Today I woke up feeling like a new man.
Everything seemed to shine brightly, and my breath felt light. Even my strides seemed weightless as the journey to the Guild didn't appear as long.
'Is this how success feels like...?'
I could get addicted to this.
No, I think I was already addicted.
Vrr Vrrr—!
Well, the happiness was short-lived. There were definitely some things I disliked. For example, the fact that I no longer had a functioning phone.
Dean cast me a glance and shook his head.
"That's why I told you to get a new phone."
"With what money?"
I still hadn't gotten paid yet since it was my second week here. I still needed to wait two more weeks before getting paid.
With what money could I afford a new phone?
"Okay, fair enough. But you should still look into getting a new phone. Or at least, get a new SIM card. The Guild will pay for that expense."
"Will do."
Wasn't like I had a choice.
"Oh, right. Have you checked the trending page, Liam?"
"Nothing yet."
The trending page refreshed every 24 hours. It wasn't time just yet.
As if understanding, Dean looked at his watch and smacked his head.
"Ah, alright. We still got a few hours left to go then."
"About one hour."
It was six in the morning so we still had an hour left to go.
Ding—!
Stepping out of the elevator we were greeted by several familiar faces.
"Hohoho, look who's here?"
It was the PR team. With Chief Madalyne at the front, everyone cheered us on as we entered. But something was up. I felt it the moment I came in.
"It's our superstar!"
Eh?
Superstar...? Was I hearing things?
There was something wrong with the way they were addressing and looking at me at the moment.
Why were they looking at me as if I was some sort of golden egg?
No, really. Their looks were creepy.
Coming to me, Chief Madalyne held onto my hands as she shook them.
"Congratulations on the girls and your success. Seems like we didn't spend all that time together doing nothing."
"Pardon?"
...Your success?
As if sensing my confusion the smile wiped away from Chief Madalyne's face.
"Oh? You don't know?"
"Know what?"
I looked at Dean. Surely, he would know. But I was wrong. He was also completely clueless.
"Don't look at me. I'm just as clueless as you are."
"Hahaha, you're into one hell of a surprise."
Chief Madalyne patted me on the shoulders.
Hell of a surprise?
I looked around me in total confusion. That was when Chief Madalyne displayed me her phone and I cringed.
"Is this..."
"We've already double-checked. Yes, there's no mistaking it."
"Hahaha."
My laugh was as hollow as it could be.
Rubbing my eyes to make sure that I wasn't sleeping, I slapped both of my cheeks. Yeah, no, I was plenty awake.
I grabbed the phone from the Chiefs's hands and looked more closely. It was the Star Board Tier-1 topic trending page.
"Wheeeewh."
Dean whistled beside me.
"Not bad~"
He seemed to be enjoying this.
[Tier 1 — Star-Board Trends]
12th - Blue Daisy. [1k Views]
7th - Olivia. [1.7k Views]
5th - Lyla. [3k Views]
And... Me. Liam Marken. [7k Views]
Hahaha. I couldn't laugh even if I wanted to.
My name was the highest trending name on Star Board.
There was a time when I used to long for such attention, but now...? Just what in the world was happening?
I'd have been more than happy with a double-digit ranking. In fact, single digits would've been fine too. But above the girls?
No, how could that happen?
I wasn't supposed to hog all the spotlight like this. It was meant to be the girls's spotlight.
As I scrolled through Star Board, what I feared the most happened.
[Breaking] — Liam Marken? A star manager who magically appeared out of nowhere and 'carried' his group to a marvelous clear against a Red-ranked beast.
[Breaking] — A new star is born?
[Breaking] — Just who is Liam Marken? The manager who managed to conquer a Red-ranked beast?
There were endless articles about me circulating on Star Board at the moment. They were also gaining a lot of traction with the number of page views rapidly growing with each passing minute.
I was about to go crazy.
Turning off the phone and handing it back to the Chief, I inwardly cursed. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.
How did the people manage to find my commentary when it wasn't even shown on the actual video?
When I looked at Dean, he seemed focused on his phone. His brows were knit, and as if sensing my gaze, he raised his head.
"I now know what happened. Here, have a look."
"..."
I took Dean's phone and glanced at the screen. Just as I anticipated, a video of the actual footage had been released, and the comments beneath it were exploding with activity.
﹂No matter how many times I see this... this is insane.
﹂I was wondering why the girls performed so well. So it was because of their manager?
﹂No, to say it was all due to the manager is a bit too much. Keep in mind that commands can only get you so far. You need to be able to execute them to a 'T' in order to get results like these. Give them a little credit.
