Wicked Entertainment

Episode 2: Undercover

~EPSISODE 2~

Undercover

"That crazy bastard!" Hyeri's mouth hung open and Nie double checked to make sure that the door to Recording Studio D was locked tight enough that nobody would hear her friend's screeches. "He really is the devil, wow." Hyeri flopped down on the sofa. "We should know he's the devil, alright. He's the only person in the whole world that Chan doesn't like. Chan even likes that ice queen from DIAMOND that follows the Devil around like a shadow."

"Ri." Nie tried to keep her voice soft.

Chan's head was in his hands and his hands were in his lap. He looked like a man who had just gotten tragic news. Nie guessed, in a way, he kind of had. At least Chan's busted feelings gave Nie the opportunity to avoid her own – she was surprisingly grateful for that.

"This is good, Chan," Nie said, as comfortingly as she could, patting his shoulder. "This will give you the chance to prove yourself—"

"Against Dante?" Chan scoffed. "You really think I'm going to win against Dante?" He looked up at Nie, his red eyes giving him away. "Even if I write the better song, it won't matter. Everyone is either too in love with him or too afraid of him not to vote for him."

"It's even worse if they make the vote public," Hyeri said nonchalantly. "Only Dante antis will vote for you, and I'm pretty sure those don't exist. I never found a single one on any of the chatrooms. Well, except me. Luckily, I made friends with that one STARGAZER anti." She clucked her tongue unseriously. "It's lonely out there."

"Ri," Nie repeated, this time through gritted teeth.

"What?" Hyeri shrugged. "It's not like he's not thinking it. I'm just putting it all out there so that we can make a game plan. Manager Oh and Manager Jung talked about it earlier, when I was eavesdropping. They said they're going to vote for Chan because Dante's schedule made Manager Jung miss her daughter's first birthday party and Dante's last scandal made Manager Oh miss her eldest's piano recital. But Chan always greets them well in the hallway, even though they're not part of his team. We just have to find more people who hate Dante. We have to keep the vote in-house."

Nie chewed at the insides of her cheeks. In a way, Hyeri wasn't exactly wrong.

"I have to write a better song," Chan said, shaking his head. "I have to win this fair and square or else it doesn't count. I can't let him beat me again, but I can't win by cheating, either."

"Ugh!" Hyeri scoffed, smacking her hands down on the worn sofa. "Why are you so noble, eh? Do you think Dante is down in Recording Studio A being noble? I wouldn't imagine it." She tutted.

Nie's brow creased. "How do you know he's down in RSA?"

Hyeri's shoulders shrugged with a casual air. "I saw him go in on the way here. He had that puffy guy from his group with him. What's his name?"

"KNOW-AH?" Chan offered.

Nie smiled at the idea of KNOW-AH being "the puffy one". He wouldn't like that.

"No, no." Hyeri waved her hand. "The handsome one with the good hair." She motioned to her head. "Like a Chosun soldier."

"Ah, Minkey," Nie said knowingly, an image of the elvin man popping into her mind.

Hyeri clicked her fingers. "Minkey. That's right." A satisfied smile settled on her mouth.

Chan pouted, glancing up at Nie. "You think he has good hair?" he asked, inadvertently touching his own hair.

Hyeri eyed Nie but Nie refused to meet her stare.

"It's fine," Nie said. "Not really my type, but I know her style." Nie motioned her head towards Hyeri.