Maverick (Blank)
Chapter 29: NGNL Collaboration Event (3)
The night was very quiet. The moonlight illuminated Chean A city with an almost perfect full moon. The streets began to empty, and the wind blew. However, in a central room of the Private Place Cassandra Hotel...
Lauren shouted at Blank. "What's wrong with you? That wasn't according to the script we distributed!"
"Yes, I'm sorry, Miss."
"You should know, the company has set the ad, not change it as you please."
Blank lowered his head and rubbed his right arm. "I'm sorry, Miss."
Lauren showed the photo results from the camera Blank used. "Look! The pose should be like in the example. This isn't suitable for a child!"
Blank bit his lip. The third apology came out, "Sorry, Miss."
Lauren scratched her head, gritting her teeth. "How will you take responsibility for this?"
"Sorry, Miss." The fourth apology.
The argument continued for several minutes and was still ongoing. On the other side, in Emma's room, the little girl was lying on her bed but couldn't sleep.
"Wah, I'm sleepy. It's already 10:25 PM." It had been 20 minutes, and Lauren hadn't returned to Emma's room. "I can't sleep." She looked at the phone on the cabinet. Emma remembered something.
Before returning to the room...
"Hey, Brother Kaelan, Emma wants to ask for the photos, please." Blank chuckled softly. "Oh, sure? Okay." Emma approached Lauren. "Miss, Emma's phone, give it to Brother Kaelan."
Lauren sighed and handed over the phone. Emma ran to Blank. "Quick, brother, I want to sleep after this." Blank nodded. "Maybe a few photos first." Emma's cheeks flushed. "Ready!" After finishing, Lauren took her phone. "Come on, Emma, let's go up to the room first."
That's what Emma remembered. "Ah, I should already have some photos. Miss Lauren said she'd show me once she had them, but it's taking so long."
Emma got off the bed and tried to reach her phone on the cabinet. Unfortunately, she couldn't reach it. "Ah, it's too high. How can I get it?"
Emma held her head. "I should call Miss Lauren." Emma approached the door.
Jiggle jiggle.
"Why is it locked? Was it locked earlier?"
Jiggle jiggle.
"Miss Lauren, why am I locked alone? What is she doing that's taking so long?"
As her face neared the door... "You need to work properly~" Miss Lauren's voice, faint and muffled, reached Emma's ears.
Emma was curious, but she couldn't see what was happening. She tried to find a crack to listen to the conversation outside.
"You're not helping, you're ruining it~"
"Yes, sorry, Miss." Blank's apology, who knows which number.
Emma was startled. "That's Brother Kaelan's voice, right?" Emma kept trying to listen to their conversation.
"If you're like this, you can just go home tomorrow!"
The girl's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "No, Brother Kaelan must stay here. He must remain here."
Emma walked around the room while thinking hard. Then she saw a lipstick on the dressing table. "Oh... Clever Emma has an idea."
Back to Blank, who was still being scolded by Miss Lauren.
"Do you hear? What are you going to do now?"
Blank was already worn out. His face looked completely unenthusiastic now, as if he had resigned himself. "Th-that..."
Suddenly... "Help~ Help~"
A faint voice of a little girl. Lauren, who heard the sound, immediately knew its source.
Lauren immediately ran toward the source of the sound. Her hand went into her pocket and took out a key. The door opened a bit forcefully.
Thud.
"Ouch..." It turned out Emma was behind the door, making Lauren gasp. "Emma... Miss Emma, are you okay?"
Emma covered her head as if in pain.
"Emma, does it hurt anywhere?"
Lauren took Emma's hand and looked at the reddened forehead. Quickly, Lauren looked for a compress to treat the injury.
"No, Miss, don't use a water compress. I just need a bandage."
Lauren, panicking, immediately looked for a bandage for Emma and also an ointment so the wound would heal quickly.
After Lauren applied the ointment to the bandage, Emma's forehead was properly covered. Her breath was still ragged. "Are you okay, Miss Emma?"
Emma answered while holding her forehead. "I'm okay, Miss." The woman stroked her hair. "Why did Miss Emma scream?"
Emma pointed to the phone placed on the somewhat high cabinet and said... "I wanted to call Daddy earlier."
Emma trembled and was also afraid. She had caused Emma to have a bandage on her head. This would become the night's incident.
"Miss Lauren, get the phone."
Her face paled. Reluctantly, she took the phone and gave it to Emma.
