The Chef x The Celebrity
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✨─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───✨
~ Date: June 27th – Interstellar Year 2422 ~
~ Longxin Den, The Liangyi Spire
~ The Majestic Bonghwang Estates and Luxury Resort ~
~ The Starlight District, Terra Anka PXD2422 ~
~ The Golden Dragon Star Nexus Intergalactic Empire ~
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🐦🔥 [ Phoenix ☯ POV ] 🐦🔥
"That should cover everything I can think of for now," Bai Yu Ning said. "I'm sure you're exhausted and ready to relax. Shall we head upstairs so you can see your accommodations?"
Her tone remained professional, but there was an unmistakable warmth beneath it.
Running on empty and completely out of social spoons, I answered with a soft hum and nodded, shifting Nuna's snack box and the still-sealed production envelope more securely against my side. Today had already been a lot: the preliminary gathering, the contract review, the remaining appointments, and the resort tour. I had held up fairly well until the final two hours, despite being shown more amenities than I could possibly remember.
I did not have the heart to tell Nuna NingNing that I would rather not waste my time checking out the resort. It was not as though I would ever be here long enough to enjoy any of it. My focus would be on the competition, my revenge, and raising both my own popularity and that of my family. If the original timeline still held, there was a strong chance I would also have to teach Mr. Film Emperor Choi Yongbok how to cook.
I sighed deeply, squeezing the bridge of my nose as I tried to relieve the pressure building from stress and tension.
✨ ── ☯ ── ✨
Things really would be easier if Choi Yongbok already knew how to cook.
Too bad Choi Yongbok was not Draco. At least then I would not have to worry about his capabilities in the kitchen.
If he really were Draco, maybe... just maybe...
Nope.
Don't you dare go there, Nix.
Choi Yongbok was not Draco, no matter what that knot in my chest insisted. That feeling was nothing more than wishful longing, not reality. No one would ever be able to replace Draco, and it was my own fault for only now realizing just how much he had meant to me.
To me.
Choi Yongbok only made me feel this way because something about him reminded me of Draco. That was all. It had to be.
✨ ── ☯ ── ✨
My thoughts were cut off yet again as Bai Yu Ning pointed out one thing after another while we rode the glass elevator higher and higher.
"That floor is where most of the contestant chefs are staying," she explained, gesturing toward a section of the resort below us. "Five floors above that, in the west wing, is where the production team and staff will be lodging."
That caught me by surprise. If that was where the contestant chefs were staying, why was I not on that floor? The question immediately sprang to mind, but I assumed there had to be a simple explanation and decided not to work myself into a panic before asking.
Instead, I turned to Bai Yu Ning. If anyone would know the reason, it would be her, especially after sitting through every meeting and appointment with me earlier that day.
Bai Yu Ning glanced toward the elevator display before answering. "Your contract includes a private-accommodation clause. The standard contestant rooms could not meet those privacy and security conditions, so production assigned you to a separate suite. I did not realize until today that they had selected Longxin Den."
I thought about her explanation for a second or two before recalling the clause she meant.
The private room clause.
I had assumed they would place me in an ordinary single room near the other contestants. That still seemed like the most logical accommodation for the clause I had requested; nothing in it explained why production had chosen a restricted private suite level.
Honestly, I preferred the separation. The last thing I wanted was to inflict my sleep-talking, restless nights, or occasional nightmares on an unsuspecting roommate.
"I understand," I said with a small nod. "Longxin Den is far beyond anything I requested."
'Speaking of which, how exactly was someone supposed to explain that they had complex post-traumatic stress disorder from being imprisoned for thousands upon thousands of years? That every day had been filled with torture, and that they could not forget a single moment of it? That every memory remained crystal clear, only to return and haunt their dreams?'
That was the answer: I couldn't explain it, not without sounding completely insane.
"Thank you for clarifying," I said meekly, glancing over at her.
Despite her efforts to hide it, I could see fatigue lingering at the corners of her eyes as she kept scanning our surroundings. The sight tugged at my heartstrings and filled me with a strange sense of unease.
It was odd, to say the least.
We had only met that morning, yet I already felt as though I had known Nuna NingNing for years. The safety and familiarity were irrational, but they did not feel false. They felt like recognition arriving before memory.
The glass elevator continued upward before coming to a smooth stop on a quiet restricted level. When the doors opened, I followed Bai Yu Ning down the east corridor and immediately noticed how few rooms there were. So far, I had counted only four room numbers.
We walked all the way to the end of the hallway, where two separate elevators waited side by side. Bai Yu Ning's room was on this restricted floor near the elevators, while the crescent-marked lift continued higher to Longxin Den's private suite level.
