A Second Chance Perhaps?
Author: Hfan
Disclaimer: As usual, Characters are not mine at all (though I wish they are..) They belong to Watase Yuu. There, I said it.
Notes: Boo! Haha? It's supposed to be a joke. Laugh please? Okay I am crapping. Anyway I am going to CHINA!!! TO VISIT THE FORBIDDEN CITY!!! TO SEE IF HOTOHORI EVER EXIST!!! -coughs- Boy do I need a doctor. I m stressed from studying. So doctors come get me! -psychopath grin-
Anyone likes replies? Haha… here goes!
ChibiNuriko310: Domo arigato! -bows down-
Luvyuyu: Ahahaha! Well, I already wrote "Yaoi or not, you decided due to COMPLICATIONS in the story." Just keep reading and you will know why! -grins even wider- As for the pregnancy… haha, interesting idea. But it's too soon for that. Andy is from China while Natalie is from Japan. We will see how things progress ne?
Minuiko: Heez, Natalie is not the character's real name. It's just her stage name. (Her real name will be released later) Haha… I was planning to release Andy's character in this chapter – yes he's Hotohori! Oh yeah, about Natalie being a girl… -mysterious smile- as I already said, Nat-chan has her secrets… Just continue reading yeah? Thanks a lot!!! -hugs in advance-
Chapter 2: Lucky Bands and Beauty Products
"I… WHAT?!" Natalie exclaimed as Adrian calmly placed the phone back on to the receiver.
"Just like what I said. You will be working with Andy Wong…"
Andy… who?
Looking at Natalie's obvious clueless-ness in the whole situation, Adrian decided to give her a brief rundown on the person whom she would be working.
"Andy Wong is somehow like you. He's the most sought after idol singer in the music industry now. He's from China, but currently in Japan to give his debut concert and of course," He inclined his head towards Natalie "to look for a suitable model for his music video."
"But why Japan? Why not somewhere easier like CHINA? There's like one third of the world's population there" Natalie prided herself to remember such geographical knowledge.
Owww…easy girl, it's YOUR job which you are questioning…
But it's a FACT!
Sigh And I am quarreling with myself
Oh.
Natalie mentally slapped her other self (I hope you feel that.) as she waited for Adrian to reply. Her manager, however, wasn't really into mind playing games, as what he replied later made her felt like it was her last warning before she got kicked out of his company.
"As I already mentioned earlier – He's just like you. He doesn't make the decisions, his manager does it. And he doesn't complain."
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"So! Everyone knows what they are supposed to do now right? And Andy…Andy! Are you listening to me?"
The young man's head was nestled just nicely in his arms on the table, some of his raven strands partially hiding part of his facial features. The sunlight which shone through the window landed on his long, dark cascade of hair, highlighting their natural colour – brown. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep. At the mention of his name, his head jerked up slightly.
"Andy please don't tell me that you had been sleeping throughout the whole meeting…" Rose sighed as she sat down beside him. Andy merely answered back with a soft groan as he leaned back on to the chair. Hands swept away loose hair strands from his face, revealing amber eyes which reflected tiredness from within. Even though she was irritated at his lack of attention, Rose could not help but marveled at how he still managed to make himself look so perfect at being woken up by her.
Rose gave a small huff. "Really! The flight only took seven hours! So don't get to the jet-lag thing with me!"
Andy replied by stifling a yawn with the back of his hand.
GOD! He even made yawning looked as though it was the coolest thing to do…
"Oh just listen" she tried hitting him on the shoulder, but was stopped when his hand grabbed hers, gently. Rose gave a small smile. Finally! She looked up to find deep, golden eyes looking back at her.
-888888-
Andy gave Rose a slight smile in return as he released her hand. That did not really wake him up, but she was his manager after all. And it was he in the first place to fall asleep in the midst of a meeting.
"Here, tie that mess with this" Rose took a blue rubber band from her wrist and passed it over to him.
"It's not a mess, just loose. Can I have the brown colour one? It matches my suit..." He pointed at the multiple bands on Rose's wrist, something which she carried along with her all the time for his and her conveniences. She laughed, took out another band and passed it to him. He then tied his hair up into a loose ponytail. His ever persistent fringe flopped down again, giving him an overall slightly relaxed yet stylish look.
