Ulrich was standing in front of the step and repeat banner, allowing the photographers and paparazzi to take pictures of him. A dozen cameras were flashing on him, and he looked unfazed. Of course, he is a model and is used to all the flashes; but tonight, just tonight, there was something different about him.

His hair wasn't different, he wore this usual suit and shoes… So what was it? Yumi was trying so hard to find the answer. He didn't look better or worse than usual. He just looked… Older. Like he matured from the boy he was until recently and became a man. His physical appearance isn't what made Yumi think like that. It was his aura. It was becoming more and more like an aura of a supermodel.

While Ulrich was posing for his pictures and putting up cute smiles, he felt someone's body lean on his and one of their hands on his shoulder. Of course, it was Sissi. She always had to catch a moment to latch onto him. Although Ulrich hated it, he had to act all good for the press. He just hoped they wouldn't speculate about them being in a relationship like last year, because he already denied it.

Sissi dyed her hair blonde a few days ago. She left a bit of her black roots on purpose, just to look more modern. On her legs, she had 10 cm black heels, that she paired up with a silver, a little above knee length dress that had thin straps and a very low neckline. It was all topped with a tiny Jacquemus bag that she carried in her other hand.

Despite their salary, neither Ulrich or Yumi could afford that kind of bag. And they didn't want to know its price either.

I think Sissi went a little overboard with it… Or am I underdressed? Yumi thought to herself.

But damn, Sissi looked good. Yumi loved dressing up and combining different pieces of clothes, but she will never have enough confidence to wear something as revealing as that.

Yumi was deep in her thoughts about Sissi, and didn't notice that she was the next in line for taking photos. Everyone was shouting at her, especially the older models with little kids who started to cry.

"God damn it, are you planning to move or not?! I need to get this over with!" Leo, one of the older models in the waiting line shouted like everyone else, and then proceeded to push Yumi right in front of the step and repeat banner, where the spot for taking pictures was. Yumi finally realized what's happening, but it was too late, she already fell over pretty dramatically.

Photographers and paparazzi started taking a bunch of pics of her aggressively, some of them stopping once they realized what happened and started asking her if she was okay. Most of the models in the line laughed at her, except some little kids that were too little to even realize what is happening.

Yumi's anger was currently like water that was supposed to boil every second.

Don't explode, just be classy, get up and pose, act like nothing happened, she told herself, while still being red in her face.

Just as she started getting up, she saw someone offer her a hand. It was William!

She took it gladly and got up. Smiling, posing, being classy, like she told herself.

"Can we take some pictures of you with that lovely gentleman? William Dunbar, was it?" one of the photographers asked.

"If she's okay with it, sure, I don't mind. After all, why would I mind being photographed with a number one model in France?" William said jokingly and laughed.

"You really don't have to praise me like that. Sure," Yumi replied.

They took some pictures together, and photographers were in awe of how good they looked together. They were also wondering how William was not more popular.

"Hey you, the pretty guy in black! Come with me, I have a bunch of jobs for you. You will become a superstar with me," a man, close to his fifties that still looked good for his age, told William, while doing the "come here" gesture with one of his hands.

"It's that popular Serbian designer! Oh my God, the offers you got me tonight. I'll have to thank you properly after all this is over. And don't worry about the fall, just relax and have fun! Also say hi to Chiyako for me!" William said hurriedly hugging Yumi and running off.

"Great! Goodbye… " with William being gone, Yumi felt lonely, despite having Aelita with her. Oh God! Where was Aelita? This was her first event of this kind, and she was supposed to stick to Yumi to not get lost!

Yumi took out her phone and dialed Aelita really fast. After about two rings, Aelita responded.

"Sorry for leaving you alone! Sorry!" Yumi started apologizing before Aelita even opened her mouth.

"It's okay. It is my own fault I got lost. I wandered off trying to find a bathroom," Aelita responded calmly, in contrast to Yumi's panic.

"Okay, I'm glad you're okay. Stay there, I'll come and get you."

