Fene’s POV


    n walked onto the main stage. He cleared his throat and suddenly put on a friendly smile. He pped his hands and rubbed them together.


    “I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused. Especially to Fene, who has acted very professionally despite the unexpected changes during her performance. Apuse for her.”


    n’s palms opened, gesturing for the audience to p. I smiled with flushed cheeks. I sped my hands in front of my chest, bowed briefly, and whispered my thanks to n and the audience.


    “We’ll take a 15-minute break. After that, we can continue the show with the models who haven’t walked yet. Thank you.”


    n then walked off the stage. He approached me. “You’re amazing, Fene. I never expected you to have developed into such a professional model. You didn’t even flinch when the music changed,” n praised me.


    “Well, I guess hard work and experience have disciplined me.” I smiled and shrugged. I tried to downy it, of course.


    “Good.” n smiled broadly and then walked back to the meeting room.


    “Oh, Mr. Schmidt,” I said, gently holding n’s arm, and he turned to me. He nced briefly at my hand on his arm. I immediately realized it was an impolite gesture towards a boss. Quickly, I released his arm and made my request.


    “I just hope you won’t be too harsh on him. Maybe it’s just a technical error.” I was referring to the operator.


    “Of course,” n replied shortly, then he walked back into the meeting room.


    “What did he say, Fene?” Jessy rushed over to me.


    “Nothing. I just asked him not to me the operator entirely,” I told Jessy.


    “Oh. Yeah, I think this is too strange. No one noticed anything during the event, and no one paid attention directly to the operator’sptop,” Jessy said, massaging his temples.


    “Yeah, it might be a technical glitch like an automated ad ying,” I shrugged.


    “By the way, you were amazing, darling. I think you’ve really absorbed my lectures on discipline and professionalism into your brain. I almost passed out when I heard that song ying.” Jessy squeezed my arms briefly.


    “I wasn’t bad, was I?” I tossed my hair back with one hand.


    “Not bad? Oh, you’re being too modest. That was extraordinary,” Jessy eximed with joy.


    I then walked to the buffet and grabbed a ss of water. Slowly, people started approaching me. They praised me and gave positivements. We spent our break time specting about what had really happened behind the scenes.


    Most people med the unfortunate operator, but some expressed suspicion of sabotage. Spections grew wilder, and we could only wait for n toe out of the meeting room.Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    ***


    Ten minutes had passed. Suddenly, the door of the meeting room opened. n and the operator came out with serious faces. n walked back onto the main stage and pped his hands to get our attention.


    “Thank you for waiting. Although I’ve drawn conclusions about the recent incident, I feel there’s no need to prolong this issue. It’s just a technical mistake due to the negligence of the operator.”


    We began to fill the room with low murmurs. The bustle returned. It seemed people were still curious about what had really happened. I was curious, too. What really happened? Why did n seem to cover it up?


    “Okay, models, can we continue this fashion show?” n smiled broadly as electronic music started ying again.


    I knew other models were still curious. It felt like something was gnawing at our hearts, and it wouldn’t go away just with n’s words-he was even a neer we couldn’t fully trust yet.


    I sensed the atmosphere of the party was now turning darker than its initially vibrant start. Nevertheless, I forced myself to watch until the end. n stood on the circr main stage again.


    ***


    “Thank you so much to everyone who attended. I’ve seen all of you, and I feel that Gene Talent Management has nurtured many exceptionally brilliant talents. I’m confident that this year, you will shine even brighter under my leadership. Let’s all work together well.”


    “Remember, my office door on the third floor is always open to all of you who need me, and you have my number in the group.” n smiled crookedly.


    “Next up, about the chosen model as the new face of Gene. I will discuss it with the agents first. I assure you, whoever is chosen will sign a contract with various extra benefits. I hope you all look forward to my call.”


    “Thank you.”


    n smiled broadly, waving his hand to all of us. The room resounded with apuse again. The event was finally over, and we all began to disperse to mingle at the party until lunchtime.


    “Fene,” Jessy approached me with a tense face.


    “Yes?”


    “n called us to his office. It’s about the incident earlier,” Jessy whispered in my ear.