Managers & Money (1)

"...shouldn't involve Flights in this!" Reggie argued with a long sigh. 

Jung Hyun-Ok and Ryeo Hyun nodded in agreement. 

ASCEND sat on their cramped couch. Mi Yong and Ryeo Hyun took the arms, while Reggie, Jung Hyun-Ok, and Baek Du-Ho sat comfortably on the cushions. Joon-woo stood, in the position to have his bandmates' attention. 

Baek Du-Ho was quietly watching Joon-woo and his quiet rebuttal. 

"Think about it, what EASY cares about is money. And if our fans get them said money by buying albums and supporting our appearances on all these shows and brands, they are at the fans mercy." Joon-woo explained, slightly losing the respect in his voice as he got deeper into the explanation. The tabloid would've done flips if they heard a word of Joon-woo at that moment. "If we show the signs of fatigue, and Yong Hyung, the most, they will be driven to boycott and demand action." He explained.

Reggie pursed his lips, all of ASCEND did. They mulled over Joon-woo's words with more thought than he had ever been given. 

Carre sat in a sleepy loaf on Reggie's lap, while Kite rested on Joon-woo's shoulder. 

"You should call him Manager Mi Yong as a nickname too…" Kite suggested listlessly. 

Joon-woo nodded, the silence of the dorm and thoughts engulfing him. 

"I know it sounds kind of shitty… but–" Joon-woo went to explain, but Mi Yong shook his head. 

"No, it makes sense. This is how the industry works." Mi Yong replied, "If we have to involve our Flights, I don't want to make them distressed, however." 

Ryeo Hyun took a long breath, "That's my issue… They do so much to support us, so making them distressed for our sake seems… mean." Reggie seemed to agree the most. Joon-woo could tell with the guilty look in his eyes. 

Joon-woo was slightly frustrated. They hadn't faced the brunt of the industry in full force yet. Even Mi Yong seemed to be anything but understanding despite his previous words. Yeah, Joon-woo was glad his bandmates still had that industry innocence, but that made it hard in situations like this. 

"Not everyone is as cold as you, pretty boy." Carre yawned. 

Joon-woo wanted to scoff, but hid the urge in the face of his bandmates.

"Hyung-ah, what do you think our company wants from us?" Joon-woo asked Ryeo Hyun.

Ryeo Hyun wasn't surprised by Joon-woo's bluntness. No one really was anymore. He had earned the 'fake maknae' title because of his almost senior-like attitude towards things. 

"To draw fans in and–"

"Money." Joon-woo finished for him, "Reporting him without pressure from fans, their financial support system, will be effective. Yes, I understand that it's cruel to make them worry for us, but is it so crazy to say that maybe they should be?" 

The room was silenced. 

"Du-Ho Hyung was hospitalized. Hyun-Ok Hyung needed an IV after our last stage. Hyun Hyung had to carry Yong Hyung on his back last week after practicing. Hyun-Ok Hyung and I haven't eaten in almost 24 hours. Isn't that a cause for concern? Mr. Jeong has to be reporting our conditions to the company consistency, but he doesn't. It's not like the company even released a formal explanation for Du-Ho Hyung's health troubles." Joon-woo ranted with a passion in his voice that Reggie watched with a daze in his cheeks. 

The room remained silenced. 

"That's… fair," Jung Hyun-Ok hummed, "Yong Hyung-ah, should we..?"

Mi Yong gulped, "I… I think it's worth it in that case. But I'm only gonna go through with this if everyone is okay with it. This is risky…" He explained, looking around the room awaiting a response. 

Reggie was the first to break it. 

"I think we should." He locked a careful glance with Joon-woo.

Baek Du-Ho nodded slowly along, hesitant with fear, but Mi Yong had been rubbing his back whenever he seemed too anxious and it helped a little. He hadn't really spoken up about Mr. Jeong's treatment of him, but everything else seemed more of a reason for concern than some harsh words. 

