Joshua watched as his Fa Points dropped from over 900,000 to barely 500,000, his eyes snapping toward Nine.
Nine had also realized what had just happened, and for a mont, he couldn’t keep up the act of being angry.
But wait—why should he feel guilty? This was sothing they’d agreed upon long ago!
Thinking that, Nine spoke in a perfectly justified tone: "What’s with that look? The one-month period has ended, so your Fa Points were deducted as usual."
Joshua pressed his lips together, released Nine, and frowned at him. "So you didn’t take the Fa Points to spend them."
It wasn’t a question—it was a statent.
Indeed, Nine was clearly wealthy on his own rits; it seed that Fa Points worked differently for him than standard currency.
Nine went silent for a mont before mumbling, "I never said I took Fa Points for spending anyway..."
The more he spoke, the softer his voice grew. Under Joshua’s piercing gaze, he found himself unable to continue. But Joshua had no intention of letting the matter drop. He took the opportunity to dive straight into what he truly wanted to ask: "I suspect this is a parallel world to the one I ca from."
Nine jumped to his feet at that. "Don’t talk nonsense! You’re always overthinking things—that’s why your health never improves! Stop making wild guesses..."
"It’s not wild guessing. I’ve started rembering so things. In my dreams, I saw Henry—he’s exactly the sa as the Henry in this world," Joshua said firmly.
Nine: "..."
Nine shrugged. "Alright, let’s say it is a parallel world. So what’s your point bringing that up?"
He could tell Joshua hadn’t co here because of him, and that realization stung more than he wanted to admit. Joshua never cared about him anyway!
But Joshua’s following words drove that thought right out of his head. "I’m just afraid... that the apocalypse might co to this world too—just like it did in mine."
"Of course not!" Nine shouted, his reaction far more intense than Joshua’s had been earlier.
At that mont, Joshua was one hundred percent certain—Nine knew sothing.
He stared at Nine, silently waiting for him to continue.
Nine stubbornly t his gaze.
And just when Joshua thought Nine was about to do sothing drastic, the man suddenly lunged forward and pulled him into a tight embrace, muttering over and over, "Just do your job well, Joshua. Please—don’t fall in love, don’t stray, just focus on what you need to do. If you do that, the apocalypse will never co."
Joshua could feel Nine’s trembling hands clutching him tightly. Even though he couldn’t see right now, he could almost swear Nine’s eyes were reddened—like blood.
Then, Nine felt Joshua’s hand lift slightly, gently wrapping around him in return, patting his back in quiet reassurance.
Right after that, Nine felt a gentle kind of energy soothing the chaos in his heart, followed by Joshua’s soft voice—tinged with a hint of helplessness: "Alright, don’t worry. I won’t ask again."
Nine pressed his lips tightly together, burying his face into the crook of Joshua’s neck. He could sll the sweet, pleasant scent that lingered on Joshua.
Joshua was truly gentle, soft... and that only made Nine feel even more wretched, more useless.
anwhile, Joshua wasn’t paying much attention to Nine. His hand absentmindedly brushed through Nine’s hair as his thoughts began to drift.
Nine was deeply obsessed with his idol career. He had said that as long as he did his job well, the apocalypse would never co—just like how the "system" used to assign him missions.
Complete the missions, beco more and more famous... or accept destruction along with the world.
It sounded ridiculous, yet could Joshua’s idol career actually be helping to save the world?
Joshua was still lost in that thought when he finally went back.
Nine kept rambling on: "There’s really nothing going on between and that woman! You said you’d co to my place, but you didn’t even drink a sip of water before leaving."
"Another ti," Joshua replied softly. "I just wanted to see how you’ve been doing lately. Next ti, let’s et sowhere else."
Nine was speechless for a mont, thinking Joshua was keeping his distance because of that woman. "Then why won’t you let drive you back..."
Before he could finish, Joshua’s look made him stop mid-sentence.
Joshua gave him a sowhat exasperated glance. "After all that, you still want to drive? Go get so proper practice and earn yourself a driver’s license first."
"You’re so stiff! It’s not like I’m even human!" Nine shouted in frustration.
"Unfortunately, your current body is human," Joshua said calmly, ignoring Nine’s complaints as he got into the car and drove off.
Nine could only watch helplessly as the car sped away, seething with anger yet unable to do anything about it.
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat at]: Seriously, I invited him to my place, and he left without even drinking a glass of water! He wouldn’t even let drive him ho. How cruel!
[I hate Veggies]: Sounds serious. Be honest—did you make any weird requests?
[The Wolf Doesn’t Eat at]: Just a slight misunderstanding...
[Love is X]: Sure, sure. A "small misunderstanding" always ans a big one. Anyway, you’re definitely the one at fault!
Nine: "..." He was furious—but there was no way to argue back.
The others, seeing Joshua return in less than two hours, couldn’t help but exchange bewildered looks with one another.
Luther was the first to step forward and greet him. "What’s wrong? Why are you back so soon? Did that guy make you angry?"
Joshua shook his head, seeming instead distracted.
Just then, a sudden knock sounded on the door. Luther quickly went to open it.
Standing outside was Elly, her usual serious expression firmly in place.
Luther blinked in surprise, stepping aside while asking, "Ms. Elly, is sothing the matter?"
Elly nodded. "Yes. I ca to check on all of you and to make an official announcent. Starting tomorrow, you’ll enter the preparation stage for your debut album. Make sure to protect your voice and manage your weight carefully. Be at the company by 7 a.m. tomorrow."
And just like that, their short vacation had officially co to an end.
The first thought that popped into Luther’s head was—we have to be there by seven, which ans waking up even earlier... how’s Joshua going to handle that?
But before he could say anything, Joshua had already nodded firmly, looking at Elly with determination. "We’ll do our best, Ms. Elly!"
Elly seed a bit taken aback by Joshua’s sudden burst of energy. Seeing the unwavering resolve in his eyes, she nodded approvingly. "Good."
Joshua turned around, clenched his fist, and raised it high. "I’ll definitely beco famous!" he declared loudly before heading back to his room.
Elly couldn’t help but glance at the others, her brows furrowing slightly as she asked seriously, "Did soone provoke Joshua?"
Luther frowned and shook his head. "He just got back from going out."
Then, after a pause, he added, "He just really loves the idea of being famous. Every ti he sees fans saying nice things about him, he gets all fired up."
Elly nodded at that, but deep down, she couldn’t help frowning even more.
As an idol, it was natural to cherish one’s fans—but she only hoped Joshua could clearly understand the boundary between himself and them. Usually, idols who cared that much about their fans were the ones who were hurt the most by them.
Because not all fans were kind.
Not all fans truly cherished their idols.
There were always those who were... terrifyingly obsessed.
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