Chapter 89: The Ambition of the Firefighting Ambassador

Ex’s arson incident became a major topic of conversation even within Izm Entertainment.

In the departments in charge of or supporting EXI, the reaction was one of total bewilderment at this bolt from the blue.

Because of an idol member from a subsidiary label, the headquarters’ debut group had been completely pushed aside in terms of public interest.

“So, how is the global reaction?”

Managing Director Jang Young-bae was busy checking the situation, having summoned the relevant staff to his office.

“Fortunately, the global reaction is good. They aren’t as affected by domestic incident reports.”

“Is that so? Is the response as high as we expected?”

“Yes. However, domestic buzz is usually what drives international sharing, but the atmosphere isn’t quite there yet.”

“Well, that’s that. Run all the overseas accounts we manage at full capacity.”

Sometimes, it was easier to create public opinion overseas than domestically.

Domestic fans were sensitive to manipulated opinions and noticed them easily.

If they tried to hype up EXI in the current situation, it was obvious that accusations of Izm’s ‘work’ would arise.

However, since people overseas didn’t know much about domestic circumstances, increasing EXI’s buzz volume wasn’t a problem.

They just needed to focus on well-taken photos and post them as if international fans had shared what domestic fans had taken, creating an atmosphere.

“As for the domestic reaction—well, it’s a total mess.”

“…….”

They had been completely devoured by Pantheon on communities, SNS, YouTube, and short-form platforms.

It would be one thing if Pantheon’s music video or stage performance were poor, but they had done those well too, leaving no room for counterplay.

“Why the hell are these punks so good at dancing? How high are they jumping during that first move?”

“It seems they might have used special devices on the stage floor or their shoes.”

“If you jump like that normally, would you even be human?”

Everyone stared at one of the many tablets on the table with displeased eyes.

It was a tablet playing Pantheon’s comeback stage.

“Damn it, they really are good.”

“Were they always this good?”

“They probably were. That Tae-young kid was always first in monthly evaluations.”

“Why did he stay there?”

“But he’s not the only problem now. They’re all flying around.”

As they were talking about this and that, they fell into a momentary silence, just staring at the tablet.

With a thud, the office door swung open.

“Oh? Everyone is gathered here?”

In that instant.

Flash—

A bright light poured in from beyond the open door.

The staff members, unable to bear it, raised their hands to shield their eyes.

There was no way the hallway lights were this bright.

Ridiculously enough, this was light radiating from a human’s visuals.

A long time ago, would the sailors of myth have felt this way when they first saw an orange and mistook it for a golden apple?

And they would have been shocked upon tasting that orange.

By the ‘freshness.’

“Kang-yul.”

That was Kang-yul.

The center member Jang Young-bae had personally poached under the CEO’s orders.

“He is the future…. The future of our company….”

Jang Young-bae gave a short laugh at the sound of a dazed staff member muttering.

However, it wasn’t just that one staff member.

“Exactly. What does it matter if Pantheon is the talk of the town right now? I can’t even imagine EXI losing.”

“Right. Why would the EXI kids be pushed back? Does that even make sense?”

“Sun-woo? That kid who replaced him with the dull hair and pale face? Sure, he’s handsome too, but he’s dark! So dark!”

“Just look at our Kang-yul! He is the pure white light itself!”

“Turn it off! Turn off that tablet with Pantheon on it! There’s no need to see it!”

‘Look at these fawners…. They’re practically worshipping him.’

Jang Young-bae shook his head.

The heavy atmosphere caused by the meeting vanished in an instant.

Kang-yul’s fresh, refreshing visuals and his incredibly bright smile brought happiness to the staff members who had been wearing stiff expressions until just now.

Honestly, he had an appearance that would brighten the surroundings no matter where he was placed.

Had the investors not lost their minds as well after meeting Kang-yul in person?

“Kang-yul.”

Here, only Jang Young-bae maintained his sanity.

It was a stroke of luck that he had developed an immunity by being in contact since the early stages of casting.

“Why do you kick the door open without knocking every time you come?”

“Hehe, surprise?”

A cute pose with puffed cheeks and a finger pressed to his lips.

“Gasp….”

The sound of a staff member losing their mind could be heard from the side.

Jang Young-bae asked, unbothered.

“Did the CEO call for you again?”

“Yup! He said he missed me.”

His expression changed with every word he spoke, and every single one of those expressions was fresh, lively, and refreshing.

