Chương 64: Exposé

Ch 64 - Exposé Daisy Morgan was at her wit's end. She couldn't understand why the girls had suddenly stopped listening to her. First, Ines had bolted in the middle of the fan meeting after that deranged man stormed the event, and now all three of them had vanished from the convention center without a word. What a disaster. And after everything that had happened at the stadium, too. The silver lining was that the public backlash seemed to be landing elsewhere.

After monitoring the online reaction, it didn't look like Stellaris was taking the blame. She opened her phone and resumed scrolling through the comments.

"Can people just leave Stellaris alone already?"

"This guy really blamed the victims instead of the terrorist. Unbelievable."

"How do you survive what happened at the stadium and somehow decide the idols are the problem?"

"I hope this guy gets charged. That was completely unhinged."

"The fact that he blamed Stellaris instead of Victor tells you everything you need to know."

"I actually feel awful for Ines. You could see she was on the verge of breaking down."

"He lost his job and somehow convinced himself it was the idols' fault."

"I can't believe these girls survived a terrorist attack only to get screamed at by another lunatic." Her scrolling came to an abrupt stop when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and answered.

"Mr. Henderson!" Daisy said.

"What is this I hear about Stellaris running away?" the CEO, Jamie Henderson, demanded.

"I thought you told me everything was under control. So how did this happen?"

"I'm very sorry, sir. It's my fault. It seems I didn't prepare them well enough," she replied.

"But don't worry. I'll bring them back myself. This won't affect the comeback performance at all."

"It better not. That Dream Wave Entertainment CEO has been puffing out his chest ever since his idol group started climbing the charts."

"Yes, sir! Don't worry. I'll go talk to them and drag them back to the training room." The call ended a moment later. Daisy lowered her phone, ran a hand through her hair, and let out a frustrated growl.

"Those stupid kids." She got in her car and headed for Olivia's apartment. It was the closest to the venue, and since they had left together, she figured they'd all be there. After parking, she took the elevator to the tenth floor, walked straight to Olivia's door, and knocked hard.

"You better come out right now!" she shouted.

"Do you think you can just abandon your job like that?" There was no answer for a long while. Daisy kept pounding on the door until it finally swung open, revealing Yeon-ah. Olivia stood behind her, frowning as she glared daggers at Daisy, but Daisy ignored her and pushed her way inside.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you caused by ditching the fan meeting?" Daisy rebuked them.

"I can forgive Ines because of her mental state, but you two did the same thing. You should've stayed at the event and handled the damage control."

"And just leave Ines by herself?" Olivia shot back.

"I would've gone to comfort her." Olivia let out a scornful laugh.

"You? As if you have the heart to do something like that." Daisy shot her a sharp glare.

"Since when did it become acceptable for an idol to speak to her manager like that? But I'll let it slide. Where's Ines? I need to speak with her."

"She's not well, Manager. Maybe you can come back tomorrow," Yeon-ah said.

"Not tomorrow. Right now," Daisy snapped.

"The CEO is furious after what you three pulled. We set up this fan meeting to help you get back on track after what happened at the stadium, and then you all thought disappearing was a good idea? Are you out of your minds? Do you have any idea how much Muse Tune Entertainment suffered after you fumbled that government contract?"

"It's not our fault!" Olivia shouted.

"Regardless, Into the Frontier is still a failure. Can you imagine how far your group could've risen if the show had succeeded? That incident forced you into an unexpected hiatus, and now you've ruined your comeback before it even began. We're doing everything we can to clean up your mess, and just when we start making progress, you go and make it worse."

"The company, the company, the company! That's all you ever care about. What about us?"

"If Muse Tune Entertainment thrives, then so do you," Daisy said.

"Now, where's Ines? Ines! I know you're here. Come out right now!"

"Leave her alone already!" Olivia shouted.

"Ms. Morgan, please..." Yeon-ah began. Kreeak. The bedroom door slowly opened, and Ines stepped into the living room. She was no longer wearing her stage outfit, having changed into a simple T-shirt and loose pants. With her makeup washed away, her swollen eyes and dark circles were laid bare for everyone to see. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"Ines." Daisy placed her hands on her hips.

"I have a lot to say to you."

"So do I," Ines replied. For the first time in a long while, she lifted her gaze from the floor and met Daisy's eyes.

"But I'll keep it simple. I'm done with this job." Daisy stared at her, speechless. For a moment, she could only stand there, struggling to process what she'd just heard.

"What?"

"I'm done." Ines glared back at her.

"I'm sick of this. I'm sick of being an idol, and I'm especially sick of working under people like you. You think you can keep dragging us around and squeezing every last drop out of us until we're completely drained? I'm tired, okay? All I wanted was time to recover, but you just kept pushing. I'm not doing this anymore. That's it."

"You must be joking," Daisy said, staring at her in disbelief.

"You can't quit! Have you forgotten about your contract?"

"Ah, yes, the contract." Ines let out a bitter laugh.

"Go ahead. Hit me with whatever outrageous termination fee you've got."

