亚洲综合中美

“Welcome one and all,” said the speakers, the screen sparked into life, a glance onto the gathered crowd showed people in the thousands had flocked, “-my name’s Shane, the curator, and interviewer of tonight’s episode of my little secret. To keep our guest’s identity hidden, the reply will be read aloud by one of my co-workers while their face is to be secret,” the camera panned onto a mundane seating arrangement. Not overly dark, two seats, a table, and a mat-gray interior, “-please tell us more about yourself,” he settled before the unknown figure.

“My name’s Miyo, and I once worked for Apexi,” her voice edged on the border of crying.

“Tell us more, how did it start?”

“Well, I was very passionate about music, I’ve always wanted to be in the show business world. My friends always said I had the voice and visage of an idol – being told so repeatedly and the bullying that came from it, I decided to try. My parents were seasoned musicians. From a young age, I unknowingly started the journey into the world of music. I made my first song at the age of six, and by fifteen, my father would take me to various competitions.”

“Very interesting,” he said, “-I’m sure balancing school and music to be difficult?”

“It was, yes. I managed to finish secondary with average grades, my goal then was to enroll in a musical academy. Choosing for the future was hard and a gamble, a very big gamble. My parents who’d been professional musicians had their ups and downs; I knew passion alone wouldn’t make it. Around that time, I stumbled onto a fashion magazine that recently began hiring prospective models. I sent my photos and received a call two weeks later. My first interview went over nicely, they offered a good steady flow of cash for each issue, I only had to pose, they handled everything. I figured it to be a nice part-time job, so I accepted. Before I knew it, my life changed for the better, the income increased.”

.....

“How about the university, you’d already found a lucrative job – surely more studying would hamper the newfound momentum, right?”

“Not really, the goal had always been to enroll in a prestigious musical academy; they aren’t so common. My father taught at the Rashord Musical Academy, I took the exams, paid the fee, and was on track to becoming an idol.”

“For reference, how hard is it to become an idol?”

“Difficult, very difficult. I met a lot of talented individuals who were broken by the hard industry. It’s not easy to survive, you need looks, talent, courage, charisma, and a lot of luck, making connections is fundamental. I still had my contacts and friends I made from my modeling gigs – surely enough, I began doing small advertisements for local companies all the while studying at the academy.”

“Tell us about Apexi and the Agencies, how was it?”

“A year into the curriculum, my steady income suddenly stopped. My mother caught the monster plague and my father had to take a long leave of absence to care for her critical condition. I called my modeling company and they straight up denied their involvement with my case. Job offers stopped and my bank account drained each month, I worked hard to reach a somewhat profitable stage... then again, the world is kind. I wanted to know who had done such a thing, I wanted a new start. My contact was nulled, by that time, my following was somewhat moderate. I turned to a friend for advice, he recommended trying the independent idol agencies. My previous company had been a subsidiary of an agency, I won’t reveal the name.”

“What then?”

“Next thing I knew, I sent my resume and career-long to multiple C to B ranked agencies, they all rejected my offer. I kept up the curriculum, was eventually hired to perform at a local idol competition as a representative of my grade.”

“It must have been a great event?”

“I guess the fans were energetic. I performed, thinking nothing of it, my head was always on what to eat tomorrow or if I had money to pay rent that month. Working another part-time job in catering mildly scratched the debt I would eventually land in.”

“Debt, what about the money made through modeling?”

“Gone, I was forced by an ultimatum, and if I didn’t pay, I had to quit. My parents were hard as is, dad didn’t work and had to dig into his saving to keep watch over mother, I couldn’t strain them. That day, I went barhopping alongside a friend, he took me to a shady character, I immediately thought of the worse. Sell yourself and make money, the simple fact is true. I had to get the money somehow, and when we spoke, the character turned out to be a nice gentleman, he had seen me at the event. I was given a business card and told to be wary of low-tier agencies, the stories he told about girls and boys in my shoe falling prey to lustful bastard made my stomach turn. I kept a strong face and visited their headquarters the next day. The sign read Apexi, I was impressed, an A-ranked Agency wanted me, a girl deeply in debt. We sat, talked, and eventually struck a contract, it also stated that my employment with them to never be disclosed until I graduate. The money steadily increased, their modeling subsidiary used my talents, their promotion increased my little fanbase, later that year, I’d find myself on stage beside the likes of Vorn and Xius.”

“Looks to me the agency gave a lot of opportunities, which is the reason for the interview, tell us the truth, why go against such a profitable way of life.”

