CHAPTER 03

Still No Face?

It had been three weeks at the NCT Corp. Still, no one could find the perfect face for the Mystic Man. Every man and employee scouted as instructed, but all of them return to the building empty-handed. The announcement of the reveal became an instant hit, and gamers of Against the Gods were looking forward to finally seeing the face of the game's most famous character. Even non-gamers, especially the media, were highly anticipating the reveal. Competitors were curious and planned to kill the media hype, but they failed. The hashtag #ATGthefaceofmysticman trended on SNS, and fan clubs of the game even started a countdown for it. To say that the announcement shook the Korean or even the Asian game world was an understatement.
 

The reveal made everyone excited, but it was the total opposite inside the NCT Corp walls. Employees were about to lose their minds because the deadline was coming near, and they still didn't have the right person to put a face on Mystic Man. The CEO was furious.
 

"I told you to scout every corner of Seoul. How come you still can't find the right person? Are you sure your men are doing their job?" Jaehyun fumed, and it made Johnny more stressed.
 

"Of course. We even extended the search to Incheon and the nearby provinces, but we still can't find anyone that fits your standard."
 

"Boss, maybe we could hire a model for this, foreign models are a hit, and I've seen some predictions on Twitter about who will be the Mystic Man. Maybe we can choose among them." Yuta tried to back Johnny up, but Jaehyun was not having any of it.
 

"I told you we wouldn't hire someone whose face has been all over the place already. Foreign models are out of the question because Mystic Man is Asian."
 

"Maybe we can hire Asian models?" Yuta tried. He tried, and Jaehyun looked at him like he was the most idiot guy on the planet. Yuta just raised his hand in defeat. At least he tried.
 

Taeil then stood and tapped his brother's shoulder, assuring him that they will find the right person in time. Jaehyun was about to retort when his phone suddenly rang. It was the principal of Seoul City High. It didn't take a minute for them to talk. He hung up and immediately took his keys, but before he stormed out of the office, he informed the others, "Mark's in trouble."
 

The three guys immediately followed their friend and drove their car.

***

Seoul City High
 

If looks could kill, Jung Mark would have been a murderer. He was beyond pissed and ready to punch the living daylight out of his classmate and longtime nemesis, Lee Haechan.
 

Lee Haechan, on the other side, was also fuming. The buffoon riffed his uniform, and he only has two. How was he going to tell his brother that some crazy brat decided to rip his uniform because he was a coward and a freak?
 

They were seated in front of each other, both hard until their knuckles turned white. They were at the principal's office at the moment and waiting for their guardians. It wasn't very long when Jaehyun entered the office in his full handsome glory, followed by three guys of the same caliber. Haechan couldn't help but gape at the sight. Jaehyun and Taeil immediately went to their youngest brother's side and asked the principal what happened.
 

But even before the principal could answer, Haechan beat him to it.
 

"Your brother is the CEO of NCT Corp?" It was more than a statement than a question. Haechan looked at Mark in disbelief. "How come you're not even half or even a quarter as smart as him?"
 

Yuta giggled but immediately hid his amusement when Mark threw him a "don't you dare" look.
 

"Excuse me?" It was Jaehyun.
 

"When will you fix the error on Brainiacs? I've tried to kill that beast for 50 times already."
 

If Yuta was amused before, now his jaw was almost on the floor. Johnny's eyes went twice as large. Taeil looked at the teen like he grew two heads. Jaehyun, on the other hand, was stunned by the courage of the teen to confront him.
 

"You are GeniusChan?"
 

"The one and only," Haechan smirked and bowed at the guys while throwing a mocking look at Mark.
 

Mark was about to retort when a man suddenly barged in, sweating and having a hard time breathing because he ran from his work to the school. In other words, he was a total mess, worry written all over his face.
 

"Haechan!"
 

"Hyung!"
 

For a moment, Jaehyun forgot how to breathe when he saw the guy. Despite being sweaty, the guy looked like he popped out of a magazine. He was breathtaking and almost unreal.
 

