Chapter 3 - Manipulating Yuna

Darius had decided to go into a small coffee shop not too far away from where she had debuted. On the way there, things had been mainly silent, with Darius asking her a few questions about her plans for the future. After all, he didn't want to die. He needed to make her fire Colin within a single day.

"Why did you hire Colin, by the way?" Darius asked. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but he's a bit of an asshole."

Darius wasn't lying. After the incident with Yuna in the past, he hadn't fired but decided to keep him. However, his job mainly consisted of being Colin's slave, always listening to his every word, or else he would threaten him of spreading the news about trying to sexually assault Yuna, when none of that had even happened.

She frowned when she heard my comment. "Didn't you start working with him today?"

Darius realized his mistake, and managed to salvage the situation right away.

"Right…that is true. However, everyone in the industry knows of him and his…special attitude toward his recruits."

This time, it was Yuna who frowned as she had no idea what Darius was talking about. After all, he was about to lie to her.

"You didn't hear about him getting closer to his recruits, and forcing them to do 'stuff' with them? Damn, I guess he managed to keep that story under lock."

She gasped as she heard his words. She couldn't believe it. "Are you serious? He forces people to have sex with him?"

Darius looked back at the road and shrugged. "You didn't hear it from me, alright. I also find it disgusting, but I'm a nobody. What can I even do? I don't even have an agency, even worse, I don't even have a talent to take care of. I'm just a rookie assistant, listening to his every word."

There was a look of pity on her face as she patted his back.

"That sounds horrible. I had no idea that he was such a monster."

A smirk appeared on Darius's face for a second before it returned to normal. He had already managed to make her think about dropping Colin with those accusations. Making her fire him within a single day would be child's play, especially with the help from the voice in his mind.

"Do you have any plans for the future?" Darius continued. "I saw your performance earlier, and I was mind blown. You really looked amazing on the stage, everyone was gawking at you."

She shook her head. "Most of them were only there to ogle at me, and my stupid outfit. I saw you doing it earlier too, but with you it's not as bad…because, uh, you know."

She didn't want to say her reasons. However, Darius was a little embarrassed that she had seen him.

"Right…sorry, it was too hard to resist. So, you want to be recognized for your skills and not your looks, is that it?"

She nodded extremely quickly. "Exactly…I don't want people to come watch me because of how I look. I find it disgusting."

Darius smiled. Everything was just perfect. He had no idea if it was because of the voice in his mind, or if it was actually her thinking all of those things. But none of it mattered, to be honest, Darius couldn't care less if he was getting helped by someone else. Hell, he could die if he failed to do this. At least, that's what the voice in his mind had said, and as far as he could tell…it didn't seem to be lying.

"Hm, well I know someone who could make you a lot better at singing."

She grabbed his arm instantly. "Who? Please tell me."

Darius wasn't sure if he should be saying it right now since it was quite embarrassing. But he pointed at himself.

"You?" She didn't look very convinced. "You know how to sing better than me?"

Darius clicked his tongue. "Hm, not exactly. But I have connections that could make you better if you were to practice with them."

It wasn't the time to be talking to her about his skill and the fact that they needed to be more intimate with one another for it to have greater effects. She wouldn't believe him either way. It was better to recruit her slowly but surely. Still, Darius had lied again. He had no connections in the entertainment world. He had told her earlier, he was a literal nobody.

She stayed silent for a while as they finally reached the coffee shop and entered it. Darius was shocked that no one came up to Yuna, but then he remembered that she was still unknown. No one even knew what she looked like, her career had only started very recently after all. 

They took a coffee and sat next to each other on a large seat. Darius stayed pretty reserved with her, and she also did the same as her touching had calmed down compared to inside the coffee shop.

"Hm, I have a question for you," Yuna suddenly uttered as they were awkwardly drinking their coffee.

"I'm all ears."

"If I were to fire Colin, would you resign?"

Darius celebrated from the inside as he kept a straight face on the outside.

"Ah…I don't know. I fought really hard to get this job. I don't want to leave just as I got it."

She waved her hands as if to apologize. "No, no, no. You wouldn't become jobless by resigning. You see, I'm not sure if I'm making the right decision, but from what you told me earlier about his weird tendencies. I was wondering if you would be open to resigning and becoming my manager."

'I fucking did it. Ah, why does it feel like it was too easy? Her personality is truly nothing like I remember.'

Ever since he had recruited her into his Talent Squad, her entire personality had shifted. The voice truly had made things a lot easier.

"Becoming your manager…uh" Darius acted as if he was hesitating.