb of attention from men Maria had only ever seen drink coffee, read reports, and micromanage every second of her day.

Now they were commanding a stage like they owned that, too.

So maybe she was more than a little angry after all.

They had it in them all along to get along, so why the hell had she been stretched thinner than watercolor on an oversized canvas all these years?

The trio’s performance wound down, and the men left the stage the same as the others—abruptly and with little attention for the fanfare that was being ladled on them from the audience. They retreated to their timeout and sat in the same order that they’d been assigned when Maria had sent them there.

“How am I going to go back to the office on Monday knowing what I know...” Secretary Guk said as she stared back heart-eyed at her boss.

“You’d better stay in your lane, Guk Aera,” admonished Secretary Two. “Remember what happened to Secretary Lee Gahyun? She asked out Vice Chairman Im one time, and she was gone the next day. You have to stay as professional as Director Ortega or you’ll be on the job market in no time.”

“I know! I’m just saying it’s going to be so hard. A girl could get lost in Vice Chairman Lee’s dimples…”

“Great,” said Secretary One, “we’re going to be filling two positions this week.”

“A lot to think about, Director Ortega,” Jackson began with a playful look to the woman beside him. “Seems our esteemed Vice Chairmen set out to make an impression. I wonder if it worked.”

Maria gritted her teeth, shook off the two men’s arms around her, and stormed toward the back of the club, every guest’s attention once again pressing down on them. She threw her hands back on her hips and thundered, “Are you happy?”

“Are you?” asked Kihyun.

“We did it for you,” added Hoseok.

“Did you like our performances?” Jooheon wondered. “How did I do specifically?”

Maria sighed. “What was the point of all that, huh? Did you think it would make me stay?”

“No,” said Hyunwoo.

“Yes,” said Minhyuk.

All at once, the director stood there, her shoulders unusually slumped and her round face fallen. “Thank you for coming to my going away party, sirs. You’ve certainly made it unforgettable.”

“Maria!” Kihyun said. “Wait.”

But Minhyuk shook his head. “She’s right, guys.”

With that, the CPO clambered over his relatives’ laps to get out of the booth, breezed past the director, and hurried to the stage which was still empty since they’d had yet to find anyone brave enough to follow the vice chairmen’s acts.

“All right, everyone,” declared Minhyuk into the mic. “Did you enjoy the performances?”

“Yes, sir!” came the universal cheer.

“Great, and did you have fun?”

“Yes!”

“Wonderful, wonderful. Should we add noraebang to our company picnic this year?” he asked.

The cheers were even more forceful now. “Yes, yes!”

“Ah, perfect. That’s great news. Now for the bad news.” Minhyuk smiled down at his employees, bowing and nodding and making his typical spectacle of himself.

Boos that could only come with the conviction of alcohol bubbled up around the room as every last guest waited for the other shoe to drop.

“That’s a wrap on this incredible party, I’m afraid,” said the vice chairman, “but don’t worry. Your vice chairmen will work hard to ensure more things like this in the future. For now, thank you all for supporting our dear Director and making her night unforgettable.”

“Hey, wait, no—” Maria protested, but when she swiveled about the room to address her guests, she found Hoseok and Changkyun holding open the doors to the hallway and waiting like bouncers.

“As you are all still representing Xtra Mile right now, we want to ensure your night ends well,” boomed Vice Chairman Son now from the back of the room. “To that end, we have a fleet of drivers waiting at the ready out there who will take you all home safely.”

“All of us?” shouted someone in the crowd.

“All of you,” Kihyun promised.

“Except you,” Hyungwon said solemnly.

Everyone followed his hard gaze back to Intern Wong, who looked at his boss’s boss’s boss with wide eyes over the lip of his shot glass.

“You walk home,” Jooheon agreed.

“Ah, ah,” corrected Minhyuk from the stage. “My brother is joking. There’s a seat for you in my car. Have a safe trip home, Intern Wong.”

“Why would you—” Jooheon barked before Minhyuk cut him off with a smile and a knowing look.

“As we all know, Maria wants us to see all her guests home well, especially the ones she personally invited…”

Their attention slid over to the director, who was watching her superior just as carefully.

Jooheon looked back at the bewildered intern and said begrudgingly, “Get home safely, Intern Wong.”

“Aw, is the party really over?” asked Manager Cho.

“It is if the Vice Chairmen say it is,” Supervisor Qian answered and picked up his intern by the collar.

“Hey, wait!” Kunghang objected, feet skidding beneath him as he was compelled forward. “I wanted to say goodnight to the Director!”

“I’m sure you did. Come on, our free ride is waiting, Intern Wong.”

Kunhang’s puppy eyes pleaded forgiveness of Maria as he waved and shouted goodnights even as his supervisor dragged him bodily out of the room. Over his shoulder, he shouted, “Don’t forget to text me when you get home so I know you got there safely!”

Hyungwon and Jooheon rolled their eyes as the rest of the guests began to leave while the secretaries started reining in the wake of chaos in the room. For her part, Maria cleaned up one of the bottles of soju by downing it straight from the mouth. No booze had ever tasted more satisfying.

“I can’t believe you threw out all my guests,” she said bitterly.

Minhyuk shrugged. “I just followed your lead, Maria. You were the one who said the night was over.”

The director grunted and thumped the empty bottle back on the table. “I was throwing you out, not them.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time we misunderstood something.”

Maria narrowed her eyes. “Yes, but I get the feeling that was intentional rather than accidental.”

“Feelings are not enough for a court of law,” Kihyun interjected with a hooked grin, and she sighed.

“There are forty-some people here. How are you going to get them all home?”

Jooheon beamed at her. “Limos seat eight. It’ll be fine.”

“You brought seven limos to a noraebang?” she exclaimed.

“Well, we weren’t going to ride together,” Hyungwon informed matter-of-factly.

The director sighed and collapsed onto a couch, her head lolling back as she closed her eyes. “You have no idea how much I miss your grandfather. He was mature. He was respectful. He was grateful.”

“We’re not grateful?” Hoseok said with a protruding bottom lip.

“No! You’re none of those things.”

“I resent that,” said Kihyun.

“I don’t care. What else am I supposed to think? You’re the same people made me leave family events half a world away to wait on you.”

“That was Hyungwon!”

The silver-haired vice chairman went to bite back, but the director did it for him. She squared up to Kihyun and, tongue loosened by alcohol, blurted, “You’re better? Really? I was seconds away from getting laid for the first time since the Ice Age when you texted me, what was it, 17 times? The guy thought I was married and bolted.”

A bottle clattered to the floor, and everyone turned to find President Wang standing there sheepishly with eyes big as marbles just as the rest of the secretaries were.

“Jackson? I thought we kicked you out, too,” growled Jooheon. “You are definitely walking home.”

“Aw, come on, man. You owe me for—”

“Out!” the CMO snapped.

The president hurried out with all seven secretaries in tow, each one giving Maria their own version of an embarrassed grimace, and once the procession of mortification was gone, she was left to stew in the horror of her last admission. She had to divert attention immediately.

“There’s no point in asking me to stay, sirs,” she said as assertively and professionally as her tipsy state would allow.

“You already took another job?” Hoseok said, the disappointment in his voice clear as glass.

Maria shook her head. “No. No, I need time away from an office. I need somewhere to clear my head.”

Hyunwoo raised both eyebrows. “You're taking a vacation?”

The director remained silent.

Kihyun pressed his sharply bowed lips together as he narrowed his eyes. “You're moving back home?”

More silence.

“To America!” The other six shouted in unison.

“You can’t,” Hoseok insisted.

“Of course I can. You don’t own me, contrary to what you seven seem to believe.”

“That’s not it!” protested Jooheon. “Give us a chance to prove it to you. We’ll lighten your workload. We’ll give you more time off. We won’t spring meetings on you. Just don’t leave, please.”

“Dios mío, dame fuerzas! Listen, sirs, it’s nice of you to come and show your sincerity, I mean it, and I appreciate your generosity, I really do, but my resignation is about so much more than that.” Maria took a deep breath then said, “Working for your family, I’ve accomplished more than most in my life, and I’m proud of that, but there’s one thing that my career has kept me from accomplishing, and that’s become absurdly clear since my sister’s wedding.”

“The wedding Hyungwon kept you from enjoying?” Kihyun needled, but before Hyungwon could volley back, Maria slapped her hands down on the booth as effectively as across their faces.

“Why can’t you boys just get along? It would have made my job so much easier if I didn’t have to spend as much time translating foreign languages for you as I did translating messages between you. Some days, it’s more like running a daycare than it is a multibillion-dollar company.”

“Ouch,” mumbled Hoseok.

“On that trip… What did you learn, Maria?” Hyunwoo redirected gently.

Her head lolled to the side. “What’s the point of explaining? You’re all just going to argue and lob blame at one another. I’d rather we just end it here, sirs, and you can all blame each other without me having to embarrass myself.”

“We can’t fix things if we don’t know what the problem is,” the COO insisted.

“You can’t fix them even if you do.”

“You don’t know that,” said Changkyun softly.

The director shook her head. “I do, sir. This isn’t something that can be fixed by seven executives.”

“We have resources,” Minhyuk insisted, his finger stabbing a table with every word. “We have a whole company at your disposal. There’s nothing that we can’t get you.”

“You can’t get me a husband, and you sure as hell can’t get me laid.”

Maria covered her mouth, but it was too late. The damage was done, and this time, there was no one there to distract from it.

“So it’s true…” murmured Hyungwon.

“No! Oh no… See! I knew it!” she bellowed and covered her face with her hands. “Everyone in the company knows the sad fate of poor, pathetic Maria Ortega. How humiliating. Over a decade of professionalism, and I’ve cannonballed it in a few days.”

“That's not true,” Kihyun reassured.

“Obviously it is. No wonder everyone was so eager to congratulate me on quitting. Maria Ortega, the cautionary tale for career driven women. She thought success was enough, but the moment she finds out she has no one to share it with, she realizes that the world now cruelly thinks she’s too old for love.”

“Horseshit,” Hyunwoo bit with uncharacteristic ferocity.