As he looked at the teen worriedly, the guy's eyes expressed so much emotion that Jaehyun almost teared up. And those- god, those lips made Jaehyun want to kiss the life out of them until he was satisfied.
 

Time seemed to stop when the angelic guy looked at him and introduced himself. Was his name Taeyang, Leetae, Taemin? He couldn't remember. He didn't even hear him and anyone around him. Jaehyun was only looking at his eyes, and he was getting drowned, and it was getting dangerous. He had been saved from the danger when Yuta nudged his side. He almost lost his balance.
 

"Jaehyun? Are you okay?" he asked, and the latter nodded without taking his eyes off the newcomer. Did Yuta, Johnny, and Taeil felt the same way? Were they also having a hard time breathing like he was now? Can they also see the angelic beauty in front of him? He was so good-looking that Jaehyun had a hard time believing if he was real.
 

Taeyong was unaware of his intoxicating presence to the CEO.
 

"I think your brother just lost his mind," Haechan said to Mark and finally pulled Jaehyun out of his trance.
 

"Mr. Jung, are you okay?" The principal asked worriedly.
 

"Ah… Y-yes. Where were we?"
 

"Still in school," Haechan whispered, but Taeyong heard him and gave him a head smack. He scowled, and Mark laughed in victory.
 

"He's Mr. Lee Taeyong and the guardian of Lee Haechan." We caught them in a heated argument in the hallway. Haechan here said Mark ripped his school uniform," the principal explained, and Haechan, who was so brave a while ago, displayed a kicked- puppy face while nodding at the principal's statement.
 

"That's because he called me-." Mark tried to redeem himself but wasn't able to continue his statement. His face suddenly paled.
Back from his evil look, Haechan said, "What, Mark? I called you what? Why did you stop?"
 

Now all the attention was on Mark, waiting for him to continue.
 

Mark fidgeted and looked down, contemplating if continuing would make him win this argument and prove his innocence. His pride was on the line, and he hated Haechan that moment more than ever.
 

"He… he…" he stammered and Yuta, just being Yuta, said dramatically, "Oh my gosh, did he touched you? Goodness Jae, Mark lost his ity!"
 

"Hyung!" Mark pleaded, and Haechan fell into a laughing pit.
 

Jaehyun wanted to kick Yuta that very moment. Who told him to follow in the first place?

Taeil then gave his brother an assuring smile and told him to continue. Mark reluctantly did.
 

"He… He called me ugly."
 

There was a minute of silence, and Mark wished the ground to swallow him alive when he saw his brothers' reaction. To say it, they all fell into a laughing pit.
 

Haechan – 1     Mark - 0

***

"If you could just change the potion codes and twitch the formula a bit, I'm sure the system will accept the equation and kill that beast in an instant." Haechan was talking to the four guys of NCT Corp. after the meeting ended. None of them got reprimanded because

Haechan apologized, though in the middle of a laughing pit, immediately. Taeil promised to give Haechan a brand new uniform and to solve the problem.
 

Poor Mark followed his brothers behind while glaring at the talking Haechan and imagining 100 ways to kill the guy in his head.

Taeyong was also following behind quietly. He was waiting for his brother to stop talking to tell him that he needed to get back to the café, unaware that the mighty Jung Jaehyun was looking at him like he was a priceless piece of the diamond once again.
 

"Are you listening, Mr. Jung? Please fix it. I've been wracking my brains off answering those equations."
 

Jaehyun looked at Haechan interestingly, took something from his pocket, and handed it to the student. It was his calling card. 
 

"Why don't you and your brother visit my office tomorrow after school so we could talk about it?" He said.
 

Taeyong looked up and looked at Jaehyun questioningly. For the first time, their eyes met, and Jaehyun swore he saw an angel.
 

"Me, too?"
 

"Yes, Mr. Lee. I think I have a job to offer you if you are interested."

***

Both parties left the building, and Johnny couldn't help but asked when they were in the parking lot.
 

"Do we need a new employee?"
 

"Of course. I want to you tell your men to stop the search."
 

"Eh?" The three guys looked at Jaehyun.
 

"I found Mystic Man."
 

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