The limousine drifted to the edge of the street, parking on the outskirts of a dimly lit neighborhood. A man dressed in all black exited the vehicle and held the door open from the other side, one leather dress shoe stepping out onto the pavement, followed by another, revealing Nijiaki. He unhooked the sunglasses pinned to his collar and flicked his wrist, slipping them on in one motion. 

The alleyways of the neighborhood were all concrete. High, grimy walls stood between the houses with grass that lost its color crawling from the cracks. Each house had its own gateway, except for the one Nijiaki and his escort arrived at. Just as the man he spoke over the phone with said, there would be men outside waiting for him. But when he appeared in front of them, they wore looks of confusion, as if that conversation never happened. 

Nijiaki made eye contact with each of them, cleared his throat, and trembled on the choice of whether to bow or not. In the end, he stuck with a slight one. “Greetings,” he said, shining his phone screen to them. “I have permission to come in.” 

The email on his screen was sent by Rei, who was technically the founder of the Cross Road Kings, but was only considered to be one of the five leaders. The men’s faces were unchanging. Nonetheless, they made their way towards the door and performed a pattern of knocking that lasted an awful long time—about forty seconds or so. 

The front door rattled, each lock being audibly unbuckled, before swiftly opening. They ushered Nijiaki and his escort forth and were taken hostage in a swarm of members who pushed them towards a specific stretch of the house. In seconds, they landed in an office type room that was void of light from the dark oak that soaked it up. 

There were two men waiting at the desk that the room centered around, one of them leaning against the window with thick maroon curtains, matching his long, mane-like hair.  The one in the business chair must have been Rei. But the moment their eyes met, again, it was as if he was an unexpected guest. His eyes shifted to the side, his bridged hands holding up his head. 

“You… I should have known,” he grumbled.

“‘You?’” Nijiaki took the seat across from Rei and swiped his sunglasses from his face. “What’s wrong? Did you have another Kaneko in mind?”

“You brought sunglasses but not a hat to cover up that silver hair of yours?” He leaned back in his seat. “I’m not interested in business with you. Go,” he scowled with a hand gesturing to the door.

“Wait!” He put up his arms. “I’m not just offering money in exchange for your services. I have intel from the Prisms, you see.” 

“Oho, is that so?” Rei folded his hands again, a thin smile crawling up his face. “Continue.”

His shoulders sunk, clearing his throat. He had his attention, now he just needed to present his case. Fake confidence. “You do what I ask of you, and I’ll give you anonymous tips about Adachi. If that’s not enough, I’ll dig into the other executives for you.” 

He slapped the edge of the desk and crossed his arms, a smile on his face at all times, sealing the deal in his head then and there. His lines were executed to their best potential. Now to hear the word—

“No,” Rei told him with a throaty chuckle. “Get out.” 

“Huh?!” He jumped up. “What good are you? Were you expecting me to offer my fame?! You had the chance to talk to a celebrity and you told me to get out instead, you—”

Nijiaki turned to his escort and grabbed his arm. “Sir, I’m leaving. Take me out of here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Plan B initiated: attack him with guilt. Just like in shows, the second he takes a step out the door, Rei will beg him to stay. 

The escort led him to the door and stepped aside to open it for Nijiaki’s convenience. He marched out, a raised chin controlling his cocky demeanor, and with a smug voice Rei said, “Have a safe trip.”

His heart. Shattered. Was it audible?!

He stormed out of the place. These gangsters were liars! Despicable people!

Chorei sighed goofily as he waggled a pen between his fingers. Thiha clutched the back of his chair and bent over with laughter, slapping his knee dramatically, before Chorei smacked his wrist.

“Ow! If you just told me to stop—”

“Shh!” He held his wrist, tilting his ear to the direction of the door. 

The slightest crack was leftover from Nijiaki’s rage, leaking the noise of a camera coming from the hallway. Chorei quietly got up and made it to the door, slipping his head through, and followed a trail of giggles with his eyes. Banlue was hiding behind a doorway, texting at the speed of sound. 

His phone was plucked from his hands. “What?” He looked up and saw Chorei reading his conversations, immediately reaching out. “What are you doing?! Nosy!”

Chorei slightly lifted his arm to stay out of Banlue’s reach as he read. It was a group chat between Bul, Reoni, Kip, and him. Banlue sent several photos of Nijiaki storming through the hallways with his sunglasses covering his fierce eyes, but his pursed lips were enough to convey the anger. 

Banlue: LMAO, Rei pissed off a celebrity guys… Uh oh! 

Reoni: No… Not Nijiaki! I wanted his autograph!!! 

Bul: WHAT! Is that really him?!? Run after him!! … Jun is eyeing me weird :(

“Tch.” He shoved Banlue’s phone back in his chest and walked away. 

Banlue’s lips formed a circle to force him not to smile. He checked to make sure Chorei was fully gone before he texted the group chat again.

Reo… Someone’s jealous…