The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

283 A Monster Group

It was a busy-looking room. A room dominated by white and looked messy. In it, many people pass by with their own businesses.

A tall man with an athletic body sat on a chair. In front of him, a woman was doing her makeup, and behind her, another woman was doing her hair.

Her light brown eyes seemed to glow because they were exposed to the very bright dressing table lamp. The makeup on his face was just to emphasize all the sharp curves that already existed because his face could already be described as ‘PERFECT’.

“Is it done yet?” asked a bald man with oval glasses perched loosely on the bridge of his nose. He wore a long scarf which was his mandatory accessory at work.

“It will be finished soon,” The hairdresser replied.

The man rolled his eyes. “Hurry up. We are pressed for time. Can you ladies work more professionally?” he said as he walked away with her feminine steps.

“Ugh... Sucks,” muttered the makeup artist with an irritated face.

“Lucy!” The hairdresser admonished her in a whisper and glare. Then, she glance briefly at the male model they were making up.

Marcel chuckled. “Relax. I know he’s kind of annoying,”

.....

“Oh... Th-thanks.” Said the two women awkwardly.

After they finished, finally the model, whose career was starting to rose, went from the makeup chair to the dressing room.

“Gosh... He really is a prince. Beautiful and kind. I didn’t know a man like him lived in this world.” The makeup artist said.

“Hey, don’t talk too much here. You’re being too loud. Remember, this is your first week here. Don’t act up.” Said the hairdresser who was her senior friend.

The girl nodded lazily while cleaning up her makeup tools. “Yes, I know. I’ll be quiet.”

Her friend chuckled and rolled her eyes. But slowly, her smile widened. “Did you know? Even, on his campus, Marcel called Prince Bold.”

“You serious?” The makeup artist looked at her friend who actually also idolized the handsome man.

Her friend nodded. “Do you still remember Denada; The rookie model that I did her hair yesterday? She is a student at Jardin University. She said that Marcel also studied there and is an idol for all classes. Girls call him PB a.k.a Prince Bold.”

“That nickname does suit him,” The makeup artist nodded, and then she looked curiously at her friend. “Hey, did you have a chance to ask if he has a girlfriend?”

“Of course, I did. It’s an important question.”

“Then what did she say?”

“Unfortunately, Denada didn’t know either. She said that Marcel has never been seen dating anyone. But he always keeps his distance from women. Gossip says that he secretly is gay,” The hairdresser whispered.

“What?! Are you serious?”

“That’s just gossip. But I don’t deny that it could be a fact. In this modelling world, girls are often disappointed because handsome models are mostly gay.” She let out a long sigh.

“Sorry,”

The two girls jolted when they heard a man’s deep voice suddenly ringing nearby. Even worse, the person who owned the deep Husky voice was Marcel Douglas; the topic they were talking about.

“Oh... M-Marcel,” The makeup artist muttered.

Marcel frowned in confusion though his lips still had a friendly smile. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

“N-no. Is there anything we can help with?” the hairdresser asked. She realized that Marcel didn’t seem to have heard what they were talking about. That was a relief.

“When I was changing clothes, my hair caught in a shirt button so it’s a little mess now. Can you fix it for a moment?” Marcel asked.

“Of course.” Said the hairdresser and immediately got to work with a secret sigh of relief.

When finished, Marcel stood back up from the dressing chair. “Thank you.”

On his way to the shooting corner, Marcel smiled faintly. “A gay? Seriously?” he muttered under his breath with a laugh.

Marcel Douglas auditioned for modelling after the group he led was defeated by Jita Kyoei and Black. He had left his dark job and was now living the job he had dreamed of since childhood; Becoming a model who could wear beautiful clothes by famous designers – Taking advantage of his handsome physique that was called like a prince.

Although initially it was very difficult and tiring to get to this point, now Marcel could taste the fruits of his hard work. He became one of the rookie models who were in demand by various local fashion magazines and designers.

