Chapter 341 Summoned
"We need to be more synchronized during this part," Jaeyong said. "So, it's one, two, and three for the counting. This one's not a full step, but a half-step."
June nodded and quickly followed their leader's instruction.
They repeated the move and smiled in satisfaction since they looked more synchronized than before.
"I'm so excited for this performance. I really want to see our fans again," Akira said.
"Me too," Zeth said. "I want them to fawn over my handsomeness again."
The other members shook their heads in disbelief.
The eight of them were practicing for their year-end performance, where they will perform two songs—Oasis and Red Moon. They still had about two weeks before the performance, but they wanted to give their best since multiple artists would be present during the show.
The current hottest artists, as well as entertainment veterans, were going to be performing alongside them, so they felt more competitive than usual.
They were about to practice once again when Chul came into the room with a piece of paper.
He had a smirk on his face as he walked over to where they were.
"Good morning, boys," he cheerfully greeted.
"Morning," the boys unenthusiastically answered. However, it didn't really dampen the atmosphere. Instead, it made Chul even happier.
"Is there anything wrong?" Jaeyong asked.
"No," Chul said. "I just came here to give this to June."
June frowned as Chul handed him the piece of paper.
"Well, I'm going to go," Chul said. "I still have a meeting with the board of directors about the upcoming meeting."
However, before he left, he leaned closer to June and whispered something in his ear.
"You should know better before breaking into my place," he whispered, causing June to freeze.
Chul smirked as he locked gazes with June. After that, he waved his hand goodbye and happily left their practice room.
"What is that?" Akira asked, snatching the piece of paper from June's hand.
The other members also curiously looked at it.
"What?" Akira exclaimed. "A disciplinary meeting because of employee misconduct?"
"Is it against Chul?" Zeth asked.
"No," June shook his head. "It's against me."
"What?" Jisung exclaimed. "What for? You didn't do anything wrong!"
"It might be because of my outburst during our last music show," he said. "And he also found out about us breaking into his apartment."
His three accomplices froze while Jaeyong massaged the bridge of his nose.
"I gave you guys the permission to do whatever you want with the condition that you won't get caught," their leader said. "What are we going to do now?"
"Damn," Akira whispered. "Jisung really did commit his first crime."
Jisung groaned. "That's fine with me! But why is June the only one being summoned?"
"Because he hates me. He sure loves my socks, though," June smirked, making light of the situation.
Casper let out a chuckle, but Jaeyong remained serious.
"Stop joking. This could make or break your career," he said.
"What even happens after these disciplinary meetings?" Sehun asked.
"Since this is an internal problem, June's probably going to have to sign another contract where the higher-ups can control his personality for the brand. That means June would lose his individuality as a person. It's such a sad occurrence whenever these things happen. That's the reason why so many idols lose their spark for the profession—because they're forced to always show their best side without thinking about their mental well-being," he said.
"That's what happened to our group after our member had a scandal," Jaeyong continued.
Akira pursed his lips, knowing that Jaeyong had it the hardest when they were still in RAVEN.
"We can't have them do that to June!" Jisung exclaimed.
"I know," June said. "I won't let that happen."
"Which is why I need your help," he added, turning to Jisung.
"Anything. I'll do anything," Jisung said, placing his hand over his heart.
"You've always been good with technology, right?" June asked.
"I guess," Jisung responded.
"What do you need me to do?"
***
On the highest floor of the building, multiple directors gathered for a disciplinary meeting set by one of their well-respected managers, Chul.
The air was filled with the stench of rich people and their greed, all fake laughing at each other to hide the fact that they hated each other's guts.
Chul sat in the very middle, his chin high up in the air. He had gotten his make-up and hair done at the salon to impress the board of directors, so he was very pleased to hear the compliments from the group of old men and women.
The room turned silent, however, when the door opened, revealing a vibrant and dazzling person who outshone everyone in the room.
