"Grace! It’s time! The livestream is starting, and different groups are beginning to arrive on the red carpet." Rachel called out even as she and Justine organized their laptops. "Coming coming coming! Grandma, I’m taking my break!" Bringing over her laptop, tablet, and phone, Grace sat down next to the two girls who had commandeered a booth to themselves. Each laptop had a different stream for the Greatest Hits Kpop Performance, which the Pop Star Academy contestants would be performing at, with the other two girls watching the only stream that had an English reporter, while Grace was watching a Korean one on the second laptop. And on the third device was a unique, never-before-streamed feature featuring an unexpected person. Chloé Laurent, the hidden dragon in the fashion world, was seated, sipping red wine, and giving barbed, pointed commentary on the outfits of the different groups that were traversing the red carpet and rating them between 1 and 10, which she usually did after observing fashion show collections. According to different posts and hurried articles, some groups had delayed their entrance and changed their outfits, while others were cursing their stylists as they went on the carpet, only to be torn apart by Chloé ratings and reviews. For a recluse who was only ever caught at official fashion events, it was not only unexpected, it was completely out of character, causing a fuss online as many reporters began writing articles speculating about what was going on. Why was Chloé Laurent in Korea? Was she looking for an ambassador for a particular brand? Who was the son of her enemy that she mentioned? The internet investigators were doing their best to draw connections based on Chloé Laurent’s offhand comments, but unfortunately, she had as many enemies as she had people who respected her, so it was a bit difficult to narrow down whose son it was. Chloé Laurent had people she considered enemies when she modeled, enemies who were other photographers, enemies who were brands, and enemies who were CEO’s. The list was so extensive and spanned decades, so that lots of people didn’t know where to begin. When the scope of investigation was narrowed once more, especially after Chloé Laurent was spotted entering the SoundWave Music building, the spotlight shone on the only French contestant, Ariel Matisse, who was currently facing a hate train never seen before in a survival show while experiencing a strange boom in popularity. His social media following was fluctuating heavily with a general upward trend; however, when you looked at the comments, posts, and articles written about him, they were all negative. Although he fit the description, people couldn’t find a connection between the two apart from the fact that they were both French. After all, Ariel’s foster parents were people who had no connections to the entertainment industry, much less the fashion industry; his birth parents were unknown, and efforts to find information about them or Ari himself yielded minimal results that were only a couple of months old and related to Pop Star Academy. It was as if he spawned out of thin air. And now, Chloé Laurent was currently on the red carpet of a performance where Ariel and the rest of the pop star academy contestants would be performing along with trainees from different companies or newly debuted groups. "Oh, look, the Pop Star Academy members have started to come. There’s William." Justine pointed to a perfectly coiffed blonde head posing for pictures along with Jerome Tyler and some of the other contestants he was often seen with. All six boys were wearing black suits with black dress shirts and shoes, giving them a unified, almost sharp appearance. As if he were a movie star and the main attraction, William wore a different suit of clearly better quality and style, stood in the center of his group, basically blocking Choi In-su, who was behind him, and then shooing the rest of his team along so he could get solo pictures with the backdrop. Justine noticed that although there was no wound on his face, his nose looked a little crooked, and he had a noticeable amount of makeup on his face, especially when compared to others. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩 "Don’t mention that name around me because each time I hear it, a violent rage surges through my body," Grace grumbled as her eyes focused solely on Chloé Laurent’s stream, where the chic older woman was currently dissecting the outfits of VINYL, a newly debuted group, with a bored tone. She kept on staring at the stylish woman, noting that the French accent and even the way she paused and spoke really reminded her of someone. Her journalist intuition was telling her that this woman was related to Ariel, and all she had to do was watch them interact. "But why is it that as I look at her, her mannerisms really remind me of Ari’s. Especially that look of judgment and the way she tilts her head when she sees something she doesn’t like. Even with the sunglasses on, it’s just so familiar." Grace muttered quietly while Rachel and Justine exchanged glances. This was a familiar conversation that had been happening throughout the week, each time they took a break from defending Ariel online from the hate. Grace thought there was something there, and the two of them thought she needed to rest before she really went crazy. "You’ve said this before, but seriously, what are the chances that she’s actually here for Ari? She’s rich and famous and well known, he’s....no offense to Ari, but he’s kind of a nobody." "Counterpoint, Why would a busy person in the fashion industry randomly go to Korea, announce that she’s here to see the son of her enemy, who is being bullied by a TV producer? How many French contestants do we know are getting bullied by a TV producer and is being accused of so many things right now? There’s only 1 in the entirety of Korea. She has to know him. They must be related somehow. That’s why they have similar mannerisms." Grace insisted, her eyes looking crazed. "Maybe he likes and admires her? I mean, they are both French, and he lived in Paris for a while, right? Paris is the fashion capital of the world and Chloé Laurent’s pretty accomplished and known in the industry, so maybe he knew about her?" Justine asked optimistically but Grace just shook her head without looking away from the laptop. "That’s not it. It has to be more than that." "Let’s not look too deep into it. You’re probably tired from battling online. Even the face mask isn’t helping your eye bags. The Ari angel’s community right now is a cemetery of hope and is just now