Dreams

"Are you going to take a stroll in the park again?"

"Ah... Haha... Yeah."

"Take care, Mum."

"Yeah... Yeah, you too."

Chapter 30: Outfit in Need

"Haku."

A blonde entered the small office room without knocking and caught sight of her colleague stuffing instant noodles into her mouth hungrily. The latter looked up and beamed at her with strings of curly noodles sticking out of her mouth.

The blonde put on a disgusted look and said, "Haku, long time no see but I can see that you're putting on weight."

"Shut up!" Haku barked and continued her meal.

The blonde stifled a laugh and asked casually, "How's the newbie model? I heard that she's going to appear in a comedy variety show."

"Fine."

"Laugh-UpCity, is it?"

"Yes."

The blonde stared at her cluelessly and laughed again. "I mean... are you serious? As a manager, you actually want her to make a fool out of herself in her first debut?"

"What about it?" Haku put down her chopsticks and glared at her. "Neru, do I have a choice?"

The blonde crossed her arms and shook her head with a sigh.

"You should have known it by now, Haku Yowane. The higher ups are serious about this," she said in a low voice which made Haku narrowed her eyes even more. "Do you know the purpose of letting the newbie model appear in a comedy variety show?"

Haku remained silent as she looked away. Wasn't it obvious that the purpose was to allow Rin to make her first debut in a weird way? It was weird but it was a norm in ALICE Studio.

"Haku..."

"Neru," Haku interjected and smiled coldly at her. "It's normal, isn't it? Your girl didn't have to go through all the humiliation, unlike others do. That doesn't give you the right to question the purpose of the director's doing."

"Oh? So, you don't know anything yet, do you?" The blonde scoffed. "Let me tell you this, Haku. As your friend, I'm going to be very honest and straightforward. Don't blame me."

Haku looked away again.

"The purpose of her appearance in the comedy variety show is to get rid of her."

Upon hearing that, Haku turned her head around and looked at the blonde with wide eyes.

"What do you mean by that?"

"To keep long story short, the higher ups are doing this because of you," the blonde replied. "In the first place, that newbie wasn't supposed to pass the audition! Your stubbornness has caused her to suffer in this talent agency. From what I've heard, she has no talent. How's she going to represent the agency? Haku, please... please let her go and choose someone suitable. You've gone through the same thing before so please..."

Haku raised her hand to stop her and hissed, "So what?"

"I'm... I'm worried about you. I'm telling this to you as a concerned friend..."

"Then, stay concerned and watch us." Haku's lips curled slightly and she gently put her hand down on the table. "Call me stubborn, but I don't care. I'm going to make sure that she will make it through like how she did in my audition."

"Not your audition, but ALICE Studio's," the blonde corrected.

"Nope, it's mine."

"You're just forcing your dream upon her..."

"And you just came here to tell me all of these nonsenses after one month of not meeting each other." Haku smirked and leaned forward. "I still haven't forgiven you for stealing the dinner which I'd prepared for the newbie model and myself."

The blonde quickly looked away in embarrassment and mumbled, "Opps... the receptionist told you, right?"

"Huh?"

"Miss Yowane!" a loud excited voice sounded outside the room and echoed along the hallway.

Just then, the door swung open, revealing another blonde.

"Rin, you're back," Haku muttered aloud.

"Miss Yowane, my exams are finally over! It's..." Rin immediately stopped chattering when she realised that there was another woman inside the room.

The blonde woman nodded at her with a warm smile and greeted, "Good evening."

Not knowing what to do or say, Rin bowed politely.

"She is Neru Akita, one of the managers working here," Haku said in a stern voice.

"Ah..." Rin looked up and lowered her head again with a flustered face. "Good evening, Miss Akita."

"Miss Yowane must be a strict manager," the blonde joked and walked towards Rin. "Am I right?"

Haku cleared her throat and shot her friend a death glare. However, she just brushed her warning aside and laughed while Rin remained speechless. Sure, Haku was indeed strict to her but she had a kind side. Careful not to offend her manager in any way, Rin just smiled a little.

"I shall take my leave then," the blonde woman said and strode out of the room.

-:-:-:-

"Do a split."

Rin slowly widened the gap between her legs and her feet slid across the polished wooden floor, though not with ease. She stretched her aching thighs muscles and finally, her bottom touched the ground.

Looking excitedly at her coach, she cheered loudly, "I did it! Look! I can finally do a split!"

Suddenly, something hard slapped the side of her head and she flinched. Seeing her coach shaking his head in dismay, Rin pouted angrily. She had been trying to do a split for three weeks and this was her first time doing it right. Couldn't he just praise her for once?

"Miss Kagamine, you do a split like this." The coach swiftly did a smooth split and stared at his student who was looking at him in awe. "You're too jerky, unnatural and not elegant when doing it. Try again."

Rin groaned as she got up and stood straight. Holding her breath, she raised her hands to mid-air and slid her feet again. However, because of her jerky movements, she was told to re-do over and over again until the session ended with disatisfactory.

When Rin returned home with Haku after the physical training session, Haku signalled her to come to the living room with her. She took out a file of papers and handed it to Rin.

Curiously, Rin inspected the file cover and asked, "What's this?"