The director slumped over, forearms on her knees. “It doesn’t matter if it is or it isn’t. Spinster is still a word in people’s vocabulary. I’ve aged out of most of my prospects. Men aren’t looking to start a life with a woman at 38.”

“I saw that line of admirers this morning,” the honey-haired COO reminded. “You were turning down offers right and left.”

“It’s not at all what you think, sir.”

“It was,” Hoseok asserted. “Those hopeful, lovestruck looks are unmistakable.”

She closed her eyes and grimaced as she flashed back through the last couple years of disasters. “You all should know better than anyone that a salesman knows just what to do to close a deal before he moves to the next more profitable town.”

“That can’t be true,” insisted Minhyuk. “No one could say no to you.”

Maria belted out a bitter laugh, then another, until it suddenly became a strand of ironic giggles over the persistent hum of the speaker static. “Are you kidding me? It’s your favorite word for me and my personal life. You are the seven kings of the word. It’s the only other thing you have in common.”

“Impossible,” asserted Kihyun.

“When have I ever told you no?” Minhyuk challenged.

“That’s not—” began Hyungwon, but he was cut off by Maria.

“‘Vice Chairman Yoo, please keep me off the schedule Friday evening.’” In a gravelly voice, she continued, “‘Director Ortega, you know I need you to assist me with all acquisitions. It’s expected. We’re finalizing the Usagi Electronics deal. This is the most vital time. It can’t be completed without you.’”

“Hey—” said Kihyun, but again, she cut him off.

“‘Vice Chairman Im, I have important plans this Saturday, so please—'

“‘Director Ortega, please take this job more seriously. You know this morning we were invited to dine with President Park. You don’t say no to President Park.’

In a deeper mimic, she continued, “‘See you on Sunday, Director Ortega.’

“‘But, Vice Chairman Son, I told you I have—'

“‘See you Sunday.’” She closed her little play with Hyunwoo’s trademark tight-lipped, cheeky bear smile before she returned to herself with an exhausted sigh. “You have no idea how difficult it is to live a real life when you have seven superiors who demand your full attention all the time. In all the years I’ve served you, I’ve never seen Gyeongbokgung Palace, I haven’t visited the top of N Seoul Tower, I haven’t hiked Inwangsan. Hell, I haven’t seen a movie since your grandfather retired! Do you know how much I love movies? Now, I can’t even watch them at home because I pass out before they reach the halfway point. You tell me if that’s fair, sirs.”

“We didn’t think of it like that,” mumbled Hyungwon.

“I know. You didn’t think of me at all. It’s always the job first—the title first—and that goes for me, too. My career was the most important thing to me for the longest time. Now that I’ve gotten everything I’ve ever wanted for myself, I found I’m missing more than I realized. And I can’t even make it to one measly blind date.”

“What’s so great about a blind date anyway?” Hoseok challenged. “They’re all out-of-shape bald guys who make you pay for your own coffee.”

Despite herself, Maria couldn’t stifle her chuckle. “What’s wrong with bald guys? You keep bleaching your hair platinum, and you might be bald soon, too, sir.”

The Chief Security Officer groped his own head as he floundered, “Back me up, guys.”

Though he’d been quiet most of the evening, save for his devastating performance on stage, Changkyun propped both elbows on the table, leaned forward, his sly eyes hiding innumerable secrets, and said, “Maybe it’s time to consider alternative avenues.”

“What do you mean…” she asked warily.

“The shortest distance between two points. Have you ever considered that, while you may not know what you’re walking into on a blind date, you do know each of us… Better than anyone, I imagine..”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, so this is how you pitch me to keep my job?”

Changkyun shook his head. “Not at all. My suggestion is simple. Why don’t you date us instead?”

Everyone’s heads whipped toward the youngest vice chairman along with a chorus of “What!”

It didn’t seem to faze him.

“Forgive my brother, Maria,” Jooheon bumbled as he nudged the chocolate-haired vice chairman hard in the ribs. “He uses his status as youngest too liberally.”

“That’s not it,” Changkyun insisted. “I’m serious.”

The director’s hands raced through her rapidly frizzing bob as her eyes searched the shadows for spot to steady her mental tailspin. “Okay. Okay, so it’s just Vice Chairman Im who’s clearly wasted then.”

“Well…” Hyunwoo said slowly. “Maybe my youngest cousin has a point.”

Maria threw her hands up. “Vice Chairman Son, too?”

“Ugh,” groused Jooheon, “you’ve asked us to drop the honorifics but you won’t? Since we’re not coworkers anymore, it’s not necessary.”

“It feels weird not to,” she said.

“Just because it feels weird doesn’t mean it is,” Changkyun countered.

Something in the youngest’s tone warned her not to trust the dark cast in his eyes.

Hyungwon caught her gaze next, and Maria froze, feeling every bit the startled rabbit she imagined she looked to be. The man always had the unique ability to stun her despite how often he managed to look like a person five minutes shy of a cozy nap. He dipped his head down, his lips jutting with his chin, as he asked, “You've never once thought about what it would be like to be with us?”

Maria scrambled to find her bearings, but it was pointless, especially with all the liquor still burning holes in her defenses. As assertively as she could, she said, “It wouldn't matter even if I had.”

“Does that mean you have?” Jooheon said, shooting forward.

The director frantically waved him back. She longed for another shot, but like so much else in her life, it seemed out of reach. She mumbled, “Did you all plan this blindside?”

“I swear to you this is the first we’re hearing it,” said Kihyun with his hand up, “but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been thinking it for a long time.”

The director shook her head. “Not possible. You have to have an angle. You’re businessmen; you always do. You think I'm so desperate and hopeless that I need to date my bosses?”

“Yes?” wondered Minhyuk.

“No!” interjected Changkyun while he glared at his cousin as his other cousin, Hoseok, whacked the blonde on the back of the head. “I’m not suggesting you stay and work for us. I’m suggesting you give us each a chance to prove to you that we’re all like you. We’re all struggling to catch up to our feelings.”

“Feelings?” she said incredulously. “You can’t have feelings for a hammer or a wrench.”

Suddenly, Hyungwon reached across the table and grasped her fingers. Her eyes shot to the often solemn man and found his just as steady and serious as she found them in a boardroom. His thick lips were pressed together into a hard line as his brow furrowed. “You’ve never once—not ever—been a tool in our eyes, Maria, and I’m sorry if we’ve made you feel that way.”

The director yanked her hand away and stared at her skin as though it were burning. All these years, and she’d never touched them save for a jolt in a shared limo or straightening a tie. Maybe it wouldn’t have felt so momentous if they hadn’t all just proposed to date her.

She cradled her hand as she said, “There's not enough soju in this world to make me accept pity dates as severance from my company.”

“You've got it all wrong,” said Hoseok. “You would be the one taking pity on us.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve filled our lives with so many distractions that it’s distracted us from something we've known all along.”

“And what's that?” she asked, and she realized she was holding her breath.

Now it was Hyunwoo who studied the director with an intensity she’d never seen from him. Normally, he gave the appearance of constant wonder or surprise, almost like he wasn’t taking things seriously, but usually that was a ruse to throw his professional opponent off-balance. But here, Maria was practically on the floor from tonight’s whiplash, yet there were no hints of that trickery. He was looking at her with everything he had.

His eyes hooded. His voice dropped another octave. “You don't find it odd that seven men who haven't been able to agree on anything in thirty years can all agree that we can't be without you?”

“I do! Exactly,” Maria agreed wholeheartedly. “I do find that odd. But I think the conclusion I've drawn is a lot different than the one you have. Honestly, sirs, I really think you're confusing two separate issues. You don't want the person who's been doing everything for you—short of actually spoon-feeding you—to leave, but need doesn't equal love.”

Hyunwoo’s intensity didn’t let up, even at the barb. Voice as even as ever, he continued, “And I think you're afraid of the possibility that your future has always been with us.”

“Or maybe,” she said, keenly aware of how much her own voice was now shaking, “I'm afraid of the far more likely possibility that this is all some game you seven have concocted to trick me into staying. For a bunch of guys who said they didn’t plan this, with all these pretty things to say, you sure sound rehearsed.”

Kihyun, who’d been sitting closest to her, leaned in, his voice unusually deep. “Maybe that’s because we’ve each been rehearsing this for longer than you think.”

To fight the shiver racing down her spine, Maria chewed her lip aggressively.

“At least let us have the chance to prove we’re serious,” said Jooheon.

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“For starters,” Changkyun answered, “we respect your resignation. We won't pressure you to stay on as our director anymore. We’ll start interviewing candidates as soon as you find them.”

Maria popped an eyebrow. “What if I want to recommend Secretary Kim for the position?”

They all looked to Hoseok. Worry flashed across the CSO’s face for a second before he nodded slowly. “She’s an excellent assistant. I’m sure she’d be up to it.”

“She would,” Maria agreed, a relieved smile brightening her face for the first time since they’d arrived. “If she says yes, I can start training her on Monday.”

The vice chairmen couldn’t hide their shock and hesitation, but nobody dared argue it.

Again, the director found her lip between her teeth, this time coupling it with a worrying of her top button. “So, um, how would this all work? I mean, if I believed you for one second…”

“Well,” Jooheon said as she scooted a little closer on her other side, “if you believed us, we’d each like a chance to take you out.”

“There won't be any work involved,” Hoseok promised. “We're talking about dates, so we’ll keep everything out of the office.”

“You, I’m not worried about,” Maria admitted. “I can barely keep you at your desk as it is. But a few of you…”

She glared at Minhyuk, Kihyun, and Changkyun before the first butted in, “Not this time. And you won't have to plan a thing. We'll be responsible for you for a change.”

“Despite what you may think, we’ve managed to pick up a few things over the years,” Hyungwon said.

She glared sternly at them. “I’m 38. I don’t have time for boys.”

“Director Ortega—Maria,” Kihyun corrected, “we run a multibillion-dollar company. We’re not children anymore.”

