Revenge Begins: Reincarnated as a Hated Idol!

"Soon after, everyone found out that the boss was dead."

"Of course, by then, everyone realized that Juan Moss had betrayed them. As for me, I was clueless."

"Then, every bodyguard was threatened that if they wanted their family to stay safe, they should keep their mouth shut, and in exchange, they would get to work for the Valcourt family."

"The poor bodyguards, realizing that even the boss had died at their hands, couldn’t resist their threats. That’s how they ended up as Titan Crest Entertainment’s bodyguards."

A bitter smile adorned his face.

"And me... I was abandoned, not even able to get a job because of the false rumors they had spread about me. No security company wanted to recruit me, thus landing me in my current, unemployed situation."

He raised his head with a broken smile, concluding, "Well, that’s my side of the truth."

In front of him, Aren’s expression was calm and indifferent, similar to how he had been before Arol iterated his story.

However, he couldn’t see Aren’s clenched, trembling fists underneath the table.

He couldn’t see his mind, which was in turmoil.

He couldn’t see his inner state that was akin to a raging storm.

Arol’s words were like lightning, flashing across Aren’s brain, revealing truth after truth that he had wanted to know for so long.

So this was the reason why no bodyguard appeared to save him.

So this was the reason why he died that day.

Because... the vice captain, Juan Moss... the man he treated like his younger brother... had betrayed him.

Everything now made sense.

The truth was before his eyes.

His emotions were surging in his heart.

Wrath towards Juan Moss, ecstasy upon discovering the truth, excitement upon thinking about his revenge, and sadness for his loyal friend sitting across him.

The one who had remained loyal to him had suffered while the one who betrayed him was flourishing.

So unfair!

Aren eyed Arol with a sympathetic gaze. "You’ve suffered greatly, it seems."

"You..." Arol’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Believe me?"

Aren nodded sincerely.

Arol’s eyes welled with tears, his lips quivering from emotions.

"Thank you." He wiped his tears with his muscular biceps, his voice cracking. "It feels nice having someone who believes you."

He then heaved a heavy sigh, leaning back on his chair.

"I was so worried that you might call me crazy. After all, many would suspect that I was creating this story just to escape from the responsibility of letting my employer die under my protection."

Aren stared at him with a solemn gaze for a few moments, and then, said confidently.

"I believe you because Livia vouched for you. After all, I don’t know you personally, right?"

"Haha, right." Arol laughed in agreement.

Aren just stared at him with a solemn smile until he was jolted awake by Arol’s question.

"So now that you believe me, will you hire me?" His eyes were gleaming with hope.

Then, with a heavy gaze, he added, "It’s getting a bit difficult without any source of income for our household, and I don’t wish to exhaust our savings if possible."

Aren smiled at him and said, "Don’t worry. I’ll pay you well."

Hearing that, Arol immediately turned excited as he asked, "Then how many bodyguards are you looking to hire? I can get you a discount at my old security company."

Aren shook his head. "I’m not going to hire anyone else. You’ll be my only bodyguard."

"What?" Arol was shocked. He was aware of Aren’s scandal and thus expected Neil to attack him in the future. Without a proper bodyguard force, how was he supposed to stay safe?

Was he counting on Arol alone?

"I’m flattered that you think so highly of me." Arol said in a serious tone, "But I can’t keep you safe all by myself. Moreover, I’ll come to meet my family from time to time. Who will protect you, then?"

Aren waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t worry about it. I have undergone some mercenary training. I’m confident about ensuring my safety."

Arol eyed him with a doubtful gaze for a few seconds, and then sighed, admitting defeat.

"Alright. Since you insist. You can hire more bodyguards later anyway."

"Hmm." Aren nodded in satisfaction, "It’s good that you understands."

"Then what do you need me to do? Just follow you around and guard you?"

"More or less," Aren shrugged. "You might need to drive me around as well once I get a car in a few days."

Arol crossed his arms and nodded. "I understand."

"Then," his eyes shone with anticipation. "Let’s discuss my salary."

This was the most important part for Arol since he needed to cover his children’s education and living expenses.

"How much are you expecting?" Aren smiled and asked.

Since Arol had been his bodyguard for almost two decades, he understood his strengths and weaknesses.

Negotiation was his weakness.

By asking for a price, Aren was basically asking him to put a limitation on himself.

Arol looked at Aren with a scrutinizing gaze as he began contemplating.

In Arol’s mind, Aren was a rookie actor with not much to spend, thus he couldn’t ask for a high salary. That might scare him off.

Moreover, since Arol’s reputation was bad, he would lower his price further.

Predicting his thought process, Aren was confident that Arol would quote a low salary.

And he... turned out to be right.

"500,000 Siera annually," Arol said.

Arol had quoted this price expecting that Aren would negotiate and lower it. He was ready to accept around four hundred thousand as his salary.

Yes, it was nowhere close to his previous salary of four million, but now that he was in such a pitiful state, he couldn’t help but lower his expectations according to the demand.

"Hmm..." Aren rubbed his chin. "That’s a bit higher than my budget."

Arol immediately began to get anxious and soon blurted out, "I can work in less. How much is your budget?"

Aren raised four fingers. "Four hundred thousand."

Arol’s eyes shone jubilantly as he immediately cried out, "I accept. Four hundred thousand is fine."

Aren knew that he could lower the price if he wanted to, but he didn’t want to scam the poor guy too much.

As for why he was doing this?

It was simple.

The salary was fixed, and the employee doesn’t feel grateful upon getting it. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The employee assumes that it is his rightfully earned money.

Thus, giving Arol a low salary would lower his expectations.

And when Aren gives him generous bonuses and gifts in the future, he will win Arol’s loyalty.

Arol would think that his boss didn’t need to give him so much money on top of his salary, but since Aren had done so, he would feel grateful and happy... something that he wouldn’t have felt upon getting a high salary.

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)