Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 118: Crazier Than I Imagined

Kaija blinked slowly a few more times, unsure if she had heard him right.

"You... have never had feelings for anyone in your life?" she asked, her tone just as soft.

Juho answered with his steady silence, and that silence told her enough.

"Well, when I had feelings for you..." she said slowly, as if explaining to a child, "whenever you were close to me like this, I felt my heart pounding faster, completely out of my control.

"If I locked my eyes onto yours like this, I wouldn’t even feel my own breathing anymore. My whole existence felt as if it were being pulled into those beautiful green eyes of yours, like I was caught in a trance.

"And if I ever imagined you with girls other than me, I’d feel a sharp pain pierce through my chest, along with an unbearable itch spreading through my body, like thousands of needles pricking beneath my skin."

His breathing stilled for as long as she spoke.

When no more words came, they stared at each other in a silence heavy enough to sink them both into the small space of the car.

"And... you don’t feel any of that for me anymore?" he asked at last, the question thin as a thread.

"I don’t," she said quietly, blue eyes unblinking, as if she were certain of her answer.

His features eased into a faint, bitter smile. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

If that was the case, what was he supposed to do now, when he had experienced every single thing she had just described, but toward her?

"You... okay?" she asked, noticing that smile.

"I’m fine," he replied, placing a hand over her eyes.

Her shoulders shuddered slightly at the coolness pressing against her skin. "What are you doing?"

"Close your eyes. Get some rest." His voice was thin and soft. "When you open them again, you’ll be back in your place."

"Hm, sounds good to me," she murmured, and he felt her eyelids flutter shut beneath his palm.

What she didn’t know was that, he couldn’t bear seeing those blue eyes staring up at him with that blank, emotionless look any longer.

"Since when did you start trusting me this much?" he asked, his gaze lingering on her slightly parted lips. "What if I planned to do something bad to you while you’re out, like Max Kosonen did? I’m not exactly the gentleman type, and you know that."

"If you had thoughts like that," she said softly, "you would’ve done it when I pretended to be out that time in the studio. Or when I was out just now. You wouldn’t have waited until now."

"Ha..." A quiet chuckle slipped out, tinged with indulgence. "You’re crazier than I imagined, Kaija."

"After all the things I’ve experienced thanks to you?" her lips curved, her voice fading. "I think I’m still considerably normal, Juho."

The rest of the hazy conversation dissolved into darkness as consciousness slipped away from her.

In the meantime, a guest arrived at Charles’s office.

"Mr. Kosonen," the receptionist announced, "Ms. Grant is here."

"Send her in," Charles replied with a slight nod, tidying his desk.

At his permission, the office door swung open.

Liisi Grant stepped inside, her movements small and measured, her lipstick as red as her look from the night before.

She wore a white, silky dress for a fresher feel today, having already worn black last night. Even so, the dress was far from innocent. If anything, it looked even more sultry, the thin fabric hinting effortlessly at her curves and the outline of her underwear.

It was her first time being allowed onto this floor of the Management Building, meeting the CEO himself for a private, face-to-face conversation. The thought alone made her heart pound with excitement.

Winning the KE Festival the night before had apparently earned her more than the attention of the powerful and rarely seen Max Kosonen. Now, even the infamous Charles Kosonen seemed to have set his sights on her.

"Good evening, Mr. Kosonen," Liisi greeted with a graceful bow, her voice bright and mellow. "Your office is so nice and spacious! I can’t believe I get to stand here one day. It’s my great pleasure and honor."

Charles showed no reaction to her flattery. His face remained blank, fingers interlaced on the desk as he asked, "Ms. Grant, do you know why you are here today?"

Liisi stiffened slightly at the steely tone. She knew Charles Kosonen wasn’t known for being particularly warm, but hearing such an icy voice directed at her for the first time still left her deeply shaken.

She began blinking slowly, large brown eyes darting left and right in a vulnerable, uncertain manner. It was an expression she knew usually worked well whenever she faced a difficult question, whether from an MC or a music video director.

Then her red lips parted, her voice thin and helpless. "Mr. Kosonen, forgive my ignorance, but I wasn’t informed why I was invited here today. Could you please help me understand?"

Charles offered no verbal response. He reached for a remote and pointed it at the large screen mounted behind Liisi, switching it on.

Liisi turned around slowly, and the moment she did, all movement drained from her body.

On the screen was a video preview. From the background alone, with the racks filled with glittering, glamorous performance outfits, she could immediately tell it was footage from the backstage dressing room of the concert hall.

When Charles pressed play, the screen showed a young woman in a black hoodie approaching one of the racks. The hood obscured most of her hair, but it couldn’t fully hide the pink strands tucked behind her ears, nor the familiar face that unmistakably belonged to the girl now standing frozen before the screen.

"Mr... Mr. Kosonen..." Liisi stammered, her face turning as white as her dress as she looked back over her shoulder at the man who was her boss.

"Keep watching," Charles replied evenly. "The best part is yet to come."

On the screen, the pink-haired girl pulled out a small pair of scissors. She ran her hand along the rack, searching for the tag bearing the name she hated most, then yanked the black dress free and slashed into it without hesitation.

When the dress was reduced to a thoroughly ruined heap of fabric, she dropped it onto the floor and stomped on it several times, her face twisted with rage throughout, before slipping the scissors away and disappearing through the door.