filled with despair and people quitting. Hopefully, our boy performs amazingly today and things somehow turn around. Otherwise, I don’t know if we can get enough votes to keep him in the game, especially after he almost got eliminated the last time. Just watch the performance with peace of mind okay? And stay off your phone until everything is over." Rachel said while patting her back. Grace didn’t respond. While Rachel’s words were true, there was nothing to be done. Even if others left or quit, she couldn’t. She was the head of the community, so she couldn’t resign, and she couldn’t stop fighting. So many mods had already left, so if she, the leader, quit, that would be the end of everything, and right now Ari needed all the help he could get. Especially when he told her that what was shared wasn’t what it looked like and that he would handle it. It had been well over a week, and nothing was being handled. Instead, each time she checked Pop Star Academy, all she saw was his name being slandered and dragged through the mud while William was being praised for being resilient and strong in the face of adversity. Some big entertainment blogs had even picked it up, and despite her efforts to try to find evidence to help Ari clear up some rumors, like the plastic surgery ones, she hadn’t been able to make any headway due to the language barrier and France’s strict personal information laws. After all, how was she supposed to fly to and personally show her birth certificate proving that she was a direct descendant of Ari’s family to get access to his adoption records? Even if she was skilled at forgery, it was a completely impossible task. Her only hope was that her intuition was right and that Chloé Laurent was related to Ari somehow and would be able to help him clear up all the rumors, get rid of William and that rubbish PD, and let him have a smooth sailing experience from now on. Closing her eyes to say a quick prayer, when Grace opened them, it was to see William and his group appearing on the screen with Chloé Laurent. Holding back a groan, she watched to see how the interaction would go. [Ah, hello Chloé. Do you remember me? My dad d lots of money to the Met Gala last year, and we met inside.] The blonde boy went to greet Chloé with open arms as if they were old-time friends, but was quickly stopped as the giant assistant and part-time bodyguard stepped in front to block the way. [Move to the side, assistant. She knows me. We’ve met before. Chloé. Remember me? It’s William Forbes.] William tried to crane his neck around the assistant, but he was like a solid rock. "Is he stupid?" Grace muttered as she stared at William incredulously. Even if he knew her, why would he speak so rudely? William knew that this was being broadcast live, right? What happened to the etiquette that rich people were supposed to have, or was he trying to brag that he had a close relationship with her? Even so, he should speak more politely, right? [Sabine. Move to the side.] The assistant moved to the side, exposing a woman dressed in a fitted pant suit with an oversized fur coat resting on her shoulders while sitting on a director’s chair. Bright red lips and black sunglasses were the only things visible on a face framed by brown hair cut into the perfect bob, and despite the heat, not a single drop of sweat could be seen. As William began smiling, one leather-gloved hand pointed at William as she spoke once more. William’s smile froze before forcefully widening as he replied. [It’s William. William Forbes! I met you at the Met Gala last year. You said you liked my suit. When I heard that you were in town, I knew I had to step up my fashion game in case you attended and I’m g-] [I don’t recall. Leave.] Chloé Laurent calmly interrupted as she took a sip from her wine glass before turning her head to the side. Her tone was dismissive, and her body language made it apparent that she had no intention of continuing the conversation. Unfortunately, somebody could not take rejection or a hint. William forcefully stepped closer and closer, seeing that Sabine didn’t try to stop him. "Even if you don’t know me, you should at least know the Forbes name. After all, we’re one of the sponsors of the event. The least you could do is treat me like everyone else and give me a rating. What do you think of my outfit? It’s bespoke by the best designers and was especially made for me with my specifications. It’s the best one you’ve seen today, right?] For several seconds, Chloé Laurent didn’t say anything, although the hand swirling the wine in the glass began moving it faster. Sensing that she was seconds away from tossing the wine on top of William, Sabine quickly removed the glass from her hand in a practiced motion. [Sorry, Madame. I’ll return it once they have left. Why don’t you give the young pup a rating while we wait for the main event?] Sabine bowed his head and spoke to her in French. With a resigned sigh, Chloé turned to face William. [Yes. I guarantee that it’s the best outfit here, and I 100% designed it myself and had it implemented by a skilled tailor. What do you think?] The leather-gloved hand removed the sunglasses from her face as her eyes coldly looked William up and down. It was a tone full of disgust, and if looks could kill, William would have evaporated on the spot. [Why are you wearing this watered-down, glued-together, failed Brioni suit dupe that is clearly plagiarized from their heritage collection 12 years ago? Are you trying to look like a failed Italian mobster who goes digging in the textile discard bin and just throws on any rags in the name of fashion? Is this what you wanted to show me? That you’re an expert in plagiarizing ideas and have found some smuck who, by some stroke of luck and comedic timing from the universe, figured out how to put a thread through the eye of a needle and stab it into some cloth cut out in a stolen pattern. Or is it that you think I wouldn’t know where the reference for this particular suit style is from? Or-] As William stared open-mouthed at the sudden barrage of insults that continued to go on, a pile-up began to happen as several groups who were walking down the red carpet gathered around to get an opportunity to meet, greet, get a photo, and get a rating with Chloé Laurent. While Grace was mentally urging William to leave her screen while enjoying the verbal lashings he was receiving, she heard booing coming from the other laptop screen and turned to see an individual dressed in red from the hair on his head to the shoes on his feet standing against the backdrop along with 5 other boys for photos.