“Hnnngh.”

Another staff member lost consciousness.

The debut schedule was murderous.

Even if he came to the company occasionally, it was for practice, not for any other purpose.

Yet the CEO called for Kang-yul to have a conversation even during those short gaps.

“Then just go up. Why do you always stop by my office? Can’t you see I’m busy right now?”

“Aww, but Managing Director, you’re the one in charge of supporting our EXI. I have to keep sharing my status with you.”

Kang-yul grinned.

“Right? Managing Directooor?”

And as he shifted his smile up another gear—

“Ooooh—”

“Waaaah—”

The staff members collectively lost their grip on reality, and finally—

Clap clap clap clap!

They even started applauding.

“Get out, everyone get out, you’re in the way, so just get out!”

Jang Young-bae roared at them.

Ridiculously, the staff members lingered with disappointed faces before disappearing. It was as if they felt Jang Young-bae was driving them out just to monopolize Kang-yul.

‘These bastards, they’ve rolled around the entertainment industry for so long yet they can’t even withstand this.’

Kang-yul’s charm had indeed exploded after the CEO’s coaching.

He wondered just what kind of coaching was done. Jang Young-bae wasn’t sure if he would have been able to withstand it himself if he were meeting Kang-yul for the first time now.

“Phew—”

As he composed himself with a sigh.

Kang-yul approached with light, bouncy steps and looked down at the tablet.

Come to think of it, it was Jang Young-bae’s tablet that was playing Pantheon’s video.

“Ahahaha! Ahaha! This Sun-woo kid who took my place, isn’t he truly amazing?”

Kang-yul cackled and threw himself onto the sofa.

Flump—his sinking body bounced back up as he sat properly.

“What on earth is he?”

What on earth are you?

Jang Young-bae swallowed the question.

“I’m so happy that Pantheon survived thanks to him!”

At first, he couldn’t tell if Kang-yul was good or bad.

After a fair amount of time spent in close contact, he had come to know for certain.

“The respected Tae-young Hyung, Ha-gyeom who was always nice, Ji-ho who was my closest friend, and even the lovely Yoon-seo.”

This fellow is truly bad.

“Hmm…. I thought they would all fail and disappear! Kyahaha!”

“…….”

No matter how close they were or how much he loved them, this fellow would throw anything away for his own sake.

“We’re going to meet at music shows and such, right? I should greet them with a smile!”

No, it might even be possible for him to destroy them.

‘He’s such a disagreeable fellow….’

“So, do you think it’s possible?”

“Pardon? What is?”

“Winning against them.”

“Winning?”

Kang-yul pulled his foot out of his shoe and used it to tap Jang Young-bae’s thigh.

“Managing Director, you’re such an old man.”

Despite the smile being so bright, the sensation of the toes touching him was as cold as a corpse, which was unpleasant.

“Is it not obvious? You’re here, and the CEO is here too.”

“Right, I think it’s possible too.”

It didn’t matter.

Whether Kang-yul was bad, disagreeable, or cold—what did it matter?

He was going to go world-class with the EXI led by this fellow.

As long as he could succeed, it was fine even if Kang-yul was a serial killer.

Is his own desire not the most important thing?

“As I always say, I will support you actively, so just say the word.”

Jang Young-bae spoke with emphasis.

“Ha.”

With a small laugh, Kang-yul stood up and headed for the door.

“Do you know?”

Click.

He opened the door.

“That the reason I keep coming back is because your expression when you say that is so entertaining, Managing Director?”

Kang-yul vanished, leaving only a trail of light behind.

***

Around that time.

“Achoo!”

““?””

The Demon God was in the very back seat of the van today.

From the front, Yoon-seo reflexively turned his head.

“Did you just go ‘achoo’? It’s the first time I’ve seen Sun-woo Hyung sneeze!”

His voice was filled with surprise.

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. I didn’t hear it either.”

“Why does Sun-woo never sneeze? He’s never even choked on his food.”

“Do you even catch things like colds?”

Tae-young, Ha-gyeom, and Ji-ho were also newly surprised.

A sense of mismatch felt from Sun-woo.

No physical abnormalities ever occurred.

Usually, it was hidden by the bewilderment caused by Sun-woo’s words and actions, but Sun-woo’s body was certainly unusual as well.

““Sun-woo?””

The members, as well as the CEO and the Team Leader in the driver’s seat area, threw out questions.