"Actually, I'm going home," the pink-haired girl replied sadly.

"Wait, why?"

"Well, this whole day I felt a little bit uneasy, my head was spinning and my stomach hurt. I thought it was just the stomach bug. But it turned out it were… lady problems," although she knew it was completely normal thing, Aelita still felt a little bit embarrassed that it had to happen here, especially because she was in a pink dress.

"Wait but… Don't you know when you are supposed to get it?"

"Of course I do. But it came 7 days earlier. I had to call Jeremie to get me a change of clothes and call a taxi for me. God, I accidentally puked on him and it was gross. Sorry for leaving you alone. But I really don't want to puke on someone famous…"

"That's terrible! Guess I'm not the one with the worst trouble today, I guess…"

"What happened?"

"Oh, I don't even have to explain. It will be all over the news tomorrow. It doesn't matter… Just text me when you get home, okay? And take some meds, just in case."

"I will be fine, don't worry. See ya tomorrow!" Aelita said.

" See ya," Yumi managed to moodily get out before ending the call.

Great, and now I'm alone… At least there is Maria-chan, but she always talks with designers about new opportunities in my career so I can't spend much time with her. I should just go in, eat everything they have and go.

As boring as these kind of parties could be, they at least had excellent food from all top restaurants in the city.

Yumi entered the hotel. There were a lot of things happening, and after everything, she just wanted to eat some cupcakes and chill. On one side, there were multiple people talking about new possible opportunities and contracts, on the other there was a fashion show happening hosted by some Italian designer, and on the last one was a bar and a food stand.

Great! I can just eat whatever I want and escape this thing.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Ulrich watching the fashion show. He seemed unfazed, one could say even unimpressed. Of course, Sissi had to be the one sitting next to him, literally clinging to him, almost leaning on him. It was obvious he wasn't enthusiastic about this thing either.

Yumi decided just to watch them for a little bit while she was eating. It was probably the most fun she was going to get from this boring event.

She stuffed cupcakes, various type of cookies, and those little sandwiches one after another. But what she didn't notice is that someone was watching her the whole time.

"Guess you aren't a lady when you eat, either…," a very familiar voice said quietly.

Yumi turned around. It was Chiyako! She totally forgot about her idol coming. And she had to see her at the worst time…

"Konnichiwa! Ishiyama Yumi desu! Watashi wa anata to onajiyoni Nihon kara kimashita! Soshite watashi no kazoku wa anata to onajiyoni shigoto no tame ni Furansu ni kimashita! Sore ga watashi ga imakoko ni sunde iru riyu demo arimasu," Yumi put herself together and said everything in perfect native Japanese.

"Hm… I guess you really are a Japanese, and not just some girl whose parents brought her here when she was a baby," Chiyako answered, "but that still doesn't excuse your bad manners.."

Yumi really didn't know how to respond. She was always able to respond to people's bad comments in a sassy way, but come on, this was her beloved Chiyako. The person she's been idolizing since forever. Instead, she just made a very sad face. Yeah, it was very pathetic but what else could she do?

Chiyako just smiled sassily. Then, she burst into laughter.

Yumi just looked up.

"Since you're such a big fan of me, I'm pretty sure you've watched enough shows I was in to know what kind of personality I have. You really thought I was serious?"

Oh thank God, Yumi thought.

Yumi sighed, "The start of the event was terrible for me. I just didn't believe someone would be nice to me."

"This might seem very stupid, but… my mom always tells me how I know to read people well. And I can see that, despite your baddie attitude, you're an easy person to talk to. Of course, I heard a lot of news about you since you're considered the top young model of France. You always seemed so down to Earth in your interviews, but confident, and… I like that. People are too fake these days, especially new models and models your age," Chiyako smiled softly. She sounded like a completely different person now.

"That's really nice… I'm kinda flattered," Yumi didn't really know what to say. Because of being so excited, she didn't realise what Chiyako was wearing. It was a pink, knee-length skirt with puffy sleeves that had strawberries all over it. On her feet she had one of those Lolita-styled heels.

