The days go by like the overcast clouds over the Holo sky. Before leaving for school, Emil checks the weather forecast on his phone and sees that showers are expected to fall during the afternoon. The feeling is almost déjà vu, he thinks. The weather forecast also predicted showers in the afternoon on the day he met Leon, but the predictions were wrong. He wonders if today will be any different.

Lukas has already gone to work at the pharmaceutical clinic; Mathias is busy preparing at his bakery during this time; and Leon, as Emil recalls, has his hands full today with attending an important meeting and doing a late-night talk show. Yesterday, he messaged Emil with a schedule of when the program will be broadcasted, but Emil turned down the invitation, deciding that it was best that he knew about Leon Wang as a person instead of Leon Wang as a celebrity.

Is it any different, he wonders? At which point does Leon stop putting up his acting front and truly show himself to Emil? Because of all the thorough biographies, Emil has the facts of who Leon is as a physical person, but he does not know about Leon's true identity. Knowing how most of the Wangs work together in the same building, Emil wonders if his family members are even aware of who he is. Perhaps only Cheng knows, he suspects.

Nevertheless, skepticisms aside, the day passes normally as any other. Emil arrives safely at school, eats his lunch, goes to a few more classes, and returns home without a single text from anyone connected to Wang Studio. As a bonus to his ordinary day, he does not get kidnapped or encounter anyone closely resembling Kasem or Lien.

"Nothing's changed," he sighs, sitting at his desk. The bright blue light coming off from his hover lamp bobs mindlessly in the air, a feat achieved by breakthroughs in controlled magnetism. The same technology is used for Cubes, allowing them to control their direction and elevation at programmed will. While following the floating bulbs, the light slowly illuminates the dull walls in his bedroom. His room, as Leon mentioned, is incredibly plain. "Just like my life," he sighs again, running his hand through his silvery white bangs. His eyes then wander from his hover lamp to his papers.

Today is a light workload day. There are only a few weeks left before summer vacation. During that time, Leon will be doing a movie collaboration with another popular star, someone from the far east, was all he was told.

"Someone from Altorien*, I guess…?" he wonders aloud. "Someone similar to Leon, maybe?"

He digs through his phone and opens up a search page. Though this sort of compellation never took ahold of him in the past, he searches through any possible actors that might resemble Leon in some way. The results bring him to a single candidate by the name of Im Yong Soo, a young actor of twenty years of age. Like Leon, he, too, is a singer and pop star sensation; more importantly, he is a popular actor in soap operas, starring and succeeding the leading roles of whatever part he plays. Reading further down in his biography, Emil sees that this will be his first time casting in a big-screen movie. With two actors from similar backgrounds, the sheltered college student can only imagine how this will play when the shooting actually starts.


The weather is fair in Trip district, perfect for landing. Like the day Emil and Leon met, the weather forecast predictions are wrong.

Leon and his personal agent, Kiku, are waiting outside of the terminal guarded casually by Kasem. For a meeting like this, they are all he needs to feel secure. This way, it draws less attention, too. In any case, there is little to worry about with Leon's face disguised with a large hoodie, courtesy of his cousin's designer line.

"Looks like it's going to be a good one today." The young pop star sticks his tongue out and makes a raspberry noise in between his puckered lips. Kiku refrains from twitching his eyebrow, reminding himself to get used to this type of behavior. "Wish there were thunderstorms or something. That would've been interesting, right?"

Kiku clears his throat. "I don't think the chance of there being thunderstorms during this time of the year is very likely," he tells his boss's son. Behind him, Kasem is absentmindedly staring out of the window and watching one of the planes move towards the runway. A private jet plane from Altorien is scheduled to land in roughly seven minutes. Shortly after that, another flight will prepare to take off in the westerly direction. Being that Holo is the technological capital of Eliatha, there are several representatives of business companies from all over the world traveling on business expenses.

Trip, like every other district within the city of Holo, has a specialized area of emphasis. In its case, it is the district of business management. There are many venues as well as company buildings set up in towers, and there are so many buildings, in fact, that it surpasses the number of skyscrapers of every other district combined. Because of the high number of representatives and international shipping, the mayor chose to have the new airport built in Trip district. Additionally, to promote venues, the city was ordered to erect hotels and attractions to entertain the travelers. It is not uncommon for tourists visiting Holo to never have to leave Trip district at all, as a result.

