6 PRESSURE

"Come on, you go first. The mic is calling out to you."

"Let me finish up my text real quick. Why don't you go first in the meantime since you want to be a nosy little prick?"

"You know I'm shy unlike a certain whore. Alright then, Ava, I think you should go first since you organized all this."

"What? Why me? Why not... why not you? You always go first whenever we karaoke. Why are your eyes glued to your phone today?"

"I... my voice hurts," responded one of the girls, rubbing her throat.

"Stop lying, you were speaking perfectly fine a few minutes ago. Why is your voice suddenly hurting now?"

It wasn't verbally spoken upon but there was this competition in the room to not be the first one to perform.

Perhaps it was because nobody was in the mood to sing and perform.

Or perhaps, the more likely scenario was that without my presence in the room, although they demonstrated their annoyance at me being there by rolling their eyes and glaring at me while they sang harsh words, it just felt different.

Different enough that it didn't feel right.

You'd think that since I was removed from the equation it would make their girls hang out feel more comfortable but mundane repetitions create comfort and a change in the schedule leads to unease.

"I'll sing first then."

As to be expected, the first one to break apart the competition was Isabella who looked guilty as if she was to blame for the tension in the room.

In her mind, I see her gears turning, wondering whether or not it was the right thing to have called her friends for a get-together in the first place.

My plan was to continue watching these girls and observe my plan coming to fruition but my phone rang and I deactivated my ability so that I could pick it up.

Don't these sorts of things piss you off, readers? Whenever something important or interesting is happening in the story and all of a sudden, you've been pulled away from it because of another issue popping up or because you reached a cliffhanger?

Sadly, this was exactly what happened.

I would apologize for the inconvenience but I don't really give two shits about how you readers feel.

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That's a lie.

I do care. Please support me. Send money. I'm broke. Not really. But still. Money is money.

Picking up the phone, I looked at the name on the screen and it was my assistant.

Answering it, her sweet voice greeted me, "Hey boss."

Obviously, I was going to have a female assistant. Did you honestly think my assistant was going to be a dude?

She was not as qualified as the other candidates when I was picking the person for the coveted role but her bodonkers swayed my opinion towards her.

She was a recent college graduate and wasn't meant to be working so high up in the food chain so early on. She also made a few mistakes earlier on that should've gotten her fired but she kept her role by using that tight throat of hers to work so I refrained from punishing her.

"Hey Suzie, what's up?" I asked.

"Min Jinyoung is here at your office, waiting for you," she said.

I was a little baffled at her response. "When did she get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I wanted to call you earlier but I was trying to accommodate her in the meantime so I wasn't able to."

"That's understandable. Do you know why she's here?" I asked, scratching my head in confusion and I pulled my car out of the parking lot.

"She said she wanted to discuss the contract with you."

"That's great. Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay with her and make sure that everything she needs is taken care of."

"Will do, boss."

Readers, I know you're probably confused about what's going on. Who this "Min Jinyoung" character is and why a second plot is being introduced when the first plot hasn't been resolved yet?

To answer your second question: "___"

There. You're welcome for the clarification.

But the first question is a lot easier to answer. Min Jinyoung is a Korean K-pop idol whose contract with her previous company had just expired a few weeks ago.

She's a member of the group Sky's Destiny which has numerous number 1 singles and albums that have sold millions of copies.

Why am I hoping to sign a contract with her even though I'm the CEO of a company that has nothing to do with the entertainment industry?

It's because I'm trying to branch out into other streams of revenue.

That's a lie. That's the answer I told my parents in order to justify the creation of another branch at Ster-Link Corp.

The truth is that in my previous life when I was reincarnated as a Korean, the way I escaped the slums was by stealing popular music from the future and publishing them online.

They didn't blow up but it did get the attention of a few interested companies.

Most of them changed their mind when they learned of my origins but a few companies were willing to help change my image as well as use their status and power to cover up my past.

Min JInyoung was one of my closest friends from that life and I heard that she was distraught because of my death.

I'm hoping to make her my first signee because I miss her and hope to heal her with kind words and gestures.

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Okay. I lied again.

In my previous life, I was living like a protagonist would and never went out of my way to flirt with her even though I always wanted a piece of that petite, firm, but not flat booty.

I know her type since she confided in me during her relationships that never worked out because of certain issues that popped up.

Last I remember, she'd been celibate for a year because she found sex to be nothing more than a chore since all her previous boyfriends were selfish and only wanted to find their happy ending and not help her get hers.

And with my death, I doubt she has had sex during all that depression.

