Kagene Len was not one which liked to obsess over his image or appearance but the magazine really enlarged several aspects which he loved. For one, the broader shoulders which highlighted the internal manliness he had inside from the beginning.
Ah, the wonders of photoshop.
Len's hand hovered over the latest copy of 'Superior and Stylish' for slightly longer than he'd intended to, then retracted it with a sigh. He was in this small magazine shop in his usual disguise of sunglasses, a green cap and that itchy but fitting coat. Strangely, the shop was filled with a decent number of customers despite the fact that it was a weekend and the sun had hardly risen from the horizon.
Customers who seemed to partake in staring indiscreetly at him rather than to engage in their own personal business. Len shifted in his clothes uneasily. His disguise attracted more attention than to allow him to pass by unnoticed. He smacked his forehead and hissed under his breath.
"Damn you, Seeu."
That infuriating, cat-ears-wearing failure of a manager forced this attire on him whenever he went out, regardless of the reaction that it spurred on afterwards. It was a well known fact that people would suspect a suspiciously dressed person to be a star in disguise. He felt several more people's gazes on him and lamented how utterly stupid he was to use this failure of a tactic from this failure of a manager. Len gave the magazine one last glance before picking up his pace to the door. It was better to leave before the paparazzi came.
Unfortunately there was a loud whistle then the thundering replay of the song, 'Unhappy Refrain.' He immediately scrambled for his phone, hands diving into every pocket of his uncomfortable coat. Who on earth had set this ridiculous ringtone anyway? At once, a cat eared wearing blonde popped into his head.
Ah. Len pressed his lips into a thin line and mentally swore a string of expletives.
When he had finally found the source of the racket, all eyes who hadn't been already locked onto him, started to. Len immediately gave a few bows as an apology to the disturbed crowd and hightailed out of there.
"What is it?" He snarled into the phone, using his free hand to pull down his cap further.
"Len-chan! You finally picked up." A cheerily voice rang back calmly, a strange tone for the words chosen.
"We have another call for a romantic, adventure movie. Please do consider it seriously this-" Seeu continued nonchalantly. Len could imagine the blonde girl flicking one of her hands in the air, examining her new outrageous nail colour of the week.
The blonde breathed in and out slowly and tried not to make a scene. He masked the harshness of his tone, interrupting his manager slowly."Stop accepting these type of roles. You know I won't do those kind of nonsense anymore."
"Oh?" She was not surprised but instead amused.
Len internally cringed, that single word was sugarcoated and absolutely dripping with honey. This irksome voice only used when she knew something vital that he hadn't and that made him uncomfortable. Seeu had something up her sleeves and he was not going to fall into whatever trap she had in mind.
"I'll bet you will eat your words, Mr Kagene." She drawled out the words with a hint of smugness.
"And you'll demand for more."
Len felt a shiver down his spine but chose to conceal his current emotions. "Whatever." He faked the coolness in his voice and locked his phone, shoving it into one of his many coat pockets and trudged on.
"When will you stop coming to my house in the wee hours of the morning, Mr Stylish?"
Stylish? Len looked back at his disgusting combination of woven cloth and then back at her. Was she being serious? Sure, he's usual outfit could be considered stylish but not at this current time.
Oh.
"The same day you start wearing appropriate clothes, Miss Sloppily Dressed." Len wiped his leather boots on the 'welcome' mat and removed them. The blonde removed his dark sunglasses and cap, hanging them on the rack near the door.
A teenager- soon to be an adult- brushed her shoulder length blond hair behind her ear. She blinked sleepily at the visitor, eyes full of gunk. A long white bathrobe covered her slim figure which was leaning backwards precariously.
"Pervert." Rin snapped awake, arms wrapped around her chest as she shuffled in her white robe. Her cheeks flushed carefully prioritising her gaze to the floor.
It then occurred to Len that she was wearing just her underclothes.
"Wait! Not in that way." Len covered his eyes and spun on his heels to face the other direction. He mumbled some indistinguishable phrases under his breath, turning slightly pink.
