Sevastyan
Sevastyan walked into BBB3’s headquarters, Ma and Oscar trailing him.
There wasn’t anyone at the front desk in the building’s lobby.
Sevastyan glanced around. The tile needed a deep cleaning and its grout reworked.
The ceiling was dusty and the HVAC vents in sight had brown dross hanging out of them. Sevastyan shook his head.
“Place is going to the dogs, boss,” Oscar muttered.
“It is,” Sevastyan agreed.
Ma slapped his hand over the bell on the desk. A harried-looking woman ran out of the back office and bowed. She looked suspiciously like she had been crying. “Welcome to BBB3. Do you have an appointment?” Her English was accented but highly passable.
Sevastyan raised an eyebrow and responded in the same language. “Tell Mr. Bak that Mr. Morosov is here to see him.”
The young woman paled a little and bowed deeply. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Bak is not accepting visitors right now. He’s in a meeting.”
“Mr. Bak always has time to see me.” Sevastyan leaned forward, reading her name tag, written in both English and Korean. “Just go tell him, Julie. I’ve been traveling for a very long time. Say it’s about 5N.”
She blanched and scuttled.
Bak Gyeong took a good five minutes to arrive. When he did, he was wiping at his lips with the back of his hand as if he’d just come from a late lunch. Three lackeys followed in rumpled suits.
Sevastyan frowned. Bak held out his hand. Sevastyan demurred, giving a nod instead. “I’m sure there’s somewhere we can speak privately.”
Julie translated Sevastyan's words from English to Korean.
Bak glanced around. “Sure. Sure.” He waved Sevastyan towards the hallway off to the left and into a warren of office cubicles set in a large room. The front had a large table, like a makeshift conference area. “What can I do for you?”
The place stank of cheap cleaning solutions and dust. There was grime on the edges of the plastic office chairs and the laminate on the table was separating from the particle board it covered.
“When I said private, I thought you would understand private,” Sevastyan murmured. Julie translated again. “I’m here to inspect the facilities, to make sure there won’t be any more difficulties with our investments.”
“Ah, that. Yes. No, they are quite ready.”
“Then let’s see them.” Sevastyan glanced around the office space. Only half the cubicles at best were full and no one looked happy to be there. One of them had a sign in French that read, “Work and die, then be happy.”
The dorms were worse. From the outside they appeared to be set up to “protect the trainees” but there was little difference between some of the places Rei had lived under the Merchari and this.
Every level of security was designed to keep people in, more than to keep them out.
Sevastyan paused to observe a dance class in progress.
The youngest in the room might have been twelve, the oldest sixteen.
All the kids looked tired and wary, and not just because of the physical exertion.
One of the trainers slapped one of the kids in the face.
The kid winced and dropped her head, not moving or responding in any other way.
“Where’s 4deeUlt?” Sevastyan asked, referring to BBB3’s headliner girl group.
“Variety show.” Bak smiled widely. “They’re doing well, quite well. Focusing on them has been one of my better decisions.”
You don’t have any choice but to focus on them, idiot. Sevastyan kept the thought to himself.
“We have another group due to debut in six months,” Bak Gyeong went on blithely. “Girl group. Very good dancers. Two of them are already popular.” He even tried to translate the word popular into English himself, avoiding Julie, but his accent was atrocious.
“How many in total?”
“Five.” Bak smiled widely.
“I’ll need their names and information. We don’t want any surprises. Actually, send over files on all groups and trainees. Photos included.”
Bak led the way to the top floor, through more locked doors and into a small wing. “We’ve located everything for 5N here. Full control, of course.”
It was a prison, one that Sevastyan himself did not feel good about stepping inside, not that he was going to show any fear in front of Bak Gyeong.
The windows could not be opened. The beds did not have blankets, only bottom sheets.
The individual rooms did not have doors, though the hinges where they should have been were visible.
“This will be the initial setup,” Bak Gyeong explained, using his phone to translate. Julie had excused herself before entering the area. “Once we’re sure we have complete control, we’ll extend and refurbish, of course.”
Sevastyan motioned Ma to take pictures. “How do you intend to handle public appearances?”
Bak Gyeong grinned. He motioned Sevastyan down the hall to the entrance and opened a drawer. Inside were what looked like collars for cats. On the inside were metal prongs. Bak Gyeong grinned but didn’t explain, trusting Sevastyan to understand.
Shock anklets. Sevastyan kept his face impassive.
“How do you intend to handle mental health? Performers require a certain amount of public presence.”
“BBB3 has retained the services of a very good psychiatrist,” Bak Gyeong puffed up his chest. “When they need to look happy, they’ll look happy.”
Sevastyan narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Bak was an idiot if he thought fans weren’t going to notice. Fans noticed everything in this industry, even things that weren’t there.
“So when will my boys be back?” Bak Gyeong asked.
Sevastyan frowned. “They’ll be back when they are back.”
“I need to make plans. It’s been almost two months since they left. How much more time do the Merchari need?”
Sevastyan swung around and stared down at the shorter man, speaking in fluent Korean.
“Mr. Bak, you are fortunate that your head is on your shoulders. Quibble about the timeline and that can change. Perhaps while you are rethinking your questions, you would care to explain your arrangement with 5N’s secondary investor. The one you pay before you pay us.”
Bak Gyeong’s eyes widened. “They are lies. Just corporate structuring blown out of proportion.”
“So the arrest of Bak Sahyuk out in California impacted you not at all.”
Bak Gyeong stilled like a cornered mouse. “What do you mean?”
“With Bak Sahyuk in prison, I’m certain more of the income from 5N will properly be going towards paying your debts.”
Bak Gyeong forced a chuckle. “There are many expenses in a business like this. The makeup artists, the trainers, food, taxes . . .”
Sevastyan held up his hand, cutting Bak Gyeong off. “We shall see. I’m sure my investigation will be more explanatory than your babble.”