Chapter One

At 5:15 am, an older man named Mr. Kim Tae-Hyun sped down the streets of Seoul in his black sports car. In his driver seat was his long time friend Darien Richards. They were headed to his most valuable client as well as his most troubled, Oh Hwa-Sung. Hwa-Sung, aka Mr. Sexy, is one of the most notable Korean male artists since the early 90’s. His hit song “Fire of the Dragon” made history when it stayed at the top of the Oricon Charts three weeks in a row and his world renowned self entitled tour “Sexy” has sold out four months in advance.

It was an understatement to say that Hwa-Sung was no strangers to success, especially since he had no problem letting everyone know it. Arrogance is Hwa-Sung’s most prevalent fault, second only to his laziness.

Fifteen minutes ago, Mr. Kim received a phone call from Hwa-Sung’s chauffer Joon-Jae. Apparently Hwa-Sung was no where to be found. He was not answering his door or his phone and he hadn’t arrived at the interview location. After receiving the call, Mr. Kim rushed out of his house with his friend Richards beside him and drove to the celebrity’s home. He had planned on introducing Hwa-Sung to Richards sometime today and thought that getting it done early seemed to be the best idea.

Mr. Kim grabbed his cell phone before dialing Hwa-Sung’s number.

“Hello?” Hwa-Sung’s groggy voice answered the phone.

“Hwa-Sung, what are you still doing in bed? You have an interview in a few hours!” Mr. Kim shouted in panic. He gripped the steering wheel tightly in his hands and tilted his head to the side a bit more to make sure that his cellular phone was secure in its place.

“It only takes thirty minutes to get dressed. I’m not a woman.” Hwa-Sung said. His voice was slightly muffled because it was still buried in his feather pillow.

“No,” Mr. Kim agreed. “You are not a girl but you’re going to be late for the interview. Not only do you have to get dressed but you have to get down to the studio, which is thirty minutes away, get in the make-up chair…” Hwa-Sung began to tune out Mr. Kim’s nagging because of both sleepiness and just plain boredom. He let a yawn pass between his lips, angering Mr. Kim on the other end.

“Hello?! Hwa-Sung, get up now! I’m on my way to pick you up. I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

“That’s ok Tae-Hyun. I’ve been with enough women last night. I’m too tired for that right now. Bring them by later on tonight.”

“He’s not for you to have sex with. He’s a new colleague of mine that I would like for you to meet.” Mr. Kim whispered into the phone so his companion would not hear that part of the conversation but he doubted it by the sour look that came across his friend’s face.

“I really don’t have time for this right now Tae-Hyun. I have an interview today.”

“I know that!” Mr. Kim shouted in frustration. He let out a deep, well controlled sigh in order to calm himself down. “Just be ready by the time I get there.”

“Ok, just make sure you come three hours from now. I should be ready by them.”

“Hwa-Sung, you can’t keep acting like this.”

“Oh Yea?” Hwa-Sung said smartly. “Who’s going to stop me?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What the hell?” Hwa-Sung shouted in protest as he was pulled out of bed and onto the floor. He jumped up before brushing his long dark hair out of his fiery black eyes and faced the culprit. Hwa-Sung was surprised to see two people, one was Mr. Kim and the other was a young man of African decent dressed in what looked like American military garments. Temporarily putting the young man out of his mind, Hwa-Sung gave his full attention to a smug looking Mr.Kim.

“He is,” was all that came out of Mr. Kim’s mouth.

“He is what?” Hwa-Sung asked tiredly. He sat down on his bed but was stopped by the young man that accompanied Mr. Kim. The army brat held onto Hwa-Sung’s arm tightly, affectively stopping him in his tracks. Hwa-Sung glared at the man before sizing him up. He was short, at least compared to Hwa-Sung, about 5’9”. His facial features were effeminate, although Hwa-Sung couldn’t be sure. The camouflage cap that covered his head caused a large shadow to cast over the man’s face. Hwa-Sung also couldn’t get a clear read of his captor’s build because of the large uniform that the army brat wore but he guessed that the build was muscular. The mystery man seemed to be around Hwa-Sung’s age or a few years younger which meant that he couldn’t have been in the military for long. “Who the hell is this?”