Chiyako noticed that Yumi was staring at her outfit, "Oh my God, I really am an outsider here," she looked around, "maybe I should have dressed more… classy?"

"No, no, it's okay… My mind just wandered off for a moment."

"Okay, I know we've barely even spoken, but I already really like you. And I know my style isn't really your cup of tea, but… Would you like to model my new collection for me?"

Yumi was stunned. She really didn't know what to say or do. She wanted to hug Chiyako so hard and jump and cry tears of happiness. But she decided to stay calm.

"It would be a pleasure. But, are you sure? After all, I'm a tall girl, that has an athletic build and mostly wears black. I'm the total opposite of a kawaii Japanese girls that are so cute and tiny…"

"Well, the new line is actually targeted at older girls, or may I say, young women with more athletic body. Also, it's not going to be so "princessy", it's going to be a line of clothes that are inspired by Asian culture, but could be worn for both everyday occasions such as work or school and formal events," Chiyako answered, "do you want to drink? You are 18 so you're old enough, right?"

"Yeah but I need to find my manager, Maria… I don't know were is she. She always sticks to me, and for once when I need her, she's gone..," Yumi's eyes started searching for Maria but couldn't find her anywhere.

"It's okay. We will sort this out when she shows up. This is my manager's, Kenzo, number," Chiyako said handing Yumi Kenzo's business card, "she can call him tomorrow or whenever you're both ready.

"Thank you. So shall we toast then?" Yumi asked.

"Of course, it's not everyday that one of the most famous fashion designers decides to take you," Chiyako complimented herself jokingly.

There weren't many people at the bar. Only two men. One of them was the Serbian designer that recruited William, and the other one was a green eyed boy with brown hair that was around Yumi's age.

He looks awfully familiar… The mysterious boy turned around. It's Ulrich! What is he doing here? He isn't even old enough to drink. And where is Sissi?

"Yumi? Is everything okay? The bartender is waiting for your order," Chiyako brought her back to reality.

"Oh yeah I'm sorry… A mojito for me," Yumi said to the bartender.

"One glass of white wine for me, your recommendation," Chiyako said.

When the bartender brought their drink, they toasted in honor of their collaboration.

They talked, and talked and talked. About their favorite food, places to go, movies, tv shows and even animals. They were more similar than they thought. Yumi couldn't help but glance at Ulrich once in a while. The other man that was there left shortly after her and Chiyako arrived, but Ulrich stayed and didn't even shot her a glance. He seemed more and more drunk as time passed, ordering one drink after another, with his hair being messier than usual and his tie being loose.

Although Yumi really liked Chiyako and could talk to her the whole night, she really wanted her to go already. She was interested in why Ulrich was drunk, even though she didn't want to admit it.

Chiyako looked at her watch, "Oh… It's almost midnight. I really should be going. My husband is probably worried."

"You have a husband?"

"Not so loud! I'm not so public about him. Of course I'm not ashamed or anything, but I have many crazy fans and I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him."

"Okay, sorry… it's not like someone heard you. This place isn't exactly crowded."

They both got off their seats and hugged each other. While hugging her, Chiyako softly whispered in Yumi's ear: "Isn't that drunk guy Ulrich Stern? What the hell is he doing here, that drunk and staring at us like a creep?"

"Don't be ridiculous, it's not him," for some unknown reason, Yumi was trying to save him from the shame, "I'm pretty sure he's just a lookalike..."

"Well, I couldn't care less. It was nice talking to you. Tell your manager to call me tomorrow so we can discuss the details and your salary."

"Yeah.."

Chiyako was gone. Now it's just her and Ulrich in the bar, with a few people in the food area.

Can't believe I'm doing this... But I need to know why he did that all those years ago. We never really had an opportunity to talk about it.

Before Yumi could open her mouth, Ulrich beat her and spoke first.

"So... I saw how you looked at me. You clearly knew it was me. Why were you trying to protect me?"