Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 534: Friend

‘What do you mean it’s fine?!’

Anyone would definitely want to be congratulated on their debut. No one would ever want to be hidden. Minhyuk knew this too well. After all, he had always said ‘It’s fine’ when he started suffering from eating addiction.

But once he turned around and was left alone, he would oftentimes feel bitter and lonely, hiding himself under the covers of his blanket.

Da-Sol did not tell anyone in Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Despite everyone’s busy schedules, they stopped what they were doing and rushed to Incheon International Airport to fly to Paris the moment they heard that Da-Sol was about to debut as a model.

When Minhyuk turned on his tablet, he searched for the three words ‘Beyond the Heavens’. Articles immediately popped up on his screen.

[Beyond the Heavens have arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.]

[Where are the Beyond the Heavens’ guild members heading to?]

[The only thing that’s noteworthy as of now in Paris is… Crystal’s Fashion Show. We can assume that they’re heading to Crystal’s Fashion Show. If that’s the case, then we can expect this year’s Crystal’s Fashion Show to be the best fashion show in existence.]

“…”

Minhyuk stopped reading the articles. He thought for a moment before saying, “Mister Driver, let’s arrive at Crystal’s Fashion Show when it’s finished.”

“Eh? What do you mean?” The driver asked in confusion.

Minhyuk just smiled softly and said, “I believe this is for the better. After all, this is our friend’s fashion show. She should be the only one shining brightly on that stage.”

Minhyuk looked out of the car’s window with a slight smile on his face as the driver instructed the rest of the drivers through their radios. Then, the limousine began to circle the roads of Paris, heading somewhere that was not towards Crystal’s Fashion Show.

***

Crystal’s Fashion Show finally kicked off, with world-class celebrities sitting side by side on both sides of the stage. It was filled with brilliant lights, refreshing music, and wonderful models, highlighting Crystal’s designs and making them shine brightly on the stage.

“Woah…”

“Crystal’s Fashion Show is truly the best.”

All of the invited celebrities were in awe. Even the officials of the broadcasting station that was broadcasting Crystal’s Fashion Show could not close their mouths in shock and admiration. The fact that Crystal had given his all for this fashion show was undeniable. Meanwhile, the organizing committee was in a buzz.

“Wha, what? Beyond the Heavens is not coming?!”

“Yes. We have confirmed that they arrived in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, but strangely enough, they are only roaming the streets of Paris in their limousine.”

“What in the world does that mean…?!”

The reason why they accepted Ascar as the finale of the fashion show was because of ‘Beyond the Heavens’. In fact, the finale was mostly done by famous celebrities. But Ascar? Even though she was also famous, they could have easily chosen someone more famous, like Genie or Alicia. Perhaps they could even choose some other rankers that were known for their world-class beauty. Ascar was someone that had always covered her face with her silver hair and was surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere. She was far less known than most of the celebrities present here, this was a fact.

“Tell Da-Sol that if she wants to walk a fashion show that we’re hosting in the future that she should contact the members of Beyond the Heavens right now, otherwise, she can dream on!!!”

“That…”

One of the staff members looked embarrassed. The very same staff member spoke up after one of the members of the organizing committee glared at him, “If you say ‘Beyond the Heavens’ one more time, I will kill you… was what she said.”

“Impudent…!”

The organizing committee member was dumbfounded. If it were not for Designer Crystal’s insistence, and that she was from the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, Da-Sol would not have been accepted in this fashion show.

‘What the hell is with those impudent words?!’

Despite all of their ruckus, Crystal’s fashion show continued to proceed in a very spectacular and brilliant manner.

[Crystal’s fashion show is now coming to an end.]

[Everyone has a high expectation for the star of the finale.]

[Crystal has given his words. He said that we should look forward to the finale. That’s why everyone in the world is paying attention to the finale.]

[If the finale is successful then we can expect that Crystal’s fashion show would remain in the hearts of every fashionista for a very long time.]

