E2 Group Play

Yibo blinked in slight surprise when Baekhyun offered a ssam to Jackson. While he was used to his best friend being affectionate with him, it was rare to see that kind of attention being devoted to someone else. Yibo wasn't jealous per se, but he was surprised to see that Baekhyun and Jackson were so close to the point of sharing food from the same chopsticks and all. It was a good sign that Jackson was there for Baekhyun, especially since they didn't have much other backings in the company. Yibo tore his eyes away from the sight after a few more wandering thoughts, then nodded along to Jackson's plan, "But ssaem, how are we going to get the audio to release through the company? I mean, who's going to be the one circulating it?" In the moment that the four of them were putting their heads together to plan, they had leaned in and lowered their voices, each one intending on keeping it within the circle, "Zhan hyung!" Yibo exclaimed, "What about if it somehow got anonymously sent to all the staff emails first?"

"Nickhun should get the whole file, video and audio both," Jackson chimed in, loving his devious his boyfriend was. This was precisely the reason why they were such a match made in heaven. When Baekhyun offered him a ssam that was perfectly bite-sized, Jackson leaned forward to accept the food, his lips once he had everything in his mouth and he could chew. He nodded again as he pulled Baekhyun's phone back onto their side of the table, opening up the metadata. "I have a friend who could probably teach me how to alter the metadata so that it can't be traced back to us. I don't want it to get into the wrong hands though, so I'll do the actual editing myself."

Baekhyun gasped. "Manager-hyung, you're a genius. Audio only would still work great, and it wouldn't really be violating her privacy." His plate was full of meat after Zhan heaped it on, and since Jackson had promised he would be eating a lot tonight, Baekhyun wrapped up a ssam in a pretty package, dipped it in sauce, and instinctively brought it to Jackson's mouth with his free hand cupped below for any dripping gochujang. "Hyung, ah," he prodded for Jackson's attention. "But I think just posting the audio is boring... can't we have some fun with it? Like anonymously send it to Nichkhun first, so when he confronts Boa she'll know someone's got this evidence on her. Then we lay low for a few weeks, maybe even months, while the panic builds inside her!"

"Right, of course," Zhan said, reassuring Yibo with a pat over his hand. In the midst of the heated conversation, the meat on the grill nearly charred. Zhan hurried to distribute it before laying down another round of raw meat. Their rap coach's gossipy tendencies was truly infectious, though, because Zhan found himself quite invested in the conversation now. "Of course she needs to be exposed, but I don't want any of us risking our careers. What he said isn't right, but filming her is serious. Jackson-ssi is right, it should be anonymous. Maybe if we only released the audio, that would be better, too."

While Yibo seemed more invested in the insults thrown in way, Jackson was ready to jump on Zhan’s bandwagon about Ji Changwook being a company fraud. “She says there’s no room for bodyguard, but has he done anything useful?” he asked rhetorically, nodding his head furiously when Zhan suggested the need for a consequence. “I was thinking she needs to be exposed,” he said, “But of course we don’t need it to be traced back to us by the public.” He grinned, almost a little too devilishly, “Though nobody would know if this was an internal company scandal…”

Throughout the entire conversation, Yibo’s eyebrows were scrunched up in a mix of appalled stupor and disgusted fury. Who was Boa to talk about them when she had such dirty business of her own going on? Yibo really didn’t enjoy talking about people who he didn’t find important to him, but for her, a special string of insults came tumbling out. “Well if she wants to rely on her underground boys who know nothing but how to stir up scandals like Hoseok and Jungkook and Jin to be bringing in her income, she can start getting used to living in a motel, since that’s where she and her bodyguard should be headed anyways.” Yibo remembered when Baekhyun had almost been forcibly debuted as a soloist, “I don’t understand what she has against us,” he said, turning to Zhan for some clarity, “We’ve never done anything to her but try our best.”

