After a few moments of celebration, Luca finally calmed down—well, at least somewhat—and went back to eating.
Soon the room fell into a comfortable silence as the two of them ate their pizza and sipped their wine.
Halfway through another slice, Luca suddenly remembered something.
"Hey," he said, glancing at Foca. "Any news about the Golden Disk thing?"
He frowned slightly.
"It was already surprising they asked LEAVEN to open the awards show. But it's pretty weird—and suspicious as fuck—that they offered it less than a week before the event."
Luca shook his head.
"Don't they usually announce performers months in advance? Like… it just doesn't make sense."
"Yeah," Foca said, sounding already exhausted by the topic. "Aslan just got back to me."
Luca straightened slightly.
"And?"
"Apparently E:Den was originally supposed to open the show," Foca explained. "Kang Seo-yul basically demanded it. Which, according to Aslan, wasn't hard for him to get."
Foca picked up his wine glass and finished the rest of it in one go, clearly bracing himself for the next part.
"And then, one week before the award show, Kang Seo-yul casually walked in and said he didn't want E:Den opening anymore."
Luca frowned.
"So what, he just changed his mind?"
"Nope," Foca said flatly. "He said he wanted them to close the show instead."
Luca blinked.
"…What the hell?"
"According to Aslan," Foca continued, "the person in charge of the Golden Disk Awards management tried to oppose the change."
"And?"
"They were fired immediately."
Foca paused.
"And allegedly… killed."
Luca froze mid-bite.
"…How did they die?" he asked slowly.
Foca's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Apparently, they decided to take a dip in the Han River."
Luca stared at him.
"…In the winter?"
"Yep."
"That's the story they went with?"
"The official story," Foca continued dryly, "is that the person who had just been fired was so devastated that they committed suicide."
He leaned back against the couch.
"The police immediately ruled there were no signs of foul play."
"They also said they tried their best to search for the body, but unfortunately the winter weather was hindering recovery efforts."
"So…"
He shrugged.
"No body."
Luca slowly lowered his pizza slice.
"Bruh."
His eyes widened in horror.
"What the actual fuck?"
He ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm begging you—please tell me you have someone gathering evidence."
Foca smirked.
"You know me so well."
The moment Luca saw that smirk, his shoulders immediately relaxed.
"Dude," Luca said, exhaling in relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack for no reason."
He leaned forward slightly.
"So… you got the evidence?"
"Yep," Foca replied, popping the p.
"Not only do we have plenty of evidence…"
His smirk widened.
"…we also managed to save the victim."
Luca blinked.
"Wait—what?"
"They're alive," Foca said calmly. "And currently under our protection."
He reached for another slice of pizza.
"They'll be a very valuable card when Kang Seo-yul eventually debuts in court."
Foca took a bite.
"He just doesn't know it yet."
****
I cleaned up the grammar and tightened the dialogue while keeping the humor and tone exactly the same.
"I can't fucking wait to see that guy's smug-ass expression get wiped off his face," Luca said.
"Anyway, going back to the Golden Disk thing… what happened next?"
"Of course, Seo-yul got what he wanted," Foca said. "But that left a huge hole in the program."
He leaned back on the couch.
"And absolutely no one wanted to fill it."
"The new head of the event reached out to the performers who were already scheduled and asked if any of them wanted to open the show."
Foca grabbed another slice of pizza.
"Curiously, every single one of them declined."
"Why?" Luca asked.
"They said the performances they prepared weren't suitable for an opening act," Foca explained. "And the short notice wasn't enough time for them to prepare something new."
"So the head started reaching out to other companies."
"And they all refused too."
"Same reasons. Limited time window. Not wanting to risk sending out a lackluster performance that could damage the prestige of the awards."
Luca nodded.
"Fair."
"So while the new head was practically bending over backwards trying to find someone willing to perform," Foca continued, "Seo-yul suddenly suggested reaching out to us."
Luca raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's shady as hell."
"The head was hesitant," Foca said. "But Seo-yul insisted."
"So they contacted us."
"They fully expected us to decline."
Foca smirked slightly.
"They were pretty surprised when we accepted."
Luca leaned forward.
"Oh, he definitely had something planned."
"Exactly," Foca said.
"Apparently Seo-yul already had his little army of keyboard warriors ready to launch a massive smear campaign."
"Disguised as some grand narrative for the internet to devour."
"Because he knows exactly how powerful online opinion is when it comes to artists' careers."
Luca groaned.
"That dude is such a slimy little bastard."
"But when we accepted," Foca continued, "our agent said he literally watched Kang Seo-yul's excitement die in real time."
Luca grinned.
"Oh that must've been beautiful."
"Our agent said he could practically feel the guy's bloodlust from across the room."
Foca chuckled.
"He described it as…"
"…an angry lion without teeth or claws."
Luca completely lost it.
He burst out laughing, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes.
"Holy shit—"
"A lion without teeth and claws?"
"That image is killing me."
Still chuckling, he leaned back on the couch.
"Well… it wouldn't surprise me if that brat tries to sabotage LEAVEN's performance."
"I'm pretty sure the kid's going to retaliate."
"He can try," Foca said calmly.
"Unfortunately for him, he hasn't really met someone like me yet."
"All Kang Seo-yul understands is power through money."
He slowly set his wine glass down.
"But what happens when that source of power suddenly disappears?"
Foca tilted his head slightly.
"What will little ol' Kang Seo-yul do then?"
A rare, wicked smirk appeared on his lips.
Luca stared at him.
"…Damn."
"Seeing you smirk like that is turning me on."
He paused.
"But it's also scaring the absolute shit out of me."
Foca blinked innocently.
"Why can't it be both?"
"Duuude…" Luca groaned dramatically.
He stood up and ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm gonna go."
"Where are you going?" Foca asked, genuinely confused—though he was clearly trying not to laugh.
"To take a cold shower!" Luca shouted as he hurried toward the door of the suite.
Foca watched him leave.
He found Luca adorable.
But at the same time…
He felt a little apologetic.
It was, indeed, a bit of a conundrum.
Fs in chat for our boy, Luca. o7