Chaotic Company Dinner

The air in the private banquet hall was thick with the scent of expensive grilled meat, aged whiskey, and the heavy, sweet perfume of idols who had just finished a grueling four-hour SMTOWN concert. It was the kind of celebratory chaos that only SM Entertainment could produce—a sprawling table of legends, from the veterans of Kangta’s era to the wide-eyed rookies of the newest sub-units.

At the center of the Super Junior table, Park Jungsoo—known to the world as Leeteuk—was currently a shadow of his usual polished, professional self. His cheeks were flushed a deep, alarming shade of crimson, and his eyes were glazed with the unmistakable sheen of high-grade alcohol.

"Just... one more," Leeteuk slurred, his voice tilting upward in a giggle that sounded entirely too young for a man who had led his group through a decade of scandals and triumphs.

He reached across the cluttered table, his movements clumsy and uncoordinated. He was aiming for a stray bottle of water, or perhaps more soju, but his hand swiped blindly across the place setting. In a split second of tragic physics, his palm brushed hard against the serrated edge of a heavy steak knife that had been left precariously near the edge of a platter.

The silence that followed was instantaneous.

Blood, bright and startlingly red, began to well up from a deep gash in his palm, dripping steadily onto the white tablecloth. Leeteuk stared at it, his brain lagging behind his nervous system. "Oh," he whispered, tilting his head. "It’s... it’s leaking."

The room froze. Managers began to stand, and members of NCT and Red Velvet whispered in hushed tones, but before any of the Super Junior members could even grab a napkin, a chair screeched violently against the floor at the head table.

Lee Soo Man, the founder and chairman, was on his feet with a speed that defied his age. He didn't just walk; he stormed toward the Super Junior table. The room went from a low hum to a vacuum of stunned silence.

"Jungsoo!" Soo Man’s voice cracked like a whip across the hall.

He reached the leader in seconds, grabbing Leeteuk’s wrist with a grip that was both firm and trembling. He didn't look at the cameras or the hundreds of employees watching; he looked only at the crimson staining Leeteuk’s hand. He pulled a pristine silk handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it tightly around the wound, his face pale with a fury that seemed disproportionate to a simple drunken accident.

"What were you thinking?" Soo Man hissed, his eyes darting to the Super Junior members sitting nearby. He turned his glare toward Heechul and Siwon. "You! How could you let him get this way? You know his tolerance! You know he doesn't know when to stop once he starts!"

Heechul, usually the first to fire back with a witty remark, blinked in genuine shock at the Chairman’s visceral reaction. He raised his hands in a defensive gesture, though his eyes were dancing with a mix of confusion and his usual mischief.

"Teacher, we didn't force it down his throat," Heechul argued, though his voice lacked its usual bite. "Our leader is a big boy. He’s the one who kept saying 'one more for the team' every five minutes. It’s his own fault for being a lightweight with a hero complex."

"Yeah," Kyuhyun added, leaning back with a smirk despite the tension. "He’s the one who insisted on a 'unity toast' with every single table. We’re victims of his leadership, really."

Soo Man didn't find it funny. He looked as though he wanted to personally fire the entire group. "He is the leader! You are supposed to look after him as much as he looks after you! Look at this mess!"

While the Chairman berated the most senior boy group in the company, the man in question was completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation. Leeteuk, leaning heavily against Soo Man’s shoulder, let out a soft, bubbly laugh.

"Chairman..." Leeteuk chirped, his head lolling. "You’re... you’re really blurry today. Did you get a haircut? You look like a very angry mushroom."

The collective gasp from the surrounding tables—SHINee, EXO, and the staff—was audible. No one spoke to Lee Soo Man that way.

"Jungsoo, be quiet," Soo Man snapped, though his hand remained protective, pressing the handkerchief into the cut.

Leeteuk, apparently offended by being told to be quiet, spotted a half-full glass of whiskey on the table. With his free, uninjured hand, he lunged for it. "I need... to hydrate. For the fans. For the E.L.F!"

*Smack!*

Soo Man swatted Leeteuk’s hand away with a sharp, fatherly sting. "No! No more! You’ve done enough damage!"

Across the room, at the Girls' Generation table, Taeyeon sat frozen. Her chopsticks were suspended in mid-air, her heart hammering against her ribs so loudly she was sure Sunny, sitting next to her, could hear it.

She watched the way Soo Man’s fingers lingered on Leeteuk’s arm, the way the Chairman’s face was etched with a raw, paternal anxiety that went far beyond the concern of a CEO for his artist. It was the look of a father watching his son bleed out.

*Jungsoo-ah, you idiot,* she thought, her eyes stinging. *Why do you always have to push yourself until you break?*

She remembered the nights years ago, before they had decided that the weight of the world was too heavy for two people to carry together. She remembered how he would come to her after concerts, smelling of sweat and hairspray, hiding his exhaustion behind that same dimpled smile. She knew that the "drunk Leeteuk" was the only version of him that allowed himself to stop being the "National Leader" and just be a person who felt too much.

