Translator: Miri
키에- Fortune Killer Chapter 1 (Part 5)Under normal circumstances, Lain would have thought it was normal for someone to go out. But maybe because he had just heard the story about him running away to France the day before, Lain thought of it as 'running away' rather than 'going out'.
"Does Edan leave the house quite often?"
"Well, he disappears occasionally."
"What happens if he does?"
"He usually comes back on his own, but when he has no work like now he goes into hiding for up to a month."
"……if that happens, what am I supposed to do?."
"Contact Alex. If he goes somewhere alone without telling you, you can call either me or Alex."
"Yes."
"Don’t worry too much. Because Eddy seems to have taken a liking to you as well."
"I’m not so sure about that……."
If him being like that meant he liked him, Lain began doubting the way he acted towards people he disliked, but he simply kept his mouth firmly shut.
"Haha, you are probably like this because of the way he speaks but that is actually him being gentle. If he didn’t like you, he wouldn’t even have given you his bag.
He’s very particular by nature, so he doesn’t entrust others with his belongings. It makes even less sense for him to let someone inside his house. Only counting the people who were fired like that, there probably are around 500."
"What?"
"Alone the people who were hired by Alex but chased away in front of the house after he saw their faces are more than 100. And I’m talking about people on their first day of work."
"What about the other 400?"
"He caused around 200 people to cry during the interview and fired them, while he made the other 200 get off the car while driving to work and just left them there."
"By the roadside?"
"Yeah. He even left someone behind in the desert once."
The moment Lain imagined being left behind all alone in the barren wilderness, he felt a chill go through his body and started trembling.
"Then why does he have such a good image?"
"Alex took care of things with money."
"……is money all that’s necessary?"
"Well, that’s how it is. And it can’t be helped. Eddy has been in showbiz since he was 10 years old, so he clearly knows what’s important in this line of work and what kind of influence the people around him can have.
It’s already been 20 years since I started working with him, back then he was also an extremely smart child. He knows exactly what he has to do in order to manage his image and protect his private life.
When there is a precise need for it, he deliberately contacts the media and openly tells the paparazzi to take photos, and when doesn’t want it, he makes sure nobody can loiter in the surroundings.
I’ll provide you with the desired photos when you need them, so don’t follow me around other than that, that’s basically what he’s saying."
"He’s very…… clever, isn’t he."
He finally seemed to understand the reason why Edan Blake was sometimes described as a very clever and cunning actor by people involved in this business.
Of course, they said he was a smart actor who never took on roles similar to ones he had acted before and who never did things that could risk his career in any way, but these words somehow had a certain nuance of him very much looking out for his own interest. In other words, it meant that he took advantage of the perks as much as possible, while minimizing the sacrifices a star had to make.
"Stars who are smart all do it like that on purpose. They establish ties with friendly paparazzi and reporters and give them shocking tip-offs one by one.
In return they make them promise not to show themselves other than that. When you stop them from shooting too much, they stick to you persistently instead. It’s important to give an impression of having nothing to hide
His official schedule is made public and they can follow us around but we ask them to stay away from unofficial and private meetings."
"That sounds nice."
"Work is okay. If only he didn’t disappear sometimes. And if he wasn’t so bad-tempered."
"In what way exactly is he bad-tempered?"
"……you’ll understand when you see it. Oh, this ham is good."
Jerry’s manner of suddenly changing the subject was quite suspicious. But first of all, Lain felt relieved about the wishful situation of Edan not doing too many things that required a lawyer.
To be honest civil cases were all quite similar but the thing he had mainly learned since his intern days was to catch the spouse’s weaknesses and make them agree to a divorce- or make them unable to divorce. He didn’t really know what kind of incidents happened in the world of showbusiness and had felt hopeless about what to do in case an incident involving drugs or drunk driving occurred, so this was really a relief.
"Eddy is more experienced when it comes to contracts so the only thing you have to do is confirm the content at the end. Either way, Alex will take care of the adjustments as he sees fit."
Even though he said this, Lain was unable to let go of the feeling he was going to end up doing many more miscellaneous tasks.
"Yes, that’s a relief."
Somehow his shoulders felt heavy. Lain felt his heart stop at the thought of what kind of work he would have to do for an annual salary of 500 thousand dollars.
「You’re really in Edan Blake’s villa?」
"Yeah."
He had made the pasta not too salty or sweet for Edan’s taste and only used pure organic ingredients, so seeing Edan eat it rather well he could finally take breath. After Edan said he was going to sleep because he was tired, Lain secretly hid in the study which was furthest from his room. Then he called Elly who said she was currently waiting for a sentencing to complain to her.
「I thought you went crazy after getting fired, turns out it was true. But somehow it doesn’t feel like a good sign?」
Elly had been with Lain from his college days until grad school so she knew very well how bad his luck was. When she muttered that this smooth situation was strange, Lain chimed in right away.
"That’s what I’m thinking."
「Well, Edan Blake’s famous for not causing trouble so you don’t have to worry about that. But how is everyone leaving on the day you come in?」
"It’s not that everyone’s leaving on the day I came, but that I came here after everyone left."
「Anyway.」
"Ah, I’m seriously going crazy. It’s not a problem that people left. What makes me uneasy is that I have nothing to do. I feel like the apartment I live in is suddenly going to explode at this rate!
If that’s not it, maybe disaster will suddenly strike and burn down all of New York or flood everything!"
「That’s a disease, really. You’re being overly suspicious.」
"Wouldn’t you be suspicious too if you were in my situation? There’s no reason for such good luck to appear in my life! On top of that, it’s too comfortable. It’s too perfect!"
