"...I'm not angry."
Why do I find myself not believing you?
"I'm sorry."
"There's no need to be sorry. It's my fault. It's your first day, and you shouldn't know very much about the group and dungeon selection. Plus, I should've double-checked your choice regardless. It's all my fault."
I'd believe you if your face wasn't so red.
"If there's anyone I'm angry with. It's myself."
"What are we going to do now?"
"What else? We still go. Since we booked it, we have no other choice but to go. Even if the choice isn't ideal, I trust the girls will be able to clear the dungeon without any problems."
Massaging his brows, Dean sighed.
"Aigh. Realistically speaking, there's no real problem with any of the dungeons we could choose from. I just don't like the fact that the random spawn rate is above twenty percent. It's too high for my liking, but it's still acceptable. I'm just tired. That's what it is."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Hopefully, you'll come to thank me later.
That I hoped as well. I took a gamble. A leap of faith. Despite fully knowing that my visions could just be a creation of my subconscious desires to succeed, I didn't want to ignore them. What if? There was always this what if in my mind that nagged at me. Just what if the visions were real?
Thinking of the possibility, my mouth went dry. But I didn't get ahead of myself. Whatever I was experiencing, I needed to confirm it myself before deciding on what to do in the future. There was also a risk that I was very well going to fail and screw over the group in the process, and I didn't want that.
That's why I was nervous. Extremely so. I didn't want others to experience the same pain I experienced when giving up on their dreams. Especially, not them.
"Lyla, stay put for a second. Your hair is a mess, let me tie it for you."
Mia's voice reached my ears and I raised my head.
"Hmm."
"Mia, stop!"
"Uh? What's wrong Director?"
"What do you mean what's wrong? The last time you tied her hair, she ended up looking like a unicorn. How can anyone get it so wrong?"
A unicorn? For some reason, I could picture it.
"What...? It wasn't that bad."
"...Why do you think Lyla is running away from you?"
"That's..."
"How about I try?"
I suddenly offered, attracting everyone's attention to me. Seeing the stupified looks on their faces, I elaborated.
"I have a lot of siblings. You can say that I'm quite well trained."
When I said a lot, I meant a lot. The orphanage I lived in had about forty children, and while many left after getting adopted, I still considered them my siblings. We grew up together, and the bonds we created weren't something that could be broken just like that.
Still, as I got older, things became a lot more difficult for me. Children came and left in the orphanage, and with time, the children that would come were of a relatively younger age. Perhaps because I watched so many of my siblings leave, I ended up spoiling the new ones a lot.
But because of my overindulgence, my life became a lot harder. Just as I was done tidying one of the girls' hair, another one would show up, and if one of the girls' hair was too pretty, all the other girls would get jealous and have me redo it...
Ugh, just thinking about it made me shudder.
"Can you really tie her hair?"
Joana seemed unconvinced as she looked at me. Sensing her gaze, I coughed lightly. I could tell she was looking at my clothes.
"Don't worry. I may look like this, but I'm very confident in my skills."
I urged Lyla with my hand.
"Come here, I'll tie it for you. How do you want it?"
"There's different styles?"
Mia asked, suddenly intrigued.
"Sure. I've got quite a few in my arsenal. Do you want braids, or something simple?"
"!!"
Lyla's eyes immediately opened up, and her previous drowsiness disappeared.
Nod. Nod.
Her head bobbed up and down repeatedly.
"So braids...?"
"No. No braids."
Her excitement was quickly dampened by Dean who was just coming back from the ticket station.
He handed all of us a ticket.
"We don't have much time. Opt for a simple style."
"Okay, let's go with a loose plait."
I knew plenty of different ways to style hair. Cracking my fingers, I moved behind Lyla and got to work. Touching her hair, they were silky and smooth to the touch. Obviously, she took good care of them, and things were a lot easier for me. It took about one minute for me to be done, and before I knew it, a crowd had gathered around me.
Even Sarah, who only seemed to care about her sweets, threw a few extra glances our way.
"Waaah. That's so pretty."
"Not bad."
"She's really pretty."
"Here, have a look."
I took out my phone and turned on the camera, snapping several pictures of Lyla before handing my phone to her.
"...What do you think?"
"Uwaa."
Lyla's eyes sparkled as her small hands grabbed hold of my phone. Staring at the photo, and then at me, she pointed at herself as if trying to ask, 'is that me?'.
"Who else would it be?"
"!"
Touching her hair, Lyla looked at the others with an expectant gaze. Immediately, everyone started showering her with compliments.
"Yes, you're very adorable Lyla."
"You look very cute."
"I'm kind of starting to feel a little jealous..."
I suddenly felt a pair of gazes on me, and I reflectively shuddered. Why does this scenario feel a little too familiar?
"No, we don't have time. We have to go. The portal is ready."
"Yes, the Director is right. If we have time, I'll do your hair as well."
Just smile naturally and hope that they forget.
For some reason, I was starting to imagine myself spending most of my time doing their hair, and in the process undoing them because someone suddenly felt like the other style was prettier. Just thinking about it made me bitter.
'I did the right thing, right?'
"Hm. Well, okay. I'll keep your words in mind."
"It's a pity, but the director is right."
It was good that the girls were quite obedient. They didn't need to be told twice by the director to follow his instructions, and albeit reluctant, they all followed him from behind.
"Haa."
