Hell's Actor-Chapter 72: Festival Of Profanities

Gasping for air, Averie woke up.

It was early morning, and his phone was ringing.

"Hello?"

On the other side was Hyerin.

"Did you read the article?"

She did not waste her breath on greetings.

"What, why?" Averie mumbled. "What article?"

"You didn’t, right? Don’t look it up. I’m driving to your apartment right now. Just sit tight and don’t do anything irrational or reckless."

She cut the call before Averie could reply.

Contemplating what Lucifer had said to him in the strange place, he went back to sleep.

His precious rest was interrupted soon by the ringing doorbell.

He answered it to find an agitated Min-Ha looking at him.

"Get in quick!"

She pushed him inside and closed the door behind her, making sure they weren’t being spied on.

"What’s going on?"

She searched the apartment and closed the windows.

"Is Hyerin not here?"

"No, she is on her way."

Min-Ha pulled up an article on her phone and handed it to Averie.

’[Ding-Scandal-Ling] Actor Q admits to doing sexual favors for an important role in a popular drama series.’

"What kind of loser would do this?" Averie snickered. "Who is this chump?"

Min-Ha looked at him with a confused expression.

"What other actor in the country has a Q in their initials? They are talking about you."

Averie did not find that funny.

"I did some research," Min-Ha continued, taking a seat on the messy bed. "The article was first uploaded with your details and everything. They edited it twenty minutes later and removed any mention of your name."

"It will generate more buzz this way," Averie realized.

It was a counter-intuitive strategy, but it was brilliant nonetheless.

Averie turned to her, realizing a flaw in that action.

"We can sue them for defamation, right?"

She shook her head with a sad face.

"It will take a lot of time and money. Court cases always end up hurting the celebrity. Your popularity is your bread and butter. Hurting it is pretty much considered a crime in the industry."

Averie knew that. Just the night before, he had ruined a pair of actors that way.

"We don’t have that kind of money. If we were a large company, we could have threatened them with severe legal action. The pressure would have prompted them to remove the article and offer an apology. But we don’t have that kind of influence."

"But we can win the case, right?"

"By the time we are finished with it, the industry will have moved on from you. That would be suicide."

"I don’t think you heard me right. I asked if we can win."

Min-Ha looked down, her face covered in a mixture of complex emotions.

"They have evidence," she whispered.

"That’s a lie. I never slept with anyone for the role."

"Of course, I know that!" Min-Ha quickly added. "But listen to this."

She scrolled down the article and pressed play on the audio file attached.

"Just as you said, I slept with someone to get the role. What prince of lust can’t even sleep with a single person? Why are you complaining now, you pathetic idiot? Remember this well—I am Averie Quinn Auclair."

Averie whistled.

It was his voice. It sounded so evil; it was mesmerizing.

"They edited it well." Averie laughed. "My sarcastic tone has been completely wiped. Do they understand how damaging this could end up being for them? Are they prepared for the consequences?"

Just then, the door opened, and Hyerin entered.

"Did you see it? Why did you see it? I told you not to do that!"

She looked worried.

"Hey, relax." Averie walked over to the kitchen and began brewing a pot of coffee. "I’m fine. This isn’t enough to faze me."

If anything, he was enjoying it. Such chaos was very reminiscent of Hell.

After a while, he served the ladies coffee and biscuits.

"Other publications have started reporting on it."

Hyerin was discussing the matter with Min-Ha, who was busy reading the online response to the article.

"It is a deliberate, I am sure. Even removing your name seems to have been planned. People will wonder if something happened behind the scenes that led to the redaction of your name. This will only generate more discussion and conspiracy. In the end, we are the only ones who lose."

"Where is the audio clip from, anyway?" Min-Ha asked.

"From the table-read," Hyerin answered. "There was an actor who tried picking a fight with Averie."

"And this is how you responded?" Min-Ha’s eyes bulged. "Unbelievable."

"Thanks." Averie sipped his coffee. "If I had known someone was recording, I would have put more effort into it. What a shabby performance."

"There is no mention of the other actor, and they haven’t provided much of a context either." Hyerin looked offended. "What kind of journalism is this?"

"Who was this other actor?" Min-Ha asked.

"Some guy, I don’t remember."

But Averie knew. He always remembered his prey.

"Jin Bae was his name."

Min-Ha did a quick online search.

"Found him." She was left surprised. "This nobody picked a fight with you?"

Averie laughed. He was finding Min-Ha fun.

But what she said next made them suspicious.

"He is from... Loret Entertainment." She looked at Hyerin. "Aren’t Jiwon Kim and Min-Ho Kim from Loret, too?"

Averie tapped on his coffee mug.

"Weisin Conglomerate owns Loret, right? Patricia Kim is the daughter of their CEO."

"That woman you refused yesterday?"

Nothing had been proven, but they believed they had found the ones responsible.

"How are people reacting?" Averie asked.

But Min-Ha hid her phone from him.

The internet was a sea of fire.

Averie’s fans were fighting everyone who dared to question him, but the number of people calling him names was increasing by the minute.

- What a vile piece of shit.

- What’s going on? Yesterday, it was Jiwon Kim and Min-Ho Kim. And today this?

- I hate Ha-Joon Chae, but even he isn’t this shameless.

- All the better. That’s true dedication.

- How much for a night, Averie?

- My grandma is looking to get laid, will you sleep with her too, Averie? She will pay good.

- Will you sleep with me too? I can’t pay you, but I can give you herpes.

Min-Ha clicked her tongue.

"Ha-Joon Chae just posted the headline on his Delfa account. He is a jealous goblin. This is why nobody likes him."

After calming themselves, the two ladies began discussing the best course of action.

"No matter what we say now, it won’t matter." Hyerin began writing down a number of precautions to take. "Our voices will be drowned out by the influx of articles. They will treat you with doubt and contempt. And the industry isn’t going to come out in support after what you did yesterday."

"What could they have done?" Averie asked.

"They could have painted you as the victim of sexual exploitation."

"Fascinating."

"You cannot leave the house until the matter blows over, you understand?"

Averie agreed.

He was humming a nice tune, finding the situation amusing.

’What a grave mistake they made.’

Without knowing the extent of Averie’s bloodlust, someone had recklessly made an enemy out of him.

’I am going to enjoy slaughtering you.’

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