Dream Catcher

Chapter 14

"Jiho!" I heard Minji call me from our room, "Where's the book you got me?" She hollered.

I sat on my old couch from my other apartment. Thankfully Jaehyo had been kind enough to drive my furniture here, since he was the only one who owned a car big enough.

So now our apartment wasn't as empty as before.

"Please tell me you're not going out there again, Minji." I sighed as I walked in. A bundle of blankets could be seen resting on the ledge outside, through the window that was wide open.

She looked behind the stereo that sat on our nightstand before pulling out the already worn out book.

"We finally finished packing after almost over a week. I need a break, okay?" Minji smiled at me before hopping out the window and settling down there.

I poked my head out to where she stood and almost threw up.

The smell of salt water was strong and the height made it even worse.

"Jesus fucking Christ, woman." I held back the bile that rose in my throat, "How are you not shitting yourself out here?"

She shrugged, "I'm badass."

I chuckled at the irony and shook my head, "I'll go make dinner, which will be ramen because that's all we have at the moment."

"I don't mind, honestly. Now shoo and let me read."

I scoffed and went back to the kitchen before opening the cupboard and revealing our endless supply of noodles. I took one of the packages and ripped it open, pouring the contents into a pot of boiling water.

My focus was completely on the food in front of me, I almost didn't notice my phone ringing in my pocket.

"Yo?" I answered after the fifth ring.

"Jiho? Hey, um, we're gonna need you to get down here. Asap." B-Bomb spoke from the other end of the line, he sounded a bit aggravated, almost with a hint of sympathy.

I frowned to myself as I stirred, "Now?"

"Yes. Now would probably be best." He cleared his throat.

"Aight, I'll be there."

"And Jiho," He spoke up before I could hang up, "It wasn't my decision, okay?"

"What do y-" The line went dead and I was met with a continuous beep before I could even finish my sentence.

What the fuck did he mean by it wasn't his decision? What decision?

"Minji," I called her from the kitchen, when she didn't answer, I called her again. And a couple more times until she heard me.

"I have to go, the ramen's ready just let it cool. I'll be back in maybe an hour or two." I yelled as I looked for the car keys and my jacket.

She said okay and then I was out the door and driving down back to the studio, all the way back in Seoul.

*

I sped as much as possible, taking B-Bombs urgency seriously. With all that, I arrived in record time.

Still moving swiftly, I hopped out of the car and jogged towards the building where I found Taeil waiting for me.

"What's going on?" I asked him with a frown of confusion.

He only cleared his throat, "It's not my duty to tell you. But if you want someone to blame this on, take it out on the CEO." He patted my back before leading me into an elevator and clicking the button marked "5".

By the time we reached our destination, my heart was racing and my palms were clammy.

Clearly I was on the verge of receiving really bad news.

"Through here," Taeil pointed to a pair of grey double doors with shiny silver handles. He once again patted my back before retreating with his head down.

I felt a shiver run down my back as I pushed the doors open and walked into the strange room.

It was pretty big, a glass shelf covered almost every inch of the walls and inside those shelves were a bunch of awards and shit.

In the middle of the room, sitting in front of a window draped with white curtains, a bulky desk. And behind that desk sat a man I'd only seen walking around but never got to meet.

On either side of him stood two men. One was B-Bomb and the other was my manager.

I bowed respectfully before speaking, "What is this about?"

The man, who according to his name plate was Mr. Jung, sat forward and motioned for me to sit in one of the chairs in front of him.

I did as he said and looked up, waiting for an explanation.

"You're Woo Jiho, goes by the stage name Zico?" He asked in a raspy voice. I nodded my response and waited for him to give me an explanation as to why I was here.

But instead he began to look through some papers on his table.

After a couple minutes of awkward silence, he began to speak, "We've been discussing you lately, Jiho. And we've all come up with an decision."

Behind him, B-Bomb rolled his eyes and my manager scoffed.

Mr. Jung the ignored them and rubbed his chin, "We're sorry, but we've all come to the conclusion that dropping you from this label, would be best."

I gasped and stood up, "You're what!? You can't do that, you can't kick me out, what the fuck?"

"It's for the best."

"Best? Best? Best for who!? I actually make money here, I actually work. Hell I'm probably one of hardest working idols and you're gonna fucking kick me out just like that!?"

"I'll assist in getting you signed with another label, if you wish but-"

I turned around and kicked his chair across the room, making all except B-Bomb jump.

"Jiho," He gave me a stern look from his spot, "Let's go outside."

"No, fuck that! I want to know exactly why you're dropping me! What did I do?! Tell me, god dammit." As I spoke, I leaned over Mr. Jungs table and yelled in his face.

"Because," He bellowed back, standing up and meeting my gaze.

"You're not good enough."

I felt anger explode inside of me. Without thinking, I grabbed his name plate and launched it across the room. It hit the glass shelf and shattered it, causing a couple awards to fall.

"Alright," B-Bomb and my, used to be, manager grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out as I yelled every curse word in the book at Mr. Jung, possibly even making up some new ones meanwhile.

Only when the big grey doors shut behind us, did they let me go.

As soon as they did I launched myself towards a wall and punched it as hard as I could.

"You have every right to be angry," My manager began.

"Who the fuck does he think he is saying I'm not good enough when I work my ass off, practically 24/7! I'm basically the one here paying for his turtlenecks and high waters!"

Without letting the two men in front of me process my words, I turned around and stomped down the hall and into the elevator.

I mentally cursed everyone and everything as I exited out the building for the very last time.