HIM.

iv.

iv. NORAEBANG

"MARI."

That word caused her to turn, Xiaoling bowed immediately upon seeing her boss.

"How can I help sir?"

There was a soft, intruding silence whilst he looked at her. She knew his name was Kim Seokjin, and that the man was around four or five years older than her. He was rich, she could tell with his styled outfits, lavish hair, expensive watch. He seemed to have it all, and a lot at that. Sometimes Mari wondered what it was like being that rich.

She'd like to be rich one day. Xiaoling always had the small flicker of a dream that wanted her to become a singer, but it wasn't realistic in her eyes. And her kind of attitude probably wouldn't mix well with those willing to become famous. Mari was strange, but didn't mind it. So she stuck with her next best option, becoming a professor at an expensive university. She was planning to work up to a PhD, which was certainly a long way of schooling to go, but she had nothing else going on in her life to keep her busy, so she was alright with that.

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it? I'll try my best to help."

"You can sing, correct?"

She blinked a few times. "Uh, yes I do." Mari faltered slightly, then cleared her throat. "Pardon me for asking, but how exactly do you know this?"

"A friend of mine owns Su Noraebang," upon reciting the name of the karaoke bar, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "he said that you're quite good."

"O-Okay."

"A friend of mine is hosting a party for his thirtieth birthday in Andong. I told him I would find some entertainment for him."

"And you want me." Mari finished, pursing her lips. "Out of all the people who get paid here at the Black Pearl for entertainment, you're asking me?"

Seokjin nodded simply.

"Why me?"

"That's a slightly complicated answer Mari."

She scoffed. "Something tells me that there's more going on than you're willing to say."

The man was handsome, he smiled upon her realization, perfectly straight sets of white teeth glimmering. "I'm glad you understand."

"I'm going to need some time to think it over. Am I getting paid extra for this?"

"Of course." He folded his hands, already having a general idea of her conclusion. "More details will be given, if you say yes."

Something exciting. Not average.

She did want to know what exactly went down in the Black Pearl. What Seokjin did after the bar closed. Who those regulars were. His sentence implied a whole deal more than he wanted to explicitly state.

This meant something. Throughout the years of being here, Seokjin had watched her. She was different than his other employees. She was curious about the place, she didn't stop questioning it although others did. She looked bored, and Jin liked her.

This agreement, would probably be one of the best decisions he made. And even Seokjin knew it.