Login 13: Tossed Out
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Time: 5:18 PM
"You finally done?" Joseph asked when he saw the joy and contentment in Nico's face.
"Hmmhmm" Nico just nodded, humming in delight, as he lean his back on the couch.
He let out a contented sigh, making Joseph's mouth twitch. "Well as long as he's happy, then I got no problem with it" He thought to himself.
"Where's Jae?" Nico asked, when he noticed that only he and Joseph were in the office.
"I brought him upstairs to eat lunch, then he dozed off on the couch while I was catching up Alexa on what happened" Joseph explained.
Nico was shocked that Jae actually fell asleep in someone else's house with out any problem at all. Nico didn't get to reply, when a soft knock rang on the door, before it opened. Jae walked in, looking well rested as his face still had that "just woke up" glow.
"Hey" Jae greeted softly
"Morning sleeping beauty" Nico greeted Jae with a teasing smile.
Jae's face redden with embarrassment as he closed the door behind him, then sat beside Nico.
"So, you finished with you're project?" Jae asked
Nico wanted to tease Jae even more, but the thought was immediately erased when the topic of his self-made item came into the conversation.
He was about to show it to Jae when Joseph's loud voice interrupted him.
"Hey, wait a minute! Is no one really going to talk about unfair it is that Jae still looks this good, even when he just woke up?! I mean dude..... really?" Joseph said in disbelief. His tone was a mix of jealously and awe, which just made Nico burst out laughing. Jae tried being polite by holding his laughter, but it was apparent that he was on the verge of breaking.
"Kids these day....." Joseph could just let out a sigh of defeat, for good measure, looking really sad.
"That's okay Kuya, you still look good for your age" Nico consoled Joseph, but he was still laughing.
"Hmph!" Joseph exaggeratedly turned his head away from Nico and Jae, looking very sad.
Nico and Jae laughed their bellies off, when Jae suddenly felt a sudden flash of pain in his torso, making him wince.
"I forgot about this" Jae said, as he gently rubbed the spot where his broken rib is. He calmed down relatively easy, but the smile plastered on his face never left.
"Yeah, that's what you get for making fun of me!" Joseph scoffed
"Don't mind him, he's just a little bitter about his old age" Nico comforted Jae, still grinning, as he gently patted his back.
"Two against one, how childish" Joseph mumbled as he frowned like a child, but then a smile lifted form his face and chuckled. Of course Joseph won't really be offend by such petty things, it was just all for good fun and both Nico and Jae knew this.
Coming down from a high, everyone was in comfortable silence in the office when suddenly the door suddenly bursts opened, making everyone's heart jump.
"I knew I'd find you here!" A raging Allyson said marching into the office.
"Allyson? what are you doing here?" Joseph asked, puzzled. Yeah, Allyson is no stranger to the Rizal family but it was also rare for her to come unannounced.
"THIS! I CAME BECAUSE OF THIS!" Allyson viciously said as she pointed at the USB she's holding in her hand. "THIS- THIS- THIS THING- Ugh!"
"Allyson couldn't even continue speaking because she hated the USB so much?" Nico though in confusion, but when he noticed that the USB that she was holding was the one that he gave to her, that's when he knew that something was definitely up.
Allyson threw the USB on the coffee table as she sat down on a solo couch, only to stand up again to pace the room back and fort, continuously raking her fingers over her hair in fury. Saying that she was mad would be an understatement. She was beyond pissed off, she is raging in fury.
Joseph knew that it was easy for Allyson to be set off, but seeing her this furious over something was the fist that he had seen her. As for Jae, he was confused, stunned and a little terrified at Allyson, at that moment.
Nico knew Allyson the best in that room, and in times like this, Allyson's emotions are very fragile. So, if he didn't chose his words correctly, he might actually die.
Carefully choosing his words, Nico spoke "Allyson, White Chocolate Mocha with two shots of Espresso; My treat!"
"Make it Venti!" Allyson replied through gritted teeth. She then sat down and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.
Nico let out sigh in relief, internally wiping a sweat on his forehead "Crisis averted!" he thought.
"Kuya, my treat how bout you?" Nico then asked Joseph, as he stood up and grabbed his wallet from his bag
"Americano's fine" Joseph answered, but his tone was still in a state of shock.