[Daddy]
[Video Call]
Miss Lauren truly felt weak and super panicked when Emma pressed the video call option and not the telephone.
Ring ring.
"[Hello, my dear Emma. Good evening, why are you calling Daddy... EMMA, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HEAD?]"
Lauren collapsed. (It's over. I'm finished.)
Emma began moving her lips. Every fraction of a second for Miss Lauren was the last of her life that would end tonight.
Lauren lowered her head, and her eyes began to well up. (Thank you for the 5 years. I will soon say goodbye.)
"I was running while playing earlier and fell, Dad."
Lauren quickly turned her head. This was the first time Emma had lied to her father, and the sentence protected Lauren.
"[OH MY, HOW COULD THAT HAPPEN? WHERE IS MISS LAUREN?]"
"I'm happy here, Dad. I was too excited and tripped."
"[Huh? You make Daddy worry. Oh... Emma likes it there?]" Her father's face moved closer.
"Yes, Dad. Emma also really liked the photo session earlier."
Her father's eyes welled up. "[Wahh, thank goodness if Emma likes it. That's very good news for Daddy. You go ahead, Daddy almost cries every night, you know]"
"Dad, there's a kind older brother here."
"[Oh really?? Who made Daddy's beloved little child like that older brother?]"
"He gave photos that Emma really liked, Dad. And there are still 6 days here. Emma will definitely be happy being photographed by that brother."
"[OHH REALLY, EMMA? Daddy is motivated to work even though it's late at night if Emma likes it there!]"
"Can Emma let that brother stay here until Emma is finished?"
"[Of course, absolutely, my dear Emma. Daddy definitely supports it]"
"Okay then, Dad. Thank you, handsome Daddy."
Her father's face began to redden. "[Ha... ha... HAAAA, DADDY IS CALLED HANDSOME BY DADDY'S CHILD. AH, THIS ISN'T BEING RECORDED]"
"Hehe, Dad is overreacting. Alright, Dad, I just wanted to let you know."
"[Got it, Emma! Oh, Daddy wants to talk to Miss Lauren for a moment]"
"Miss Lauren, Dad wants to talk on the phone."
Lauren, who was still stiff, weak, and powerless—even standing was wobbly—had to respond to the head of the company tonight. Miss Lauren left the room and closed the door.
Emma eavesdropped.
"[HOW COULD YOU!! HOW DID EMMA END UP WITH A BANDAGE?]"
"Sorry, sir. I wasn't attentive enough."
"[WHAT IF THE INJURY LASTS LONG?]"
"Y-yes, sorry, sir."
Emma returned to her bed and then giggled, laughing while glancing at the dressing table. "Lipstick, a good assistant."
That long night finally ended. It was said that Lauren's apologies were more numerous than Blank's apologies to Lauren. Until now, morning arrived. All members were ready in their positions in the central room.
Miss Erna was seen standing in front of them. Also, from the right, Emma was walking with Miss Lauren.
"Miss Lauren, did you not get enough rest?" asked Miss Erna.
"I had trouble sleeping last night." Lauren was weak.
Miss Erna continued the discussion for today. "Today is the photography and filming project. We will go to the central city park. For filming, we need someone skilled and agile. Who from the media team will handle the large camera?"
Robert, full of confidence, began to stand and present himself while glancing at Blank, who had slightly dark circles under his eyes. (Look, Kaelan. You are not fit for a professional job like this.)
Robert, who was almost standing perfectly with neat hair and clothes, suddenly heard a very loud voice.
"I CHOOSE BROTHER KAELAN!"
All eyes turned to the source of the sound, including Blank, who was a bit sleepy and opened his eyes slightly.
The voice was from Emma. She was very enthusiastic when Brother Kaelan—or who we know as Blank—was nominated as the main cameraperson.
Robert, hearing this, bit the flesh inside his mouth. He looked at Lauren, but nothing happened. Lauren didn't budge at all.
Navas and Lirie also furrowed their brows. (Didn't Kaelan get scolded last night?) Robert twitched his fingers. (What is this? Impossible. It shouldn't happen.)
Then one hand raised and said, "I also choose Kaelan."
Viera gave her vote. This made the entire room instantly quiet and silent. For Robert at this moment, it was as if time had stopped. (Wait! What?)
With just the votes from Emma and Viera, it was more than enough to determine the result because they were the two main figures in this event.