Marcel was grateful to his father and mother who gave the best genes to mix in shaping him, so that he could have such a charming appearance. Marcel didn’t deny that he was indeed handsome.

However, despite having that luck, Marcel never took anything for granted. He still tried hard and was polite to everyone. That was the reason why he had come to this point. He never acted arrogantly.

In his journey to become a model, Marcel must have a person who could cheer him up when he was down. That person, certainly, was his grandmother. But there was one more person who seemed to be a beacon in the middle of a stormy sea for Marcel. That person was Kathania Dusk or usually called Kathy.

Although Marcel was not very close to the green-eyed girl, he often looked for Kathy when he needed input. Kathy was a nice girl to talk to. She had simple and logical thinking. Her demeanour was also relaxed and friendly. For some reason, Marcel felt comfortable talking to her.

He didn’t know how Kathy felt about him. But Marcel considered her one of the most influential people in his current career. Unfortunately, Kathy never seemed to need Marcel’s help. Therefore, he felt that he still couldn’t give her anything back.

After the photo shoot was over, Marcel immediately changed clothes and prepared to go home. Even though he had become a quite famous model, it did not mean that Marcel would be chased by fans and journalists. He was still considered an ordinary person. Therefore, he drove his own car to work.

Marcel opened the driver’s door and got inside. As soon as he closed the door, he let out a long sigh – Exhaling all the tiredness with that sigh. He had left for work from five in the morning from home and now just finished at nine p.m.

Even though it was tiring, Marcel was still grateful because there were still many people who had to work harder than this just to be able to eat three meals a day.

While heating the car engine, Marcel took his bag which he had placed in the passenger seat beside him. He took out his cell phone which he hadn’t checked since about three hours ago.

Due to his busy shooting session, Marcel decided to keep his cell phone in his bag and would not take it out unless a call came in, because everyone who knew the current Marcel also knew that it had to be a very urgent matter if they had to call that guy.

While checking his cell phone, Marcel got several messages from Kenny Brown, his right-hand man who was now the main manager for the business on Redvalley Street.

After RJC was beaten back by Jita Kyoei and Black, it didn’t mean that the group was disbanded. RJC was still existed and running. It was just that the group had shrunk and wasn’t as big as before.

There weren’t as many RJC members as when Underground Cave was still standing. Now, RJC’s business was only to maintain and manage Redvalley Street. Therefore, they did not need too many group members.

Luckily, RJC still had quite a lot of followers. They were the men who were loyal to the group. The men, indeed, didn’t work for RJC anymore. They had other jobs out there and lived outside of RJC headquarters as well.

However, the RJC headquarters was still the headquarters where they gather to spend time with fellow members who were like family. When RJC needed additional people if someone disturbed their territory, those retainers also did not hesitate to come to their aid.

All the loyalty that Marcel got from his followers was the result of Marcel’s leadership attitude so far. He always considered each member as his own family.

Even though RJC was no longer as powerful as it used to be and he could no longer rely on the income from the business group created by his late brother, everything was still going well until now.

Redvalley Street could still operate well, although they had to slightly increase the security fee. After knowing how Marcel was suffering and the reality of his business, now the people of Redvalley had never protested about the security fee. They worked together to help RJC improve Redvalley Street, which was actually their own home.

But the happy ending that Marcel felt did not last long. That was proven by the contents of the short message that Kenny sent to him just now.

In fact, all of RJC’s core team realized that they hadn’t been able to sleep peacefully just because everything looked peaceful. They knew that this was the calm before the storm came.

RJC was one of the gangster groups that belonged to The Deadly Square; an organization created by force by a group of monsters called Black Hole.

The Black Hole itself suddenly appeared like a hurricane that destroyed all gangster groups in the dark world of Handway City.

Black Hole was a group that had almost the same age as other groups. They were not the oldest group. They were also still young. But what made Black Holes different from the rest was their power.