Chapter 926: Phoenix
Chapter 926: Phoenix
Chapter 926: Phoenix
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"Oh, Lei?" Kwan asked as he opened the gate for him. "I thought you couldn't come today." "I can't miss our game night," Lei smiled.
Kwan chuckled and opened the gate wider. "Lena will scold me once she finds out you're here instead of with her. Anyway, come on in. My personal chef is already preparing dinner."
Lei smiled. "Thank you for having me."
The two of them went to Kwan's mansion and settled in the living room.
"Well, you look very proper," Kwan chuckled. "You just came from work?"
"Yes," Lei said, placing his briefcase on the table. "I came here straight away."
"I can sense your dedication," Kwan chuckled. "Anyway, dinner will probably be ready in half an hour. What do you want to do until then?"
Lei pursed his lips. This was the perfect time to show him. He opened his briefcase and took some papers out.
Without saying anything, he handed them to Kwan, who appeared confused by the events. He grabbed the papers and inevitably read them. Meanwhile, Lei waited patiently, trying to keep his expressions neutral-not wanting to appear too excited.
After a while, Kwan finally stopped reading, placing the stack of papers on his lap with a deep frown.
"My uncle," he muttered. "He did all of this to Phoenix trainees?"
Lei pursed his lips, appearing genuinely concerned about the situation.
"Yes," he answered. "As I've told you, I worked in Phoenix back then. This is the information I've gathered against him. I didn't want to tell you at first, but after a while, I decided to do it -for the sake of our friendship."
Kwan's fists clenched around the piece of paper. "I knew it," he muttered. "This is also one of the reasons why I didn't want to be known to the public. I don't want to be associated with my family anymore. However, this is plain cruel. How can they do this to little kids with dreams of becoming an idol?"
Lei sighed. "That was what I was trying to change when I was still working at Phoenix. However, your uncle is also powerful. He knows the system of the company, and he has created many allies in the process."
"I am only one person—one who wants to change the idol industry, so I wasn't able to do it. Only someone with more power than your uncle would be able to grant that position to me," he continued.
Kwan's frown deepened as Lei continued his story.
"Do...you want my help?" Kwan asked.
Lei thought he would never ask. Then, he solemnly nodded. "I know we haven't known each other for a long time; however, if you would grant me this opportunity, then I would be very grateful. I also wouldn't take it for granted."
"As you also know, Azure Entertainment is going through a tough time these last couple of days. June's departure had created a buzz, but it also doesn't look good with our investors- especially since June was the face of EVE."
"However, we are working hard on rebuilding EVE to be a much better group-even better than the one with June in it. Yet, we can't do it alone. I can't do it alone."
"I need your help," he said.
"So, if you will, we can create a symbiotic relationship."
"You can save Azure Entertainment while I can take care of Phoenix."
Kwan's eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
"You want to take Phoenix and merge it with Azure?" Kwan asked.
"Frankly speaking, yes," Lei said. "I am confident that I would be able to change the idol industry for the better if this happened."
"Now, are you willing to help me, Mr. Phoenix?"
***
"What are you doing here?" Minjun exclaimed as he held onto June's wrist.
In his arms was a plastic bag filled with expensive ice cream-the ones that cost the same as a full-course meal in a cheap restaurant.
June placed his left hand over his heart. "I thought you were someone else," he said. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
"You're the one who nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing outside of our house? My mom is home!"
"Really," June muttered. "That's perfect."
"What do you mean?" Minjun exclaimed. "She's already in a bad mood because her date ditched her once again! You're going to get burned alive if she sees you here."
"Minjun, you're already here? Where is the ice cream?" they suddenly heard from inside the gate.
Minjun's eyes widened further as his mom's voice sounded closer.
He placed both hands on June's back and aimed to push him away. "Go away! You can visit me another time! Just call me," he whispered shouted.
However, June stayed still in his spot.
"Minjun, who are you talking to?" Lena asked.
Minjun pursed his lips. "No one, mom. Don't come out! I'll go inside in a second."
June clicked his tongue, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not going."
"You're insane," Minjun said, not being able to control the volume of his voice.
"I heard another voice!" Lena exclaimed, placing her hand on their gate. "I'm going out
now!"
Minjun felt his heart race inside his chest. On the contrary, June remained calm, appearing like he didn't give a damn about what was happening.
Minjun continued to push him away. Just then, the gate opened, revealing Lena in all of her
glory.
Since it was a hot and disappointing evening, she was wearing pajamas paired with a tank top, ready to eat the ice cream that her son had bought.
However, the night became even hotter when she saw June next to her son-both figuratively and literally. June was hot; there was no doubt about that. But Lena also felt hot from anger
since she didn't want him in the vicinity of their house.
"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed out of rage.
June gazed at her with a smirk, looking her up and down. Lena's cheeks reddened since she felt that June was checking her out.
However, in reality, he was just staring at the underside of her arm-where a prominent black
mark was shown.
Then, he smirked.
Phoenix.