Chapter 03: Why Do I Have To Be So... Lucky?

Upon opening the door of 2NDARY's room, Hero and Aurelie only encounter two of the members there; the group leader and Don Jon of 2NDARY which is Ken, and the quiet and calm member named KJ who is relaxing on the sofa while on his headphones and phone.

"Guys, where's everybody?" Hero's voice took the two men's attention, mostly Ken who quickly smiled upon seeing his friend.

Hero and Ken approached each other before doing a brotherly hug, accompanied with a pat on each other's back. It seemed to Aurelie that Hero wasn't able to hang out with them based on how they approach one another, same as what happened earlier with the SRPNT members.

"Bro, I'm pretty sure that you know how much of a loiterer the members of 2NDARY are. It's in the natural genes because they're everywhere," Ken said before glancing at Aurelie. "You could see them lurking around the halls."

Ken also quickly turned his full attention after seeing Aurelie who was just mindlessly observing him while he's having a conversation with Hero. But now she's feeling nervous as Ken gently takes her right hand.

"Hei, kaunis tyttö." Ken sweetly kissed her hand like a gentleman.

Aurelie glanced at Hero who was just looking at them. He noticed she was simply asking for help, seen in her eyes.

"Ken is a Suomi or Finn since he's from Finland," Hero said before looking back at Ken. "Did you just say 'hello, beautiful girl' to her?"

"That is right." Ken let go of Aurelie's hand and smiled.

She nodded at him before she felt someone walk from behind and suddenly whispered to her left ear.

The voice is a little deep and husky. "Welcome..."

Aurelie stepped back as she was surprised to see Sho, one of the multi talented members of 2NDARY. He is the main vocalist, the rapper, and he is also good at dancing.

"Sho, you scared her!" He was followed by Nelson who seemed to be black-Asian and is also the other multi talented member next to Sho.

The two approached the tables as Sho took off his black leather jacket before hanging it on the dresser.

"Well, she immediately caught my attention. I thought I should make an impression ASAP." Sho glanced at Aurelie again before taking a seat on one of the monoblock chairs available.

Someone suddenly tapped Aurelie on the shoulder and she saw a meek-looking man who also looked cute when smiling. "Hello! I'm Timothy. You looked so young."

Aurelie smiled at his compliment. "Thank you. But, I'm 29."

"REALLY???" Majority of them asked her in chorus which made her chuckle.

As soon as the members of 2NDARY gathered, Hero noticed that there seemed to be someone else missing from them.

"Where is Asher this time?" Hero asked them.

"He must be really busy in the cafeteria," Ken said.

"What the heck is he even doing there? Is he the new chef?" Sho asked in a ridiculous voice.

"Isn't he getting a heart attack? I always see him eating steak every lunch," Hero said.

"Well, technically it's because of the Crying Tiger Steak from Lunch 'N Roll," Timothy replied. "Do you know that Thai-style grilled steak?"

Hero frowned at them. "But, it was supposed to be served every Monday and Friday only. Is he getting some of it today?"

They all shrugged at him.

Hero sighed as he glanced at Aurelie who's just quietly listening to their usual conversation. "Anyway, guys. This is Aurie. The new member of the MBS family."

Sho waved at Aurelie paired with a smile. "Hello! I'm Sho."

"I'm Ken. The most handsome in 2NDARY. Don't you ever forget that, Aurie." 

Everyone laughed after Ken's introduction. 

Hero shook his head. "Your shamelessness is really out of this world, Ken."

"And why? Who else do you think is the attractive looking guy in our group?" Ken asked them. "Even our juniors admire me."

"Oh please, stop… are you trying to be gay again?" Sho contradicted him.

"How can you tell right away that I'm being gay again just because I find Leon cute? Who can deny that they find him cute? He's one of our juniors, come on!" Ken defended himself.

"Why don't you guys stop talking about that? KJ's getting irritated again," Nelson interfered between the two.

