Dreams
"Tell me, Len, what is going on between the two of you?"
Chapter 19: Audition
Gakupo stepped out of the room with a flustered face as he headed towards Rin's direction. Rin shifted on a small couch and patted the empty seat next to her.
"Kagamine, I'm so screwed." Gakupo sat down and covered his face. "I couldn't sing in front of Luka."
"But... you can sing very well!" Rin said.
"Not in front of my idol, sadly," he muttered as he removed his hands from his face and looked at Rin. "Good luck, Kagamine. I hope you can seriously pass this."
"Thank you," Rin said with a smile. "And I'm sorry that I couldn't do anything to help you."
"Hey, it's okay. Anyway, I'm only here for Luka's autograph." He laughed and took out a picture of the pink haired model with a large signature on it. "Ta-da!"
Rin stared at the signature in awe. She really wanted her autograph too!
As she kept staring at the picture, a voice startled her, "Next!"
Rin looked up and saw a lady walking into the room with confidence. Anxiety filled her as she swallowed hard to calm herself down. Just nine more persons to go before it was her turn.
-:-:-:-
"Nothing." Len picked up his utensils and put a spoonful of rice into his mouth. "There is seriously nothing going on between us."
Kaito continued to stare at him doubtfully. He picked up his utensils too and started eating the salmon.
Then, he spoke again, "It's not like I want to doubt you, Len. But... I just got this feeling that the both of you are very close. Probably closer ever since the day I brought you to the karaoke gathering."
Len nearly choked on his rice. He immediately grabbed the bowl of miso soup and gulped down the soup before frowning at Kaito.
"You're probably thinking too much. That woman and I are never close to each other," he corrected. "Based on the fact that she always screams and shouts at me whenever she sees me, it's obvious that she hates me."
"What about you? What are you thoughts and feelings for her?"
"Like I said, there is no way I would like this woman," Len replied calmly. "Even if I like her of some sort, I wouldn't want to have her either."
Kaito stopped chewing and stared questionably at his friend. "Why not?"
"You're my friend, aren't you? I wouldn't want my friend to be sad because of me." Len smiled sincerely and chuckled. "And believe me, if I ever come to like her, the sky will definitely fall and pigs will fly. That woman... she's not my taste at all."
"You still like your childhood girlfriend, don't you?" Kaito teased with a laugh.
After saying that, Kaito noticed Len turning pale and remaining very still. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts as he stared at the salmon in daze.
"Len..."
Len looked up and stifled an awkward laugh. "She is not my girlfriend, Kaito. She is just a childhood friend like you and Meiko, and we haven't been contacting each other for years. I bet she has forgotten me."
"You were always talking about her as if you were in love with her," Kaito said. "Though I've never seen her before, I can tell that the girl was a very sweet person."
Len shuddered and grunted, "Define sweet."
"Something which leaves behind a sugary feel inside you," Kaito replied with a grin. "Isn't that sweet?"
"Oh well, she wasn't sweet," Len retorted. "She was plain cheesy."
"So, you like cheesy people?"
"Nope."
Kaito made a soft humming sound before he continued to eat his meal. Still, he was a little doubtful about the fact that there was nothing going on between Len and Rin. He knew he should not be doubting his friend but he just could not help it.
"Does Kagamine lives around your area?" Kaito spoke again, causing Len to flinch.
"What?"
"A few days ago, I took her home and found out that she was living in the same..."
Len gulped. Why did Rin choose to go home with Kaito at this period of time? Shouldn't she have accepted his offer ages ago? Why did it have to be a few days ago? That dumb wannabe model!
"... block as you."
"Eh?" Len gawked at his friend and he immediately let out an awkward laugh. "I didn't know that."
"But she knows," Kaito's tone became serious. "It seems that she has just shifted there... Did she leave her home?"
"How... how would I kn... know?" Len stammered and looked away.
"Len... you do know that I know how you would behave when you lie..."
-:-:-:-
"Next."
Rin froze.
"Rin Kagamine."
"Yes!" Rin called out in reply and hurriedly entered the room.
