"You crazy bastard!" 

Dean cursed as he held tightly onto the phone next to his ear. 

"Do you have any idea what kind of request you're... no, fuck. Outside of that request, you even went directly to Windsol Enterprises to get her to audition. Are you trying to wage war against Unit 1?" 

If Dean could, he'd swear a thousand times over. No, that wouldn't be enough to appease his current mood as he glared at the phone in his hand. 

"Fine! Fine! I'll talk to him. I'll see how I handle you when you get back." 

Du. Du. 

He hung up the phone directly, but not before throwing another curse. 

"Fucker!" 

Yes, he was a total fucker. A competent, yet annoying fucker. One that he couldn't do without. 

"Haaa... My head is already starting to hurt." 

Massaging it, Dean walked into a large meeting room where the Leader of Unit 2 sat. His face was as expressionless as ever. 

"What is it?" 

The Unit Leader raised his head to look at Dean with the same impassive look he always wore. But before Dean could answer, he added, 

"Have you selected the project for Blue Daisy yet? It's already been over a week since the deadline has passed. A lot of the projects have already been selected by other groups. There's only a few left." 

"Right, about that..." 

With a difficult face, Dean sat on one of the chairs and took a deep breath. 

"I have a couple of things that I need to report to you." 

"Oh?" 

The leader of Unit 2 finally raised his brow as his gaze shifted away from the documents on his desk. 

"For you to look this troubled, it must be something big." 

"Big?" 

Dean darkly laughed. 

"It's more than fucking big. It's disastrously big. That fucker..." 

"You're even resulting to curses? How bad must it be?" 

"Wait until you hear this." 

Dean leaned over on the desk and shared everything that Liam had told him over the phone.

From how he had personally gone to Windsol-Enterprises to snatch up a project that belonged to Unit 1 and how they had come to an agreement for them to directly send a request for Sarah, to his ridiculously bold idea. 

"Regarding the girl project. He said that he had an idea. I tried asking him what it was, but all I was told was 'Give me a list of all the projects that will air at the same time as [Top Stars], and more precisely, with a similar concept'. Can you believe this fucker?" 

Despite his best attempts, Dean couldn't stop himself from cursing. 

"Not only is he trying to wage war with Unit 1, but he's trying to get his own group to participate in a project that's going to air at the same time as Top Stars. Top fucking stars! One of the projects that will most likely do well. That's like asking for the girls to fail."

He threw his hands in the air. 

"To make matters worse, since that project wasn't in the meeting, it was probably one we didn't even get requested to participate in!" 

By the time Dean was done sharing his frustrations, he was grasping heavily for breath. He hadn't noticed but he had said almost everything in a couple of breaths. 

"Haa... I swear, he's going to be the end of me." 

"Is he now?" 

At the Leader's question, Dean raised a brow. Clicking on his pen, the Leader pointed it at him. 

"For someone who seems so mad, you seem to be enjoying this situation a lot." 

"Uh? What makes you think that?" 

Dean blinked with obvious confusion. 

"Have you seen yourself?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Never mind." 

With a shake of his head, the Leader placed his pen down and asked a question, 

"Despite everything that you said, you want to wage war with Unit 1, don't you?"

Dean's face flinched, and the Leader continued. 

"Despite the unrealistic demand that he's asked for the project, you want to have a look, don't you?" 

"...What are you talking about?" 

"You want to believe in him." 

The leader's words brought a strange silence to the room as Dean stopped speaking. The leader continued, 

"...You want to believe that this newbie everyone is talking about isn't just some lucky bastard who just managed to get himself a good deal. You want to believe that he's truly competent, don't you?" 

His words seemed to have hit right on the nail as Dean pursed his lips before eventually nodding after a short pause. 

"...I do." 

"Then?" 

"Am I not allowed to vent my frustrations once in a while? Let me tell you this, cursing him has become my stress reliever." 

Dean covered his mouth to laugh. 

"It hasn't even been a week and I'm getting attached to him. Tell me again when was the last time this happened?" 

"Never." 

"Right." 

Liam wasn't the first manager that Dean had been in charge of during his tenure with Blue Daisy. In fact, he was the fifth manager that had been assigned to them in three years, and despite only three weeks passing, Dean found himself developing a certain liking for him.

The same could be said for the girls who all seemed to have taken a certain liking to him. 

At the very least, they didn't dislike him like their previous managers. 

While the relationship with the previous managers wasn't explicitly strained, it wasn't particularly positive either. The girls rarely engaged with them unless it was absolutely necessary, keeping most matters to themselves.

Liam, in contrast, addressed issues promptly or persisted in uncovering them if the girls remained silent.

A busybody. 

He was a total busybody. One that wouldn't stop unless the problem was resolved. 

Dean wasn't certain if that was the primary reason he developed a liking for him, but it undeniably contributed, as he couldn't help but feel inclined to cheer him on.

Noticing the expression on Dean's face, the Leader asked, 

"Since you said you're going to help him, how exactly are you going to help him?" 

At the abrupt question, Dean moistened his lips and deliberated carefully before retrieving his pad and responding,

"Well for starters, I'm going to look for that 'project' he was raving about." 

***

The idea came to me when I was on my way back from the Guild with Sarah. I was busy pondering over my next course of action when I suddenly realized something. 

'...Is it really the case that only one project actually succeeded?' 