"Ines! Is this how you repay the company after everything we've invested in you?"

"I don't care!" Ines slammed the bedroom door shut. Olivia chuckled.

"Well, you heard her. She's serious. And for the record... I feel the same way."

"Are you serious?" Daisy whipped around to face her.

"Ines is right. You've been exploiting us for far too long, and it's about time someone put a stop to it," Olivia said.

"I'm sick of being treated like a doormat. I'm not putting up with this anymore. Now please leave my apartment before I have security remove you." Olivia grabbed Daisy's arm and pulled her toward the door. A shove sent Daisy stumbling into the hallway, and the door slammed closed with a final thud.

"Hey! You can't just kick me out like that!" Daisy shouted, pounding her fists against the door.

"Let me in! I'm not done talking to you! You can't just stop being an idol! That's not allowed!"

"Excuse me, is something wrong?" Daisy turned to see another resident standing outside her apartment, giving her a concerned yet suspicious look.

"N-no... We just... had a fight," Daisy replied.

"If you say so, but please keep your voice down. Some of us are trying to sleep. Not everyone works during the day." The woman returned to her apartment, leaving Daisy standing alone in the hallway. Daisy sighed and gave up. She returned to her car and slid into the driver's seat, phone in hand as she tried to compose a message that wouldn't send the CEO into another rage. Those two had actually left the agency. Maybe Yeon-ah was still salvageable.

Of the three, she seemed to be the only one thinking clearly, but Daisy doubted she'd answer any calls tonight. A notification lit up her screen. [Hey, have you seen this?] The message was from one of her coworkers. Frowning, Daisy opened the message and found a NovaTube link. Her stomach dropped when she saw the title: The Dark Truth Behind Stellaris's Agency. A growing sense of dread settled over her as she pressed play.

The video opened on a black screen with a disclaimer stating that it contained leaked contracts, financial records, employee testimonies, and legal analysis compiled from multiple independent sources. The video cut to Carmen seated behind a desk in a darkened room, illuminated by a single overhead light.

"To millions of fans, Stellaris is one of the brightest success stories in the idol industry," she said.

"But behind the sold-out concerts and carefully managed image lies a very different story." As she spoke, highlighted contracts, payroll records, blurred chat logs, and internal company documents appeared across the screen. Daisy's face grew paler with every passing second, but it was the appearance of a former employee that finally made her blood run cold. Clutching her forehead, she muttered, "What the hell...? What's going on here?" The comments were already flooding in.

"If this is real, the agency is finished."

"Someone needs to investigate Muse Tune Entertainment. Seriously."

"Holy shit. Those leaked contracts are disturbing."

"I always felt like something was wrong behind the scenes, but nobody believed me."

"If they don't respond soon, people are going to assume every allegation is true." Her phone rang again. CEO Henderson's name appeared on the screen. Her hands trembled as she answered.

"Where the hell is Stellaris?!" Henderson roared.

"Someone's dragging our name through the mud online right now! Those girls better get out there and release a statement saying it's all fake!" Daisy opened and closed her mouth several times, but no words came out.

"Morgan! Morgan! Answer me!"

"Y-Yes, sir..." Daisy stammered.

"I... I don't think that's going to work."

"What? Why not?! Speak!"

"They... quit," Daisy blurted out.

"Ines and Olivia quit."

"What?!"

"Ahahahahaha!" Carmen clutched her stomach, barely keeping hold of her phone as she doubled over with laughter. Evan, meanwhile, couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen this play out before. It was almost a repeat of what had happened during the Academy Festival.

"Do you really enjoy ruining people's lives with your online platforms?"

"Hey, don't blame me! This was all your idea!" Carmen shot back, planting her hands on her hips.

"I'm pretty sure I never told you to hire a bunch of detectives and spend several sleepless nights putting that video together," Evan replied.

"It's called having passion, Whitfield! Clearly something you lack!" Carmen huffed, puffing out her chest. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have one, Evan thought as he watched Carmen continue giggling while scrolling through the flood of comments beneath her video. Shifting his attention to his own phone, Evan opened Chatter and searched the Stellaris tag. More and more posts about the exposé were appearing by the minute.

As much as he enjoyed teasing Carmen about her NovaTube obsession, he couldn't deny the audience she'd built. The video had thrown the agency into chaos, and the timing couldn't have been better. With the stadium incident still fresh in everyone's minds, public attention was already fixed on Stellaris, making this the perfect opportunity to strike. If Stellaris's fans ever discovered that he was trying to break up the group, they'd probably burn him at the stake for daring to lay a finger on their beloved idols.

It wasn't entirely his fault, though. The System had given him that absurd mission, and the only way to convince Yeon-ah to become a full-time Awakener was to cut off her main source of income. Without her idol career, becoming an Artificer would be the most obvious path forward. Technically, he wasn't the villain here. The girls had clearly been exploited by their management, so all he'd really done was accelerate the company's inevitable downfall.

Now, all he could do was wait and see how Muse Tune Entertainment responded.