To my surprise, Bai Yu Ning pulled out a special access card and used it to summon the elevator on the right—the one marked with a crescent moon above the doors.
I arched an eyebrow at her, silently asking what was going on. She let out a slightly nervous laugh as the elevator she had summoned chimed beside us.
"That's my room," Bai Yu Ning said, pointing toward the nearby door. "You're welcome to stop by anytime, but don't forget that I'm your personal assistant, so please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. It's both my job and my pleasure to assist you, Phoenix-ssi."
"Are you rooming alone too?" I asked, although I was already fairly certain the answer was yes.
What I really wanted to know was why in the world my room was on a floor that required access to an elite private elevator.
Not that I was complaining.
I was just... confused.
I supposed it could be worse. It could have been one of those ridiculously bougie private elevators that opened directly into a penthouse—the kind of thing only the ultra-rich could afford and I fully intended to afford someday.
Just as that reassuring thought settled into my mind, Nuna NingNing proceeded to completely rock my world.
To the point that I felt a little dizzy.
Because she oh-so-helpfully informed me that this was, in fact, the private and exclusive elevator that led directly to my suite.
...Scratch that thought.
'This is not a room anymore. It is a bloody cosmos.'
Never in all my many lives had I lived in—or even temporarily stayed in—anything this vast or extravagant. Hell, my suite did not even have a room number. It had a name.
I repeat...
A fucking name!
At that point, I was beginning to suspect that I had somehow wandered into the wrong part of the resort and no one had noticed.
'How the fuck do they expect me to pay for all this‽'
The question echoed through my mind as I stared at the elevator doors. There was absolutely no way I could afford a suite fancy enough to have its own private elevator unless someone had secretly mistaken me for a billionaire.
Bai Yu Ning must have noticed my composure fraying because she explained that the suite was completely free of charge. Even she did not know who had authorized the extraordinary upgrade; she only knew that it was approved and would not cost me a single cent. Relief should have followed. Instead, every unanswered question sharpened.
"Wait, you're serious?" I blurted out.
The possibility struck me with enough force that I pointed at her as if I had solved some grand mystery. "This must be a one-night promotional stay, right? A trial or publicity stunt before they move me to a normal room tomorrow?" I held my breath, because a no would leave me with even more questions.
Bai Yu Ning stopped walking and turned to face me. Squaring her shoulders, she looked me straight in the eye and spoke with deliberate clarity, as though she wanted to ensure there was absolutely no possibility of misunderstanding her words.
"No, it is not just for a single night. This arrangement is for the entire duration of filming The Chef and The Celebrity. Not only has the suite been fully comped, but so have all amenities, including fine dining, spa treatments, and every other service the resort has to offer. You also have a personal valet and a hover ship on standby whenever you wish to use them."
She paused for a moment before adding, "This is an upgrade and privilege allocated specifically to you—and only you. In other words, it would be best if you kept this as quiet as possible."
For several seconds, I could only stare at her and wonder whether exhaustion had finally tipped me into hallucination. Unfortunately, the suite remained stubbornly real.
When the crescent-marked elevator opened directly into Longxin Den, Bai Yu Ning continued the tour through the massive suite. Deep blues and darker shades filled the space, while moon and star motifs appeared throughout the décor.
I genuinely couldn't tell whether it was intentional, symbolic, or simply the designer's obsession with phoenixes, dragons, and taijitu.
'They were everywhere. I haven't been to a single place in this resort that does not have at least one dragon, phoenix, or taijitu. Perhaps I will start making a game out of finding the hidden ones?'
By the time I finished my initial sweep of the suite, I was half convinced they were following me.
I snorted under my breath and gave my head a small shake, trying to banish the ridiculous thought before it could take root.
'Seriously, why comp a suite like this and cover every amenity and luxury service? Is it bribery, guilt over my finances, or fear that I'll embarrass them by being poor?'
'No, Nix. Letting your anxiety take over will not help. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Not everyone is out to get you.'
I repeated the mantra until the knot in my chest loosened. Panic would not help me determine how to keep this secret—or prevent the privilege from painting a target on my back and destroying my reputation before I could defend myself.
The limited demonstration ship, Verin Cho's unusual interest during the contract review, and the suite's discreet security all pointed toward Dragon's Breath—or the person I suspected was secretly controlling it. The trouble was that I should not have known the controller's real identity, and I still had no proof that the same person had authorized Longxin Den. That left me with no reasonable way to explain the suspicion, confront them, or ask what in the nine realms they thought they were doing.
"This is going to be a headache," I mumbled under my breath.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch it," Bai Yu Ning asked, concern appearing in her eyes. "Are you feeling alright, or is something about the accommodations making you uncomfortable?"
