A man sat reading at an empty table in the empty room. Every so often, he raised his eyes, thinking he’d heard someone. He didn’t arrive much earlier than the appointed time, but he would have expected company by now. Where was everyone?

  He was about to stand up and search when voices were heard from outside the room. A moment later, the door opened.

  “How long have you been here?” A short woman asked, entering the room with a white-haired man in tow.

  “That’s of no importance.” He replied, not terribly bothered about the wait.

  The woman felt awkward for a few seconds, not sure how to respond. Recovering, she informed the present men.

  “We are expecting two more.”

  “I had hoped when you invited me here that we’d be alone.” Her follower pouted, quiet enough that the other man wouldn’t hear from the opposite side of the room.

  She turned around and answered with her strictest voice. “The job is for a group, not solo.”

  “I prefer pairs.” His instantaneous words came with added sensuality.

  “That’s not an option.”

  “Perhaps they got lost.” The dark-haired man cut in, standing up from the table. He walked towards them as he continued. “I’ll go look for them.”

  As he neared the door, he almost bumped into another man entering.

  “Oh, sorry!”

  The newcomer stared at him. “Watch where you’re going.”

  Sensing the heat rise between the men, the woman interrupted.

  “Hi! Glad you could make it.” She attempted a cheerful attitude to reduce the tension.

  As no-one acknowledged her attempt, the younger man spoke before exiting the room.

  “Just one to find.”

  The new arrival watched him leave out of the corner of his eye.

  When he was out of sight, the silver-haired man examined the room.

  “Will we be here every time?”

  “Oh!” The female jumped, surprised to be questioned. “Yes. This building is owned by Exorcist. It’ll be where you do everything. In here, we have a table where we can discuss anything. As you can see, there’s this open space where you can run routines.” The nervous manager began to ramble. “Charlene, the vocal coach, has a room upstairs if anyone needs help.”

  Upon hearing that woman’s name, the other man tuned into their conversation.

  “She's not always here, but she’s on call.”

  “Can anyone ask for her assistance?” The second man wondered.

  “Yes. If you need her, just ask me, and I’ll contact her.”

  He smiled politely. “I meant more directly. As in, is it possible to bypass you?”

  It took her a moment to understand his words, and even then, she didn’t notice his true meaning.

  “If you need to see her, she’s in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. You can go to her any time those days.”

  With that answer not being good enough, the curious man questioned about the current day. “Where is she on Fridays?”

  “Oh, uh, I don’t know.” She hesitantly answered. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d need to see her today. The plan is to get to know each other, see what direction we’d like to go in, and assign group roles. She’ll be in on Tuesday.”

  “That’ll be after the weekend.”

  “I-I don’t follow.”

  The quiet man let out a complicated sigh. It held a hint of frustration, annoyance, and boredom, but the other man let it slide, too preoccupied with his possible adventure.

  The lone woman began to feel surrounded by the men, even though they hadn’t moved. She burst out with the first thing that came to mind to ease the pressure she was feeling.

  “We’re just waiting for one more.” The young manager announced to the already impatient men.

  “Let’s start without him.” One spoke monotonously. “If he can’t be here on time, he shouldn’t be here at all.”

  The manager was a little taken aback by his attitude, but she flicked through her clipboard and calmly asked.

  “Lio, was it? We can’t start without him. He’s just as important as the rest of you.” She rubbed her neck. With money worries on her mind, she’d been tossing and turning all night. Her life pretty much depended on this job.

  Seeing her actions, another one of the males approached her and held out his hand.

  “Mark. Need a hand?” Without waiting for an answer, he moved behind her and began rubbing her neck. “This’ll help pass the time, too.”

  Not caring about the others at present, Lio took out a cigarette. Before he could light it, the manager rushed over, escaping Mark’s grip.

  “No, don’t light it in here!”

  “This can’t be the right place…”

  A new voice was heard from the entrance, which caused everyone to turn towards them.

  “Ah! Sasha?!” She rushed up to the new arrival. “Finally!”

  “Chris.” He nodded at her, then looked to the other men and spoke as his gaze fell on each of them. “Lio. Mark. Thought we were meant to be working, not playing.”

  “We were waiting for you.” Mark raised his voice.

  “Should’ve started without me.”

  Ignoring Chris’ words, Lio lit the cigarette. “Tsk.”

  From outside the room, footsteps were heard, shortly after followed by the appearance of another young man. This man’s black hair was a striking contrast to Sasha’s.

  The blond man wasted no time greeting him, too. “Yue.”