Chapter 277: Feet

Feet. Everything smelled like feet. And armpits, and sweat, and clothes that haven't been dried under the sun. It had only been two days since the members of EVE had started living together, and June felt like he was already living in an inferno. It wasn't this bad when they were living in Azure's dorm. Or maybe that was because there were cameras filming them at most points. And now, the guys were free to do whatever they wanted. And June was about to burst into flames. Living with eight men was truly an experience he couldn't recommend to anyone. He couldn't even wish it upon Lin Zhi. June sighed and cleaned up the mess they had made last night, all while trying to wake them up since they had to go to Azure early today.

"Bro," Jisung said, coming out from the bathroom.

"Aren't we going to go yet?" June sighed in relief when he saw that it was Jisung. Out of the eight men here, Jisung was the one he could count on when it came to cleanliness—him and Ren.

"Can you wake them up? We have to go through our contract today," June said. Jisung scratched the back of his head.

"I already tried," he said.

"But they're deadbeat after the meeting last night." June let out a long sigh before going over to their rooms. He had enough. He filled up a cup with cold water and went to their rooms one by one. Then, like a domino, June started pouring cold water on their faces without any mercy. A series of screams were heard in their respective rooms, but June didn't heed their cries.

"Time to get up," he nonchalantly yet loudly said. Jaeyong looked at the clock and groaned.

"It's so early in the morning." June clicked his tongue.

"You've been an idol before. I'm sure you already know that we have more extreme schedules than this. Now, get your asses up and get dressed. We need to go to the company." Jaeyong pursed his lips, sitting up. Honestly, Rising Stars had just sucked out every last bit of their energy, and it felt like the tiredness was finally catching up to them. So, now they didn't even have any energy to unpack and clean their dorm. However, knowing that June was right, they reluctantly got up and started getting ready.

*** .

"Well, there's our next big stars!" the middle-aged man with a receding hairline named Mr. Ong, the CEO of Azure Entertainment, greeted from his chair. Azure was divided into four enterprises—Azure Entertainment, Azure Broadcasting Station, Azure Foods, and Azure Electronics. Rising Stars was under Azure Broadcasting Station. And now, their team would be under Azure Entertainment—which Mr. Ong was the CEO of. The other subsidiaries also have different CEOs, but the team was informed that the company was part of a larger corporation that was based outside of the country. In short, Azure was one hell of a complicated system. Mr. Ong used the wheels on his chair to go to the front of the table. He had a height complex, so it was rare to see him standing up. The group had met him the day after their team had been formed, but it was only for a brief moment. Now, they were going to tackle what was needed for their debut and what courses of action they were going to take next.

"Take a seat, my big stars," Mr. Ong buttered them up. The members of EVE shyly took their seats. They all didn't want to sit next to Mr. Ong, so June was left with no choice but to sit next to him. There were other employees inside the room, but they merely took notes and photos of the important event.

"Today is a very important day," Mr. Ong started off.

"We will now go through your contract, and we'll also be talking about the important preliminaries before your group officially debuts. Will you pass this around?" he said, handing Zeth a set of folders. Zeth nodded and passed it on to his members. June quickly took one that had his name on it.

"Let's get started," Mr. Ong said, opening the folder.

"So, you'll see your job description here." June looked through the clause. Then, he paused when he saw the phrase—"And all other tasks that encapsulate being an idol." June shook his head. It was already predatory from the beginning. However, seeing that his members didn't think much about it, June also didn't speak. He already expected to be doing a whole lot of shit even though he was just an idol.

"All of your works need to be reviewed by the upper management before approval," Mr. Ong continued.

"That means you cannot accept any brand deals, acting gigs, or any other work outside of our knowledge." The rookie idol members nodded.

"And the duration of your contract will be three years," he said, going to the last page. June raised his eyebrows in surprise. Three years? Usually, it was two years. GIRLS' EVOLUTION only got a two-year contract and disbanded right after. BOYMYSTIC was also originally given a two-year contract. However, since the group did better than expected, they were offered a two-year extension. The failed group from the last season was also only given two years. It seemed like the upper management already saw the potential of EVE to become one of the biggest K-Pop idol groups of the generation, so they prolonged the contract.

"Now, do you have any questions?" Mr. Ong asked, closing his copy of the contract.

"No questions?" he asked after a couple of seconds.

"Then, go ahead and sign the contract," he excitedly said. Jisung was the first one to sign, quickly followed by the others. June looked at them and sighed before signing his name on the contract, too. Before he could close it himself, an employee took it from behind him, surprising him.

"Yay!" Mr. Ong excitedly said, clapping loudly.

"Welcome to Azure, my boys."

"Now, we have our next courses of action," he said.

"We have already launched your social media platforms, and you are set to have a live stream tonight."

"After the live stream, you will be discussing as a group who will become the leader. Afterward, you'll also decide the name of your fandom. Oh, before all of that, we'll also be discussing your personal social media accounts as well as your stage names. There are people here who need their names tweaked." Mr. Ong continued speaking with no signs of stopping. His spit had already accumulated on the table, and June couldn't help but stare at the white bubbles on the corner of his mouth. It distracted him a bit from how much work they needed to do.

"We need to settle those until tomorrow because the day after that, we need to meet with the producers of your first mini-album. You'll listen to a bunch of songs and pick your title track."

"Wait, everything's going so fast," Akira chuckled.

"Don't tell me we're going to debut right away."

"Oh, it's not right away, don't worry," Mr. Ong smiled, causing the idols to sigh in relief.

"It will be next month!"