When she stepped into the room, she was greeted with four pairs of eyes staring intensely at her and she froze again. The panel of judges looked intimidating with their sharp piercing eyes locked onto hers and no smile on their faces. Sitting at the left side of the judges' table was none other than Luka Megurine who was smiling radiantly at Rin. Never in her life had she seen Luka in person right before her eyes. It might sound dramatic but this awesome and exciting sight made her want to squeal in delight. She could understand what Gakupo had been feeling moments ago. It was like an idol had appeared right in front of you. But hey... Luka was indeed an idol! Rin could hear her own mental squeals and screams in her head.
"Are you Rin Kagamine?" one of the judges spoke up.
Rin quickly straightened up herself and bowed to the judges. "Yes, I am!"
"Please take a seat in front of this table, Ms Kagamine. Let's get started, shall we?" a familiar woman with silvery-white hair said in a monotone voice. "You're a first year university student, majoring in Law studies. Nineteen years old this year, has no job experience, your hobbies... watching variety shows... that's an interesting hobby."
Rin just laughed shyly while the three judges stared dubiously at her.
The other judge spoke up as well, "Why are you interested in modelling when you're taking Law studies in a university? Just wondering."
"Why..." Rin thought aloud as she scratched her cheek. "Well, actually... I'm not interested in Law. I'm interested in modelling because when I was younger, I like to model in front of people..."
"Model as in?" another judge interrupted her with a stern look.
"As in... posing?" Rin answered meekly, feeling so tense and nervous by the intimidating look that judge was giving.
"You pose," the silvery-white haired female judge mumbled as she wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Now, Miss Kagamine, do a pose for us."
"Eh?"
"You said you can pose," the lady said nonchalantly.
"I..."
"Hmm? So, you mean you can't?" she continued without allowing Rin to finish speaking.
Because of this, Rin was desperately trying to keep her cool. This judge was still staring at her in a stuck up manner which irritated and scared her even more. Rin slowly moved and did a pose. Her hands were placed at her hips while she shifted her left foot behind her right foot. As she did that, she forced a smile at the judges, but they did not look impressed at all.
"So, you call this a pose?" one of the judges jeered and smirked. "Luka, show her how real models pose."
Rin sighed and shifted her gaze to the pink-haired model only to find the model staring dreamily at her. The other judges turned to look at Luka as well and frowned at her.
"Miss Luka Megurine, stop dreaming," the silvery-white haired judge snapped, causing Luka to wake up to her senses. "Did you hear what he said?"
"Ah..." Luka bit her lips and stared at Rin again with a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. "Sorry, no. But..."
"But what?"
"Noth... Nothing," Luka muttered and looked away.
"Luka, do a pose. Show her what real models usually pose," the judge who had jeered at Rin earlier ordered.
Nodding her head, Luka stood up, walked over to Rin and stood next to her. Without warning, Luka gently shifted her head to the side and back to the front, allowing her hair to flutter in mid-air and sweep across Rin's face. Rin immediately stepped back and stared at Luka with a surprised look. Before she knew it, Luka was already posing. Her hair looked messy, yet it appeared so beautiful. Her pose was simple but it was so good that it captured her attention. Her body was facing Rin while her head was facing the judges with a sharp and enchanting gaze.
"See? This is called posing," the judge said.
"Well, what can you expect from Luka Megurine?" The other judge laughed. "Enough of the joke, let's continue."
Rin hung her head lowly, feeling very dejected. That freaking evil judge said that it was a joke, she lamented to herself. Yet, she took the matter so seriously. She agreed that her pose was not professional at all and could never compare with Luka who had been in this field for at least six years.
"Aww... people, don't be so harsh on Kagamine," Luka spoke in a sweet voice, loosening the tension around Rin as she put her arm around Rin's shoulder. "You can't expect an amateur to behave like a professional veteran, can you?"
"Look at yourself, Miss Luka Megurine. You're praising yourself again," the silvery-white haired judge said in a low voice. "What professional veteran?"
"Just kidding." Luka giggled and removed her arm from Rin before returning back to her seat. "Good luck, Kagamine!"
Rin blushed and nodded shyly. Luka was indeed a good person even in real life. No wonder Gakupo was dead happy after his audition was over.
"Miss Kagamine, you have left the question about your talents blank," the silvery-white haired judge pointed out. "So, do you have any special talents?"
"I... don't know," Rin replied.
"So, you've no talent at all."
"I..."
"If you've no talent, how are you going to show us what you actually got?"
