Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Wow, Smell the Flowers
***
If there was one idol group everyone would unanimously point to as the hottest rising act these days, it would be this one.
Mystic.
A six-member project group formed from the final contestants selected through the audition program Mystic Hundred.
Mystic had already drawn enormous attention when they were formed, and they kept their momentum going after releasing their digital single Miss TikTok. Despite being rookies, they were treated on par with established stars, and everything they wore or ate immediately became a consumer trend.
Without question, the driving force behind that phenomenon was one of the members, Yukihana Sakuya.
If she had a signature trait, it was undoubtedly the fact that she was a natural—something rarely seen in the entertainment industry.
Sakuya's untainted voice reminded people of the innocence humanity had forgotten after entering the twenty-fourth century. She possessed an emotional appeal that artificial vocal cords simply could not reproduce.
She wasn't merely following trends—she was creating them. Calling her an icon of the era wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
Despite generating explosive popularity wherever she went, it had only been two months since her debut.
The public eagerly followed her every move, wondering just how far she would go. But such attention and scrutiny did not always have positive effects.
Where flowers bloomed, bees naturally gathered.
And those bees carried poison.
Being exposed to the masses also meant attracting people she never wanted anything to do with.
"You said you loved me! You said you loved me! And now you're betraying me? Our love wasn't something this shallow, Sakuya! Sakuya!"
—Just like this.
Behind the stage.
The members of Mystic, who had been resting after finishing their performance, jumped in fright and clung to one another when an unexpected intruder barged in. They were girls who had spent half their lives striving to become someone's idol.
Naturally, they had never been prepared to deal with a situation like this.
Fortunately, before things escalated, the security guards arrived and subdued the man. Even so, the shameless bastard refused to give up and struggled wildly.
He flailed like a fish that had been thrown onto land.
"Let me go, you bastard! Let me go!"
Without even trying to hide his bloodshot eyes, the man screamed toward a single person.
"Sakuyaaaa! Sakuya! You promised meee!"
His chilling screams sounded as though they had risen from the abyss itself, yet Sakuya maintained her expressionless face as she gripped her trembling hands together. Compared to what she had experienced in the past, something like this wasn't enough to truly shake her.
It was then that the man's forearm split open, and a blade sprang out.
"Stop that bastard!"
Realizing he was no ordinary assailant, the staff rushed in to help. Thanks to them, his desperate attack failed before it could reach anyone.
Needless to say, the disturbance would remain a hot topic for quite some time—
Having rushed over after hearing the news, their dedicated manager, Dylan Sharpton, let out a sigh of relief.
"No one got hurt, right?"
"No."
The girls answered mechanically like parrots, still too shocked to process everything, but Dylan didn't bother pointing it out.
He felt much the same.
It was only because there had been so many people nearby that what almost became a terrible tragedy had been prevented.
He wiped away the cold sweat pouring down his face, but a single handkerchief wasn't nearly enough to dispel the lingering tension and fear.
Mystic's popularity was soaring.
If even one of the girls had been injured, there would have been no escaping the fans' outrage. The company would also undoubtedly impose severe penalties on those held responsible.
Moreover, this had already happened for the fifteenth time.
Dylan had been in the industry long enough to encounter all kinds of people. He had thought he was gradually becoming accustomed to the darker side of show business.
Even so, the threats surrounding Mystic struck him as highly unusual.
The kind of incident that normally happened once a year was occurring almost every day.
Lately, it felt as though every time they stepped onto a stage, some dangerous individual would appear.
Since Mystic was a group even megacorp B&B was closely monitoring, information control would undoubtedly begin immediately.
But rumors didn't spread only through online communities.
Word of mouth would carry them just as effectively.
After hurriedly handing out his business cards and asking the staff to keep the matter quiet, Dylan quickly loaded Mystic into their van before taking the driver's seat himself.
Several minutes later.
Only after entering the Hyperloop did Dylan finally let go of the steering wheel. Looking into the rearview mirror, his eyes settled on the girl's face.
One would think they might shout another member's name.
Yet every single assailant had singled out Sakuya.
There was no way he could ignore the strange attraction surrounding her.
"Could it be..."
"You're asking if I know him?"
Having heard the question dozens of times already, Sakuya answered before Dylan could even finish asking it.
How could she not feel frustrated herself?
Such bizarre incidents kept happening around her.
But—
"I'm innocent. That was the first time I'd ever seen him. Though judging by your expression, Manager oppa, I don't think you believe me."
That was when Eliza, the member who trusted and followed Sakuya more than anyone else in Mystic, flared up.
"Manager oppa, do you realize how rude you're being?"
"I was just asking, just in case. I didn't mean anything else by it."
Knowing full well how sharp her tongue could be, Dylan had no choice but to back down. Once she latched onto someone, she never let them go until they admitted they were wrong.
"Still, if there's ever anything you want to talk about, come find me anytime. No matter what kind of past you have, the company will always put your safety first and protect—"
"Oppa!"
At Eliza's booming shout, loud enough to make it seem as though she had swallowed a cannon, Dylan slowly shook his head.
