Yes… yes. I know I haven't updated FOR A VERRRRY LONG TIME. I am sooooo sorry! AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE WAIT.
MUTUAL BENEFITS
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A STUDY GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING NATSUME HYUUGA
There are five more things you need to know about a guy named Natsume Hyuuga, besides the five things you already knew—that he's a filthy rich playboy; the hot, hotter and hottest bachelor ever. If you do not know this five more things, it's either you are not a certified Natsume-lover or maybe you're just a beginner. But the most probable reason would be the second. I can't imagine someone not liking a guy named Natsume Hyuuga. So for all newbies out there, welcome to the club!
Anyway, one, Natsume Hyuuga privately kisses his flings or rather those girls who fling to him as a way of introducing himself. Two, he kisses them publicly. Third will be in his bed. Fourth (and probably the saddest), he kisses them one last time as a way of saying "your service is no longer needed." What a fifth kiss meant no one really knows. It is still under further researching.
So STAY TUNED for more study guides.
VOLUME 01 EDITION 01 PUBLISHED BY PATCHORA INDUSTRIES: STUDY GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING NATSUME HYUUGA.
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CHAPTER TWO: The Headlines
PATCHORA BULLETIN
Giving to you the latest trends and news
HEADLINES: One less fan for the hottest man, Natsume Hyuuga
It seemed that hottest bachelor, Natsume Hyuuga, had just been dumped for the first time by a girl. The recent photograph showed our favorite hottie being slapped just after he broke up with Ms. Akira Yuki Lee, but not by Ms. Lee herself. The unexpected circumstance had said to have happened just outside his company at 3 yesterday afternoon.
The woman was identified to be Ms. Mikan Sakura, daughter and heir of an internationally-recognized company. Ms. Sakura recently came from a break-up from her 3-year boyfriend, Tsubasa Andou, for reasons the public has not yet been notified. Some says that it was the fault of the man. But after the controversial scene that happened yesterday, rumor has it that Ms. Sakura was actually the one cheating by secretly meeting up with Natsume Hyuuga, and that she wished to make amends by finally ending this secret relationship. And what solid proof would she present but by publicly slapping the third party?
To further prove the hypothesis, it was gathered that Natsume Hyuuga has often left Ms. Lee alone to meet with someone, most likely another lover, somewhere else. A lot of people believed this mysterious someone to be Ms. Mikan Sakura. To support that claim, witnesses of yesterday afternoon's scene narrated that Natsume Hyuuga's approach was in his own manner of showing his affection to a woman, which in this case is Ms. Sakura. Furthermore, we all know that the former would never kiss a woman publicly unless he is going out with her. This being said, people had come to a conclusion that indeed, the two had somehow shared a connection way before yesterday's event. The…
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Natsume grabbed the newspaper from his best friend's grip and threw it across the table.
"Wha-?"
"Don't believe that rubbish headline, Ruka. It's just full of useless information," Hyuuga Natsume told his best friend as he round the table and sat on his black chair. All the while, his friend's gaze never left him.
"Stop that, Ruka. You're creeping me out," he added annoyingly.
"What did I do wrong?" Ruka asked as he teasingly stared at his friend.
"That... is what is wrong. You're judging me!" Natsume said, pointing accusingly at the man seated in front of him.
"Me? Judging you?" Ruka smiled. "Who the hell gave you the idea that I was judging you?"
With that, Natsume simply kept quiet. He got a black folder in one hand and turned his chair away from his friend, hoping he wouldn't see him and his playful grin again. He had enough with all the people he had met treating him differently ever since this morning. The least he'd want to see was his supposedly best friend smiling teasingly at him, as if he had made an utter fool of himself. Well, he did know that yesterday afternoon's commotion was really a foolish thing he did. He knew that. He just wished people wouldn't repeatedly remind him about it, especially Ruka.
The way they'd look at him was as if they had seen a ghost. After he'd pass by, he would then hear them whispering to each other about him. And when he had reached his office, hoping to forget everything, here comes his best friend reading out loud, whilst smiling, the one thing he'd wish not to hear.
Natsume sighed.
He turned and faced his friend again. Out of sheer annoyance, he placed back the folder in his table. He couldn't get his mind focused on it anyway. For some reason, he couldn't get the woman and everything that happened yesterday out of his head. His career and his reputation were ruined. All because of her and that stupid headline. He never expected that there'd be someone bold enough to actually reject him, until she came of course.
"You know what? I don't really know to who were you angry at. Was it to the writer of this headline? Or to the woman with you on this headline?" Ruka asked. "But you can't blame them both, Natsume. Maybe she wasn't just like the others. She wasn't your fangirl."
"Obviously Ruka, I know. I am not angry at her. I am annoyed at this headline. They're making this up!" Natsume took the newspaper and read a few lines. "The reporters knew that I was not showing any affection to her. I simply did what they asked me to. I kissed her. I never met her before-"
"Oh really Natsume, are you sure?" Ruka teased. But Natsume didn't listen.
"-Now, they're putting my name in the middle of some stupid controversy!"
"And how long did that kiss last?"
"It's just- I," At loss for words, Natsume threw the newspaper back in the table as he looked at Ruka with a threatening glare, "Fine! I got carried away."
"See! You really can't blame them, Natsume. Everyone knew that you wouldn't kiss a girl publicly unless you're going out with her."
"Says who?"
"Dude, everyone knows that. It's written on a study guide," Ruka said with a smirk, trying to further tease his friend.