Rose raised her eyes slightly. "You know… you should try to tie it up a little tighter and higher up. That will give you a neater, less girly appearance."
Andy was horrified at that suggestion. "No way!!! Pulling your hair back tighter will tend to end up hurting your scalp!! And there will be more hair loss!!! I can't bear to see my gorgeous tresses falling out!!! And anyway," He added,"I look much better like this!"
"Narcissist…"
Andy chose not the answer that.
"Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, I DID hear what you instructed me – I am supposed to be involved in an interview tomorrow evening and my concert will be on this coming Saturday, so I will need to do a round of rehearsal on Friday afternoon." He recited out.
"Nice try, but you forgot something."
What?
"There will be an audition tomorrow concerning a model who will be working with you in your new music video."
"What?!" This time his thoughts echoed out "Why Japan? Why not back in CHINA? There's like one third of the world's population in our country." (a/n Sounds familiar huh?)
Rose, like all managers when dealing with disagreeable employees, gave a small sigh. One day she would start teaching Andy all about marketing and advertising skills which made him into what he is now. That's what I call market demand.
"Dear, this is the entertainment industry we are talking about. And your new songs are based mainly for the Japanese population here." She took out his pre-recorded songs and passed it over to him "For heaven's sake they are Japanese lyrics! Of course we will need to get someone from here to appeal to the major crowd! Natalie happens to be quite an interesting subject now…" Rose gave a slight pause as she thought of something else to add. "And Japan is renowned for their wide range of facial and beauty products, which are perfect for a narcissist like you! Now that's one reason for you to stay longer!"
"I am NOT that fond of myself!" Andy insisted as he stood up "Do whatever you like then! I need to go out now."
"For the beauty products?"
"No! To visit a few friends of mine whom I haven't seen for a long time..." he replied as he walked out of the meeting room.
Natalie… she sounds just like another normal lady in the entertainment industry… hopes she's much better than she sounds…
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At Adrian's remark, Natalie only managed a weak smile. This wasn't the first time when Adrian got angry at her, but it was the first time whereby she felt slightly threatened by his presence.
"…I understand. So what am I supposed to do now?" She said in a small voice. Adrian's smirk returned as he reached out for a folder on his desk and passed it over to Natalie. As she picked it up and began to flip through it, he started.
"This folder contains a much better biography of Andy Wong and his works. But I will like you to focus more on his new song – Boku no Uchuu ni Kima ga Iru. That will be the song which you will be working on. Just take the night to browse through and get the right emotions for that video."
"When will the auditions be?"
"Tomorrow."
Now it was Natalie's jaws which dropped. "What?! Tomorrow!? But that's so fast! And too soon!"
Adrian merely shrugged "That wasn't my idea too. I received that information only yesterday. Andy just arrived today too. So there isn't much difference for both sides. Anyway you are good at coming up with last minute things right?" There was a slight hint of amusement in his voice. "Well!" He continued, "If there's nothing else right now, you can take the day off to go through the scripts. Leave the portfolio assembling to Houjun and me. You will get the job."
-888888-
He watched as Natalie left his office at his dismissal. And when the door finally closed behind her, he allowed himself to ease the throbbing in his head by massaging his temples furiously. It was tiring.
Everything had been going smoothly for Adrian's company. A few months down the road, he noticed Natalie when they both attended a certain fashion show and he realized the potential in her which he knew would create a scene in the fashion world. Natalie was practically MADE to be a model. Her 177cm height was perfect! And not to forget a stunning figure that rivaled Barbie's. (Just tone down a little on the bust. She's gorgeous.) The aura of elegance and confidence in which she eluded appealed to him immediately as he requested for her to join his company.
Initially, Natalie was a little skeptical towards joining them. Or was it the fact that she didn't really want to reveal her personal particulars? It too a lot of persuasion and agreements before she finally signed the contract – She get to keep her identities (For fear of endangering her own life. Rich people…) and they would get her as their new star. Of course, Natalie was not her real name either.
That took PLENTY of covering up! And she has to do this to me now…
A slight cough beside him took his thoughts away as he turned around.
"Kae…"
The slim, bespectacled secretary gave a shy smile as she started "Sir… I am wondering if you will let me do the portfolio for Natalie instead. You looked very tired these few days… and I think that you should take a break…" A pair of perfectly arched brows creased together worriedly as smoky-grey eyes gazed through the lens onto Adrian.
