Rumors, in a similar fashion to mosquitoes, emerged unexpectedly and lingered till the end.

Devoid of any basis, they thrived on public perception to fabricate a false 'image' or interpretation.

No celebrity remained immune to such rumors.

As managers, our responsibility was to thwart the occurrence or spread of such rumors.

So... 

Bzzz—! Bzzz—! 

The fact that I couldn't prevent such rumors from spreading was a failure on my part. 

"Manager, manager. My phone is blowing up. W-what do I do?" 

"Mine too." 

"Ugh. How were they even able to get our numbers?" 

The apartment was in a mess. All the girls huddled together, staring at their phones which were constantly buzzing. Hordes of messages, and calls littered their screens making their phones unusable. 

"If you can, turn on airplane mode. If not, take out your sim." 

"But if that's the case, I won't be able to contact my family." 

"It's either that or you lose your phone. Plus, you'll still have access to the Wi-Fi. Email them or use some chatting app." 

"We aren't allowed to use those!" 

"Tough luck. Life isn't fair." 

"Manager!" 

Mia's face twisted as she shot me a glare. Clenching her teeth, she reached out for her phone. 

"F... fine. I'll do it!" 

The others followed suit, and the room turned quiet again. As Mia fiddled with her phone, the first one to speak was Joana who looked rather concerned. 

"So...? What's going to happen from this point forward?" 

"Nothing." 

"What do you mean nothing? Aren't you aware of what's happening right now? The entire Guild is in a mess." 

Grabbing Joana by the arm, Mia cut in. 

"It's not fair too! You and Sarah didn't do anything at all!" 

"Well..." 

I scratched the side of my face. 

"...It's not like I'm entirely without faults." 

I really did steal the project from Unit 1. 

There was no denying that, and it was precisely because of this that the rumors had some foundation behind them. Had that not been the case, I would have been able to do something about it.

"Ugh." 

Mia made a strange noise all of a sudden. Then, she slowly raised her head to peek out of her phone, her face twisting as it fell on me. 

"What...? What's with that look?" 

"N-no, nothing." 

"That's not very convincing..." 

"Ah, it's reall-y n-nothing." 

I looked at Joana who stood behind Mia. Brushing her hair by her ear, she bent down to look at Mia's phone. Blinking once, her expression hardened and she tore her gaze away from her phone. 

"It's best if you don't see it..." 

"Comments about me, aren't they?" 

"That..." 

Joana looked troubled. I frowned and stared more intently at her. Unable to bear my gaze, with a light sigh, she shook her head.

"Yes, and no. Most of them are about you, but there are a lot about Sarah as well." 

"Ah." 

I finally understood then. I wasn't the only one who was facing a lot of backlash due to the article that had spread over the forums. The Sun-Times was a large media company, and its influence was quite far-reaching. 

The rumors and articles were spreading around like wildfire. Especially since my momentum was so great. 

It fueled the 'gossip' and discussions online making my name once again trend at number one on StarBoard. The same went for Sarah whose name was ranked third. 

That was also why the Guild had arranged a press conference to address the situation. 

One that was about to start in about half an hour. 

Click. 

The door to Sarah's room opened. Adorned in a gray suit and skirt, she walked out. As my eyes fell on her, my initial impression was that she reminded me of those cold CEOs from the TV dramas I used to watch once in a blue moon.

Despite it being rather uncharacteristic, the outfit seemed oddly fitting. 

Sarah quickly walked up to me. 

"What do you think?" 

Her gaze seemed rather expectant. Like a puppy that wanted her parent to praise her.

I did just that, and her eyes opened wide in astonishment. 

"You look great."

"Really?" 

"Do I gain anything from lying to you?" 

Staring at me intently, Sarah finally broke into a smile. Turning around, she opened a pack of her favorite candy and started eating it with delight. For a moment I thought I saw a tail appear behind her. Wagging back and forth. 

I checked my watch. 

"Let's go, Sarah. We don't have much time before the press conference starts. Have you memorized what you need to say?" 

"Yes." 

"Good luck!" 

"Don't embarrass us online! Sarah, make sure you don't screw up!" 

The girls cheered us from behind. Constantly nagging at Sarah who frowned at them. 

"I know. Stop nagging." 

"We nag because we know how you are. Don't embarrass us or our manager! You'll see what happens if you do!" 

"Nag. Nag. Nag. Stop nagging." 

The two of us left under the encouragement of the girls. Though Sarah looked less than pleased, she seemed calmer than before. 

That was good. 

Taking a deep breath, I was about to take a step when Sarah appeared right in front of me. 

"Sarah?" 

"Wait." 

"Wha—Uh?" 

I gaped at Sarah, whose face was just a couple of inches away from mine. Perhaps not realizing how close our faces were, her brows lightly furrowed into focus, and her slender arms reached out for my blazer as she fiddled with it.

Her fiddling continued for the next few seconds until she was finally satisfied. Moving her head away from me, she turned back around and acted as if nothing had happened.

I stood rooted in my spot, blinking repeatedly as I struggled to come to terms with what had happened.

Only when my phone started to vibrate in my pocket did I finally snap out of it and take out my phone. 

"Not good." 

I silently muttered while clenching my chest. 

"...That was not good for my heart." 

*** 

Click. Click. Click. Click. 

The conference room echoed with the constant clicking of cameras and the shuffle of notepads.

