Just throw them out

Emily's face fell, disappointment evident on her features.

"Aishhh!" Michael playfully tossed a cushion at Joel.

"Ignore him, Emily," Michael reassured her, offering a sympathetic smile.

"But really, you want to be a broadcaster, right?" he asked, his gaze fixed on her.

"Yes," Emily nodded.

"My sister is a newscaster too," she mentioned, lips twitching to the side.

"Huh," Michael nodded in response.

He stood up and headed to his room. Emily watched him, confused about his actions. Soon, he returned with a script in his hand, a copy of the news Stephanie was going to broadcast that night.

Carrying a dining chair from the dining room, he placed it in the middle of the lounge, moving the center table aside. With the remote in his hand, he muted the TV.

Handing the script to Emily, he said, "Here."

"Sit on that chair and pretend you're broadcasting the news live, just like you're in a studio, like Stephanie, okay?" Michael explained with a smile. His lips twitched and added, "I know you can do it."

"Oh, okay," Emily agreed, her voice filled with both excitement and nervousness.

Holding the script, she made her way to the chair and sat down, ready to take on the challenge. Joel observed them, aware of what his brother was trying to achieve.

"Hyung, she doesn't have a good memory," Joel chuckled as he watched the scene unfold.

Emily sneered at Joel, feeling determined to prove him wrong. She tightened her grip on the script, ready to showcase her abilities.

"Pay no attention to him, okay? Are you ready?" Michael asked, offering support.

"Yes," Emily nodded confidently.

"Okay," Michael clapped his hands. "You're going on air in hana, dul... set!"

"A good evening to South Korea. This is Empire World Broadcasting Corporation, and I, Emily, bring you the news tonight," Emily began with a smile, fully immersing herself in the role.

Michael gave her a thumbs up, while Joel adjusted his position on the couch, captivated by her performance.

"It has been confirmed that among the high school students rescued from drowning yesterday in the Han River, only two were injured, and thankfully, no fatalities were reported. The South Korean government has promised to provide each student with one thousand won as compensation, and they have also pledged to repair the bridge to prevent such incidents in the future. Our correspondents interviewed some of the students. Let's take a look," Emily smoothly delivered the news without glancing at the script in her hands.

"Oh my!" Michael interjected, impressed by her performance.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration.

It was a flawless delivery, even though the script had some errors. Emily didn't stumble or ask any questions. Joel couldn’t help but smile in awe and admiration. She was better than Stephanie in many ways.

If Stephanie had been reading the script, she would have stolen at least three glances to get through that short piece.

Emily stared intently at Michael, standing up. "Oppa, did I do well?"

"More than well, Emily. You were the best," Michael praised her, giving her a thumbs up and ruffling her hair.

"Yes, our Emily did amazing," Joel chimed in, grinning.

"You said she didn't have a good memory," Michael smirked.

"Ah, Hyung, I was just joking," Joel quickly backtracked, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Even the handsome god acknowledged her efforts. Emily happily skipped to her room, filled with joy.

"...," Michael sighed, taking a seat beside Joel.

"Hyung, what are you thinking?" Joel joined him on the couch. "Since we have Emily, let's just sideline the other girl."

Michael propped his chin on his palm, deep in thought. "No, we shouldn't handle it that way."

He sighed, "She'll still be in the agency, but we won't utilize her as we used to before. That way, she'll realize her position because we won't give her a raise this time."

"Hmm, that's a good plan," Joel nodded in agreement.

Michael checked the time. "Hurry. I don't think Emily has a suitable dress. You need to take her to the boutique and get her dressed up before 6 pm tonight," he instructed, getting up from his seat.

Joel furrowed his brows. "Huh? Why me?"

"Why? Don't you want to?" Michael arched his brows inquiringly.

Joel didn't mind at all; he actually wanted to spend time with Emily. He pretended to object. "Well, since you want me to, I guess I have no choice."

"Hurry. I'll prepare the contract and find a suitable manager for her," Michael said, rushing to his room before returning to the lounge.