Leon, himself, has been to Trip district a few times for his own entertainment. Before Cheng took charge of Neon district, he used to follow his cousin to observe his business negotiations. Sometimes, Cheng is sent to Trip in order to seal a contract deal with electronic appliances with overseas manufacturers over Altorien. Other times, he asks for an increase in shares of profits. However many times Leon watches him, though, one thing remains the same: Cheng always gets what he wanted. By sincere means or by subtle force, Cheng is a master of negotiations. He knows exactly what to say and how to act in order to get the main share of the profits. What fascinates Leon most of all is that his cousin can even twist his words to make other believe the deal they strike are mutually beneficial. Only after assessing the long-term effects do they realize how Cheng cleverly squeezes them dry, all while wearing a polite smile on his business-like face. The admiration Leon feels for Cheng is one of the many reasons why he tolerates his presence. While he looks up to his cousin for familial support, Cheng is equally resourceful in business tactics, something Leon wishes to master. If he can twist his words the way his cousin does, then everything will be able to go his way, too. He will also be able to get what he wants—Emil included.

"Ah." Kiku looks up at the electronic display across the hall, catching Leon's attention to his eyes. "The flight's landed."

Leon, not one to look forward to this collaboration, dulls his eyes in a half-conscious look and reads the newest update. The private jet from Altorien has just grounded on Eliatha soil. Yong Soo will be arriving out of the terminal at any moment.

"Why the fuck do we have to be here?" Leon snarls at Kiku. He actually knows the answer fully well; it is because Yao wants him to make a good representative of his company. It is polite to greet his guests personally, though Leon can care less. Still, he asks the question to see what sort of ways Kiku will twist the facts.

"It is good for representation," Kiku answers much to Leon's expectations. Leon can tell he is holding himself back from any slips about representing Yao's company and not Leon.

"You mean it's good for my old man," Leon corrects him.

Kiku lowers his eyebrows. "I didn't say that. Your father wanted you to—"

"Bullshit about that," the young actor snorts. "And don't call him my father. I thought I told you never to use that word around me."

His head lowering in a manner of his own culture's customs, Kiku apologizes to his boss's son and promises to watch himself in the future. All the while as this is happening, Kasem is still absentmindedly staring at the plane headed for the west. With the jet plane now landed and unloading its luggage and passengers, the larger plane carrying shipments and tourists is starting to make its way to the runway.

"Leon, look at this," he says with a distant smile. "This one's going to the west."

To humor him, Leon goes over and stares out the window. There are no words painted on either side of the plane, but there is a familiar picture of a green, flying rabbit on the tail. It must be headed for Brysogwig**, a kingdom out in the west. The green winged rabbit signifies that the airline belongs to Kirkland Distributors, a company known for making large collaborations with Holo in everything ranging from electronics to its own chain of foods. While not very prominent in its electronics, it makes up for its quality in food brands. Leon has always wanted to travel to Brysogwig and see if the food is really as bad as everyone claims it to be, just for the experience and the stories if nothing else.

"One day," he barely mutters aloud.

"Ooh, look there!" Kasem excitedly points. He directs Leon's attention to a plane that is already taking off in the westward direction. Again, there are no words on the plane, but one look at the various crosses and Leon can tell that the plane is a commercial airline from a large distributor of designs and electronics.

"That one's from Crodinia***, Kasem," Leon tells him. "You can tell because of those crosses. And the one that's taking off right now is going to Brysogwig."

His distant relative chuckles. "You know a lot about this kind of stuff."

"That's because I used to hang out with Cheng all the time. You know…before he took charge of Neon and all."

Kasem nods.

"He knows all sorts of things about international affairs. Funny how he went from Trip to Neon. I guess if he's happy, that's alright with me."

Again, Kasem nods.

Before they can continue looking at the other planes, the sound of Kiku clearing his throat turns their heads back towards the terminal.

"Kasem, you're here to make sure nothing happens to Leon," the uptight agent reminds him. "Family or not, we didn't hire you to sightsee with him."

"Er, right, I forgot." The easygoing bodyguard scratches his messy brown hair and returns to position. In all the years Leon has known him, he can hardly blame him for wanting to distract himself from the task at hand. Standing around like a constipated cardboard cutout can be excruciatingly boring.

However, it appears that Kiku was right to make the call of straightening out because as soon as they settle down, three large figures with zany bright-colored suits exit out of the terminal first. With narrowing amber eyes, Leon notices the person they are guarding is nearly as tall as his bodyguards—if anyone can even bear to call tall, muscular men with day-glow orange tuxedos bodyguards.

The person in the center, Leon notices through the loose cracks of the brightly colored clothes, is sporting all the latest gadgets freshly released from Holo's manufacturing companies, many of which are branches of Wang Studio. Accessories such as the band watch he is wearing are not even out on the Holo market yet. The dark glasses perched lightly on the bridge of his nose are state of the art chrome-cased and designed for the sharpest experience in optical web surfing. Once again, this has not been released outside of the country yet, but here this person is, donning these overly expensive and high-tech gadgets like a crow wearing peacock feathers. To make matters worse—

"Leon!"

