“This is the first time we are actually seeing some returns.” Thomas leaned back on the chair and said it with a smile.

“There is no hurry.” The teenager sitting opposite him said. He was wearing blue jeans and a yellow T-shirt. He was already about 185 cm tall, as he was  18 years old. 

Contrary to what one might expect, he didn’t look mature. He still has all of his childish features. Even with his height, he was still called the little brother of nation.

Eigen was one of the most sought-after child actors in the industry. He had already appeared in 50+ movies and dramas as the younger version of the main character. 

More importantly, he appeared in 10+ movies as a main or essential supporting character. He has won seven child actor awards and three nominations in national and international award ceremonies.

Then there was his background. The world doesn’t know that his mother was an internationally acclaimed actress before she married her father. 

When she returned to the industry after divorcing her husband, she still won two international awards.

His father is the second son of Niw Group's owner. To put that in perspective, the Niw Group was not only one of the top ten conglomerates in the country but also one of the top 500 in the world.

To say he was born with a diamond spoon is an understatement. 

Yet his family didn’t know that he also owned the 2C media agency. The truth was only known to Thomas and Alex.

Alex was the head of the 2C investment group, which owned the 2C media agency on the paper. Thomas was sure that the investment group mostly held Eigen’s fund alone.

There was also a secret no one in the world knew about. Even if someone did, Eigen wasn’t sure they would have believed it.

Eigen was living his life for the second time after transmigrating into two different bodies in two different worlds. 

Understandably, his demeanor didn’t match that of an 18-year-old.

“I am not planning to make money from the agency. Selling one talent a year is enough for me.”

“I know.” Thomas sighed heavily, saying, “But which idiot agency would let their singers and actors go as soon as they made it big?”

Eigen’s smile irked him more. 

Thomas left his chair and came right before him, saying, “This is already the third time. I know you are trying to make a profit, but selling the goose that lays golden eggs isn’t the way. We could have earned more if we could have marketed them.”

“Thomas,” Eigen called. 

When Thomas looked at him, he was reminded of the day he met the nine-year-old boy for the first time.

He was Eigen’s first manager. Although he wasn’t a gold-star manager, he wasn’t far off. He was very well-known in the industry. But he had never managed a child before.

The amount of money they quoted was enormous. However, Thomas knew his abilities very well and rejected them. 

They quote a higher amount. 

However, that was just to meet him.

He chose to meet them once before turning them down. His parents were not the ones involved; it was Eigen. People in the field were aware of his presence even though he had not achieved widespread recognition at the time.

Despite what others had told him, he realized that day that he was not a child. He considered Eigen the more experienced one, even though Eigen was almost three times younger than him.

“We are creating talent to sell.”

“Yes, yes.” Thoman added impatiently, “Our aim is not to produce idols,  singers, or actors, but scriptwriters, directors, production directors, music producers, composers, sound engineers… all those neglected people.”

“And we already have too many of them. One out of four songs has our name in it in one way or another. At any given time, we have at least five assistant directors or production directors on some projects… Isn’t it odd that they are working for others while we pay them?”

“It’s called investment.” Eigen had no intention of continuing their once-in-a-couple-month routine argument with Thomas and stood up. “I will be taking a break for a few days. Don't call me unless it is very important. Talk to Alex if you need something."

"Is it because of your cousin's marriage?" Thomas heard a rumor that someone in 0.001% of the country was getting married. "Is he getting married to the third daughter of the Minister of Education?"

Eigen looked at him before saying, "Keep the HR team at bay. If anything leaks out, cover it as quickly as possible."

"Why? Isn't marriage a happy thing?"

"You will know," Eigen said, leaving the room.

 

********

 

"Why do you mean he isn't coming?" Nester, the owner of Niw Group, slammed his fist on the table.

He had a head full of white hair and was wearing traditional clothes. In this form, he looked like those wise characters that guide movie heroes, yet he was anything but calm.

"Is that how you raised your son?" He glared at his son, Hyde. 

Nester had three sons and two daughters. Hyde was the eldest.

“Father…” Hyde wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words. He couldn’t even understand what he could do about it. 

Even though he had been warning his second son not to cause trouble for the past two months, he dared to run away on the morning of his wedding. 

“Even if he boarded the flight now, he wouldn’t be able to return here before midnight.” Kyle, the eldest son of the eldest daughter of Nester, added with a smirk. 

He happily sipped his coffee, even if he could feel his eldest uncle glaring at his neck.

“How old are you this year, Kyle?” Hearing the question, Kyle glared at Rubi. Rubi was Nester's second son's only daughter. She was also Eigen's eldest sister. 

Although Kyle didn’t answer her, she continued, “You are about to be 27, aren’t you? Both of you are about the same age. Why don’t you marry Grace?”

“Why would I?” Kyle didn’t hide his hostility. 

“It’s for the family. Can’t you even do that for the honor of the family?”

“No.” He didn’t even hesitate to show his disgust. “I don’t like her. She is such a gloomy girl. She didn’t even talk when she came to the party. And I hate girls like that.”

“She isn’t even fat. You were fatter than her when you were a teenager.” 

“Shut up!” Nester shouted, and the clam returned to the room. He then turned towards Kyle, saying, “Kyle, you will marry her.”

“No, Grandpa.” Kyle cried out loud. 

“When I say you will, you will do it.” Nester glared at him.

Kyle jumped up, making the chair fall. His mother, who was sitting beside him, grabbed his hand. Kyle was about to vomit out his rage, but as soon as he met her mother’s eyes, he paused. 

He pulled his hand away from his mother’s clutch and left. He paused in front of the door and turned back to add, “If you aren’t worried about me saying no to the priest and making you lose your face in front of everyone, you can do whatever you want.”

“Bunch of traitors.” As soon as the door closed, Nester threw his water glass. The glass shattered on impact, leaving shards of glass everywhere.

The Niw Group was the owner of the seaside resort. Other than the cottages, there were three independent compounds at this resort. 

The bride’s friend and family used one, while Nester’s immediate family used the other, and the third one was heavily guarded due to a few very important guests.

Naturally, the only people who were present here were the ones who were his direct heirs. Yet Nester felt even the waiter was more useful than his children and grandchildren.

“Hyde, are you sure that you can survive the consequences?”