Chapter 159: Chapter 159

"YOOL-AH, your friends sent us a food truck and a coffee truck."

Yool only smiled proudly in response to what Kang Byung-ho, his now temporary manager, said.

Wonhee sent a food truck– an expensive food truck with delicious monster dishes, at that.

[As expected of a chaebol.]

On the other hand, Ahyeon sent a coffee truck from a trendy café among idols. It came with cute pastries as well.

[As expected of our youngest, he has sense.]

Both Wonhee and Ahyeon only left their names’ initials so people wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

Usually, the sender would put their pictures with the artists to whom they sent the food or coffee truck on a banner. However, Wonhee and Ahyeon didn’t do that. The two only put Yool’s pictures on the banners and the stickers attached to the cup sleeves.

However, Wonhee and Ahyeon both left encouraging messages for him on the banner attached to the trucks.

<"Yool-ah, you’re working hard. We’re proud of you. Fighting!">

That was from Wonhee.

<"Our cool idol hyung-nim, welcome back! We will be cheering you on. Love you!">

And that was from Ahyeon.

Receiving a food and/or a coffee truck wasn’t new to Yool since he had received plenty of those during his time as Ong Yool. Hence, he didn’t expect that receiving one from Wonhee and Ahyeon would still make him this happy.

[I really have a soft spot for those two, huh?]

"Hyung, you have great friends."

The young idol approached Yool during the break.

Hence, right now, the two of them sat in their respective ’actor chairs’ while watching the staff members line up for either the food truck or the coffee truck.

[And, yes– Maru calls me ’hyung’ instead of ’sunbae-nim’ now.]

They had gotten a bit closer while recording the song together.

And, now, they were filming for the MV in Dreamy Land– an abandoned theme park that was still open as a tourist attraction. It was also one of the most famous locations among Kpop music videos.

"Actress Chu and Hunter Do Ahyeon are wonderful people."

"They are," Yool agreed while nodding. "I’m lucky to have them as friends."

"They’re also lucky to have you as their friend, Hyung," Maru said with sparkling eyes. "Hyung is a wonderful person."

"Not really, but thank you for thinking that way about me."

"It’s true, though. If it wasn’t for Hyung, then our company wouldn’t have any choice but to bow our heads in front of A-LIST Entertainment."

"Then you should thank Song Moonho-ssi," Yool said, addressing Song Moonho politely when talking about the old man. "He was the one who decided to invest in your new single."

As soon as word spread that Song Moonho invested in Peace Entertainment, the bullies from A-LIST Entertainment stopped sending threatening messages to the representatives of Peace Entertainment.

Hence, the preparations for Maru’s new single proceeded smoothly.

[And since I did my part so well, Maru might release his new song earlier than expected.]

The producers liked the lyrics that Yool wrote for his rap part, so they went straight to recording. And since Yool also sang well, they also finished the recording early.

[And, now, we just have to film the music video well.]

"But Hunter Song Moonho wouldn’t have invested in my music if it wasn’t for you, Hyung."

[That reminds me of the nasty rumor I heard from the staff talking behind my back earlier...]

"Are you not going to ask why Song Moonho-ssi invested because of me?"

"I’m sure you’ve already heard people talking about it," Yool said, letting out a shallow laugh. "About the rumor that Song Moonho-ssi is my sponsor."

’Sponsorship’ was a common thing in the entertainment industry.

[It’s when big shots sponsor celebrities in exchange for sexual favors.]

Before the Outbreak, only small and shady companies would usually get involved in things like that. However, after the Outbreak, sponsorship became more common even in big entertainment companies.

Most of the victims were either a Civilian-celebrity desperate to get a bigger acting role or a low-ranking Awakened Person overshadowed by high-ranking Awakened People.

"Hyung doesn’t need a sponsor to succeed."

Yool couldn’t help but smile. "Isn’t the idol Gong Yool a flop, though?"

"Hyung’s group only flopped because of the bad timing. It has nothing to do with your skills," Maru said. "Hyung’s group debuted a year before the Outbreak. You won all the rookie awards back then. Unfortunately, the Outbreak happened. When the country stabilized and the entertainment industry thrived again, the demands of the public changed. The Awakened People became celebrities."

That was when Gong Yool gave up on his idol life.

[His company tried to sell their group to a sponsor.]

Fortunately, that happened when Ong Yool possessed Gong Yool’s body.

[Actually, I think Gong Yool tried to kill himself to avoid getting sold to some old pervert. That was probably when my soul was able to possess his body.]

Haaah, what a tragedy.

[I should have put the CEO behind bars instead of simply threatening him.]

"Well, it doesn’t change the fact that I gave up easily," Yool said casually. "Civilians like you who have endured and survived in the industry are more amazing, Maru-ya."

"I only got lucky because I found a good company that supports Civilian-idols," Maru said shyly. "And the prayers of my church mates probably worked."

That was the keyword that Yool had been waiting to hear from Maru.

[I’m glad he brought that up himself.]

"Maru-ya, I’m envious that you have people who help you keep your faith," Yool said in a slightly sad voice. Of course, he was only acting sad to gain sympathy. "To be honest, I quit the idol life because I lost my confidence. Wony and Ahyeonnie are helping me gain it back, of course. And that’s exactly why I’m here today."

Well, he didn’t discuss his decision to feature in Maru’s new song with Wonhee and Ahyeon.

[But it’s true that they’re the reason why I enjoy life these days.]

"Even so, I know I should help myself get over my slump," Yool continued with his act. "That’s when I realized that I probably hit rock bottom because I lost my faith during the Outbreak. So, I wonder if finding something to put my faith in would somehow help me find myself again."