"Jae?" Nico asked turning to Jae
"Anything's fine" Jae simply answered, since his brain was still on the process of processing everything that happened, that he couldn't think of a specific drink.
"Okay" Nico nodded, then quietly left.
The coffee shop where Nico always goes to when he needed a doze of caffeine, was just in front of the Internet Cafe, that Nico literally just had to cross the road to get to. Thankfully Nico didn't have to wait in line for too long before he could order. Once the barista noticed who the next customer was, a smile lit up on her face. Nico has spent a lot of time in the coffee shop, so practically everyone knows him there. While the barista was taking Nico's order, they also quickly chatted to catch up on things. Once everything was set, Nico moved to the waiting counter, where he checked his phone for any updates. He tapped the SkyFall app on his phone, and was greeted by a trending news.
< After the bitter departure of Hysteria's former member Jae Ahn, Hysteria is bouncing back! Moving full throttle and not looking back, they have set their eyes on the Asia Rampage Conference; Determined to finally let the world have a glimpse of the new and improved Hysteria.
Hysteria is among the teams invited to participate on The Challenge, where they will be vying for the much coveted grand price; A $1 Million worth of sponsors and advertisement contracts. So Hysteria is taking this opportunity in asking for their fans to wish them the best and expect great things coming from new comer Moon Bin, and of course the rest of the Team.....>>
Reading the rest of the article, Nico could just let out a sad sigh, thinking "What in the world has Jae done, to deserve all this?". But before his brain could wander further, his order was served next.
He thanked the barista while taking his drinks, before leaving. Nico's mind wasn't focused at all on what was happening around him, that he almost crossed the street during a green light. Thankfully he still had some sense in him and forced himself to wake up from his day dream.
Once the stop light turned red, he swiftly crossed the street, then entered Legend Internet Cafe in a hurry. He fast walked towards the back of the shop and into Joseph's office. Nico couldn't knock with his hands because he was carrying a lot of stuff, so he slightly tapped his foot on the door, before slowly turning the knob over, while carefully making sure that no drinks were spilled. Once the knob was opened, he gently pushed the door opened before entering, only to be greeted with silence. Pure and utter silence. Actually, from the moment Nico left the office until the time he returned, it was like how he left the office, the only thing that changed was that Joseph transferred to sit on a solo couch as well, but other than that it was still pretty much quiet.
Once Nico placed Allyson's cup in front of her, she immediately stanched it; deeply inhaling the sweet smell of caffeine, which helped calm her down. Nico gave Joseph his Americano, before giving Jae his drink.
"I did't know what you like, so I just bought my usual drink" Nico explained as he handed Jae his drink.
"Thanks" Jae thanked, before taking a sip.
"Wow! this is good, what is it?" Jae asked, pleasantly surprised by the taste. The taste was a mix of fresh strawberries and a kind of light tea.
"It's Roseberry Tea mixed with soft Strawberry puree and Honey" Nico answered with a smile. He was glad that Jae liked the drink he chose for him.
After giving everyone got their drinks, Nico sat down beside Jae and took sip of his drink before speaking.
"So by now, I know both of you have a lot of question that needed answers" Nico said as he faced both Joseph and Jae. "But let me explain first"
"Okay..... Go ahead, we're listening" Joseph said
"Okay" Nico nodded, before taking a huge breath then letting it all out. "Kuya remember the video I asked you to record the other day?" Nico asked Joseph, helping him refresh his memories.
"Yeah... It was the press conference of Hysteria's management, right? What's that got to do with this?" Joseph asked, frowning slightly.
Hearing the press conference, Jae was caught completely off-guard and blindsided, as his heart started beating faster and louder, that he could hear it drum in his ears.
"Well you see... Let's just call it as an 'Artist's Instinct'. Remember while we were watching the live feed, I stopped halfway?
"Yeah....." Joseph only nodded, but was still not sure as to where Nico was going
"That was because, while the conference was happening, I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. I couldn't pin point what was making me uncomfortable, but I just had to stop watching. I knew immediately that something was not right, so I asked for you to record it for me, fully intending to investigate even further. But I wasn't able to do it, because that's when Jae suddenly showed up. if Jae was going to stay with me, I couldn't investigate the matter, while he was there. So thinking of an alternative, I gave Allyson the copy of the video and asked for her to ask a friend of hers, that was a former drama major at our school, to watch it and give his thoughts about the conference. I wasn't sure at first if it was going to work, but it turned out better that I expected, because depending on Allyson's reaction, I knew instantly that I was right with my hunch."