This was ten minutes before the finale came on stage.

***

Da-Sol turned to look at the clock on the wall. She was on standby after finishing her make-up and felt as if everything was very distant to her.

‘I’m very nervous…’

She would soon step in front of the eyes of everyone in the world. Perhaps it was because of that fact that she felt as if her anxiety was growing, making her reach for her handbag once again. That was when she saw that there was not much medicine for her panic disorder left.

‘I drank a lot of them today…’

Da-Sol chewed her lip as she felt cold sweat drip down her back.

“Please standby,” One of the staff members said. Da-Sol immediately hurried to the backstage while several people approached her to check her clothes. They did it until the very last minute before she went on stage.

The women that approached Da-Sol all lost their words when they saw her face and ended up staring at her for quite some time.

“Excuse me?”

“Ah, ah… yes… so, sorry.”

The women hurriedly checked Da-Sol and her attire for the last time. Once Da-Sol had turned around and left for the stage, they immediately looked at each other and broke out in a buzz.

“Did you see…?”

“Y-yeah… I-I saw…”

“She’s Ascar, right? She’s really pretty…”

“I thought she was already pretty when I saw her with no make-up on… but now that she’s in make-up…”

The woman did not finish her words and only looked at Da-Sol’s back in a daze, as if she was possessed by something.

“The Finale’s starting.”

***

Designer Crystal often held unprecedented fashion shows and garnered a lot of attention. The clothes usually displayed in fashion shows would often make ordinary people say, ‘Ack?! You’re wearing something like that? I definitely can’t wear something like that outside!’. However, such fashion statements often took away the hearts of the fashionistas.

And Crystal’s fashion show’s finale? It was broadcasted all over the world with a lot of people looking forward to it and watching it attentively.

“She shouldn’t make mistakes…”

“Damn.”

The organizing committee looked at where Da-Sol was supposed to be, feeling more anxious than ever. What if everyone looked at her and found her ugly? They were also very worried that she would make a mistake and ruin this perfect fashion show. Amidst everyone’s concerns, the lights turned off and the round lights lined up at the edge of the stage glowed.

Then, a woman walked on stage.

“Wow…”

“What, what the hell?”

Murmur, murmur—

As the woman walked out on stage, the celebrities that sat on both sides of the stage exclaimed in admiration. The celebrities were shocked by the woman’s beautiful face. Her bobbed silver hair was gently hung behind her ears, her bangs laying softly in a wave on her forehead. Her beauty was not even overshadowed by the fancy and shimmering earrings hanging on her ears. In fact, it even highlighted her blue eyes, straight nose, sharp jawline, and clear skin. Even the world-class actresses were breathless as they looked at her.

Then, she began to walk.

“Woaaaaaaaah…”

“Wow…”

Another burst of exclamation rang in the audience. Most of the works that the models displayed in Crystal’s fashion show this time had a black tone. However, the heroine that walked the finale was wearing a pure white dress. The dress came up to her knees and was lined with sparkling jewels that highlighted her beautiful legs. The back of the dress was open, showing a peek of the soft line on her back, which invoked another sigh of admiration from the crowd. She was even holding a bouquet of flowers with both of her hands as she walked towards the front of the stage. It was reminiscent of a picturesque wedding that everyone wanted.

Crystal’s finale was practically showing everyone the most beautiful bride in existence.

A person from the organizing committee, who was enraptured by the scene, said, “Who, who’s that?”

Then one of the staff members said, “What do you mean who? That’s Ascar.”

“For, for real?”

“Really?”

“…”

The staff member looked at the organizing committee as if they were pathetic, while a buzz broke out among the members.

“But… that’s not the Ascar that I know…?”

“She’s that beautiful…?”

Da-Sol did not always wear make-up. Also, whenever she was seen in Athenae’s broadcasts, her face was always covered with blood. The beautiful face that had always been hidden was now revealed to the world.