The young star holds back from tightening his fists in case one of the bodyguards is watching. He tells himself to tolerate him just enough to leave the airport. Once that part is done, he will finally be free of this torment if not for a little while longer.

"'Sup, Yong Soo?" he greets the Altorienese celebrity with a lift of his lips and a wave of his hand. Nothing too dramatic or unenthusiastic.

"Man, when was the last time I saw you?" Yong Soo chuckles, looking down at his future collaborator. "It was at that one awards ceremony…"

"Thread Awards," Leon automatically answers, referring to the acting awards based on Internet voting popularity.

"Right, right!" he laughs a little too loudly. His obnoxious behavior vaguely reminds Leon of someone he recently met, but he cannot be too sure who he has in mind. "So how's everything going?"

"Pretty good," Leon replies with an even smile; it is the kind of smile he gives people when he cannot give a damn about their pathetic existence. "And what about you? I heard you finished up another series, didn't you? How'd that one do?"

Right after he finishes the question, Yong Soo puffs his chest outward like a proud dog bringing a stick to its owner. If only that were the case, Leon thinks in the back of his head. "Top of the charts as always," he boasts. "I was so good, the studio asked me to do another soap with him, but then this deal came up, and you know how it is. I've always been looking forward to working with you, Leon."

"Peh, you give me too much credit, man," Leon grins with his perfectly white teeth baring. Unbeknownst to everyone other than Cheng (who is not even here), he expresses his smile with an inner hostility and keeps him from chewing on his bottom lip clean off. "So, like, I know your agent's cool with you doing this, but you're really okay working with me?"

"Of course!" Yong Soo beams, completely unaware of the growing cloud of disregard looming over Leon's aura.

Just as Leon is about to come back with a remark, Kiku cuts in and speaks. "Im Yong Soo, it's nice to have you in Eliatha again," he says with an equally polite smile akin to Cheng's mannerism. "I'm sorry to inform you that Yao cannot be here to greet you into our city, but please make yourself comfortable during your stay."

"No need to do that, Honda," Yong Soo widely smiles at the agent. "I'm gonna be here a while so I'm going to make the best of it." He looks over at Leon. "Leon, here, is going to show me all the ropes, right?"

"Don't count on it," Leon smirks. "There's so much to see. Even if we weren't doing the movie shoot, there's not enough time to see everything." He pauses. "Plus with those new glasses of yours, you can just look up places yourself, right?"

At the mention of his glasses, Yong Soo takes them off and exposes his soft brown eyes. There is nothing too peculiar about them, but there is little significance, either. Unlike Yong Soo, the Wangs are able to captivate others with their magnificent golden eyes. It is a physical trait that Leon is rather proud of—that and his additional training in martial arts. Yong Soo, he knows, is decently muscular but only for looks, not for stunts.

"You know what these things are?" the Altorienese actor stares at Leon.

Leon, in turn, places his hands defiantly on his hips in a wide, exposed stance. He means to show that he is not afraid of Yong Soo's towering height even when, by comparison at nearly a head taller, Yong Soo is almost as tall as Cheng.

"Yeah, in fact, I recognize a lot of the getup you're wearing. Those are part of a model of chrome-cased glasses that aren't even out of the country market yet. The band watch you're wearing is supposed to be part of a secret blueprint that isn't even out of the district yet. And don't get me fucking started on your clothes. Those are supposed to be Cherry Pink clothes. My cousin designs outfits for them, and she puts a lot of work into each one. Those rags you're wearing are knock-offs. Shit, your entire body is a walking knock-off."

…Or so Leon wants to say. Instead, he remains silent and plays dumb to save himself the trouble of getting scolded later. Who knows? Perhaps Yong Soo, himself, does not know he is wearing several knock-offs. That will make exposing him in the future all the more fun. So, instead, he takes a deep breath and puts on his blank face.

"No. I just thought that maybe they'd have an additional function to them or something," he shrugs. "Just a hunch."

Yong Soo smirks. Leon smirks, too. He has the pretentious Altorienese hooked like a minnow.

"I didn't think you'd know what these were," he haughtily scoffs, twirling one of the ends in his fingers. "These are state of the art chrome-cased glasses. They're built like phones, but they can display a hundred times more pixels than holograms. They can even detect movements in your eyes to assess what you're looking for."

"How innovative," Leon monotonously says.

Kiku clears his throat. All the while, the bodyguards with bright suits are staring down the singular Kasem like he is a plaything. Leon does not know much about the zany men's abilities, but he hopes they know better than to think poorly of his bodyguard. Kasem is one of the men in charge of his stunts in his movies, after all. Anyone who sees him fight will do well to remember that.

