So tired he was seeing double by the time he entered his squalid apartment, Baekhyun collected the mail on autopilot. It wasn’t until he’d sat down – and realised what a mistake that was – that he even bothered to look at it. Shifting his weight gingerly, he sorted through it. Two coupon packs and five official looking letters that were somewhat scary to look at.
He opened them anyway. Dear Mr. BYUN BAEKHYUN, this is a collections letter regarding your overdue account with HOSPITAL…
Regarding the account at HOSPITAL, a minimum payment of …
Wages will be garnished…
They all said the same thing. He was ninety-thousand dollars in debt to the hospitals and clinics because of his mother’s illness. He’d already lost the house, and the apartment he’d found was only two and a half rooms, with the kitchen more of an alcove off the living room, and a separated bathroom. It was dark and squalid, in a bad part of town – he regularly heard gunfire and sirens – but they were lax about rent, and it wasn’t too high anyway. It reminded him that he needed to talk to Kris about his paychecks.
Feeling grimy, he opted for a shower first. The hot water was sporadic, and he’d learned to clean himself efficiently in the least amount of time to get around it. Most of the shower was still cold, and he was shivering by the time he stepped back out, but he felt more human at least.
More able to deal with a financial discussion with his new boss. He called the office, and Kris picked up on the first ring.
“Sinful Confessions, Kris speaking.”
“Kris,” Baekhyun greeted him. “It’s Baekhyun.”
“Oh, is everything alright? Hush, Tao, it’s Baekhyun. Go away. Sorry, what?”
Baekhyun smiled in spite of himself. Tao reminded him of a puppy when it came to their boss and his lover. He’d spent enough time around them in the last week and a half or so to really appreciate the dynamics of the pairings Kris offered, and as a longtime fan of the company anyway, he was excited to be able to get a look behind the scenes. “I needed to talk to you about paychecks,” Baekhyun said. “Is there any kind of set schedule?”
“Oh, right, I meant to ask you about that,” Kris said. “You still haven’t said whether or not you wanted direct deposit or paper, and because you get paid based on the work you do – even if it’s coming in after hours and helping to clean up, I don’t want to give the impression that you’re only good on camera – there’s no real schedule unless you want one. That’s another thing; do you want it in lumps every week, every other week, or a single check per job?”
Baekhyun blinked at the phone. Kris was by far the most relaxed boss he’d ever had. “Um, weekly, I guess,” he decided. It would mean smaller checks, but he’d be able to begin making payments to the hospitals, creditors, and debt collectors sooner that way.
“Okay. Well, I’ve got your first one here, if you want to come and collect it tomorrow.”
“Already?”
“Yeah, we decided to debut your screen test on the website as a way to introduce you, and of course, you’re signed for the film, so that’s included in this one.”
Baekhyun felt tears well up. It might not be ideal, but he was going to get the collectors off his back and things were going to work out. He blinked them back and swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Thank you,” he said, and embarrassed himself horribly when his voice cracked.
“No problem. Hey, was that it? It’s just that the kids are in the back and I can hear them shouting, I need to go find out what’s going on.”