Robert sat back down with an annoyed face. Navas and Lirie also felt jealous about what happened to Blank. (He's a lucky kid. I dislike privilege even more.) Lirie clenched his pants. (That new kid must have cheated! He did something, right!)
Blank, who became the center of attention, then smiled until his eyes closed. He prepared the sentence he would utter... "Alright, I will work diligently!"
This was the exact same sentence as when he got the job as a porter last night.
Lauren, who did not respond, and Erna, who was observing, finally decided that the main cameraperson would be Blank.
"Alright, Kaelan, you are the main cameraperson. Please cooperate well." Blank smiled and became enthusiastic again.
"Oh, because there is travel involved, we have hired a tour guide to get there via the best route and find places to eat or other accommodations in case of emergencies." Erna continued. "His name is Willie."
The elevator began to open. All gazes focused on the tall man coming out. "Helloooo, good morning, everyonnnne!"
His teeth showed. "How are you? I am Willie." But his eyes quickly glanced at Viera, and his heart beat fast.
"Hello, Willie." They answered in unison. Willie looked at Viera and closed his eyes. His smile widened. "Prepare yourselves for the outing today!" Everyone chuckled softly seeing the man with a height of about 182cm but very active.
"Alright, we will depart at 9:00 AM because the journey is about 45 minutes. After this, you can clean up and have breakfast together before finally heading to the location." Miss Erna's instruction. Thus, the second day of the NGNL collaboration event Viera x Emma had begun.
After they finished breakfast and prepared the equipment needed to be brought, three cars were already parked in front of the hotel, waiting for Team Viera and Emma to enter, along with the media team.
Blank entered with the media team. The others according to their teams as well. But Blank was a bit worried because this became very awkward, so he sat in the seat next to the driver.
After traveling for about 10 minutes, they were seen keeping their lips sealed. Blank pursed his lips. (If I greet them, they probably won't respond, right?)
Blank exhaled. He put small earphones in his ears to listen to music rather than fighting the uncomfortable situation.
As Blank set the music and looked at the road, Navas, who was sitting in the back with equipment, lowered himself.
Robert gave a thumbs-up signal, and Navas did the same.
The main camera was being tinkered with by Navas. This time, he adjusted the filters and features on the camera in a somewhat strange way. It's unknown what he changed, but it could be ensured the results might be less than optimal.
Not only that, Navas also slightly connected a small cable incorrectly and even made the main camera a bit difficult to move from the tripod by removing a few screws. Finally, after Navas finished, he hurriedly sat back down.
After arriving...
Blank and the others entered the park area. Viera and Emma changed clothes, while Blank would get his equipment. However, he was stopped by Robert.
Robert held his shoulder and smiled. "Kaelan, let us handle the camera settings. You are the main person."
Blank tilted his head. "Really?"
Suddenly, Lirie held both of Blank's shoulders and kind of pushed him as if joking with a friend.
"Come on, Kaelan, let us help. Later, teach me how to take good photos too, hehe."
Blank fell silent. He finally waited in front of a fountain with clear blue water coming out from the ground.
Blank looked at the fountain. He felt as if the world had become a little calmer now. But somehow, he became suspicious of the main team. (Hmm... Is it normal for them to be that nice all of a sudden?) Blank approached the water. "Hey, water, will today go smoothly?"
The water was silent... (Well, of course. It's impossible for water to talk.)
Blank crossed his arms and was then startled when someone called his name.
"Kaelan." Viera waved. She wore a yellow jacket with a white t-shirt, a short skirt, but with futuristic details attached. She approached.
But at that moment, Viera held her stomach hard, and her gaze faded. Her body began to weaken.
Blank, seeing this, immediately ran and approached her. Blank tried to support her by directly embracing her. "Viera? Are you sick?"
"Not too much, but somehow I sometimes feel dizzy and a bit nauseous." Blank led Viera to the nearest seat. "It seems you need to rest." Blank looked at Viera. (Boyka and Leon are guarding the gate, so at least I'll help her for now.)
The wind blew through the city park. Warm light began to shine on both their skins. Although there were many green trees with grass, the surroundings were tall buildings, creating an interesting contrast.
On the other side...
In a hotel restaurant not far from their position, a young man was seen with neat shirt clothing but made a bit messy with the shirt untucked and three buttons slightly open.
The man held his phone, which was actively on a call, and spoke to the screen. One sentence was uttered by the person on the phone.
[As planned]