From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 326: Producer (5)

"Hello. Uncle?"

As he waited for his uncle’s response, William repeatedly kicked the toilet stall door in irritation.

He wasn’t happy with everything that was going on, but right now, he had no choice but to bow his head and ask for help.

"What?" a cold voice could be heard over the phone.

Naturally, it was his uncle, Wilfred Forbes.

Due to the recent events that got exposed to the public and was currently circulating the entertainment media cycle, his uncle was completely furious with him, and no matter how hard William tried to explain that it wasn’t his fault, it was the fault of that stupid PD, who didn’t even know how to get rid of the evidence, and that stupid, French fish boy who somehow got things leaked, his uncle refused to believe him and instead punished him!

Severely!

His allowance had been cut, his credit card canceled, and his younger brother had texted him a photo of his cars being taken away with the caption - ’Thanks for the donation, big bro. I’ll drive them well and try not to crash them.’

It was utterly infuriating, and every time he had to see the person who caused all this smiling carelessly, William wanted to beat him up, but most of his anger was directed at his uncle.

He couldn’t understand why he was being severely punished for a simple issue that had been covered up plenty of times in the past.

All his family had to do was pay a little money to the right people, and things would be wiped from the Internet.

And sure, this program might be a little popular, but what was the big deal?

His family had politicians with lots of money and influence in their back pocket; this current scandal could be quickly erased if they tried hard enough.

There was no need to punish him so badly and embarrass him publicly for such a minor thing!

"I said What do you want, William? You know you’re not supposed to contact me." Wilfred Forbe’s unsympathetic voice rang out from the phone, causing William to snap out of his thoughts.

"They’ve announced our next mission."

"I’m aware. So?"

".....I need help," William admitted unwillingly.

"With what now?! What the hell now?! After all the help I’ve given you!! All you had to do was keep your mouth shut, not cause any incidents, and you would be fine! You had helpers galore, the assistant PD, the PD, and other staff members! You should be on top, but instead you-" William heard the sound of something breaking on the other side and distanced it from his ear as his uncle continued cursing and ranting at him.

As his character and person were insulted as he was being scolded, William could feel his face flush.

And yet he couldn’t say anything for fear of getting greater punishment.

When his uncle finally paused to take a breath, William hurriedly conveyed what he needed to.

"We’re supposed to produce a song from end to end, and naturally, I’m my team leader. Since you wanted me to stand out, I assured that pack of useless tag-alongs that I got stuck with that I’ll be doing everything without their help."

"And I repeat, so? The item you were given should be able to help you do that by giving you the skills you need. Why do you need my help? After creating so many messes like an incompetent toddler who still needs his ass to be wiped by a servant, this is the time you should be proving yourself that you deserve all of the time, effort, and money that has been sunk into you!"

"It’s still not working properly," William replied stubbornly, not willing to admit that not only did he not have it, but the person who had it was the person who was causing him all of this trouble!

"William Mallory Forbes!"

"Uncle, I’m serious! It’s not fully working! You can see that my individual performance is good, but the other things are lacking! No matter what I try, I don’t know what’s wrong with it! I just need more time!" William lied, quickly blending truth and lies together.

"You’ve been saying this for months. At this point, I think you might be a lost cause and your younger brother might be a better be-"

"No! We’re so close to the end, don’t you think it’ll be a waste of everything to stop now? I just need help this one time, uncle! ...Please!"

"Just this one time? You’ve been a failure in receiving help since the beginning! Shut it. Let me think!"

The phone was silent for several minutes before William finally heard a response.

"Fine. Just continue to stay quiet without causing trouble. I’ll get the A&R team to make you a concept that you can submit to the staff, and I’ll ask Producer Benny to find a noname, newbie producer to make you a decent song to match the concept. Nothing too amazing, but it will get the job done."

"No! I don’t want some random, newbie producer making a random song. I need a song that will crush that fish boy and that loser cowboy. Especially that fish boy! I want a good producer to make me a song. I want Mad Max, I want Jack Jack, or even The Alchemist-" William began listing the top producers in the music industry, Wilfred Forbes’ voice sounded out once more.