His line was a bit cringe.

But it seemed like it worked.

Maru looked at Yool with eyes full of pity. "Hyung, if it’s alright with you, do you want to attend church with me this weekend? I’d like to introduce you to my church mates."

Yool gave Maru a small smile and nodded. "Alright, I’ll go."

Yool couldn’t believe that he would find Song Moonho calling him ’baby’ pretty hot.

The endearment was cringe, but the old man’s voice was sexy.

That, or maybe Song Moonho was just simply an irresistible specimen of man.

[It should be illegal to be that hot in your forties.]

"What are you doing here?" Yool asked while wiping his wet hair with a towel. "You didn’t even give a heads up."

Thank goodness he was already done filming.

It would have been embarrassing if Song Moonho saw him acting under a fake rain.

"I just wanted to see if my investment is filming well," Song Moonho said, and then he touched Yool’s hair. "It’s cold– you might catch a cold."

Much to Yool’s surprise, his hair– no, his entire body– got dry in an instant. "You’d be useful during rainy days, Ahjussi."

The old man just smiled.

[He’s seriously handsome.]

No wonder the people around them, including Maru, stopped in their tracks just to steal glances at Song Moonho.

"Ahjussi, I’m done filming my part," Yool said in a hurry. "Let’s talk in the car."

He grabbed Song Moonho by the sleeve of his suit, and then he politely excused himself from the director and the other staff members (who all looked disappointed that they couldn’t talk longer to the Big 4 member).

And, a few minutes after that, Yool found himself in the shotgun seat of Song Moonho’s luxurious car.

He even had a bouquet of red roses on his lap.

"What are these flowers for?"

"I cannot visit you empty-handed, can I?" Song Moonho, who was in the driver’s seat, said while smiling at him. "I brought food, too. The catering service that I hired is already here."

"Where’s my food, then?"

"I’m taking you out for dinner. Why would we eat with other people in this gloomy place when there’s a restaurant with a beautiful view waiting for us?"

[So, he already made a reservation.]

"Can I say ’no,’ Ahjussi?"

"Unfortunately, we made a deal," Song Moonho reminded him playfully. "You’ll be my sugar baby until the promotions for your new song is over."

[I could have just asked Song Moonho to invest since it was his idea to make me infiltrate the Systema Church anyway. But I kind of feel bad since the money he invested was still a huge amount. So, in exchange, I gave him permission to treat me like his sugar baby– minus the part where I have to give him sexual favors, of course.]

"I have a time limit, so I have to make the most out of what little time I have as your sugar daddy."

"This conversation is starting to sound cringe, Ahjussi."

"Young people like you find everything cringe anyway, don’t you?"

Damn, he couldn’t say anything back because the old man was right.

[Let’s just change the topic.]

"I’ll attend church with Maru this weekend," Yool said. "I’ll start my investigation then."

"Ah, I see," Song Moonho said, and then he paused for a moment. "Right. I also heard something interesting about your competitor."

"You mean ’Kei?’ The idol who’s messing with Maru?"

"Yes. According to my investigation, that person and Maru-ssi might end up releasing their music videos at the same time."

"Well, we already predicted that our promotions would overlap."

"That’s not the interesting part," Song Moonho said, smiling. "I heard Kei invited Park Ruda and Lee Seodam to appear in his music video to attract more views. The ’SeoDa’ ship is famous globally, after all. According to the insiders, Kei’s music video will break the internet."

"The fight hasn’t started yet and they already declared Kei as the winner?"

"Views are everything for these Kpop idols these days. Some investors I know even said they feel bad for me because I invested in the wrong idol."

"What?" Original content can be found at Nove1Fire.net

Song Moonho smiled, but it was obvious that he was a bit mad. "You’ll prove them wrong for me, won’t you?"

"I’m 100% sure that Maru’s song is better even though I haven’t heard the competitor’s song yet. However, if it’s just about the number of views, then Kei might win because Park Ruda and Lee Seodam are a famous ship. Maru’s fanbase is larger intentionally, but SeoDa is a global ship bigger than Maru’s international fanbase. Unfortunately, I’m not a popular idol, so I don’t have fans that could contribute to the views."

"But I’m your fan, Yool-ssi. I’ll manipulate the views if I have to."

"Don’t do that, Ahjussi. I have a plan."

Song Moonho tilted his head to one side. "What plan?"

"I have famous friends, too," Yool said, smirking. "Who’s the most viral Awakened Person in the world right now? Definitely not Park Ruda or Lee Seodam."

WONHEE almost dropped the bottled water when she saw Yejun’s outfit today.

Of course, he still wore his usual outfit: a black turtleneck shirt, black leather pants, and black combat boots.

But, this time, he wore a black suit with HARNESS over his turtleneck shirt.

Yejun wore a pair of black gloves AND IT MADE HIM LOOK EXTRA HOT.

[Chu Wonhee, calm down!]

"Wonhee-ya, how do I look?"

"Hot– I mean, how come you’re dressed differently today?" Wonhee asked curiously. "You even styled your hair."

[Just when I thought Yejun couldn’t get hotter....]

"I’m going to appear on the news today."

Wonhee’s eyes widened a bit. "Yejun-ah, the last time you appeared on the news was when you snapped..."

Yejun grinned and cupped Wonhee’s face between his hands. "Wonhee-ya, I’ll show you my cool side today as a World Ranker."

[Yejun was among the Top 50 World Rankers before he became an X-Class!]

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