In front of the cameras which were lined up at the back, journalists, armed with microphones, jostled for the best positions to capture every moment. 

"There's a lot of people." 

Dean clicked his tongue, staring at the scenes ahead of him. 

"Since when was the Tier 1 scene this busy? Last I recall, there wasn't much interest here." 

"It's probably because of the company that released the paper, and the fact that this entire situation is closely tied to the Guild's image." 

When Dean turned his head, he found the Unit Leader standing beside him. 

His usually stoic face bore a small frown. Checking his watch, he looked around. 

"Are the two of them here yet? The press conference will start soon." 

"They're on their way." 

"How long?" 

"I'm not sure. Liam just wrote 'omw' which I had a hard time figuring out until someone told me. Apparently, it means on my way." 

"Ah. So that's what it meant..." 

Dean blinked, cocking his head to look at the Unit Leader. 

"You didn't know as well? Looks like the two of us are getting old." 

"Seems like it—" 

"How are things going?" 

A rough voice broke into the Unit Leader's words. With a frown, he turned around only to find himself frowning even more. 

"What are you doing here, Reece?" 

"Me?" 

Pointing at himself, the Unit 1 Leader looked around. 

"You're talking to me?" 

"Who else would I be talking to?" 

"Ah. My apologies." 

Though he apologized, he didn't seem to mean any of his words.

"Well, as a Unit Leader, it's only right that I come for such an important event. After all, who would've thought such an incident would cause such a stir?" 

"Cut your bullshit." 

"Oh...? You sure it's a wise move to swear in front of so many reporters?" 

When the Unit 1 Leader said this while looking at the reporters, the Unit 2 Leader turned his attention away from him. 

"If you don't have anything useful to say, then just go back to your own Unit." 

"Shouldn't me telling you how to behave useful?" 

"Coming from you? Hardly." 

The two stopped talking from there and remained standing where they were. The area around them instantly became a 'no trespassing zone' as all employees avoided the area where sparks seemed to be flying. 

The unusual atmosphere was caught by the reporters who immediately started to whisper amongst themselves. 

"It looks like the reports are true. There's tension between the two units within the Guild." 

"Uakh. I can feel my skin crawling just looking at the two of them. Must be tough working under them."

Another reporter chimed in. 

"Then... Do you guys think that the news is true? About Unit 1 being fucked over by them?" 

"I mean..." 

One of the reporters sneakily looked back, his eyes falling on a lanky man with long black hair. 

"...The Sun-Times is quite reliable. If they did report it as such, there must be some basis behind the article." 

"Damn. I've been in this industry for quite some time, and I still can't get used to the politics here. Still, for a newbie to do all of this just for one of his group members... Could we say he's bold or just power-hungry?" 

"I heard she's quite pretty. Do you think it could be because of that...?" 

"I wish. It'd do for a nice scoop. But I wouldn't blame him. She did look really nice in all those photos and magazines." 

"It's all photoshopped and touched up. I can't count how many times I've been let down expecting them to look the same as on TV." 

"We'll see soon enough." 

Just then, the doors of the conference room opened and two people walked in. Instantly, the room turned white, and the reporters stood up.

Click. Click. Click. Click. 

"Hello, I'm Mark Instal from Morning News..."

"I'm Morland Anastal from The United Press..."

"Jake Mctomminay from Unified Glory..."

The conference room instantly became a mess as reporters talked over one another. 

"Everyone please calm down." 

Finally, a voice quietly echoed through the speakers around the room, and the noise in the conference quieted down. 

Then, all eyes fell on the two subjects of interest. At first, everyone's gazes fell on the manager. He looked exactly like in the pictures.

With a suit that seemed too big for him, and his hair down, he looked rather intimidating. But it wasn't long before everyone turned their attention toward Sarah, and a collective wave of gasps echoed in the room.

"Is it possible to touch up live?"

"Makeup? But would that even achieve such results?"

The room which had previously turned quiet, once again buzzed with noise as everyone discussed amongst themselves. 

That continued until a soft cough echoed from the microphones, and the Leader of Unit 2 spoke,

"Everyone please calm down. We will now hold the press conference. If you have questions, please ask right away. We'll do our best to answer them."

His eyes scanned the conference room before pausing toward one of the reporters.

"Let's start with you."

"Thank you very much."

A tall man, with short blonde hair and blue eyes, rose with a microphone in hand. His eyes locked onto Liam, who returned the gaze. For a fleeting moment, he felt a shiver under Liam's gaze before gathering the courage to speak,

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Daniel Richards from The New Times."

"Nice to meet you."

Liam dryly responded.

Daniel nodded slowly as he cleared his throat.

"I won't sugarcoat my words. Recent reports have suggested that you've abused your power and went directly against one of your Units. How much of that is the truth, and how much of that is a rumor?"

Pen in hand, the reporters stared intently at Liam, whose eyes were squinted. A strange pressure spread across the room as it fell into silence, everyone waiting for Liam to speak.

Then, with what seemed to be a smile, he spoke, and the room chilled. 

"...It's true."

His gaze shifted toward a certain figure on his right, and his smile widened further. 

"All that's been said about me. It's all true."

After a short pause.

The entire room erupted into uproar as all the reports stood up from their seats.

"I'm Cassandra Black from..." 

"Mr. Marken! I'm Edward Smith from...!"