From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel

"None of the above. Who are you?"

Ari turned to look at the short girl who was glaring at him with both hands on her hips.

She was wearing pink flare jeans with a pink tutu, a pink tank top over a pink long-sleeve shirt, and her hair, which was tied into two buns, was pink as well.

Pink makeup, pink accessories, and pink shoes.

Although she was pretty, the entire color scheme hurt Ari's eyes.

Badly.

"You don't know who I am?"

"No. Should I?"

"Really? You don't know me? I don't believe you!"

The girl looked completely incredulous at the thought of Ari not knowing who she was.

"Well, judging by that reaction, I'm guessing you're famous. Actor, musician, or a secret third thing? Which one?"

"Do you live under a rock? I'm Pink Puma, a musician, and I can't believe you don't know who I am. Wait, I'm asking the questions here, not you. How do you know about Fat Boi?!"

"I got assigned a task to come find him since someone is apparently quite irresponsible and let him go missing. I wonder who that was?" Ari replied casually while trying to feel out who or what Fat Boi was.

He guessed that it was some type of pet.

"So you're one of the new assistants. I don't know why Martin would make me babysit that fat beast. And it's not my fault he went missing! That stupid cat hates me!"

So it was a cat.

"Well, how long has he been missing, and when's the last time you saw him?"

"It's been a couple of days, and when I tried to catch him yesterday, he ran away even though he was limping. Look, he even scratched me."

Pink Puma held up her hand to his face, exposing long red scratches on her hand.

"Looks bad. Hope you cleaned it well. Cats have lots of bacteria in their claws."

"That's all you have to say?"

Is there anything else to say?

"Yes."

"You're a terrible assistant."

I'm not even an assistant.

"Thank you. Is the cat chipped?"

"Obviously. You don't even know that? How did you know to come here? Are you sure you're not paparazzi or a stalker?"

Pink puma began looking at him suspiciously once more.

Although he was handsome and didn't like normal paparazzi or crazy stalkers, you could never know people's true intentions.

Her hands went to grab the pepper spray charm on her bracelet while Ari rolled his eyes.

"I'm not paparazzi and definitely not a stalker. I don't even have a phone on me. You can pat me down and check if you want."

Ari turned out his jacket and pant pockets, showing that they were both empty, before holding up both hands.

Pink Puma looked him up and down, starting with the handsome but bruised face before landing on the toned abs that were exposed when his hands were lifted up.

She couldn't help but blush and then got angry seeing that Ari wasn't phased when looking at her.

She was a top-ranked beauty, you know?

"Don't try to seduce me. I have a boyfriend. Pull your shirt down."

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

"Don't be a weirdo, I'm here to find Fat Boi, not seduce a random person I don't even know."

"I'm not a random person!"

Ari clapped sarcastically.

"Well, you're the first person I've met with a cat name that's hated by a cat. Congratulations."

"I have a cat named because it's supposed to be sexy! not because I like cats! Ughhh! You're a terrible assistant! I'm telling them to fire you. And I don't need your help finding the cat, I can do it myself! Come here, Fat Boi!!"

As Pink Puma stomped away angrily while yelling the cat's name, Ari turned away and spoke into the air.

"Can I get a map of where the cat is?"

[Do I look like a GPS?]

"Obviously. You brought me here, didn't you?"

[Touche.]

[It's hiding in the bushes to your left.]

"Thanks."

With a lazy stride, Ari walked over to sit in front of the bushes and began using the classic phrase to call cats around the world.

"Pspspspsps."

He called the cat repeatedly while keeping his eyes slightly away from the bushes, and soon enough, a large, fluffy, black cat head that had bright green eyes poked his head out of the bushes while staring at him.

"Fat Boi?"

- mraow?

"Oh, you are a big boy, aren't you?" Ari spoke softly, letting the fluffy cat sniff his finger before scratching his head accordingly.

Soon enough, the cat began purring loudly while rubbing himself all over Ari's hand.

