"is everyone there?" lee sooman asked, glancing at the crowd of boys that was stuck in his office.
"yes sir." nct's manager answered.
"perfect. i'd like jaemin to have a sit in front of me."
the fragile boy let go renjun's hand – that he had been holding on tightly for the past minutes – and made his way to the same chair he had sat on a few days before.
but this time, he wasn't alone.
this time, his whole group, his whole team, his whole family, was there to support him.
"so." the ceo exclaimed, making some of the boys flinch at the sudden raise of his voice. "you guys surely know everything that happened with na jaemin, here."
"we do." taeyong replied.
they had all mentally agreed to let taeyong speak and debate with the powerful ceo.
sure, he was the leader, but he was also one of sooman's favourites.
and most importantly, taeyong wasn't scared of sooman, and he didn't mind showing it.
"and i guess you also heard about his contract coming to an end." sooman continued.
"we did." taeyong nodded. "but, with all my respect, could i know when this contact ends exactly?"
the powerful man chuckled, shaking his head.
"it already ended, taeyong." he replied. "na jaemin is no longer part of nct. neither sm entertainment. i have the official announce being typed at the moment. and you'll be here with me when i'll publish it."
the boys exchanged glances.
that wasn't even human.
it would hurt both nct and jaemin.
sooman couldn't do that.
wasn't he supposed to be a decent human being?
"i want you and all the other idols from this company to know what awaits them if they disrespect the contract they signed." the ceo finished, his eyes piercing through jaemin's skull.
taeyong noticed it, and he placed one of his hands on jaemin's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"with all my respect once again- "
"you have something to say?" the ceo asked nct's leader.
"yes, sir." taeyong nodded. "we just had our resonance comeback, and jaemin has parts in many songs. we can't perform without him."
"of course, you can." sooman replied immediately. "replace him by jeno. he's a rapper as well and knows how to dance. plus, they had the same vibe."
"jeno doesn't have time to learn all of jaemin's parts in so little time, sir." taeyong argued.
"i'm sure he can."
sooman tried looking for jeno's eyes in the crowd, but the fact that there were 23 members as well as 3 managers in the room made it difficult.
"this is nonsense sir." taeyong said. "what's the point of continuing this comeback if jaemin leaves? our performances will flop."
"this comeback brings too much money to this company to even think about being cancelled." sooman barked immediately. "and it won't flop because you'll work for it."
a knock on the door interrupted their verbal argument.
"sir lee? we finished redacting the announce." a woman said, pushing some of the nct members away and giving an expensive tablet to lee sooman before exiting the room again.
sooman read the announce quickly before a smile appeared on his face.
"everything is in order." the ceo said. "i just need to push this little 'send' button, and jaemin will be out of this company."
jaemin felt his heart accelerating in his chest.
so... that was it?
this was his end?
"sir, you can't do that." taeyong said quickly, his cold façade disappearing to be replaced by a worried face.
"i can do anything i want." the ceo barked back, rising to his feet, making his swivel chair roll away. "jaemin has to leave. he disobeyed. and it seems like you're disobeying to there, taeyong."
the leader shut his mouth, scared of what could happen if he dared speaking another word.
the ceo coughed, picking the tablet up to read the announce out loud.
"following the discovery of na jaemin's coronary heart disease, it was decided that the boy would need to leave sm entertainment, and so, nct. his bravery and his condition may have permitted him to stay, the fact that he disrespected one of the most important rules of the kpop industry is unforgivable. idols have obligations, and if they refuse to follow them, they should be punished. na jaemin is, starting from now, a former idol of sm entertainment and former nct member." the powerful ceo read in one go.
the members stared at him cautiously, listening very carefully to every single of his words.
sure, jaemin had disrespected a rule, but he had done that not to worry them. he had done that not to stop the promotions. he had done that not to delay the comeback.
"does anyone have something to add? or can i publish it this way?" the ceo asked with a smile.
none of the members answered.
sooman looked at jaemin in the eye, not caring about the boy's tears that were cascading on his cheeks.
"okay, well... if no one has anything to add. let's publish- "
"i have something to add."
all eyes got on renjun. who had just spoke from the back of the room.
the members stepped aside, allowing the boy to come to the front.
"tell me..." the ceo raised a brow.
"if jaemin leaves nct and sm entertainment, so do i."
a gasp was heard as sooman's eyes widened like saucers.
"are you kidding?" he asked with a chuckle.
"i am not." renjun replied seriously.
the ceo looked between jaemin and renjun with his mouth agape before speaking again.
"okay. your departure will be announced tomorrow as an abandonment." he told. "and now, let's deal with jaemin's post."
"wait." another voice spoke.
sooman raised his head, seeing jeno standing on renjun's side.
"i'm leaving too." he said.
sooman laughed with his mouth open.
"how cute. do you think that this will change something?" he asked. "i'll just publish a second abandonment- "
"i'm leaving as well." donghyuck cut him walking next to jeno.
"me too." mark said, following his boyfriend.
soon, the 16 other members repeated the same words, making lee sooman furrow his brows and their managers smile proudly at the family-like relationship this group had developed.
taeyong looked at his members who were all glaring at the ceo.
"well..." he smiled. "think wisely now. what will you do?" he asked.
"if jaemin leaves, you lose nct." taeyong continued as sooman was too stunned to speak. "we're nct. 23 or nothing."