EXO's Manager (EXO Xiumin fanfic) (COMPLETED)

22 // "I want to quit"

There was a knock on my door, and it opened without me responding. Xiumin peaked through. "Amy, what's going on?"

"I can't.." Oh my gosh. He didn't know. I mean, Kris and Luhan told the members. Tao just left and never came back. I was crying so hard, I was shaking. Xiumin rushed to my side and wrapped his arms around me.

"Amy, it's okay. Everything will be okay," he said softly.

"I just can't...tell you.." I cried.

"Did...." Xiumin turned me on my spinny chair to face him, his hands resting on my shoulders so I had to look him in the eyes. "Did you get fired?"

"I wish," I said. "Minseok, I just don't know how to tell you this, but...Tao isn't in EXO anymore." I immediately lost it again, but Xiumin's face stayed expressionless. His arms dropped from my shoulders, and he slowly stood up. "I think I'm going to quit."

Xiumin slowly looked at me. "Oh, you too?"

"What?"

He muttered something in Korean, and shook his head. "This isn't your fault, you know."

"I could have done something -"

"No you couldn't have. So shut up and figure out how to help the rest of us survive." Xiumin ran his hand through his sweaty hair. "How will the others find out? How about Lay? Freaking Lay. He just had to go to China for that stupid movie. Who's going to tell him?"

"I don't know."

"Well, figure it out," Xiumin said, walking over to the door. "God, this sucks." He walked out.

I wasn't alone in my office before I decided to give Kim J a visit. Enough time had passed, I felt that he could be talked to.

I knocked on the door as usual, and walked in. "I got the email," I said. "And I read the letter."

Kim J exhaled. "Have a seat." I sat down. "You read it? Pretty sure it was in Korean."

"Google translate is a wonderful tool."

"Must be."

"So he's officially out?" I asked.

"No. Same as Kris and Luhan. They have yet to cancel contracts because they're sued. We're going to have to sue Tao too."

I slammed my hand down on the table, alarming Kim J. "We didn't help Tao! He was injured!"

"Amelia, you need to calm down."

"Tao was injured! And we just kept overworking him!"

"You just kept overworking him. You're just as much to blame as anyone else."

I bit my lip to keep myself from bursting into tears again.

"That's right," Kim J said. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"I want to quit." I heard myself say.

"Really."

"Yes."

"What if I told you that if you quit, I'll find a way to make it look like it was entirely your fault. That you were an abusive manager and especially to Tao. And everyone will hate you and know he left because of you," Kim J said.

"You wouldn't..."

"Oh, but I would."

I looked away, angry.

"But here's the thing. Someone had to tell the boys that Tao won't be joining us anymore. And, I could fire you for being involved with Xiumin," Kim J said. "You get fired, then I release the story."

"I can't tell them!" I exclaimed, standing up. "And I am not-"

"I don't feel like listening to your lies today," Kim J said. "Go tell them. Now. It should be their free time, correct?"

I stood up, not saying a word, and I closed the door behind me as I left his office.

I slowly made my way to the lounge where I knew they would all be after dance practice. That was where the food was.

I walked in, and they were all in there, minus Lay because he was in China. "I have to talk to you all about something," I said. I gave Xiumin a glance, but he just returned it with a cold stare.

"What's up?" D.O asked kindly. At least there was one kind face in the room. For now, at least.

"There's no easy way to say this," I said, pacing and brushing my hair back with my hand. "This morning Tao's father sent the company a letter, and...he pulled Tao out of EXO because of injuries."

"But he'll be back, right?" Chen asked. "I mean, this happens all the time."

I shook my head. "He's not coming back."

"Don't tell me SM is suing Tao too," Suho said. "Come on, he's been through a lot."

"Dude? This isn't cool guys," Sehun said. "Last year Tao was a freaking mess because Kris left. And then Tao just leaves without a word."

"Maybe it was easier for him that way," Xiumin added quietly. "He knew it would hurt us, because it hurt him. He doesn't want to see us like this."

"Where's Lay when we need him?!" Baekhyun asked. "Is he next??"

"Stop," I heard myself say. "Lay isn't going to quit." But would he?

"Amelia!" Chen exclaimed. "Don't you know? The Chinese members were always treated poorly by SM. Of course Lay is next. It's just a matter of time."

"Can we really survive with eight members?" D.O asked. "It's just weird losing so many people."

I walked out, leaving them to talk about it among themselves. I called Lay's personal acting manager, who was in China with him. "Can I speak to Lay?" I asked.

"One moment."

"Ni hao?"

"No, English. This is Amelia, your SM manager."

"Oh, hey! What's up?"

"Lay, I have really bad news. You need to sit down," I said.

"Okay, I'm sitting."

"Long story short...Tao has left EXO."

I heard Lay exhale. "So it actually happened."

"What?"

"Tao talked to me about it. His concerns and what not. You cannot tell anyone about this. This is completely confidential," Lay said.

Frankly, I didn't care if Lay already knew. "Lay, I don't know what the hell is going on, but you need to be back here. The others are thinking you're next. You don't even want to know what the fans are going to think from all of this."

Lay was quiet for a long time. "I'll be back next month. I promise."