Chapter 21 - Setting Off

Josh had once searched up the store since the brand had caught his eye.

Remembering how he had given up on the whole idea after seeing that the watch cost more than his salary, Josh quickly took a step back. Chase must have heard what Josh had been saying behind his back, and yet he showed no particular reaction. He simply marched down the front steps and toward the car with no change of expression.

With an unlit cigarette wedged between his lips, he roughly swept up his hair. He seemed to be in an irritable mood with his faintly creased brow.

“I had a very hard time dragging him out here. It’s warfare trying to take him to work every time…” the manager complained between sighs to one of the secretaries in the distance. Josh furtively pulled out a candy from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.

Mark held open the car door as Chase slid into the vehicle. Despite the fact that there was a considerable distance between them and Josh, a faint sweet scent tickled the tip of his nose. Josh desperately rolled his tongue around to melt the candy faster.

Seth and Henry, who were responsible for bodyguarding, would be riding in the same car as Chase. Josh walked over to the car right behind the one Chase had gotten into and opened the driver’s seat door as he buried Chase’s lingering scent under the flavor of the candy.

* * *

The costume designer’s office was almost two hours away by car. As they reached their destination among the forest of tall buildings, the tension in the air thickened.

“Hahh…” Isaac, who was sitting next to Josh, took a few audible deep breaths. With his face hardened as well, Josh stepped out of the car. He scouted the surroundings with his eyes before holding open the door of the front car. Mark got out first and looked around once before stepping aside.

Before the man’s body could be seen, his scent was the first to take over their surroundings. His unbearably sweet scent made Josh’s heart beat as hard as ever, while simultaneously making Josh overcome with shame. He almost took his hand to the part of his ear that he had hidden behind his in-ear monitor. As long as he had the imprint, he would continue to have butterflies in his stomach, despite knowing that the man was but a large piece of trash.

Feeling pathetic, Josh stared at Chase as he got out of the car. The man, who had a perfect shell at the very least, proceeded to stretch his back. Their eyes seemed to have met for a split second, but perhaps it was just a misperception; 

Chase walked past Josh and headed into the building.

“Wait, actually?”

“Is this real?”

Exclamations of surprise echoed from around them. They were expected reactions of the people who had recognized Chase, and everyone including Josh quickly surrounded Chase. They hurried into the building, but there was already a crowd of people who were snapping photos everywhere.

‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ Josh thought to himself.

As if he had read Josh’s thought, Mark ordered, “We better properly restrict the area. Check for any back doors or emergency exits that we could use to get out in the worst-case scenario.”

“I’ll find the staff member in charge of management and ask if they have a blueprint of the building,” Josh replied promptly.

Mark nodded. After assigning everyone with their respective tasks, he quickly paced after Chase. Even in that moment, more and more people were gathering outside the building.

*

*

Obtaining the blueprint was easy. Thanks to the endorsement of the manager who had accompanied Josh, the management officer confirmed Josh’s identity and showed him the blueprint. Josh quickly looked over the building through the screen and contacted Mark right away.

“The blueprint is saved on the computer in the monitoring room. I have it pulled up right now. Would you like to come and see it?” Josh reported.

“Sounds good,” replied Mark. “Apparently, it will take them at least an hour from now to get things done. Check if there are any suspicious signs of activity throughout the building, including the emergency exits that are shown on the blueprint. Isaac, you start at the top floor and make your way down.” After ordering Isaac, who was with Mark, he told Josh, “You heard me, right? You make your way up from downstairs.”

Josh hung up and explained to the management officer about Mark before leaving the room. The rest of his task was simple. All he had to do was plan out an exit route for after the photoshoot—which hallways to pass, how they should exit the building, where the car should be parked, and how they should get Chase into the car and to the mansion safely. After that, he just needed to head over to the monitoring room and share his thoughts with Mark.

‘It’s just trying on some costumes. Why does everything have to be so complex?’ Josh grumbled to himself as he scrunched up his brow, but he already knew the answer. The act of leaving the mansion already put Chase at risk. As long as he didn’t do anything insane, everyone would want to make that man theirs.

Josh remembered the fact that Chase Miller was a narcissist, and he was convinced. Even he, who was often told that he was handsome or good-looking, felt very ordinary compared to Chase.

‘That b*stard would never be able to love anyone other than himself,’ Josh thought as he opened the emergency exit door and checked the stairs. He readily stepped in and skipped up two or three stairs at once. When he got to the next floor, he circled around the area once and checked that there was nothing special before heading back to the exit. He had done the same with multiple floors when he heard a familiar voice.

“Josh!” the person called. Josh instinctively looked up. Isaac was walking down the stairs toward him. “Have you finished looking around? There wasn’t much on my side.”

“Huh? Oh yes, roughly done.” Josh was just about to open the door to the next floor. Since he had run into Isaac, this was the final floor. Isaac quickly caught on and began to walk alongside Josh.