"And what would that hunch be?" Joseph asked
"That everything is fake!" Allyson suddenly exploded
"What was fake about it?" Joseph asked in confusion
"Everything! Absolutely everything!" Allyson said through gritted teeth
"Ally, calm down and drink" Nico said with a hint of a "parental" tone in his voice.
Allyson obeyed, which helped calm her down.
"Okay, I'm getting all confused. Can someone just please say it directly and straight to the point?" Joseph said, sounding exhausted from all the emotional drama coming from Allyson and all the suspense coming from Nico.
"What she means is.... the conference was all a sham. Hysteria's management stated that it was suppose to be a conference to address the issue of Jae leaving, but that was just their cover up to promote their newest member. It was just a one big publicity stunt, and they completely succeeded" Nico explained
"They all acted like the victim and convinced everyone that Jae was the ungrateful son of a -" Allyson stopped herself form continuing because it was never her nature to curse, even if she wanted too, really bad. "They even went as far as putting the director on a wheel chair to sell their case. Ughhhh!" Allyson growled in anger. "They're acting was so bad that Artie couldn't even last 2 minutes of watching the whole damned thing, without wanting to puke his guts out. I just bribed him into watching the whole thing and in the end he almost fainted. He said that everything was disgustingly fake and that it was a grave sin to even call their acting 'acting'! Mind you, Artie is an acting genius so he knows what he's talking about. If he tells you someone's acting is trash, you best believe it is trash!" Allyson was breathing hard from her fury as her eyes blazed with retribution.
"So, basically there's more to the story than meets the eye, am I right?" Joseph concluded
"That's basically it" Nico nodded, then turned his head slightly to Jae's direction.
Jae was silent the whole time. His face was devoid of any emotions, as he continued to listen to the conversation. It was like opening pandora's box. Everything that he's been wanting and trying hard to forget, just all came crushing down on him. His brain and emotions were all over the place, that he didn't know what to do.
"I'm sorry about this" Nico apologized to Jae with a soft voice.
Nico thought that Jae was angry, that's why he wasn't responding. But after few minutes, he did.
"It's not you're fault" Jae just replied, but he didn't say he was okay, because he will be lying to himself if he did.
"Jae... what happened? Why are you really here?" Allyson asked with a very sad voice. She felt like Jae really went through something unimaginable to have that broken, shattered expression on his face.
Nico wanted to smack Allyson, the moment she uttered her question. Nico wanted to let Jae to open up voluntarily, without being forced. But everything happened so fast that it ended up this way. Nico would take another approach if the situation was different, but he couldn't predict that things will go down the way it went. So in the end, he just shuts his mouth and went along with it. He was going to know everything in the future eventually; It just happened much faster that he expected to.
After long minutes of silence from Jae, everybody already resigned the thought of getting a response from him. They completely understood if Jae didn't want to talk about what happened, and they also didn't want to force him any longer either. But unexpectedly Jae spoke;
"If I'm gonna tell you guys, then we'll have to start from the very beginning" Jae said, his eye swirling with all kinds of emotions. Everyone listened earnestly and quietly, placing their whole focus on Jae.
"Well, it all started five years ago, when I was just starting out as a trainee. Riot Entertainment was just starting out as a company then. Starting out, the company had huge potential and full of promise. They started taking in trainees from all over Korea and some from abroad as well. Knowing full well of my capabilities; I know I'm not the best dancer, but I can sing decently enough. But comparing myself to the other trainees auditioning, I would definitely fall on the very bottom of the list, worst case scenario I wouldn't make the list at all. The only saving grace that I had then was the potential that they saw in me" Jae spoke with a smile on his face, as he revisits his most fond memories.
"Wanting to prove the directors that they made the right decision in accepting me. I pushed myself to the bones, giving everything; blood, sweat and tears. Then after a year, they told all the trainees that the first batch of trainees will debut in one boy group and one girl group. Really wanting to debut so hard, I pushed myself even more, but for some reason it didn't help. When they were evaluating us one by one, I could see the director's disappointment in his face while he was looking at me. I know I wasn't the best in the bunch but I didn't expect that I was really that horrible." Letting out a self deprecating dry laugh.
