failures IIII » kpop ✓

chapter 2

Upon entering the elevator, I quickly texted this Ten guy, who was oddly descriptive and violent through his threatening messages and surprisingly - he happened to be close by. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when his convertible stopped in front of the hospital building and I recognized the person that was sitting behind the wheel.

Oh no.

Honking the car horn and waving in my direction was no one else than Chittaphon.

I suppose he goes by Ten now.

His hair was bright red, there was a pair of sunglasses on his nose and he looked completely different from how I remembered him to be. He went through a lot of weird phases during high school, always changing his looks and himself, but it looked like he finally settled on who he wanted to be. A member of the mafia. The strangest thing of all was that he didn't seem to recognize me.

'' So, you're the new recruit, huh? '' Ten said, took his gaze off the road and glanced at me. The wind was blowing through his red hair, his eyes were glimmering in the light of the setting sun and there was an odd smile on his lips.

I nodded, struggling to hide how nervous I was. Getting in cars with strangers was one thing, but what about your mortal enemies? '' Where are we going? ''

'' We need to fetch Baekhyun from Gampo's police station. ''

My eyes grew wide with surprise. '' What did he do? ''

'' I have no idea, but he better have a good excuse. This is the third time this month that he got himself arrested. I already warned him to be careful. I'm supposed to be watching over him and if he gets himself arrested again, his father will probably hang my head next to his other hunting trophies. ''

Ten parked his convertible right by the entrance of Gampo's police station. It was late in the afternoon, but most of the cops were still at work. Instead of worrying about getting a ticket for leaving his car on the curb, Ten kept glancing at the three reporters that were waiting at the entrance of the building. '' Why does the press always show up when I'm having a bad hair day? ''

He stepped out of his car and tried to put on his sunglasses, only to accidentally poke himself in the eye. I had to bite my lower lip to stop myself from laughing, while he glanced at me and quietly asked: '' Mark, how many people saw that? ''

'' Just about... Everyone, '' I seriously replied before one of the reporters suddenly ran towards me and started waving his voice recorder in front of my face. He was unusually handsome for someone who worked in that business. With blonde hair, a nice smile and a toned physique, he looked like someone who belonged in the spotlight instead of forcing the attention on others.

He rolled up the sleeves of his red jean jacket and loudly exclaimed: '' Are you mister Byun's new employee? I heard that you were there when detective Taemin broke into that illegal gambling house! Did you help him arrest those criminals? Amazing! ''

'' Oh, that? That was nothing big... '' I dismissively waved with my hand and let out a nervous laugh. I was acting modest for a whole two seconds before I dropped the charade and eagerly asked: '' Where should I sign my autograph? ''

Ten rolled his eyes, took a hold of my wrist and dragged me away from the handsome reporter. '' Calm down, superstar. Or is your ego already in Hollywood? He's being nice to you just because he knows that you're new and he thinks that you'll help him get a scoop on Baekhyun or his father. Don't believe a single word that he says. Especially if he's being nice. Let's go. ''

We walked into the small police station and were instantly greeted by detective Taemin, who was standing in the reception room and punching a vending machine that had Baekhyun's mugshot hanging on it. I cringed at the sight, while Ten leaned towards me and explained: '' I heard that their vending machines always get jammed, so the trio of traffic cops got the bright idea to do this. Smart, right? It puts Taemin to use, since most of the time, he just sits at his desk, eats snacks and watches anime. It also helps him manage his anger issues. ''