Before me, chaos had erupted.

The room transformed into a sea of white, the continuous clicks of cameras dyeing the atmosphere with a palpable intensity.

I took in everything at that moment.

The reporters hastily took their seats and clamored with questions, the disapproving expressions of the Unit 2 Leader and the Dean on the right, the stunned face of the Unit 1 Leader, and Sarah.

Of all the people present she was the only one that seemed calm.

"I'm Nichole Jefferson from the Urvan Times...!" 

"Roman Hilton here! Mr. Marken, can you clarify what you mean by your statement?" 

"Did you abuse your authority?" 

The greed and hungry looks of the reporters as they shouted on top of each other in an attempt to make their voices resonate the loudest within the confines of the press conference... I took in all those gazes.

I didn't let one single one escape from my sight. 

"Everyone, please calm down! Calm down!" 

Then, finally, the Unit 2 Leader made his move and spoke over the microphones. Only then did a semblance of order return in the room as the reporters calmed themselves down. 

It took a further couple of minutes for everything to return to order. 

It was only then that I noticed the Unit Leader sigh in relief, his gaze drifting in my direction.

With a look that seemed to say, 'what are you trying to do?', he shot me a small glare and addressed the reporters once more. 

"Let's keep some semblance of order in the conference room. If this happens again, I won't hesitate to end the entire thing. Now..." 

His eyes wandered over the reporters and finally settled on someone. His eyes narrowed for a bit before he eventually spoke, 

"Let's start with you." 

"Ah, thank you."

The room, which had previously settled, suddenly grew restless again. A thin and lanky man with red hair stood up slowly from his seat.

Who is he? 

For some reason, there was something about the man that left me a little unsettled. 

The responses of those in my vicinity affirmed my sentiments, with everyone's attention directed towards the man who wore a thin smile on his face. 

There was something about this smile too. 

"Hello, nice to meet you." 

Grabbing onto a microphone, he directed his gaze toward me. Unlike the previous reporter, he didn't seem to cower under my gaze and instead smiled even more. 

I squinted my eyes before nodding. 

"Hello." 

"I've heard a lot of things about you, Mr. Marken." 

Where was he going with this...? 

"I see." 

"An emerging force in the industry, you have taken the reins of Blue Daisy for just a month, accomplishing what eluded them over the previous three years. What can I say? Your reputation would make anyone envy." 

"...Thank you." 

"Not only that, but you've also managed to achieve this without any work experience before your success. Many are wondering if it's luck, or something else...?" 

There were clear hints toward the end of his sentence, but I didn't fall for his trap; instead, I just leaned forward a bit. 

"Is that your question?" 

"Haha, of course not." 

Running his hands through his hair, the man shook his head and chuckled. Then, his gaze briefly settling on the Leader of Unit 1, he lowered his head slightly.

After a short pause, he raised his head and smiled. 

"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Patrick Dubbrey of the Sun-Times. I'm the very same person who wrote the article about you." 

Just what kind of introduction was this? 

When I frowned, the reporter said, 

"Are you surprised? Did you think I wouldn't show up after the report that I made? Don't worry, I came here with a purpose. I'll expose you for the fraud that you are." 

Did I kill his family in my past life? 

Sure felt like it with how aggressively he was coming at me. 

The tune at which he was coming at me underwent a complete change. It was as if I was talking to an entirely different person. 

"Let's be real. Blue Daisy... Sarah Andler. They aren't that good. Their momentum was great, but you had to go ahead and overstep your authority to try and repair Sarah's reputation. That's something that you shouldn't have done. You should've been satisfied with what she currently had instead of reaching out to other Units to improve her reputation." 

I think I could see it now. 

The reason why people called reporters the cancer of the entertainment industry. 

I could feel it. 

I felt like utter shit listening to his words. 

It felt like I was watching someone spit on the things I cared about the most and step on them for good measure. 

The reporters around us were jotting down his words with nods, and that only intensified my discomfort. Not to mention, the Unit 1 Leader was observing the entire situation with a smile.

Disgusting. 

"There were plenty of other Star Chasers far more qualified than her who could have benefitted from that project, but they were denied the opportunity because of your selfish agenda. You, of all people, should understand how crucial a single project is for individual Star Chasers trying to make a name for themselves, right?"

As if not satisfied, he continued to throw accusations my way. 

"Sarah is already part of a group. A group that is doing quite well as of recently. Why did you have to meddle in another sector? Reputation can be regained with time. Did you feel the need to hurry the process?" 

There was a saying that went, 'To lose patience is to lose the battle.' 

I was faithful to it to a certain standard. 

Unless the situation called for it, I always kept my cool. 

The same was true for this case. 

Only that, I didn't remain silent. 

Calm yes, silent no. 

"I guess you're right. I did feel the need to hurry the situation by taking on that project." 

"So you understand? Ha, but it's a little bit too late. Now that the situation has come to li—" 

"It seems like you're expecting an apology or some sort of confession." 