"There you are! Come here, Fat Boi. Come here now! We need to go home!" Pink Puma's loud voice rang out as she began running toward Ari, and the cat startled, nipping his finger, before dashing away while clearly limping.

Pink Puma tried running after it while shouting, but was quickly outpaced by the cat, who ran into some bushes and disappeared.

Panting, she walked back to Ari, completely upset.

"Ugh! Not again! How did you get it to be so calm? And why didn't you chase after it?"

"Well, first of all, it's not a dog, it's a cat, and it won't ever come like that. Also, do I look like a cheetah? Chasing after it is useless. Do you have cat food or his favorite snack? If yes, go and get it."

"Why would I have that stuff? And why are you sending me around? Are you the assistant or am I the assistant?"

"Do you want to catch the cat or not? Please think about which one of us has had better luck so far."

Pink Puma was silent for a moment before she stomped over to a bright pink vehicle and drove off.

Once she was out of sight, Ari whispered to NOVA.

"Where's the cat now?"

[One street over in the first set of bushes on the right?]

"And completing this task is supposed to help me get an appointment for a passport??"

[Among other things, so work hard to make a good impression.]

"To the girl?"

[No, to the cat.]

"I'll try, I guess."

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!

Bang!

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

"Here!"

The bright pink car was recklessly parked, and a shopping bag was stuffed into his arms while the person dressed in all pink glared.

"Go catch the cat, terrible assistant!"

"Yes yes, thank you."

Walking at a slow pace according to the instructions given to him by NOVA, Ari found himself enduring rapid fire questions as Pink Puma circled him.

"Where are you going?"

"To catch the cat?"

"How do you know where it is?"

"A voice in my head told me."

"Are you crazy?"

"Depends on the day."

[Right here.]

"You stay back and please be quiet," Ari told Pink Puma before approaching the bushes.

He laid down his jacket a few feet in front of it, opened the can of wet food, and set it right on top, before squeezing a little treat out of the pack.

"Pss pss pss here, Fat Boi. I have some food. It's super delicious salmon, yum yum."

"Is he coming?!!"

"Don't listen to her annoying voice, just come get a snack."

"I heard that!"

"Then please be quiet, like I told you to. Thank you."

Pink puma: "..."

"Pspspspsp."

After waiting several seconds, the large black head popped out of the bushes once more, glancing between Ari's face, the snack in his hand, and the open can of food.

With slow steps, Fat Boi finally stepped out, first sniffing the food can before coming over to Ari and slowly eating the snack bit by bit.

Seeing the full size of the fluffy black cat that looked like a medium-sized dog, Ari had to admit that his name was, in fact, quite accurate.

From the large head to the paws, long body, and extremely fluffy coat, it looked like quite the fat cat.

"Catch him now! Don't let him get away!"

- hissssssssssssssssss

As Fat Boi began hissing, his claws fully extended, Ari turned back to glare at Pink Puma, "Please be quiet."

"….sorry."

Saying nothing, Ari waited until the extremely large cat had eaten both the snack and the can of food before lying on his sweater and began purring happily.

Extending his hand once more so it could be sniffed, when Fat Boi lay his head on the ground once more, Ari swiftly wrapped it in his jacket like a burrito before picking it up.

- meow?

"If you scratch me, I'll scratch you back, so just relax and take a nap."

After making eye contact and staring at each other for several seconds, Fat Boi slowly blinked at him before relaxing and resting his head on Ari's shoulders.

"Good kitty."

Satisfied that it would behave, Ari patted the cat's back like a baby and walked over to Pink Puma.

"I caught the cat. Do you have a cat carrier or something? I think you need to take him to the vet."

"…no."

"Then I'll just put him in your car, and you can drive carefully to the vet. Let's go."

With a slightly impressed expression, Pink Puma led the way to her car while Fat Boi was seemingly fast asleep.

As she opened the back seat door for Ari to put the cat down, Fat Boi woke up and began hissing angrily.