He was bare-faced and wore a simple shirt and jeans. However, he was definitely the most good-looking person in the room. Even Chul, who had prepared for more than two hours, couldn't hold up a candle against June.
June ignored their gazes and whispers and sat next to Chul, not giving anything away with his expression and gestures.
"We have gathered today to discuss the behaviors of June, an artist within our company. Their manager, Chul, had filed for a disciplinary meeting today, in which we will discuss the proper repercussions for Chul's accusations," Mr. Ong said, looking more serious than ever.
"We may now start."
Chul got up from his seat and stood at the front of the room, his demeanor stern and unwavering. He shuffled through a stack of papers, preparing to present the list of violations committed by June. He also prepared a visual presentation to strengthen his points.
Chul cleared his throat, his gaze fixed on June. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for gathering. We are here today to address the serious misconduct of one of our artists, June."
"For the past years, Azure has been one of the leading corporations in the entirety of South Korea. From Azure Electronics, Azure Foods, and now, Azure Entertainment. Although we are a relatively young Entertainment company, we have already produced plenty of promising artists from our hit TV show, Rising Stars."
"We take pride in disciplining our artists so they may be able to show their best images to the public," Chul continued.
"However, I am here to talk about June, the current center of LEVEL-UP, otherwise known as EVE, the group I am currently handling. There had been a lot of controversy surrounding June's character ever since the beginning of Rising Stars."
June raised his eyebrows in amusement.
"Is that so?" one of the directors asked.
"Yes," Chul said. "He had been involved in bullying scandals, rigging allegations, and up until recently, his grades have been exposed for being a negative influence to fans, especially young fans, around the world."
"All of those issues have been debunked," June calmly said.
Chul purses his lips, looking a bit pissed. "I'm still not done with my presentation."
June raised his hands in surrender, still looking amused.
"And I do believe that he is a great performer. However, I do not believe this is the way a center should be acting," Chul said, showing off the violations that June had done—talking back, physical assault, and blackmailing.
June chuckled at the evidence Chul had posted. They were all screenshots of Chul's conversation with another person! There wasn't any solid evidence for his accusations.
"Those aren't real," June countered. "We've never had any personal conversations as such."
"Is that so?" another director asked.
Was that all they could say?
"We suggest you show more concrete pieces of evidence, Mr. Chul," Mr. Ong said.
"Concrete evidence?" he asked. "Don't mind if I do. This, my directors, is a video of June breaking into my very apartment."
A collective gasp was heard in the room.
"This is a serious allegation, Chul," Mr. Ong said. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, June?" he asked.
"Let's see the evidence first," June said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Chul exited from his presentation and logged into his CCTV camera application to show them the concrete evidence that June had indeed broken into his apartment.
However, when he reached the CCTV feed of the alleged break-in, murmurs were heard all over the room.
Chul's brow furrowed as he noticed the corrupted video files. He mumbled, "Wait for one moment," as he frantically tried to troubleshoot the issue. The tension in the room heightened, with everyone awaiting the crucial evidence that could seal June's fate.
Despite Chul's efforts, the footage remained corrupted. Frustration etched his face while a smirk emerged from June's.
However, undeterred, Chul pulled out a USB file, claiming to have a backup of the incriminating footage.
June's eyes widened slightly, and his heart raced as Chul inserted the USB into the laptop.
'Shit.'
"Now," June muttered under his breath.
Chul smirked as he clicked on one of the videos. However, before the video could play, the screen glitched, and an unexpected clip began to play.
Moans of pleasure were heard in the room, causing Chul to freeze.
The board of directors gasped and covered their eyes with the atrocity playing before them.
"Ah, this smells so good," Chul's voice in the video resonated, causing him to turn around at the large projector with wide eyes.
Chul now turned to June, who was casually taking a sip from his water cup.
"You—," Chul angrily said, but June remained calm.
"Was this the evidence you were talking about?"
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