“This,” Mr. Kim began proudly, “is Mr. Richards. He’s highly trained in various styles of hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, and he is very handy with a computer. Mr. Richards is also your new body guard and the person that will make you as passionate about other aspects of your career as you are about singing and dancing.”

“Aaaish, do you actually expect me to go along with this?!” Hwa-Sung asked incredulously. He snatched his arm free and stormed past both Mr. Richards and Mr. Kim into his private bathroom. Unabashedly he began using the toilet in front of his company.

“You have no choice. Don’t look at me like that, you don’t have a choice. When you signed my contract you agreed to do whatever I say, exactly when I say it.”

“And how’s that contract been working for you so far?” Hwa-Sung asked arrogantly. He leaned his head back as if he was in ecstasy before letting out a long sigh. He then shook his privates before tucking it back into his pajama pants and flushed the toilet. “I’m not some pet that you can control.”

“There wouldn’t be a need to control you if you would listen for once and do as I say!” Mr. Kim exploded. Hwa-Sung stared at Mr. Kim’s now red face and smirked.

“That’s being controlling Tae-Hyun.”

“Didn’t anyone teach you to respect your elders?” Mr. Kim grounded out through his teeth in an attempt to regain control over his emotions.

“They did but, like the rebellious type that I am, I didn’t listen. Besides, why should I respect someone that doesn’t respect me?” Hwa-Sung asked seriously. Mr. Kim’s mouth began to move rapidly but words ceased to escape. “What?” Hwa-Sung taunted while washing his hands.

“I have always shown you respect.” Mr. Kim said slowly.

“The hell you did!” Hwa-Sung turned away from the faucet and to the two other men. “I have busted my ass for you for years and you have the decency to come into my home and tell me that you hired some GI Joe to babysit me?” Hwa-Sung gestured heatedly at Mr. Richards. “Where’s the respect in that huh? Where’s the trust?”

“What reason have you given me to trust you? For the past six months you have been late to all of your interviews and TV appearances. You go out partying all night. Hell, I swear that your dance skills are slip—“

“Don’t even finish that sentence if you know what’s good for you.” Hwa- Sung threatened as he took a step towards Mr. Kim. Although Hwa-Sung was known to be brazen and sometimes cold hearted, there was one thing in the world that he was passionate about and that was his worth as an entertainer. Hwa-Sung’s skills as a performer were extraordinary. Some people have even called him the New Millennium’s Michael Jackson because of the power and energy that he exudes on stage. To hear someone speak badly about the very same skills that Hwa-Sung worked hard to maintain pissed him off.

Tae-Hyun’s companion, known as Mr. Richards, stepped in between the two men as a precaution. A staring competition took place between the gentlemen for some time. Each one trying to predict what the next one’s action would be. Mr. Kim looked away from Hwa-Sung and down at Mr. Richards and he bowed his head shameful. He was embarrassed by his actions and his childish display.

“Hwa-Sung, this is not the time or the place to behave in this manner. We have a new business associate and I would really appreciate it if you could act like a proper host.”

“What’s the point? He’ll see the real me sooner or later so why baby him?” Hwa-Sung said nonchalantly. He then wrapped his arm around Mr. Richards’ shoulders. “I think that it’ll be better if we just rip the band-aid off now instead of taking our time. It’ll be less painful that way, don’t you agree Richards?” Richards shrugged Hwa-Sung’s arm off before politely bowing his head and exiting the room. Mr. Kim stared after the retreating soldier in shock before quickly following him out. Hwa-Sung stayed behind, deciding that he would be able to get a few more hours of sleep before it was absolutely necessary for him to get ready for the morning interview that he had with MTV Asia.

“I can see what you mean when you say that he’s a piece of work.” Mr. Richards spoke in English when he and Mr. Kim were standing just outside of Hwa-Sung’s front door.

“Yea, I don’t know what to do with him. He used to take his career so seriously but ever since he won the award for best artist of the year…”

“You think the fame is going to his head?” Mr. Richard’s questioned.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Mr. Kim sighed sadly before rubbing his forehead. “He’s got a vacation coming up in two weeks. He hasn’t truly had a day off in a year or so and I won’t be around to make sure that he won’t get into too much trouble because I’m setting up his tour around Asia.”