Her body is ripe for the plucking. Oh my gosh. Ew, that sounds so nasty to say.

But it's true.

Just a taste of this perfect dick I have swinging around in my pants and I doubt she'll be able to escape.

Entering through my private entrance, I quickly got changed into my suit to fit the occasion.

Then I made sure to unbutton a few buttons up top as well as run my hands through my hair to make it a little messy.

This was the sort of look that Min Jinyoung goes for.

Next was personality. She likes men that treat her casually and don't worship her or see her as someone above their level.

That's partially the reason why all the men she has dated have been so selfish since most of them were arrogant pricks who don't realize they're punching above their weight but it was understandable why she was attracted to it because she was praised since she was a child to the point of feeling a ton of weight on her shoulder.

It feels like a breath of fresh air for her to have an equal or even someone who looks down on her slightly.

Confident in my look and swagger (yes I'm using this word), I walked into my office.

Suzie was there speaking to Min Jinyoung in English, trying her hardest to understand the broken English that was coming from her conversational counterpart.

"Boss, you're here," she said.

I nodded, gave her a head gesture and she quickly excused herself, locking the door from the outside.

After shaking hands, I took a seat on the couch opposite where Min Jinyoung was sitting and watched her eyes.

That was the first thing I had to take notice of.

A poker face may be flawless but during the first impression, the eyes always tend to make a few mistakes.

If her eyes went to places that they shouldn't be then it was a sign for me to continue but if she kept eye contact the whole time and focused solely on business, it was clear that she wouldn't have the mental capacity to even care about my advances since her focus would still be lingering on my death.

Her eyes looked at my neck, made their way down to the part of my chest that was exposed, then quickly glanced at my abs that were slightly visible through my white dress shirt, before a split second of looking between my legs.

All of this took less than five seconds but that was more than enough for me to feel reassured about my plan.

Does this feel too convenient for you readers? Does it feel like everything is going too easy for me and that I'm getting what I want as if I have plot armor?

Hahahaha. Suck it.

I do have plot armor. It's called being a sexy hunk.

Not something any of you guys can relate to.

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Sorry about that. I went too far. You guys are also sexy hunks. You are, how do you say this — enough.

"Sorry about the wait. I know you're busy and I'm grateful you came here today. How's your day been so far?" I asked in fluent Korean.

Her eyes widened, eyebrows slightly raised. It was our first time meeting in person and other than the emails the two parties had been exchanging, we hadn't spoken a single word to each other yet.

"My day has been tiring since I was on the trip but overall, it's alright. May I ask, how do you know Korean?" she asked.

"I'm very passionate about making this venture into the K-pop world a success so I did some studying during my free time," I answered.

"Very impressive. You're more fluent than some of my idol friends," she said with a smile on her face, clearly amused by the hot American CEO who was capable of speaking her native tongue.

"Thank you. I'm glad to have impressed."

"I heard that you're still attending high school even while being in charge of this company," she said.

I nodded.

"Don't you think you're too young to be in charge of all these people?" she asked.

The question at first glance sounds like she was insulting me for my age but if anything, she was asking out of concern. She knew the consequences of pressure at a young age and felt like I was in the same shoes as her.

"I don't think 18 years is that young," I laughed, making sure to inform her that I was of legal age first.

She wasn't into younger men but I carried myself with enough maturity to come off older than I was so I had my fingers crossed that she wasn't turned off by my age.

"But sometimes, it does feel like it's too much. Listening to all their praises, wondering if they were actually looking at me or simply the idea of me," I continued.

Min Jinyoung's eyes lit up when I spoke those words as if I was selecting all the right answers during a pop quiz.

"How do you deal with the pressure then?" she asked.

"I don't think it's appropriate to say my answer in this sort of setting," I replied with a slightly devious smile on my face.

"I... I won't tell anyway, not even my manager. We can just keep this part of the conversation to ourselves," she said, clearly wanting to hear my answer.

"Alright," I said, looking around the room as if searching for eavesdroppers. Speaking quieter, almost to a whisper, I responded, "I blow off the steam with... let's just say for the sake of being a little professional, sexual intercourse."

At my answer, it was like she began staring into the abyss.

She was wondering whether or not she was hearing me correctly.

Don't worry Min Jinyoung, your hearing is fine. I really did just say that I have sex to deal with the pressure.

And although I was scheming with my answer, it does actually work. And if you have no partner, masturbating also works.

Don't forget to thank me when you bust.

Wait — that came off wrong.

Don't think about me while pleasuring yourself. That's weird unless you're a girl.

If you are a girl then — haha, whatchu doing baby girl? Need me to join you?