1st World A/O/B: 32

***

The Chef x The Movie Emperor 

***

The Majestic Bonghwang Estates and Luxury Resort -The Starlight District (the entertainment district where all the celebs live and work and where most of the talent agencies and filming studios are located -Terra Anka PXD2422 -The Capital (the whole planet) of The Golden Dragon Star Nexus Empire

***

Nix's Party's P.O.V.:

Upon alighting from the ship, I was greeted by two rows of staff all impeccably dressed in their pristine uniforms. There was a total of twenty-five staff members lined up, twelve on each side and one at the front who greeted me. "Welcome to The Majestic Bonghwang Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan Yorisa-nim" and with that they all gave a full 45-degree bow.

'Solaris, I just go shivers from the déjà vu that just gave me. That said, is it just me or do they seem overly respectful? Is this how they are to every guest or is it simply because I am a participant of The Chef & The Celebrity?'

 I said through our shared mind link. I was not expecting him to answer as my question was more rhetorical than anything but to my slight surprise he gave an honest response. 'I think it is the later Mama Nix.' I did not have to heart to tell him that had been a rhetorical question and that I was sure that was the case as well, so I dropped it.

After Bai Yu Ning appeared at myside and we promptly made our way inside. The lobby of The Majestic Bonghwang was just as luxurious and awe inspiring as the outside, maybe even more, depending on one's perspective. Though there was not any time to truly be able to take everything in due to time constraints, I was not bothered by it. After all, I have a mission to complete and the involves taking this competition seriously and staying focused.

'Hey Solaris, what kind of rooms do you think they will have us in for the night? Do you think they will have shared rooms? Would they be normal rooms or dorm like? Honestly, I am not really up for rooming with a bunch of people, or really anyone for that matter." I asked through my mental connection to Solaris.

'Hmm, that is a good question, I can look up the answer if you want to know now. My guess is that with a hotel and sponsors like this, they will most likely be at least mid-tier shared rooms. It is highly unlikely that the contestants, at least the chefs, will not be provided with individual rooms. After all, the rates for The Majestic Bonghwang are very exorbitant due to it being a luxury resort. Even the smallest room, only 400sq ft, available is at least *1,300 credits a night. That does not include what a condo unit would cost to buy. But Mama Nix, why are you against sharing a room with others? Could it be you still feel unsafe lodging with people you don't know?" Solaris both sincerely said and asked, and I could not miss the worry in his tone.

Not wanting to admit that I was indeed still very bothered by the thought of lodging in close quarters with people I do not know, I decided to give a half the truth. It is not a real lie, just one by omission. 'How can I freely talk to and cuddle with my sweet baby if I room with others? Even if its is just for a night or two. I have gotten used to cuddling you close every night. Plus, it would be a lie if I said you are not my emotional support phoenix-dragon.' I replied through our shared mind link and made sure to keep my eyes scanning my surroundings so that I did not appear sus to Bai Yu Ning.

'Mama Nix… I love snuggling up with you every night too! I do not want to go back to sleeping alone either. You should feel honored that this mighty deity is your emotional support phoenix-dragon. After all I am a very high level and powerful being. That said I feel very honored to be considered your emotional support anything. After all, in my eyes no one is better than The Great Phoenix.' Solaris replied in an almost sickly-sweet voice that was simultaneously filled with adoration and arrogance.

I was not sure if Solaris was being sardonic or not about the, The Great Phoenix. Despite that, I decided to roll with the punches. I was about to reply when our internal conversation was cut off by the lovely and sultry alto voice of Bai Yu Ning. "Phoenix-ssi, I am sorry that there is not more time for you to get a proper look around. Perhaps we can scrape together some time for you to do so later."

I turned my head and gently smiled as I looked her in the eyes while replying. "Yes, that sounds nice, and it is ok Yu Ning Nuna, it is not your fault. I fully understand the time constraints. Also, I am here as a competitor on The Chef & The Celebrity and not as a 'tourist'. But now that I am thinking about it are you comfortable with me calling you Nuna in public? I do not want to cause you in trouble or discomfort."

Though I am hoping for a friendship with Bai Yu Ning, I could do not to force her to want the same nor open up to me, not that I could even if I did want to. I feel oddly comfortable being around and speaking with Bai Yu Ning just as I did with everyone from the Beyol family. I am not sure where these deep feelings are coming from, but my best guess is because they are genuinely good people. But this is a good thing though, because I fully foresee and anticipate Beyol Young-Jae Hyung and Bai Yu Ning Nuna will end up together and happily at that.

I was brought back to reality when Bai Yu Ning responded with a sincere "Phoenix-ssi may address me how he sees fit. It is job to protect and manage you." I looked down when I felt my chest tighten but quickly looked back up at Bai Yu Ning when she continued to speak.

 "Though I am very serious about my job, it is my honor both professionally and personally to not only be able to work for you but also with you. It is also my honor to be allowed to get to know you on a personal level. Please do not mistake me as someone who is solely 'into' you simply because of your secondary status.

In fact, your secondary status has nothing to do with it. I do not judge a person by their gender or sex nor their secondary status but by their character and merits. It is easy for me to see that you are a highly capable, hardworking, trustworthy, polite and overall, a truly a good person. And that is just what I can tell from the little time we have spent together and by going off your background check.

Though I do rely heavily on the information gathered, I also make it a point not to seal my opinion on someone until I personally spend time observing and interacting with that person. I honestly like the Phoenix-ssi that I have observed and gotten to interact with and dare I say it get to know a bit of. I hope that after this job is finished, we can continue to at least be acquaintances though I would prefer our relationship to be deeper than that. I hope that maybe one day we could be close friends."

