"I don't care, I don't care! I want ramen! And I want to play games in the store! Wang, go get some for me~!"
In the video store, Astra was acting like a child, whining at Mo Wang.
"You know, you're a famous idol in New Eridu. Is it really okay for you to act like a kid?" he grumbled. "And didn't you just say last time that you were getting fat and needed to go on a diet?"
She was a grown woman, and a famous idol at that. Why was she always acting like a child? If her fans knew what she was like in private, he wondered what they would think. Oh, right, there was a fan right here. But it seemed Belle had gotten used to this side of Astra.
"Hmph, you just don't get it, Wang. Master Cho just came out with a new ramen for people on a diet last week~ In other words, Master Cho's ramen is a healthy, diet-friendly meal."
Astra puffed out her chest, like a little girl showing off a secret.
"How do you even know about Master Cho's new products? Aren't you supposed to be working?"
He was already tired of dealing with this annoying little pixie. "And you're too late. I just had ramen. I don't want any more."
"What! You already ate?! Why?! When?!" Astra was stunned.
"Just before you got here. With Nicole and her crew," he said with a shrug.
"Damn it, it was the Cunning Hares," she pouted. He couldn't tell if she was mad that he wouldn't get her ramen, or that he had eaten with those "little bitches."
"You know, you should have a little more self-awareness as an idol. If you eat too much ramen, Evelyn will lecture you again," he said, and couldn't help but pat her head.
"Hmph, you don't know, do you? Evelyn won't find out about me eating ramen today," she said.
"Oh? And why is that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because I've already arranged for Evelyn to be busy with all sorts of activities today. She won't be back until tonight," she said proudly.
"So, you've been planning this all along, haven't you, Astra?" Belle chimed in. To think she would even set up her own bodyguard and manager just to skip work... You monster, Astra...
"Evelyn is already busy enough as it is. How could you give her more work?" he said, and flicked her forehead.
"What do you mean? Do you really think I'm that inconsiderate of Evelyn?" she said, looking hurt. "Most of the work I arranged for her just involves standing around. I would never give her anything too tiring."
"I bet you just pushed all the boring stuff onto her," he sighed. He knew her personality all too well.
"Hehe, you know me so well, Wang," she said, and then added coyly, "But I have my reasons~ I've been working really hard lately. I've finished filming my show and my movie~ A little break is well-deserved, don't you think?"
"And you're not afraid Evelyn will find out you skipped work?" he asked, a strange look on his face.
"I'm not scared! As long as I get back before she does, it's fine. Just don't tell her I'm here. Otherwise, she'll nag me to death when she gets back."
"Ahaha, I think that might be a little difficult," Belle said with an awkward smile.
"What do you mean? If you don't say anything, who's going to know?"
"I think the person behind you might know," he said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Huh? Eeeeeh!"
Astra whipped her head around and saw Evelyn standing right behind her.
"Young Miss, is there anything else you'd like to say?" Evelyn asked, a smile on her face, but her eyes were filled with a terrifying glint.
"Waaah—!" Astra shrieked and hid behind Mo Wang. "E-Evelyn?! What are you doing here?!"
"I heard a certain idol climbed out of a window in the middle of a shoot, so I had to finish my work early and come catch her myself," Evelyn said calmly.
"W-well... I just needed a little break..." Astra mumbled, and then demanded, "Wait! How did you know I was here? I didn't tell anyone!"
Evelyn just glanced at Mo Wang, a faint smile on her lips.
Astra understood instantly. "Wang—!" she shrieked, and started pounding on his shoulder. "You sold me out! You're a traitor! A big, fat traitor!"
"What are you talking about? You always hide here. Of course Evelyn would find you," he said, fending her off.
"I don't care, I don't care! You told her, so you're a traitor!"
Her punches were light, more like she was just throwing a tantrum. He sighed and looked at Evelyn.
Mo Wang: This is between you two. Don't drag me into it.
Evelyn: Who told you to always take her in? You can take the blame for this. I'll treat you to a meal later.
Mo Wang: You caused this mess, you clean it up. I'm not comforting her.
Evelyn: Don't worry, I'm used to it.
She then produced a bowl of ramen from behind her back. "Young Miss, I know you must be hungry. I brought you some ramen."
"Oh, ramen! Evelyn, you're the best!" Astra immediately forgot about her anger and started happily slurping down the noodles.
"As expected of Evelyn. She tamed Astra so easily," Belle said in admiration.
"Why do you make it sound like she's taming some ferocious beast?" Mo Wang grumbled.
"It's nothing. You just need to spend some time with the young miss to understand her personality," Evelyn said with a smile, and then sighed. "Young Miss, I know you've been tired lately, but if you wanted a break, you could have just talked to me. I've already sorted things out with the advertisers. They said you can shoot later."
"Hmm? You mean, I can take a break now?" Astra's eyes lit up.
"Of course not! You have to finish the work you have on hand first. Don't you have an important interview tomorrow?"
"What? I thought I could hang out with Wang tomorrow. You're so mean, Evelyn," she pouted.
"But I did cancel your work for this weekend. You can have two days off."
"Oh, I'm so lucky to have you, Evelyn. Don't you think so, Wang? Belle?"
Mo Wang and Belle just kept their mouths shut. If Astra's fans knew what she was really like, at least half of them would probably have a mental breakdown. As for the other half? They'd probably just say, "My Astra is so cute."
"Hey, hey, so, Wang, are you free this weekend? Let's go to the beach."
"If there are no urgent missions, I should be free," he said.
"What? When a cute idol asks you out on a date, you should cancel your missions, even if you have them," she said, dissatisfied.
Thwack!
He chopped her on the head. "In your dreams. Our family is on the verge of bankruptcy. If I don't do some side jobs, how am I supposed to support Belle?"
"Hmph! You're such a blockhead, Wang. No wonder you've never had a girlfriend," she said with a huff.
Heh. It wasn't that he couldn't get a girlfriend. With all the affection points he had racked up, he could have any girl he wanted. But he didn't dare. He had Fairy's electricity bill to pay, a family of Bangboos to feed, and his cute little sister to take care of. He didn't have time for a girlfriend.
"By the way, Boss, did you contact the young miss today for a reason?" Evelyn asked.
"Oh, right. I found some stuff in a Hollow today."
Belle brought over the box of Astra's merchandise.
"Isn't this the merchandise we sold at the event last month?" Evelyn asked.
"Yeah, I remember a suspicious-looking guy bought everything up," Astra said. "I heard he ran into some trouble on the way and even went to the police."
"So it was the scalper's stuff. What a coincidence," Evelyn said with a smile.
"Yeah, so I wanted to ask you what to do with it. I didn't expect Astra to be nearby."
"Oh, you can just do whatever you want with it. If you want, I can sign it for you anytime~ I can even give you something more valuable," Astra hinted.
"It's fine. It's just merchandise. It's already been sold, and since it was in a Hollow, it naturally belongs to you, Boss," Evelyn said.
"But you can't sell it. I don't want to see you becoming a scalper, Wang," Astra warned.
"Of course I won't. Besides, Belle wants to collect it."
"Then it's a deal~"
After that, Evelyn dragged the struggling Astra back to work. Mo Wang just sat on the sofa and started playing games on his phone.
But less than an hour later, a young girl in a school uniform walked in and sat down beside him.