Jung Hyun-Ok took a long sigh, "Sure. I really don't want IVs anymore…"

"Shut up, dude–" Ryeo Hyun pushed Jung Hyun-Ok's shoulder with a small shove, the saddening joke all too light for the mood engulfing them. "But yeah, I think… Sure. But we shouldn't go too far with what we tell the fans. Just enough to raise concern…"

Mi Yong nodded, looking at Joon-woo with small eyes. 

"You really don't feel like the youngest sometimes…" He commented listlessly. 

Joon-woo rolled his eyes, his body slightly weak when he began away from the group. "I'm going to nap now, if it's decided." 

Reggie caught Joon-woo's wrist from the couch whenever Joon-woo got close enough. 

"Don't you dare, Joon-ah, I'm gonna make a good and calorie dense lunch for us all." Reggie announced out of the blue. 

Joon-woo didn't want to waste energy pulling Reggie's arm off of him. He just wanted to sleep. They had a day off today besides a few scheduled Meverse and TickTock posts, and even a short live tonight. 

Joon-woo sighed, watching as ASCEND broke into a movie, Spirited Away, with interested eyes. He waited until Reggie thought Joon-woo wouldn't resist to eating anymore and as soon as the other released him, he sped off to he and Reggie's room. 

Swiftly locking the door behind him, Carre was in a laughing fit watching Reggie scramble after Joon-woo annoyed. 

"Joon-woo… You can't say you haven't eaten all day and not expect me to want to cook for you." Reggie groaned from the other side of the locked door. 

"I'm not hungry." Joon-woo lied. 

He just wanted to sleep, he cared less about eating right now. 

Reggie placed, but didn't bang his fist against the door. He knew Joon-woo wasn't a fan of loud impact or sudden contact. "Fine. Just eat when you wake up, please." 

Joon-woo was already too sleepy to reply. 

He let himself drift asleep with not even a blanket on top of him. If this was one of the only rest days they would get before the end of the year, he would use it well. 

–+–

Reggie placed probably too many ingredients on their small dorm counter with a determined expression. He was gonna make Joon-woo and the others the most quality meal he could. Of course they hadn't gotten their first paycheck yet, so he had to borrow money from his mother, but she assured him that it was fine. 

It was nice to hear her voice after the three months he hadn't seen her. He really missed her, as much as he loved ASCEND. He almost teared up when he heard her voice, because she sounded so alive. 

Only Baek Du-Ho and Ryeo Hyun lasted through the second re-run of Spirited Away while Reggie cooked away. Mi Yong and Jung Hyun-Ok had gone to do some scheduled TickTock posts in the practice room. 

Reggie chopped various vegetables and began to heat some oil in a pan. The smells intrigued his Hyungs at some point, but Reggie was too focused on making this meal perfect to care. He really hated how strictly Joon-woo followed his diet. He hated it. Even Jung Hyun-Ok with his diet had a cheat day every now and then, but Joon-woo hadn't even had one!

During the promotional period, Reggie was jealous of Joon-woo and his self-control around food. But now it just seemed… concerning. And to hear that Joon-woo hadn't eaten in a full day? Reggie was beyond concerned. 

Upon seeing the large pot Reggie pulled from the dusty side of the cabinet, Ryeo Hyun raised an eyebrow. 

"Are you making a meal for twenty?" He joked. 

Reggie shook his head, "Only for us." For Joon-woo, "Actually, Hyung, can you guys get the big plates out? An even bigger one for Joon-woo." 

Baek Du-Ho got to the job with ease. He had been lighter to talk to lately, his Hyung. 

"Thank you Du-Ho Hyung." Reggie thanked with a smile. 

Baek Du-Ho slowly nodded. The tall man seemed less shy now, though Reggie couldn't help but recall how different the man had become since Producer10. Baek Du-Ho was slightly mean to Reggie, and it seemed that he and Joon-woo had some trouble with each other. 

