Chapter 76

Days passed, and it was Saturday again.

Edward awakened early in the morning, as per his usual body clock, and went through his usual morning routine, which included washing his face at the sink, brushing his teeth, and changing into his running clothes.

Later, as he left his unit and went to the nearby park to begin his daily workout... He could not help but felt astonised upon noticing that someone had already arrived before him.

"Huh?" Edward raises his brows, perplexed, wondering what happened, as usually he was the only one who was doing an early morning run around the park.

To be honest, it was awkward at first as his sports attire and regular morning run were uncommon in the park, drawing a lot of attention and keeping him under an embarrassing spotlight for a while.

However, as time passed and his daily routine became a common sight, the initial intrigue and stares transformed into casual glances as people gradually grew accustomed to his presence. 

Thinking of those lonely days, Edward couldn't help but feel a pang of gloom in his heart. However, in this moment, the appearance of the new guy made his eyes light up, and he felt a sense of fellowship in his heart.

"Yo~" Edward approached as he ran side by side with him and asked with a friendly smile on his face, "Is this your first time around here?"

The guy was a few centimeters taller than him, fair-skinned, and a bit skinny, as if a fragile bamboo stalk swaying in the wind.

Well.. He was also thin, to be honest, but the two weren't on the same level, as he had grown some muscles and fat over the past few months of regular exercise and a balanced diet. 

"Y-yeah, I'm Sean Park, by the way..." Sean stammered, feeling a wave of self-consciousness wash over him. 

The unexpected social interaction caught him off guard, and a tinge of embarrassment colored his cheeks. However, the familiar face of the person before him eased his nerves as he visibly calmed down.

"Edward Morales... Sean Park? your last name is not a Filipino surename; are you half?"

"Y-yeah, my dad is Korean, so I'm half Korean."

"That's cool..."

"T-thanks?"

"Yeah, wasn't Girl's Generation Korean?"

"You also knew K-pop?"

"A bit, though I was only fammiliar with girl group."

"T-that's sounds... So wrong."

"What? Do you expect me to watch boygroup dance while shouting Oppa? Meh, nevaah!"

"That's.. make sense."

"Hehe, By the way, why did you suddenly decide to do a morning run around here? I mean, I'm not saying you can't, I'm just curious, as usually it was only me."

"Um.. I, I, usually saw you doing morning runs every once in a while and thought, Why not? I felt inspired..."

"... that sounds cringed, but if I really inspired you, I think that's cool."

"T-thanks?"

"Hehe, don't be shy bruh. Are you going to do regular morning run here from now on?"

"I think.. yes?"

"That's good! it's kind of lonely doing morning run alone. Having someone to talked to is better."

 ...

Around six thirty in the morning, Edward came back from his morning run, and immediately he went to the bathroom to take a shower and then headed to the music room to upload his song cover.

After uploading his latest video, he took a moment to read through the comments on his previous uploads. Following that, he logged out and changed into stylish yet comfortable casual attire. Once ready, he stepped out of his apartment and hailed a taxi to head towards the day's shooting location.

Arriving at the destination, Edward exited the taxi and headed towards the venue's front to meet the others.

However, to his surprise, rather than seeing the group as anticipated, his eyes widened at the sight of a young woman standing there.

"So early? How long have you been waiting here?" Edward asked as she approached.

"Not for long." Kaycee blushed slightly, her eyes fixed on her idol. The thrill of talking to him made her heart race. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, trying to contain her excitement while responding, "Um, only about 40 minutes?"

"Damn, 40 minutes again?"

"Y-yeah, I'm kind of used to doing things in advance.. or in this case, came in advance," she explained briefly with an embarrassed face.

"Damn, that's quite a perk, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"Yeah, like wife material."

"R-really? My mom told me to practice as soon as possible.. She said that even if I'm stupid, as long as I'm good enough, I could marry a rich foreigner and live a good life!"

"You're mom called you stupid?"

"Y-yeah, mom usually said that all the nutrients that were supposed to enter my brain went to my chest..." Kaycee paused as she realized what she had just said and blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh.. that's why." Edward nodded in understanding, turning his eyes towards her C cup... No wonder her mom said that.

"W-what?" As if noticing his gaze, Kaycee blushed even more and went to cover her chest instinctively.

"I said, I don't think you're stupid at all.. I mean, you did things in advance; how can a person be stupid for such actions?"

"Oh~I see... well, I don't know too, but honestly, I felt like what Mon said was real.. I'm not very smart, and usually, I had to do things in advance in order to catch up with others, and even so, I still barely managed to do things correctly..."

Time passed,

The two went to engage in a casual conversation, and as seconds went by, other members also started to arrive one after another until finally everyone in the group gathered, including the two new recruits that he met with Kaycee last time.

Turning his head towards everyone and seeing that the group was finally complete, Edward nodded his head in satisfaction and then went to clap his hand to attract their attention.

"As you already guessed, these three people behind me are the new recruits... Well, technically, they are now members of our group, but anyway, they are Kaycee, G, and P..." He pointed at the three people behind him casually. "You three can introduce yourself on your own."

"...." Hearing Edward's words, the three looked at each other hesitantly, until finally G raised his hand. "May I ask... how should we introduce ourselves?"

"Seriously, you're asking me that?" Edward asked strangely, but seeing G's serious expression, he sighed helplessly and shrugged. "Just introduce your name, hobby, dreams, etc., it doesn't matter if you want to be a Hokage or whatever; just keep it simple and less drama, is that clear?"

"Oh~! I get it! My name is Gerald, my hobby is playing CrossFire, and my dream is to be a game developer!" 

"That's quite ambitious... Next!"

"I'm P, I like watching TV, and my dream is to be rich!"

"How can you become rich with such a hobby?"

"Ehh, I can't."

"Obviously- you know what; never mind...Next."

"I'm Kaycee; my hobby is watching anime, especially One Piece, and my dream is to join the navy and explore the Grand Line."

"You like One Piece? What chapter have you read in the manga so far?"

"Eh, I don't read manga, I've only watched anime."

"Oh~ what episode have you watched?"

"Around 430 something?"

"Oh.. Ace died."

"A-ace died?" 

"Yeah, Admiral Akainu killed him."

"N-no way?"

"Yes, way, he died because Blackbeard trash-talked Whitebeard after he killed him."

"W-white beard also died?"

"Yes..Oh~ sorry for the spoilers, by the way." Edward wore an apologetic expression, but he was actually smiling inside.

After some time had elapsed, allowing the new members to finish their introductions and the original members to introduce themselves, the group entered the venue and began their preparations for their shooting later.

As others were occupied preparing, Edward took a time to approach the behind the scene group to discuss personnel allotment.

It was a necessary step, given that the addition of new members would definitely change the group dynamics.

"Well.. obviously, the new members can't do the main roles because they aren't familiar with the way of our filming yet; secondary roles are also not suitable.. at most, we can only give them extra roles if they are fine with it."

"How about the behind-the-scenes roles?".

"Well... we can also make them a behind-the-scenes cameraman... Remember that we started to post behind-the-scenes pictures and short videos about our filming recently?"

"Oh~ that's fine..." Edward nodded in appreciation and then added. "You can also assign them some miscellaneous tasks; it doesn't matter what they are; the point is not to make them do nothing or make them feel that they aren't needed, understood?"

"Yes!" 

"Also, Danica, you're the most approachable in our group, so assisting and teaching them some common sense about our shooting style will be left you."

"That's fine with me."

"Very well."