(Tuesday, May 21, 2024 – 9:45 PM)
Just as Duke started walking away, shoulders heavy with disappointment and resolve, a firm grip caught the back of his collar.
"Eh?" Duke barely had time to react before his feet left the ground.
Big Daniel's deep voice rang out to the group.
"Look at this lame-ass rapper, thinking he can walk away like the beginning of a movie."
Before Duke could process what was happening, he was airborne.
"W-Wait, WAIT!"
His words were cut off as Big Daniel casually tossed him through the air like a bag of rice. Vasco stepped forward, catching him effortlessly before setting him down.
Duke, now dizzy, blinked rapidly as he tried to regain his balance.
Big Daniel crossed his arms, nodding sagely. "You got talent, bro. No doubt. You'll be famous for your music someday."
Duke's chest swelled slightly with pride-
"BUT."
The way Daniel emphasized it immediately killed the mood.
"You can always make things better…" Daniel continued, gesturing up and down at Duke's body. "By losing all that fat and doing some looksmaxing."
Duke's eye twitched. "Excuse me?"
Big Daniel turned to Vasco. "Yo, help this man out."
Vasco, arms crossed, nodded solemnly. "Got it."
Duke started sweating. "W-Wait, I don't-"
Before he could finish, Lil Daniel crouched down beside him with a contracted face and lips twisted into a gangster-like grin.
"Huh? Scared? How about I touch you?"
Duke recoiled with his eyes widening. "T-Touch me?!"
Before things could escalate, a kick flew from the side.
BAM!
Lil Daniel was sent flying as Zoe planted her foot back down, with a tick mark on her head.
"Be serious, you idiot."
Lil Daniel crashed into a trash can, groaning. "Damn, I was just trying to motivate him."
Meanwhile, Zack stepped forward, staring directly at Duke.
"If you skip a single training session, we're coming to your house."
Duke felt an actual chill down his spine. Zack's voice was calm, but his eyes held the gaze of a man who would absolutely follow through on that threat.
"T-Training?" Duke stammered. "B-But I need to work part-time for my grandma! I don't have time."
SMACK.
A hand slammed down in front of him, holding a thick stack of bills.
Everyone turned.
Lil Daniel, now standing with a faint foot imprint still visible on his cheek, grinned maniacally.
"Ghehehe… You don't have any more excuses. Now lose that fat like a good boy."
Duke's soul left his body.
Mira, sensing his despair, gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"As friends, it's normal to help each other." she said with a soft smile.
Duke's entire face turned red.
Meanwhile-
"LET ME GO! I'LL KILL HIM!"
Zack with his entire face burning with jealousy, struggled violently in Big Daniel's grip. His veins were popping.
Big Daniel, barely holding him back, sighed. "Bro, breathe."
"I AM BREATHING!" Zack shouted, eyes bloodshot.
Just then, Vin and Mary arrived.
Vin glanced at Duke up and down with his usual cocky smirk missing. Duke, feeling the stare, straightened his back, meeting his eyes.
Then..
Vin stuck out a hand.
"Sorry."
Duke blinked, completely caught off guard.
Vin scratched his cheek, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Your song was… y'know… good as fuck." He muttered, looking away awkwardly.
Behind him, Mary chuckled.
Duke hesitated before taking the handshake.
Daniel patted Vin's shoulder, nodding. "Huh… maybe you're not that bad after all."
Vin smirked-
"But you're still chopped, though."
The group BURST into laughter.
"YOU WANNA DIE?!"
Vin lunged at Big Daniel, but..
TRIP!
With his heavily tinted sunglasses and the fact that it was nighttime, he didn't see SHIT.
His foot caught on absolutely nothing, and he ate the pavement.
Silence.
Then-
"BAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Even Mary couldn't hold back her laughter.
Lil Daniel, wiping away a tear, clapped his hands together. "Alright! Let's go eat some chicken."
