Lucid

Chapter 20

Pov: Fixer (Y/N)
Waking up that morning, it was... cold. Sitting up, I see I still have newsfeeds running from last night. Nothing too interesting, just normal global disagreements and local issues. For once, seeing rising crime rates doesn't make me confident. For many years, more crime meant I got more work, and needed less subtlety. But now, it's different. For the first time since I arrived, I feel like I'm genuinely having a connection to someone. They even know my name. I get out of bed and wave the screens off, and head to the kitchen. It's been years since I've told people my real name. Either it's a secret, or I already knew them, or they know me before we meet. Having to introduce myself isn't common for me. But this kind of depth, really talking about my past and my home- it's really not something I've done before. I grab a small breakfast and stand at the counter, eating. I'll be the first to admit, I don't know where this is going, but I'm not about to stop it from going where it will. But that's enough musing. WM has another contract waiting for me, so it's time to leave. Taking my McLaren, I head north from my house and go to their main office. While I drive, I finally take the time to listen to Chaeyeon's song. It's good, although I can't say it's the most exciting of songs. But, peaceful.

Arriving at the headquarters, I see that once again it's in a state of chaos. I wonder if that's a normal thing, and I'm just not used to it. Heading inside, I brush through the gates and head to the elevator. I get some looks, and everyone leaves me to ride my elevator alone. I'm not even obviously armed, all my weapons are hidden. But, I've heard I have a threatening aura. It's way more peaceful when I step out onto the executive floor, and they take the time to bow to me. Once I reach his secretary's desk, she asks me,
"Hello sir. Do you have an appointment?" I shake my head and reply,
"I was told to come, he has another contract for me." She nods and gestures for me to enter. Apparently she's already been told, that's good. I've had times where I've had to walk into the room and tell the boss that I'm here, because the secretary isn't being helpful. But not today. Pushing open the door, I see a few people standing up and leaving, and the usual cluster of people sitting around the main person, in this case the CEO.
"I'm here." He stands and bows.
"We have another contract for you here." He gestures to a paper on his desk, yet again. "RBW is trying to poach our artists again. I want you to keep an eye on Chaeyeon, she has a schedule tonight, as well as four things in the next week. After that, we'll have it covered, but we need a stand-in of someone trustworthy and good at their job."
"I'm certainly not the cheapest person for the job, but I'll take it." I double check the paper, and sign it. Normal contract work, as always.
"It's not too much money. Besides, you'll be a backup for multiple others at the event, so you'll be working the whole time. And Chaeyeon was asking about you, by the way, so make sure to talk to her when she has time." Seems I'm popular among K-pop girls.
"Send me the details about the venue, the schedule, who else will be there, and all other important information."
"I'll have someone get that to you. Is there anything else you need?" I shake my head and walk out the door. He's nicer than most executives I've met. Perhaps he's new, or just uncertain, but he's certainly less draining. Or maybe I'm just going soft.

I pull up a map of the building and wow this place is a mess. Things are everywhere, nothing is organized, even the departments are sometimes split across floors. I'm just going to make the educated guess that she's in a dance studio, so I go to the stairs. No point wasting time walking half way across the building just to stand while it takes me down. Instead, I go down a few floors, then brush through the door to arrive in an almost identical hallway, save for a sign saying which way the dance studios are. Following it, it's almost empty down here. I guess there's not a huge reason for people to be here but it still seems odd just how still it is. I hear more noises as I get closer, and as I step up to one of the doors I can hear music and the sounds of dancing. I open the door and step inside, then realize I made a miscalculation, because I've accidentally interrupted Oh My Girl's dance practice. A few of them cast eyes towards me, but they keep dancing all the same. One of the choreographers comes over to me, however, and asks,
"Can I help you?" I shake my head.
"Probably not. I'm looking for Chaeyeon, I heard she spends a lot of time down here." They nod.
"She does, but she's not here now. She was earlier, but since there's a concert tonight nobody's doing too much, can't get tired out. Try the pt and massage room, other end of the hallway, across from the gym."
"Thanks." I turn and head out, but as I leave they ask,
"Who are you?" I glance back over my shoulder at them once I reach the door.
"I'm working security. That's all you need to know." Not booking any argument, I close the door and start waking down. That was... dumb of me. I should have remembered that there's more than one idol in this entire entertainment company.

After my walk of shame down a deserted hallway, I reach the correct door, and this time remember to knock. I don't know what kind of stuff happens in the physical therapy and massage room and I'd rather not find out the bad way. Luckily, a rather small voice comes through and says,
"You can come in." I open the door, reassured in my finding-people skills, and give a small smile.
"Heard you were looking for me?" I say, looking down at her. She's a little ways across the room, stretching on a mat.
"Oh, it's you." Clearly, she wasn't expecting me to be here.
"It's me once again. I'm your security detail for today." Not technically true, but she's my main priority and technically I'm on contract for all of today and the next two nights.
"Me specifically?" She says, taken aback.
"Technically I'm also serving as backup for the other groups, but I'm mainly protecting you, because you don't have any personal guards yet." While saying that, I come across to her and sit down on the mat. "So, you were looking for me? What can I do for you?" She looks at me with confusion, then answers,
"I wasn't looking for you."
"Your CEO said you were."
"I was asking him about you, that's all."
"Ah, I see. Well, you can ask me anything you want. No promise I'll answer though. She rolls her eyes.
"That's helpful. Here's a question- where did you learn to drive? You're terrifying." I can't help but laugh, she's probably still traumatized by the last time she was on my bike.
"I learned at Cofassa. Why?"
"Remind me never to go there." I chuckle.
"Will do. It's not a very pretty place anyways, you wouldn't have much to do there. All factories and transport hubs." She looks at me strangely when I say that. What's up with that look?
"You taking care of me now?" She says, with a slight mocking tone.
"Just making sure you don't go somewhere you might mess up something important." I say, trying to jab back. That's why she gave me the look. I guess it was an odd thing to say. "I have some things to take care of. I'll see you tonight, once you get to the concert hall. Don't be late." As I say that, I stand up and walk to the door. I wave two fingers in a salute-esq gesture as I walk out the door, and let it shut behind me. Checking my computer, I see the rest of my work seems to be going smoothly. A few status updates from Blackstone, no new contracts. Some notifications about the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and a message from an old coworker who's holed in in the Azovstal Steel plant. I'm sure she'll be fine, she's had worse. I feel bad for them, though, getting involved in someone else's war never ends well. I should know. Then again, how else do I describe the work I've been doing recently? We'll figure that out later.

A/N-
Wow, so, a lot of notes today.
First, what do y'all think of Kitsch? It's interesting, to say the least. It's kinda a bop but I hate how they gave liz almost no lines, that's odd.

Anyways, we hit 1K reads! That's sick. I'm pretty excited about that, although it does kinda feel surreal. Should I do something for that?

Lastly, yeah, I know what you might be thinking- my updated slowed down, massively. This is kinda what happens because, I'm not actually an author. I'm having trouble in certain spots and sometimes inspiration doesn't blossom, and I usually write when and what I'm inspired to write. So, I'm sorry if you get get let down, I'll keep trying.