“Didn’t I just put you all in time-out?” she recapped. They pouted across the board, seven undeniably handsome faces as defeated as the director had ever seen, and Maria let out a sigh. “Ugh, this conversation is making me feel uncomfortably sober. How serious are you all planning to take this charade?”

“At least as serious as you do,” said Minhyuk.

“As serious as we’ve ever taken anything,” amended Changkyun.

Maria groaned and said, “There’s no way you can play nicely with each other. How am I supposed to come out alive from this?”

“If there’s one thing to convince us to get along, it’s you, Maria,” said Hyungwon. She clutched her temples at this sound of her name in his gravelly rumble and winced.

“This is such a bad idea. What happens when it doesn’t work out with any of you? Or worse, it does work? What happens if it works really well with one of you? You can’t get along as is. Something like this… it could makes things irreconcilable.”

Minhyuk shrugged. “If you’re leaving anyway, at least you won’t have to stay for the fallout.”

“I still care,” she insisted, hands gripping the table edge. “I love Xtra Mile. I don’t want to be the reason something happens to it. You can’t promise that you’ll be okay with this.”

“You’re right,” said Hyunwoo, “we can’t, but if it isn’t already clear, we’ll do just about anything for you.”

“Even act like family,” Jooheon said with a clap on his little brother’s back beside him.

Maria glanced between her bosses, finding a thousand different reasons why this was a stupid, terrible idea, yet she found herself resisting all of those. Time stretched between the group. One minute morphed into two and then five, but it didn’t make a difference. It wasn’t changing her fate or her answer.

She chewed her lip again, but finally, she said, “I don’t know…”

“Jackson said we needed to show you our sincerity,” said Kihyun. “Please, Maria, let us.”

“You spoke to President Wang about this?” she shouted, her whole body darkening a shade. “Oh god, I can’t show my face back at the office ever again.”

“We didn’t talk to him about this!” Jooheon was quick to swear. “No one knows about this but us.”

“Hell,” said Minhyuk, “we didn’t even know before right now.”

Maria whimpered. “You better pray no one finds out or I won’t be putting you in timeout. I’ll be putting you in prison.”

The vice chairmen shared a laugh and a nod, which was more than they’d really ever shared, and the director relented to them as she had for years. Maybe it was the wrong thing to do considering where that bad habit had led her, but curiosity—and so much more—had gotten the better of her.

Come Monday, with the booze burned out of her system and her power suit back on, maybe her misgivings would get the better of her, but as Hyunwoo’s limo driver returned from dropping off the last of her guests and offered to take them all home, she didn’t refuse.

And she didn’t refuse when they insisted on piling out on her sidewalk to see her safely into her building.

She didn’t refuse when they promised to make the next month all about her.

With one final look through the glass entryway at the seven troublesome men who’d strategically commandeered her whole life for the past five years, she muttered to herself once more, “Dios mío, dame fuerzas…”

[the-queen-and-the-king]

Just a booty call - 5

Summary: It's Aaron's birthday and he clearly doesn't want to celebrate it. But Emily wants to change his mind with a very special gift.

Characters: Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss

Contents: explicit smut, handjob, oral sex (m receiving), unprotected sex (don't do that!), creampie NSFW/MINORS DNI

This text is a try, with a reverse structure compared to the other Hotchniss' AU I'm used to work on. It all starts with a FWB that will evolve into something else (with a certain amount of angst).

PS : English is not my mother language so they are necessarily mistakes. Sorry about that.

___

She was born on October twelve, he on November two. It wasn't information he shouted from the rooftops – truth be told, only Penelope was supposed to know – but she'd done her research on her own. She wanted to return the favor. He'd given her a treat on her birthday, and she wanted to do the same. Luckily for her, the date she was interested in came only a few weeks after the party that had – temporarily – brought them back together.

                She didn't know why he refused to tell team members when he'd been born, when they were all so happy to gather at each other's homes to celebrate these special days. Because it allowed them to share a festive moment, far remote from the tragic scenes that made up their daily lives. It was an enchanted interlude that allowed them to breathe a little, to relax, to discuss something other than murders, rapes and victims. Everyone was invited, of course, and Hotch took part in the celebrations: he donated money to the kitty, went out himself to buy the gift(s) and helped set up the festivities.

                But when his day came, he behaved as if nothing had happened. And the fact that no one wished him well didn't seem to affect him any more than that. At the same time, it was difficult to tell him anything since he hadn't passed on the information to anyone. She had asked Garcia why this secretive attitude, but she had replied that she didn't know why. She believed her. Knowing the technician as she did, she would have tried anything to find out more. In vain, obviously. There could have been many reasons for this rejection, all of which point to a less than stellar past. Indeed, if people enjoyed celebrating births so much, it was often because positive memories were attached to them. Those who ignored it had rarely lived in a pleasant environment.

                However, while she hoped to give him a good evening, she wouldn't betray his trust by spreading the word all over the floor. So she kept a low profile all day about her nocturnal plans. It was Friday, and the team wanted to go to a bar in town to unwind. Hotch had rejected the proposal before being given any address. He didn't even put forward a pretext to justify his answer, and we didn't insist. It wasn't the first time he'd declined, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

                Despite his senior position, which required him to be in constant contact with strangers, the director was not a very sociable person. Repelled by his impressive build and cold expression, we mostly dodged him. Shy and loath to be in the spotlight, he didn't make the effort to break the ice either. Whereas, Emily knew, he was far, in truth, from the austere, strict character he appeared to be. But to find out, he had to be willing to breach the carapace surrounding him.

                She hoped her surprise would crack his shell and he'd once again agree to drop his barriers for her. For them. She wanted him so much that her heart missed a beat every time she thought he might refuse her proposal. She avoided thinking about it, however, as she made her way to and from his home. By the time the day was over, she'd bolted into her plush apartment, climbed the stairs to her bedroom four by four and rushed to the package on her bed. She'd bought the present specifically for this occasion and couldn't wait to see his reaction when he saw it. She then got ready, put her coat back on, grabbed a minimalist – and overpriced – bag and climbed back into her car.

                She smiled when she saw that there was light in his house. At least, he wasn’t sleeping already. What if he was with someone? A surge of panic seized her at this eventuality, which she had forgotten in the run-up to this surprise. She hesitated to leave again, then remembered all the energy she'd put into this moment and stepped into the corridor. Before ringing the bell, she put her ear to the door and heard a feminine voice. A familiar voice, to which Aaron said nothing. She frowned, thought, looked at her watch and had an epiphany. It was the voice of a TV show hostess. She raised her eyes to the sky and sighed, relieved.

                Emily straightened up, tugged at her coat and tucked back a few strands of hair, then pressed the doorbell button. She sensed movement behind the lintel and it soon opened.

“Em…?”

She cut him off with a finger over his mouth and invited herself into his home. He didn't stop her, watching her sway until she found herself in the middle of the living room. With a glance, she made sure the shutters were closed and untied the belt of her jacket. The giant's eyelids widened as he discovered the red lace nightgown she was wearing underneath. His gaze fixed on the opaque triangles covering her nipples and pubis; he pushed the front door closed. Emily smiled; the fish was hooked.

                She dropped her coat at her feet and came back to catch his lips. They exchanged a fiery but brief kiss, and then she grabbed his tie and led him to the couch. He didn't balk, obediently following in her footsteps. When his large hands came to brush against her hips, she pushed him back onto the sofa and leaned in to kiss him again. He said nothing, but his smile was equivocal. He was appreciating her proposition. She presented him with her back for a moment and bent forward to grab the remote control from the coffee table, knowing that her buttocks were right at his eye level. She turned off the TV and straightened up, facing him up again.

                Then a knee planted on either side of his thighs, she captured his mouth for the third time, lingering longer to enjoy the flavors that stirred her taste cells. She caressed his cheeks, hair and shoulders as he slid his fingers up her legs, gradually working his way up to her asses. When he grabbed her posterior, she pushed herself away to bite her lower lip ostentatiously.

                She moved his hands away from her skin and put her feet back on the ground. With a certain dexterity, she grabbed the end of his belt and, with an energetic gesture, opened the silver buckle. She then reached for the only button on his pants before grabbing his zipper. She could feel that he was already erect, so she was careful as she lowered the zip. He was still smiling. She wasn't sure whether the scene amused or excited him – both, perhaps – but he helped her with the next step, lifting himself just enough so she could pull at the fabric to expose his boxers. He was now clearly hard.

                A sudden thought crossed her mind: she'd never seen him naked. Sure, they'd slept together a few times, but she'd never really taken the time to detail his genitals. Since she'd already taken him in hand, she knew roughly how long and thick his rod was, but her knowledge stopped there. And very soon, she was going to have it right under her nose. Her hesitation was not lost on his host, who brushed her cheek to get her attention. She looked up, saw his frown and regained her resolve. Without taking her eyes off him, she tugged at his underwear. It wasn't the first penis she'd seen up close, or the first she'd graced with this very special treatment.

                With the tip of her tongue, she licked the bead of pre-seminal fluid oozing from his end. It was salty and hot. Then she parted her lips and slowly sucked on the smooth, hard tip. Aaron let out an appreciative growl. She leaned in a little more, opened her mouth wider and engulfed that shaft that had already given her so much pleasure. A viscous fluid flowed over her papillae as the titan's member swelled with excitement. She continued the maneuver, sliding along the peculiarly textured skin, under which veins were visible. Each exhalation from her beneficiary stirred her as it passed, fanning the inferno rumbling in her lower abdomen.

                Having already performed a number of sucks that pleased her prey enormously, she opted for a methodical, diligent lick that drew grunts from Aaron. A strong pressure was being exerted in her intimacy, a sign that it wouldn't take long for her to cum if he or she were to caress her clitoris. As if he'd read her mind, he stopped her just as she was about to swallow him again and told her to get up. She obeyed, momentarily unsettled, and vibrated when he came to kiss her navel. Skillfully, he dropped her panties to the floor and, with a gentle touch on her hips, led her to turn her back to him and bend her knees.

