The New Managers

Chapter Forty-Three

Published: April 14, 2020
Word count: 2164

The next evening, the boys are performing in Salt Lake City. Mina and SuHee are watching them perform from backstage, watching in awe as they hit every move almost perfectly and in sync. "They're so good at this!" SuHee beams.
"I just love watching them perform." Mina leans against the wall happily. As she stands there, her pocket starts vibrating and she pulls her phone out. "AH! It's PD-Nim!!" she hurries deeper backstage to answer the call, hoping it would be quieter. SuHee follows her and stands close to try and hear the conversation. "Oh finally! I'm so glad I caught your call! what? no, we're in the middle of a concert. yeah, it's pretty loud!"
SuHee hesitates in thought. "We could go to the van. I have the keys!"
Mina nods. "Hold on just a minute, okay? we're going to go somewhere quieter."

SuHee leads the way to the van, catching a glimpse of Yoonhi watching them. They get to the van and SuHee unlocks it, climbing inside. Mina puts the phone on speaker and sets it up so they both can talk. "Oh, I can hear you both much better now." PD-Nim starts.
"we've been trying to get a hold of you for a couple weeks now." SuHee announces, sounding relieved.
The man sighs. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry for that. It stays busy around here even with the boys gone."
"We have something really important to discuss with you." Mina announces, getting to the point.
"we've caught Yoonhi in places she shouldn't be and taking in appropriate photos of the boys." SuHee quickly explains the rest of it.
"Yoonhi? Who's that... oh, that new photographer hire?" He goes quiet as he listens to the story.
"We don't know what to do and we don't want to jump to conclusions since we don't know for sure that she's the one giving them to dispatch."
"Tell you what, girls. I'll pull some strings on my end, do some digging, and find out what I can about her. I really appreciate you watching out for our boys like this."
"what should we do on our side?" SuHee questions, wanting to make sure they don't do anything wrong.
"keep a close eye on her. Make sure she doesn't get any inappropriate photos of the boys."
Mina nods. "We've been doing that."
"and don't forget." the CEO continues, "you're the managers. She is under you and you are allowed to tell her what to do."
"Oh. I didn't know that... thank you, PD-Nim." SuHee bows slightly forgetting he can't see her.
Mina reaches for her hand and squeezes it. "We don't want anything bad to happen. I know how bad the media can be..."
"right. good. Keep laying low. We never officially announces you guys. Keep out of sight and stay with the boys. Keep SaeJin informed too. He can help." he assures.
"Thank you, sir."

They finish up the conversation and hang up. The base pumps in the background as the boys perform Louder Than Bombs inside. Mina looks at SuHee and swallows. "I'm really worried about this..."
She nods in agreement and sighs. "I am too... but I'm glad we have permission to tell her what to do."
Mina sighs. "Me too. I think I'm going to start following her sometimes, especially when I know the boys are changing or going to bed."
"Yeah. I'll ask Yoongi and the others to keep an eye out as well."
"Yeah, they don't want to get caught in an awkward spot either." Mina checks her watch. "It's almost time for the break. We should get back."
She nods in agreement and they both head back in just as the boys are walking off stage. She grins and walks over to them, handing Yoongi and Namjoon cold bottles of water. "You guys did so great!"

Jimin is sweating and his eyeliner is beginning to smudge. The Unnies rush him and get him seated to fix his makeup. "Jiminie, are you okay??" Mina asks and he shakes his head, panting.
"I ran down the stage and back, then slipped right before the beginning of the choreo. I was out of breath already and had to dance anyway. I couldn't catch my breath for almost five minutes."
She two managers share a worried look and SuHee frowns. "Just focus on breathing, okay? Let's get you cooled down and caught up on breath." She hands him a cold water bottle as well. "Drink it slowly, okay? I'll bring you another one."