"Yong Soo, if I may direct your attention to the purpose of your visit," the agent begins, "you're going to be staying with us at Wang Studio for the length of the movie shoot."

Although he already knows this, Leon still curses in his head, wishing he can cross his arms and spit. The thought of sleeping under the same roof as that noisy rave-loving Altorienese celebrity makes his teeth grind. His taste in music and fashion were always one step behind too pompous in addition to everything else.

"Got that right!" Yong Soo beams like an energetic child. "I've always wanted to see what kind of hospitality they've got over there! I get a penthouse suite, right?"

Kiku's brow nearly furrows, but he restrains himself and adjusts his position with a light shift. "There are no suites on the top floor, I'm afraid. As with many of his buildings, the entire top floor is reserved for Yao Wang and his top executives."

Yong Soo smirks to that. "Top executives?" he chuckles. "You mean his family members, right?"

"Some, but not all," Kiku clarifies.

This practice is common among family businesses. Having no soul mate or children of his own, Yao adopted Leon when he was not even a year old. His biological parents, close friends and business partners of Yao, were killed in an unfortunate accident that left him an orphan. It was under his parents' will that should anything happen to them, Leon was to be placed under Yao's full care as his guardian. However, as generous of a thing that was, it was all a front in the name of business. Of course, since they did not share blood, Yao never treated Leon like his son; instead, he raised him to be the spitting image of what an ideal child should be: intelligent, behaved, and picture-perfect media material.

The first few years went by comfortably and smoothly. As a child, Leon obeyed his guardian without a word of protest, day by day blissfully unaware of what Yao was setting him up to become. It was around the time he was ten years old when Leon grew cognizant of his role. He noticed how Yao never gave him love the way his cousin's parents would. Where his cousins were given the freedom to choose what they wanted to do, Leon was stuck learning how to answer to interviews and training in rigorous stunt programs. Even after everyone grew up and found jobs within Wang Studio, they did it because they wanted to, not because they were trapped in a cage with no room to spread their wings.

Athletics and stardom aside, Yao made sure Leon was well-learnt in his academic studies. Because of that, Leon never attended school. Not even once. His only perception of being able to attend a school with students around his age was through television programs or in the stories he read. He never had a true friend growing up because of that, always weighed down by his guardian, doted on by his cousins to make up for his lack of real family, and surrounded constantly by cameras or bodyguards. It was not long before one day, Leon finally decided to break free of his bubble and start learning more about the world around him. He did not want this kind of life. He was different. He had one thing that many of his relatives did not have: a watch.

The watch was the one thing that kept Leon hoping. He knew that none of the people he affiliated himself with were bound to be his soul mate. She was out there. He knew it. Some called it fate. Others called it predetermined luck. Call it whatever they wanted to, but to Leon, he only knew that this is what his life had in store for him. And so, little by little, almost undetectable to even his closest family members, he began to rebel. He started to sneak out of his rooms. He learned the business tongues. He learned how to negotiate with adults three times his age to work his way around the systems. With his expansive hunger for knowledge, he began to grow until there was nothing left that he could not consume. The world that he was sheltered and prepared for became his, and once the numbers on his watch all stopped at their zeros, he would no longer need anything else.

Or so he thought.

Emil Steilsson: an ordinary individual with no outstanding talents, no recognizable names, no important family members, no heaping wealth, no fascinating qualities, and most of all, a guy. Leon supposes he should have been more shocked when he finally met his soul mate. Emil is nothing like what he originally envisioned out of his significant other. Everything about them is as different and mirrored as fire and ice. They do not even compliment one another in every aspect. It is like the ones in charge of predetermined their fates never wanted them to be happy. Still, all the same, Leon knows that the watches never lie. Whatever comes of the future is his to decide, and the route he hopes to take will lead him down one where they ultimately both find closure.

But, for now, Leon pushes his plans aside to focus on what is in front of him. Yong Soo is asking several questions about where to eat and go clubbing. He proposes they go to Retro or Neon together, though Kiku quickly declines, telling him those places are not ideal for a celebrity to be wandering around in public. While they are making their way to the front of the airport, Kasem makes a comment about the color of Yong Soo's bodyguards' suits. Leon snickers.

"They're really flashy, aren't they?" he chuckles. "If they ever get lost, it won't be hard to track them down."

"Right?" Kasem smiles.

"…So I was thinking that perhaps when you settle down, I'll schedule an appointment for you to meet with Yao," Kiku suggests to the Altorienese actor.

