Chapter 103: Electric Cars
"Before we end today's show how about you bless the audience by showing them your skills," The Host of the show remarked and signalled with her hand.
Soon, a few crew members arrived on the stage and made the arrangements.
"So how about it?" The host smiled while looking at Jin.
Jin sighed and said, "It seems that you're adamant about making me sweat,"
"It will be quite a sight for your fans, don't you think?" The woman giggled.
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Jin got up from his seat and proceeded towards the set-up. There was a bar in front of him and on it were hanging two pots made of clay.
From the way they were placed, it was clear they wanted him to kick the pots and simultaneously smash them.
'Well, since this is what the audience likes I'll just do it. Luckily my pants are of stretchable material,' Jin thought to himself.
"So are you ready Mr. Jin?" The Host asked with an expectant smile.
"Yes," Jin nodded at her words.
"Ladies and gentlemen, brace up for the sight you're about to see. On a count of three then. 3…2…1…!"
Jin jumped up the moment he heard the number '1' out of the host's mouth. While in the air his two legs spread sideways.
Smash!
The two pots were broken thereby inviting a series of claps from the live audience.
"Wow! You are so good at this," The host commented and clapped for Jin's performance.
"You can do this too with a bit of training," Jin joked.
"Haha! You jest, Mr. Jin," The host chuckled at Jin's words and it was the same for the audience watching.
The show soon came to an end after that.
After giving his autographs to a bunch of fans and also taking pictures with them Jin finally returned to his van. Dylan had been waiting for him inside.
The previous cheery mood Jin had was soon replaced by exhaustion the next moment. His body dropped onto the cushiony seat and asked, "How many more shows are left?..."
"Luckily, this was the last one," Dylan replied with a smile.
"Finally…" Jin sighed and closed his eyes in relief.
"You've worked hard," Dylan praised. The whole of the last few days were filled with event after event for Jin. It was understandable that he would be exhausted after all that.
As expected, because of the lack of promotion, the 2nd week didn't show as much ticket sales as the first week of the film's release. This was understandable for both Dylan and Jin. Things were however about to change soon.
The programmes, commercials and talk shows Jin had taken part in were just on the verge of being published after all the editing. The first of the series of shows was going to be broadcast tonight.
'With this, we can expect another jump,' Dylan thought while he looked at the resting Jin.
The van soon arrived at the hotel in which Jin was staying. The flashes of cameras outside seemed to have woken Jin up.
"Oh, we're already here," Jin muttered as he seated himself properly. The van made its way through the hotel's entrance gate. Because of Jin's frequent movements during these days, the paparazzi were now aware of his location and were always present outside the hotel for a few pics.
"Enjoying the paparazzi?" Dylan joked.
"Apart from the camera flashes they don't seem to pose much of a problem," Jin commented.
"That's because you are staying at a five-star hotel like this. If not for guards that keep these paparazzi in check then I won't be surprised if one of them had barged all the way to your bathroom only to ask you whether you are there to take a shit or a bath haha!" Dylan started laughing at his own words.
"Are you serious?" Jin couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not entirely sure but with the rumours that go around about them, I won't be surprised if someone had attempted such a thing in the past," Dylan replied.
"Phew…it was good investing money here," Jin sighed.
The van soon stopped at the hotel's entrance door and Jin exited.
"Alright then, I'll call you when required," With that Dylan left the scene. Jin was greeted by the hotel employees who by now were familiar with him as he made his way back to his room.
…
Sounds of heavy breathing swept all around the empty gym as Jin was busy working out his abs.
"17…18…"
Flora was placing her body weight on Jin's feet with her to help him with the workout.
"The number of paparazzi in the entrance has increased quite a lot," Flora said as Jin performed another rep.
"Well, it's only going to increase from now on," Jin replied while controlling his breath.
She then continued to ask him a few things about the acting business.
"Enough about me, how about your work? How's it going?" Jin asked her while performing his 50th rep.
"We've achieved a major milestone in the engine's development and it's now able to work at double the previous horsepower with the electric feed. I believe I'll be able to grab some investors with this one," Flora replied.
"You said the same thing last time as well you know?" Jin remarked with a teasing expression.
"This time I can feel it will happen. No, it has to happen!" Flora replied with conviction in her eyes.
Seeing this Jin didn't say anything further and completed his set.
A while later when they were resting on the bench Jin asked Flora "Why won't you just play it safe and make normal cars which your company is known for instead of trying something new with electric vehicles?"
"The market for those is already saturated. If we continue to make them then it will take almost ten years just to pay back the debts we owe to the banks and other lenders. I doubt that the company would survive until then. Therefore I refuse to let things be like this. The company that my father founded with his blood and sweat, I can't just let it die like this," Flora stated intensely.
"So instead of a slow death, you're aiming for a do-or-die scenario," Jin added.
"Exactly! This is the only way I can think of," Flora replied. She was trying hard to only look at the positive side of things.
"Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the electric cars you're going to develop then," Jin said while standing up to continue with the next workout. The world of business was something he was unfamiliar with. Therefore he could only wish her all the best.
"You won't be disappointed when you see it. You can bet on that," Flora grinned as the image of the working model they've been working on appeared in her mind.