"Why is everyone so energetic today?" Hee-Young asked.
It was Tuesday, and the popular girl group was on the set of NeRen’s Chilled Dessert.
It was a remote house with a stone garden, a cozy kitchen, and a spacious living room that had a TV and a comfortable sofa set.
It wasn’t a large place by any accounts, but it was perfect for recording.
It had large glass windows and an airy atmosphere. It gave the show a cozy and lively feel.
The crew was made up of at most twenty people.
This was the reason for the success of the series.
The place made the celebrities comfortable, allowing for a more genuine conversation.
It was the kind of series one enjoyed watching whenever, no matter the time of day.
Because of that, it had built a sizable viewer base.
"Who is today’s guest again?" Sunny asked the producer of the show.
"Su-Bin Kang," he replied.
Ha-Yun turned to Sunny. She looked appalled.
"You didn’t know today’s guest?"
"What if I didn’t?" Sunny scoffed. "I have been mourning a death. I don’t have time for Su-Bin."
The death she mentioned was that of Asmodeus Binsfeld.
"Yeah, we are mourning," Lenny agreed.
Ha-Yun looked around.
"Am I the only one who prepared questions, then?"
The girls looked away in shame.
Soon, surrounded by her entourage, Su-Bin arrived.
"How are we doing today, ladies?"
"Good until you arrived," Sunny murmured.
For a while, they mingled and gossiped.
About fifteen minutes later, Ha-Yun approached the producer, who was busy setting up the cameras.
"Should we get started?"
She expected a simple ’sure,’ but the man looked a bit unsure.
"Let’s wait for ten more minutes. Some wires got tangled up; we are cleaning the mess."
Ten more minutes passed, and she returned to the producer.
The producer did not know what to say. He was sweating buckets. No matter how he looked at it, he was not ready.
About to make up another lie, he opened his mouth when one of the crew members pulled him aside.
"They are here," he whispered in the producer’s ear.
He had never felt so sensually aroused by a man’s voice.
One by one, the word spread, and the excited crew members made their way outside.
Out of curiosity, NeRen and Su-Bin followed them.
A minute later, in the gravel-filled parking lot of the set, a majestic car pulled up.
It was a sable-colored Jaguar XJ6.
Leering at it, Sunny wolf-whistled.
"I want to ride that. Whose cock do I have to—"
Ha-Yun hit her in the head before she could finish her sentence.
A woman in her mid-twenties stepped out of the driver’s seat.
"Are we recording in that car today?" Lenny asked.
"Why would you think that?"
"Have you ever made dessert in a car?"
The female driver smiled at the gathered crowd as she held open the passenger seat door.
A man dressed in a black shirt and black dress pants stepped out.
As he took off his sunglasses, one of the crew members muttered, "The Quinn."
Averie Quinn Auclair—revered for his role as Asmodeus Binsfeld—stood before them in the flesh.
He was currently the hottest man in the country, yet there he was.
Some of them snapped his pictures, while some asked for autographs.
A guy wiped his tears.
Another young man walked up to the dashing celebrity and asked, "Can I suck your toe?"
Any normal person would have been appalled, but Averie was not.
He looked the man dead in the eye.
"Left, of course," the man zealously replied. "Toenail Gemini be praised. Left, it is."
"You ask for too much." Averie shook his head. "Right toenail would have been fine by me. But I will not let you touch my left toenail. I am not a whore!"
The passion in his voice could shake the heavens, but it did not shake Hyerin, who watched the scene with utter disgust in her eyes.
She had no idea what they were talking about, but she hated her friend for entertaining the weirdo.
The man who claimed to be a follower of Toenail Gemini was taken away by a pair of zealous The Quinn fans.
Members of NeRen, too, were speechless—and not because of the insanity that had unfolded in front of them.
They hadn’t uttered a word since Averie stepped out of the car.
As if admiring a painting in an art museum, they were collectively marveling at him.
Hee-Young even shed a tear.
"He is alive..." she muttered.
Running a hand through his curly hair, the producer approached the girls.
"Did you like the surprise?"
He was expecting gratitude and praise, but what he received were accusatory gazes.
Ha-Yun was the first to take offense.
"You should have informed us."
"Well, it wasn’t my idea. The company wanted to surprise you girls." The man pointed at one of the cameras. "Look over there. We’re already recording. This is good material."
The man wasn’t lying.
The posts made by NeRen had prompted Sartre Entertainment to surprise them with Averie’s guest appearance.
Of course, they did not do it to reward them. It was good for the business, and they would get good footage out of it.
Recently, all that the girls cared about was BSPH. Keeping the group out of the loop hadn’t been that difficult.
"We haven’t prepared any interview questions. Do you want us to look like idiots in front of him?"
Sunny picked up the producer by his collar. "Is that what you want, asshole? Are you making fun of our religion?"
"Then, why did you invite that bum Su-Bin on the same day as our lord and savior?"
While Sunny was busy behaving like a ruffian, Cecile and Hana—the two quietest members of NeRen—were having a grave discussion.
"We need to be louder this episode," Cecile said.
Hana nodded, clenching her fists.
"Yeah, no one will notice us with that much star power on board."
"Should we try to be more active in interviewing him?"
"We must. I won’t be able to show my face to my mother otherwise. She is a big fan."
One would think that there couldn’t be a more grave topic of discussion. But just a few feet away, Hee-Young, Lenny, and Hee-Su were busy conspiring against their fellow members.
"We need more makeup, right?"
"Should we go shopping for new clothes?"
"We don’t have that much time, though."
"We can’t just start recording in casual clothing today! We need something chicer."
"We cannot allow Sunny and Ha-Yun to overshadow us."
They asked the producer for thirty minutes.
"We need to prepare for the interview."
"But the guests are already here," the producer replied. "How am I supposed to get you thirty minutes?"
Sunny glared at him. "Figure it out."
She had made him her bitch. And weirdly enough, he seemed to enjoy it.
Watching them from some distance, Averie asked Hyerin, "Don’t you want pictures with them?"
"Eh, can I?" She looked at him with wide eyes. "Will that be fine?"
"Man, they are celebrities." He wore a condescending expression. "What else are they good for?"
’For such big fans, they haven’t even spoken to me yet.’