Yong Soo, however, waves his hand. "No need, Honda. I can just make a visit whenever I want. It's no big deal, right?"

Kiku blinks. "Forgive me for being ignorant of any customs you might have, but it is polite to adjust to your superior's schedules here. Who do you think signed you on this contract?"

"And who's the one who agreed?" Yong Soo asked back. "If I didn't sign up for this, someone else would have done it. Who else do you know who's perfect for this role?"

"Apologies." The agent holds back a sigh and shifts through some messages on his phone. Leon and Kasem can tell he is trying his best to keep his emotions in check. All of them want to get through Yong Soo's visit without too much disruption to their lives. That being said, there is little to be guaranteed, considering how unpredictable the celebrity gets. His wardrobe, alone, is enough to convince someone of that speculation.

The group manages to get through to the luggage check out when suddenly, a bright white flash goes off. Someone screams, and in an instant, the bodyguards are surrounding Yong Soo on all sides. Kasem, on the other hand, is already hovering over Leon and moving along the edges of the walls.

"Fuck," Leon curses under his breath. "Don't tell me…"

"It's him!" someone squeals from the other side of the luggage check out. "Im Yong Soo!"

There is already a large crowd of women rushing to the trio of colorful bodyguards. How security managed to let them all slip through is unknown, but what Leon does know is that he cannot afford to be seen here, either.

"Leon, we need to go," Kiku hastily snaps as he follows closely behind.

"Don't need to tell me that now, man," Leon grunts. "Shit. Who in the world leaked his location?"

"We'll find that out later, Leon," Kiku pants, struggling to keep up with the other two. Being someone who is always sitting at a desk, his athletic abilities are not up to par. "I'm too old for this…"

"Step it up, Kiku!" Leon snaps just loud enough for the agent to hear him. "We're getting out of here with you!"

It is a good thing Yong Soo's bodyguards are easily distinguishable. With Im Yong Soo clearly in the center of them, the fans are too busy focusing their attention on them. Leon, Kasem, and Kiku are able to slip away without any trouble at hand. Eventually, they make it out of the airport towards the front area. With Leon wearing a large hood to conceal his face, he does not have to worry about security or fans recognizing him. As for Yong Soo, Kiku is forced to make an urgent call to Wang Studio.

"Yes, I'm really sorry about this," Kiku apologizes over the phone while Leon and Kasem go to a nearby noodle shop. Oddly enough, for an airport food court, the food is refreshingly tasty. While Kasem is eating, Leon talks between mouthfuls of noodles and mushrooms.

"What's he thinking apologizing to that geezer like that?" he frowns. "It's not his fault the fans started to rampage here in the airport. Geez." He pauses to drink some soup. "It's no wonder his blood pressure's so high. I bet he gets worked to death like that, just worrying about useless shit all the time."

Kasem agrees. "It's just the way he was brought up. Lien notices that, too."

"It's not good for anyone. It's annoying, even."

"Are you going to tell that to him?"

Leon scoffs. "Psh. Knowing him, that'd just make him worry even more.

"…Understood, Mr. Wang," Kiku says with a bow despite there being no one in front of him. "I will make sure he arrives safely. Yes. I will. Goodbye." He hangs up and, with a sigh, approaches Leon and Kasem who are finished with their noodles.

"What'd my old man say?" Leon asks after wiping his mouth.

Clearly troubled by the incident, Kiku stops to gather himself together and wipes his forehead with a handkerchief. "Your guardian wants us to arrive back at the studio with Yong Soo in hand."

"Give me a break!" Leon loudly groans. He slowly slips underneath the table until even the tip of his hood disappears. "I have shit I need to do! This is the last thing I want to be doing right now! You can't just tell Yong Soo to pick up a cab or something?"

Kiku's lifeless brown eyes thin. "That's not the case. If Yong Soo takes a taxi instead of a properly labeled car, who knows what will happen to him?"

"Don't worry about it. Those dudes in the suits will take good care of him—more or less. I wasn't too sure about the bald one. He looks a little out of place—"

"Leon." Kiku stretches out the length of his name. "This is important. He's going to be your acting partner for the next six months or so. You're going to have to get used to this."

The young actor does not enjoy his agent's tone. It reminds him of an ill cross between Yao and Cheng, one person whom he despises and another whom he respects. This is precisely why he cannot bring himself to get close to Kiku on a personal level, family or not.

"You've got such a stick up your ass, you know that?" Leon sneers and gets up. "C'mon, Kasem. Let's go back to the hotel. Honda, here, can take care of things himself. He apologized, so it must be, like, his fault, right?"

"Er…yes?" Kasem answers, not sure whether to side with his relative or his boss' agent.