                Although she had nothing against sodomy, vaginal intercourse was her preference. She didn't have time to say anything, however, as he directed his swollen member into her warm, moist vulva. She was so electrified by what she had just done that the passage was more difficult than usual. But gently, without hurting her, he pushed himself as far into her as he could. When he had reached the end, she began long, slow strokes up and down his sex, completing the job in no time. Aaron propelled an abundant spurt of semen into her and a lightning orgasm immediately paralyzed her. 

                They quietly caught their breath after that, she still sitting on his thighs, her calves still trembling from the endorphins. Then she stood up, put her underwear back on and headed for the bathroom. She emerged a few moments later; cheeks still a little red, retrieved her coat and bag from the floor, and approached the sofa. He hadn't moved, his chest rising sharply as he seemed to struggle to regain his senses. She caressed his face, placed a kiss on the corner of his lips and whispered in his ear:

“Happy birthday, Hotch.”

She left the premises less than a minute later, hoping to have changed his mind about this very special date.

___

First chapter >> https://www.tumblr.com/the-queen-and-the-king/757694774493986816/just-a-booty-call-1?source=share

Next chapter >> https://www.tumblr.com/the-queen-and-the-king/760865647482765312/just-a-booty-call-6?source=share

[heliza24]

Just had a very silly thought, which was that while I originally assumed Armand was like… an artistic director of the TDV, what if he is in fact the executive director? Like that suit says creative producer/head of development *to me*. He is smoozing with donors (finding victims to eat and then rob). He is staying up late writing grant applications (perfecting the spell gift). He is running the blood to janitorial staff ratio daily to make sure they stay within budget. He is solely in charge of HR (it’s a small team ok) which means it gets MESSY when he starts dating Louis. Every year when they plan their season (gotta get that mailer out so the juiciest audience member will buy subscriptions) he and Santiago fight, because Santiago always wants to do all this avant-garde shit and Armand is like “we have to do at least one classic. Just a simple blood letting. At least for Christmas. We have to keep the punters happy.”

Like OF COURSE Armand fell head over heels for Lestat when Armand was younger. What underpaid arts management intern has not had an ill-fated crush on an actor? This is also why his relationship with Louis actually lasts, because the only sustainable person to date when you’re embroiled in a tiny nonprofit arts org is someone outside that well of delusions.

Anyways this has absolutely nothing to do with my own work history, why do you ask? 😂

[jujumin-translates]

Sakuya Sakuma | [R] Keeping Your Love All to Myself | Sakuya-kun’s Love Life!?

Sakuya: Hmm… What should I get the Director for White Day?

Sakuya: (I want to give her something she’ll be happy with, but there’s so many things to choose from.)

Sakuya: (Huh, is that Kasumi-san over there?)

Sakuya: Kasumi-san, hello!

Kasumi: Hello, Sakuya-kun! Never thought I’d run into you here.

Sakuya: Same here! Are you out shopping too, Kasumi-san?

Kasumi: No. I just finished doing an interview and I’m on my way back to the publisher.

Sakuya: Ah, I see…! I’m so sorry to hold you up like this while you’re working!

Kasumi: Fufu, don’t worry about it. I was planning on taking a break and taking my time getting back.

Kasumi: Anyway, about what you just said… you’re in the middle of doing some shopping right now, Sakuya-kun?

Sakuya: Yeah, I am, but…

Kasumi: …But something is troubling you?

Sakuya: Huh, how’d you know!?

Kasumi: I could tell just by looking at your face. Feel free to confide in me, I’m always willing to talk things out with you, okay?

Sakuya: …Thank you so much! Well then, is it okay if I talk to you about it a bit now?

Kasumi: Yes, of course!

Sakuya: Actually, I’m worried about getting a gift for someone dear to me for White Day.

Kasumi: I see, White Day is coming up, isn’t it?

Kasumi: …Wait, someone dear to you!?

Sakuya: (Huh? The Director has always looked out for me, so she’s someone dear to me, right?)

Sakuya: Yeah. But I’ve looked at so many different stores, but I still don’t know what to get…

Kasumi: Your face is so serious, Sakuya-kun… That person must be really important to you.

Sakuya: Of course!

Kasumi: So in other words, this is about your love life…!

*Wind blows*

Sakuya: Huh? What was that? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that because of the wind…

Kasumi: No, it’s nothing! Anyway, this means you have to put all your heart into picking something out.

Sakuya: Yeah!

Kasumi: Right… I think it’s pretty standard to give sweets in return, but I think something like a handkerchief would also be nice to get…

Kasumi: If they’re a busy person, something like bath salts or hand cream could be a good idea around this time of year.

Sakuya: Ah…! That reminds me, she did mention that her skin has been feeling a little dry lately!

Kasumi: Then I think hand cream would be just the thing! It looks gorgeous and I think it’d be the perfect thing to give in return.

Kasumi: Right, right, there’s a new hand cream that just released that smells like sakura and it’s really popular with women right now…

· ❀ —– ٠ ❀ ٠ —– ❀ ·

Sakuya: Thanks to you, I was able to decide on something to give her! And thank you so much for telling me about the store that sells the hand cream, Kasumi-san!

Kasumi: Fufu, you’re welcome. I’m glad I was able to help you, Sakuya-kun.

Sakuya: Well then, I think I’m gonna head off right away!

Kasumi: Head off… to the store that I told you about?

Sakuya: Yeah! If it’s a popular hand cream, then I need to get there as soon as I can or it might sell out.

Kasumi: But will you be okay on your own? Do you want me to come with you?

Sakuya: Thank you for your concern. But I’ll be fine!

Kasumi: I see. Well then, take care, okay?

Sakuya: I will! Thank you so much for your help today, Kasumi-san!

*Footsteps*

Kasumi: …

Kasumi: (I’m still worried though, since it’s a little complicated to buy high-end cosmetics. I’ve still got some time before my break is over…)

Kasumi: Alright, I’ll go and check in on him just a little bit!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Sakuya: I’m here…

Sakuya: (I don’t come to places like this very much, so I’m a little nervous, but…)

Sakuya: (I think this is the store that sells the hand cream Kasumi-san told me about.)

Sakuya: Excuse me. I came here to buy a hand cream that smells like sakura…

Store Worker: The new product that was released last week, correct? Excuse me for asking, but did you make an online reservation, sir?

Sakuya: Huh, reservation?

Store Worker: Yes. That item has become very popular, so most people come here after making a reservation…

Sakuya: I-I see!

Sakuya: I’m sorry, I didn’t make a reservation… Do you have to make one in order to buy it?

Store Worker: No, if there are any left in stock in the store, we’ll be able to give one to you.

Store Worker: Would you please wait here a moment while I go check?

Sakuya: Yes! Of course!

Kasumi: (Way to go, Sakuya-kun! Please let there be some in stock…!)

Azami: Hm? Is that Kasumi-san?

Yuki: What are you doing sneaking around like that?

Kasumi: Azami-kun and Yuki-kun!? Umm, well, about that…

Sakuya: Huh? That voice… Kasumi-san?

Kasumi: S-Sakuya-kun!

Sakuya: And Azami-kun and Yuki-kun too… Are you three shopping together?

Yuki: I don’t know what Kasumi’s doing, but Azami and I came to check out the new high-end cosmetics.

Kasumi: Right, right, I just bumped into them by chance. I just… had something important to attend to.

Sakuya: I see! Ah. Kasumi-san, I was able to get the hand cream!

Kasumi: Really? I’m glad!

Sakuya: Me too. It seems like it’s really popular, but the store worker told me they had just one left in stock…

Sakuya: Now I’ll be able to properly give her a gift in return for White Day. Thank you so much, Kasumi-san!

Kasumi: (Aaah, Sakuya-kun’s shining smile…! It seems like he’s really happy to have gotten the hand cream.)

Kasumi: …So precious.

Azami: Okay, seriously, what the hell’s going on?

Yuki: Right? I don’t know either, but I think we should just stay out of it…

[narrators-journal]

Months of tolerance v. 2.0

Decided to feed some of my more neglected fandoms again while I’m just vibing. So! Decided to rewrite one of my first scenarios for bsd! Hope ya enjoy this little update.

The orphanage Atsushi Nakajima had grown up in didn’t do many holidays. At least, not that he knew of.

The best Atsushi got in ways of celebration, was when the director would get him new clothes for Christmas every few years. So, the candy-colored, lovey-dovey time that was Valentines day or White day held no real significance to him, even when Osamu Dazai drug him out on his day off to ‘learn the basics’, as the bandage-clad brunette had said. Though, that lack of significance still wasn’t enough to spare the weretiger the pain that came from all of the teddy bears, candies, and cards that filled the shelves of the store for lovers, friends, and family to buy.

“Dazai, I...don’t think Valentines is a holiday I’m very...fitting for.” He sighed as he studied one of the plushies on the shelf in front of him. Even as the rail that he called a mentor shot him a pathetic pout. “Come on, ‘sushi. Valentines is for everybody! It’s not like the american tradition, you don’t need a romantic partner to partake! You can just get a gift for everyone in the ADA until you find yourself someone!” He reasoned, suddenly at Atsushi’s side to throw an arm around his shoulders and give him a too-bright smile. “Plus! Just think of how a knowledge of romance, even basic, can give you a one up on Akutagawa! If all else fails, this is, like, a tactical mission.” Which, got the weretiger to grimace, “What does he have to do with this? I don’t even like him as a friend.” He pointed out, but all Dazai did was pat his shoulder and give him a more sympathetic smile. As if the white-haired man was stupid for that. “Atsushi, it’s called ‘killing them with kindness’. Get Akutagawa a gift, confuse him and soften him up to you. At a minimum, it’ll chase him off and save you money on shirts.”

And, while the brunette’s point earned a deep scowl from the choppy-haired man, he didhave a good point. Even if Atsushi didn’t have much fondness for Akutagawa, the goth was probably the closest thing he had to a friend that he didn’t work with. And, if he got him to chill with the murderous jealousy over Dazai, he wouldbe able to keep a shirt for longer than a week.

So, he bought a cheap, glass-eyed black cat plushy as a gift for the dark-haired mafioso. However, that opened up another question to glare at the man. How to get the stuffed toy tothe wheezy man?