It felt like I just dodged a storm. Still, staring at their departing backs, I heaved a relieved sigh.
Our relationship improved a little, right?
*
"It's a little chilly."
Coming out of the portal, the girls shuddered a little as they held their arms. Looking around, it was indeed a little chilly. Thankfully, I was dressed enough to not feel it.
"Here girls."
"Ah, thank you!"
"You savior."
"Thank you."
Dean handed the girls several large black hoodies which they all put on rather quickly. Their faces quickly relaxed. Staring at them, I made a mental note to myself to check the weather before coming to each location. A good manager needs to be resourceful.
"Oh, it's a new group. Who are they?"
"Wow, they look so pretty. How come I've never heard of them?"
"Uhmmm. Should we ask them who they are?"
There were quite a few people waiting outside the portal station. They ranged from reporters to fans. They were quite easy to distinguish as the fans held onto large colorful banners, while the reporters held onto large chunky cameras that followed our every movement.
Even though usually top stars used the guild's main portal, there were several smaller groups that had decent fandoms. Like us, they used the public ones.
"Hello, we're Blue Daisy. It's very nice to meet you."
"Hello!"
Their bright smiles and pretty faces immediately attracted the attention of all those around. A lot of them gushed over Lyla's adorableness as she showed off her hair while others admired the other member's visuals.
"What are you doing? Step back and pretend you don't know them."
"Uh?"
Dean pulled me back from the back of my suit. His gaze glossed over my clothes and I understood.
"We're going to ruin the frame if we appear. If we're lucky, a photo of them will circulate over the internet and they'll be able to gain a couple of fans. Any type of publicity is welcomed."
"That makes sense."
And so the two of us hovered at the back, following the members like secret stalkers. That was until we were sure that there was no one near us. Only then did we finally regroup with them.
"I wonder when we'll have proper fans."
There were hints of desire on Mia's face as she said those words.
"I've already practiced my signature over and over. Too bad, I never got to try it before. Plus, for some reason, whenever I find one that I like, it magically disappears..."
"Wait."
Olivia, who didn't seem like a girl of many words, suddenly opened her eyes as if she had a sudden realization.
She looked at Mia.
"Are those doodles you left in the kitchen your signatures?"
"Doodles?"
"Ah."
Olivia brought her hand to her face.
"So that's what they were. And here I thought you were just bored. I was getting tired of cleaning up after you."
"Wait, are you telling me that you've been throwing all my signatures away?"
"..."
There was no reply, but the answer was obvious enough. I once again watched Mia undergo a series of different facial expressions, and I was starting to wonder whether I'd seen them all already by this point.
"Let them be."
"Are you sure they won't fight?"
"They... won't."
The slight hesitation in Dean's voice didn't sound very convincing.
"Come with me, we've got more important things to do. Girls, follow along."
Walking for a bit, we made our way toward a large building. It bore slight resemblances to the Portal Station back in Sun Island, but the scale was a lot smaller. On the other hand, the security seemed to be a lot tighter as a massive crowd appeared outside of the building. All of them were comprised of fans who shouted at the top of their lungs.
Large banners with different names were held up in the air as they continued screaming different group names.
"Kyyyaaa!"
"Over here! Over here!"
"Let me in! We just want to see them for a moment!"
"It's Lee Songmin! Ah! Xiao Dubai too!"
"Mark Covinghall!"
The sight made me shudder. If Blue Daisy were to someday become popular, would I have to handle all of that?
"Eigh. What a mess. Every time I come here, there are always fanatics waiting outside. It's good that they've set up private entrances that they don't know about."
Grumbling, Dean made his way toward one of the buildings adjacent to the large building in the distance. Scanning his card over the door, we all followed him from behind and walked down a narrow flight of stairs.
There were several guards along the way, but they allowed us access after a quick exchange with Dean.
"Girls, the changing room is up ahead. You have about an hour so get changed while Liam and I go handle the logistics."
We came to a halt in front of a small white wooden door, accompanied by several others of its kind next to ours. Affixed to our door was a piece of paper bearing the words "Blue Daisy."
With one look, it became obvious what kind of treatment the girls received. Yet, as if they were used to it, they swiftly opened the door and made their way in.
The insides of the room were just as expected.
I held my hopes, but they shattered with just one look.
The room felt confined, its walls adorned with wooden benches fixed in place. There were no mirrors or any other objects present, making it seem as though it was just a spare room that no one used.
The space wasn't even enough to fit the seven of us.
"Oh. This is not bad."
"Right, it's so much better than the previous one."
"At least we won't have to share our room with anyone."
'This is considered good?'
Seeing their reactions, I didn't know how to react. Just how badly were they treated to consider this good? Plus, didn't they belong to a large guild? Why would they be treated like this?
"There are over a thousand different groups that reside within the guild. A lot of the resources are given to the top groups. Plus, Emblem of the Sun is one of the many guilds out there. In this competitive industry, this is the best we can do."
Did he read my mind, or was my expression that obvious? No, I doubted it was my expression.
"I didn't think it was this bad..."
"You get used to it after a while."
"I see."
Gradually, the true nature of this industry began to unravel right in front of my eyes. With every bit of knowledge I acquired, I realized that beneath the glitz and glamour lay a world stripped of vibrancy and life.
Was this the reality of the life I had been chasing after?
"Don't think you can rest just yet."
A hand pressed against my shoulder.
"Our job has just gotten started."