"...these are my terms."

It was a long speech. It was also a lengthy speech, as well as an unsettling one.

Because Daniel could not predict when he would have crossed the line. Was he asking for too much? Was he acting too arrogant for just a simple candidate?

No , he thought. All their efforts to recruit him could not have been in vain. All he had to do was pass the interview successfully.

He carefully observed the reactions of the people around him and waited for an answer.

They had entered a large office-like room with the man sent to guide him. This room had a soundstage behind a thick glass wall and a highly qualified system. Initially, Daniel thought he would be asked to sing and prepared himself for it, but it didn't turn out as he expected.

For a while they just sat on the armchairs in the corner of the room and waited. Not long after, a beautiful young woman entered. With the arrival of this woman, the interview finally began.

Daniel had spoken plainly. He said that his real intention was for his talented friend to be evaluated without prejudice.

He then demanded that business hours be flexible. The real trouble started here.

This request might be too much for a rookie. The probability of being rejected was very high. But it was this request that mattered most to him.

He was a cop on an active duty. There was no way he could get into this job if he wasn't going to leave when he wanted to.

Just as he had anticipated, the young woman hesitated for a while. But after hesitating as if something had occurred to her, she accepted his request without any further conditions.

Daniel did not expect the transaction to go so smoothly. He sighed with relief.

He now had a new job. He thought about what to say to Min Joon as he walked towards the company exit with mixed feelings. How could he explain the connection of being an idol to his mission?

Daniel was free in the details. As long as the mission was successfully completed, they didn't care much about what he was doing. But being an idol intern meant being in the spotlight, and that could spell trouble for some of his future jobs.

As a result, he wasn't considering going so far as to debut.

As he sighed in distress, he realized that the people around him had suddenly increased. He mingled with the crowd without realizing what was happening.

Very close to his ears, he heard several girls screaming. He was offended by it. He unconsciously looked where everyone was looking.

First came the cameramen with big equipment in their hands. Then paparazzi appeared, circling a man.

So someone famous came. It must be something normal around here, he thought. But he still wondered how famous the person who created so much turmoil must have been. He didn't have to worry too much.

The man who had been the center of attention finally emerged from the crowd. His pink hair was the most striking thing about him. He had a good build. His face was invisible because of the dark sunglasses and black mask he was wearing, but everyone knew who he was. DG.

Of course Daniel knew too. This man was a superstar. He looked at him with interest. He even tried to stand out a little in the crowd. He didn't know why he was doing this, but he was already in the front row when he realized it.

He watched as Dg took off his glasses and mask with his thin white fingers. Then something happened that he never expected.

Their eyes met.

Daniel felt trapped in that moment by a pair of hazel eyes. (I don't really know his eye color but hazel would suit him)

Neither Daniel nor the still-moving DG cut their eye contact. Instead, he smiled at Daniel as he passed right in front of him.

That smile was so short-lived that if someone had told Daniel that he was delusional and that DG hadn't smiled the whole time, he would have believed him.

Daniel just froze in place. As the crowd around him began to disperse, he finally regained consciousness and headed towards the exit.

No one noticed that their ears were red.
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The last thing Daniel expected was that he would get into big trouble at a grocery store with his friends.

This was the grocery store where he met Zack for the first time. It was pretty close to the school. That's why they used to go often. The cashier boy who was once bullied by Zack was rarely seen, as he mostly worked the night shift. So there was usually no problem.

Daniel thought that if they met the boy again, there would be no problem. Zack had changed a lot during his time with him. He was no longer bullying. At least he could spend time with Jiho and not be mean to him. By an optimistic eye, the two were 'almost' friends.

Daniel did not expect all of his thoughts to be proven that evening.

When they entered the grocery store in the afternoon, they found Jiho and the cashier boy arguing silently together. Daniel didn't know they were friends, but he had no intention of questioning that.

While they were doing their little shopping and getting ready to leave, they passed Jiho, who had been spying on them for a while.

Just as they were leaving the convenience store, Daniel stopped with a sigh.

"You know, Jiho, if you want to say something, you should do it before we go."

"Ah-?"

Jiho quickly raised his already bent head. After Daniel spoke, everyone stopped and looked at what was going on.

Jiho took a quick glance at the short boy next to him. The cashier boy nodded as if encouraging him. Jiho swallowed and jumped off the bench where he was sitting.

"Please help me!"

He appealed to everyone in his small group. But Daniel felt that he was looking specifically at him. He ignored this strange feeling. He turned to his friends.

"Why don't we just listen to him?"

So others, who thought they had nothing better to do, joined him.

They found out how Jiho got into gambling because of a 'friend' and is now in huge debt.

"What can we do? Or do you want money?" Zack asked a little sullenly. Mira sneakily elbowed his arm and looked sympathetically with Jiho.

"This is really bad, Jiho. Why don't you go to the police?"

"M-my family doesn't know about all this."

While they were arguing among themselves, Daniel stared at the cashier boy, lost in thought, who was trying to shrink his presence. Sensing his gaze, the boy was thoroughly embarrassed and shook his head negatively.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. He would have to talk to him privately. He had to find out if he was telling Jiho the truth that he was a cop.

He wasn't an idiot. He had noticed Jiho squinting at him as he talked about all the illegal business he was involved in. He knew something. And there was only one person who could tell him that: the cashier the person to whom he randomly told him secret.

He didn't blame either of them, though. They needed someone to ask for help. It was best if this person was a police officer who would cooperate with them and help them keep things a secret.

Finally he sighed and interrupted his still-talking friends,

"Leave this job to me."

"Huh?"

His friends instantly fell silent and looked at him. For a moment they questioned what they had heard.

"How are you going to handle it?"

Daniel put his hands in his pockets. He smiled, "Let's say I have connections."
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Wow. I feel like it took me too long to post this episode. (I've been waiting a long time for just the last 200 words.)

whatever . _ From now on we've moved into the more exciting half of the book - at least I guess so -

Also, I'm changing the title. 

I hope you like the chapter