Zoe rolled her eyes. "You're addicted just like your brother. We're eating sushi."
The group collectively agreed.
Lil Daniel's face fell.
"NOOOOO!"
(10:25 PM)
Thirty minutes later, the group sat inside a sushi restaurant, gathered around a large table stacked with empty plates.
The atmosphere? Absolute chaos.
Big Daniel, Lil Daniel, Zack, and Vin were devouring sushi like starved dogs. Chopsticks flew across the table at inhuman speeds, snatching up pieces of sashimi and rolls before anyone else could react. Plates piled up beside them like a monument to their hunger.
Zoe, watching the carnage unfold, narrowed her eyes at Lil Daniel. "Weren't you the one complaining about eating sushi earlier?"
Lil Daniel ignored her completely, stuffing a whole salmon roll into his mouth.
Vin, still chewing, waved a hand dismissively. "Food is food."
Zack, mouth half-full, dapped him up instantly. "Absolutely."
Big Daniel, swallowing a massive bite, turned his attention to Duke, who was eating at a much more reasonable pace.
"By the way," Big Daniel said, tapping his chopsticks on the table, "that money my brother gave you? It's not free."
Duke blinked. "Huh?"
"It's your payment."
Duke raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
Big Daniel smirked. "For making the soundtracks for our webtoon."
Zack and Zoe, mid-bite, froze.
"Damn i forgot, how is it going?" Zack asked, straightening.
Zoe's eyes lit up as she set down her chopsticks. "Yeah i forgot too, are you releasing your webtoon or it's already released?"
Big Daniel grinned knowingly. Lil Daniel, finishing off a big shrimp, wiped his mouth before answering casually.
"Yeah. Lookism: True Flow."
The table went silent.
Zoe's entire body jerked forward with her hands slamming against the table. "NO WAY."
Heads turned from nearby tables, but Zoe didn't care. Her voice was full of disbelief.
"That's the best webtoon out right now! It's literally in first place! And it's only been out for less than two weeks!"
Lil Daniel smiled, clearly enjoying the reaction.
Big Daniel stretched out his hand, pulling out his phone from his pocket. "Here, check it yourself."
He tapped for a moment before showing Zoe his screen, a QR code.
Zoe, still skeptical, grabbed her own phone and scanned it.
Meanwhile Lil Daniel looked at the new android phone and remembered that he hasn't bought a new phone for the first body, noting to do so on another day.
The moment the app opened, her breath hitched.
All the locked chapters she hadn't bought yet?
Unlocked. For free.
A notification popped up.
[The author has gifted you access to all locked content.]
Zoe just… stared at her phone.
Speechless.
Meanwhile, Zack, Vasco, Duke, Mary, and Vin, seeing her reaction, immediately scrambled for their own phones.
"Yo, send the code!"
Big Daniel, smirking, casually tilted his screen toward them. Within seconds, all of them had free access to the entire webtoon, then finishing another roll, he leaned his phone toward Jay.
Jay, who had been eating silently the entire time, paused. He looked at the screen, then at Daniel. Without a word, he scanned the code.
No reaction.
He just went back to eating.
The group continued to chat and laugh, the atmosphere was filled with excitement.
Until-
"HEY! STOP STEALING MY SHRIMP!"
Zack and Vin were in a full-blown chopstick battle over the last shrimp on the platter. Their movements were so fast that the sushi chef behind the counter stopped mid-cut, watching the fight in mild horror.
Lil Daniel, taking advantage of the chaos, snatched the shrimp.
"HAHA! LOSERS!"
Zack and Vin's heads snapped toward him.
A moment of silence.
Then-
"GET HIM!"
They jumped him, tackling Lil Daniel in a flurry of limbs and sushi rolls.
The restaurant owner, watching this absolute disaster unfold, slammed a hand against the counter.
"IF YOU'RE GONNA FIGHT, DO IT OUTSIDE!"