Rin hung her head again. She knew that this audition was going to be a failure and there was no hope in getting through it. Maybe it was time to buck up her studies and listen to her parents.
"What does being a model mean to you?"
Rin looked up upon hearing that question.
"There must be some sort of inspiration, other than posing, to make you reconsider your future job option," the silvery-white haired judge continued.
Before Rin could open her mouth to say a word or two, a loud tapping sound was heard, startling Rin. She looked at one of the judges who kept tapping the tip of his pen against the table, and he looked back at her.
"People who has no talent don't really have any inspiration, do they?" he mocked and laughed at his own question. "Well, that's obvious."
"I do!" Rin exclaimed loudly and took a step forward. "But it's not really an inspiration."
While Luka was intrigued by her words, the three judges just looked at her, perplexed. Despite that, Rin decided to continue.
"The reason why I want to be a model is because I want to bring smiles to people. To me, being a model is like being a star, shining on others and making their day."
The expressions of the judges remained unchanged whereas Luka's eyes widened at her words.
"Bring smiles, you say? Why did you say so?" the silvery-white haired woman queried.
"When I was younger, I couldn't go anywhere but could only stay at home because of my parents. Everyday was miserable for me, but whenever I picked up a magazine, I would see models modelling for the different advertising brands." The more Rin talked about her past and dream, she became very engrossed in it and began grinning happily. "Then, I began to watch fashion and variety shows on television so that I could see more models. Seeing them always make me happy and I have always wondered that... if I could become a model, could I bring smiles to others like what those models do to me? So, that's why I want to be a model."
Rin stopped to listen to the judges' comments but they remained silent. The silvery-white haired woman was penning something down on a piece of paper while the other three, including Luka, just stared at her with their eyes slightly enlarged. Rin tugged her loose hair behind her ears awkwardly for she knew that her reason to become a model was ridiculous. She just knew it.
Suddenly, one of them laughed and said, "Miss Rin Kagamine, you sure do know how to make me laugh. Is being a model all about bringing smiles to others? The answer is no!"
The judge continued to laugh while the other one spoke in a calm voice, "Miss, your time is up. If you pass this audition, we'll call you up. I hope you do get in and become a comedian-model."
Upon hearing those insensitive comments, Rin was stunned and was feeling very angry. It was true that being a model was not all about bringing smiles to people but calling her to become a comedian-model was insulting. The silvery-haired judge looked up and gave Rin a long stare. Rin returned her stare and bowed to the judges.
"Thank you for your time." Rin straightened herself up and smiled at them. "And thanks to you all, I've learnt a lot today, especially about posing. Thank you very much."
She lowered her head as she walked out of the room with tears welling up in her eyes. She sat next to Gakupo who was reading a magazine and hid her face behind her hands. She knew that she had already done her best but her chest was hurting badly. She wanted to cry and let out everything that was hurting her chest.
"Kagamine, what happened? Wait... why are you crying?" she heard Gakupo's concerned voice sounding close to her ear.
Hearing how concerned her friend was made her want to cry louder and at the same time, laugh at how weak she actually was. How she wished Len was right next to her so that he could comfort her. She wanted to hear his voice right there and then but she did not want to face him, knowing that his efforts had come to waste.
"Kamui... I've failed."
That awkward moment when you claimed that you were fine though you were hurt inside but when you were comforted by your friends, all your bottled up emotions came pouring out. Sometimes, this does happen to me as well. Haha... Anyway, thanks for reading up to Chapter 19! :)
Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 18. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D
Here are the reviewers:
- MizuneMinamiki
- B.L
- justanothernaah
- YellowFluffiesForever22
- Gruesome Deaths
- seraphim.159
Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story.
Preview of the next chapter:
Chapter 20: His Words
It took him at least a minute before he shifted his position, slightly facing towards Rin, and asked her, "How's the audition?"
Rin blinked a few times and answered with a fake smile, "Like I said, it's fine."
"Really? That's good to hear that," Len muttered with a light nod.
No, that was not it. It was actually not fine! That was not good at all! Rin mentally screamed. Why couldn't he see through her?
"It's time for you to move out," he said in a low voice, stunning Rin.
She stood up and glanced down at him with wide eyes. Did he just call her to move out? But why?
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