“What is this? This physical phenomenon?”

Judging by his reaction, the person himself didn’t even seem to know what a sneeze was.

“Whoa.”

Ji-ho, who was prone to minor illnesses, let out a sigh of envy.

Yet he provided an accurate explanation.

“It’s a convulsive reflex movement caused by the irritation of the nasal mucosa. It’s an action to remove temperature changes or harmful irritants.”

“It is truly a trivial phenomenon.”

A sneeze? The Demon God had an expression that said he didn’t know why such a thing had happened to him.

“Hyung, you’re really…, sometimes like an alien.”

Yoon-seo, in his disbelief, brought up the Sun-woo-as-an-alien theory.

“Right, right! There are so many moments where I think, ‘Is he not human?!’”

Ha-gyeom also responded vigorously to the alien theory.

“…….”

The Demon God remained uncharacteristically silent….

“Oh? He isn’t arguing back!”

“Wh-what! Is there any way I could be an alien?!”

“Living in Brazil was a lie too, wasn’t it!”

“N-no? I lived there!”

“Name a city!”

“Buenos Aires?”

“See! That’s the capital of Argentina!”

Yoon-seo, possessed by the spirit of a great detective, interrogated him.

While the Demon God was debating whether to escape this crisis by turning the inside of the van into a disaster zone—

“Even if he’s not an alien, I wonder if there’s anyone else like Sun-woo?”

Tae-young, who had little interest in fanciful stories like the alien theory, changed the subject.

And thus, the truth remained out there.

“Someone like me? How dare you?”

The Demon God returned to his usual arrogant self.

Could there be another human who roamed the entire universe, only to be captured after a single defeat and turned into an idol?

“First of all, even if there were aliens, I don’t think anyone would have the exact same personality.”

“Hahaha! Right! If all aliens had this personality, they’d be fighting every day!”

“They’d go extinct.”

Yoon-seo, Ha-gyeom, and Ji-ho shared their respective impressions.

“…….”

Since the Demon God had personally lived exactly as the members described, he fell silent again.

“What do you think about his physical ability? Sun-woo’s body is incredible too.”

Tae-young threw out another question.

“That too?”

“Honestly, it is amazing.”

“If Sun-woo doesn’t match the pace for me, the choreography is too hard.”

When they were with the Demon God, the members shared his Aura and displayed abilities beyond their usual limits.

Tae-young said with a smirk.

“Right. Sun-woo acts as the pacemaker. Still, no one could follow that move of flying into the building.”

Although it was slowly fading from memory and conversation due to the gods’ correction, there were still times when people wondered how he had flown between buildings.

“Did you not say I jumped?”

The CEO, who was at the scene at the time, said.

“Hmm? Did I say that? No. I caught the wind well and glided.”

The Demon God was also working to make the doubt disappear. He claimed it was gliding, which made slightly more sense than jumping.

““Does that make sense…?””

Of course, that didn’t end the suspicion.

“A-ahem. At any rate, if you are going to continue with such trivial talk, I shall return to the video I was watching.”

The Demon God shifted the topic.

“Is it that video? You’re watching it again?”

It was a relief.

Since he was frequently seen watching the video, the conversation shifted to that.

“It is so. It is the firefighters.”

The Demon God had been indulging in firefighting videos from the moment the honorary ambassador appointment from the National Fire Agency came in.

During Ex’s arson incident, the building was overflowing with water, so the firefighters didn’t have to do much.

The Demon God had only seen the firefighters cleaning up the surroundings.

But the fire incidents and firefighting videos he had looked up afterward had captivated him.

“I didn’t know Sun-woo would be interested in those kinds of videos. What do you find so interesting about them?”

Tae-young asked suddenly.

Everyone in the van was curious about the answer.

“It is like looking at my former subordinates.”

““?””

Since Sun-woo would call just about anyone his subordinate, they couldn’t quite guess.

“Look. Such brave and dedicated individuals. The courage to face the intangible being that is fire, the dedication to enter dangerous sites.”

“True. Firefighters are amazing people.”

“It brings back old memories of leading such subordinates into war.”

“In Brazil?”

The Demon God couldn’t help but admire the firefighters’ activities.

He was so impressed that he brought this up.

“So, regarding the acceptance speech for the ambassador appointment today, I wish to do it myself.”

““?!””

Inside the van, everyone’s face stiffened.