REAS scoffed, no longer paying attention to this Lauren guy. He was worried at first. Mainly because of what Sienna said yesterday about the guy. He was expecting some frivolous man, full of flamboyant air. Someone he would definitely dislike at the very first sight. But he certainly didn’t expect someone like this guy.

With his slender body and height that was only half a head taller than Astrid, he hardly looked like someone who would shamelessly flirt with others. Look at that white skin and long eyelashes, he looked more like someone people would flirt with instead. Not to mention that silly attitude. 

According to Sienna, this Lauren was a few years older than them. He honestly couldn’t see it. He was more like their age. No, maybe even someone younger. 

With this single encounter, Reas worry had already disappeared. Even if this guy tried to do something untoward, his brother could definitely handle him himself. 

But he probably should still watch him unless he sticked too close to his brother.

“It’s alright, Mr. Watts,” Astrid said. “You’re not the first one to say that we don’t look similar.”

“See? I knew it wasn’t just me. One looked so pretty and the other so ordinary, how could people ever think you’re related?” Lauren said. And then as if realizing that what he said seemed very insensitive. His cheeks were tinted red again. “Sorry, that didn’t come out right. The filter in my mouth sometimes disappear and I just say whatever was on my mind.”

“Wow. How surprising. We honestly couldn’t tell,” Reas commented dryly, his voice full of sarcasm.

Astrid elbowed his brother. “Reas-!”

“What?” Reas said, speaking as if he couldn’t understand why his brother just scolded him. 

Astrid could only shake his head. He turned to Lauren and saw that the other was biting his lower lip, as if trying to stop himself from snapping back at Reas. 

He smiled and just said to change the topic, “I almost forgot, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Astrid Townsend. This is my brother, Andreas. It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Watts.”

Just as he expected, Lauren’s expression became completely bright again. “Astrid, what a pretty name. It definitely suits you. And please, just call me Lauren. We’re very close in age, after all. It would be awkward to keep calling me ‘Mr. Watts’. Besides, I want to be friends. Friends don’t call each other so formally, right?”

“Of course, Lauren,” Astrid readily agreed.

“Yey!” 

Lauren jumped happily and was about to hug Astrid but the tall fierce guy, what was his name again? Ah, Andreas, got in the way. If he didn’t stop in time, he would have ended up hugging him. Good thing that he did. 

Just the thought of him hugging this guy was enough to give him goosebumps. Not to mention that if he did so, the other would surely not hesitate to push him. And that would be the better scenario. With this guy’s temper, instead of pushing him, he might just straight up punch him. 

Although, a little bruise could be easily healed with the help of some first-aid spray, he’d rather not experience the pain.

“My brother doesn’t like overly clingy friends. And by clingy, I meant those who are addicted to unnecessary skinships,” Reas said while looking down at Lauren.

Lauren’s face almost scrunched up when he heard that. Because Andreas was definitely referring to him. He glared and the other just smirked at him like some pompous jerk.

For the first time in his life, he had the urge to punch someone.

—–

Aether stared at the blue sea beyond the cliff he was standing on. His hair that was as dark as the night sky was swaying with the wind. His obsidian black eyes were filled with resignation. As if he had already foreseen how things would end.

“You’re here,” he said, still looking at the sea.

“It seems you’ve been expecting me,” said a voice from behind.

Aether turned around and stared at the man standing before him. The other had dark blond hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing all-black. Half of his face was filled with runic symbols. It seemed that those symbols were dancing on his skin.

Aether walked closer to the man and reached out his hand.

“So, this is how you look like,” he said while tracing the other’s face. “I could have never imagined it.”

The man captured Aether’s hand and put it on his cheek. “If you have accepted me from the start, then you would have known long ago how I look like.”

Aether took back his hand and smiled. But it didn’t reach his eyes. It was simply an empty smile. “It’s a matter of pride, you see. If I had accepted you, I would have had lost something that made me who I am. But now that I am awake, everything just became inevitable.”

The man’s face suddenly turned vicious. He grabbed Aether’s shoulders and pulled him close. “No! I would never allow it! Not when I finally found you!”

=====

“And cut!” shouted Director Trevane. “Wonderful both of you!”

Astrid closed his eyes, cutting off his immersion from the role. When he opened his eyes, what he saw was the excited face of Lauren.

“Astrid! That was so good! Simply incredible. I can’t believe you’re a newcomer. Miria is also technically a newcomer to acting, but she definitely couldn’t match even a portion of your toe.” Then he stopped as if realizing that he just said something that he shouldn’t have. “Oh no, I did it again. Please, don’t tell me Miria I said that. She’s kind of sensitive.”

Astrid, of course, knew who Miria was. She was the second female lead. So far, he still hadn’t met her. He probably wouldn’t even until all his filming was done. After all, he didn’t have any scene with her. Could she really be that bad at acting?

“Your secret is safe with me,” he just said to Lauren in a playful tone.

“You’re such a sweetheart,” Lauren said, looking moved.

He wanted to hug Astrid but then in his peripheral vision, he saw Andreas. Standing on the side like some stone guard, watching them. He instinctively stopped himself.

When he did, he once again realized how annoyed he was of the guy.

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