"Just, think about it, alright? You guys are an unprecedented case amongst omegas. We want to expand our omega branch with time, so if it's possible, we'd love some input from both of you." Mr. Henderson patted him on the back.
Then he lowered himself and whispered in Cyrus' ear, "Don't forget about the 'thing' we discussed last week."
The thing, of course, being the contract that Cyrus is staring at right now. There's about an hour until he promised to meet Brendan by the back entrance of the building, and he figures he should look through this entire document while he has some time to kill.
…
To hell he is.
Claiming that he's reading through this document would legally be considered an overstatement. It's more like him trying to string together individual words that seem to make sense on their own, but together form a part of this incomprehensible madness that is his contract.
He sighs.
He hasn't thought about that woman in a while, but these are one of the few moments that he wished that he was still in contact with her.
Though considering how he can still feel the way her slap stings from time to time, the prospect feels a lot less appealing.
Should he ask Brendan?
The thought crept up in his mind. For one, Brendan is twenty, in the same agency as him, and seems happy to help him out.
Cyrus hesitates.
What if what Brendan wanted to discuss is important? Would bringing the contract just derail that?
Ding!
Mr. Sunshine: Dinner in 15 mins! Rmb it's on me~
Whatever. He'll just show Brendan if the topic does come up.
———
The last place he expected Brendan to bring him was TwoGuys, a relatively upscale burger restaurant in their area. As soon as they enter the restaurant, the waitress by the podium lights up.
"Ey, Brendan! You're back! It's been a while! Table for two?"
"I've been busy with training and debut. Same old, same old. Your new haircut suits you very well, by the way!"
"Ah, yes! The haircut. It's been hard to maintain my frizzy ends. So I thought: what if I chopped my hair off? And viola! New hairstyle!"
As Brendan and the waitress continue their animated banter, Cyrus can't help but wonder whether this is what it feels like to be around two social butterflies.
"By the way, Maria, this is my trainee friend, Cyrus. Cyrus, the loudest chatterbox you'll ever meet, Maria."
"Chatterbox is a good thing!" Maria makes a sound with her tongue before turning her attention to Cyrus, "You look young, boy. So pretty for an alpha as well. How many years are you? How long have you been training?"
"I'm turning eighteen in two weeks. Been training for four years."
"Amazing! So young. You deserve a good meal. You're still growing, you know? I'll tell the chef to put extra care in your meals." She gushes as she brings them over to a secluded corner of the restaurant.
"We have the Truffle Burger Special tonight! It's a brioche bun, with hamburger patty, double cheese, caramelised onions, lettuce, creamy mushrooms and truffle sauce! You get to choose two sides and a drink as part of this set! I'll leave you guys to look at the menu!"
As Maria turns her attention to customers waiting by the podium, Cyrus finally asks, "Maria, is she…?"
"She's a beta, yes. I asked around and apparently everyone employed at this burger restaurant is a beta, so don't worry." Brendan says as he gives Cyrus a wink.
"That's good to know." Cyrus comments. It's been so long since he last ate out at a restaurant that the menu options feel foreign to him—let alone the insane prices on the menu.
Four of these truffle burger specials can buy him a private singing lesson. Three of these truffle burger specials alone would eat up his entire weekly allotment.
"Are you guys ready to order?" Maria chimes in.
"Have you decided yet?" Brendan grins.
"I'm not too sure yet." The upscale burger restaurant certainly lives up to its name—Cyrus still having trouble processing the sheer number of burger variations there.
"Is okay. Is there anything you confused about or want to ask?" Maria walks over to where Cyrus is sitting.
After about five minutes of back and forth, Cyrus (finally) finalised his order.
"A truffle burger, with a side of onion rings and fries with Quirst original soda, yes?"
"Yeah. And, uh, if it's possible to add a strawberry milkshake to go as well."
"No problem!" Maria gave them a cheerful thumbs up before disappearing around the corner.
"Thank you for the dinner." Cyrus says, "Especially on the night of Machinima's debut announcement. Really appreciate it."
"No worries! Don't worry about it!" Brendan says, "I should be thanking you and Eli. You both are my inspirations."
"Inspiration is a little too extreme for someone who hasn't even debuted yet."
"See, there you go being humble again." Brendan shakes his head, "Lighten up a little."
"I'm trying, but I can't," Cyrus admits, "My monthly dance evaluation is coming up soon, and I'm not good at dancing to this jazz rendition."
"Hmmm..." Brendan scrunches his forehead, "Care for my two cents?"
"Sure."
"You're struggling so much because you're getting too preoccupied with perfecting it. Knowing you, on top of the six hours of dance classes you have every day, you'll probably invest an additional eight hours just to perfect your routine for an evaluation."
"That's not far off."
"I figured," Brendan chuckles, "It's jazz, but a ballad first. Fun, soulful, and slow. You're allowed more time to enjoy, swing along and linger just a little bit. You need to exemplify that in your muscle control."
Cyrus nods along, hanging onto each sentence, too afraid to miss even a word of his ultimate guide to getting an A on his evaluation.
"And well, honestly, I like to watch noir films to get into the scenery of soulful jazz. If that's not up to your taste, you can imagine something like...a dance with your lover, maybe."
"'Ppreciate it." Cyrus grins. He hadn't expected something this fruitful to come out of this meeting.
"Oh! And I noticed that you tend to tense up during bridges or higher notes when you sing. You can get Eli to rearrange some of the notes to your assigned songs to better suit your range." Eli babbles on.
"I'm surprised you noticed. I try'ta hide it, but it's probably so obvious to you."
"I have two more years of training than you, shouldn't that be expected?" Brendan counters, shaking his head like an old man who is disciplining his disciple.
"Almost forgot you're the elder, sorry about that. You were singing my praises so much during your speech I assumed the opposite."
"Ah, yeah…the speech. I mayyyyy have laid it on a little too thick there."
"You think?" Cyrus raises an eyebrow.
"I just wanted people to acknowledge your efforts and see what I see." Brendan admits sheepishly.
"Yeah, I figured. 'Ppreciate it tons. So did Eli. You didn't have'ta do that."
"No, it's the least I can do. I want you both to succeed."
"In a few years, it'll be your turn to see us on stage."
Cyrus expected Brendan to counter his banter with another one of his jokes, as he did earlier. Instead, he doesn't say anything but gives one of those looks. Ones that are a disgusting mix of helplessness, apprehension and pity, as though he's terrified of activating a bomb.
That must be it. Fun's over.
"Brendan, can you tell me the actual reason you asked me to join you?" Cyrus asks.
Brendan stares back, slack-jawed, as though taken aback.
"I enjoy banter and all that, but I prefer if you be real with me." Cyrus leans against his chair rest, "Beating around the bush ain't my style, I'm sure you know that. I'm sure it's important enough since you're deciding to tell me the night of your debut announcement. So just out with it."
Brendan sighs.
"You read people too well."
"It comes with the territory of being a wannabe idol," Cyrus shrugs.
"Right. You're right, I should just be honest with you."
Cyrus takes a deep breath, but nothing can prepare him for Brendan's next words.
"Please quit LoveLie Entertainment. Don't sign the new contract."
Well, damn. What the fuck?