Hesitant as he was in the beginning, Zhan was fully invested by now. He always knew Ji Changwook was a fishy character, and now all of this confirmed it. "Ji Changwook was hired as a manager three years but has yet to do a single managerial duty," Zhan supplied lowly, switching Baekhyun's phone off in his disgust when the video began to reply again. "I heard Kwon Boa say they had no title for a bodyguard so 'manager' was his title on paper. Now, I'm starting to think 'bodyguard' is code for glorified boy toy." Zhan's lips curled. "She needs to face some consequences. We can't just let her off after saying that."

Baekhyun had honestly been so caught up with the fact that Boa had Nichkhun that he nearly forgot about how she mentioned them during her tryst—or maybe it just didn't stick because Baekhyun completely expected her to say those sorts of things about them. "Oh, yes," he said, "but don't turn up the volume now. She called Yibo a slur and she said we think we bring in half the revenue for DSF." Baekhyun set down his chopsticks to continue rambling. "Isn't that true, though? If she took a look at the numbers instead of at Nichkhun's , she'd see it for once. And maybe if she wasn't embezzling the company money to pay Ji Changwon the fake bodyguard, then her numbers would look a little nicer, too."

Jackson could agree with Yibo's sentiment. "Right?" he chimed in, leaning in so that the steam from the grill was almost hitting his face, "Yibo-ah, let me tell you, this isn't even the worst of it." He checked to make sure that no one was eavesdropping in their surroundings, and then he continued, "I know who that guy is. It's her bodyguard...which as we all know, no CEO ever needs a bodyguard, right? And, get this," he started to ramble, finding a talking point to go off on, "She even discussed you and Baekhyun during all of this." He looked over at his boyfriend, "Did all of that get recorded?"

Yibo was invested in the story right from the start, since he knew that Baekhyun was always the best at retelling them. His eyes were focused on his friend, and he even followed all of Baekhyun's small movements and gestures, all the way until he pulled out his phone and revealed what was on his screen to Yibo. It took Yibo a moment to process what he was watching, since there was no sound to it and all. But the moment he made out the fact that there was a body pressed between two spread legs, his ears flushed red and his eyes widened as he held back a cry in surprise. Yibo looked up at Baekhyun, and then back down at the screen. Then he turned to Zhan, and gasped audibly, "She's cheating!" he exclaimed in a hushed voice, "And in the company too! That's NASTY!"

Zhan's mind of what Baekhyun wanted to tell them went in every single direction except for where it was actually headed. His jaw tightened when he realized what he was looking at, and he wanted to slap his hand over Yibo's eyes and then yell at Baekhyun for inviting them out for this, but he couldn't stop watching it, because notably, the man standing between Boa's legs wasn't Nichkhun. Zhan last saw Nichkhun only two days ago, and he was blond. Unless this dark-haired figure was Nichkhun in a wig, that was not him. Zhan sat back in his chair, unsure of what to do with the information.

"It's Kwon Boa," Baekhyun supplied to them in a hushed whisper when Zhan didn't react. "And Not-Nichkhun."

"Oh... right." Baekhyun finished stuffing his freshly rolled ssam into his mouth, washing it down with his somaek while he tried to gather his thoughts. He thought about just showing Zhan and Yibo the video, but he didn't want them to faint on the spot. After all, the physic damage of seeing Boa without any warning shocked Baekhyun to the core. "So Jackson hyung and I were at the studio last night- um, working, obviously. It was pretty late... I think almost three? Or a bit after. When we were leaving, we heard this noise, and we followed it, and then... I'll just show you." Baekhyun pulled up the video, lowering the volume slightly so the restaurant wouldn't think they were watching in public, and slid the phone across the table to rest between Yibo and Zhan.

Seeing that Baekhyun and Zhan were finally on the same page about something for once, Yibo was quick to concede. "Well then, if we're going to go, I'm going to buy the baby a...stuffed animal or something," he said. "It shouldn't be a gift for the parents, anyways," he said. And besides, there were lots of cheap stuffed animals that Yibo could give. If he didn't have time to shop for one, then he'd just pick one that he got from fans before. Zhan was smart though, and Yibo beamed at his boyfriend's saving grace, "Mm! Make sure both of us can get out of there okay hyung?" he asked Zhan, finally picking up his chopsticks to eat. Seeing that Jackson was hinting at something towards Baekhyun, Yibo finally remembered that they were here to get some big news, "What is it, hyung?" he asked, squeezing Baekhyun's hand back in anticipation, "Hurry! Tell us!"