“So you want me to keep an eye on him?” Richards supplied.

“Yes, an especially careful eye. For the past few months, Hwa-Sung has been behaving wildly, irrationally. He’s almost been arrested 3 times in the past month and he’s been banned from the majority of the clubs in Seoul.”

“I understand; any preferred forms of discipline?” Richards asked; face now completely devoid of all emotion.

“Just make sure that he doesn’t get into any trouble. But a smack upside his head is tolerable, just not hard enough to damage him.” Mr. Kim added as an afterthought. He took out a set of key’s to Hwa-Sung’s house and handed them over to the small military man before walking towards his car that was parked in the hip-hop star’s driveway.

“Oh, Hey wait!”Richards called out. “What about my pay?”

Mr. Kim pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket that amounted to 2,000 American dollars. “This should be enough to hold you over for two weeks. If you can keep him out of trouble for the next two weeks I’ll double your pay. If you do a superb job during his vacation, then we can discuss you working for me permanently.”

Mr. Kim handed the money to Richards and began to walk away again but stopped as a thought entered his mind. “Oh, and one more thing, don’t let him find out that you’re a woman. He’s a charmer, Darien. Hwa-Sung can tame the wildest animal with little effort. He’s also a womanizer, so don’t take any of the sexist crap that comes out of his mouth personally.”

“I’ve got everything under control Tae-Hyun. There is no need for you to worry. Besides, if he ever finds out that I’m a woman, I’ll just tell him that I’m gay. We'll be out in about twenty minutes, give or take a few depending on how fast he runs.” Darien smiled before bowing to Mr. Kim who bowed in return. She pivoted around to face the front door before entering. She dropped her voice a few octaves and screamed, “WAKE UP, SUNSHINE! IT’S TIME TO GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED AND INTO THE SHOWER!”

Two hours after Hwa-Sung’s rude awakening, he found himself at Mtv Asia’s music studio. He was sitting on the make-up artist chair waiting for her to finish so his hair stylist could give him a quick haircut. A confused expression adorned his face as he tried to figure out just how he arrived at the studio. The last thing that he remembered was someone shouting something about a shower and a hard smack to the head a few moments later. He shrugged off his confusion and turned his face to the right so Jae-Soong could complete his make-up. He glared at the woman from out of the corner of his eye. Jae-Soong seemed to be taking longer than usual. She normally finished his make-up before his butt could hit the chair. “What the hell is taking you so long, huh?” he finally asked.

Jae-Soong became flustered at Hwa-Sung’s bluntness and began to stutter her words. “I’m s-s-sorry Sexy Sshi.” Jae-Soong bowed deeply while taking a step away from Hwa-Sung. “I-I didn’t mean to-o take so long. I just…”

“You just what? Do you know how busy I am?” Hwa-Sung asked sweetly. Jae-Soong winced before lowering her head. She knew that this was the eye before the storm.

“Yes.” She nodded stiffly.

“THAN YOU KNOW THAT I DON’T HAVE TIME TO WASTE! NOW HURRY UP!” Jae-Soong jumped about a mile in the air and emitted a loud squeak before doing exactly as Hwa-Sung commanded. The artist smiled in satisfaction as the poor woman worked three times faster than her previous speed. In no time at all Hwa-Sung was finished with the make-up artist, Hair stylist, and was now being dressed by his fashion stylist. The latter two seemed to be more nervous than Jae-Soong.

Darien stood in the back of the dressing room, watching the display with disgust. She knew that she wasn’t hired to adjust Hwa-Sung’s attitude but it seemed like she would be doing just that. Walking confidently, or as confidently as a woman dressed as a man could, Darien approached Hwa-Sung’s kneeling fashion stylist before tapping him on the shoulder while ignoring Hwa Sung’s death glare. She was not at all intimidated because she was secure in her fighting ability.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I speak with Park Sshi alone for a moment?” Darien’s smile resembled Hwa-Sung’s from earlier so the man nodded his head quickly and got up to leave but Darien stopped him. “No. We,” Darien gestured to Hwa-Sung and herself, “are going into the hallway.” The man nodded again in understanding and the pleasant smile that adorned Darien’s face was replaced by a heated glare in an instant. Her hand shot up to Hwa-Sung’s ear before dragging him out into the hallway.