They all looked at KJ who was just standing up from his seat, still yawning as he walked closer going towards the door which is near to Hero and Aurelie.

"Why are you people always being so noisy? I can't even concentrate," KJ told them. "Jerks."

"Concentrate on what? Sleeping?" Ken asked him.

"Hell yeah..."

KJ looked at Aurie before he stopped walking. She was shocked when he gently patted her head and smiled simply.

"Welcome to the family. I'm KJ. My advice to you," KJ turned to look at Ken. "Don't mind them, especially Ken."

Aurelie nodded at him as he removed his hand above her head. She was left staring at him and admiring his gentleness.

"You're such a killjoy, KJ!" Ken scolded him. "Oh, wait. KJ is the abbreviation of killjoy."

KJ shook his head lamely as he ignored them and then he walked out of the 2NDARY's room.

"Kindly excuse KJ for today. He's a nice guy. But, when it comes to sleeping, he's going to go very serious about it. Sometimes he tells a joke that has a bit of a truth," Sho told Aurelie.

"Okay," Aurelie said. "But, which is the truth in what he said exactly?"

"The part that we're all jerks," Ken replied.

Everyone began laughing again as if they're making fun of themselves.

"Alright, everyone. Thank you for making time to meet Aurie today. We still have a few more groups to visit, might as well make an official announcement for the groups she will soon handle," Hero explained to them.

"Sure, no problem," Ken said.

"Anytime," Timothy added.

Hero and Aurelie were about to leave the room when the door suddenly opened and Asher unconsciously burped right in front of them while holding his bottled water.

"Shit, Asher. As always..." Ken exclaimed while laughing at Asher.

Asher snickered before giving Hero a brother hug. "Sorry, I was really full."

After hugging, Hero introduced Asher to Aurelie. "By the way, this is Asher..."

"Hello. It's nice to meet you," Aurelie greeted Asher kindly.

Asher slightly waved at her before trying to open the cap of his bottled water. "Hey. So what did I miss?"

"The girl right in front of you is Aurie, our new MBS family member," Ken told him.

Asher smiled at her. "Wow, welcome to the fam! Why do you look so young, baby girl?"

Aurelie smiled back at him. "I get that a lot. Thanks. You're a good-looking man."

Asher raised his eyebrows and side-pointed at Aurelie while looking at Ken as if he's trying to tease him. "I told you, I'm the most attractive in the group and yet you're trying to claim the spot endlessly."

"Oh, Aurie. Why'd you betray me?" Ken started acting dramatically.

"Alright, bye!" Hero cut them before completely leaving the 2NDARY's room.

As soon as the two got out, Hero checked up on Aurelie after all the overwhelming commotions that had happened in the room.

"So, what do you think of them?" Hero asked.

"They're much more playful than SRPNT members. They also like to tease and nag one another which is quite funny," Aurelie explained based on what she has observed. 

They continued walking further up the building until they came across the MBS Entree Room or E.R. for short, where the interior looks like a combination of a buffet-style restaurant, cafe shop, and a bar. It's very wide for the majority of the artists even in groups alongside the company staff to fit.

"Whoa…" Aurelie exclaimed in awe. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Would you like to go inside Asher's favorite place?" Hero asked her.

Aurelie looked at him and smiled. "If it won't be a bother, I would love to see what's inside."

"Alright, I'll show you." Hero rested his right hand on Aurelie's back as a support as they both entered the wide modern cafeteria.

Once you get inside the cafeteria, you will not assume that you are in the company where you're working as a minimum wage employee. Instead, you will feel the hotel atmosphere better because of the nice interior design of the cafeteria.

Whoever the designer of this place did a good job since he had considered the seven important elements of interior design; space, line, form, light, color, texture and pattern. A perfect balance of these elements would be vital to every scheme.

When touring the whole place, anyone will be familiar with it somehow because its concept is almost similar to the food court of malls. There are many paths and detours, but no one will get lost… unless that person is really an idiot.

