Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 54: Just Play It, Birdie!

[Warning: This Chapter contains Mention of Drug Abuse]

"Goodness," Kaija scoffed. "I never imagined your skin was that thick. It’s not a love song, genius. Have some damn dignity."

"Shut up, you dirty stealing bitch!" Liisi snapped. "I wrote it for Karl! It was for him! All because of him!"

"Alright, I’ve had enough of your ridiculous stubbornness," Kaija said, rolling her eyes. "Fine. Keep it. Good luck with it at the festival, yeah? Make sure to thank me later." Then she turned and walked off toward Building S. She’d dealt with enough cheap drama for one day.

Seeing Kaija walk away, Karl finally snapped out of his frozen state. "Hey, birdie, wait up!" he called, but she was already stepping inside Building S. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

As a member of the KE festival board, he should’ve dragged both of them straight to the office to report the case, but it was already 10 PM, and the birdie was fleeing at inhuman speed. His legs shook from not knowing whether he should chase after Kaija or deal with Liisi on the spot. With one sharp, annoyed sigh, he made up his mind and sprinted toward Building S.

Behind him, Liisi stood frozen, mouth parted, her face blank with shock. She’d just outright confessed her feelings for him, feelings she’d held tight in her heart ever since she first heard Karl sing back when she was still a nobody on this campus, and yet he ran after that trainee girl without giving her a single glance?

Her hands tightened into fists, trembling uncontrollably at her sides. Her teeth clenched as tears burst from her beautiful dolly eyes, streaming down her cheeks. She started panting, her heart racing wildly.

"Oh no, fuck," Liisi grumbled. "I need that shit now." It was that feeling again. Whenever she lost control of her emotions, the cursed withdrawal symptoms kicked in.

She pulled out her phone, swiping frantically through her contacts, looking for the bastard who’d lured her into that godforsaken drug. The moment she spotted the single letter "J", she hit call.

Months ago, her group mates had introduced her to this mysterious guy called "J". The guy was known not only among artists at KE, but across the entire showbiz scene in S Country for providing tiny pills called Bloom that was unlike any other drug on the market.

Though never spoken aloud, drug abuse behind closed doors was the norm in the industry. With tight schedules, long tours, and insane pressure from being constantly under scrutiny from the media and their own fans, Liisi and the four other girls in her idol group Lipstick were all frequent users.

As for Liisi, she’d been hooked on Bloom the moment she first tried it, even though a single pill came with a hefty price. The only thing Liisi didn’t expect was, the ecstatic feelings it gave also came with the horrible withdrawal symptoms. Whenever her emotions went off balance, her body would start betraying her and scream for more pills.

The other end picked up within three rings. "Miss me already?" a man’s teasing voice chimed. "How many, dearie?"

"Just three," Liisi muttered, her eyes darting left and right to make sure no one was close. Then she quickly corrected herself, "No, wait... maybe ten. Just in case."

"Woo!" the man blurted. "Easy, kitten. You wouldn’t wanna overdose, would ya?"

"Don’t call me that, you fucking bastard," Liisi snarled, her voice shaking. "If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be into this bullshit!"

A low, amused chuckle echoed through the speaker, raising goosebumps on her arms. "Please, darling," he drawled, his tone dripping with derision, "you’re one of my most enthusiastic customers. Ten it is. Same spot. Check your surroundings before you collect. Pleasure doing business with you, my superstar."

Liisi’s teeth clenched even harder. "Just fucking prepare it! I’m coming now." She hung up before the man could say another word and headed to the pickup point.

Over Building S, Karl finally caught up to Kaija as she stood waiting for the elevator. "Jeez, how do you walk so fast with those short legs?" Karl asked, still panting for air.

Kaija looked down at her long leg, then up at Karl towering at 190 cm.

"I am 170 cm," she muttered, frowning. "That’s taller than most girls, mind you. You call my legs short? You’re simply too tall, Karl."

"Still shorter than mine," Karl muttered back. Then his face turned serious, his voice softening. "The song Liisi sang... was it really yours?"

She nodded left and right nonchalantly, shrugging. "It is mine, but it wasn’t a love song, for God’s sake."

"Can I hear the full version?" Karl asked.

She raised a brow at him. The earnest way he said those words felt strange to Kaija’s ears. She was more used to hearing him growl or snap than this oddly gentle version of him, and combined with that yearning baby face, his request almost felt impossible to resist.

Reluctantly, she said, "Alright, I’ll show you, but maybe somewhere more private?"

"Yeah, wherever you want. I don’t really care," Karl said with a shrug.

The elevator arrived just as he finished his words. Even though he’d said he didn’t care where she picked, the moment they stepped inside, his finger reached for the number 20 on the panel.

"Hello? I never said I’d invite you over?" she asked, eyeing him warily. When she said somewhere more private, she was thinking of dropping by his place on floor 19th just to play him the song and be gone.

His lips curled into a sly smile. "I’ve always wanted to see what the flat I deserve looks like. Besides, having me, the great Karl Hanski, step inside your place is an honor not everyone gets. Don’t you know that?"

She rolled her eyes in silence, already regretting agreeing to his request. The whole thing felt more like Karl wanted to check out his dream penthouse than hear her song now.

As she expected, the moment the door to Room 1 opened, Karl started hopping from one room to another without a single word of her permission. He checked the balconies, the pool, even the bathrooms and every light bulb on the walls.

Once his inspection was done, he concluded, "Turns out this flat is way worse than mine. At least mine is well-decorated. Yours has absolutely nothing, like a boring blank canvas whose artist didn’t know how to use it."

Her face darkened at once. Did she even ask for his opinion?

"Are you sure you’re here for the song?" she scowled.

"Of course I’m here for the song," he exclaimed, dropping onto the couch, his long limbs spread out like it was his own couch. "What’ve you been waiting for all this time? Just play it, birdie!"

She pulled out her phone, hit play with a deep scowl, and tossed the phone onto the couch next to Karl. Then she went into her room, changed into something more comfortable and washed up, leaving Karl alone in the living room to do whatever he wanted.

The day had been long, and it was already late. She needed to start getting ready for bed. Once Karl finished listening, she’d kick him out.

Unfortunately, life was never easy for Kaija.

When she came back into the living room, Karl was lying on his side on the couch, one pillow between his legs and another between his arms, his baby face sound asleep like he’d already slipped into dreamland.