Track 1: Snow Globe

Like a violent hurricane passing through an island, the incident with the rude director passed after a few days. Mei didn't talk about it with Kiku, and the manager never brought it up again; they assumed that the role was as good as gone. And even if she somehow managed to get the role, Mei swore that she wouldn't even consider it. With that, she began the preparations for an upcoming commercial shoot, an important one that would be shown on primetime television on the country's most popular channels.

"This is an incredibly important shoot, Miss Lin," Kiku told her as she practiced with him. "The director is very particular about shooting it on the historical site - they've cleared it for only one day, and they plan to spend no more than fifteen hours on the set. Which means —"

"Full attention and concentration at all time, compliance to director and crew," Mei finished. She smiled at him confidently. "Don't worry about it, Mr. Honda. I'll be fine."

He smiled back, a rare occurrence. "I'm sure you'll be."

.

But on the day of the shoot, the little apartment in downtown Taipei was unusually quiet. Mei couldn't remember much from that morning, other than her head spinning uncontrollably through a maelstrom of thick clouds and the gentle touch of Mr. Honda.

She was vaguely aware of her surroundings. The only thing on her mind was the shoot. The historical site. The national television.

"Mr. Honda...I have to go...I have to be there…"

His soft but firm voice came back to her, echoing through the mugginess of her consciousness. "No, Miss Lin. You have a fever of 40 degrees. Going anywhere in your condition is out of the question." There was something being held to her lips, and it trickled into her mouth as her head lolled back. Someone was behind her, holding her body up.

Mr. Honda was saying to her, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

Mei felt a coolness on her forehead and heard a soft voice beside her on the phone. She opened her dry mouth to protest, but no sounds came out. Her throat burned, and the storm in her head raged as she fell into a restless sleep.

It took a flurry of phone calls to finally work out an alternative plan for the day and Kiku could already feel the tension from both parties. The company because Mei's schedule was filling up fast and she couldn't really afford to get severely sick and the director because now he had to take on an understudy in an already tight situation.

He glanced down at Mei's sleeping form. She shifted around from time to time, kicking the covers and mumbling something incoherently. He readjusted the blankets, reluctant to leave her alone in her condition. The company would be sending someone over to take her to the doctor, but that wouldn't be for another two hours. He quickly wrote her a note about the situation, reminding her to drink plenty of water and to call immediately if she needed anything, and set it beside a large water bottle on the night stand. That would have to do.

.

Kiku managed to arrive on set early so Mei's stand-in, Lee Ann, would have time to be adjusted. The car ride had been a rather uncomfortable affair. Lee Ann (a stage name she'd insisted on instead of Li An) had chatted almost the entire way, but her flippant remarks and innocent giggles struck him as insincere. Though he'd introduced himself as Mr. Honda, she arbitrarily called him Manager Honda which he did his best to ignore despite a prickle of irritation. She was an emerging actress, though Kiku suspected the only reason she was offered roles was because of her large fanbase. Personally he thought her talent lay in modelling and singing.

The director approached him soon upon their arrival, a severe frown carved on his face. Kiku prepared himself for the worst.

"My deepest apologies, sir. If Miss Lin's condition was not so severe she would have called in, but—"

The director waved his hand impatiently. "The producer has already informed me. I just wanted to remind you that we are on a very tight schedule and I don't have time to deal with amateurs. Is Miss Lee Ann aware of the situation?"

"Yes," Kiku affirmed though he wasn't sure how entirely the understudy grasped the gravity of her position. The director grunted, apparently satisfied, before returning to oversee the set.

The location was beautiful and the old temple with its golden, sloping tiled roof and intricate designs tastefully worn by time combined with the warm, tropical weather made the scenery perfect. Unfortunately, Kiku hardly had time to appreciate it between attempting to placate the director and coach Lee Ann through the process. The director, who was not an unkind man but rather a relentless perfectionist, had Lee Ann do multiple retakes, growing more and more frustrated with each try. Kiku couldn't exactly blame him as she had a habit of exaggerating her lines and movements to the point of becoming almost comical. Her attitude gradually soured under the director's scathing criticism and the hot, heavy. By their noon break everyone was on edge.

"That director is mental." Lee Ann scowled with her arms crossed sullenly as she took a break under the shade of one of the few tents. "I'm doing everything exactly as he tells me and he still complains. He should've just rescheduled if he wanted Miss Lin so bad."

Kiku passed her a plastic water bottle from the ice chest and ventured mildly, "I think the director wants you to deliver your act more naturally. If you are too immersed in your role, it will appear too exaggerated."

She took a sip of her water and commented with feigned innocence, "I didn't know you used to act."

Kiku said nothing in response. He hoped Mei would be feeling better tomorrow because he wasn't sure if he could retain his calm exterior around this girl for much longer.

.

The filming mercifully ended a couple of hours earlier than planned and he suspected it was mostly because the crew were too irritable to continue productively. He bought extra drinks on his company credit card for everyone as both an apology and an attempt to end on the best terms possible.

When he finally returned to the NAE headquarters that evening, he was informed that Mei had passed her audition from two weeks earlier. He'd nearly forgotten about the fiasco from two weeks ago and he wasn't sure whether to feel relieved that she now had a chance to make up for her absence at the commercial shooting, or reluctant that he would have to work with the pompous foreign director. Ah, Mei. He felt a wave of guilt. Being preoccupied with the chaos on set, he had forgotten to check on her. Not wanting to disturb her if she was resting, he sent a quick message.

Everything went well today. How are you feeling?

Mei didn't see the text until late in the night, when she finally roused from her restless sleep. She sent a short reply.

Fine. How was the understudy

Within a few minutes, Kiku answered.

She did alright. The shoot ended early.

Mei sighed a breath of relief and disappointment. She was glad that Lee Ann had done well, and that Kiku didn't seem to have a hard time with her despite the talk surrounding Lee Ann as being a rather difficult actress to work with. But there was a stone in her stomach, a bitterness in her mouth that wasn't from the medicine. She should've been the one on that set, the one on national television. This could have been her big break at last, her chance to become more noticed in the industry. Mei sat up, groggy and disoriented. She was tired of sleeping but her head still felt like it was being hammered from the inside. A ding from her phone notified another message from Kiku Honda.

Almost forgot to tell you- you got the role for Director Kroner's commercial. Shoot is three weeks from now.

The bitterness in her throat turned sour as memories of the audition flooded back through her. How could she have possibly gotten the role with the way the director acted towards her the other day? That cranky, rude bastard who clearly didn't care about being remotely civil to anyone around him...

She texted, Not doing it.

Kiku replied, You should. I know Khroner is hard on his actors but this commercial is another national one. You need the publicity.

Mei slammed her phone on her bed and groaned. Honda was right. As much as she detested the attitude of the foreign director, she couldn't afford to give up another chance to get more popular producers to notice her. Reluctantly, she agreed.

A/N: I just realized that I forgot to mention this in the previous A/N, but the story takes place in Taiwan! The entertainment company, NAE, that Mei is under is an international company that hires people from all over the world. Thus most of the people communicate using English :)

Feel free to check out the original rp on tumblr (under the same name: Dreams & Disasters) as well if you want to see the more recent updates! However, since it is posted directly from the rp, there may be more mistakes. Most of the editing takes place later when we're about to post it here :)

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