(AN: I wanted to have at least a chapter that was for the members of Alpha. So I hope it won't bother you too much.)
ZEE's POV
"Are you sure he's not with you?" one of our managers asked me.
It was our day off and I was at my company's branch here in Seoul signing some paper works and finalizing some deadlines. I barely got to do this every time we're promoting our songs. The manager was calling me over the phone to ask for JayB-hyung's whereabouts. Apparently he's not responding to calls or text right now. He's probably at Big Hit right now recording, but he told me not to tell the managers about it.
"No. It's our day off so who knows where he is." I replied.
I could hear the manager sigh over the phone. "Well, if you do see him, please tell him to call. We have our shoot today for the show."
"Copy that." I replied as I hung up the phone.
I sighed heavily.
There were too many papers to sign and I just wanted to stay at the dorm to play some video games or at least catch up on some sleep. We were going to start recording the Japanese and Chinese version of some of our songs in a week. I was going to help translate it to Mandarin which was going to be tiring. It's going to be a busy week up ahead.
When can I ever catch a break?
I sighed again…
What should I do today after finishing work?
The other hyungs are probably busy. Zhang's back in China to judge the auditionees for the entrance exam at his music school. Jiwoo has a lunch date with Tzuyu before their shoot. So most of my friends weren't available today.
It's still 11AM right now.
Guess I'll play a couple of games after I finished signing these paper works.
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"AHHH! I'm finally done!" I yelled as I finished the last paper work.
I turn to check the time and it was 15 minutes after 1PM.
"I should probably eat lunch first." I said out loud.
After stretching and arranging all the files, I decided to have lunch at a nearby mall. It's been a while since I've been to the mall. Our schedules were the reason that we barely get to go anywhere including the mall.
With my mask and cap on, I was now ready to drive towards the mall. I was getting excited for some reason. I guess I just miss going to mall. Should I check out some games while I'm it? I should, shouldn't I?
Let's just go.
I drove towards the mall and parked my car. I made sure that my disguise was okay and headed inside. Before I went to one of the restaurants there, I decided to have a look around and maybe shop for some clothes.
It took me a while but I finally was able to find one of my favorite brands called Regatta. It was a little bit expensive for some people, but I really like the design even though it was simple.
After shopping for some clothes, I saw that it was almost 5PM so I decided to go the one of my favorite video game stores and check out the latest release.
"I'll just have an early dinner later on." I said.
When I arrived I thought that I was in heaven. I went to check some of the new consoles that just arrived this month and when I saw what I was looking for, I started putting them in my cart. When I was done shopping for consoles, I decided to go around to see if there were games that came out just recently. I went for slow stroll around the store.
"I wonder how JayB-oppa found out about my feelings for Zee-oppa." There was a familiar looking girl who talked out loud as she was staring at one of the games that I wanted to buy.
She sighed. "I wonder if Zee-oppa likes someone else."
That made me smile. I guess the feelings are mutual then.
"Excuse me? Are you going to buy that?" I decided to approach her and strike up a conversation.
"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm sorry. I was just checking this game out. It's the latest game that came out in this series but the console for this game is really expensive." She replied.
She handed me the copy of the game and I accepted it.
"Why don't I buy one for you instead? I'm sure it would be a pretty awesome game." I told her.
What the heck am I doing? Me and my big mouth!
She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Why would you? It's not like I know you?"
I chuckled. "I saw you once in an arcade. I know you're a gamer too."
She covered herself with her arms and yelled out, "Are you a stalker or something?! Mind you, I know taekwondo and judo!"
I waved my hands at her trying to deny her claims. "No no no no no! You're mis-"
I couldn't even finish my sentence because the next thing I knew, I was being thrown to the ground when she did a judo throw on me.
Before I hit the ground, my mask and cap had already flown off revealing who I was.
When she saw who I was, a sudden realization occurred to her. "Z-Zee-oppa! I-I-"
I immediately covered her mouth and grabbed my cap and masked, and quickly put it on.
The manager of the store came by to see what the commotion was all about. "Is everything alright here, miss?"
"Yes! It's fine. I just accidentally tripped him." She quickly replied.
The manager of the store bought the lie and started walking away.
She then turned to me and tried helping me up. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't know that it was you."