I thought back on the vision I had back when I was selecting the group project for Blue Daisy. The vision clearly stated that there was only one project that would succeed, but on further thought, I realized that wasn't the case.

There was another project that didn't fail and succeeded. 

Right. 

The very project that resulted in the downfall of [Top Stars]. 

"I should've thought of it sooner." 

I muttered to myself, leaning against the soft cushion of the couch behind me. 

My mind had been so preoccupied with the succeeding project [Labyrinth] and all the other aspects surrounding that vision that I neglected the obvious. 

The situation wasn't as bleak as it was made to seem despite 'Richard's' sudden intrusion.

There was another project that was bound to succeed, and if I could lay my hands on it... 

"Manager, is there something bothering you?" 

A familiar voice broke me out of my thoughts and when I turned my head I was surprised to see Sarah sitting down next to me. Her head was a couple of inches too close for my comfort so I moved back a little. 

"When did you get here?" 

"Just now." 

"Then..." 

Why did I not feel anything? 

"Manager, get used to it. She's a ghost. I'm telling you. A ghost." 

Joana said from the distance, looking at me with pitying eyes. 

I was just about to respond when I heard a sling of curses coming from the hall. 

"What the fuck!!!!!" 

I already knew it was Olivia who had sworn. It wasn't anything unusual. But besides the swearing, the sudden rise of her voice alarmed me. 

Just as I was about to check up on her, I was suddenly enlightened. 

"The hell are you doing you little midget? This is the fifth time you've scared me this week. Are you trying to get your ass beat?"

"Ah." 

I sat back down and no longer bothered.

Ever since the whole television fiasco, Lyla had picked up a new hobby.

Scaring people. 

Just as you thought you were casually entering the apartment, the next moment Lyla would burst out from some random corner of the house at full speed, startling the girls to the core.

It was a little funny at first, but it had gotten to the point where the girls were starting to become paranoid. 

Especially Mia. She refuses to go out of the room unless it's for the academy or some important situation, mumbling things such as 'It's bad for my heart, cursed, girls by the piers, and so on...' 

Despite the revelation it seemed as though she was still not over it. 

The only one who hadn't fallen victim to her antics was Sarah who showed no change in expression. 

Of course, that was merely a facade. The scattered candies on the ground that I had to clean up were the best proof of this. 

Glancing in Olivia's direction, Joana directed her gaze toward me. 

"Manager, can you do something about the situation?" 

"I'm as lost as you are." 

I shrugged my shoulders. 

We had already taken the TV from her. 

With what else could we punish her? 

"Hmm. I guess you're right." 

Even Joana seemed to have realized this as she let out a tired sigh. 

"...Maybe we could really try for a little spank—" 

"Hold that thought." 

I stopped her before she could finish her sentence. 

"That's some dangerous territory you're threading. We might get called in for child abus—" 

Spank—! 

A horrifying sound echoed throughout the entire room before I could even finish my sentence as the living room turned extremely quiet, and a quiet wail echoed throughout.

"Wa!" 

"How did you like that you little gremlin?" 

I had to blink several times in order to make sure I hadn't heard wrong, and when it all came together, I could visibly feel my face bleach as realization dawned on me. 

"Olivia, do—" 

Spank—!

"There's more of where that came from!" 

Spank—!

"Where do you think you're running? Get your little legs back here!" 

*** 

Emblem of the Sun, Unit 1.

The Unit Leader sat at his desk with a dark look. As his gaze settled on a script in front of him, his face darkened further when he focused on the bold words written at the very front of it. 

[Requested Star Chaser: Sarah Andler] 

"Those bastards. They really went ahead and did their shit behind my back, didn't they? Do they think I'm some kind of joke or something?" 

The Unit Leader gloomily mumbled under his breath, trying his best to hide the raging fury that was threatening to spill out of his body at any second. 

"Unit Leader, I don't see anything particularly interesting in this project besides the concept. No matter how you look at it, the project is very risky." 

A soft voice sounded, bringing the director out of his fury for a brief moment. 

"You're not wrong..." 

The Unit Leader muttered, taking a second look at the project. 

"But that's not the reason why I'm angry." 

"You're angry they stepped out of line and meddled with your department. I'd be mad too if I were in your position." 

"But, you're not, are you?" 

"Haha. It's still too early for me to even consider that position." 

"Um." 

The Unit Leader grunted and shifted his attention back to the project. Indeed, the only thing that seemed promising about the project was the concept and idea. 

Outside of that, however, the project was a mess. The sponsorships were a mess, and the layout of the script was similarly badly drawn up. 

It was hard to tell if the project would actually do well or not. That was the main reason why the Team Leader was so hesitant to assign a Star Chaser from his department to the project. Simply put, the project was too risky for his liking. 

And yet, before he even had the chance to assign or dwell on the project any further, it had been directly snatched away from under his nose. 

The thought made him ground his teeth as the script scrunched up under his large hands.

That was when the voice sounded again,

What's wrong? Do you think the project will do well, Leader?" 

"That's... not it." 

The Leader replied through his gnashed teeth. 

He was about to tell him why he was angry when he stopped. 

"There's no need to worry, Leader." 

The Unit Leader looked up, his gaze falling on a man wearing a simple and amicable smile and bowl-cut hair. 

"Why not just leave the project to them? In the end, I'm confident my project will do better." 

He cocked his head, 

"Don't you think?"