Hmm. I was surprised by the comments. I expected worse, but they weren't all negative. It was a mix of positive and negative comments. Most certainly, it would've been better if they were all positive, but this was still good.
I sighed in relief and handed the phone back.
"I thought we were screwed for a moment."
"Well, the situation is far from ideal, but I have to admit, it's looking better than I initially feared."
"But how did it leak? Didn't we agree that we wouldn't reveal my commentary to boost the girls's momentum?"
It wasn't as though I wanted to remain in the shadows while watching the girls shine. My goal at the moment was to use any means possible to make the girls shine as brightly as possible. Even it meant that some of my achievements were buried in the process.
In this case, I wanted all the attention to be focused on the girls and boost their momentum in the process.
But as if the world was playing a joke on me, that no longer seemed to be possible.
"I'll make a call."
Excusing himself, Dean left. Then, Chief Madalyn grasped my arm and dragged me over to her area.
"Okay, while he tries to figure out what's going on, the two of us need to have a talk."
"Pardon?"
Talk? What would we need to talk about?
Chief Madalyne sat me down and explained,
"Since it has already happened, we might as well capitalize on this opportunity."
"You mean..."
"That's right. We're going to use this opportunity to push your name. 'The emergence of a new superstar manager'. How's that for a title?"
"Isn't it a bit too rushed?"
"Do you not have any confidence in yourself?"
"I do, but..."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem! If you can produce performances like this, we can continue on with this narrative."
But that's the problem.
To suddenly put me on a pedestal... Pressure aside, I wasn't even sure I could replicate what I did back then.
A strange sensation, or 'flow' had overtaken me back then. I became aware of every minute detail and felt strangely calm. It was an otherwordly sensation that I wasn't sure I could replicate. Yet, they were asking me for more such performances?
I felt hesitant.
"We'll make it so that the people don't just tune in for the girls, but for you as well. The better you perform, the more people will tune in for you and the girls. "
"So does that mean..."
"Yes, it means that you're going to have a lot of work to do from now on to stand out. Build up your portfolio, and make yourself stand out even further."
Chief Madalyne's expression turned serious.
"We aren't doing this without a reason. Since the opportunity presented itself, we're going to build your image up. If all goes well, it won't be just you who will benefit from this, but the girls as well. So... what do you say?"
I silently clicked my tongue.
The pressure that was weighing down on me suddenly magnified. But it wasn't a bad idea. In fact, if all went well, it could definitely help build momentum for the girls. But at the same time, it was also a double-edged sword.
If I were to fail...
'The stakes have suddenly risen again...'
My heart felt heavy, but...
"Whatever works."
My ambition was to help anyone that was under me become what I couldn't. That never changed. If it meant that I had to suddenly become a 'star manager' in the process, then so be it.
I will do it.
"That's great! We'll immediately get to work."
Chief Madalyne clapped in satisfaction.
"Don't feel too pressured by all of this. We'll help you along the way. We obviously know that we're asking for a lot, but we aren't just putting you on a pedestal without any aid."
"Yes."
I would think they'd do that much at least.
"Oh, right."
Bumping her fist on the desk, Chief Madalyne turned to look at me.
"Another thing. You're not going to be alone in this project. There will be someone else that we are going to push."
"Yes?"
Another one?
"I don't know if you've already met him, but he has built up quite the resume in the few months that he's been here. He may not be as impressive as you yet, but he definitely has a lot of potential."
For some reason, I didn't like where things were going.
There was this little part of me at the back of my head that kept hammering at my mind and telling me that something was off.
"The higher-ups are showing him a lot of favor, and if it weren't for your recent accomplishments, he would have been the only manager the Guild was going to promote. Hahaha, who would have predicted this turn of events? It's great to see that our department has two emerging stars on the horizon... Oh, look who's here."
Chief Madalyne raised her hand and waved it.
"Over here."
That moment, a figure I was all too familiar with walked in.
Even though I had only met him once, there was no way I could forget his face. The familiar bowl-cut hair and a countenance that effortlessly left a positive impression... My stomach dropped and the suffocating feeling I was all too familiar with returned.
'I should have realized.'
Then, as if he could feel our eyes on him, he flashed a cheerful smile and joined our side, not forgetting to bow to the Chief beforehand.
"Hello, Chief. It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Oh, my. How polite of you. It's nice to see you too."
He raised his head, making eye contact with me.
"...and hello, Liam."
His smile grew.
"It's nice to see you again."
"Hello."
I greeted him back, doing my best to suppress the nauseating feeling that was spreading throughout my body.
"...and it's nice to see you again too, Richard."