From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel

Crash!

Feeling as if a bowling ball had been thrown at his head, Ari fell off the chair while clutching his head from pain.

- mroaw

Something soft and fluffy kept winding around him while meowing softly, before getting frustrated and beginning to headbutt his hands, covering his face.

When his arms finally separated, Ari glared at the cat, blinking innocently at him.

It was Fat Boi.

- meow

"Don't meow me. Why would you jump on my head, you crazy cat? Are you trying to kill me?"

- mraow

"Oh? You want me to jump on your head, too? Lie down and I'll show you how much it hurts."

After blinking his lime green eyes slowly, Fat Boi lay down, exposing his fluffy stomach as if daring Ari to jump.

"Really?"

- meow

"You are something else."

With a resigned sigh, Ari scooped up the cat that began purring and glanced over at the person who had entered the door.

It was an older man of about 40 years, of medium height, wearing a well-tailored black suit, a simple watch with an intricate design, a thick silver ring on his finger, and thick designer glasses on his handsome face.

In other words, he looked like a villain.

His perfume was quite strong, a mix of leather, tobacco, and oud, causing Ari to wrinkle his nose slightly as he looked him over and mentally classified him.

This was either a wealthy businessman or an executive of an entertainment company.

If he took into account PD Emily's reaction, it was most likely the latter.

"Well, hello there. You look much better in person." A mellow voice that clearly enunciated every word came out of the man's mouth, and Ari struggled to place the accent before giving him a suspicious look that Fat Boi echoed.

"Hello. Who are you?"

- meow meow meow?

"I'm Martin. You must be Ariel."

"Ah, you're the cat owner. Here you go." Ari tried to hand Fat Boi over, but the cat began clinging to Ari with an angry yowl.

"No, no, keep him. You're quite good at handling cats." Martin gave him a calculating glance.

"I used to have one when I was younger."

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a cat?"

"Quite often. I think it's my eye shape. Did you need something or…"

"Yes, actually. Rumor has it that you were the one who found thisdear child and helped take him to the clinic. Since I'm not one to be in debt to someone, I came to pay it off. You may ask me for anything within reason?"

"Marti-"

"Stay quiet, Emily. I'm not speaking to you right now." Martin held his hand out to PD Emily, all the while still staring at Ari, and surprisingly, the PD didn't say another word.

"So, Ariel, what do you want as a reward?"

Ari didn't even have to think about it.

"I need to get a passport as soon as possible. Can you help me?"

"Legally or illegally."

[Oh?]

[He's an interesting one.]

What do you mean by interesting!

Weren't you the one who forced me into this surprise mission with this intended result?

"What if I said illegally? Would I be able to get one?" Ari asked curiously.

"Ariel!"

"Please be quiet, Emily. I don't like repeating myself. Ariel, do you think the favor that you did me is worth that?"

"Probably. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given me the option or come to see me in person, right? You love this cat. It means a lot?"

Martin stared at him silently before laughing lightly.

"Smart boy. So you want an illegal passport?"

"Of course not. I just need an American passport appointment by tomorrow. I have my paperwork and money ready."

"Is that all you want?"

"Is there anything left over after the favor of saving your cat?"

"Not even a speck."

"Then I won't push my luck. You better not scratch me or I'll put you down." Ari threatened as he grabbed Fat Boi's face and squeezed it in irritation until the cat stopped pawing at him and climbed to lie across his shoulders.

Seeing that Martin was still watching him and the cat, Ari arched a brow.

"Did you need something else?"

"Have you ever considered modeling?"

"Never. My mom used to say that becoming a model is one of the three major gateways to excessive drug use and ruining your life." Ari replied honestly.

"She sounds like a wise woman. What was her name?"

"Arielle."

"Clearly not very wise or creative when naming her child, but we all have our flaws."

Ari briefly considered explaining that his mom hadn't named him, just coincidentally had a similar name, before shrugging.

"Well, Ariel, son of Arielle, I'll make you a deal. How do you feel about modeling with the cat for some cash and a passport appointment? Say…6 am tomorrow. You sound French, so I'll even throw in a French embassy appointment, a free photoshoot including a passport photo, and you can be styled however you want. Naturally, you can keep the things used in the cat photoshoot as well."

"Can your stylist dye my hair red?"

"Of course."

"By tomorrow? For free."

"Naturally."

"You mentioned payment? How much are we talking? "

Martin held up a finger, and Ari's eyes widened as his pupils visibly dilated.

"10 thousand dollars?"

"I see you've been to an auction before. I meant 1,000, but sure, let's go with 10,000. Direct transfer immediately."

"You know, they say children are meant to rebel against their parents. All of a sudden, I have always wanted to become a model. It's a passion and childhood dream of mine. I've never wanted to do anything more in my life." With no shame, Ari immediately reversed his position while speaking with the most passionate voice he could muster.