"I think we're all just going to be there for a moment," Jackson said with a childish grin as he dropped the next order of meat onto the grill, shaking his head in amusement. He could tell already that Baekhyun and Yibo were on the same page, but even Zhan was only going to do the bare minimum for his boyfriend's sake, which said a lot about where Boa stood in their minds. Once the drinks arrived, he gestured at the beer, "That one, thank you," he said, receiving it from Zhan. Seeing that Baekhyun was changing the topic to their boss now, Jackson figured it was about time for the younger to get to the main point, so he turned to Baekhyun with a little jab, "So, you gonna tell them?"

Zhan hated to admit it, but Baekhyun was right. "Your fans will notice your absence," Zhan said to the both of them, dipping his head slightly when Jackson invited them to eat. Zhan picked out a piece of meat for Yibo first, inspecting it to make sure it wasn't charred anywhere before he allowed it to enter Yibo's bowl. Zhan didn't want to hang around Boa as well, and he'd be the first one dragging Baekhyun and Yibo out of the party as soon as the group photo was taken. "I'll schedule something for halfway through the party, so we're there for the pictures." Their drinks arrived as well, and Zhan passed one of the teas to Yibo. "Jackson-ssi, which one is yours?"

As much as Baekhyun didn't need to ever see Boa again and be reminded of the wretched sight burned into the back of his eyes, he knew propriety and decorum better than anything. When Evie's birthday party photos were inevitably published online and Yibo and Baekhyun were missing, it would affect how people, even their fans, viewed them. "I don't want to either," he decided to admit, patting Yibo's hand once before withdrawing it as their first round of meat arrived. "But it's proper for us to go and bring something, even if we only stay for a little." His lesson was interrupted by Jackson's approval for the meat. "Ah, hyung... no one says that word anymore..."

Once the platters of meat were brought out to their table, Jackson took up the tongs to start grilling first. At least keeping himself busy would make things less awkward until they got more settled into the meal. He laid out the brisket in the center of the grill first, wanting to let the fat from the meat coat the rest of the surface. The meat sizzled right as it hit the hot grill, and within a minute, it was ready to be eaten. "Help yourself," Jackson called out to everyone, though his first action was to deposit some meat on Baekhyun's plate first. "Wooo, this is bussing!" he approved as he also helped himself to the brisket, having already laid claim that he was hungry to begin with, "Don't be shy now," he told Zhan, gesturing for the other to start as well.

Yibo was starting to feel the hunger settling within him once more of the food was brought out. He had tried to keep his excitement at bay, since Jackson was also there, and the other was still Yibo's teacher at the end of the day. Yibo frowned at Baekhyun's reminder about Boa's daughter's birthday. Some kids just weren't cute enough to pay attention to, and the fact that Evie was Boa's child had already put her into that category for Yibo. "Uhh..." he mumbled, looking over at Zhan. His boyfriend had it easy, since it was appropriate age-wise to just give an envelope of money. Though, given how overworked and underpaid Zhan was, Yibo truly didn't think Boa deserved any of it. "It's because hyung is used to giving red envelopes in China," Yibo explained to Baekhyun before another verbal war could break out between the two of them. His lips jutted out into a pout as he leaned in to admit to Baekhyun, "I was hoping that manager hyung would be able to schedule something for us on that day...so we wouldn't have to go." Checking in the corner of his eye if Jackson was disapproving of him or not, Yibo turned to Baekhyun, "It's best to not go, right hyung?"

Couldn't Jackson tell Zhan didn't want to make small talk? It wasn't as if he could coldly rebuke him, though, since at the end of the day Zhan was a professional and Jackson was his coworker first before he was Baekhyun's... whatever (he truly hoped they weren't). "Everything is fine," Zhan said with a small smile that he managed to muster to appear as pleasant as possible. "We've been a little understaffed, so with the new round of trainees, Qian-jie and I have been overseeing their training schedule, too." As soon as he heard an out, though, he took it—Zhan didn't like talking to Baekhyun outside of work, since Baekhyun often talked nonsense, but funny enough, he'd rather talk to Baekhyun now than continue making painful talk with Jackson. "I'll-" he interrupted, before Yibo could get a word in, "I'll give her a red pocket."