Which, was a predicament that haunted Atsushi through out the three days that led up to Valentines day. Damn it, is this really worth it? I don’t like Dazai’s cranky fanboy on the best of days, so why risk being killed over a toy? He thought bitterly as he glared down at the floppy feline laid crumpled on his cheap coffee table. Those plastic amber eyes allowed to stare up at the predatory cat emptily as he sat on the cheap, creaky goodwill couch the evening before the big day. The annoyance of the work day, paired with the disgusting knot of warmth, embarrassment, and vengeful anger enough to warm his cheeks the more he glared at the cat. I think I’d rather drink my own fucking piss.

With a low, feral growl, Atsushi got to his feet to pluck the cheap toy up from the coffee table and throw it out of his living room window hard enough to hear its soft body hit the lid of the dumpster across the street from his apartment building before he slammed his window shut once more with a decisive ‘humph’.

Atsushi could admit that Dazai was a very smart man with far more people skills than he had. But, the weretiger also refused to be plagued by confused, conflicted emotions just to placate a stab-happy psycho with a hate boner for him. So, he was happy to lay in bed and let the cheap cat rot in the dumpster.

But, regardless of that fact, he still found himself out in the chilly evening shadows to dig the plush cat out of the dumpster to be washed. Not due to an actual desire to give it to Akutagawa, though, simply because he’d spent money on it, and if he was truly going to ‘kill him with kindness’, it’d be easier if the plush toy didn’t reek of three-day-old take-out and dog vomit. And, when the next day came, he made sure to take the toy to work with him. That way, he could throw it at the goth when they inevitably ran into one another on the job and be rid of the dumb task.

Only for not even a single hair of the goth’s gradiented hair to be seen while Atsushi was out and about that day. Forced to deal with petty couple squabbles and emotional blow-ups with the toy cat in his pocket for no reason.

This is just proof I should’ve left this wretched thing in the dumpster. He fumed to himself as he walked home in the slowly dimming light of the setting sun. His sunset-colored eyes glued to the sidewalk to avoid the sight of even more reminders of his own loneliness. If I had tried to do what Dazai said, I’d be dead. This was an entire waste of my money, time, and mental space. The only thing giving Akutagawa this toy would’ve done is off-His thoughts were forced to a stop when he knocked someone on their ass thanks to, y’know, not actually looking where he was going. “O-oh my god! I’m so sorry, miss, are you hurt?!” He squawked, quick to offer his hand to the ravenette woman.

And, while she took his hand with little more than a shake of her head, Atsushi still raked his eyed over her familiar white dress, long, dark hair, and sickly familiar light steel-colored eyes- “Oh!...You’re Gin, right? Akutagawa’s sister.” He noted as he pulled her back to her feet, his words all it took to bring a tint of pink to her fair cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run you over.” She said, her voice as light as a spring breeze. Which, the white-haired man couldn’t help but briefly compare to the rasp and snarl of her brother’s voice before he shoved those thoughts away to instead awkwardly laugh, “Oh, no no no, it was all my fault. I-I wasn’t looking where I was going, you see.” He stammered, initially tempted to try and help dust the woman off, but quick to decide against it in the realization of how inappropriate that might come off as.

“Is that yours?” She asked, her sudden question quick to replace his awkward shame with a brief flicker of confusion. At least, until he realized, much to his horror, that his floppy toy cat had been thrown to the sidewalk in his panic to help her up. “Uh, well...actually, I-I kinda...not really? I-it’s intended for...Akutagawa, actually?”

Understandably, the assassin gave him a distrustful eyebrow raise at that admission. Her soft voice hardened as she questioned, “No offense, but why did you buy my brother a toy? Is it intended as a gift for Valentines?” Which was a very fair question that left Atsushi to flounder like a hapless fish on a ship deck. The weretiger only able to manage a weak, “I...D-Dazai suggested it…” while his eyes flicked around the swiftly-darkened street to find anything but Gin to look at. All the while, the woman said nothing about how he fidgetted with the too-long tail that swayed behind him at all times like a tail and cooked in his own embarrassment.

Until, finally, she hummed with amusement laced into her words, “Well, how about I deliver it to him for you? Save you getting stabbed for something Dazai put you up to.” Which, got her a brief glance, but Atsushi knew better than to argue such a simple delivery method. So, he instead simply thanked her before he scrambled off towards his home with no other words to exchange.

Yet, despite how helpful and easy Gin’s offer made Valentines day, Atsushi’s anxiety was still high for the next few days. Each trip to or from work done with his senses on high alert for any sign of wheezing, coughing, or malicious aura. Only for the attacks to never come. Hell, the choppy-haired man didn’t even meet Akutagawa in a work context in the entire month or so that ticked by, let alone met a confrontation over the Valentines gift.

Maybe Aku really likes the gift? Or maybe Gin didn’t tell him who it was from. He mused as he walked home from the ADA in the dark evening hours. The street quiet and somewhat empty, air thick with anxiety over the mafiosos that liked to linger in the shadows and thin alleyways. Though, if Tachihara or Higuchi really had been around, they left Atsushi to his thoughts and the warmth that bubbled up in his ribcage.

Yet, before the weretiger could begin to poke at the mess of emotions that sat like a rock in his belly, something hard slammed into his head. Was I just shot? Was his initial thought after his body crumpled onto the pavement of the quiet sidewalk. Though, that idea was quickly squashed since if he’d been shot in the head, he wouldn’t have been able to think that thought, let alone watch the world spin and blur with the pain that throbbed in his skull. And, while the world did stabilize once more after what felt like an hour, the ache in his skull remained as he pushed himself back to his feet. And, while he tried to focus his eyes enough to try to find the culprit, all he ended up seeing in the darkness was a deformed, swollen can of his favorite soda

Which, was probably more confusing than a sudden attack on the weretiger since, well, soda cans don’t randomly fly at people’s heads, especially not when they haven’t even popped open. After all, they didn’t work like cartoon bubbly bottles, you couldn’t just pop a can of soda and launch it at someone like a torpedo. So, he was forced to think that someone had purposely hit him with it while he looked around the empty street as if he’d simply missed the culprit on his first scan. Kunikida? He throws stuff at Dazai, but I don’t know why he’d throw a soda at ME on- The date suddenly registered through the throb of pain in his head. And, a burning heat was quick to follow that realization to crawl up Atsushi’s neck and over his face. “Um?? T-thanks I guess?” He called into the shadows. Before swiftly booking it for home so that Akutagawa didn’t get a chance to maul him in person.

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Wifi my beloved I have another idea 🤲

Bless the anon that said Legacy would collect stones and rocks and sea shells cause i present to you

Jewel maker! S/o

Hhhh it's such a neat concept I brainstormed a little

From the back of Ajax's mind, Legacy has long been familiarised with your jewellery shop. It's small and tucked in a cozy little corner of Liyue. You make everything by hand, spending hours and hours molding wire and metal (??) into pretty shapes. Unfortunately, that leaves you with very little time to go out and find the best materials yourself, something Legacy's instincts say is very important, so you most likely buy the materials you need.

Nuh uh. Not on Legacy's watch.

He goes out and finds the prettiest crystals and gems and what he recognises as the rough materials of what you use to make your jewellery, just to see the way your eyes light up in shock, then delight.

Now I can't help but wonder what jewellery you'd make for him and Ajax. 👀 Like imagine how pretty moth would be with his armor adorned by gold and glittery jewels, as ethereal as dangerous... And childe deciding that, oh, you gifted him something you made with your own hands? Oh he's never taking it off that's for sure.

(Also imagine proposing to Ajax and Legacy instead of the opposite sksksksk)

oooHHHHH this is so!! cute!!!! i'm a lover of unique pretty jewelry so this is right up my alley :D

Legacy also knows how exhausting your work is, spending hours squinting at tiny, shining components to craft the perfect pieces for your customers. on good days, you're merely fatigued- on bad days, your head thuds with pain and your eyes hurt so much that you can barely see. so your Abyssal moth monster sneaks out while you're at work, searching high and low for all that glitters, every type of rock and stone that you can use in your art. he's not alone- Zhongli usually tags along with him, showing Legacy how to identify the highest quality crystal and cor lapis, occasionally even bringing along the mischievous funeral parlor director, who's all the happier to hang around an intimidating-looking Abyss creature. sometimes Legacy feels the presence of an adeptus or two, the amber he finds unusually pure and vibrant, even glimpsing the far-off aura of the Conqueror of Demons, watching him from far away, and Legacy happily ambles back to your shop at the end of the day, arms full of rough gemstones

you blink in surprise when Foul Legacy pushes the door open and deposits the jewels on your workbench, after he's sure you've put all your tools away. he chirps proudly, rolling a chunk towards you to inspect, and after a moment of shock your face splits into a delighted grin, flinging your arms around Legacy as he rumbles joyfully. you're sure to base some of your next collections off of him, incorporating elegant moth-ish patterns with a splash of stars here and there, gold and silver and deep, rich hues. he trills in delight when he sees the bracelets, necklaces, and earrings you've made, watching you design them from over your shoulder, occasionally nudging your cheek to remind you to rest. his claws wrapped around you give you the perfect opportunity to measure them, discern his ring size so you can make measurements for the sketch on the very last page of your notebook, a custom pair of rings etched with stars, one smaller than the other- one for Ajax, and one for Foul Legacy- for when you finally work up the courage to propose

[nattaphum]

INTERVIEW WITH VOGUE MAGAZINE

Q: how do you practice acting and how do you improve yourself in acting?

Mile: since i have less experience than other people, apo gave me a lot of advices. Other than that, i’m learning acting from the acting coach, acting friends around me which have different techniques on their owns. To compare it with playin guitar, there are different ways of picking the strings to make a sound. Acting is also the same, let's take it as the charm of acting

Apo: i think i focused on mind things, i practice meditation regularly because if i dont have a good concentration i can’t control my body to be a tool in acting. i learned from various teachers that "the more you practice the better you get" so that your body remembers what it needs to be done until it feels the necessity to do it every time. Besides, i practice to be " let's ignore it/ let's forget about it". Let's say we get to play this drama/series but we couldn't do it well just like the director expected or just like we wanted. So i just say "let’s forget it" and then put more effort into acting better next time. You can’t be like "just now i already acted good so i can drop the effort". You need to keep improving to act better in the next scene.

