|| Inception ||

|| Chapter 1: Inception ||

The sound of a massive crowd buzzed under the stadium as female and male idols prepared themselves for their annual reward show. The hallways were filled with young and old idols; many of them were talking with other groups and doing TickTocka* dance challenges to get more recognition. However, the buzzing crowd turned into murmurs when an extremely tall muscular man strolled through the hallways, towering over almost everyone. Many idols stared at him with dazed and speechless expressions, and their breaths were taken away. The man was at least 6'4 ft or so and muscular; he had pitch black hair dyed in a dark chilli red colour. 

The longish bangs of his draped slightly over his sharp icy-blue hooded eyes and perfectly arched yet neat eyebrows. A black surgical mask covered his sharp nose, fullish lips, high cheekbones, and sharp jawline. From what onlookers could see, he had a beauty spot on the corner of his right eye, giving him a strange charm. Small silver earrings dangled from his earlobes, chiming with each step he took. An ID card for staff members dangled around his neck, bouncing slightly as he walked. 

He wore a tight white short-sleeved shirt and black jeans with boots. His exposed arms were covered in sleeve tattoos with several roses, Chrysanthemums, chains, and snakes. In one of his hands, he was carrying a two-tier coffee cup holder and in the other hand was a plastic convenience store bag filled with lunch boxes and small snacks. "Oh, Manager Kim!" One of the female idols greeted him with a wide toothy grin, causing him to stop in his tracks, "Did you get coffee for VUNX?" Reluctantly, he tilted his head at her as he glanced to the side, spotting the cameraman holding a camera behind her.

"Yeah," He confirmed with his huskily deep yet velvety voice, catching some onlookers and the cameraman off guard. "Chanwoo-ssi told me to get some while they're getting ready," He explained with a closed-eye smile as he gestured to the cup holders that he was carrying. "Eh~" The female idol - Cho Sung-mi, also known as Miri - hummed with a childish yet mischievous grin and playfully covered her pinkish lips with her gloved fingers, "That's so nice of you, Manager Kim~!"

He sweatdropped at her words and awkwardly chuckled. "I wish you and your group the best of luck for tonight," He told her, giving her a quick bow of his head as he slowly shuffled away from her, "Fighting, Miri-ssi!" Without another word, he speed-walked away from her. Silently, she watched him disappear into the crowd of idols and staff members. "Sung-mi-unnie, who was that?" Another female idol asked with wide eyes, her cheeks dusted in a pink shade. "That was VUNX's assistant manager," Sung-mi answered cheekily, wiggling her eyebrows at her junior, "His name is Kim Siwoo but everyone calls him Manager Kim."

"How old is he?" The cameraman curiously asked, peeking out from behind the camera, "He looks young." Sung-mi giggled and wagged her index finger around, announcing with a cat-like grin, "Well, he's only twenty-one years old." One of the male idols - who walked past them and overheard the conversation - suddenly choked on his saliva, coughing with wide eyes. His group members asked him if he was alright, completely worried and concerned about him. Meanwhile, the ravenette arrived before a closed white door with 'VUNX' attached. Slowly, he knocked four times before entering, giving the group inside the room the hint that it was him.

"I'm back," He stoically announced as he closed the door behind him and lifted his gaze with a raised brow. The massive room was crowded with staff members, camera crew, makeup artists, and stylists. Many stylists and makeup artists surrounded seven extremely good-looking individuals. These seven individuals were members of 'VUNX', they were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three. "Oh, welcome back, Manager Kim," A husky low yet charming voice greeted him as he sat the coffee cup holders and plastic bag on a nearby table. The ravenette turned to look at the owner of the voice and his gaze clashed with a pair of warm yet sharp amber-brown-coloured eyes. 

The owner of the voice had wavy chocolate-brown hair, neatly arched eyebrows, clear peachy-coloured skin, fullish lips, and a sharp jawline. He looked to be around twenty-three or so and was probably 6'2 ft. He was dressed in a black three-piece suit with harnesses wrapped around his torso and waist. The brunette was surrounded by stylists and makeup artists, who were fixing up his makeup and clothes. "You ordered an iced mochaccino with vanilla syrup, right, Chanwoo-ssi?" The ravenette asked as he took the coffees out of the cup holders and spread them on the table before picking up a frozen mochaccino.

"Yeah," Chanwoo confirmed with a smile, showing off his dimples. "Thank you, Manager Kim," He thanked the ravenette when he handed him the drink and carefully took a sip of it, mindful not to damage his lipstick and clothes. "Manager Kim! Did you get my caramel macchiato?" A playful yet husky voice asked from the other side of the room, causing the ravenette to look in that direction. "I'll bring it to you in a second, Jung-hwan-ssi!" He reassured him with a hidden smile and shook his head as he picked up another drink from the table. One by one, he started distributing the drinks to the seven idols and ignored their gratitude when they thanked him. 

Once done, he sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh and unconsciously spread his legs apart to slouch. Dazed, he stared up at the ceiling, oblivious to the glances he was receiving from the staff members. "Manager Kim, aren't you getting hot with that mask?" A quiet yet gentle voice suddenly asked from in front of him, startling him a bit. The voice belonged to a nineteen-year-old boy, who had fluffy icy-blonde hair and round blue eyes. His dark attire didn't fit his cute face at all, yet it gave him a seductive vibe. "Ah..." He mumbled a bit, awkwardly rubbing the back of his nape as he suddenly felt conscious of his mask. "I guess...?" He admitted in an uncertain voice and chuckled, reassuring him, "But, I'm used to it so don't worry, Sehun-ssi." 