"As the time went by, all my batch-mates already debuted and I was the only one left. Being made fun of by my juniors, I still continued being a trainee with the thought that one day I would definitely make the people who doubted me, believe in me. 'Until that day came I would work hard' I told myself. After a few years of prosperity, the company started going down hill from there. The multiple groups that they had debuted, were no longer producing much money like they used too. At that moment I thought I was really done for, but what I didn't expect is that it would finally be my turn to debut.
Riot found out about Rampage and saw how big it was. Planning long and hard about what their next step was going to be, they decided to dip their feet into the professional gaming scene, by creating a group that's excellent with gaming and performing as well; That's when Hysteria was made. The evaluations this time was a little different from how they used to do it, since they were putting more emphasis that it will be a Professional Gamer-Idol hybrid. They tested us first in our abilities in Rampage. Never in my wildest dreams that I would have been the first one to be picked out of hundreds of trainee. I guess I had to thank my for love of Rampage, then. Before I was even a trainee, I was already playing Rampage. I was actually one of the very first players to be a beta tester-"
"Really?" Joseph asked in shock
Jae just simply nodded
"That's pretty cool" Joseph said, impressed, but then Allyson glared at him as if telling him "Not to interrupt the main topic or else!"
"Anyways, please continue" Joseph said, heeding Allyson's warning well
"Yeah, so in other words I finally debuted. At first I just started noticing that I had lesser lines that the other members, but I really didn't pay it too much attention back then, because I was just happy with being able to debut. I thought that it was still just the beginning so it was normal, but I was completely naive. As song after song was produced and the group started to rise in fame, I started noticing a pattern; That I always had the least lines, the least screen time, and was always at the back. They wouldn't even give me a chance to have a role in dramas or even show up as a guest on variety shows. I was starting to get paranoid about loosing my place in the group that I started questioning everyone. The first time that I asked the director, he said that it was because I was their best player and would like for me to only focus on Rampage. Then when I asked if I could appear on a variety show, they started getting angry at me and told me 'To only focus on Rampage and nothing else'. The third time, I went behind their backs and did a commercial for a gaming company. Besides gaming, I sang and danced in the commercial as well. I thought that since it was related to the E-sports community, the higher ups would let it pass. I did it, because I already felt that I'm starting to loose my place in the group and in desperation, I wanted to let the world to know that I was also a part of Hysteria; but apparently they didn't want me showing my face anywhere at all. I thought I was protecting my place in the group, but I was actually doing the opposite." Jae started getting choked up from time to time as he continued telling his story.
"Then the day I dreaded the most came. The director called for me, to have a talk with me alone. My supposed to be manager that was handling me that time was beside the director and looked at me with a sense of relief in his face, like a trash finally being tossed out of his life. Right then and there, they told me that they were tossing me out. They said that the only reason they let me stay was because of my ability to help Hysteria rise to fame through E-sports, which I did when helping Hysteria reach second at Worlds. Apparently that was my only use to them. It completely crushed me, I tried making sense of what was happening but all my mind could ever think off was, I had to stay. I asked them what I did wrong, and they just simply answered 'everything'" Jae's eyes started getting glassy from unshed tears
"Apparently, they were already searching for a replacement even before I could debut. I was just the practical buffer until they found their perfect Idol. I begged for them to let me stay and still give me another chance but after they talked to me, they just stood up and left just like that, leaving me with a large amount of money that was suppose to be my 'compensation'. At that point, I just snapped. Before they could leave the room, I stood up and faced them. I told them that they were gonna regret everything for what they did. You know what they did? The Director wished me good luck sarcastically, then left laughing their asses off. They thought that I was a joke, and at that time I thought I was one too. To them I was a dog with all bark with no bite, since they knew what my capabilities were." At that point Jae's voice just sounded hollow.
The office was very quite as everybody was still digesting what Jae had just revealed. They didn't know what to even say at the moment.
Breaking the silence first, Jae sniffed then wiped his unshed tears away, as he forced a sad smile "So there you go guys. After being kicked out, I didn't want to stay in that place or in fact, that country anymore. So, I went straight to the airport and bought the first flight out of the country, and here I am."
As the night went by, the office was just in complete silence, until Allyson suddenly stood up and just stated that she's leaving, which caught Joseph and Jae off guard.
