Devil’s Music

Two weeks later at Heathrow Airport in London, England.

Having arrived after a long flight, Byung-jun, Kevin, Shizuka, and Geon, who were invited by Arsenal FC, appeared at the airport looking slightly fatigued, causing a stir at the immigration desk. This was due to the excitement of the airport staff seeing Geon and Kevin, currently the hottest musicians in the UK, even though the influence of Liverpool Sound City had not yet dissipated. However, as is typical for a major international airport frequented by numerous musicians, the situation soon settled down, and Byung-jun, through an employee-only entrance inaccessible to the public, stepped outside to the parking lot and stretched, taking a deep breath of fresh air before lighting a long-awaited cigarette. While looking around, Byung-jun spotted a smoking booth a short distance away and told his companions to wait while he headed there with his phone.

Byung-jun entered the empty smoking room, given it was an employee-only access, and lit his cigarette. Having not smoked for many hours, Byung-jun deeply inhaled the cigarette smoke, causing him to sway slightly from dizziness. However, he regained his composure when he answered the ongoing call.

“Ah... Hello, this is Lee Byung-jun from Fantagio.”

A cheerful male voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Ah, have you arrived? I'm currently waiting at the international terminal.”

“Yes, thanks to the airport’s arrangements, I'm at the employee-only parking area.”

“Oh, I see. Our team players often use that spot. Please wait a moment; I'll come to pick you up in about 10 minutes.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.”

After ending the call, Byung-jun, feeling dizzy, sat down on a chair in the smoking room and blew smoke rings from his mouth before sitting down. Through the glass smoking booth, Byung-jun, with droopy eyes from the smoke, turned his head toward the glass door and jumped in surprise.

“Whoa! You scared me!”

Seeing Kevin pressing his face against the glass door and puffing air, Byung-jun yelled out in shock, causing Kevin to laugh and point him out to Shizuka, who was sitting on a large suitcase, covering her mouth with laughter. Next to her, Geon, sitting with his legs crossed on his own suitcase, let out a chuckle. Byung-jun, with fire in his eyes, put out his cigarette and opened the door to the smoking booth. As Kevin pretended to flee, Byung-jun shouted.

“Stop! Quit the jokes! An employee is coming to pick us up in 10 minutes, so just wait quietly.”

Kevin shrugged and replied.

“If you speak to me more comfortably, I’ll stay quiet too.”

Byung-jun raised an eyebrow at Shizuka and Geon. Since he hadn't been speaking casually to Kevin alone, Byung-jun looked back at him with one eyebrow cocked.

“You might regret that.”

Kevin clapped his hands playfully.

“Regret? Not at all, manager!”

Geon and Byung-jun exchanged knowing glances and mischievous smiles.

“Alright, I’ll treat you more comfortably from now on.”

“Wow! Finally! Thank you, manager!”

As Kevin rejoiced, Geon smiled knowingly at Byung-jun, who gestured for Kevin to wait a bit longer.

“I have a few more minutes, so I’m going to smoke another one. Shizuka, stay back a bit—oh, but not too far.”

Byung-jun’s comment was met with a smirk from Geon.

“They must have really made one heck of a smoking booth here, huh? I don’t smell the cigarette at all; I'll just stay here then.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Byung-jun disappeared back into the smoking booth, and soon after, Kevin spotted a sky-blue Rolls Royce limousine entering the parking lot.

“Wow, look at that car. How much do you think that costs?”

Shizuka also admired the car.

“I’ve never seen a sky-blue Rolls Royce before. Who drives those, I wonder?”

Kevin raised his hand to his forehead and scrutinized the car more closely.

“Probably oil tycoons, or maybe princes and princesses.”

As the Rolls Royce approached the smoking booth, Kevin, worried that he might be in the way of the expensive car, quickly moved his suitcase to clear the path. The car smoothly came to a stop next to Geon, who was still sitting on his suitcase. Geon leaned slightly to look through the window as it rolled down, revealing a young man with short blonde hair smiling at him.

“Hello, Kay!”

Geon, thinking he was greeting a fan, smiled and waved back.

“Hello.”

The blonde man stepped out of the car and extended his hand to Geon.

“I’m Terry Bannables from Arsenal

FC’s front office. Mr. Alisher Usmanov asked me to pick you up.”

Realizing that he was an Arsenal employee, Geon stood up and shook his hand.

“Oh, I see. Sorry about that, I’m Kay.”

Terry grinned broadly and held Geon’s hand firmly.

“Haha! I know, this is Kevin, and this lovely lady is Ms. Shizuka Miyawaki. But where is Mr. Lee?”

“There he is! You’ve come earlier than I expected.”

Byung-jun, having seen the car stop outside the glass door while smoking, stepped out of the smoking booth a step late and extended his hand in greeting. After exchanging greetings, Terry opened the rear door of the Rolls Royce.