Baekhyun stared. "Hyung... it should be white."

Zhan coughed. "Really? I had been giving out red ones the whole time."

Baekhyun shrugged—it wasn't on him that Zhan was out there embarrassing himself after years of living in Korea. "Yibo, what about you?"

"Of course. He didn't even make one for his real uncle," Baekhyun complained, raising his arm to someone to take their drink and meat order. He added a basket of vegetables as well, and their grill was brought out promptly afterward, the pockets on the side filled with cheese corn, egg, kimchi, and garlic. With the grill in the way, Baekhyun switched the hand that was holding Yibo's, continuing to squish and his soft palm while he talked. "Yibo-yah, tea? You're boring... it's manager-hyung's fault," he said, talking as if Zhan wasn't there. It was only when he received a stare from Zhan that he grinned in his direction, waving his hand as if telling him not to mind them. "Oh right, did you guys see Boa's invite earlier this week? Her daughter's birthday party..." Baekhyun had his complaints about their boss, but as the grill was still heating, he needed to ease into it. "I guess we have to go. What gift are you guys bringing?"

"That sounds good," Jackson answered to Zhan, finding it rather funny that the two of them, who were both clearly from China, were sitting across each other and speaking in Korean. Unlike Zhan, who usually boasted a more serious persona, Jackson was used to being the mood maker. He had never really taken the time to get close to Jackson, since it wasn't required at the professional level, but if Zhan was Baekhyun's manager, then it would be good to attempt to build a relationship, at least to help them look out for each other's partners in the future. Seeing that Baekhyun and Yibo were lost in their own worlds already, Jackson held back from squeezing Baekhyun's thigh under the table to remind him to not be so touchy, and instead directed his attention to Zhan, "How's everything going? The boss been giving you too much work than you need, as usual?" he casually joked.

"Hyung, this was the place that you were telling me about last time!" Yibo recalled, remembering just how mouth watering the menu looked when Baekhyun boasted it about to him through their chat. Yibo grinned as Mongryong came up to him and placed his paws over Yibo's thighs, "Wahhh, what a good boy!" he praised, glad that Mongryong still remembered him (and liked him) after such a long time of not seeing him. Yibo's eyes widened as Baekhyun mentioned Siwoo, accepting the card from the older and chuckling, "This is the closest thing to fan mail that I'll keep," he said, remembering all of the chocolates, cards, and other little gifts that he and Baekhyun would receive at concerts and fanmeetings. As much as he was grateful for their fans' hard work, it was feasible to keep everything he was given like a packrat. "Tell Siwoo I said thanks, hyung." Showing it to Zhan before sliding it into his bag, Yibo grinned and glanced at the menu, "Mm...just a cold brew green tea for me," he said, smiling proudly since he knew Zhan wouldn't want him to drink out in public.

[post deleted by owner]

"Right. Hungry." While Yibo and Baekhyun caught up, Zhan was left sitting awkwardly across from Jackson. He knew /of/ the other, and they'd been in the same room many times during internal meetings, but they never really had a relationship with each other aside from a very strictly professional one. To combat the need to make small talk, Zhan picked up the menu, combing for Yibo's favourites. He was quick about it, familiar with Yibo's preferences by now. "Let's do a pork belly and beef short ribs, if you haven't done that yet." Seeing Yibo too enthralled in the dog, Zhan nudged him. "Hey, pick your drink."

Mongryong, the little traitor, got up and huddled against Yibo's leg, pawing at him even before the food came out. "It's okay, we were just too early," Baekhyun said, reaching out to grab YIbo's hand across the table once he sat, playing with his palms and fingers while he caught them up to speed. "We're going to put in our drinks soon, so choose what you like." He didn't bring up Boa's news right away, though, wanting to wait until there was at least some meat on the grill, the conversation was in full swing, and all the formalities and niceties were out of the way. "Oh... guess what? Siwoo made something for you for Uncle's Day. I didn't even know that was a thing." Baekhyun reached into his bag for a crudely crafted card. "Here you go."