"The place is great, but it's… a bit much. What exactly am I supposed to do with a multi-level penthouse containing four bedrooms, each with a private full bathroom and walk-in closet, plus one half bath, a kitchen, living and dining areas, a den, deck, game room, office, media room, private gym, and both an indoor and outdoor pool? The bathrooms even have saunas! Who am I to deserve all this? No, scratch that—why do I even need this much space‽"
I hesitated.
"I didn't do anything to deserve this," I admitted, the words slipping out quieter than I intended as a knot tightened in my throat.
Bai Yu Ning's expression softened immediately.
"I understand," Bai Yu Ning said. "The scale of the upgrade surprised me too."
The caution in her voice caught me off guard.
'Cute.'
I nearly chuckled.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking as though she was already mentally compiling a list of things she could change—the room, the furnishings, the services, anything that might make me more comfortable. The thought tugged at me more than I wanted to admit.
"The suite is amazing," I reassured her. "More than amazing, honestly. It just feels unreal, like some kind of fever dream."
I looked around the room once more before returning my gaze to her.
A cautious thought struck me. "I know you said everything is comped, but does that genuinely include the stocked kitchen? I would rather confirm than discover an exception later—you know, the way hotels and resorts sometimes charge unsuspecting guests for opening or using the minibar."
I had heard of hotels providing full kitchens before, usually with cookware, utensils, dining ware, and perhaps nutrient packs or complimentary snacks. This kitchen looked as though someone had emptied an upscale grocery store into it—and stocked it exclusively with high-quality ingredients.
'What kind of resort does that‽'
"Oh, you don't have to worry about any of that," Bai Yu Ning said with a reassuring smile. "Everything has been fully comped, so there are no additional charges for you to worry about."
I opened my mouth, closed it again, and realized I was rapidly running out of ways to process information.
"In fact, this suite also comes with a V.V.I.P. pass for the entire resort. There are designated tables permanently reserved for this suite at every fine dining restaurant on the property, so make sure you take advantage of that while you're here."
'...What the actual fuck‽'
Bai Yu Ning scratched the back of her head, a nervous, absent-minded gesture I was beginning to recognize. In the process, she accidentally disturbed a stubborn cowlick that had previously been behaving itself.
"I get to use the pass too, but since I'm working, I promise to remain professional at all times." She gave an awkward laugh before continuing. "I honestly don't know who selected this suite for you. Production only confirmed that the upgrade was approved, so perhaps it came through a sponsor promotion or a private authorization outside the ordinary contestant-accommodation process. For tonight, I recommend enjoying the perks while I quietly verify the arrangement."
She smiled so brightly that her eyes curved into crescents, her excitement impossible to miss.
I simply didn't have the heart to crush that enthusiasm with my doubts and suspicions.
"It's okay, Sister NingNing," I said.
Without thinking, I reached up and smoothed down the rebellious little hair antenna swaying atop her head.
The cowlick immediately sprang back up as though it had a will of its own.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing.
The stubborn strand bobbed with every subtle shift of her weight as she rocked from one foot to the other. At this point, I wasn't entirely convinced she even realized she was doing it.
"You don't have to stay in work mode all the time," I continued. "I'd never expect anyone to work every waking hour of the day. Consider the rest of the evening yours. Feel free to explore the resort, enjoy some of the amenities, or head back to your suite and relax."
I paused before adding, with a hint of playfulness in my exhausted voice, "As for me, I fully intend to spend the rest of the night shamelessly following my own advice."
To sell the joke, I even threw in a wink.
"If that's the case, then I wish you a relaxing and comfortable evening." Bai Yu Ning straightened immediately. "Make sure you get a good night's rest. The live partner-reveal broadcast begins tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, and production will want everyone ready well before then. Please don't hesitate to call or message me if you need anything at all. It's my job, so there's no reason to feel guilty about asking for help."
She ended her statement with a stern look.
It was the kind of expression only an older sibling could perfect—equal parts warning, concern, and affection.
In other words, she fully expected me to listen.
Once I nodded my agreement, she seemed satisfied.
After exchanging goodnights, she gave a polite bow and stepped into the private elevator. The doors closed behind her, leaving the suite suddenly and unmistakably silent.
✨ ── ☯ ── ✨
The suite felt noticeably larger—and considerably quieter—once she was gone. I set Nuna's snack box and the still-sealed production envelope on the kitchen island, where neither could be forgotten beneath the room's impossible grandeur.
Turning away, I headed toward the master bedroom hidden within this so-called suite—a place that felt less like resort accommodations and more like a private villa masquerading as a hotel room.
At the moment, all I wanted was a long soak in a hot bath. Maybe then I could finally understand what had happened during the contract review—especially why Verin Cho had seemed so interested whenever I strengthened a boundary.
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