Chapter 343 New Manager
"I'll leave you all to mingle."
"Mr. Song Shin Jae, over here, has kindly joined you even though it is a holiday, so make sure to treat him well since he's new to the company," Mr. Ong said, proudly showing off their new manager.
With that, he left the room, leaving the members in shock at the person sitting before them.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Akira couldn't help but curse.
Shin Jae pursed his lips and shook his head. "That is not the way you should be speaking to your new manager, Akira."
June sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Answer the question seriously, C-Jay."
C-Jay beamed at the members of EVE before responding.
"I was hired here. Oh, and try calling me Jay from now on. I've outgrown the name that you've mentioned."
"No shit!" Zeth exclaimed. "Our new manager? Are we getting pranked or something?" he asked, looking around the room.
Jisung continued staring at C-Jay, or rather, Jay, in disbelief at his new look. He still looked quite tacky, especially with the red suit and snake-skin tie. However, his hair, which was usually messy when they were trainees, was now slicked back with probably a whole bottle of gel. He also had glasses with thick, black frames, making him look like a ridiculous cosplay of a mafia boss.
"I swear, C-Jay," June said, still in disbelief. "If this is some kind of joke, you better leave while we're still talking peacefully."
"I told you—it's Jay, and this is a hundred percent serious. Mr. Ong even personally escorted me in," Jay defended.
"I still can't believe this," Akira said, staring off into the distance. "Why aren't you shocked about this?" he asked, hitting Casper's shoulder.
Casper shrugged. "Well, Jay did finish a degree in Communications."
"What?" the other members exclaimed loudly.
Jay proudly nodded, tightening his tie and straightening his back.
"Indeed, I have a Bachelor's degree in Communications and an Associates in International Relations," he boasted.
"That's the biggest plot twist of the year," Akira said. "Why were you so stupid when we were together in Rising Stars, then?"
"Oh, that was because I was trying to become an idol. I'm quite academically intelligent," Jay smiled. "I graduated as a Cum Laude, actually."
"This is getting more ridiculous," Ren whispered.
June raised his hand, causing the others to look at him.
"Can we decline a manager? I think Jaeyong's handling us just fine," he said.
The others chuckled while Jay shook his head in disappointment.
"You're saying that now, but your team needs me," Jay said.
"And why is that?" Zeth asked. "Come on, sell yourself to us. I still find it awkward how you're going to be our manager when we've been on the same show."
Jay scoffed. "Come on, stop acting like we weren't close back then."
"We weren't," June said.
Jay whined and clung onto June's arms like a Koala, finally revealing his true colors.
"But you were my bestest friend! Are you still holding a grudge after not believing you during the rigging allegations?" he asked.
June clicked his tongue and pushed him away.
"I forgot about that now," June truthfully said. "But now that you've mentioned it…"
"Nope!" Jay quickly shook his head. "Don't think about it anymore."
"Why did you even come here? I thought you wanted to become a rapper or something," Zeth said.
"Yeah, that was before I realized that my dream is to actually be on top of things," Jay said, looking into the distance with bright eyes.
"So, you want to make adult film videos?" Akira asked, a teasing smile on his lips.
Jay ignored him and continued speaking like a main character in an anime film.
"I thought I wanted to be a rapper! But I actually wanted to speak, to gossip, to organize stuff for other people. I hated my mom for forcing me to continue my college education even when I was a trainee, but now I'm very grateful. I got into this company because of it!"
"I only realized it after Jangmoon said about finding another dream on another stage. This is my dream and my stage. I just never expected you guys to still be in it!" he exclaimed.
The others watched their past fellow trainee with ambiguous expressions, so Jay continued speaking.
"Moreover, I would treat you better than your last manager did. I may be a loser, but I'm not a creep. I can assure you I would never suck my toes…maybe someone else's toes. That is, if they would like it."
The members looked at each other in confusion.
"Not in the casual setting, but in the bedroom setting, of course. Anyway, what I'm saying is, I will be as professional as I can while being a good friend to you guys!"
"How do you even know about our past manager's issue when you've only entered the company?" Zeth asked.
Jay smirked, leaning against his seat.
"That is another strength of mine. One key to the entertainment industry is information. The one who has more information is more powerful…and you already know I always know the latest information," he boasted.
June bit his lips. At first, he didn't know if Jay would be a suitable manager for their team.
June had always seen him as their happy-go-lucky, borderline-crazy friend who unnecessarily had more information than the regular person.
However, looking at him now, it didn't seem too bad.
"I promise, I've changed," Jay continued since the members still weren't speaking.
"Well, I'm still the same to some extent, but I'm really serious about this profession. I wasn't too serious about becoming an idol, so you can already imagine how much hard work I'm going to put into this job," he said, almost going down on his knees.
"Are you a good driver?" June asked.
"Yes!" Jay exclaimed. "I can drive for two straight days without having any bathroom breaks."
"I don't think that's healthy for your bladder," Sehun said.
"Or your butt," Zeth added.
The members glanced at each other, all exchanging silent conversations. Ultimately, as Jaeyong nodded, they had already formed their answer.
June sighed and shook his head before offering his hand to Jay.
"Welcome to the team, I guess."
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