Kiku, getting farther away as the other two continue to walk, is slowly fuming. "If you don't get back here right now, I'm going to tell your father."

Just then, Leon pauses and turns on his heel, a deadly glow in his golden eyes. When he speaks, his voice is so dangerously low that the air around him practically freezes in an icy envelopment. "What the fuck did you say?"

Realizing his mistake, Kiku means to apologize, but he finds himself in a tough spot. He meant to make a light threat to follow his boss' orders, but by referring to Yao as Leon's father is going against Leon's orders. He cannot find it in himself to act, so instead, he remains quiet.

"I was talking to you, Honda," Leon snarls, walking back to the agent. Kasem is sure to stay at a reasonable distance between him. Whenever Leon addresses those close to him by their last name, he knows he means business.

Then, out of their surprise, Leon snags Kiku by the tie. There is little anyone can do to intervene. Leon is far stronger than Kiku, and if the agent makes a move, he can lose his job. Kasem, on the other hand, is only sworn to protect his relative so he has few choices to act on.

"I asked you a damn question, Honda," Leon speaks in a cold voice. His eyes are frosted over like ice despite his eyes blazing with a bright golden fire. His irises fixate into Kiku's lightless orbs, bringing an unsettling fear into his nerves.

"I-I just meant that if you go against your guardian's wishes—"

"No," Leon sharply snaps. "The thing you said before. The one about a certain father?"

Kiku presses his lips together until they turn white from the lack of circulation. "Please, Leon, don't make a scene here."

The young actor raises his eyebrows. "A scene? A scene, you say? I am Leon Wang. I can make whatever kind of scene I want, just like that damn Yong Soo did. You want me to really make a scene? I can show you."

Kasem finally cuts in. "Leon, stop this," he speaks in a firm tone unlike his usual character. "You're going to cause trouble that could've been prevented. Don't do this right now."

With Kasem as the acting voice of reason, Leon calms down a little and loosens his grip on Kiku's tie. The agent sputters a soft cough when his windpipe is given enough room to breathe.

"Kiku," Kasem says to the agent, "I'm sure Yong Soo will be fine. We can go sort this out with Yao another time, but right now, I think we're all tired. We all woke up early to meet Yong Soo, and I don't think all of us are in the best of moods right now, wouldn't you say so?"

"Yes," he immediately answers. "I'll just take care of this later." He means to continue when he changes his mind. "Actually, you two go on ahead. I'll make sure Yong Soo knows where he needs to go."

Kasem blinks. "You sure, Kiku?"

"I'm sure." He stares into Leon's still alight golden eyes. "Leon, do you think you can let me go?"

The celebrity lets out a huff of hot air before completely releasing his hold. His arm snaps back to his side as he turns around and storms out of the airport. "Come on, Kasem. We're really going this time."

"Right, Leon," Kasem replies and trails after him, leaving the befuddled agent left to clean up the mess he was not responsible for.


"Eh? No way! Are you serious about that?"

"Totally serious."

A few minutes after returning to Volt District, Leon called Mei, his cousin responsible for making designs for Blossoms and Cherry Pink. Upon informing her about the details, she was not happy about her designs getting bootlegged.

"And you're sure Yong Soo's the one wearing them?" she groans over the phone.

"I'm sure." Leon yawns as he makes himself comfortable on his bed. Overhead, the wallpaper is spawning red bubbles of light. There are also various hover lamps in different shades of colors floating in the unoccupied spaces. When the lights turn red to match his wallpaper, he remembers another detail. "Oh yeah, and like, get this: instead of Cherry Pink with the pink cherry logo, it was, like, this slice of some other fruit. It was red."

"Red?" Mei echoes. "What kind of fruit was it?"

"I really don't know," Leon frowns. "I didn't get a good look at it. It kind of looked like an orange, but it wasn't, you know."

"Oh." The speaker goes silent. "Well, when you see Yong So again, give him a piece of my mind, okay?"

That brings a smile to his tired face. Leave it to one of his cousins to give him a smile when he needs it most. "I'll do that. Yong Soo's got a bunch of other bootlegs things from Yao's companies, too. Some of them aren't even on the market yet. I don't know if he's going to wear those around him, but if he does, there's going to be some major suing happening."

Mei sighs. "And that will be fun, won't it?"

"Yup." Both of them are sarcastic. "…Hey, so, like, when do you think you're going to be able to visit again?"

"Holo? I really don't know. It's busy right now. Summer's coming, you know. There's a demand for a new line of clothing I need to finish. The earliest I can get done is in another two months, and that's being optimistic."

Leon sighs. "At least you got to choose that lifestyle. I'm just stuck here with Yong Soo and Yao."