I chuckled. "It's okay. I'm fine anyway."
She just smiled at me but when she realized what she was doing, she immediately let go of my arm and stood there all red from embarrassment.
"So… do you want that console?" I asked as I scratched the back of my head.
"No! It's okay! I couldn't possibly ask you to do that!" She frantically replied.
I patted her shoulder. "Come on. I insist. It's the least I can do after stalking you like that."
She wryly smiled and was annoyed by what she said earlier.
I ended up buying her a set of games and a console. The game console was something that you wear over your head to dive inside the game. The technology has really surpassed its limits. It wouldn't be long before humans start space explorations. Because we bought a lot of stuff, I decided to bring two carts with me this time. One for me and one for her.
By the time we got out of the store, it was already 6PM.
As we were taking a stroll in the mall, I noticed that she kept stealing glances at me. I found it cute really.
Me?
Like her?
Pfft!
As if!
HA HA
HA...
It's that obvious, huh?
Fine…
I've been into her ever since she started visiting JayB-hyung during our practices. But I thought she likee JayB-hyung back then. It turns out that she actually has feelings for me.
Or was I just hearing things?
One way to find out…
"Yuna-ya… Are you hungry? I was wondering if you wanted to eat something with me." I asked.
Without a second thought she said yes.
Well that was fast.
She said that she wanted to eat pizza. So I decided to take her to one of Yo Chul-hyung's pizzeria. It's the best pizza place in the entire mall.
The moment I entered, there were a lot of people there. There weren't any vacant seats for the public. The VIP seats were vacant though.
"Should we try another place? There aren't any tables left. Besides, this place is really expensive." Yuna said.
I smiled at her. "Don't worry. It'll be my treat, and trust me. We'll get a table."
"No. It's okay. You've already done enough for me." She insisted.
"Don't worry, Yuna-ya. Just trust me." I smiled at her.
She smiled and nodded at me.
The moment I arrived in front of the info desk of the restaurant the person in charge told me that they were full.
"Oh. I was hoping to get one of the tables from the VIP section." I said as I revealed a golden card.
The manager who was passing by saw what I was holding and quickly approached me and bowed deeply.
Everyone including the person in charge of the info desk was shocked.
"Master Zihao, would it just be a table for two?" The manager asked in English with an Italian accent.
I smiled at the familiar face and replied in English, "Hi there Mr. Flavio. Yes. Just the two of us. Please and thank you."
He bowed again, "As you wish Master Zihao. This way please."
Yuna and I followed him up stairs where the VIP section was and sat down. I thanked him and told him that it was really good to see him again.
Mr. Flavio was one of Yo Chul-hyung's trusted bodyguards back in the day. He was really an excellent fighter. But he got injured while saving Yo Chul-hyung from a potential kidnapper. In the end, hyung decided to give him three restaurants, a land title in Italy, a condo in Seoul and 2 million US dollars to compensate him.
Mr. Flavio refused his offer and just asked for a condo in Seoul and a restaurant to manage. Yo Chul-hyung, being the man that he is, gave him what he wanted and more. He promised that Mr. Flavio would be set for life. Both of them are really close that is why Mr. Flavio chose to stay in South Korea to watch over Yo Chul-hyung still.
"Who ARE you?" Yuna suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?" I pretended to be ambiguous.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're an idol that just got out of being a rookie. Which means you don't have any money. But you bought all these stuff like it was nothing. Not only that, the restaurant's treatment suddenly changed the moment you flashed that golden card thingy that you have. So tell me. Who ARE you Zihao Yang?"
I stared at her with a serious face. "I don't know what you are talking about."
She laughed sarcastically. "Whatever. I'm leaving."
"Wait. What?" I was shocked.
She stood up and started walking away. I caught up with her and grabbed on to her wrist.
"What's wrong with you? Why would you just leave like that?" I asked her.
She pulled her hand out. "I don't know why I'm angry. I know that I have no right to ask you this questions. But one thing I DO know is that I can't be friends with people who I don't know. You either tell me the truth or I'll pretend I never saw you today."
She was right.
I sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you. Just please. Have a seat. And you have to swear that you'll keep it a secret."