"This place is open for all the artists and staff of the company. They are allowed to have common conversations and interactions during breaktime," Hero said.

They continued to roam around the area as the employees quietly greeted Hero as they saw a glimpse of him.

"I noticed there are four branded services," Aurelie told Hero.

"Yes. We have Dawn Grub for breakfast, Lunch N' Rolls for lunch, and Night Supper for dinner. We also have Side Street as a snack bar," Hero stated.

"Do they serve altogether?"

"No, actually they have a schedule as to when they will open for service or not. For example…" Hero led her towards the open counter under Lunch 'N Roll. "Their services included meals for lunch. You can see their menu on the top board."

Aurelie looked at the Lunch 'N Roll's menu board that has the color combination of brown, yellow, and orange. It also included starters, main menu, desserts, and beverages. However, she quickly noticed the crying tiger steak that the 2NDARY has been talking about earlier.

She pointed at the board. "Is that the steak Asher loved so much?" 

"Yes. Would you like to try some?"

She glanced at Hero after his question. "Is it allowed?"

"Yes. We have a free taste of the meals here."

Hero called the attention of one of the servers from the Lunch 'N Roll crew. A server named Billy approached them with a beaming smile.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Hero?" Billy asked. "And for you too, ma'am."

"The beautiful lady with me would like to have a free taste of your Crying Tiger Steak," Hero said.

Billy clapped his hands once before acknowledging their request. "It's a good thing that Mr. Asher had reserved a few pieces and told us to give it to those who might want it."

"Really? He's not so greedy after all," Hero commented while roaming his sight around the rest of the menu boards.

Aurelie thought about what Hero said, as well as what she heard Billy say about what Asher did. Asher requested for a special order of steak to distribute to those who may not have tasted it. 

Billy reached out two small sticks with a small piece of steak on each for both Hero and Aurelie to have a taste.

"Thank you, Billy." Hero took both sticks, before giving the other to Aurelie.

They took a bite of the whole piece and chewed slowly, carefully and deeply tasting all the spices in it. 

"Wow…" Aurelie almost felt choking. "That was kinda spicy."

Hero nodded at her while still chewing the piece of meat in his mouth.

"Is it a beef brisket?" Aurelie asked Billy.

"That's right. It's juicy, isn't it?" Billy asked happily.

"Yes. And I can also taste a bit of savory, tangy, and pungent flavor," Aurelie added. "What are the spices included?"

"It has the Jaew sauce which is a spicy, savory, tangy, aromatic, and pungent Thai sauce," Billy explained.

"Wow. Chef Milo must have been really training you well that it comes to the point you've memorized the dish," Hero told him proudly. "Good job."

Billy grinned shyly. "Thank you, Mr. Hero."

Hero and Aurelie looked at each other, still can't believe they've tasted the steak that Asher's been in love with ever since.

"Now, I know why Asher's getting so addicted to this." Hero smiled.

"Yes. And I think the sauce is full of textures with flakes of dried chili and nubby bits of ground toasted rice," Aurelie said.

"Oh! How did you know, ma'am?" Billy was surprised.

"W-Well," Aurelie chuckled. "Let's just say I'm quite a foodie myself."

The three shared a laugh.

"I mean, who wouldn't be. Right?" Billy said happily.

"By the way, thank you for your assistance, Billy. Send my greetings to Chef Milo," Hero said. "We'll be heading out now."

Billy informally saluted him. "Yes, sir. Thank you for coming. And it's nice meeting you, ma'am."

"It's nice meeting you too. Thank you." Aurelie smiled before waving her hand to say goodbye to Billy.

Right after Hero showed Aurelie the main cafeteria, they went to the last room in Building B which is the BROTHERS' room that has an acronym of BROS.

But, before Hero could even hold the door handle, it suddenly opened and the group's famous member had come out while holding his phone. He was shocked and quickly drew an attractive smile at the two.

