Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 50: Which Floor?

"Nice flowers. Where’d you get these?" Kaija asked, sniffing the fresh roses.

Karl’s anger surged, ready to explode at the sudden disrespect, until he actually registered the voice. That unmistakable sleepy tone.

By then, that tone had already been carved into his brain, haunting him deep into his sleep. But the last time he saw the owner of that voice, her hair had been a boring black. What happened while he was gone?

Now it was light blonde, golden and shimmering like pure honey, which only made the face he hated with a passion even more annoyingly charming.

He stared at her for a solid five seconds. Then ten. Then twenty.

Kaija shifted slightly, uncomfortable under the intense stare. She waved a hand in front of his frozen face. "Bro, you good?"

The pity in her voice snapped him out of his trance. He scowled and snatched the bouquet back. "What the hell are you doing here? This is S Building. Trainees live in G Building."

"I know, I know," she said with a shrug. "I’m confused too, but I live here. You live here too?"

His expression stretched in shock before he barked, "I’m the great Karl Hanski! Of course I live here!"

"Psst," she scoffed, pressing the elevator button with ease. "Right, right. The great Karl Hanski who couldn’t even press an elevator button. Need help with the teddy bear?" She nodded toward the giant bear.

"I don’t need your help!" he screamed.

She stepped into the elevator, totally unfazed, while he boiled in place. One hand blocking the door, she swept her gaze over his tragic situation, her tone dripping with teasing pity. "You sure ’bout that?"

Karl’s shoulders trembled, turquoise eyes twitching in barely contained rage, until he finally snapped. "Fine! Take this fucking bear off my fucking back!"

Her lips curved into a smug little smirk as she stepped out and dragged the giant stuffed creature into the elevator. Karl wobbled in behind her, barely squeezing into the small space now taken over by Mr. Fluffy Mountain.

"Which floor?" Kaija asked.

"19th," Karl said sharply. "I asked that stingy fox to give me the penthouse on the 20th, but that jerk wouldn’t let me have my well-deserved privilege. He stuck me on 19 in that tiny three-bedroom flat instead. Fucking stingy cunning sly fox."

Kaija’s brain already started spinning. She only asked so she could press the damn button for him, not to hear his whole life complaint. And now he’d made it painfully clear he wanted the penthouse on floor 20th, aka the place she was currently living in. So how was she supposed to press her floor now?

Cold sweat slid down her temple. She hit both numbers anyway. The moment they lit up, Karl’s head snapped toward her, sharp and deadly. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Kaija Sepala," he growled, his deep voice dropping even lower. "Don’t you dare tell me your floor is—"

"Yeah," she said, casual as ever, eyes darting aside.

Silence filled the tiny elevator. The kind of silence that buzzed before an explosion.

"HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET THAT FLAT?!" Karl roared, voice echoing like a front-man of some heavy metal band hitting a metal scream.

She’d already seen that roar coming. Her hands slapped over her ears right before impact. Once the roar was over, she spread her hand in a small, helpless gesture. "Well, you’ll have to ask our boss about this arrangement. I was deeply shocked too when I found out."

The elevator dinged at 19. Karl stormed out, heading straight for his flat, still fuming.

"Hey, wait up," she called, chasing after him while lugging the giant bear behind her.

After five chaotic minutes of Karl struggling to reach his keycard, they finally got inside. The moment they stepped in, Karl tossed the bouquets onto the sofa like they weren’t two massive, expensive, lovingly arranged pieces of art he’d been hauling around all this time.

Kaija scowled at the utter disrespect as she set the bear neatly in the corner. "You’ve held onto them all this time just to toss them like that?" she asked. "Where’d you get these again? Your fans?"

"Of course it’s the fans," he scowled, tugging loose the tie on his shirt. "They swarmed like a pile of ants the second I landed at the airport, then chased me all the way back here to KE, shoving all this crap into my arms like I can handle everything at once.

"And you know what’s worse? I can’t even turn them down or throw this trash away. PR would go insane if I did. Can you believe how hard life is for a superstar? I’ve been one for so long and I still can’t believe it.

"Stupid fans. Screaming they love me but can’t make my life easier. Psst."

Kaija simply slapped her hands over her ears again. She could imagine the hassle, sure, but the way he talked about his fans... She swore that if she ever became famous, she’d never treat her fans like that.

With no remaining reason to deal with this grumpy superstar, she turned to leave. Just as she reached the threshold, Karl’s voice snapped behind her, even more annoyed than before. "Hey, where do you think you’re going? I haven’t allowed you to leave."

"Eh..." she paused mid-step, frowning. "Something else you need?"

"KE Festival," he said, arms folded tightly. "Are you competing?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. You too?"

He scoffed, tone dripping with arrogance. "Me? Karl Hanski, competing in that petty competition? Please. I’d only devalue myself."

She raised a brow, even more confused now. "Then why ask?"

A smug smile curled onto his lips. "In case you didn’t know, birdie, I’m one of the judges. That boring festival is the reason I got dragged back here while I’m busy with my tour. Can you believe that?"

Kaija’s face hardened to stone. Of course there was no way she could believe this ash-blond head would be judging the competition that could literally decide the fate of her debt.

Cold sweat slid down her face. She wiped it away and smiled slyly. "If you’re on the judging board, then you know who else is judging, right?"

Liisi had said the winner would be decided by the internal votes of the KE Festival board committees. If Karl was one of them, and happily blabbing, then she’d happily take advantage.