Yibo felt terribly sorry that they entered later than Baekhyun and Jackson did. He had not been expecting their coach to be there too, which made him wonder if the news that Baekhyun was going to share had to be related to another promotional they were going to work on. No matter what it was, Yibo knew that Baekhyun was very eager to share about it. "Hi coach, hi hyung!" he greeted, bowing before taking a seat in the chair that Zhan pulled out for him. "Sorry we're late!" Yibo looked over at Zhan, wanting his boyfriend to order the things that he'd like. He didn't mind, just as long as he got to hear the news from Baekhyun soon. A whining from under the table caught his attention, and Yibo gasped in delight, "Oh you brought Mongryongie too! Hi!" he gasped, patting his thighs, wanting Mongryong to come closer for pets.

Jackson liked the simplest options, without marinade, to fully enjoy the natural flavors of the meat. He ordered a portion of brisket and ribeye first, wanting to get that on the grill while they were waiting. Yibo was usually punctual when it came to recordings and schedules at the company, but perhaps there was always a different side to everyone in their professional and personal lives. Once their order was placed, and he wasn't so pressed about the grumbling in his stomach, he finally entertained Baekhyun's mumbling, "Get it," he told the younger, "And I want a beer." Once Yibo and Zhan arrived, Jackson raised his hand to give them a wave, gesturing for them to have a seat. "I ordered something to get us started," he explained, "but go ahead and take a look. We're all hungry?"

At first, when he heard that Baekhyun wanted to meet them to say something important, Zhan thought Baekhyun wanted to retire. After all, that was a conversation that required an emergency face-to-face meeting to be set up, right? It worried Zhan, because if Baekhyun quit, then Yibo would have to go solo—and while Zhan would be completely supportive of Yibo's solo career, knowing he'd be able to make it, too, he knew Yibo would be devastated to be suddenly out in the spotlight alone. He couldn't believe how excited Yibo was as they walked toward their dinner spot; Yibo had not assumed it would be a bad thing at all. Then, when they entered and found Baekhyun, Zhan's insides twisted again. He had long suspected there was something going on between Baekhyun and that producer he brought everywhere with him, but it would be hypocritical for Zhan to comment on it. He prayed—/prayed/—that Baekhyun's exciting news wasn't that he was dating their coworker, because the HR nightmare, the fallout from the fans, the work for Zhan to do, was going to be on an unfathomable scale. Yibo never commented on it, though, even when Zhan tried to hint at it. He just wanted someone to share his conspiracy with, but Yibo continued to think Baekhyun was the purest angel on earth. Zhan nodded in a half-bow to Jackson before pulling out the chair across from Baekhyun for Yibo. "Hello. Sorry to keep you waiting. Did you order yet?"

"But choosing together is more fun..." Baekhyun's stomach growled, so he conceded with ordering two plates for now to start them off. It wasn't going to be enough for the four of them, so he would still have his fun picking with Yibo later, too. Since both he and Jackson opted for public transit tonight, Baekhyun could finally look at the alcoholic drinks for once, kicking his feet back and forth (and nearly taking out Mongryong beneath the table) while he considered all the options. "Somaek... somaek... Oh, they're here!" He set down the menu, raising his hand to wave Yibo and Zhan over.

"It's over there!" Yibo announced to Zhan when he located the restaurant that Baekhyun had sent him the address, jabbing a finger towards the bright neon sign that hung above the establishment. Zhan had driven his car that evening, which always meant that they had to allocate some extra time to find street parking. By the time they did manage to find a spot, it was quite a walk away from the restaurant. Since it was already dark out, Yibo had no reservations about grabbing his boyfriend by the hand towards their dinner spot, not wanting to keep Baekhyun waiting. "Ge, Baekhyun said he's going to tell us about something super crazy important!" Yibo reminded Zhan, "I'm so curious what it is!"