"Ahaha, that's what I thought. Emily, I'll be kidnapping your kid. You don't have any complaints, right?"

"…Ari, are you sure you want to go with him?"

Ari turned to look at the PD, who had a strange look on her face as if trying to figure something out.

"You told me I need a passport. He's offering me a chance to get a passport and money. Unless he's a liar, kidnapper, or a criminal, and I'm in danger of some sort, I'm going to go. Is he a kidnapper or criminal?"

"Yes, am I a liar, kidnapper, or criminal, Emily?" Martin added

"…no."

"Do you think I'm a danger to the young man?"

"No."

"Then it's fine, right?"

"Martin."

As his name was called, he turned to look at Ari with a curious expression, wondering what this blunt boy was going to say.

"Yes?"

"I know I look young, but I'm legally an adult, I'm straight, and I refuse to take strange photos."

"Okay? And?"

"I'm just covering my bases since people in entertainment are weirdos and the PD looks worried."

"Ari! Do you know who this is?? Please watch your mouth! Martin, I am so sorry."

"It's fine. He's quite amusing. If the discussion is done, shall we go? I'm a busy man."

"I'll go get my documents and be right back. You, sit down. Don't hiss at me."

Ari dumped Fat Boi on the seat despite his protests, and quickly ran to get his things, put on the Camouflage Healing Bandaid that had finally arrived, and verified the bank transfer before following Martin into the back seat of an expensive car that a chauffeur drove.

As the cat once again plopped itself on his lap, Ari reclined his chair and prepared to take a nap himself.

"You're not curious as to who I am?" the mellow voice sounded out, and Ari opened his eyes to stare at him.

"Not really. I'll look it up later."

"You don't have any stranger danger?"

"I gave each of my friends a DNA sample, and told them to call the cops if I'm not back by tomorrow. And you've already paid me so, I need to keep my end of the deal."

He also had an AirTag in his shoe, but he wasn't going to say that.

"A man of his word. Good for you. Champagne?" Martin began pouring a gold bottle of champagne into 2 crystal-like champagne flutes that he took out from a hidden fridge.

"No, thank you. I dislike alcohol."

"That's unfortunate. Mind if I have a drink?"

"Go for it."

The rest of the ride passed in silence as the driver pulled into the parking garage of a large multistory building near the downtown area.

Looking around the sleek interior, Ari followed Martin through the suspiciously empty hallway while clutching Fat Boi tighter.

He planned to throw the cat at Martin and then run away if anything suspicious happened, but a door at the end was open, exposing a wide-open space that had clearly been set up for a photo shoot.

Different furniture pieces and cat toys were spread around the room, as well as several large lights and a large white backdrop.

There were people moving around, but they froze when Martin stepped into the room, and within seconds, a short woman with a bob and a heavy camera around her neck ran forward to greet him.

"Hello, sir."

"Anna, here's the model for the shoot, so feel free to send the rest of them home. Fat Boi listens to him well, so take as many photos as possible, and send everything you take to me so I can course correct. Once I have the perfect shots, you can take care of whatever he wants, from hair coloring to makeup and photos, and then call my assistant. I'll take my leave."

"Have a good day, sir."

As Martin left, Ari turned to stare at a couch full of people who looked like different variations of himself.

They were all relatively tall and lean, with green cat-shaped eyes, and black wavy or curly hair.

It was a bit creepy, and as their eyes met, a few of them glared at him as staff members urged them to get up and begin leaving.

Anna, the short woman with a bowl cut bob, approached him but stopped several feet away as they stared at Fat Boi, who was taking a nap in Ari's arms in fear.

"I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Ariel. You?"

"Hi, I'm Anna—the main photographer. I'm not sure how much you've been briefed, but Martin is looking for a particular shot with Fat Boi, so we'll be taking quite a few photos of you and the cat. Are you ready?"

"Sure. How bad could it be?"

At the casual question, the bright smile on Anna's face immediately darkened, and she began muttering to herself, "howbadcoulditbe? Youdon'tunderstandthedepthsofsufferingthativebeenthrough. Doyouknowhowharditistofindagreeneyedblackhairedmodelthatlookslikeacat? Nottomentionthisisacatfromhellthatattackseverypersonthatheseesandisheavyaf. Thentheownerhimselfisacrazybastardwhokeepstextinganotheroneanotherone. Sigh."

"Pardon?"

Ari thought he heard some cursing, but then the bright smile returned.

"Nothing. Why don't we get you changed first and get started! First, you need to wear a green suit!"

After changing into a skin-tight green suit and posing while holding Fat Boi in different positions as the camera flashed around him, the muscles in Ari's body quickly let him know that, despite his happiness from receiving money, he was in hell.

Back breaking, neck aching, muscle tremors hell.