Q: with such a big reputation that comes to you right now, is there any day that you can't handle it?

Apo: personally, I don't know, maybe because I’ve been staying in this industry for a long time, I learned how to position myself and my heart. The most important thing is to stay in the present. We have something today, maybe tomorrow we won’t. I always thought that reputation and money are just outgrowth and i prefer to focus on what I want to do, which is acting.

Mile: now a lot of people grew to know us more and it's normal for others to bring up the past whether it’s true or untrue and putting the blame on us. So, as apo said, let's focus on other things. Like when you drive to Chiangmai, you find a lot of happiness along the way but if you focus on "heuy! it's raining" you’re gonna feel all gloomy. So for the negative comments, i won’t lie saying i didn’t have any, there are a lot of them but i chose to focus on other things. Please be kind to me *smiles*. Actually not to me alone, but to everyone in this entertainment industry that wants to create good works for the others

Q: The current world trend is to talk about LGBTQ+ on many different perspectives; what issue do you think it's the most important and you want to give the loudest voice to?

Apo: Aside from the focus on equality, another very important issue is on the law, everyone wants to be accepted in both literal and theoretical sense which includes getting to live with somebody you love; doing many things together, for example buy a car, a house or health concerns. If there is a law protecting them, then these things will be easier for them.

Mile: I agree with what Apo said and i believe in the freedom of living your life, your preferences or to love whoever you want no matter the age or society; everyone has the right to be themselves

Q: your fanclubs come from different countries, do you have any cute episodes about them you wanna share?

Mile: so many, both from Thailand and overseas! During the world tour that we had recently, there was one fan who sent a card saying they travelled from America just to come to our concert and i was like heuy! wondering whether it was true or not so i went to their instagram and that person was tellin the truth. I thought “that person really traveled this far to meet us?” … including all the good wishes that they always send to us.Thank you so much *smiles*

Apo: for me, the love that you guys send me is more important than fame and money, i feel like i can live my life to the fullest everyday,i wanna say that every wishes/messages/cards that you guys send reach us all! for the gifts, there are so many of them so i share some with other people in the company! for those i didnt mention please dont feel hurt by that because your love reached me already; i shared some with other people because i believe that if we spread the love widely it will make this world more brighter and a better place to live in (mile nodded and smiled then he said let me share them with others too, there are seriously so many of them, thank you everyone so so much)

Q: do you have anything you want to say to each other that impressed you and that you never said to your partner before?

Apo: i have one thing that i never said to him..i wanted to say this long time ago (apo's voice became more serious before turning his face to mile who's smiling and teased pmile "i’m making your face all sweet and lovely"). I wanna say that he has became more skilled but he’s never satisfied with himself for real. He has a handsome face and is skilled in what he's doing, i want pmile to be satisfied with himself and not to be anxious. Except from this, pmile has made me more calm. Before, i liked to do things fast and i would get irritated with anything slow. Seeing how pmile is more on the calmer side, it makes me able to do so too like teaching me the other way around saying “there are different people on this world”

Mile: (big smile) i’m not sure whether i already said this before or not… when apo said that he's someone who likes to do things fast, for me, i’m not the slow type, i'm more the one to think a lot. But when we get to spend a lot of time together, having the same goals in terms of working, it shows clearly that the behavior of Apo to do things fast, comes from the fact that he has such a high determination and a very good focus (*turns to apo and teases him* i’m in praising mode). Even since from the beginning we worked together he gave me a lot of advices. I need to thank him one more time, but sometimes i’m afraid he would feel hurt by this because sometimes i followed some of his advices and sometimes i didnt. I know he has a good attention but my method is “i need to ponder about it first” but i listen to him all the time.

Apo: i’m not hurt by that *turns to pmile* i think it's a good combination like everything comes down as Yin and Yang. if we both are fast, it would be awful for the two of us.

Translation by @strwberrymilk18 @urmysuninnight and @nutsu941 on twitter

[its-a-ducky-mess]

Speculation: NarraDad Theory

I've personally seen the assumption that the Narrator is Sarah's dad/caretaker quite a few times around the Sarah & Duck fandom. The question of if he's Sarah's dad is also common enough to be an autofilled Google question, akin to the question about Sarah's potential autism.

So we're going to take a little look into this theory. Admittedly it's not one with a whole lot of things to talk about, but it is a very present idea within certain fans.

Supporting Evidence

Obviously, Sarah, Duck, and the Narrator are never far apart throughout the entire show. The Narrator is never seen, but always there by their sides. This gives the impression that the Narrator keeps a close eye on Sarah and Duck, making sure they're safe, akin to a parent/guardian. In addition, they all share the same house, as both Sarah and the Narrator use "our" when referring to their home.

In addition, the Narrator has some of his possessions in the attic. Most prominently is the box of old toys in, well, Old Toys. Which judging from Sarah's shocked reaction of calling the Narrator's toys "really old", she at least has somewhat of a frame of reference for the Narrator's age despite him never making a physical appearance.

The Narrator is also of course kind and supporting of Sarah and whatever she decides to do in her day to day life.

The Narrator is proven further to have a physical presence despite never appearing once. He comments about waiting on his own after Sarah and Duck play while Cake is baking during Cake Bake. Also in Cake Bake, the Narrator is shown to have purchased the roller skates to gift to Duck. When the timer is done, Cake is already taken out and placed on the countertop, assuredly by the Narrator, as allowing Sarah, a seven year old child, to do so would be seen irresponsible. And during Constable Quack, Sarah and Duck look suspiciously towards the Narrator when they find their biscuits missing, indicated that he can in fact eat.

From a couple of perspectives, I've heard people propose the idea of the Narrator recording home movies with a camcorder in-universe, which is what we see as the episodes in real life. This would make sense, as the cameraperson wouldn't be seen under most circumstances. I personally remember watching some of my family's recordings on an old camera, and my parents manning the camera never panned to themselves. (My word is not gospel, however.) On a stranger note, fun fact: The Narrator isn't shown buying a movie ticket during Cinema Scoot, yet is present throughout the episode. It may be possible that he lagged behind the kids and bought a ticket of his own, before catching up to them a minute or so later.

Contrary Evidence

Sarah never refers to the Narrator by any sort of proper title, such as Dad, Pa, etc. In fact, she never refers to the Narrator in conversation at all. She never initiates conversation with him with any sort of greeting or sentence starter; No "hey", "hi", not even a "you there" or the like. Sarah only listens to him for as long as she needs to before talking to other people nearby. She also only directly asks the Narrator questions without any aforementioned sentence starters.

And perhaps most dismantling is an interview with series director and co-creator Tim O'Sullivan. One question and its response from this interview is directly as follows:

"Sarah and her friends live alone, parent and family free. The children are as mature as the adults; Scarf Lady and Sarah are equals. The narrator (voiced by actor Roger Allam) will often give Sarah advice, but just as often he watches as Sarah solves problems on her own. It’s a brilliant approach that feels a bit risky – kids living alone, no parents around. Was that an easy decision to make early on? Did Sarah have parents in early drafts of the show?

Thinking back we never even considered the parents. As a kid, I remember that feeling of living in a world of your own outside of parents; when you played that was the universe and the parents only broke the illusion when the fish fingers were getting cold. So when focusing on the imaginative adventures of child and her friend they weren’t deemed a necessary presence.

However, Narrator is always there, not to get in the way, but essentially play along like a parent behind a video camera and provide that sense of security that allows our characters to explore freely."

[Source: https://eviltender.com/2016/11/22/talking-sarah-duck-with-director-tim-osullivan/]

Of note is that Tim O'Sullivan says "like a parent" when describing the Narrator, even off-handedly using the video camera line as well.

Closing Thoughts

While the Narrator isn't and never was considered to have a parental role, I think it's a sweet interpretation of the character, hence why I said I was a "NarraDad truther" in another post. Depending on how you read between the lines, you could say Tim O'Sullivan never outright explicitly said "the Narrator isn't Sarah's dad". To be fair, it was kind of close to what he said.

This post is not intended to sway anyone to either side, as I believe fans should be free to interpret characters however they want so long as it's not problematic. I simply wanted to talk about the theory.

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

⭐star⭐ hiiiiiii. I just read the latest chapter (ch 2) of Flightless Birds and my soul has still not reattached. I would love to know your director’s cut thoughts on either:

1) the scene of Jamie going back to get his car and seeing the blood

2) Keeley’s overall struggles with seeing how Roy and Jamie have grown closer without her

If neither of those are striking the iron for you, anything from The Hedgehog’s Dilemma regarding Jamie’s dad’s visit would also be most excellent!

I hope this missive finds you well <3

The scene of Jamie going back to get his car and seeing the blood

This scene just sort of... came upon me as I was writing as a two birds/one stone type of situation. Bird #1 was that I remembered partway through the chapter that Jamie hadn't retrieved his car yet. Bird #2 was that Jamie spends most of the chapter working up to his big breakdown at the end, and that Roy and Keeley aren't fully aware of how badly he's doing — which meant that I needed a) something to trigger the panic attack, and b) for it to happen somewhere neither of them would know that it had happened. And then when I got this ask I realized that I had completely accidentally built in a recurring motif of like. cars as a representation of Jamie's relationship with his dad and how it's inextricably tied up not just with his career as a player but with the wealth that comes with it; how Jamie's constantly trying to buy James' affection or at least stave off his violence with gifts, his entitlement over Jamie's wealth and belongings and indignation when Jamie has something nicer than what James does, how escaping his father means leaving behind things that he loves — Man City and Georgie when he's a teenager and his car, but also that he can get them back, even if it involves confronting some trauma first.