"Shut up! You’ll take what I give you and work with it! At this point, I don’t need you to think; you just need to follow the instructions and NOT. ACT. OUT! And stop messing with that Matisse boy! Because every time you do, things get worse! Even if he stole from you, it will have to be recovered after this show is done and he’s away from the public eye! Ugh! If only you had half as much talent as he did, I wouldn’t be here scrambling to save you and your sorry self! Just do what I say and don’t cause me any more trouble, or I will end your journey right here and right now! Do you understand?"

"...ʸᵉˢ," William mumbled unwillingly.

How dare his uncle compare him to that fish boy who only got where he was because of the item that should belong to HIM!

If he had it, he would be doing just as well, if not better than he was!

It was all his fault!

"I said, do you understand me?!"

"Yes, uncle."

"Good. The things will be sent to you tomorrow morning. Make sure you follow the instructions, and once again, do not act out!"

Beep! 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The phone was quickly cut off, and after several seconds of angrily swearing, William sent out several messages to producers he knew.

If his uncle wasn’t going to get him a good song, then he would just have to do it himself.

Even if his funds were cut off, if he called in a few favors, he still had enough money to buy at least one good song that would blow whatever those two losers came up with out of the water.

After sending out feelers and checking his bank account, William left the stall with a satisfied smile.

When he stepped out, he saw Daniel, humming happily, using the urinal with his headphones on.

With a cold smile, William waited for the orange-haired boy to turn around and notice that he was there.

When their eyes met, Daniel hiccupped before backing away, but William gestured at him with one finger.

"Come here. You’ve been looking too happy ever since you joined Fish Boy’s team, and I don’t like it. Not one bit. If you’re thinking of betraying me or think he can help you, then you’d better think again. Your family is in my hands, and you’re my dog. I brought you here. And when I tell you to bark, you do it with no questions."

As Daniel stared at him without moving, William just left his hand outstretched as his smile disappeared.

"My joints are feeling a bit stiff. Don’t make me repeat myself. Come here."

If you think I’ll allow you to work at full strength and help that stupid fish boy do well in this performance, think again.

Your talent is mine!

Smiling as Daniel stared at him with teary eyes, William squeezed his throat until the other boy’s face began to turn red as tears silently trailed down his cheek.

And as his bare skin touched the other boy, starting from the point of contact and spreading through his entire body, he felt that particular, delicious, addictive shock of energy fill him.

He knew he would make him better in some way; he just wished that it would last longer and not fade away, and that he knew exactly what had changed.

While he was able to predict what might improve based on the skill set of the person he touched, it still involved a bit of guessing, which irritated him.

Well, no matter.

When he finally got his hands on Fish Boy, he would get the permanent version.

For now, he would just enjoy what he had.

When his hand no longer tingled, William tossed Daniel to the floor like he was a dirty rag, before washing his hands in the sink.

Touching the poor always disgusted him.

As Daniel coughed while trying to catch his breath, William began tapping his foot impatiently.

"So, what is your team working on? Tell me your concept, your fantasy inspiration, and what your lyrics are about."

Cough, cough, cough.

Daniel kept coughing, but William didn’t pay him any mind as he continued speaking to himself.

"I’m so irritated. Your team is full of a bunch of tight-lipped bastards, and that blonde, stuck-up bitch of a PD has scared the staff straight, so they’re all avoiding me like the plague. Stupid idiots. Don’t they know who runs this place? It’s not her, it’s my uncle! And stop coughing and tell me everything!"

"Cough, cough, why do you want to know? We’ve already submitted everything, so if you use our ideas, everyone will know you plagiarized us." Daniel replied stubbornly as he rubbed his sore throat.

"’Us?’ Our ideas? What do you mean by ’our ideas’? You really think you’re part of that team, don’t you? Don’t tell me fish boy got you the same way he got Levi? All because of a few snacks? Does he even know that you were feeding me information about him? You know that I’m the reason you were even accepted into this show, right? Ah, uncle said I should stay quiet, but you and I both know you won’t do anything right? Shall we talk, Daniel? I’m a bit stressed."

*******

Brrrrnggg!