"Got you again! Really Len, you got to stop being so-so innocent!" She poked the boy, roaring with laughter and started to stride down the hallway.
Len gave a sigh and dutifully followed his best friend. It was hard to believe that this indecent dweeb was a popular and respected actress. She wasn't even good at acting a long time ago, but now she could fool anyone including her best friend. Like the embarrassing moment that happened a few minutes before.
"How have you been Lenny boy?" Some of Rin's words muffled as she took off her robe and pulled on a shirt in front of him.
He blinked once and then tried to shut his eyelids permanently to avoid that horrifying image and prolonged eye damage. The gears in his head turned.
Oh no.
"Don't you ever stop to think about your actions?" Len bounced across the room to pull the curtains shut, "What would the paparazzi think?"
"That they'll have a big scoop from finding out the terrible actress Kagamine Rin and the Wonderful Len Kagene doing the razzle dazzle" She wiggled her fingers animately after doing the money motion, her eyebrows shifted up and down mischievously.
"I don't think you even used 'razzle dazzle' ," Len copied the wiggling of fingers and coughed. "correctly."
"Well, I think you should stop overreacting." Rin crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head away from him. She scrunched up her face, clearly upset over the wrong usage of words and know-it-all blonds.
"Rin, do you really want your entire career at stake because of one stupid mistake like changing in front of me?" He placed his hands on his hips - the 'feminine' habit he had vowed to get rid off in high school. Despite that, Len was very serious about this matter. Both Rin and him had worked their butts off since high school to finally attain a decent record in acting and now she was about to screw it all up?
"You're worth it." She said simply.
She complimented me? Was the world about to end?
"I would throw away my entire career for a boy-man whom dozens of teen girls would die for! Len Kagene, I'm your number one fan! Please notice me." Rin placed a hand to her forehead and sighed dramatically, tears already rolling down from her closed eyes..
He rolled his eyes. Even if she was teasing him, that was way over the top. What a Drama Queen…
"Seriously though. You don't give yourself enough credit." Rin pulled him from his standing position to a rather cozy armchair. She then stared deep into his eyes.
He choked slightly, hoping that she wouldn't get any funny ideas. The last time she had stared into his eyes this intensely was to try brainwashing him. That had not ended well.
"Who was voted the number 1 most handsome man in the latest cover of 'Superior and Stylish'?" Rin made a curvy motion of a woman with her hands, winking suggestively.
"Kaito Shion." Len looked back stodily.
It was her turn to roll her eyes, "Can't you just play along with me?" She pleaded.
"It's the truth." He shrugged.
"Okay, the second most voted?" This time, she seemed more confident than her first attempt- smug even.
Len wasn't the type to brag but this was something he really needed to say.
Unfortunately, Rin didn't wait for his response and gave a proud smirk. "See? You even admitted it. The truth is that you aren't any worse than me. In fact I think that you're much better than me in any aspect!"
She plopped down next to him, a little out of breath from the speech. A bright smile formed on her features as she closed her eyes and leaned back on the armchair.
He shifted his jaw in slight irritation but basked in her rare appraisal. Being better than Kagamine Rin wasn't all that, though he would certainly die if those words left his mouth. Also, he still needed to tell her that-
A small snore came from her half opened mouth.
Somehow Rin always managed to fall asleep at the worst times, a wonder how she got her career to such a peak.
Len chuckled and stood up, placing his outer coat on her. He had given up. After tucking her in and making sure that she was comfortable, he walked to the kitchen and started to cook a breakfast.
While scrambling the eggs and sprinkling cheese on it, he suddenly remembered what he forgot to say earlier. She wouldn't hear it but it was better to say it out loud than to keep mum. It would weigh less on his conscious.
"The second most voted in 'Superior and Stylish' isn't me. It's Leon."
A woman drummed her oddly coloured nails on the glass table top, she shifted her gaze from her phone to her guest. Seeu carried an apologetic smile and meekly made eye contact. Oh my gosh. The blonde swallowed dryly, an unusual nervous gesture from one who usually bossed (managed) arrogant actors.
But this was not just anyone.
