"W-Who is this man? And why was he following you, senior Ezra? Was he someone you knew?"
Clement asked this question a little too late. By now, the damage had been done and they were locked inside their gaming room.
Outside, the man had still not given up. The man sounded even more desperate than before and Olivier was even beginning to feel sorry for the intruder.
"Hahaha…why would I know this man? I have never seen him in my life before. Thank you for saving me."
Ezra spoke this in a hurry and there was a nervousness in her voice now. She was also avoiding looking at Olivier and Clement.
She was hiding something. Olivier was now sure that Ezra did not want the pair to know about her relationship with the man outside. And as much as Olivier did not want to make baseless accusations, he could not stop himself.
'A hidden lover? A sugar daddy? Or maybe even a family member? Man, I must have seen a lot of dramas in my life to come to all these conclusions.'
The entertainment industry had some of the biggest secrets one could imagine. Many of the 'hidden' pairs in the industry were based on power imbalances.
But then again, what could you expect from the entertainment industry? It was a dark hell Olivier would not wish anyone to step into.
"Anyway, what should we do now? Should we call security? We will not be able to open the door if that man is outside, right?"
Clement asked the question with a determined face. He was about to open his phone and make a call when Ezra snatched the phone out of his hand.
"Hmm, I do not think there is a need to call for security. I am sure the man would give up on his own and leave soon."
Ezra's nervousness was back. She looked at the door, only to see the man knocking even more fervently and she flinched.
"I do not believe we should be standing around here like this. I will make the call right now. Olivier, hand me your phone."
Olivier raised his eyebrow at the command but did as he was told to anyway. Ezra tried to snatch this phone away from Clement's hand as well but the youngster was faster this time.
"Clement, do not call security. Hand me the phone and…"
The door opened from the outside and the three froze in an awkward pose.
The door that had been installed was a double-sided door that could be opened from the inside without the key. But one could also open it from outside if they had a key. There was no other locking mechanism on the door.
"Hey, what is going on here? Ezra, why is your manager outside in the corridor and smacking on the door? What did you do this time?"
It was Terry. As the club leader, he had a key to this room. And Terry had used it to open the door.
Terry's words finally registered in Clement's ears and he flinched.
"M-Manager? That person is your manager, senior Ezra? I-I am sorry. I misunderstood the situation. I thought you were…"
Clement was not able to finish his words. Embarrassment colored his features and Clement looked away as soon as his eyes met the managers.
The manager sighed in understanding. It had been a situation anyone could have misunderstood after all.
"I understand why you did what you did kid. But maybe you should wait for the situation out before attacking in such an open manner."
The manager scolded Clement gently. He seemed like a chill man, not taking his anger out on Clement.
"Anyway, how does the captain know about this person being senior Ezra's manager? What kind of job is it to have a manager at such a young age? I am sure I would remember senior Ezra if she was an actress or in the industry."
Clement's question caused Ezra to look away with embarrassment. Whatever she did, Ezra did not seem comfortable saying it out in the open.
"Clement, let's not pressure senior Ezra into telling us about her job. Not everyone is comfortable in saying what they do for a living."
Olivier placed a hand on top of Clement's shoulder. Clement seemed not to take the clue and shrugged the hand off.
"But why does this matter? I am sure it is not that bad."
Clement assured Olivier and then turned back to Ezra with his face full of expectations.
Ezra was not able to keep up with the pressure of Clement's eyes and her facepalmed. She was not going to be the one to say what kind of job she did.
"Ezra, just say what you do for a living. Cosplaying is not a bad hobby and you do earn quite a lot because of this."
Ezra's troubled look deepened at Terry's words.
"I know it is not a bad hobby. I do it in front of thousands of people after all. But maybe I wanted to keep some parts of my life private and not mix it with my professional world. Everyone in our class already treats me differently because of this. I do not want my club members to look at me with odd eyes as well."
There seemed to be a story behind Ezra's words. And Olivier realized that he did not want to know about it.
So, when Clement was about to open his mouth and ask senior Ezra what that meant, Olivier places his hand on top of Clement's mouth to quiet him.
"I see. So, you have a job? Good for you. If it does not conflict with your club time, I do not see why it would be a problem for us. Just make sure to attend tournaments and tell us in advance if your schedule clashes with ours."
Ezra's shocked expression was one for the books. Her mouth opened and closed, and her eyes blinked faster and faster.
It almost felt as if Ezra was not able to control her motions after hearing Olivier speak.
"Are you serious? You are not interested in my job and what I do for a living? You are not going to ask me more questions about it?"
Ezra asked with a shocked voice. She had never met someone who had been so calm before.
She wanted to ask Olivier more but then she realized where she was and calmed herself down.
The manager also sighed in relief once he noticed that the people in front of him were not going to cause him any more problems.
Then, he turned toward Ezra with a strict expression on his face.
"We need to leave now. You are already late for your appointment and the agency has already received payment on your behalf. If you do not want to get into trouble, then you better follow me out right now."
The manager seemed to be in a hurry.
Ezra was conflicted now. She wanted to go with the manager but she also did not want to miss the practice. She had promised Terry not to miss any more sessions after all.
"Ezra, just go. We have enough members to cover for you if you are not here. You should take care of your appointments before you worry about us."