"But Hyung, the news is at 8. Why should she get ready before 6?" Joel questioned, raising his brows.

"There's a radio broadcast at 6. We'll test her with that, and if she performs as well as she did earlier, then she can go for the newscast," Michael explained.

Taking his car keys, he walked out of the lounge.

Joel stood up, stretching his body with a mischievous smirk, then walked towards Emily's room. Without knocking, he opened the door.

"Yah! Can't you knock!?" Emily exclaimed, having just stepped out of the bathroom, a short towel wrapped around her body.

Joel stared at her intently. "My house," he stated coldly.

"Ahhh..." Emily immediately gulped, fidgeting with the hem of the towel.

He twitched his mouth. "Get yourself ready; we need to go somewhere."

"Sorry? I... I don't have anything to wear," she stuttered.

He scanned her body and clicked his tongue. "I'll get you a top," he said before closing the door.

Joel grinned as he ascended the stairs. He walked into his room casually and unlocked his walk-in closet, searching through his t-shirts. He only had one white top that would fit Emily, and coincidentally, he was wearing a white top himself.

"Not bad," he smirked thoughtfully and descended the stairs.

Emily had just put on her bra when the door suddenly flung open again.

"Hhhhaaa!" she gasped, quickly grabbing the towel from the bed and wrapping it around her chest.

Joel cleared his throat, quickly averting his gaze. He tossed the top at her face and closed the door.

"Aishhh!" Emily removed the top from her face, feeling frustrated at his behavior.

After a while, she finished dressing up and walked out of her room, finding Joel already waiting for her in the lounge.

She scratched the back of her head timidly as she stood before him. "I'm ready."

Without saying a word, he stood up and started walking, with Emily following closely behind, trying to keep up with his long strides.

🚗🚗🚗

"But, um, where are we going?" Emily asked, looking at Joel as he drove out of the villa.

"You'll know when we get there," Joel replied, his tone still cold.

Shopping Mall 🛒🛒🛒

As soon as Joel and Emily arrived at the shopping mall, Emily couldn't close her mouth in awe. "Wowww..."

"Why? Don't you like it?" Joel asked teasingly.

"Huh? No, I love it. I really, really, really love it," Emily grinned, feeling amazed as they stepped out of the car.

The mall looked familiar to her, like she had seen it somewhere before, but she wasn't entirely sure...

"Huh," Joel smirked.

He took a mask from the backseat and put it on, concealing his identity, before heading towards the mall's main entrance. Some higher ups were already waiting there, including the mall manager and other important staff members.

As they approached the main entrance, Joel threw his car key at the manager and walked past him into the mall, with Emily following closely behind, her gaze fixed on the manager and the staff who bowed to Joel in reverence.

"Aishhh, it's so noisy in here," Joel groaned under his mask as they continued walking through the bustling mall.

"We're sorry, Sir," the manager quickly apologized, trotting after the CEO of EWC, who was also the owner of Empire World Shopping Mall.

"Just remove them," Joel scowled, referring to the noisy crowd.

The manager couldn't believe his ears. "Sir?"

Joel halted and turned around, his cold, intimidating gaze sweeping over the manager, who suddenly felt weak in the knees. "Ahhh, alright, Sir."

Joel didn't repeat himself. The manager started panicking, wondering how he would remove all those people. Were they supposed to be treated like garbage?

Bowing his head, the manager prepared to leave.

Joel fluttered his eyes. "Never mind."

After all, the noise wouldn't disturb them. He decided to let it be.

The manager inwardly sighed with relief. "Very well, Sir," he responded.

Joel grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her towards the escalator.

As they reached the foot of the escalator, he felt a tug on his clothes. He turned around.

"Ermm, I can't..." Emily gulped, her eyes fixated on the escalator.

"Say what now?" Joel narrowed his eyes.

"I can't... I can't step on that..." Emily stuttered, her gaze still on the escalator.

Joel raised his eyebrows, not fully understanding her. "You're scared of the escalator?"

"Yes," she bit her lip nervously.

"Oh, I see. You're scared of the escalator," he said, amusement glimmering in his eyes.