"Let her, it's her way of coping with things" Nico explained
It was weird, but they thought no longer of it. Instead, Joseph started getting concerned over Jae's health. After telling his story, he was so exhausted, that there wasn't even a trace of light in his eyes anymore. Joseph told Nico to take Jae home, since it was already late, and so Jae could rest. Nico looked at his watch and saw that it was only slightly past 7, which was still a little early; but he understood what Joseph was trying to say. Jae on the other hand didn't say anything, since he also wanted to rest. feeling very exhausted, he never would have thought that speaking could drain his energy that much.
Back story:
Earlier that day while Nico was working on his project, Joseph invited Jae up stairs for lunch. It was safe to say that Alexa's reaction when he saw Jae, was pretty much the same as how her husband reacted. Alexa also plays Rampage, and although she doesn't play as much as she used to, she still kept herself well updated. So knowing who Jae is, is a no brainer for her, but meeting him in person was a whole other talk.
Thankfully before Alexa could react like how Joseph reacted, Joseph gave her a look that says "Don't ask now. I'll explained everything later"
Truly the wonders of a married couples' telepathic powers is limitless. With just a look, Alexa immediately understood and just acted normal around Jae like they already knew each other for a long time. Alexa avoided asking any question that might set Jae off, like a pro, and just converse with him naturally.
After lunch, Jae sat at the living room couch while Alexa and Joseph cleaned the dishes. While cleaning the dishes, Joseph told Alexa the gist on how Jae got there. It came as a shock, but Alexa understood. She pitied Jae as her heart ached for him. She knew that there's more to the story that meets the eyes, or in this case what she heard, but she hoped that Jae would get the happiness that he deserved.
After washing the dishes, the married couple went back to the living room, only to see Jae dozed off on the couch with a book on his hand. A tender smile appeared on Alexa's face, like a mother would have when looking at her child. Alexa had complications with giving birth and was only found out after the second miscarriage that she had. Joseph loves Alexa so much, that his heart broke for his wife when they were told that Alexa has very low chance of being pregnant again. Knowing that it crushed Alexa even more, he just stood by her and supported her every step of the way. He never forced her into bearing a child for him, and showed her everyday that his love for her would never change; with or without a child.
It goes without saying that Alexa went through depression, until Nico came. He was like the son they never had, and it revived her. Alexa treated Nico like her own child, which in time helped her heal. Now having Jae.... it was like Nico finally had a brother.
Alexa walked up to Jae and gently repositioned him into a lying position, without waking him up. She then placed a pillow under his head, then placed a blanket on him. Joseph looked at his wife's tender filled eyes, making his heart squeeze lightly. There are times that he thought that he couldn't love his wife even more than he already has, but he was continually proven wrong time and time again. At that moment he loved his wife even more, as he looked at her with loving eyes.
While Alexa was making sure that Jae was comfortable, Jae actually stirred lightly but didn't wake up, He just buried his head even further on the pillow and let out a sight of content, making the married couple chuckle softly. Seeing that Jae was comfortable, Alexa stood up and gently brushed off the hair on Jae's face, revealing a serine expression. Alexa then wrote a letter for Jae on a piece of paper and left it on top of the coffee table, before the married couple went down stairs. Joseph had to go back to work while Alexa needed to tend to the counter since Lila will be heading home early that day.
When Joseph returned to his office after three hours, Nico was still pretty much engrossed in his project that he didn't even noticed Joseph entering. Joseph didn't disturbed Nico and just sat behind his computer and quietly started working.
Notes:
SkyFall -*Is a fictional type of social media like, Facebook.*
Rampage Conference -*Is an event that happens once a year, inviting some of the most powerful and respected professional teams to compete for the grand price of $1 Million worth of sponsors and advertisements. This grand prize can easily lift a team's reputation as well as their well-being. This event is more like a friendly competition rather than a professional one, so invited teams don't necessarily need to show up or accept the invitation. The Rampage Conference happens in every continent.
Nico's drink -*Is an Iced Pumpkin Spiced Latte*
Arthur Le Vount (or Artie) -*Is a good friend of Allyson, who is considered a genius in the field of acting and directing. He's a foreign student from Paris who graduated at < Riot Entertainment -*Is the talent agency that Hysteria is under.*