Reggie was happy with the aromas slowly filling the dorm. 

"Here, Hyung, test the taste." Reggie offered a spoon of soup to Ryeo Hyun.

Ryeo Hyun abided, a shocked look crossing his expressionless face. 

"I thought you only liked for Joon-woo to do that." Ryeo Hyun commented, wiping his mouth. "It's good though, it tastes like your mothers from that one time…"

Reggie stiffened at the observation. Those were just his efforts to get Joon-woo to eat more. "Not only Joonie…" He huffed. 

Ryeo Hyun raised an eyebrow and exchanged a long glance with Baek Du-Ho. 

"You do a lot of things only for Joon-woo…" Baek Du-Ho, surprisingly, commented. 

Ryeo Hyun nodded, but Reggie just tried to cook away the implications. He adjusted the heat to the large pot white his Hyung went on and on…

"You buy an extra snack for him when we send you to the convenience store, you always give him bigger portions, you even hug him differently… I've only seen you upset for Joon-woo. I mean, dude, you guys are meant to be closer because of, you know, but even off camera." Ryeo Hyun explained. 

Reggie's face reddened at the words. Not only was Joon-woo the only person who knew Reggie was gay, but they were also forced to be couple-y close ever since their careers began. "...shut up."

Baek Du-Ho even laughed at that. 

"Speaking of Joon-woo, is he feeling okay?" Baek Du-Ho questioned quietly. 

Reggie and Ryeo Hyun were both pretty surprised by the question. Baek Du-Ho and Joon-woo seemed indifferent to each other even on Producer10. It was like they were one word away from beating each other up every time they talked off camera.

"I think the weird diet they have him on is doing something to his energy levels." Reggie honestly replied.

Baek Du-Ho and Ryeo Hyun nodded. 

"Hyun-Ok Hyung has also been low energy…" Baek Du-Ho input. 

Reggie chuckled at the notion, "I guess Joon-woo was right then. He's really smart for being a middle school drop out…" 

Glances were exchanged at Reggie's soft facial expression. 

Ryeo Hyun seemed surprised, "He dropped out of middle school?"

Reggie made a face, "You guys… didn't know that?"

Baek Du-Ho and Ryeo Hyun shook their heads.

"Joon-woo doesn't really talk about that stuff, around the rest of us anyway." Ryeo Hyun shrugged. "But now that I think of it… he's kinda closed off, isn't he?" His expression seemed curious but not worried. Reggie thought it was a good growth towards how much of a worry bug he used to be. 

Reggie always thought that Joon-woo was closed off. He never questioned it. It was a common thing, especially for idols, to want to keep their history and life private. Though, he couldn't shake the accusation that he did want to know more about Joon-woo than the basics. 

"He shares things about himself sometimes." Reggie shrugged. Surely he wasn't the only one to know some more important facts about him. Like how Joon-woo was an orphan and how he liked to draw. That Joon-woo dropped out of middle school due to his old company's pressure. Those were pretty important facts, Reggie thought. 

Ryeo Hyun raised a brow at Reggie, "To you." He scoffed, "It's good though, in the beginning of Producer10, when I met him, he seemed like he would overspill if he didn't have someone to talk to." 

Reggie couldn't shake the way his heart skipped a beat at Ryeo Hyun's words. Was he the only one to know such small facts about Joon-woo? Did Joon-woo only ever express these things to Reggie? He knew deep down that wasn't a healthy thing for ASCEND. Personal relationships in a band were important, to Reggie at least. But the idea that he was the only one close enough to know these things made him feel special. It made him feel special to Joon-woo.

Baek Du-Ho narrowed his eyes as Reggie's lips unknowingly twisted into a small smile. He looked to his left to see if Ryeo Hyun noticed. His hyung noticed a lot of things. 

But to his surprise, Ryeo Hyun seemed unaware. Perhaps it was just fatigue, then. Baek Du-Ho was still a little drowsy from illness.