"The programme for the comedy variety show next Saturday," Haku replied. "You ought to memorise your lines and the sequence of the programme to make sure you don't flub it."

"Alright. I shall do my best."

"By the way, Rin," Miss Haku continued in a softer voice. "We've a problem with your outfit for next Saturday. A designer did show me the design and I approved of it but..."

"But?"

"I'm sorry. He couldn't produce the outfit because he had met with an unexpected accident last week." Haku lowered her head in apology which startled Rin because this was not like Haku at all. "I intended to inform you about this but you've to concentrate in your examinations. I'm deeply sorry about this."

Rin was perplexed at first but soon, she put on a smile and shook her head as if the matter was not that serious. She could open her wardrobe and dig for the best dress she had so there was, in fact, nothing to worry about. However, Haku seemed to be more worried about her even after she had tried to calm her nerves by saying that she would be fine with any outfit.

"A glamorous dress won't do. It's a comedy variety show, Rin. If you read your script, you would realised that your role there is a..." Haku hesitated as she looked at the puzzled look on Rin's face. "A cheerleader who will be pranked by the hosts."

A prank was fine with her but to act like a cheerleader...? She had never done cheerleading before. How was she going to obtain the outfit? Could she ask her friends for it? Maybe Miku might have. But what if she did not have it? Oh no... What should she do?

"Buy... it... I know, I can buy a set from a branded sports shop!" Rin turned to look at Haku eagerly. "It's easier this way."

"Yes, it's easier but it's your first debut. What the viewers are looking for is your style, not the brand. You're not advertising the product and I don't think the company would want to advertise their brand through you."

Ouch... Her words indeed hurt Rin a little but she still did not quite get why it was bad to wear something ready-made. Furthermore, what could they do within seven days? An outfit would not magically appear within a short period of time. It was common sense.

"Don't dwell on it for too long. I shall find another fashion designer for this job. Meanwhile, you'll have to concentrate in your debut preparation."

"But, Miss Yowane..."

"Read your script properly and memorise your lines everyday since your examinations are over."

Rin wanted to say somemore but she bit her lips tightly, forcing herself not to say anything unnecessary which might aggravate Haku. She nodded reluctantly and walked into her room with the file in her arm.

"Fashion designer... Fashion... Designer... Cheerleading outfit... Pink? Wait..." Rin fished out her handphone from her pocket and stared hard at the first contact on the list. "Kagamine... Len..."

-:-:-:-

"Mum, you're going to take a stroll in the park tomorrow morning, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

Len smiled at his mother and suggested, "I'll take you to the park then."

"Eh? N... No need to take the trouble, son," his mother replied. "It's nearby and... and I'm going there with my friends."

"But since I might be passing by the park..."

"I said there's no need for you to do that. I need to walk there myself," she interjected in an angry tone which caused Len to be taken aback. "Anyway, the doctor told me to take walks outside more instead of doing nothing at home. It's good for my heart."

"Is... is that so? Don't stress yourself too much."

That was all he could say to his mother who seemed to be obsessed with walking in the park for the past one week. Not only she left the house before he did to work, she did not even tell him where she had gone to. Deep inside him, he doubted the fact that she was visiting the park every single morning but he wanted to trust her. He wanted to see his mother safe and sound before he left for work.

As if she could read his mind, she reached out to touch his hand and whispered gently, "You've to trust me, Len. I'll be fine on my own."

Len gave her a reluctant nod in response. Since the doctor said so, she should be fine, or so he thought. Suddenly, he felt something vibrate inside his chest pocket. Quickly, he took it out and stared at the blinking light in astonishment.

"It's a text message, isn't it?"

He looked up and smiled at his mother.

"It is. I'll wash myself up first. Are you preparing supper tonight?"

"Yes, son. Chocolate shortcake for tonight."

"Thanks, Mum. Love you!" he said gleefully and entered his room.

As he shut the door, he opened the message and read it. Very soon, his eyebrows knitted together into a deep frown.

'Hi, I really need your help. Is it possible for you to make an outfit within six days? Please reply as soon as you see this message! -Rin Kagamine'

"Huh? Is she crazy? Six days to produce an outfit? Who does she think I am? A fairy god-designer-tailor?" Len grunted in disbelief.

Unsure why he was not happy with her message, mainly not because of her unreasonable request, he swiftly typed and replied her with two letters which he knew she probably did not wish to see.

'No.'

Hi guys, thanks for reading up to Chapter 30.

Next, I would like to thank those who had reviewed Chapter 29. Thanks for all those encouragements. Hope to hear more from you again! :D

Here are the reviewers:

- mirrors02
- Amazon Huntress
- Ama Zon
- PiscesAquamarine12
- Neru-Nanami-chan
- Contralto

Lastly, I would also like to thank those who had story alerted and favourited this story.

Preview of the next chapter:

Chapter 31: Beg

She cringed a little at the ticklish warm sensation on the sensitive skin of her neck. She did not know what had caused Len to embrace her all of the sudden but she undeniably liked his hug. Like always, she had forgotten her goal here and wanted to be embraced by him a little longer. If time could stop for them, it would be her wonderland.

Being a little perverted, she could not help but to notice that Len's body frame was so much larger than what she had expected, especially his chest and arms. This realisation made her heart race crazily.

"When a friend hugs you, isn't it normal for you to return the hug?"

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