"They're not that bad, Leon. Lot's of girls go crazy for Yong Soo. Oh! That reminds me!" Her sudden shift in tone causes Leon to straighten his posture just a bit. "Hey, didn't you say your numbers were stopping really soon?"

He stops. "Uh…"

"Did they stop yet?" his cousin persists. "I'm sure they were supposed to stop before you turned twenty. I remember that much. So did they stop yet? Did they? Did you find your soul mate?"

Leon forces a smile to help convey his tone against the overwhelming storm of questions. "If I did, Yao would have been all over her. The entire world would've known by now, don't you think?"

"Oh…" Mei's voice falls with disappointment. "I really want to meet her. I bet she's really pretty."

"Yeah." His voice starts to trail off. "Pretty…"

"And when you meet her, I can dress her up in all sorts of clothes. I bet she's like a model type. Creamy skin, nice eyes, a fun personality…"

"Uh huh." At this point, Leon is hardly paying any more attention. Emil is not the ideal soul mate Mei imagines him to be, the most important factor being that he is not even a girl. When the time comes that he introduces them, what will she think? Heck, what will any of them think?

Leon bites his lips at the thought. Cheng accepts the fact well enough, but it is only because Leon knew he would accept it that he told him the truth to begin with. He knows Yao will go ballistic. Having a guy—a nobody at that—being his soul mate will ruin his media image. Kiku will accept it in time, but it will only be a matter of time before Yao squeezes the truth out of him. Lien and Kasem are sure to take the news rather well, but he knows Yao will also wring their tongues until they tell him about Emil. As for Mei, she will undoubtedly tell the entire world when she finds out. She is the last person who needs to know. So, Leon chooses to keep quiet about this until he can sort things out with Emil.

"Hello?" Mei's voice cuts into his processing mind. "Leon, are you still there?"

"Yeah, I am," he says, his eyes half-glazed over in a daze. His room has shifted from a dark red to a deep blue color, the same shade of blue, in fact, as the overhead holograms back at Teal. He wonders if Emil still remembers the meal they had together.

"Oh. So, anyway, I was thinking that maybe when you meet your soul mate, you can bring her over here and get her to model for me."

Leon raises a brow. "What makes you think she wants to do that?"

"It's every girl's dream to be a model of mine, silly," she giggles. "Whoever your girl's going to be, she's definitely going to be pretty enough for modeling, doncha think so?"

"Oh, I know so," he smirks, thinking about when he set Lien and Kasem to drag Emil to Volt. The photos came out decently enough. In fact, he recently received a call from the studios asking if Emil could do a photo shoot in three weeks. He will have to remember that call for later.

As he is running out of things to say, to his relief, Mei gets a call from a client. "Ooh, I have to take this Leon. I'll call you back some other time, okay?"

"Yeah. Nice talking with you, Mei." A quick farewell later, his cousin hangs up the phone and returns to work. Tired from having to wake up to go to the airport, Leon flops over on his bed and stretches his limbs. The animated wallpaper in his room melts into a holographic aurora of cool colors, washed-over blues, opalescent purples, and aqua-tinted greens. As he continues to stare at the colors, his eyes start to focus on the pale purples. The shades sometimes turn into the color of Emil's lavender eyes, and his mind wanders to how he must be doing.

"He's either at school or home, I bet," he thinks aloud and checks his phone. There is a message from Kiku, telling him Yong Soo has safely arrived at Wang Studio—but not before making a public scene and causing media stations to flock over to him.

"Fucking guy," he murmurs and clicks his phone off. He has a feeling that Yong Soo was actually the one who dropped the hint he was coming over to Holo. Knowing how much attention he enjoys getting, it only makes sense; none of his agents would have agreed to let him make a public announcement.

Sure enough, to confirm Leon's suspicions, he gets a call from his guardian. He sighs, knowing he has to answer it, and holds his phone back to his ear. "What now, old man?"

"Yong Soo is here, Leon," his guardian's snappy voice speaks over the phone. "I want you to come up to my office so we can discuss business matters."

Leon clenches his teeth in annoyance. "What business?" he snaps. "That's your end of the deal. Your job is to organize the things that we go to, not to tell us what actions will rake in publicity. Speaking of publicity, Kiku told you what happened at the airport, right?"

"He did," Yao speaks in a flat tone of concern about Yong Soo. "It's amazing that Altorienese is a year older than you, but that's not what's important right now. I'm talking about the plans for the movie. There's been some changes."

The actor kicks his feet together until the bottoms of his soles are sore. "What changes? Is one of us supposed to die in the script?"

"No, not that." His guardian lets out a deep sigh. "Yong Soo was supposed to be a supporting actor to your starring role."