"Sir Hero. What brings you here?" 

"How are you doing, Jareth?" Hero asked him.

"Oh, please just call me Red. I'm not really that comfortable when you call me with my first name," he said before glancing at Aurelie.

Because Aurelie didn't know how to react after seeing the true descendant of Adonis (insert sarcasm), she was left blank-faced while staring at Red. Meanwhile, he couldn't help but throw his signature smile at her - a smile that shows his teeth as the left side of his lips curved slightly higher, almost similar to a semi-smirk - before looking at Hero again.

Hero nodded at him. "Alright, Red. Is everybody inside the room? I would like to introduce someone new to the BROS."

"I see. Well, they're not that busy… yet. And I'm just going to head to the restroom," Red said before opening the door for them. "You may come inside."

"Thank you." Hero entered first.

Before Aurelie could have completely followed him going inside, she saw Red stare at her again which almost made her secretly blush.

"Aurie, come in." Her attention was caught by Hero's voice, the reason she looked away from Red as the door closed.

What was that? The way Red stared at her was like… mesmerizing and it made her heart beat fast. Although it wasn't as fast as when she saw Ryota from the poster earlier.

Aurelie got out of her trance when she heard the loud cheering of the rest of the members inside after seeing Hero. "SIR!!!" 

"How is everyone? Are there any new songs to release?" Hero asked them. "Ryuji?"

"Don't worry, sir. I have been composing a few pieces with Harlem recently," replied Ryuji, the guy who has a bit of a natural pouty lips and silver-dyed hair.

"Speaking of Harlem, where is he?" Hero asked them.

"He's at the recording studio for his own composition," Ryuji said.

Aurelie noticed another Asian-African-American member named Elias had shown up but this time, he was a bit chubbier than 2NDARY's Nelson.

"What's going on, sir?" Elias asked the president.

"I would like to introduce Aurie as a new member of MBS Family," Hero said.

The rest of the members approached them to take a closer look at Aurelie. She was shocked when the tallest member took her hand and did the handshake with her.

"How are you? I'm Naoki."

Since Aurelie was left dumbfounded after what Naoki did, they all let out a laugh. Naoki smiled at her and even his eyes were smiling at her.

"Hi, Aurie. My name is Nate and I'm one of the leaders of BROS alongside Naoki," the smallest member from the group said, although not literally the smallest.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you," Aurelie said. "But, did you just say two leaders?"

"That's right. You know, BROS are sometimes troublemakers. That's why we need to have strong authorities to put the children in the right lane," Naoki replied with a poker face.

"Are you already familiar with any of us?" Elias asked her.

"Well, I only know Naoki, Nate, and Ryuji. I'm not sure about the others," Aurelie said kindly.

"I'm Elias and this not so typical quiet guy beside me is Jiro."

Jiro suddenly hit him on his nape playfully. "What do you mean by a not so typical quiet guy? Do you have a problem with me?"

Elias suddenly laughs because of Jiro. "Why? Am I wrong? You were really quiet today. And it's very unusual because you're so noisy all the time."

"I can vouch for that," Naoki said as he raised his hand.

Jiro turned to him. "Naoki?!"

Nate started laughing as well as he tried to stop them from quarreling. "Bros, focus. We still have Sir Hero and Aurie here."

"Both Harlem and Red weren't here," Ryuji said. "Well, Red said he's just going to the restroom."

"Yes. We just encountered him earlier," Hero replied.

Their attention went to Red as he entered the room again after getting back from the restroom. He noticed them looking at him as his glance immediately went to Aurelie.

"Hello again," he greeted her.

Aurelie wasn't able to respond quickly as Nate took over immediately by introducing Red while he went to get his face towel from a chair.

"We have Red in the house now," Nate told Aurelie. "He's the reason why we have women as fans. His charisma and seductive gaze will surely swoon every female that BROS encounters."