Keeley's overall struggle with seeing how Roy and Jamie have grown closer without her

This was one of the main parts of the fic that I thought about during the planning phase. Keeley and Roy's relationship progresses a little slower in THD than it does in canon just because Roy's not relying on her quite as much for like. all his non-work and non-family social interaction and later is busy taking care of Jamie in the lead-up to his father's visit. At that stage, she's pretty content with how things are going: she has fun hanging out with them separately and together, she doesn't have to listen to them complain about each other quite as much (they still do, but now it's affectionate so it's much less annoying), and Jamie has someone looking out for him in a way she doesn't really feel equipped to do.

And then their fledgling little QPR experiences trial by fire via moving in together at a point where she's both the only one who's able-bodied and not freshly traumatized and working full time, and on top of that already overwhelming situation, being around each other all the time makes it clear that there are ways that Jamie and Roy are close to each other that they aren't with her. I think with Jamie's recovery especially, she's trying really hard not to feel hurt by the fact that Roy is the one he's opened up to about his dad and that he's the one he turns to when he's upset because she does understand, rationally, that it's not a case of Jamie trusting Roy over her but of Roy being the one to discover the abuse and establishing himself as like. The Person Who Looks After Jamie, and also that when Jamie's really upset, he usually wants to be held for a much longer time than she tends to prefer for her cuddle sessions and also isn't especially compatible with her work schedule.

But at the same time, it does make her feel guilty and hurt that she not only can't seem to give him that kind of support while Roy's recovering but that Roy doesn't seem to trust her to do it properly (this, of course, has much more to do with his own hangups that it does with not trusting Keeley, but she doesn't know that), and so there's a part of her that worries she won't have a place in the relationship once they're both doing better, but is also kind of resentful of the fact that she's ended up in this role as the caretaker and the one that has everything together because she likes doing things for her friends and cheering them up when they're having a hard time but she's never been the biggest fan of looking after people, per se. Anyway the solution is communication and they will get there eventually.

James' visit from THD

James' visit in chapters 5 and 6 was the hardest part of the fic to write, not because of the character voice but because he's just such a relentlessly unpleasant to write. From his perspective, the visit is about reasserting control: he deliberately keeps Jamie guessing about their plans, inserts himself into any part of Jamie's life where he can tell Jamie doesn't want him just to show that he can — he doesn't necessarily care about what Richmond training looks like or where he lives, but he wants to show Jamie that he doesn't have anything that isn't also James'. But at the same time, I did want him to feel like a fully-fledged person operating according to his own complex and deeply dysfunctional internal logic. He's petty and malicious and violent but that's probably not how he'd think of himself, you know?

[linagram]

[ 𝚔𝚎𝚒 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚒𝚔𝚘'𝚜 𝚝𝟸 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ]

it's the idealization duo's interrogation time! these two have a lot to say this time, hopefully it helps you understand their crimes and backstories a little better (especially kei's. btw what's everyone thinking about his crime rn)

Q.001. What would you want to hear from your lover?

Kei: That they accept me.

Eiko: That they want to be the best partner I've ever had.

Q.002. Can you drive?

Kei: Eiji, don't you remember how I used to drive you to school when you were younger?

Eiko: I do have a license and my own car, but I don't really drive. I'd prefer my partner to do that.

Q.003. What's your favorite drink?

Kei: I like milkshakes, especially strawberry ones. I have a lot of nice childhood memories associated with them, haha.

Eiko: Just lemon tea is fine.

Q.004. Your ideal type?

Kei: Someone who doesn't judge me and someone who can keep up with me.

Eiko: Someone who is always honest with me and someone who is willing to do their very best for me. I think I'd like to date someone like you, Eiji-kun~

Q.005. Do you have any fun memories of your childhood?

Kei: My favorite one is when our dad's friend taught me how to take photos with my new camera and he told me to go and take a picture of anything I want. I took a picture of a dead butterfly lying on the ground. He said that I'm very creative and that I have a bright future ahead of me.

Eiko: I remember going shopping with my dad when I was little and he told me that I can have anything I want. I told him that I want to see him smile. He almost cried after that for some reason.

Q.006. Have you ever tried learning a foreign language?

Kei: I can speak English fluently, I mean, our dad is half-American and I've also spent a lot of time overseas. I tried to learn some other languages too, like French and Spanish, but I gave up. I'm not even that good at reading and writing kanji, so..

Eiko: I can speak English and a little bit of Korean, but mostly because I listen to a lot of music in those languages, haha.

Q.007. State the meaning of your name.

Kei: I think it's supposed to mean "gemstone"? Mom said that she named me that because she thought I was so beautiful, she wanted me to have a name that would have a meaning just as beautiful as me.

Eiko: I think it's something like.. "an excellent child"? Haha, my parents must've had a lot of expectations for me.

Q.008. What do you think about your siblings?

Kei: I love you, Eiji, even if you can be really mean sometimes.

Eiko: My little brother is very nice. He does have his quirks, but I think they make him cuter.

Q.009. What are lies to you?

Kei: Something that is necessary to have a fun life!

Eiko: Something that is forgivable only if it's done to save someone. I still won't forgive anyone who lies to me though.

Q.010. What are your parents' occupations?

Kei: Dad's a movie director and mom's a toymaker! Both of them are so creative! There's just something about our family that makes all of us so artistic.. You too, Eiji. Dad always praised you for being so reliable.

Eiko: I don't know actually. And I don't really care. Well, as long as they continue to buy me gifts and help me with money if anything happens, I'm fine.

Q.011. Do you like children?

Kei: I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that I actually have one, considering my lifestyle.

Eiko: Not really. They're not a part of my concept of a perfect life.

Q.012. What is/was your major?

Kei: Photography, obviously.

Eiko: Fashion design, though I'm more interested in modelling than designing clothes.

Q.013. Tell us about your dating history.

Kei: Um, are we talking about, like, "serious relationships"?.. Then I guess Ruka is the only one that counts..

Eiko: My victim was the only person I've ever dated.

Q.014. Did you have any friends in school?

Kei: I think I had one?..

Eiko: Yeah, but I wasn't really close with them. We talked a lot, but our relationship wasn't that deep.

Q.015. What's the greatest act of love?

Kei: Uhh, if it's from my lover, I think I'd just want them to tell me that they love me even when I don't look so good. If it's from me.. I don't know! Holding myself back

Eiko: Promising to make someone's life as happy as possible and actually keeping that promise.

[finnoahsource]

this discussion about noah and finn's acting ability is so interesting to me. the casting director said noah had these unbelievably soulful eyes, and i think that's bang on the money. soulful! you can't buy soul. his gift certainly came naturally as a child, but i do think it's clear he has trained: the s3 rain scene is a great example of him having an almost adult understanding of the emotional motive behind a character's behaviour.

the van scene stunned me, but i did notice a few moments in s4 where noah's acting felt off, and oddly enough it was always when his wig was the worst lmao! suzie's house, and also the beautiful cabin scene with mike and will sat on the couch. for the couch scene though, i think it's because the material wasn't great, because everything real and human - aka the byler romance plot - is so perfect and absorbing. but as soon as he started talking about vecna being back, i felt him begin to 'act'.

its something i started to notice when reflecting on s4 as a whole: this is a storyline that was presumably meant to be acted out by actors and characters who were still in the mid teens. but to me noah and finn looked much older, and so the vague sci-fi monster-y writing that was so endearing when their characters looked naive and innocent became a bit cheesy when they looked like they could be renting their own cars.

im sure this is just my personal taste, though - after all, many adults produce and enjoy 'campy' movies like superhero or comic stuff! ST has never shied away from being somewhat cheesy, but something grounded the first season especially that i can't pinpoint... probably the sheer mystery? people want the lore and background, but as soon as you start seeing the monster, the tone changes and some of the magic is lost, for me. vecna was scariest in episode 1 when i had no clue what he was.

love the thoughts laid out here!

I think I can understand what you mean about the s4 cabin scene acting, and them looking older, I guess it's like comparing it to their s2 scene and spying on the mindflayer - that innocence is still there especially with how they look. it just makes me look forward to the mature approach to their scenes in s5 as they're aged up then 👀

you might be in luck bc I think that mystery may come back if - even though we have seen it - the mindflayer is revealed as the actual big bad like was thought, idk I think there's a lot of potential for it to be frightening and unnerving since it's not a human threat that can be understood/reasoned with (as far as we know)

[dreamywolfdd]

Sonic Thoughts

this will be different than most of my posts, but id like to type this out since i been thinking bout it alot, nothing wrong is going on btw this is mostly me typing out my thoughts

________

but if you want a tl;dr:

not entirely leaving/done with it, but i want to focus on other stuff aside of sonic the hedgehog in general, i want to focus on my other interests and obsessions