"He’s really bleeding a lot," Yoona whispered beside her, leaning in close. "And the Chairman... he’s acting strange, isn't he? I’ve never seen him so... frantic."

Taeyeon nodded slowly, unable to pull her gaze away from the sight of Leeteuk’s pale face and the crimson soaking through the silk handkerchief. She wanted to stand up. She wanted to grab a first-aid kit, push the Chairman aside, and wash that wound herself. She wanted to scold him for being so careless and then hold him until the alcohol wore off.

But she stayed in her seat, her knuckles white as she gripped the edge of the table. They had made a pact. To the world, they were just colleagues. To the company, they were two successful assets. To each other, they were ghosts of a life they couldn't have.

"I’m fine!" Leeteuk suddenly shouted, trying to pull his hand away from Soo Man’s grasp. "I’m the leader! I have to... I have to go say hi to the rookies. WayV! Where is WayV? I need to tell them they did a good job!"

"You're going to the hospital," Soo Man declared, his voice leaving no room for argument. He looked toward his secretary, who was already hovering nearby with a cell phone in hand. "Get the car around to the back entrance. Now. And call Dr. Kim. Tell him we're coming in through the private wing."

The secretary nodded, his expression knowing and solemn. He was one of the few who understood that this wasn't just about protecting an idol's health—it was about the Chairman's hidden heart.

"Chairman, really, it’s just a scratch," Siwon said, finally standing up to intervene as he realized the situation was escalating. "We can take him back to the dorm and patch him up. You don't need to trouble yourself."

Soo Man turned a cold, piercing look on Siwon. "A scratch? He’s lost enough blood to stain my sleeve, and he’s so intoxicated he can’t feel the pain. If this gets infected, or if he’s sliced a tendon, his career is over. Do you understand?"

The intensity in Soo Man’s voice silenced the table. It wasn't the tone of a businessman worried about a contract; it was the tone of a man terrified for his kin.

Leeteuk, sensing the shift in mood, pouted. He looked up at Soo Man, his eyes finally focusing for a brief, lucid second. "Why are you being so mean? You’re acting like... like my dad. My dad is... he’s not here."

The air in the room seemed to shatter. Everyone knew the tragedy of Leeteuk’s family history. The silence that followed was agonizing.

Soo Man’s expression softened, a flicker of profound sadness crossing his features before he masked it with his usual sternness. He leaned down, whispering something into Leeteuk’s ear that no one else could hear. Whatever it was, it made Leeteuk go still, his head dropping onto the Chairman’s shoulder as the adrenaline of the alcohol finally began to give way to exhaustion.

"Help me get him up," Soo Man commanded the managers.

As they hoisted a semi-conscious Leeteuk toward the exit, the Chairman kept a firm hand on the younger man’s back, shielding him from the curious stares of the younger idols.

Taeyeon watched them go, her heart aching in her chest. She saw the way Soo Man’s hand lingered on the back of Leeteuk’s neck—a gesture of comfort, of ownership, of love.

"Is it just me," Tiffany whispered from across the table, leaning in low so the managers wouldn't hear, "or does the Chairman look like he’s about to cry?"

Taeyeon didn't answer. She just looked down at her own hands, which were trembling. She knew Leeteuk didn't know the truth. He had spent his whole life feeling like he had to earn the right to be loved, like he had to be the perfect leader to deserve his place in the sun. He didn't know that the man who ran the empire he served looked at him and saw a son.

She reached for her glass of water, taking a shaky sip. The dinner continued, the noise level slowly rising again as the immediate shock wore off, but the atmosphere had shifted. The mystery of the Chairman’s favoritism had always been a topic of backstage gossip, but tonight, the veil had slipped.

"He’ll be okay, Unnie," Yoona said softly, placing a hand on Taeyeon’s arm.

Taeyeon looked at her friend, seeing the sympathy in Yoona’s eyes. "I know. He’s stubborn. He always survives."

"I wasn't talking about the cut," Yoona murmured.

Taeyeon turned back to the door where they had disappeared. She hoped the Chairman would tell him. She hoped that when Leeteuk woke up in a hospital bed with a bandaged hand and a pounding headache, he would find someone sitting in the chair beside him who didn't want anything from him other than for him to be safe.

Behind the scenes of the most powerful entertainment company in Asia, secrets were the currency of survival. But as the blood-stained napkins were cleared away and the whiskey continued to flow, Taeyeon realized that some secrets were too big to stay hidden—and some wounds were too deep to be healed by anything other than the truth.

In the hallway, away from the prying eyes of the industry, Lee Soo Man walked beside the stretcher, his hand never leaving Leeteuk’s.

"You're such a fool, Jungsoo," the Chairman whispered into the quiet of the corridor. "But you're my fool. Just hold on."

Leeteuk groaned in his sleep, his bandaged hand twitching. "Whatever... you say... Dad."

Soo Man stiffened, then let out a long, shaky breath, a small, sad smile touching his lips. He didn't correct him. For tonight, in the safety of the shadows, he didn't have to be the Chairman. He could just be a father.