Greatest Idol C11 Special treatment

✦ 3rd Person POV ✦

Kyle stood stunned, mouth agape. The others shared his shock at Samantha's unexpected reaction.

After all, Kyle had just reported Jake for deliberately serving inedible spicy food to customers. Normally, Samantha would punish such behavior severely. Yet here she was, treating Jake completely differently.

"Jake did nothing wrong," Samantha said, offering him a warm smile that none of them had seen before. "His performance has been exceptional—the sales numbers from his station show a significant increase, and it's only his first day."

The room fell silent until Kyle couldn't contain himself. "But what about mistreating the customers—"

"I haven't received a single complaint about Jake," Samantha cut him off. "Which means the customers were satisfied with his service."

Kyle's teeth ground together as he glared at Jake with murderous intent, feeling utterly betrayed.

While Kyle remained baffled by Samantha's preferential treatment, the others began to understand. Alan, Veronica, and even Mallory could see what was happening: Jake had dramatically increased customer traffic in just one day. Of course Samantha would want to keep him.

Their suspicions were confirmed when Samantha continued, "Given your excellent performance, I'd like to offer you a full-time position with enhanced benefits." She smiled warmly. "You could take over permanently for your brother Jacob."

A heavy silence fell over the room. Samantha's willingness to so easily replace a long-time employee like Jacob with a newcomer struck them all as ruthlessly practical.

Even though Alan, Veronica, and Mallory had grown to like Jake, they couldn't help but imagine themselves in Jacob's position—discarded the moment someone more marketable came along.

They all waited for Jake's inevitable acceptance. To their complete surprise, he scratched the back of his head and declined. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm actually planning to leave in a few weeks."

Everyone stared at Jake in disbelief. They'd all seen enough of the service industry to know opportunities like this didn't come often.

"Please reconsider," Samantha pressed, her usual firmness softening. "I understand your reluctance to replace your brother, but—"

"I can't exactly replace myself."

The statement hung in the air like a riddle. Samantha's brow furrowed in confusion, her mind trying to parse his meaning.

Mallory stepped in to explain. "He's been insisting he's Jacob since he got here—says he can't replace himself."

Samantha studied Jake with new intensity. Her thoughts were clear on her face: *This pretty boy could double our customer traffic. I need to find a way to keep him.*

***

✦ Jacob Star POV ✦

I couldn't help feeling satisfied watching Samantha's confusion. The irony was delicious—she'd just offered to replace me with myself, sweetening the deal with better benefits for my "new" identity.

Though I was technically both people in this scenario, the casual way she'd suggested disposing of "Jacob" stung. I'd rather walk away and find new opportunities than accept her calculated offer.

Today alone had shown me what was possible now. Tips had brought in $178, and my base pay added another $30 for my six-hour shift. With numbers like that, I could aim higher—maybe a high-end restaurant where both salary and tips would dwarf what I made here.

"Think about it carefully. I'm open to suggestions," Samantha said, her voice deliberately gentle. "I understand your situation. You're covering Jacob's shifts for now, but when he returns—" she smiled warmly, "—you could both work here together."

I had to suppress a laugh as I looked at the thirty-year-old manager. *Is my transformation really that dramatic? She's practically begging me to stay.*

My coworkers' expressions had shifted to something between amusement and disbelief. They can't seriously think she's interested in me, right?

I pushed away the ridiculous thought, but Samantha's hand on my shoulder—lingering just a bit too long—made it harder to dismiss.

"Take your time deciding," she said, her touch surprisingly affectionate. "You did excellent work today. I expect the same tomorrow."

"Of course," I managed, feeling increasingly awkward under her gaze.

She then made a show of warmly addressing everyone else before leaving with a cheerful, "Great work, everyone. Make sure everything's cleaned and locked up properly before you head out."

The moment she was gone, they descended on me—except Kyle, who maintained a safe distance.

"Boss has got it bad for you!" Alan announced without preamble. "Word is she's still single, you know."

"I'm actually jealous," Mallory chimed in.

Even the usually reserved Veronica watched with keen interest.

"Come on, guys," I felt heat rising to my face. "You're reading too much into this."

But they weren't buying it. And honestly, I couldn't blame them. None of us had ever seen Samantha act so... warm and touchy-feely before.

After our chat, we focused on closing duties.

Usually, we'd play rock-paper-scissors to decide who'd stay late for cleanup—somehow Veronica and I always lost. But tonight everyone pitched in without the usual game, working together to close up quickly.

It was clear they'd completely rejected the possibility that I was Jacob. Only Kyle remained unusually quiet, isolating himself from the group.

A twinge of guilt hit me, seeing him so subdued. Then I remembered all his past cruelty, and the guilt faded considerably.

As we locked up, everyone waved goodbye. "See you tomorrow," Veronica called, the others echoing her.

"See you," I smiled, heading home.

***

Back in my apartment, I immediately started working on a new video, completing the shoot quickly.

While editing and chatting with Lux, I noticed something concerning—the Fame Energy was draining faster than usual.

My appearance seemed to be subtly reverting, though not enough to lose my moderately attractive features.

"I should have mentioned," Lux spoke up, noticing my concern. "When you push yourself like this—working a full shift, then immediately jumping into content creation and editing—it burns through Fame Energy much faster. Take better care of yourself, and you'll maintain the energy more efficiently."

"You could have told me earlier," I sighed. "Didn't realize I'd need to actually take care of myself. So Fame Energy doesn't make me superhuman after all."

Lux chuckled. "You're nowhere near that level yet."

My ears perked up at his tone. "Yet? So becoming superhuman is actually possible?"

Lux's wings fluttered as his grin widened. "Oh yes. But like I said, you're far from it." He crossed his tiny arms. "Right now, you're still just a beginner. Don't expect superhuman abilities so soon."

"A beginner?" I raised my eyebrows. "But I felt pretty strong already. I lifted Kyle like he was nothing."

Lux scoffed, hovering mid-air. "Don't get cocky. That's child's play. My previous puppets could lift a hundred Kyles without breaking a sweat."

My jaw dropped. That's insane...

The realization that my current strength was just beginner level sent my mind racing with possibilities. If this was just the starting point, what else might be possible?