By the time Bai Yu Ning finished speaking the tips of her ears were red and I could hear the genuine hopefulness tinged with a bit of apprehension, while her eyes shone with sincerity. 'Oh, my, galaxies! How can she be so precious and tiny yet so fierce and deadly?' I asked Solaris through our mind link.

'She is indeed cute. One would never expect Bai Yu Ning to be one the empires elite shadow guards and assassins, but that is also what makes her such a lethal threat. In her hands you are most certainly safe. Poor Beyol Young-Jae has no idea that his future wife is not the dumpling he sees her as but is in fact a package of C-4!' Solaris responded to me.

 I could not agree with him more… though I felt irritated hearing him call Bai Yu Ning cute for some reason. … (￣ヘ￣) …

Well now is most certainly not the time to figure out why that bothered me nor is it the time to concern myself with Young-Jae Hyung and Yu Ning Nuna's possible future relationship, though my intuition tells me they are destined to be together. Despite Bai Yu Ning not revealing her official or formally official job.

 I know it will take a lot of time and trust for her to open up about her darker skill sets and she may never open up about it seeing that she would most likely like to keep that part of her history a secret. I know I would so there is no judgement from me. I shook my head upon realizing that I had yet to respond to Bai Yu Ning.

"Well, if that is the case, if you do not mind, I would like to call you…"

[A/N: Please let me know what y'all thing Nix should call Bai Yu Ning! I am letting y'all decide as I think it will be a fun way to incorporate some of y'all's thoughts and ideas into the story. =) <3 ]< em>

Before I could finish speaking, I was interrupted by a middle-aged man who appeared to be either a smally alpha or a tall beta, it was hard to say judging by his looks alone. Though if I am not mistaken I can kind of sense his pheromones though they are weak. My best guess is that he is a recessive alpha, though it honestly doesn't matter to me what his secondary status is.

"Oh, there you are Mr. Beyol Bong Tae-Hwan and Ms. Bai Yu Ning. We are running a little behind schedule so will you both please follow me while I introduce myself and take you to the meeting room where you will be going over and signing the contract and what not. You will also get briefed on everything there as well." Said the man who then introduced himself as Axel something, but I wasn't paying much attention to him, so I only caught the name he said to call him by.

We arrived at the room that had be allocated for meeting the contestants to go over everything and sign all the needed contracts and documents in order to proceed with the participation of the show. This is not my first variety show nor my first reality tv show that I have participated in and more the likely it will it be my last.

After going over the contract and documents thoroughly I initialed and signed and stamped my thumb print on everything including the NDA -nondisclosure agreement. Now that the boring part was out of the way I was looking forward to the next step and that was meeting my fellow participants. My fellow chefs should be easier to get along with the celebrities that are participating but that may not be the case for all of them.

After we left the meeting room, we were escorted to a stunning banquet hall named The Elegant Dancing Phoenix Banquet Hall. I could not help but snicker at the irony of the name, but I quickly stopped as my breath was taken away by the sheer magnificence of the room.

The walls were a rare and beautiful Tiete Rosewood and Purple Heart Wood. Everywhere I looked there were intricate carvings in the wood that made up the walls, all depicting beautiful scenes with a lot of beautiful landscapes and phoenixes throughout that all led up to a massive and even more intricate caving motif of a phoenix and dragon intricately "dancing" and intertwining together, on the wall at the head of the banquet hall.

'Fuc… I mean fudge, definitely fudge. Solaris if you are listening, do not use foul language, it is really unbecoming. It is also a nasty habit to break, I personally know that for a fact. Anyways like I was just about to say before my thoughts went off on a tangent… (￣▽￣*)ゞ ...

Fudge the carving on this wall is insanely detailed and delicate! It is no wonder that this place is a five-star luxury resort! I wonder how much money they have sunk into this banquet hall alone. No never mind I do not want to know; it will probably just make me sick. This main motif feels oddly familiar, I must have seen it somewhere before, but where?' … w(°ｏ°)w …

I was once again lost in my thoughts as I took my seat in the first row towards the center. 'Guess no one wanted to be front and centered but that's ok as I am not concerned about it.' A few moments later there was a hushed stir amongst all the gathered participants who thus far were only the chefs. I looked up to see what the excitement was about but was unimpressed when I noticed that the celebrities that would be participating were walking in.

I quickly took note of those who were arriving and decided to turn back to the front and mind my own business as it was best to give off the right first impression as it is usually the last one, one can leave. My plan is to show that I am confident and proud of my work, but not entitled or full of myself. I will be kind, full of sunshine and charisma while simultaneously being aloof.

 It is important to act and remain humble and real. The audience will be nitpicking everything the contestants do from here on out, so I need to grasp their attention by stimulating their intrigue. I have to show that I am a complex person who may be full of contradictions but who has a strong morality. Because I am ambiversion it should make pulling off just the right ratio of extraversion to introversion will be easy.

I kept a blank face as I pretended to read through the outline of the timetable the production team gave us after signing all the documents and contracts, when someone sat down beside me with so much flare that I was physically jostled. I looked over to see a stunning male omega, dressed impeccable in haute couture from head to toe, emphasizing his tone and lithe body. He had several piercings in both ears and bright pink hair that was currently in a faux hawk.

The pink hair omega took off his oversized sunglasses, looked and accessed me with his big chocolate almond eyes to me. After giving me a once over he smiled a dazzling appreciative smile at me. What the pink hair omega said next caused those around us to all turn in our direction with curiosity and an appetite for the drama they were anticipating happening next.

"So sorry… Oh, my gorgeous where have you been all my life? Your body is just perfect!"