She nodded her head and went back to her seat. I started telling her the truth. Who I am, what I am and everything else. I also told her the identities of the other prodigies, it wouldn't make sense why I was here in the first place if I didn't.
"So you're… the programming genius slash inventor slash trillionaire that I heard about?" She tried to confirm.
I nodded.
She then continued to analyze. "So that means… JayB-oppa is…"
"He's the prodigy of business." I replied.
Her jaw dropped. "Wow! I can't believe you guys are this amazing!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down." I warned.
"Oh sorry. But wow! I can't believe it. Why would you guys be here anyway?" She asked.
I laughed. "Let's just say we found JayB-hyung's proposal interesting. Just don't ask what it is because that's his secret to keep."
She agreed and we continued talking. We started eating as we continued to talk about our personal lives. We got the chance to know more about each other.
"So… I went to the gaming shop earlier." I decided to change the topic.
She giggled. "I know. I was there with you, remember?"
I smiled. "Yes. But I was there before I found you."
She chuckled. "Really? That's good then."
"Yeah. It is. And I heard something from you that was quite interesting." I told her.
She dropped her food as she jerked a little from what I said.
She then narrowed her eyes on me. "What did you hear?"
I smirked. "Oh nothing much… Feelings. Blah blah blah. You liking me… Yada yada."
She then buried her face on her arm in embarrassment and groaned as well. "Stop stop stop. Please. Stop."
I laughed and held her hand.
She then slowly peeked out from her arm.
"Yuna-ya…" I called out to her.
She then started rambling. "Fine! I like you, okay? The reason why I'm constantly visiting your practices was because I wanted to see you. When I first saw you at the mall with your group back when you were still shooting for your survival show, I noticed how cute you were and I fell in love. Talking with JayB-oppa was just an excuse to be near you. I wanted to make you feel jealous towards him because I didn't know what else to do."
Is this a confession from her?
I guess she doesn't know.
I thought I was being obvious.
Guess not.
She needs to hear my side then.
I chuckled. "Yuna-ya, would you want to go out with me?"
She froze for a second. "Could you repeat what you just sa-"
"Go out with me." I interjected.
She smiled at me with tears in her eyes and nodded slowly.
But before we could celebrate I saw something on the television behind her that ruined my mood. I started to turn serious. Yuna must have seen my expression and turned around to see the what got me like this. She covered her mouth in shock as soon as she was seeing what I was seeing.
"Excuse me! Mr. Flavio! Can you please turn the television's volume up please?" I yelled out.
He then hastily did as I asked because he also saw the headlines of the news that was shown on the screen.
"We are live outside of MNET's studio where we see leader of a famous KPOP boy group, Alpha, being rushed inside an ambulance after being shot in the arm. According to the security footage, the idol, JayB was shot by a saesang fan. There have been reports that a saesang fan has been harassing the group for quite a while now. Let's head inside to see what the CEO of JYP Entertainment has to say…" The reporter said.
"Oh my God. JayB-oppa…" Yuna started crying.
Suddenly my phone starts ringing. When I saw the caller I immediately answered.
"Hyung. I'm watching the news. What's all this? Why didn't you call me up? We could have blocked the media from releasing this to the public." I was so angry right now.
Why the hell didn't they contact me first?
"Zee-ya. It was JayB-ah's idea to cover up an even bigger story. But we need you to track the people that the shooter is working with as soon as possible. This is priority number 1. You understand?" Matt-hyung said.
"Why the hell are his subordinates more important than finding the shooter itself?!" I yelled out.
Yuna held my hand as she continued crying. I started to calm down. I have to be the rational one here for both of us.
I could hear Matt-hyung sigh deeply on the other end of the line. "Listen, Zee-ya. It's JayB-ah's idea as well. Okay? Just do it."
"Hyung… if you want me to work efficiently, then you better start by telling me everything right now. I know you're hiding something from me." I told him in a calm tone but I was seething with anger right now.
Matt-hyung then truthfully answered, "JayB-ah wanted to cover for someone by creating a bigger story that would gain the attention of the media for the next few days. It's the best plan that he came up at a short amount of time."
"I don't get it, hyung! Why the hell would JayB-hyung use himself as a cover?!" I asked.
He sighed again. "It's IU-noona. She's been kidnapped."
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