"You know that's not true!" Red said as he wiped his face, then his hands. He glanced at them before trying to approach them once again.

Red fixed his gaze towards Aurelie and smiled at her again which almost made her out of her senses again, staring at him.

"I'm Red." He reached out his hand in front of Aurelie. "And you are?"

It took her a few seconds before getting back to her senses and gulped nervously. "I'm Aurelie. You may call me Aurie."

She took his handshake and couldn't believe how firm it was. It only tells her that Red has the positive personality traits of being confident and energetic. The skin of his hands tends to feel dry which suggests him to be athletic and active, but still has a sensitive side.

Upon letting go of each other's hands, Elias interfered with them. "Eww, Red! Did you even wash your hands?"

Red approached him and jokingly punched him in the arm.

"It hurts!" Elias exclaimed at him.

Ryuji suddenly came up with a question for the president. "Is she a new artist?"

"Sadly, no..." Hero glanced at Aurie while she was looking down.

"Harlem's been talking about doing collaborations with new artists just recently," Ryuji continued. "So, I kinda thought Aurie would give him or us a chance."

"I'm sure Aurie will arrive at that point in her career in the future. Let's not rush things yet," Hero said.

"But, is she single?" Jiro suddenly asked which brought them all to silence.

And there goes them breaking the silence after bursting into laughter.

Jiro waves his hands left and right like he's saying no. "I'm just kidding! I just wanted to brighten up her mood since she's looking very shy."

"Are you that desperate when it comes to your love life, Jiro?" Hero teased him accompanied with the rest of BROS members' laughter again.

Jiro couldn't help but scratch the back of his head while grinning with guilt. "It's not that."

Hero clapped his hands to gather their attention once more. "Alright. BROS, let's meet up at the PERGYM. Do not forget, okay?" 

"Yes sir. See you there," Nate replied.

Hero looked at Aurelie. "Let's go."

Aurelie nodded at him and he opened the door.

"Bye Aurie!" Everyone at BROS greeted her as she walked out of their room. "Nice to meet you!" 

As soon as they got out of the BROS' room, they encountered Veronica waiting outside. She quickly approached them.

"Sir, I apologize for my sudden intervention, but the stockholders are already here for the meeting you've set with them three days ago," Veronica told Hero.

The reaction on Hero's face suddenly changed and it seemed a bit sad because his tour around the whole building with Aurelie would be delayed.

He nodded at Veronica in acknowledgement. "I understand. I will be there, but first we need someone to help me continue the tour for Aurie."

"Sir," Aurelie called. "It's alright. I mean, it's fine if the tour ends here. I can just go home now."

Before Hero could even respond, Red went out of the BROS' room once again and was busy on his phone.

"Red!" Hero started calling him.

Red looked up from his phone and turned towards them. He pointed at himself before approaching both Hero and Aurelie.

"Did you forget something, sir?" Red asked Hero.

"Actually, I would like to ask for a favor." Hero put his arms around Red's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Can you help me continue the tour for Aurie?"

"Huh?!" Aurelie was caught thinking out loud which made them look at her in surprise. So, she just smiled at them awkwardly.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Red asked. "I mean, I don't mind but I was just wondering."

"The CEO will have his meeting with the stockholders, that's why," Veronica suddenly interfered.

Red nodded. "Alright. I'll gladly accept, sir."

Gladly accepted?! That's what Aurelie was thinking. Now that it was Red's turn to tour her around, she couldn't help but overthink. She didn't even know what the staring that Red had given her earlier was for!

Hero pats both Red and Aurelie on their backs. "Enjoy each other's company."

Before Aurelie could even think of saying another word, Hero and Veronica already started walking away from them.

Aurelie was left nervous while Red was just calm. She also couldn't even look at him who immediately looked at her.

"Shall we continue?" Aurelie almost flinched upon hearing Red's voice. She awkwardly glanced at him and smiled before nodding.