Chapter 262: Terrible Cooks (1)
"Remember how we had you all fill out a survey? Well, we’ll be doing a fun live stream today. Are you all excited?"
No, not really?
Considering that they had filled out at least 100 surveys by this point, Ari wasn’t even sure which survey the PD was referring to, so he just stared at her blankly, hoping she would get to the point.
"We wanted to do something fun, relaxing, and entertaining before the ranking ceremony. You’ll all be paired in groups of 2 or 3, assigned a task to complete that should be a bit challenging, and answer some fun questions asked by fans who will be watching your live-stream. Naturally, the questions will be filtered by staff, and I hope you all keep what we learned today in mind. Now onto the sponsor for today."
The PD paused to gesture at the large box filled with fluffy items next to her.
"Today’s live stream is sponsored by Scary Spirit Halloween Costumes and, of course, CostCompany. Scary Spirit Halloween Costumes is the number one costume store in the world, providing everything from basic to extravagant for your costuming needs. Please grab a tail, ears, and paws, and go to your assigned rooms, which should have your name on the door. Your goal is to accomplish the task in 2 hours, and if you’re able to, there will be a reward! Good luck!"
"What do you think the task will be?" Jamie asked as he put on light brown bunny ears that were close to his hair color, and the matching paws and cotton tail.
Ari placed furry cat ears over his fur hat before slipping on the furry boots.
"Dunno. It might be something that fans wanted us to do since she mentioned fan service, right?"
"I hope it’s similar to the maze we did at the beginning. That was kind of fun."
"As long as it’s not too stressful and fun for the viewers, it’s all fine with me."
The two of them walked among the other excited contestants, reading the names until Jamie found his room and sadly went off, while Ari kept looking until he found his name.
When he opened the door, he saw Levi standing in the middle of the room, holding a sheet of paper in his hand.
On Levi’s head were golden wolf ears with matching paws on his hand and a fluffy tail tied to his waist.
Ari had to restrain a laugh since he thought that he looked like a blonde Siberian husky, complete with scowling blue eyes, which clearly expressed his displeasure at the outfit choice.
"I’m surprised to see that you’re still here."
"...Are you telling me to quit?"
"No, I’m just making an observation, geez." Since he hadn’t been to the media training lecture, Ari thought he was gone for good.
Seeing that Levi still looked annoyed, Ari glanced around the room, noting the portable gas burner, pots on one table, a variety of ingredients on another, and the computer with a webcam and lights on the third.
"I guess it’s just the two of us? What are we doing?"
"Cooking." Levi waved a stack of papers at him.
"What?"
"Cooking." Levi gave him a look like he was stupid, and Ari cleaned his ears to make sure he didn’t mishear anything.
"Cooking? Like cooking food? To eat?"
"Otherwise? You want to cook drugs instead?"
Ari: ಠ_ಠ
Levi: ಠ_ಠ
"...Do you know how to cook?"
"Of course not. I’m banned from the kitchen in both my parents’ houses. You?"
"No."
"..."
"..."
The two of them stared at each other as Ari took a deep breath.
"...do you know what we’re making? Maybe it’s easy?"
"Cock oven? The name looks French, so this is your fault. What is that?"
"Coq au vin. It’s basically chicken stew. It’s hard to make."
"..."
Once again, the two of them stared at each other in awkward silence before the door burst open, and Kate appeared with scary dark shadows under her eyes and a giant white board in her hands.
Despite her tired expression, she still tried to give them a smile that made it look like she was about to cry.
"Hi guys, I’m your specially assigned staff member here to support you two. Let’s get everything set up so we can get started, okay? And please. Both of you. I beg you. Behave. I don’t want to get fired. You see how we don’t have a lot of staff anymore? People are getting fired! Every hour, people are getting fired. If you say anything crazy, PD Emily said she’s going to get rid of me, so let’s all work together to have a happy livestream, okay? I have student loans to pay off, so let’s be considerate. I’ll write the words, and all you have to do is read them. Alright? Promise me. Please sob!"
Ari exchanged a glance with Levi before going to pat Kate’s sobbing back.
Touche, PD Emily.
Touche.
She had scored the first goal and was currently in the lead.
*********************
And later that afternoon, the official Pop Star Academy account posted.
[Sink Or Swim Livestream!]
[Have you wanted to learn more about the talents of your favorite contestants and see what they’re capable of? Please join us this evening for the Sink or Swim Livestream, where you can watch your favorite contestants dress cutely while teaming up to try and accomplish tasks they previously stated they weren’t good at. We’ll have them cooking, cleaning, and assembling furniture while they answer any questions you, the viewer, might have and enjoy a relaxing night with no pressure!]
"If you think that presenting the contestants in a gentle soft light is going to stop me from calling you out until you put out a statement that you’ll do better, you’ve got another thing coming, PD. I’m waiting for the episode to drop and waiting for a statement."
Grace glanced at the announcement with cold eyes before inevitably clicking the link, just like any fan of the show and contestants would.
Even she had to admit that this was a good move by the production team and would likely cause the people who were protesting to lose steam.
The link took her to the live stream group page, which had about 10 different livestreams going on.
As mentioned in the post, some contestants were trying to assemble chairs and desks while chattering happily, while other contestants had put on aprons and seemed to be prepping food while following a recipe.
Her eyes quickly scanned over the streams until they settled on one video that had a different vibe from the others.
Clicking into it, she found herself laughing before straightening her face.
Two individuals stood next to each other with expressions that indicated that they were being forced to be there.
The taller one to the left was wearing a black turtle-neck underneath a loosely buttoned white dress shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, exposing leanly corded arms.
On his low-cut blonde hair, golden wolf ears rested, which matched the golden paw gloves and fuzzy golden tail pinned to the side of his pants.