"No, shit. I know that."

"Well, his agents have gone through the process with the studio. They want Yong Soo to co-star with you. It's either that, make you the supporting character, or cut the deal altogether."

"Bull. Shit." Leon sits up. His voice rises. "Tell him I'm not doing it."

There is a pause in the conversation. Yao must be thinking of what to say to his son. "Leon, we've already put a lot of money into this film because of the commercial advertisements and special effects drafting. Lots of work already went into rewriting the script. If you back out, then we'll be out of a lot of heta."

Leon's golden eyes glaze over. "So we're talking already a starting budget of, like, a few million heta blown?"

"A little more than you'd think, yes."

Leon curses. "So I can't back out."

"No."

"Then…" Leon moves his fallen bangs back from his eyes. "Fine, I'll just co-star with him. There's no way I'm going to be a supporting actor."

"Alright. Then you're going to have to tell that to Yong Soo and his agent that when you get here."

The teenager softly curses before getting onto his feet. "I'm coming. Is he there right now?"

"He's settling in his room still. Better to arrive first."

"Right, right." Cheng always tells him the first to arrive makes the first impression; he always means to make a good one. So, without further ado, he slips on his jacket and heads out of his room. There are little hovering Cubes surrounding the entrance to his room despite the hall already being heavily guarded by security. Ever since Yao found out about his second escape, security has been tighter than usual. It will take a little more effort, but he will still be able to crack the security system if he ever wants to privately meet Emil.

Leon glides past the other occupants on his floor and steps into the personal elevator. When he gets to the top, he can already see Lien in her secretary attire. Leon's eyes narrow in annoyance at the way his guardian makes her dress. He thinks his cousin looks better with a suit than a skirt.

"Hi, Leon," she says to him in a polite tone. "Yao's waiting for you in his office."

"I know," he yawns. "And Yong Soo?"

Her eyes move to her computer screen. "I contacted the security department, and they said he's still in his room. It might be a few minutes."

"Fantastic," he sarcastically responds. "I've got all the time in the world." To avoid having to confront Yao just yet, he takes out his personal phone and quickly sends a message to Emil.

Leon: how r u doing?

Emil: Fine.

The celebrity smirks. He finds it amusing how his friend responds with the typical one-worded response. As if he expects him to open out his heart to him.

Leon: u free today?

It takes Emil around two minutes to respond, a little longer than the celebrity prefers to wait for a reply.

Emil: Why ask me? You said you're supposed to do a meeting and night show.

"So he remembers that," he mutters under his breath.

Leon: r u gonna watch it? the show I mean

Emil: No.

Leon frowns at how instant that respond comes, but then, another message follows.

Emil: I want to know you for who you are as a person.

Emil: Not as a celebrity.

"Cute," Leon chuckles. From the corner of his eye, he notices Lien briefly looking up from her desk at him. "It's nothing," he amusingly tells her. "Just something a friend sent me." He types up a response.

Leon: u really want to know the real me?

Another pause ensues. This one is even longer than the previous waiting periods.

Emil: Yes.

A faint smile cracks on Leon's lips. There is something about how plain and innocent Emil is that makes him want to be around him. Deep down, he perceives this way of thinking to be cruel and cold of him, but after being barred from having friends for so long, it is the true, genuine way he sees his dear soul mate. On that mindset, his thumbs tap another message.

Leon: when does ur summer vacation start?

A quick delay later, a message pops up in his inbox.

Emil: Three weeks.

It is longer of a wait than Leon wants, but he thinks by then, any suspicions of hanging around Emil will die down. Plus, he will have learned to adapt to Yong Soo's lifestyle. On top of that, there are three weeks before the agency wants to see Emil again for another photo shoot. If he plays his cards correctly, there might be a chance for another date.

As he is about to type up a reply, the elevator chimes. He thinks that must be Yong Soo and his agent arriving for the meeting. Moving towards Yao's office, he types up a quick response after mentally searching through his schedule. Between now and the rest of the summer, the moments they will be able to spend with one another will be rare.

Leon: gotta go

Leon: meetings starting

Leon: wait for a call

Leon: ill take you out on another date


Sorry for the long wait, everyone. The website was buggy for me earlier so I couldn't submit this chapter. School's been pretty hectic for me, too. Thank you for the wonderful reviews as always.

*Anagram of "Oriental," the equivalent alternate to East Asia.

**Anagram of "Iggy Brows," which first appeared in a different story of mine. It is the equivalent alternate to the United Kingdom.

***Anagram of "Nordic" + ia, which first appeared a different story of mine. It is the equivalent alternate to Scandinavia.

I really like using anagrams for my stories. They can be found throughout my other works.