The blonde pursed his lips, knitting his brows in worry as his gaze fixated on the bead of sweat that dripped down his neck. "You can always take it off, Manager Kim," Sehun kindly reminded him and scratched his cheek with his index finger, glancing to the side with a sheepish smile, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable because of that mask..." His words made the ravenette's shoulders unconsciously tense up before relaxing. "Okay..." He mumbled before cautiously lowering his mask until it was under his chin, revealing his fullish lips and sharp nose. Immediately, Sehun's gaze landed on his lips and noticed the beauty mark that was on the corner of his bottom lip. 

They were unaware of the gobsmacked looks they received from makeup artists and stylists when he lowered his mask. Even the camera crew were too stunned to speak or focus. "You look a bit tired, Manager Kim," Sehun mentioned while sitting down next to him, leaning forward as his attention was pinned onto the dark circles that were seen under his icy-blue eyes. "Have you been getting enough rest?" He asked and slowly reached out to his face. Used to this behaviour, the ravenette instinctively closed his right eyelid when Sehun's cool gloved fingertips were near it. 

"...You could say that," He chuckled with a small yet casual smile as he felt Sehun's fingertips rub against the dark circles under his eyelid, "I just have been running around to keep up with work and my studies." An 'O' shape formed on Sehun's lips when he understood what he meant and sent him a kind smile as his fingers retreated from his face. "Then-" Before Sehun could start, thundering footsteps approached them before a person lunged at them, startling them. The person landed on top of the ravenette's lap and wrapped his arm around his shoulder as he faced Sehun. 

Instinctively, the ravenette grabbed onto the person's waist to steady him while his eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "You can't hog Manager Kim to yourself like that, Sehun-hyung!" The person teasingly scolded the blond with a pout on his lips, clinging to the speechless ravenette. The person was an eighteen-year-old boy, who had short wavy bright red-dyed hair and grey cat-like hooded eyes. He was around the same height as Sehun, but he was more lean and muscular. Immediately, a bitter yet cold frown appeared on Sehun's lips when he saw the redhead.

"Jung-hwan-ah," Sehun stated coldly as his eyes narrowed at the redhead, "What do you-" Again, he was interrupted when the ravenette lightly scolded the redhead, "Jung-hwan-ssi, you can't jump at people like that. It's dangerous." Stunned, Sehun and Jung-hwan stared at the ravenette with wide eyes and their lips were slightly parted. His gaze was strict as he squinted his eyes at him. "S-Sorry, Manager Kim," Jung-hwan stuttered out and lowered his head, his cheeks growing red from embarrassment and shame. "You don't have to apologize but be careful next time," He reassured him with a small sigh and casually held him by his waist before scooting him off his lap so that he could sit next to him. 

"So," He hummed with a small smile as he reached out to the redhead's face and booped his nose with his index finger, "Don't pout. Smile." His playful action caused Jung-hwan's face to explode in a bright shade of red while Sehun's shoulders stiffened as if had turned into stone. Abruptly, the redhead stood up from the couch, catching the ravenette off guard. "I-It looks like that stylist-noona is calling for m-me," Jung-hwan lied, covering his flustered face with his hands to hide from the ravenette's confused gaze, "S-So..." Believing his lie, the ravenette awkwardly chuckled and spoke, "Ah, okay. You can go then, Jung-hwan-ssi."

Without hesitation, the redhead scurried away from them. "Manager Kim, we need some extra hands with carrying these boxes!" One of the staff members shouted from the doorway as a few staff picked up boxes. "Alright, I'll be there in a second!" He responded and rubbed his shoulder before getting up from the couch. Just as he was about to pull his mask back on, a cool gloved hand grabbed his other hand by the wrist, pulling him slightly. Surprised, he glanced down at the owner of the hand.

"You better spend some time with me later, Manager Kim," Sehun told him with a pout, his eyes drooping like a sad puppy, "It's unfair that Jung-hwan-ah got more attention than me tonight..." Speechless, he stared down at the blonde before breaking into a burst of amused laughter. The tip of Sehun's ears turned pink as he saw him laugh with a bright smile. "Yes, yes," The ravenette mused with a smile and gently shook his hand off his wrist as he playfully patted his head, "If I have time, I'll hang out with you, Sehun-ssi." The blonde's eyes twinkled and his cheeks grew pink, his heartbeat thumped faster.

Slowly, his hand slipped from the ravenette's wrist and nodded. "I gotta go now," The ravenette mentioned when the staff called him again and he pulled his mask up before walking away. Silently, the blonde watched him approach the staff and leave the room with a few boxes in his hands. "Sehun-ssi! What happened to your hair?!" One of the stylists screeched when she noticed that his hair was messy and hurriedly dragged him to the makeup station to fix him, "We have to fix it!" She was completely unaware of the expression on the blonde's face as he touched his hair, recalling the faint warmth of the larger hand that patted his head a few moments ago.