Despite the fuzzy accessories, rather than giving a cute and cuddly feeling, the sharp eyes and unsmiling face made him seem like a wild wolf instead.
Naturally, it was Levi.
Next to him was a shorter boy wearing an oversized fur hat with brown animal ears on it and matching brown boots, along with a dress shirt topped with a brown hoodie.
With the combination of his clothing, accessories, green eyes that looked softer and more watery than usual, and a red nose, Ari resembled an abandoned child wrapped in bear skin to shield him from the cold weather.
[Achoo.]
Hearing the cute sneeze, as Ari’s cat-like green eyes blinked sleepily, the chat that was slowly growing filled with comments.
- omg they’re so cute.
- The ears look so soft and fluffy.
- Why does he look only two apples tall next to Levi?
- I can’t believe Levi is actually wearing those ears.
- You’re telling me it’s these two causing trouble? I don’t believe it.
- How could you sabotage that cutie?
As people in the chat began settling in, Ari cleared his throat and began to speak in a slightly stuffy voice.
[Hello. Viewers.]
[I’m. Ari. And. He’s.]
[[...Levi]]
[And. Today. We. Are. Going. To. Be. Cooking...]
[[Chicken. Stew.]]
Two robotic-sounding voices with long pauses between each word came out.
- lol. Wth is this?
- Are they being punished?
- Is he sick?
- Is this a punishment game?
- Why are they talking like that?
- Oh, he’s reading off a script. If you zoom in, you can see the whiteboard reflected in Ari’s eyes and see his pupils move from side to side.
- dang your eyes are good af
Ari’s voice suddenly came out before being muted.
[Kate. Have faith. We’ll behave.]
There was a pause before the microphone came back louder as both Ari and Levi now stood behind a wooden table with piles of ingredients on it.
[Okay. We’re back. Today, Levi and I are cooking Coq au vin. It’s French chicken stew. We’re skipping the wine because I don’t like the taste, and Levi is underage. Neither of us knows how to cook, but they gave us a recipe, so I think it’s fine. While I’m reading the recipe, Levi will start chopping the vegetables into pieces.]
[[Why am I doing that?]]
[Are you going to read the recipe and answer the questions asked by the chat? If yes, let’s switch.]
[[....I’ll start cutting.]]
[Good talk.]
- Why is he managing him like a dog?
- Why is he listening?
- he’s sullen, but he’s obeying.
- Is Ariel the secret boss of the contestants?
Ari made himself comfortable on a seat in front of a camera, while making sure not to block Levi, then began reading.
[Step 1. Quarter onions, then thinly slice them.]
[[Okay.]]
The chat watched as Levi slowly took off the animal’s paws, exposing long, slender fingers with distinct joints and clear skin, which made it clear that he had never done a day of hard work in his life.
The wooden cutting board was centered, a red onion was placed directly onto it, while the sharp knife that reflected the light was lifted up in an elegant motion.
- Wow, that posture looks great.
- he looks like a pro
- Are you sure he’s never cooked before? That’s the knife grip of a professional.
- Seriously, I was a line cook, and I can tell you that’s a professional grip.
As the chat was marveling at Levi’s professional-looking posture that could rival any chef, as if he was acting like a guillotine, he raised the hand that held the knife higher than his head and-
Chop!
Click!
Thud.
Slammed it down on the wooden cutting board, sending the onion flying straight into the back of Ari’s head as if it were a missile.
As Ari clutched the back of his head in pain, Levi stood there for several seconds before saying one word.
[[Ooops.]]
- What did I just see? An onion missile?
- Does he think he’s wielding a sword?
- Oops? Does he hate him?
- Ari, you might be in danger. Run.
[Oi Levi...]
[[It’s broken.]]
At Levi’s voice, while still clutching the back of his head, Ari glanced back from the computer to see Levi holding up the wooden cutting board that was sliced perfectly in half with the knife embedded several inches into the table.
[[[What the? How????]]]
When the voice of a woman sounded out, the chat got busy again.
- an incident so shocking the staff member had to speak up.
- No fr. How???
- Does Levi think he’s a ninja?
- Does Levi think he’s doing karate instead of chopping vegetables?
[You know what, never mind. I’ll cut the vegetables. You read.]
[[...fine]]
As Ari bent over to pick up the onion, Levi forcefully ripped the knife out of the table, and the blade separated from the wooden handle and flew into the bulb of the studio light, shattering it, and embedding itself in the wall, instantly making the room dimmer as the piece of metal vibrated while stuck in the wall.
- What the heck?
- Did he just break a knife?
- What is happening right now?
- Is this a cooking show, or are they secretly spies trying to kill each other?
- If he hadn’t ducked...
When Ari stood up, he glanced from the broken light bulb to the knife blade embedded in the wall before turning to Levi.
[Are you trying to kill me? I thought we were on good terms?]
[[No, I told you it was broken.]]
[I thought you meant the cutting board, not the knife!]
[[Well, it’s broken.]]
Thank you, Captain Obvious!
No wonder your parents banned you from the kitchen!
Ari: ಠ_ಠ
Levi: ಠ_ಠ
As the two were staring at each other silently-
CRASH!!!!
The table in between the two of them split cleanly in half, causing the items on it to fall to the ground, splashing flour and seasoning everywhere, and coating the two boys in white powder.
[[[Oh my gosh. This is a disaster. Please don’t fire me, PD. I don’t understand what’s happening!]]]
[Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!]
The crying voice of a woman could be heard while Ari repeatedly sneezed, and Levi just stood there, staring at the ground.
When he could finally breathe, Ari panned his head slowly back toward the camera, gave it a bright flour-covered smile while waving.
[Sorry, viewers. We’ll be back. Kate. Cut the cameras, please.]
The camera went dark, and the chat blew up.