Yes, Miss Manoban

CHAPTER 10

It's confirmed. The girl Joshua accidentally kissed in the airport was none other than Astrid Manoban—his new boss. The woman who lashed out and slapped the living daylights out of him was Asher Jung's beloved half-sister.

A week had passed and things were quite awkward. But at least his secret hasn't been exposed—yet. And right now, the young miss didn't seem to have any problems adjusting. Except for the fact that almost everyone in the company is scared of her "intimidating" aura.

Day after day Miss Manoban enters the building like she was on a fashion show. One time she wore this silk slip-on dress with a slit that was around half a foot from her hips and paired it off with boots. It didn't help that she had this matching coat on 'coz almost every male in the building couldn't function well that he even had to walk a few inches closer to her side fearing she might flash anyone. Or that other time she wore a pair of high-waisted jeans and a Versace crop top during one of the board meetings that almost gave Director Cha a mild heart attack because of the "indecency" of the outfit. She had to use his suit jacket to at least look work appropriate. She hasn't returned it since.

And now, she's wearing a red suit jacket—with black lace frills, as a dress and a black conductor's hat. Her exposed legs made that one male intern collide with a colleague spilling his morning coffee on the poor guy's clothes.

"Can we start? I have a lunch appointment today," Miss Manoban said as they sat in front of the trainees to be assessed. She had this business-like tone that can be interpreted either as she's bored or she just wasn't interested at all.

"Yes, Miss Manoban," he answered signaling a couple of staff members and the trainees.

The first to perform was the girl group set to debut within the year. CEO Jung always had high hopes for the group for these set of girls are one of the eldest ones in the company.

"Girl Group team A called 'Ro5E'," he informed Miss Manoban making her raise an eyebrow as five girls stood in formation. "Their ages range from 17 as the youngest and 22 as the eldest. Set to debut five months from now."

"Five months, huh?" she said tapping on the clipboard he just handed her. "Let's see what they can do."

The music started and the girls showed the new CEO what they can do. And yes, they did not disappoint. Three years of intensive training—five for the eldest, really does show.

Miyeon—the main vocalist, hit her notes well and was able to deliver her lines smoothly. Saerin—the main dancer, showed everyone why she was chosen by CEO Jung himself. She could put even the current idol to shame with her crisp moves. Ahyoung—the rapper spat fire as she rapped in English in perfect pronunciation. Dahee and Bianca, both lead singers but the other one was the center, did their parts well and added color to the group. All in all, he can confidently say that they were ready. And he's sure they'll rake tons of supporters just by being Royal's little sisters.

"The company currently only has one idol group, correct?" the new CEO asked him as she twirled a pen on her fingers. "And one soloist?"

"Yes, Miss Manoban," he answered. "We were aiming to have a female group by the end of the year and a new boy group next year."

Miss Manoban just nodded and turned her attention to the profile sheets he gave her. She flipped through them while simultaneously throwing the performing girls a glance.

Halfway through the girl's performance, Miss Manoban raised her hand signaling the music to stop—her gaze stuck at the clipboard her other hand was holding.

"Miss Manoban?"

"Saerin-ssi?" she called one of the girls ignoring him. The eldest member—though startled, stepped forward. "You're the main dancer, am I correct?"

"Uhm, yes," the girl answered in a shaky, out-of-breath voice. Of course, it would be like that since she just danced her heart out.

"You're off the debut team," the CEO said shocking everyone in the room.

"Miss Ma—"

Miss Manoban threw him a glare, warning him not to interrupt. Poor Saerin looked crushed as her eyes started to water. But being the strong girl that she is—being the oldest one in the roster and the one who've been through a lot, did not give Miss Manoban the benefit of seeing her cry. Everyone inside the room—including the trainees, fell silent. And they pitied the girl.

"The remaining four girls' debut will be pushed to next year as we will be needing to replace Saerin-ssi," the CEO continued. He could see how Saerin bit her lip, trying to compose herself and not cry in front of everyone.

That's it. She can't just do that.

"I apologize but we cannot do that, Miss Manoban," he said earning everyone's attention. Even his boss raised an eyebrow at his audacity. "The debut has been scheduled and we've already released statements regarding Ro5e's upcoming debut. We're almost finished with the recording of their debut EP so we just can't afford to make sudden changes. Plus, Saerin's an incredibly talented trainee. We can't just let her go—"

"Who says anything about letting her go?" she cut him off. She stared blankly at him sending unknown shivers down his spine. Then she turned towards the girl. "She's to debut five months from now as a soloist. She's far too valuable to be trapped inside a mediocre group."

Joshua's mouth flew wide open the same time Saerin's eyes grew wide. Gasps could be heard from the other trainees as well as the other staff members. Miss Manoban remained unfazed and just crossed her leg while scanning the profile on her hand.

"Apart from her dancing, her voice is even better than the main singer," Miss Manoban continued. "She only needs to work on her rap and that's it. She's the perfect package. I've seen Royal's comeback album and there's one song she can sing with the group as a feature on one of their comeback stages."

"But Miss Manoban," he blurted out. "We cannot debut another soloist since we have Miss Serena—"

"And?"

"Wouldn't this cause an uproar with the fans? There could be a conflict with the supporters—"

"Then why debut a boy group next year, then?" She folded her arms as she stood up to face him. "They are different people. From what I've gathered, Miss Serena doesn't dance much, right? Then that's where Saerin-ssi would focus. They would also cater to a different age group as well as have different concepts."

The CEO took a step forward, eyes darted towards him. They were piercing through him almost through his soul. But there was this blankness in them too. Something he did not understand.

"I am not daft," she said in an authoritative manner. "I know talent when I see one. I know you do too but, you shouldn't let personal interests cloud your judgment. Am I right, Secretary Jeon?"

He froze.

What... what did she just say?