The reason he couldn't let the matter drop until the very end was his intuition—his sixth sense.
His instincts kept screaming at him.
That Sakuya was definitely hiding something.
Sakuya's fellow trainees had all been victims connected to the Eastern Gate incident. She alone had survived the storm unleashed by the megacorp.
Did Sakuya truly have no connection to any of it?
Was everything really nothing more than a coincidence?
Perhaps some conspiracy, one even she herself was unaware of, had begun to take shape.
Still, placing the entire burden on a single young girl wasn't something a responsible adult should do, so Dylan forced the thoughts from his mind.
"Yeah... Let's just keep watching a little longer."
But as if to mock that decision, another incident occurred.
***
The plaza was packed with the cheers of people captivated by Mystic, so it was only natural that their schedule grew busier in proportion to all that love.
Before long, work even overflowed into the weekends, blurring the line between weekdays and holidays.
After spending several Sol sleeping soundly in the dormitory provided by their agency,
the members stood in front of the apartment entrance, feeling nostalgic. It had been so long since they had returned to their accommodation.
But that sense of peace lasted only a few seconds.
The interior looked nothing like they remembered.
"My handkerchief is gone."
"Doesn't the furniture arrangement look a little different too?"
"Something I left in my drawer is missing as well."
The more they compared their memories with reality, the more uneasy they became. Their expressions gradually darkened.
Someone had entered their home.
Someone they didn't know.
"...This is serious."
After receiving an urgent call, Dylan rushed over, repeatedly wiping the cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
If a suspicious individual attacked them on-site, that could be dealt with.
But stalking was not something that could be solved overnight.
To begin with, Mystic had been assigned a branded apartment. It couldn't compare to the residences of corporate executives or megacorp chairmen, but it was hardly the sort of place someone without any special skills could simply break into.
"Pack your things. We're going back to the company."
There was always the possibility hidden cameras had been installed, so they had to proceed with extreme caution.
Unfortunately, reporting it to the Public Enforcement Corps wasn't an option.
If they got involved, the paparazzi would inevitably follow. Unwanted labels would almost certainly be attached to Mystic.
People would claim they had deliberately attracted men, or criticize them for their supposed improper behavior.
Even if none of it was true, rival agencies would undoubtedly fan the flames.
What the public wanted wasn't undeniable truth.
They wanted something to break the monotony of everyday life.
For Mystic, whose rise had only just begun, it could become a devastating stain on their reputation.
***
"...Then we'll have no choice but to hire a fixer."
At TF Team Leader Chieftain's suggestion, Dylan instinctively repeated the word.
"A fixer?"
He knew such a profession existed.
But perhaps because he had lived a relatively uneventful life, it sounded like something from a distant colony.
"I've heard they're all the worst kind of scum."
Dylan's first concern was whether they were chasing away a puppy by bringing in a wolf.
Private sanctions might be recognized under the law, but expecting the people who carried them out to possess normal morals was asking far too much.
"I'm not talking about hiring one through a broker. I happen to know a guy."
Chieftain puffed out his chest.
"Want me to call him? He's pretty capable. Perfect for exterminating pests."
"I'd prefer someone who can keep his mouth shut more than someone who's skilled."
"Even if we don't pay to keep his mouth shut, the company will. You think carrying the business card of a B&B subsidiary is just for show?"
To be honest, Dylan wasn't convinced.
The TF Team existed solely to support Mystic's activities, and once their contract ended, the team would be dissolved.
Even so, it was considered an excellent place to build achievements, so there was no shortage of people aiming to become its leader.
Chieftain, however, hadn't been one of them.
Or rather, everyone had believed he wasn't.
Singer Management Team 1, commonly shortened to Singer Team 1.
No one had expected him to abandon a position that practically guaranteed promotion and come here instead.
His decision had been so sudden that all sorts of rumors surrounded him.
Some claimed he wanted to approach Sakuya and establish his own entertainment agency with her.
Others insisted he'd accepted money from a rival company and was simply waiting for an opportunity to ruin Mystic.
None of it had ever been proven.
Still, smoke didn't rise without fire.
But refusing outright wouldn't solve anything either, so Dylan reluctantly accepted the proposal.
"Wow, smell the flowers."
"Please choose your words carefully. You're employed by our company."
"I know, I know."
The fixer Chieftain had called was a frivolous man.
No... perhaps "young man" was more appropriate.
He had only just shed the look of a teenager, yet there was still an unmistakable youthful immaturity about him.
At first glance, he looked like the type more interested in side benefits than the actual job.
"Where's Sakuya? Where are the other members?"
Just as expected, every word out of his mouth was irritating.
"You're here to track down the stalker. Though who knows? Once the problem is resolved, the girls might come personally to thank you."
"Well then, I guess I'd better work hard."
As Chieftain had promised, the young man wasn't lacking in skill.
After he appeared, every trace of suspicious activity disappeared.
His only flaw was that he occasionally made nonsensical remarks.
Still, since he seemed to be serving as an effective deterrent, Dylan decided to continue observing the situation.
That was when disaster struck.
The fixer they had hired suddenly dropped dead.
Without the slightest warning.
Just like that.