As the alarm he had set went off, Ari promptly saved everything he had been working on, both locally on the loaned laptop and online, slammed the laptop shut, and began stretching his tired body.

"Done?" Carlos asked as he handed over a water bottle and closed his own notebook, which he had been trying to write lyrics in.

The two of them had been cooped up inside the practice room with instruments for the entire day, and Carlos curiously watched Ari shuffle back and forth between the keyboard, the drums, and back to the laptop, all the while muttering to himself while making notes or staring blankly into the air while whispering.

Interspersed in this cycle were moments when he would hand Carlos a handwritten sheet of paper with various hymns and notes, asking Carlos to sing them at different pitches before nodding to himself and beginning his odd cycle again.

The only time Ari took a break was to go eat a meal, and then he was back to his process.

All in all, it was quite odd, but at the end of the day, a little melody had been created.

"With part 1 of the day. Now it’s time for part two. Thanks for the water." Ari chugged the water before crumpling the bottle and tossing it into the trash.

"I see. Did you have something to say to me?" Carlos asked the question he had been holding in all day, and as he watched Ari blink in confusion, he explained with a gentle smile.

"Every once in a while, you turn to stare at me with judgmental eyes. It’s been happening since our team discussion."

"Have I?"

"Yes. Haha, I feel like I’m being scolded."

"Oh. I’m not scolding you, that’s just my face. Hmm, how about now?"

Ari tried to rearrange his expression into one of neutrality, but Carlos simply chuckled softly before explaining.

"Now you look like my little brother when he’s trying to hide the fact that something’s bothering him."

"So my acting is not very good?"

"No. Sorry."

"Dang it. I’ve been scammed by a scammer."

[How dare you call me a scammer?]

"A scammer? Are you okay? I know you’re now 18, but you’re still a kid. You need to be careful and not talk to strangers, and don’t give your information out to people on the internet. Where did you meet a scammer? Do we need to call the police?"

"It’s an invisible scammer, so the police can’t do much. Thankfully, I didn’t lose money this time, but I don’t plan on believing them. I guess the s in SIS stands for scammer."

[I said I’m not a scammer!]

[And don’t call me SIS!]

"Que?"

Despite Carlos’s confusion, Ari didn’t bother explaining while batting away the screen that NOVA stuffed in front of his eyes.

Ever since he got the acting stat after completing the mission task, Ari had been trying to use it, but it seemed like just a scam.

"Yeah, don’t worry about it."

"Hmmm, then, why were you staring at me like that? Did I have something on my face?" Not willing to let it go, Carlos continued asking.

He had a suspicion of what it was, but wanted to verify it rather than overthink.

"No, your face is fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll stop staring, and it’s nothing. Shall we go?"

Truthfully, Ari had plenty to say, but at the end of the day, it also wasn’t in his place to tell Carlos to be assertive, especially after they had that conversation previously.

Compared to Ari, who was constantly in some kind of trouble because of his mouth, Carlos’s style of behavior had been working out great for him on the show, so there was no point telling him to change, even if he didn’t particularly agree with it.

The situation in Las Vegas was unlikely to happen again, so there was no need for him to care too much.

And due to the camera, he really didn’t want to get caught saying something that would be taken out of context yet again.

He wanted to end the conversation, but it seemed that Carlos really wanted to talk today because he kept on staring at Ari with slightly shaky eyes.

"Is it because I didn’t advocate for my idea earlier? I guess you didn’t particularly like that."

So you know?

Ari just nodded silently.

Seeing Ari’s face, Carlos just sighed while rubbing his face tiredly.

"It’s fine, don’t worry about it. It’s literally not a big deal."

"It is a big deal. I know I should speak up more, but it’s just easier to go along with what everyone else is saying. It will be quicker and less stressful, and nobody’s feelings will be hurt or offended."

"Nobody’s feelings but your own? Because, even after you didn’t say anything, you weren’t satisfied with the direction of things, right?" Ari asked pointedly.

Seeing Carlos avoid meeting his eyes, Ari decided to let it go.

Let’s just apologize and move on.

