From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

834  A Manager He Trusts n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As expected, you can never fully rely on one's first impression. Although Dan appeared like a good man, June knew there was something beneath the surface.

June raised his head and saw Dan glancing at him with a smile. "Water?" he asked. "I have some prepared in the compartment." June nodded and opened the compartment, grabbing one of the water bottles before taking a swig. "Thanks," he said. With that, he looked at Bo Wen's new texts. Baldie: Watch out for him. He's been working with Phoenix for a long time, and he suddenly left. June: What did he do before? Baldie: Recruitment. He's in charge of recruiting new trainees and setting their schedules. June frowned as soon as he read Bo Wen's texts. "We're here," Dan said, so June quickly placed his phone inside his pocket, straightening his posture. They had arrived at the Azure building, and not far from them was the new cafe. Mr. Ong acquired the small space next to the building under Azure's name, and it seemed like he had furnished it, too. However, it was Lei who officially opened it. In turn, he was highly praised by the public for being a fast worker. June shook his head with a smirk. As expected of him. "Let's go?" Dan said, snapping him out of his thoughts. June nodded and opened the door. As soon as the sunlight hit his face, there were squeals surrounding the area. Some fans wanted to witness the opening, and seeing June sent them into a frenzy. "Omo! It's June." "I didn't think that he would be here!" "I just wanted to see what the new cafe looked like. It seems like I'm really blessed." June smiled and waved at the fans, who were still squealing in excitement. A lot of them were sporting his lazy style, making him even more amused. They finally entered the cafe, where June saw Lei, Jeemin, Ann, and other important stakeholders of the company. "There he is!" Lei exclaimed, walking over to June and patting his shoulder. "Looks like we're complete," Lei smiled. June smiled at the attendees before going to where Jeemin and Ann were. They were the ones he trusted the most. Ann appeared excited as he stood next to her. However, she contained her excitement and merely bowed at June. Lei stood in the middle of the spacious cafe, where an elevated platform was. He tapped the microphone and smiled at the crowd. "Thank you, everyone, for coming to Azure's first-ever idol cafe. This will be the one of many," he started off. "I thank the past and present idols of Azure, as well as the other artists under the label, for making this possible. We wouldn't have done it without you." "For now, we shall conduct the ribbon-cutting ceremony before coming back here for a small celebration. Then, Azure cafe will officially open its doors to our customers tomorrow!" The crowd clapped as Lei raised his glass in the air. With that, they made their way outside. The people were disappointed when the old, crusty board members were the first ones to appear. Then, the screams increased when Jeemin and June made their way outside, capturing some of the passersby's attention. Ann chuckled in amusement. "You're popular as usual," she muttered. June shook his head in amusement, a small smile playing on his lips. However, his smile quickly fell when Lei made his way outside, also eliciting screams from the crowd. It wasn't as loud as that of June's and Jeemin's, but it still made June realize that he was facing against a strong opponent. Lei smiled at the crowd, appearing kinder than a saint, before initiating the ribbon-cutting ceremony. A few more boring speeches later, the ceremony was finally done, and they were back in the cafe to test the new food. June went to the table and grabbed a cupcake with his face on it. Jeemin chuckled as June stared at the cupcake. "Are you weirded out?" she asked. June looked at her and shrugged, taking a bite out of the cupcake. "Being in the idol industry for almost a year, this might be one of the tamest things I've encountered," June said. Jeemin chuckled and grabbed some of the fruits. "Well, isn't it weird to be eating yourself?" June shook his head. "It's much weirder if I ate my members." Jeemin chuckled once more. Ann arrived where they were, holding a cup with EVE's logo as the latte art. "June, it's been a while," she greeted. June smiled and slightly bowed. "Ann," he said. "Yeah, you're back in Azure." Ann chuckled. "Well, my film degree wasn't paying the bills. Thankfully, my experience in Azure put me on edge for this managerial position." "Welcome back," June said. "I trust you to take care of the girls." Ann nodded. "Of course," she smiled. "You already know how I am." "I need to go the restroom," Jeemin suddenly said, excusing herself. However, before she could take a single step forward, Ann held onto her wrist. "I'll accompany you," she said. Jeemin chuckled. "Are you sure?" "Yes," Ann said in a resolute voice. "There's a lot of weird people here," she continued, looking around. "You don't know what will happen to you." June nodded in approval. It really did seem like Ann knew a lot about the industry and cared about the girls. "We'll be back, June," Ann said. June hummed. "Take care." With that, June was left all alone again, just observing the room. He heard a familiar laugh, making him frown. He turned to the side and saw Dan laughing with what seemed to be the investors of the new cafe. For a moment, it seemed like they were all looking at June with intrigue. However, it was gone in a split second. June kept his gaze on Dan, who interacted with the investors like it was his expertise. "That laugh," he muttered. He couldn't shake away the feeling that he had heard his laugh before. Just then, June's head ached, his eyebrows furrowing. Memories flashed in the back of his mind, with Dan's laughter being the focal point of it all. Then, Dan laughed once again, snapping June back to reality. "Recruitment," June muttered. "Trainees…," he continued. Dan's words also echoed in his mind. "Long time no see." "You've become much better than I thought." "Prettier." So, that was why he spoke like they had met before. "He had plastic surgery," June muttered. However, his laugh was still familiar. Dan Ahn was the guy who allowed Choi Joon-ho's first kiss.