"...Uh?" 

The reporter made a stupid look and his smile faded. All of the reporters looked up, tearing their gazes away from their notepads.

Ah, what a nice look. 

I wish I could take a photo of it and frame it somewhere. 

"I've said this before, but what you said is correct, I won't deny it. Well, at least some parts of it. I did go against the Unit Leader and took the project from him." 

"Then...!" 

"I had previously asked him to give the project to me since he wasn't going to use it, but he refused me so I just took it for myself. I went there with Sarah, we debuted and she qualified. Fair and square, no?" 

"What nonsense...?!" 

"But let's just say I took it. What about it? I simply gave the project to someone who was going to make the most of it. The competent should be rewarded." 

"Ah?" 

The reported glanced at Sarah before snorting. 

"You're saying she will make the most use of the project? Isn't your personal bias a little too obvious?" 

"Personal bias you say?" 

"What else would it be? You're making her out to be some sort of rare star that has never been seen before, but from what I know she's far from that. Not only did she fail to make her name known in the three years that she's been at in Blue Daisy, but from what our sources say, she's been dropped by her very own instructor." 

The jotting around us intensified, and several whispers echoed throughout. 

"She got dropped by her trainer?" 

"Write that down! Write that down immediately!" 

"Don't miss anything and keep writing!" 

Ignoring the whispers, my gaze wandered over a certain figure. 

So he told him? 

Ha. 

I didn't think I could get angrier than before, but here I was, feeling a pit in my stomach as something boiled within me. 

"That's—" 

"It's true." 

Just then, a voice cut mine. 

When I turned my head I saw Sarah staring intently at the reporter. 

"I did get dropped." 

Before I could get a chance to speak, Sarah tugged my shirt from behind. Her expression was flat, but there was something about it that made me swallow dryly. 

Cr...Crack—!

Right as I thought there was something wrong with her expression, the microphone in front of her cracked.

The reporters flinched at the sudden situation, but the clicking sounds from the cameras became even more intense as all focus shifted away from me and turned to Sarah. 

If there was one person who wasn't affected by Sarah's sudden outburst, it was the reporter from the Sun-Times who seemed to thrive under the unexpected situation. 

"Ha. Finally, decided to show your true color? I guess it's true when they say 'birds of a feather flock together'." 

Rather than falling for the reporter's provocation, Sarah started speaking. 

"Manager accepted me. Us." 

Her tone was calm. 

"Unlike the other managers and instructors, he didn't give up on us. Even if it meant not sleeping for an entire day, or doing things that he didn't like, he still did it. Everything he does is for us. Shouldn't that be what a manager does?" 

"Not when it means abusing your power." 

"Where did he abuse his power?" 

"Ah, this..." 

The reporter rubbed his head in an annoyed manner. 

"Did you not hear what I sa—" 

"I heard." 

"Then...!" 

"Nonsense." 

"Ah...?" 

"All I heard was nonsense. Nag. Nag. Nag. You are like Mia. Talking a lot of nonsense. Never know when to stop."

With a visible contortion of his features, the reporter opened his mouth to speak again. But Sarah didn't give him the time to do that. 

"Are all reporters stupid?"

The entire room fell silent and all reporters frowned. Sarah pushed the broken pieces of the microphone aside. 

"Manager already explained how he got the project. We got it fair and square in the audition. We also already participated in the qualifying rounds. You can check with them if you don't believe it."

Once again, the reporter's face contorted. Standing next to Sarah, I looked at her for a moment and I didn't know when, but I realized I was smiling. 

This was quite the sight. 

I knew that I wasn't supposed to let her continue, and despite Dean, and the Unit 2 Leader trying to get my attention with all sorts of hand signals, I chose to ignore them and let Sarah continue. 

Go. Do your thing. 

I'll deal with the aftermath later. 

"We earned the right to the project. All you do is talk nonsense." 

"You directly stole the project!" 

"...From who?" 

"From your own Unit! Unit 1! This is bad ethics for someone working in the same Guild. I know you're new to this but you won't make it very far if you continue like this." 

"I didn't make it far when I wasn't like this." 

At that, the reporter struggled to find a way to rebut as his mouth opened and then closed. Sarah took advantage of that moment to say her last words. 

"I trust my manager." 

And then, she stood up. 

Uncaring for the gazes of the reporters, she turned around and made her way out of the press conference. 

I glanced at her for a moment before turning my focus back on the reporter. 

I grabbed the microphone. 

"You're skeptical about her, right? You think that my methods and the way I do things are 'unethical', right?" 

Once again, the focus turned back on me. 

I didn't dislike it this time. 

I wanted everyone to look at me. 

My gaze slowly raised, and I found myself looking at the cameras. 

Licking my lips which had gone dry, I opened my mouth. 

"I just didn't want to see a once-in-a-lifetime talent rot under bad management."