Chapter 191 - Nerves of Steel

Eli gritted her teeth, trying to keep her cool. When she had offered to help out with the Cartel, this was not what she was expecting. For a moment, she cursed herself for thinking that she would be sent to investigate some big shots of the organization or arrest some people. What she did not think was that…

"Hey crazy chick!" Dasom grinned as he leaned against the car door. Eli was standing outside his house, waiting for him to come out. Turned out, he was at the airport in the morning and insisted on changing his clothes before going to the film studio for his new drama. As part of their secret mission to battle the Cartel, the first priority was to secure and keep tabs on everyone who was close to Kwon Jiwon. Since the Cartel already got their full information and were most likely going to attack them to get to him, Hyun Jung and Abyss devised a plan to beef up the security around KJ's loved ones. 

Unfortunately for her, she was assigned to protect this idiot.

She swallowed down a retort and instead managed to let out a stiff smile. "I am your assigned personal bodyguard," she said, feigning a mock sweetness. 

"I know," he teased. "I requested for you."

"What?" Eli exclaimed, dropping her formal tone. "You-"

"Are you being rude to me?" Dasom asked, raising his eyebrows. "Ahh...I should report it to Hyun about this. Tsk tsk."

He snickered inwardly as he saw her face turn red in anger. She regained her composure and managed to mutter, "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, sir," she added. "Anyways. Please get in the car. I will explain the security details once we get inside."

"Fine," Dasom said. He got into the car while Eli scanned around the area. At a distance, she spotted one of the undercover security personnel who was passing by on the pavement outside the front gate. They locked eyes and she nodded at him before getting into the car behind Dasom.

"That's your new chauffeur," Eli pointed towards the driver. "He's one of the members of Abyss who volunteered to protect you. He goes by the alias Chun Seongbin."

The elderly driver greeted Dasom who returned the gesture. "Thank you for doing this," Dasom remarked.

"Please do not mention it sir," Seongbin said. "My late daughter was a fan of yours. She used to talk about EXOTIC all day. It's my pleasure to serve you."

"Oh," Dasom said. "If you don't mind me asking...what happened…"

"She was kidnapped and assaulted by the men of the Cartel," the elderly driver replied. It seemed as if he was holding back his sadness.

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear that," Dasom managed to say. Eli glanced at him. Dasom looked unsettled by the conversation so she jumped in.

"Han River," she stated to Seongbin. "Near the bridge. The film crew is waiting for us."

The elderly driver nodded and revved the engine. Very soon, they drove off towards their destination.

"You'll have security surveillance 24x7," Eli explained. "Only I know the names and faces of the bodyguards around you. They will follow you around but will remain invisible to the eyes so that the Cartel's men can't identify them.?

"So you're saying that if I have to use the loo, they'll be looking there as well?" Dasom asked, feeling indignant. "That's an invasion of privacy!"

"You don't have to worry about that," she shrugged. "They'll blend in with the crowd to keep an eye on you but will not cross any boundaries. They're professionals. They know their work well."

"What if I'm with a girl?" Dasom questioned. "On a date?"

"Well, are you dating anyone at the moment?" Eli asked.

"No…" Dasom replied.

"Then you don't have to worry about that."

"But I'm not usually single for long," he said, leaning back. "Who knows, I might just end up going on a random date-"

Eli gave him a sharp look. "Is this all a joke to you?" she snapped. "These people are risking their lives to protect yours. The least you can do is be considerate."

"I'm more considerate than you," Dasom shot back. "I just don't think I have to explain it to you."

Both of them glared at each other. If there was something Eli hated was irresponsible people like Dasom. It is going to be a tough job watching over this immature brat, she thought. She felt as if the gods were punishing her with this mission.

"How long will you be with me?" Dasom asked.

"I'll take different shifts," she said shortly. "Me and two other men from Abyss will take turns to be with you. Today, I will be your guard and at night, I will hand over the responsibility to another person. Tomorrow, it will be another guy and then later at night, I'll assume duties."

Dasom merely nodded and did not say anything more. They drove on in an uneasy silence.

….

Mirae was listening intently at the man who was talking in the meeting. She was at the investor's meeting and as part of her job as the new CEO, her first task was to convince the thirteen investors to keep on investing in the company now that EXOTIC had disbanded.

"The public opinion on Mystic Entertainment is negative," one of the investors, Go Kyungsoo, was saying. "With Ash's scandal and EXOTIC's disbandment, the customers we had are abandoning us."

He did not dare to voice out that KJ's marriage also infuriated many fans but Mirae read through his silence. 

"Furthermore," he stressed. "Ahn Naesung's death already had a deep impact. How can we keep on investing in this company? The share prices are falling and there are no other groups which can rival EXOTIC-"

"Are you forgetting that Mystic Entertainment still has two of the EXOTIC members?" Mirae countered. "KJ's endors.e.m.e.nts bring in billions of dollars for this company every year and Dasom is one of the most popular idol-actors whose dramas have consistently topped the charts."

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to talk but Mirae cut across him. "Furthermore," she said. "We still have Six X. Or have you forgotten them? They're one of the top girl groups of the nation and yet, you all put them on an indefinite hiatus."

"They're too old," another investor, Im Shijin, scoffed. 

"EXOTIC members are older," Mirae replied coolly. "I don't see you guys worrying about that."

"Yes, but Six X is a girl group!" Shijin retorted. "Girl groups lose their appeal to the masses once they grow old."

"First of all, Six X's image is of a group of tough and independent women who have appealed to the women between the age range of eighteen to fifty," Mirae pointed out. "They are also known to be a top visual group and combined with their talent, they have consistently topped the charts with every comeback. And do remember, they even managed to topple EXOTIC numerous times. And the only girl group to have broken their records.And yet, you're saying that they are not profitable because they are 'old'."

She challenged the men around her as she pushed a file towards them. 

"I've done the profit and loss analysis of the situation," she went on. "As you can see, with the current trainees we have, the cost of their training, accommodation, styling, music video and album preparation will need to start from the very scratch. Moreover, from the current set, the longest training period had been merely six months. You really think that these trainees are ready? They need to train for at least a year more to be fully prepared and we don't have that much time. It's going to cost us more than a hundred million dollars.."

"Whereas, Six X is already an established group," she continued. "All they need are good songs and a budget for a music video and promotions. Even if we can't get an external songwriter, we can use our own composers. If I'm not wrong, the leader of Six X had written many songs herself. Moreover, we have two members of EXOTIC who are damn talented songwriters. Compared to trusting complete newbies, the cost to prepare a comeback for them is twenty five million. There's a seventy five million difference there."

There was a murmur among the group. They were in doubt about the new CEO's abilities but it seemed that she knew her work well. 

"The public won't accept this!" Kyungsoo claimed.

"Let the public decide," Mirae commented. "If a group does not get the support and proper promotions from their agency, then they're doomed to fail. But Six X will have our company's full support. Under our new system, we will audit each and every expense and profit. The current artists will hold creative decisions. In fact, we have hired Ms. Somi, the Nation's True Love, as our new PR Director. I believe she has the knowledge and expertise for this job."

There was a silence in the room. The investors were speechless as Mirae looked at each and every one of them, challenging them to refute her. Finally, one by one, they began to vote.