Then, someone from the organizing committee said, “Ask her if she wants to sign with us!!! We have to have her on our next stage too!!!”

“She probably won’t, though?”

“Why?!!! How come?!!!!”

The organizing committee went wild. One of the staff members answered, “Because you told her earlier that if she would not call for the members of Beyond the Heavens, then you would not let her walk your stage.”

“…What?”

“And she said, ‘Even if you want it to, I would not walk on the stage that you organized. Ah, I would think about it if it’s Crystal’s stage.’”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone immediately regretted the words that they uttered just a few minutes prior. They could tell at this moment that Da-Sol would become one of the world-class models. Meanwhile, the celebrities who did not know of Ascar began to talk.

“Who in the world is that?”

“An Asian? A westerner? Who is she?”

“No way, there’s such a beautiful person like that in this world?”

The world-class actresses that watched Da-Sol walk felt both envy and admiration for her. Despite the jealousy, they could not help but acknowledge her and her beauty.

Then, one of the women that were watching the fashion show with her legs crossed said, “That’s our ‘Scar.”

“Yes?”

Everyone turned their attention to the woman. This woman was someone that no other celebrity could overwhelm in terms of beauty and momentum. No, perhaps there were even more cameras focused on her than the other actresses. She was none other than Im Jihye or… Genie.

“She’s the Ghost of the Battlefield, Ascar.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Countless women present shut their mouths in astonishment. The Ascar that they knew was someone that always had a frown on her face and was covered with blood while rushing towards monsters.

But what about now?

Ascar practically looked like an angel. Genie clapped loudly as she watched Ascar walk back towards the backstage.

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—

With her lead, the audience began to clap as loud and as hard as they could. A long applause rang loudly after the fashion show ended.

***

After the fashion show.

Many reporters appeared to film the stories and commentaries of the models and celebrities that attended the fashion show. But among them, the person that the reporters wanted to interview the most was Ascar, the person that walked the finale.

But all Ascar wanted to do was get out of here as fast as she could. She wore her hat low on her face and a jumper covering her body. After all, she was someone that suffered from panic disorder and hated the lenses of cameras focused on her. She smiled bitterly as she tried to walk as fast as she could.

‘They’ll definitely know that I participated in a fashion show soon.’

Ascar was still unaware that the members of Beyond the Heavens were already in Paris. Then, someone grabbed her wrists while she was sighing loudly at the number of people that surrounded her.

“‘Scar”

“Ah, yes.”

Genie, or Im Jihye, looked a little embarrassed as she smiled at her and said, “I know that you want to get out of here as fast as you can. But… I think that might be a bit hard now.”

“Huh?”

Da-Sol looked at Jihye suspiciously. She could not understand what she meant at all.

“All of the guys are in Paris. Minhyuk told me that they did not attend the fashion show on purpose since you should be the one shining the most on that stage. They did not want to see the fashion show get ruined because of their presence.”

“…”

Da-Sol’s eyes widened at Jihye’s words.

Murmur, murmur—

The fashion show venue was suddenly turned upside down as thousands of reporters, celebrities and models burst out in admiration.

“That person… Isn’t he the Beyond the Heavens’ King, the Food God…?”

“My god… He looks even more amazing in person, right?”

“Even the Beyond the Heavens’ executives look amazing. It’s like we’re watching another fashion show…”

All of them looked at someone with awe and admiration. Minhyuk, who passed by countless people in the crowd, appeared with a bouquet of flowers in hand. Dozens of their guild members trailing behind him. Da-Sol quickly took off her hat as she stepped away from him subconsciously. He was someone that had always been considerate of her, be it the past, now, or even in the future.

‘You might not remember me but…’

But that was not the truth.

“You have to keep your promise from ten years ago and sign an autograph for me, you know?”

Minhyuk did remember. And Da-Sol, who was in the middle of taking a step back away from him, suddenly ran forward and hugged him tightly.

Grab—

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click—

Hundreds of cameras flashed as they focused on the two of them.