________

i been thinking bout it and i decided that sonic superstars will be my last sonic game i'll buy for who knows how long

this does not mean i hate sonic now or i'm done w it or anything, but i been recently thinking bout how sonic's been these past few yrs, content wise and what i personally think bout it currently

latest releases such as sonic prime, sonic movie 2, idw comics and sonic origins made me think bout it alot, as much as i enjoyed the movie and liked the idw comic i got as a gift, this is a whole new generation of fans we speaking of now, its been more noticeable how a new era of sonic is here thanks to the movies and that makes me so happy but it also makes me realize how some of the recent stuff flat out isn't rlly my thing (like sonic prime), sure, they may be good on their own and such but there's some stuff i just dont think its worth for me to look at, but i do however hope the newer generation enjoys it alot, i dont feel like part of that target demographic anymore

one major thing that made me question it too is pmuch with the quality of games, i recently gave frontiers a second playthrough and it made me remember why i had a fun experience with it, but it also made me see the flaws it has aswell too, its not a perfect game by any means but you can tell morio kishimoto, lizuka and everyone at sonic team have been wanting to deliver an amazing experience for a while now, remembering how the director had to convince higher ups to get more time for development made me think alot, this will be a dumb comparison maybe but if there's one thing i would love for sega to have its give more time and budget for its developers and such, recently, even if sometimes nintendo has been very questionable and sometimes bad, i will give them alot of credit and respect by how they been treating their artists and devs recently, games such as tears of the kingdom and smb wonder, seeing how they gave alot of time to their developers and artists to craft such wonderful games, i definitely want that for sonic games to have as well too, it has been admitted before and it has been a thing i been agreeing for yrs too

whenever i look back at sonic fondly, its mostly games i played in the past and still replay and hope i will for many yrs to come, same with the era and type of sonic i usually enjoy the most too, its just something thats not there anymore and its usually what comes up in my head whenever i think of sonic rather than the recent stuff, not saying its bad or anything but its my prefered one just like how many ppl have their prefered and definitive version of sonic

i been playing and enjoying many other stuff aside of sonic for many yrs now, as a kid i remember always being sattisfied with a game from the famicom for example, or how games like cave story and super meat boy made me have a blast for hours, but i do noticed how in recent years its been lowering with sonic and what i mostly do is revisit the older games and played frontiers when it came out, for yrs i been enjoying exploring and enjoying many different types of games old and new, i highly recommend sonic fans to also widen their library of games (and media in general) to explore many hidden gems

i have many other interests and obsessions that cannot leave my head, so i want to give more love to those as well too, at a far distance, ppl will know right away im a sonic fan, but will completely ignore my other interests and outside of gaming as well too, so its also why i been thinking bout this too

so yeah, if you notice my lack of sonic stuff is because of that, again, i do not hate sonic or im done with it, but its been a question in my head i been contemplating for some time now since sonic pretty much is one of the main things i literally cannot live without (xd), i will still do sonic fanart stuff from time to time, i will still replay my favorite games and such and of course, i will play and enjoy sonic superstars as my last sonic game for who knows how long, i hope ppl who have known and met me because of my sonic stuff have that in mind maybe

if you've read all of my wall of text, ty, i dont think this will be read either way but if so, ty very much and hope you have a good one

[cosmic-ships]

distraction time :3 if you had an endless amount of money to shop for gifts for your f/os, what would you buy them? :3c

I spent too long thinking about this.... ngl lmao THANK YOU KUROH ILU /PL!

Kylo/Ben - I would get him many things… Meditation stuff like artifacts that enhance force connection, Books and holocrons that delve into philosophy of the force mainly the balance between the dark and light sides (Or if the bad bad timeline) teachings of the Sith.

Charlie - Vintage vinyl records, high quality note pads so he can jot down ideas or notes!, tickets to Broadway shows, and maybe I'd stroke his ego just a little bit and get him his own custom directors chair hehehe

Mills - Portable solar chargers, high tech communications device, first aid kits, but also something sentimental like water proof locket that has photos of Koa and I in it~ (Something to remind him of his family whenever he's away from us <3 )

Matt - Geeky T-shirts, Tool sets, mini drones, portable chargers, and comic books (<- he feels like a comic book kinda guy hehe) Ronnie - classical horror movies, retro video games (uh ye Ronnie is lover of older games!), mystery books, and novelty mugs with funny pop culture references.

Flip - History books, music albums, personalized flask, and local art.

Paterson- high quality note books LOTS OF THEM because this man writes poetry as easily as breathing air, Fine pens like fountain pens <3, tickets to local events like poetry readings, live performances or art exhibitions! :D Also I would totally just MAKE Paterson something like a scarf in the winter time! ('cause I love to crochet!)

Phillip - Concert tickets, accessories like watches, sunglasses, designer wallets, I'd sign both of us up for improv classes because we're both witty and spontaneous lol

Jude - Books on relaxation and stress relief (My poor boy needs em), tickets to family friendly places like waterparks, kids museums and theme parks. Also camping stuff~!!

Adam - New wood working tools!, vintage clothes, fitness equipment like free weights and resistance bands, customized guitar since he knows how to play acoustic hhh, weird home decor as he's into that kinda stuff lol

Randy - A damn break LMAO KIDDDING! I'd get him a nice little desk plant, earbuds to tune out the assholes on starkiller base, a bunch of snacks and treats(bb deserves em)!

Caesar - and for the newest boyo! I'd get him wines, high end stationary, antique maps or historical documents, classic literature, and me… I'm a gift…please take me WHAT!? WHO SAID THAT!? COULDN'T BE ME!

[the-himawari]

A3! Troupe Event Translation - Sunny Blanc (11/11 Epilogue)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

my treasure

Homare: Here comes the tea.

Izumi: Thank you very much. Phew~… I’m glad the run of your 9th performance wrapped up smoothly.

Tasuku: The stage was set in a flower shop this time, so I heard it was a big hit with our female guests for its gorgeous appearance.

Tsumugi: We received lots of flowers as gifts. There were a good number of guests who gave us peonies to match the contents of the play.

Homare: Our dorm is all the more gorgeous for that as well.

Azuma: Speaking of peonies, it’s wonderful that Tsumugi’s grandma remembered Flower Park.

Tsumugi: Yes. She recalled right away when I showed her my pictures the other day… She said she’d love to go again after so long. I think we’ll go and take pictures together next time.

Izumi: Yeah, it's good to leave a record like that so that you can remember it later.

Tasuku: —Isn’t it about time for our wrap-up party?

Azuma: Shall we head to Journey after we finish our tea?

Hisoka: Ah…

Tsumugi: What’s the matter?

Hisoka: I ran out of marshmallows…

Izumi: Those are the marshmallows you bought at the World Market, right?

Hisoka: I’m totally out…

Azuma: The event isn’t over yet, so I’m sure you’ll have another chance to buy some.

Hisoka: —.

Tasuku: Don’t tell me you’re planning to go right now?

Hisoka: I can’t get them anywhere else except that market… I’ll head to Journey straight after buying them.

Tasuku: Don’t fall asleep while eating the marshmallows.

Tsumugi: May I come with you? I don’t think it will take that long.

Hisoka: …Sure.

-pause-

Hisoka: Thank God they had some left…

Tsumugi: I doubt you’ll run out for a while if you buy this much. We were able to purchase some decorative flowers for Journey too, so how about we start making our way over there?

Hisoka: Yeah.

Tsumugi: You know, I didn’t expect to hear you say you wanted to buy flowers. That made me happy though.

Hisoka: Maybe it’s because I was working at a flower shop for a while…

Tsumugi: If you don’t have the habit of decorating with flowers, then you don’t usually go out of your way to pick them up, huh?

Foreign boy: 《Hey, mister. So we meet again, huh? 》

Hisoka: 《Ah…》

Tsumugi: Do you know them, Hisoka-kun?

Hisoka: We got acquainted the first time I came to the World Market. He’s someone who knows my family.

Tsumugi: I see.

Foreign boy: 《That reminds me, I had a particular customer who knew Misha the other day. 》 《While we were making small talk, they mentioned they knew someone from the town I used to live in. As it turns out, it was Misha!》

Hisoka: 《…Eh? 》

Foreign boy: 《They said they used to go to the candy shop all the time. What an amazing coincidence that we could cross paths in such a faraway country, huh? 》

Hisoka: 《I see…》 (The fact that there’s a customer from the candy shop isn’t strange. But to meet them by chance in a place like this…) (I’ll let Chikage know, just in case…)

Foreign boy: 《Oh right. Have you come up with anything you’d like me to draw? 》

Hisoka: 《Ah… I haven’t thought of anything. Sorry. 》

Foreign boy: 《No need to apologize. You don’t have to force yourself! 》

Hisoka: 《What kind of paintings do other people request…?》

Foreign boy: 《It really depends on the person… But I get asked for family, relatives, and friends quite often. 》 《Everyone says they want to preserve a snapshot of their loved ones as they were in that moment. 》

Hisoka: 《Family…》 (Come to think of it, Director told me she wanted to meet August…) 《Hey, do you remember Misha’s face? 》

-pause-

Izumi: After all, I think we have to consider our organization on-site from now on.

Tasuku: I agree. It’s necessary to relay things like that to those outside our own theatre too. It’s an issue Veludo Way as a whole should think about.

Izumi: Exactly!

Homare: UuUh… *hic*, flowers are just so beautiful… We simply cannot compete with the art that’s brought forth by nature…!

Azuma: There, there.

*door opens*

Tsumugi: Sorry we’re late.

Guy: Everyone is drunk already.

Tsumugi: Ahaha… I can see that.

Hisoka: …Here you go, Guy.

Guy: These are?

Hisoka: I thought it might be nice to decorate the shop with flowers… I chose them with Tsumugi.

Guy: I see. They look beautiful. Thank you.

Izumi: Ah, Tsumugi-san, Hisoka-san. You two sure are late.

Tasuku: Was it crowded at the market?

Tsumugi: We had an important purchase to make.

Hisoka: …I have something I’d like to show all of you.

Homare: …Something you wish to show us?

Hisoka: This…

Azuma: This person is…

Hisoka: Someone… who looks like August.

Tasuku: Huh?

Izumi: It’s not August himself, but a look-alike? Is that what you mean?

Hisoka: …I asked an artist who knew August to draw his face if he remembered it. But in the end, it was a long time ago, so it was hard to reproduce without a picture… The details might be a little off… But I wanted to introduce my family member to everyone. To all of you who kept me by your side without question since the time I lost my memories and had no idea who I was myself… And to Director too, because you said you wanted to meet August…

Izumi: Hisoka-san… thank you. Thank you for introducing your family to us…

Homare: I am overjoyed that I get to gaze upon the face of Hisoka-kun’s precious family.

Azuma: I see, this is how he was. I feel a bright and kind vibe from him.

Guy: Even if you’ve forgotten the details, I am certain his personality and aura will remain in your memories.

Tasuku: Even though it’s a bit different, someone close to him will probably recognize him if they see this picture.

Tsumugi: Still, I think creating something tangible like this will serve as a trigger to connect to a precious memory.

Hisoka: …Yeah. (…I’ll show Chikage later, too.) (I’m sure he’ll be fussy about the details though, like, “this part’s off, this part’s off too, and this part should be more like this.”)

Homare: Now then, what do you say to another toast? To August-kun and to celebrate the success of our 9th play dedicated to August-kun—.

Tsumugi: Cheers!

Hisoka: Cheers.

---

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