ARROGANCE | m.yg

s i x - y o o n g i

   Okay, how am I going to do this?

   Those are the words that cycle through my head as I try to figure out a way to convince my CEO to let me out of practice the day of Rin's show. I've tried coming up with wording after wording to try and sound as inoffensive and polite as possible, but nothing sounds right. Now, here I am in front of my CEO's door, waiting to be let in and still having no idea how I'm going to make my request.

   Big Hit's CEO has always been a pretty nice and reasonable guy. He understands, for the most part, that we're people too, and he believes in generally doing what's best for us. That being said, he also takes our schedules really seriously, and few have ever asked him to get out of one. Nervousness shoots through my body like electricity as I wait for him to call me in. My foot taps incessantly against the dirty white linoleum floor as a method of coping. God, I'm bad at waiting.

   My saving grace comes in the form of an assistant speaking to me. "CEO-nim is ready to see you, Suga-ssi."

   I nod and stand, brushing my hands off on my cardigan before I enter Bang Sihyuk's office.

   My boss stands at about my height, and today he's dressed in a gray business suit with a navy blue tie. His hair looks a bit disheveled; the brown dye seems to be wearing off. His round face sports a large nose in its center and a bright smile. He's always happy to see us.

   "Hello, Suga! How are you doing today?" He asks cheerfully.

   "I'm great, thanks for asking," I reply, deciding to tread lightly.

   "What do you need from me today?"

   "Well, about that," I pause. No words seem to want to leave my mouth. I'm convinced nothing I say is going to sound right.

   "Yes?"

   Well, he's waiting for me now; might as well spit it out. "I was hoping to get out of practice on Saturday. See, Hoseok told me that we're just doing a bit of review for some of our old choreographies, and I can do those really well. If it's a problem I can totally do the practice on my own, but—"

   "Why?"

   "What?"

   "Why do you want that day off?"

   "Oh, uh— right. Okay, I wanted that day off because I'm trying to fix something I messed up a long time ago."

   "You know you won't get my permission by dodging the question, right?"

   "Yes. Sorry, CEO-nim."

   "So, what are you trying to fix?"

   "This old friend of mine; her name is Ah Rin. She's an underground rapper, and before I joined Big Hit we were really close friends. Right around the time I started training, we got into a pretty big fight. She's hated me ever since. When I went with Hoseok to the Underground Festival last Saturday, I saw her performing. I realized that I really wanted to make amends, but I guess she saw me and left before I could talk to her. I got in touch with one of her friends, though, and he gave me the address for her next show. He also said he'd agree to help out in getting me to talk with her. That show is on Saturday, and I can't be at practice if I want to be there. I know that it's serious to miss work, and I don't want to do it, but this has really been eating at me since I saw her and I don't think it'll stop until I at least try to apologize."

   "One question: do you have feelings for her?"

   "Romantic feelings? No, none. We were only ever friends."

   "Then you must be very dedicated to your friendship, yes?"

   "Absolutely." Why is he probing so much? If I did have feelings for her, would he not let me go?