That frail looking girl, sipping a cup of juice and staring intently at the kid's menu was someone. Someone incredibly big in this industry, someone who could tear down the most famous actors brutally and permanently taint their name.
Seeu folded her hands over her lap, repeating the same phrase again and again in hopes of not screwing it up. "So," She started carefully. "what would you like? It's my trea-"
"Miss Seeu?" The girl looked directly at the blonde with slanted eyes.
"Yes?!" She squeaked. Seeu was visibly shaking with terror, excitement and adrenaline. She could hardly believe that this famous, influencing director would call for Lenny Boy to act in her movie! No one under her had done so before, and she sure as heck didn't want to pass this opportunity up. This director was the best in the business since the beginning and all the actors who had starred in it became instant hits. Even if Seeu did not care for Lenny Boy's future (which she did a lot), she did care about the money involved.
So no mistakes were to be made, no minor incidents to deter him from getting this prized movie role, no addressing her by her official name unless given permission. No-
"Miss Seeu!" The said director hissed through clenched jaws.
Oh no, oh no, ohno. She was angry. Seeu's blood pressure rose and her face flushed a tomato red. What had she done? The blonde's mind was racing. Did she not like cat ears? She grasped at the top of her head and patted it furiously. Thank goodness, she had the sense to leave it at home. No wonder she was so antsy, those cat ears had been with her since forever and provided her with comfort and security weren't-
"Miss Seeu…" A pale hand waved anxiously in front of her face and Seeu blinked, startled.
"Look, although I may look intimidating." The girl waved a hand in the air imperiously. Seeu squinted at this statement but refused to comment on how a 16-year-old looking adult that drank from a curly straw could even remotely feel menacing.
"I'm not going to bite your head off or stain your reputation or whatever my brother has been spreading around. So just calm your tits and relax." She heaved a sigh and snapped her fingers in the air. A waiter immediately came to the table, a hand reaching to loosen his necktie.
Seeu saw sweat staining his shirt gradually while talking to her. She wanted to pat him on the back out of pity, but his back was drenched. So Seeu politely sat in her seat and waited for her turn to order after she'd finished ordering most of the food off the kid's menu.
What a relief though. The blonde started to relax her tense muscles and gave herself a breather. For one moment, she'd really thought the Director was going to kick her ass out of the industry proclaiming it unfit for the world but she was a rather reasonable person. Absolutely nothing like what the rumors proclaimed.
Lenny Boy's future was out of the frying pan and she could relax in a bathtub of money in the future. All was well.
"Aren't you going to order something?" She asked, head tilted to one side.
"Oh. The roasted salmon and a glass of warm milk please." Seeu thanked the waiter and gave him a reassuring look. Seeing him scutter away like a frightened mouse, she hoped his time in therapy would be short.
There was an awkward silence before the the Director broke it. "So," She started off, eyes purposely strayed to a modern art painting behind Seeu. The Director appeared to look disinterested but the little curve of her lips exposed her true emotions. "aren't you curious to why I chose Le- Kagene Len as one of the potential actors to be in my movie?"
"I have no clue, but thank you so much for this opportunity!" Seeu bowed her head and exclaimed.
"You didn't answer my question." She pouted but kept her observant eyes on the blonde.
"No-yes!" Seeu stammered and internally frowned. Was this girl really The Director? She just seemed like an attention seeking girl who had no one to tell her secrets to. Although Seeu did want to hear about this little bit of information.
If The Director revealed this factor which made Lenny Boy made him one of her candidates, who knows how much they could use it to propel him to bigger stardom! And more cash to profit off, Seeu added.
What was this mysterious factor?
Maybe his dark and charismatic blue eyes?
Maybe the strange mop of blond hair which defied gravity without gel?
Maybe that odd mole he had on his butt she saw when Oliver stripped him naked?
A sudden laugh shattered her thoughts and she stared blankly at the Director. She propped one elbow on the table and leaned her head on her palm. Seeu watched in shock as the previous scary and stoic Director smacked her hand on the table continuously while laughing?
"You really wanna know why?" The Director opened one teal eye and managed to stabilize her voice.
"Cause he sucks at acting!"