“Please, get in. Mr. Usmanov is waiting.”

The group loaded their luggage into the trunk and climbed into the back seat of the limousine, with Kevin being the first to shout.

“Whoa! There’s a fridge in here! And a TV, wow! And there’s even a toilet under the back seat!”

As Kevin exclaimed and explored the car, he suddenly clutched his head in pain after being hit on the back of his head.

“Ouch! Who was that?”

Tears welling up from the pain, Kevin turned around to see Byung-jun grinning with his fist still raised.

“Asked to be treated comfortably, did you? Heh heh.”

“Uh…manager?”

“I always say, if we’re close, we communicate with our bodies. You asked for it, so don’t regret it. And just so you know, no take-backs.”

Kevin, looking frightened, slowly moved closer to Geon, and as he felt Geon’s back against his, he whispered.

“Has the manager always been like this?”

Geon chuckled and nodded.

“Yep, that’s just how he is. He does that to me too, so now you’re really in for it. Ha ha!”

As Kevin looked nervously at Byung-jun and pouted, Shizuka burst into laughter. Terry, watching the four through the rearview mirror, spoke.

“We’re heading to Mr. Usmanov’s mansion in Prestbury, north of London. You’ll be staying at his mansion during your time in the UK.”

Byung-jun simply responded as the car started moving. Geon, checking Terry’s reaction, asked in a whisper.

“Byung-jun hyung, what does Mr. Alisher Usmanov do?”

Byung-jun paused to recall, then pulled a notebook from his pocket and flipped through it.

“Hmm…Arsenal isn’t owned by a single owner but operated as a corporate entity. The majority shareholder is Stan Kroenke, and his competitor, the second-largest shareholder, is Alisher Usmanov from Uzbekistan, a Russian billionaire. According to Forbes in 2010, he’s among the world’s top 100 wealthiest, with a total asset value of $7.2 billion.”

Overhearing this, Kevin blurted out a bit too loudly.

“What! $7.2 billion?”

Byung-jun quickly covered Kevin’s mouth and glanced at Terry.

“Keep it down, you clueless guy.”

“Mmph, mmph!!”

Kevin raised his hands in a gesture of compliance, and Byung-jun wiped his hand on Kevin’s clothes, grimacing. Geon smirked and said.

“But why would such a person call us? Isn’t it usual for club matters to be handled through a hotel provided by the club?”

Byung-jun wiped Kevin’s saliva-stained hand on his jeans and replied.

“Who knows, having a relationship with a billionaire can’t be bad, so just go with it. But it’s strange that it’s Alisher Usmanov and not Stan Kroenke, the majority shareholder. We’ll see when we get there.”

As they drove through the city and into the countryside of England, they passed several lavish mansions. Kevin, pointing to an especially opulent one with a swimming pool, whistled out the window.

“Wow! What a fantastic house, I’d love to live in a place like that.”

Hearing Kevin’s exclamation, Terry laughed and said.

“That’s the home of Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, Kevin.”

“What! Wayne Rooney’s house? That one? Wow!!”

At the mention of Wayne Rooney, even the usually composed Geon perked up and pressed against the window. Excited, Kevin turned to Shizuka and shouted.

“Shizuka! You know who Wayne Rooney is, right?”

Shizuka, with uncharacteristic confidence, placed her hands on her hips.

“I’ve studied a bit too! Wayne Rooney, the forward for Manchester United and striker for the England national team.”

“Wow! You really did study, for real.”

“Hehe, now I can join in on the soccer talks too,

I’ve been watching soccer every day for the past two weeks, hehe.”

As Shizuka grinned prettily and made a 'V' sign, Kevin and Geon laughed. Looking out the window as the car slowed down, they saw an estate three times the size of Wayne Rooney’s in front of them. A chubby man with gold-rimmed glasses, dressed in riding attire, stood outside as Terry quickly got out of the car.

“Mr. Alisher Usmanov, I have brought Mr. Kay and his party.”

“Ha ha, thank you. You’ve done well.”

Byung-jun was the first to step out, followed by Shizuka, Kevin, and Geon, as Alisher Usmanov greeted them with open arms.

“Ha ha, welcome to my home. Greg has been bragging about his potential son-in-law, Kay—it’s nice to see you in person, and you’re even more handsome than on TV! Ha ha!”

Everyone’s gaze fixed on Geon, who, stunned, pointed to himself and stammered.

“Me? A potential son-in-law?”

The imposing figure of Alisher Usmanov chuckled as he placed a hand on Geon’s shoulder and gestured forward.

“Ha ha, let’s go inside and talk, it’s still chilly out here.”

As they walked toward the mansion, Shizuka bit her lip quietly, watching Geon’s back disappear into the grand estate.

>

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