“Because the same friend who brought me to the shady character killed himself. He was found hung when the neighbor reported a foul smell. By the week, a letter signed by him arrived at my table, he’d wrote the misery and pain he had suffered. I was given preferential treatment; he was forced into taking me to Apexi. From what I understood, he was in debt, and money wasn’t easy. Compared to the world of girl idols, the counterpart is shunned, companies refuse to invest in them. After I was recruited, they sent him his last payment, and was fired, the economy was tight. Given what happened, I sought to find more about his past. I went to the office, met his closest friends, dug deep, and found the dark truth of Apexi – I met other very talented musicians at my university. They were all under silence from the contract, the money was reason enough to blindly trust the agency – fame and fortune were assured. I had a year until graduation, compromising my situation would have been foolish. Around said time, I met a freshman, she seemed joyful and very chipper, a famous up-and-coming idol, her fanbase tripled mine at such a young age. She was already featured in top magazines; we grew close and soon enough, we were family. I was experienced and wanted the best for her, then, six months later, her father died, the modeling company dropped her, I tried contacting her to no avail, her partner at that time said she would be fine. Later that week, I received a horrifying message, I ran to her place and I was too late, she had killed herself by an overdose. Once again, I lost everything, I was dejected, there was no reason to live, my mother died later that month, Apexi’s grasp over my life harshened. The closer to graduation I got, the more they were persistent on signing a new contract, I was threatened at gunpoint, still, I didn’t yield. I graduated, broke from their contract, and vowed to find the truth, I sent for a famous private eye who nicely accepted my request. Two months later, he brought evidence that deeply incriminated the agency, not only were the modeling companies theirs, they lied, used connections, built an entourage of snakes around their prey, force them into contract and exploit the idols without rest. The story always repeats in the manner, so many young talents are used and forced to either surrender freedom or their lives. I vowed to expose the truth and together with my friend, the private eye, we’ve uncovered undammable proof against Apexi.”

“I feel for you,” said the interviewer, “-the story is truly sad, I wish my best for those who’re currently under threat from Apexi. If you have any similar stories, please reach out to us, we’ll take your case and with our friend, make the promise of finding justice for the fallen,” the screen dimmed and it ended. Another show followed, this time, a detailed investigation on the cases the interviewee had referenced. Private information was hidden. The narrator spoke deeply and confidently, the crowd but increased, whilst the Arcanum flamed the agency’s social media accounts.

“Ahh,” breathed a foggy breath, “-the tea is strong and warms the inside,” commented Igna.

“Cousin,” said Julius to his side, “-you seem in good spirits.”

“Quite the opposite from thy disposition,” he sipped, “-were you not in Dreqai, Danzai?”

“I was a week ago, had to handle our offshore company of import and export.”

“Pardon?”

“We’ve purchased cargo ships to carry items from one continent to another, we also have begun production on cargo planes, the first one was launched earlier this year. Tis an idea from lady Elvira, the Arcanum’s grant possibility of intermingling with other cultures, there hasn’t really been a trading company that focuses on transit alone. There was the establishment of Hamer’s Inc, brought in quite a steady profit.”

“And thee said Phantom was in danger...”

“Assets are one thing,” he breathed, “-let’s not change the topic,” the posture shifted for one a tad severe, “-the interview...”

“A well-orchestrated narration,” he said, “-it deniably was live, the responses and way of speaking were rehearsed. The way they built a sense of relatability painted the narrative of humble beginnings, a lass wanting to become a star, and the rest is per her words. Whoever concocted the ploy isn’t daft.”

“We know,” heads dug into his palm, “-I’m at a loss. What she said is true, we have Scouters who use unnecessary pressure to recruit talented idols. The better recruit, the better the reward.”

“I have a gut feeling the downfall of Apexi will follow the pattern Ansoft endured, though they’re owned by the Gaso Group right at this moment.”

“The fall of Ansoft?”

“Yeah, I planned their downfall – actually, I only wanted to steal Vorn from their company, turns out, the aftermath exceeded my expectations”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Obviously not, I asked éclair to erase any information pertaining to said event. No matter, the heart of the matter is, we’ve already lost. There’s no fighting the mob, truth against the truth, we lost our reputation, lies against their truth, we’ll dig a deeper hole. We’re stuck,” he rose, “-and maybe for the better,” shuffled to the window and breathed the fresh air, “-if we’re going to fall, why not bring everyone else down with us?”

“Excuse me?”

“Leave it to me,” he snickered, “-to win a war, one must know how to lose a battle.”

“Whatever does that mean?” he slammed the table, “-Cousin, THIS ISN’T ABOUT YOU. THERE ARE PEOPLE’S LIVES AT STAKE!”

He spun and weighed onto Julius’s infuriated expression, “-I see,” he mumbled.

“Cousin, please, we need the situation to turn for the better, I can’t allow my employees to be thrown out the door.” No response, Igna casually shoved his hands into the pockets and left the room, the prince’s heavy steps ran till the corridor, “COUSIN, I APOLOGIZE!”

‘They’re all the same,’ he called the lift, ‘-pathetic,’ the doors shut, a metallic reflection displayed his visage, Fenrir’s words hurried into mind, ‘-maybe I’m the pathetic one?’