Hwa-Sung screamed in pain. He tried to pull away from Darien but his attempt to escape only caused him more pain. Darien released Hwa-Sung’s ear roughly as soon as they both were in the hallway and the dressing room door was closed. Darien then pushed him against the door before putting her hands on either side of his face. She studied Hwa-Sung’s face and was happy to see that it had become a deep cherry red from anger and embarrassment.

Hwa-Sung stared at her in shock and disbelief. He had never been so embarrassed in all his life. Not even as a child would his mother do something like that to him in public. “Are you fucking crazy?!” Hwa-Sung screamed when the shock finally wore off. “Are you trying to ruin me?”

“If you keep shouting like that out here I won’t have to do anything to hurt your image. So I suggest that you shut up and listen.” Darien slowly leaned into Hwa-Sung until her face was directly in front of his. “Don’t you ever speak to your employees so rudely again. Not only is it disrespectful, it shows just how childish you are.” Hwa-Sung rolled his eyes toward the ceiling, completely ignoring Darien. He folded his arms and began tapping his foot impatiently.

“Humph, did your mother teach you anything about manners at all?”

“What did you say about my mother?” Hwa-Sung tried to intimidate Darien again with yet another glare but this time he began breathing heavily and shortened the distance between them. Darien smiled bitterly, not at all impressed with Hwa-Sung’s show of ‘manliness’.

“Earlier today you talked about being respected but I can see that all you want is for someone to fear you.” Darien gave him a once over, making sure that her utter disgust of him radiated from her eyes.

“You don’t know shit about me. You just got here and you think that you can tell me about me? The only thing you know about me is what you read in the tabloids, shh.”

“I don’t need to know you, all I have to know is about you and from what I know about you I can tell that you are an arrogant dickhead that needs an ass whooping.”

“Then step then.” Hwa-Sung dared Richards.

“Look, you’re not going to get me to stoop to your level but let me tell you this. If I catch you treating anyone like that again…I’ll kill you.” Darien’s face was completely blank but Hwa-Sung rolled his eyes, not believing a word that came out of her mouth.

“Whatever.”

“Trust and believe that I will wipe the floor with your ass before I let you get away with being disrespectful to anyone else ever again.” Darien stared at Hwa-Sung intently, making sure that he was staring at her eyes before speaking again. “Now get in there and apologize to those people and ask them for forgiveness.” Richards backed away and allowed Hwa-Sung his space. When she saw that he wasn’t moving she temporarily lost her calm. “NOW!”

Hwa-Sung sighed before turning around lethargically and opening the dressing room door. Everyone in the room was silent and stiff as a bored. It was apparent that everyone overheard Hwa-Sung and Darien’s conversation. Hwa-Sung strolled in as if nothing had happened and was ready to pass Jae-Soong when a heavy feeling settled within his chest. He looked behind him and saw Darien standing there, daring him not to do as she commanded.

“Sorry.” Jae-Soong could barely hear it but she smiled nonetheless.

‘So it’s true.’ Darien thought to herself. ‘You can teach an old dog, new tricks.’ The smile on her face turned into a frown as she watched Hwa-Sung snatch something out of his fashion stylist’s hands. ‘It’s just going to take some time.’

After Hwa-Sung finished getting dressed he was escorted to the main stage for Mtv Asia’s Celebrities 101 where he would be interviewed by the beautiful Tiffany Liu. Ms. Liu was of Chinese and Korean Descent and thought to be one of the most beautiful women in the world especially after she won the title of Miss Universe two years ago.

“Here today we have Asia’s sexiest man, Sexy Sshi!”  Tiffany stood from her seat on the couch and joined the cheering crowd in welcoming Hwa-Sung.

Off-stage, Darien was surprised to see how humble Hwa-Sung was behaving. It appeared that Hwa-Sung was even blushing when Tiffany called him the sexiest man in Asia. The smile that he flashed towards the crowd was completely charming and utterly disarming.

Tiffany smiled and began blushing ferociously as Hwa-Sung approached her.