「Well, think positive. They might boss you around like crazy from now on. Who knows? You might even have to work as a manager, bodyguard, and housekeeper at the same time?」
Elly broke into laughter as she said this. Are you going to work in the kitchen wearing an apron, check Edan’s schedule as you hold the ladle, go out together and get your hair pulled by the fans in his stead, carry his luggage as you walk around and even manage his contracts for him? Listening to her laughing voice, Lain desperately wished that it would turn out this way at least.
"I really hope that’s gonna happen so at least my basic living expenses are taken care of. Because in any case, I get as much as I work for."
「Then think like that. That you’re going to suffer all sorts of hardships from now on.」
Her consolation that didn’t sound like a consolation made Lain sigh.
"I really hate tuition."
「How long do you think has it been since you excitedly studied with that money?」
"Just why did they reduce the budget when I was about to receive a scholarship! And isn’t it too much to cut it right in front of me of all things?"
「That’s just your fate. Why didn’t you go to either CUNY (City University of New York) or SUNY(State University of New York)?」
Hearing her mumble that tuition there would have been cheaper because he was a city resident, Lain repeated the words she had gotten tired of during the last nine years.
"Didn’t I tell you when we were freshmen? I thought NYU was part of the CUNY."
「That was you being stupid.」
"Why in the world are there so many New York Universities?"
The university he had originally wanted to go to was John Jay College, one of the City Universities of New York.
Becoming a lawyer had been his goal from the beginning, so he had wanted to go there and attend law school after graduating. However, he didn’t know what was going on in his mind in back then. When he walked into NYU, he chose the department of administration because it was the first thing he saw. The problem was that he had easily thought he would start learning everything anew anyway when he entered law school.
「You’re usually smart but once in a while, you act like an idiot during crucial moments. How can you even think NYU is one of the CUNY? The level is completely different.」
Not only the level, but the tuition was also completely different. A private university’s deadly tuition was of a fearsome standard.
In fact, had he chosen a city college, he would have received a scholarship and could have graduated with ease. But after enrolling in the confusion of the moment, NYU was way too good to miss so he studied hard to death, the unfortunate thing was that even if there were scholarships available, they reduced the number of recipients and it always got cut off right in front of him. Wanting to receive even just half the amount, he had studied hard to death but strangely, he never got much when compared to his results.
That was why he ended up making up for it with his body. If he had to name all the part-time jobs he did during his four years of college, it was neverending.
Even worse, NYU was the university the upper class mainly attended.
It was pushed back in the school ranking but because many children of the upper class who would soon turn into leading people of the society studied here, its reputation was high and more than anything else, the tuition was the highest.
If he went back to nine years ago, he would never do something so idiotic. He might as well go to Yale University, what would you go to NYU for with those grades.
No, if he thought about it, this was all because of that damn bicycle racing.
Right before the enrollment, he had wanted to at least earn some living expenses- back then his introspection regarding his own life had been lacking. The moment he won 30 thousand dollars and thought he had enough for tuition, he had received that fearsome tuition bill. The problem was that he had mindlessly thought it was to be expected and just enrolled anyway.
Going back nine years in time, what he should have done was not filling in the application form differently, he should not have bet on bike racing. Without money, he would not have enrolled at that university from the beginning.
「Anyway, it’s a relief that you found a job right away. The atmosphere in my law firm also feels like people are gonna start getting fired soon. As soon as the income declines, young lawyers immediately become the target. It’s likely that you also got dismissed due to that.」
Of course, Lain also believed there clearly was that kind of influence.
One of the foolish actions not only law firms but all businesses took once a recession approached was to start laying off people. Among them, they left the big shots who got paid a lot for nothing and cut off the small employees with low salaries. Lain thought this was very unfair. And his luck was so rotten that of all things, the day of his contract renewal was around that time.
"I really hope it would stop here."
「At any rate, you managed to find a good job. Even if you have a lot to pay off, just how much are you earning right now? No matter what, your life didn’t hit rock bottom.」
"That’s true."
In any case, he was always rewarded for his hard work. The penalty for unearned income was harsh but he also got rewarded that much for earned income.
So as long as he worked properly, there was no way he would be forced out on the streets. In the end, that alone was a blessing.
「Ah, they must have reached a verdict. Once you have settled down, let’s have a drink.」
"I’m envious you can work in court."
「You’re gonna be appalled if you see cases like this one. The husband killed his wife by crushing her head.」
Lain really was appalled thanks to the giggling Elly.
"He crushed her head?"
「Yeah. He was under indictment for a level one homicide but we reached an agreement with the prosecutor due to mental disorder and lowered it to level two. In any case, his guilt is determined already so we’re dragging it on to see it to the end.」
"How can you do that kind of work?"
「I’m telling you, the field of jurisdiction fits me.」
Lain told her to go in to have a look and hung up as he thought the nickname "cold-hearted Elly" was just right for her.
He didn’t want to continue speaking on the phone with a woman who could laugh while talking about a husband crushing his wife’s head.
Just how could she handle working in the rough field of criminal law? Even though he felt like fainting just from seeing evidence photos. Being able to defend a criminal who committed murder, she really was a dauntless woman. He himself could never do this even if he died.
"Looking at Edan Blake’s face is better than looking at photos of a crushed head."
Thinking that his face was nice no matter what, Lain sat on the sofa and stretched his body.
Anyway, good things were good. The future made him worry a little bit but for the moment, things were okay.
Telling himself that at least he had a job, Lain consoled himself while repeating Elly’s words as they were.
Up to that time, Lain could have never imagined that Edan had absolutely no idea he was a lawyer.
TN:
Please accept my apologies for being late again. 🙏🙏
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