"I’m sorry. I’m trying not to impose my standards on others or lecture you. I’ll work on my face so I don’t make you uncomfortable again. If you like it, I love it. It’s your life, it works for you, so you can do what you want. It doesn’t matter to me. Shall we get going?" Ari asked while standing up and stretching.

He really had a lot to do and was running on a really tight schedule, so as much as he enjoyed chatting, he couldn’t really afford to waste time here.

"...Don’t." A cold hand reached out to grab his arm.

He looked at Carlos, who was clutching his arm so hard his knuckles were turning white.

"Pardon?"

Carlos just continued looking down without responding until Ari began tugging his hand away.

Then he reluctantly let go.

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

What the hell was happening now?

"Don’t. I know it might be annoying to have someone like me on the team who’s indecisive and a pushover, who forces you to speak up for me. Especially when I’m older than you. I know I’m making your job harder. Benjamin has told me the same thing repeatedly, but please don’t give up on me. I’m learning to speak up. If it’s really important, I definitely would, so don’t give up on-"

Ari could only stare at Carlos in confusion before slamming his hand over his mouth to stop words from coming out.

What was he talking about?

Giving up on him?

Ari had no idea what Carlos was talking about.

He had no plans to do that even if it were possible.

As long as they were on the same team, he would just quietly make sure that Carlos got his opinion across the same as everyone else.

If he thought it was a good idea, he would push for it, and if he didn’t think it was a good idea, he wouldn’t.

At the end of the day, the team was a democracy, and everyone voted for what they liked.

Nothing more and nothing less.

What was more important was that Carlos stopped saying these things in front of the camera!

He might not have tasted the spicy taste of evil editing, but Ari had been suffering since the beginning and really couldn’t afford another scandal right now!

"Let’s take a deep breath and calm down. I’m not sure where your head is at, but I plan on acting the same as usual. Nobody is giving up on anybody; we’re still a team. Again, I actually have no idea what you’re talking about, so if you want to explain somewhere there are no cameras, I’m all ears."

Please!

Let us move away from the cameras if you want to converse deeply!

"Ah! The cameras! Sorry!" Carlos glanced at the flashing red dot on one of the mounted cameras before looking at Ari apologetically.

"Seriously. Sorry. I’ll go explain to the PD later."

"It’s fine. But I really have to go, so...can we have this conversation maybe tomorrow?"

"Ah yes, sure. You’re leaving to make French music with Levi and Jamie? Jamie was telling me about it." Carlos hurriedly explained as Ari packed his things.

"Yep."

"...can I come with you? I’m a bit curious about the song creation process, and I don’t mind learning to sing in French. Unless you don’t want me there....I don’t mean to impose."

"Sure. Why not? I was going to ask you one of these days anyway. We stay pretty late, though, so there is that."

"That’s fine. I’m used to staying up late."

"Okay. Let’s meet at the door in 5 minutes."

Since he no longer bothered to sneak out, Ari ran to his room to grab his backpack before meeting Jamie, Levi, and Carlos at the door.

The 4 of them left and went to the karaoke spot, at which they had basically become regulars.

After a productive night where a rough demo of the song was created, all four of them came back to the dorms.

Carlos split off because he wasn’t in their room, and as Ari, Levi, and Jamie approached their door, they saw Daniel sitting in front of it with his head tucked into his knees.

"Oi. Wakey wakey. What’s wrong? Why are you here?" Ari lightly tapped Daniel’s leg with his own, and the Korean boy stared up at him with puffy red eyes and nose before muttering.

"...nothing."

"How can it be nothing if you’re sitting outside my door with red eyes. What happened? Who bullied you?"

"...I don’t want to talk about it."

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

If you don’t want to talk about it, then why are you here???

Didn’t we say we would keep a strictly work related appearance and not act too close?

Go to the PD and tell them what the problem is, or go to your room!

I know we’re currently teammates and we had that talk, but don’t you have other friends?

Go and tell them!

As Ari was opening his mouth, Daniel spoke again, "Can I sleep in your room?"

"...you know we don’t have any extra beds, right? You either have to share with someone or sleep on the floor."

".... yes. Can I still come in?"

Ari looked at the tear-stained face before sighing.

"Fine. Come in."