That blond hair man, however, was staring at Kae as though he had just discovered a diamond mine.
That's it!
Kae was tall, a little taller than Natalie though. Her long, wine coloured hair, which was usually tied up into a tight bun, was flowing freely down to her waist today and clipped up at the sides with diamante flower clips. Red eye shadow lined her eyelids and ended in an upward stroke, giving her a slight oriental outlook. Her lips were tinted with plum-red gloss. For the first time, Adrian actually paid attention to her body. The tailored, navy blue suit fitted her form perfectly; revealing slight curves which were mainly hidden by the thick, starched cloth material. Anyone could tell that she was a unique beauty. He himself was now wondering how come he didn't manage to see that in her at that time when she applied for the secretary post in the company.
For the strangest reason, I felt that I had known you before…
"Can you… take off your glasses?" He finally managed to say.
Kadari was a little taken back by that sentence, but she did as she was told. Off came the rimless glasses, and Adrian saw what he wanted to see – the pink blush which appeared on her cheeks and the slightly parted lips, embarrassed, yet sultry look which could make men go weak in the knees. (He himself was already experiencing a little of that. A good thing he was sitting in his chair.) If she could just work on her confidence level…
Even an unearthed diamond requires cutting and polishing to achieve a certain grade…
He gently reached out a hand and gently stroked one side of her cheek. That made her blushed even more. He gave an amused smile.
"Kae… how would you like to be a model?" sapphire-blue eyes met with stormy-grey ones, "I know of a perfect event that will make you a star in no time…"
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At the Sukinami's residence, Taka was fixing two cups of hot blackcurrant tea in the kitchen. He felt a slight tug on his trousers and looked down to see his daughter.
"Daddy, can I have some strawberry milk please?" Ai asked. Taka chuckled as he went to the refrigerator and brought out the carton of Dairy Queen's strawberry milk, but gave a puzzled look as he shook the carton. A light slosh was heard inside – more than half of it was already gone.
We bought this today after heading to the park right…?
"Taka! Can you bring the remaining strawberry milk to me?" Miaka's voice rang out from the dining room into the kitchen.
Forget what I said. With Miaka, nothing survives more than a day in the kitchen.
"NO way!!! Ai-chan will be having the remaining milk. It was her who asked for it in the first place!" Taka poured the remaining milk into a smaller cup and gave it to Ai. He then took the 2 cups of tea and headed into the dining room. Ai went to her own room.
"There's tea though." He smiled and glanced at the table in front of her. A full-blown portrait photo of Nuriko stared back at him, accompanied by an article at the following page from the opened magazine in front of Miaka.
"He's called Natalie know. Or rather…she" Miaka said as she sipped her tea cautiously. "From what I read here, she has made quite a reputation for herself as a model in the fashion industry, both good and bad."
"Nuriko's a GIRL now?!" Taka goggled at the picture in front of him. The chest seemed real enough.
Miaka shrugged "Don't look at me. I had been fooled twice before by him and Hotohori. He might still be a guy for all I know, him having this passion for cross-dressing in the book."
Taka sweatdropped at her comment. Before he could reply, the doorbell sounded. He started towards the door, but Miaka beat him to it.
"What's the rush?"
She replied with a sheepish grin "One - I ordered pizza for dinner. Two – I am hungry." She then opened the door, expecting to help out a poor delivery guy struggling with 5 boxes of pizza. But standing in front of her was…
"Hotohori!" She gasped.
The man gave a rich laugh. "Not Hotohori anymore Miaka. It's Andy… make sure you remember that." He gently reminded her.
Hfan: Yeah… I know. Very long intro of Andy and part of Sukinami household, but I feel bad writing TOO much for one chapter alone! (It added up to 9 pages in M Word!) If I decided to continue this chapter I will take an even longer time to post it! Oh yeah, I added another new character – Kae aka Soi our model-to-be for Elites! She's going to compete with Natalie sooner or later. Really sorry for Nuriko fans, there wasn't anything much on her in this chapter, but the next one will be practically STUFFED with Natalie scenes. Hfan's saving the best for later!
I also came back from China! (Now you know how long had I been brainstorming and writing.)
Next Chapter: Natalie's reflections and her meeting with Andy Wong. (Additional characters: Chichiri/Houjun and Tomo)