"Well, it's a lame study guide."
"Probably," Ruka shrugged. "Either way, that is one behavior people, including me, noticed on you. First, you privately kiss your flings before you take them out publicly. Unless, of course, she's an exception."
"Of course, she's an exception," Ruka raised a quizzical brow. "I mean it could've been anyone for that matter. It just happened that she was the girl that caught my attention. So, I-"
"So you went to her, stared at her and kissed her for five freaking minutes."
"You sound like an idiot. Don't joke with me."
#KNOCK#
#KNOCK#
And it just happened that right after, a knock was heard from across the room. It had signaled the end of the ridiculous controversy they once had. Natsume's secretary, Ms. Sumire Shouda, had come to deliver a rather important phone call.
"What is it?" asked Natsume.
"It's from your mom," answered Sumire, "She wanted to remind you of a friend's party."
"Yes, tell her I remembered. I'll be there."
With that, Sumire excused herself and took her leave.
"Well, looks like you'll be busy. I'll tell the gang then we both couldn't come tonight."
"We?" asked Natsume. "You'll come to the party?"
"Nah! I've got some important, umm, business to attend to," excused Ruka. He stood up from his chair and tapped Natsume's shoulder. He then turned towards the couch located at the right corner of his office and grabbed his coat. "I'll be leaving then." Natsume nodded. In no time, his best friend was out of the room. He sighed. He grabbed the newspaper once more before intently reading the texts.
"Showing affection, huh?" he scoffed.
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Mikan was sitting quietly inside her office. An hour had passed and she still hasn't started with any of her paperwork yet, even a simple review of the files. She was distracted by a rather controversial headline that had unfortunately involved her name on it. Mikan knew, being the one concerned, that the news were somehow faked—edited. But she knew too no one would believe her if she said that. It was written in a way that was irrefutable. Even the picture looked convincing.
"This is trouble," she sighed.
Mikan came early that morning for the sake of finishing all the work she left off for the past four days. Ever since her talk with Hotaru yesterday, she was quite happy and had gone back to her usual self. She greeted all the employees she met with glee. And yes, indeed, they had greeted her back. However, she also felt that there was something terribly wrong, something different with them. It's because after greeting them and passing by, she'd notice that they'd start whispering behind.
At first, she had never thought of it as something big. She decided to ignore all of it. But the whispering persisted nonetheless. Every time she'd ask one of them what it was all about, they'd simply ignore her and walk away. That was when she got curious and hurriedly went to her office.
The instant she reached her table, the newspapers were already there. It had been delivered to her like the usual, by no other than her secretary. For a brief while, she had forgotten about the mysterious controversy outside her doors. But the moment her hands had reached for the papers and read the first lines, she almost dropped her bag and scream that it was all a lie.
"This is-"
#KNOCK#
#KNOCK#
"Come in," her voice was barely heard. She was still shock from the sudden commotion. Well, yes, she had remembered him alright and everything that had happened yesterday. She remembered the paparazzi and the huge crowd encircling them. She remembered how she slapped him and yelled at him. But why wasn't the latter not written here? And instead, it was replaced with her recent break-up with Tsubasa. These people should've known! Why are they putting lies? She thought.
"Miss Mikan?" a head peered out of the door. It was a woman in her mid-30s, Mikan's secretary, with a phone on one hand.
"What is it?"
"You have a call. It's from Miss Imai," Miss Shizuka answered. Instantly, Mikan stood up from her seat and got the phone herself. Before speaking with the one on the line, Mikan gave Shizuka a friendly smile, before the latter exited the office.
"Hello? Hotaru? This is me, Mikan," Mikan began.
"Baka, speak! What is this controversy between you and Hyuuga?" asked Hotaru "You told me nothing happened yesterday. Then, what is this headline all about?"
"Well, about that," Mikan replied, rather hesitant with what to say next, "I was hoping you'd help me fix it."
"What am I to you? A fixer?"
"No, of course not, Hotaru! I was just thinking that with your reputation and all, you could help me out," explained Mikan. She was sweating profusely, scared of what her best friend might think and how she'd react.
"So, you would just use me and my reputation?"
"No!" Mikan bit her lip, "Never mind!" There was a brief silence right after that. Mikan heard Hotaru sigh from across the line.
"For lying to me, and using my reputation to help you out, it will cost you A LOT!"
"I know that, Hotaru. You don't have to remind me," replied Mikan, though the last part was rather close to a whisper.
"Oi!" Hotaru called, trying to start a new topic, "Do you already have a dress for tonight's party? Anna wouldn't like it seeing you in a pathetic dress once again."
"Wow! Said someone who came on a business suit the last time!" Mikan teased, all her previous worries gone with the wind, "But yeah, I still haven't thought of that yet."
"Let me guess. You forgot?" A mere chuckle was Mikan's reply. "Baka!"
"Don't worry! I'll try to find something later. I'll have to finish all the work first though," assured Mikan before hanging up. She then placed the phone on her desk. A smile was on her face. Maybe this day wouldn't be that bad after all. She thought. She'd just go to the party and forget about all these headlines. Those were just headlines. It comes and it goes. People would soon forget about all of it anyway.
However, little did she know that… tonight, she'd be in a lot more controversies than she could ever imagine.
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TO BE CONTINUED
FAQs:
When will the real romance take place? A LITTLE SOONER. XD Wait for it. I won't let you down… I hope.
Why Mutual Benefits? You'll find it out SOON as well. :3
Anyway, thank you very much for the support!