“Sexy Sshi...” The flustered host began but stopped to fan herself when Hwa-Sung’s bright smile turned into her direction. “I’m sorry,” Tiffany apologized after she calmed down, “I didn’t think that I would be so nervous. I’m one of your biggest fans.” Darien rolled her eyes when she saw Hwa-Sung’s smile become even larger, and if possible brighter.

Hwa-Sung leaned forword and placed a comforting hand on Tiffany’s shoulder. Tiffany immediately broke into a fit of giggles that was contagious. Soon everyone on and off stage were laughing as well. Gradually everyone calmed down and Hwa-Sung and Tiffany took their seats on the large couch.

“As I was saying, today we have Korea’s own Mr. Sexy here on Celebrity 101 to discuss your new music video titled So Called Love.” The crowd went wild once again as Hwa-Sung’s song began playing from the speaker. “Tell us, what inspired you to write such a heart breaking song?”

“Actually, the song describes a relationship that I was in a few years ago.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Hwa-Sung nodded, “Yes I was in a relationship with someone whom I loved very deeply and she decided to have an affair with some guy.” The audience was in awe at the news that their favorite celebrity had his heart broken in a unforgiving way. “Yea, well anyway I confronted her about it, all she said was that she loved me and that she would never do it again. I forgave her and a few weeks later she cheated on me again but this time with one of my best friends.”  The audience gasped in shock at the betrayal. “Even after I ended our relationship she still claimed that she loved me.”

“Wow.” Tiffany leaned back in her chair and began shaking her head sadly. “I can’t believe. Who in their right mind would cheat on Mr. Sexy?”

“Well, this was before I became famous.”

“But I’m sure that you were a great guy. You seem to be very sensitive but yet...” Tiffany rubbed Hwa-Sung’s well toned arms, “Very manly.” The audience oohed at Tiffany’s brazenness and the host once again found herself into a fit of giggles. “I apologize, please forgive me Mr. Sexy. May I call you Sexy?”

“Yes.” Hwa-Sung agreed and Tiffany released a 100watt smile.

“This brings me to my next question. How did you get the name Mr. Sexy? I know you’re gorgeous but it’s a pretty bold statement, not many people would be able to pull of such a name.”

“The name was given to me by my very first manager, Miss Joo-Eun.” Hwa-Sung paused here and put his hand to his lips as he laughed. “The first thing that came out of her mouth when she saw me was…sexy. After that the name just stuck.”

“But I also heard that your real name means sexy.”

“My birth name Hwa-Sung means superior beauty, so I guess you can say that it means sexy.”

The interview continued on and Darien began to get bored from the dozens of high school girl questions that the host was kicking around. She learned Hwa-Sung’s favorite color, celebrity crush, favorite city, favorite song and even his favorite breakfast cereal. Darien wasn’t pulled out of her boredom until she heard Hwa-Sung describe his ideal woman.

“My ideal woman, I never really thought about it much. A romantic relationship just isn’t something that I’ve been interested in lately but I would have to say that I want someone strong. I want someone that will be my angel in public but as soon as we get behind closed doors she will scold me when I do something wrong. She would also have to be independent. I don’t want someone that’s clinging to me every moment of the day or can’t think for herself. Oh, and she has to be confident and secure enough with herself and my love for her that she won’t be bothered by the lies that comes out in the tabloids.”

Tiffany stared at Hwa-Sung in awe and Darien found herself doing the same.  “You know what I found interesting is that when I asked you that question you didn’t describe the woman’s physical appearance. I’ve asked dozens of celebrities, male and female alike, and they always begin to describe what body type they find appealing.”

“Unlike many people, I don’t put much faith into someone’s looks. A person’s appearance may attract you to them at first but it’s their personality that will keep you in the relationship.” The audience cheered and Hwa-Sung smiled once again.

“I wonder if any of that is true.” Darien said aloud, she figured that Hwa-Sung was lying because he didn't take her yelling at him earlier too well. 'Then again he doesn't know that I'm a woman.' Mr. Kim, who had been directly behind Darien during the taping, began speaking.

“The one good thing that I can say about Hwa-Sung is that he’s not a liar, at least when it comes to his fans.”