Color-changing fiber optic chandeliers brightened the palatial lobby. Gentle spurts of water shot up into the air, drawing splashes to the ears as they fell back into the concrete fountain basin. Hotel attendants in red and white suits stood upright by the glass door, wearing bright smiles even though night had fallen. Clover stretched her neck, looking past the people lingering around. Danise was sitting in the azure coach at the back, tapping the premium room cards in his hand on the table. At his side was Stella, pulling down her mask and accepting the iced lemon tea Kenny offered. "Little D—" Kyle cleared his throat; his voice still thick from his previous cries. "Hey!" He called again and flumped down on the seat next to Danise's."I thought you were going to spend an eternity at your Level 100." He shot him a sidelong glance. "You brought her to Level 100?" Stella asked, almost shrieking when she saw Clover appearing beside him. "Even I've never been there!" "Chillax! It's n
The next morning, Kyle woke up to raucous noises and loud bangings outside their room. Upon opening his eyes, he was surprised to find himself halfway down the couch with Danise's leg resting on his abs. He frowned. The bottles of empty champagnes around seemed to be spinning. He shook his throbbing head and massaged the spot in between his brows. When he opened his eyes again, everything was back to normal. Thank God, the hangover wasn't strong.Right then, the incessant flashes on his phone caught his attention. They were the notifications from the morning news that he had subscribed. "Stella Kim, Kyle Lee, Danise Zhang are in Sonderella!""Quick! Quick! Grab this golden opportunity to meet your idols!""It's now or never! Your idols are here within your reach!" And similar headlines went on and on. With a frown, Kyle gulped down the glass of warm water he poured for himself. He jumped over the couch and peered through the lacy curtain. As expected, a large crowd was hoarding out
Kyle was back in his home studio. Rumors about him having a female personal assistant circulated and remained the top trending search for the past three days. This was the pain of being too famous. Anything about him spread ridiculously fast. Brandon lingered around the stairs outside, watching Kyle immerse himself in his work. He hesitated to enter the room. Sitting on the dynamic chair, Kyle had his Sony earphones on, listening to the beats of his new track. Little did he care about the ongoing online discussions. He took out a blank piece of paper from the drawer and began scribbling on it. "A semibreve in the first chord?" he mumbled, drawing signs only he could make sense of. "Maybe a half note here." He played the keys but frowned when the music didn't turn out the way he wanted. "Something is amiss. Which part did I go wrong?" He spun the pencil around his thumb while fine-tuning the track with the 48-channel digital audio mixer. He faded out the sound of the piano slight
Clover Hon. Clover Hon. Clover Hon. Clover counted the number of times her name appeared on the television. It seemed as though every channel was ablaze with news concerning her. True or otherwise, nobody seemed to care. They just wanted to keep up with the latest trending topic. When did she have a one-night stand with Kyle? Nor aborted a baby? Or even on sex drugs? Her hand holding the remote control trembled. She couldn't bring herself to change the channel again, knowing that it was going to be another disappointment. Maybe it wasn't her place to speak about pride, but those made-up stories the media amplified were going overboard. Sheer curtains were swaying in the wind, and pages of the unattended magazine on the table were left flipping. Propping her chin on her palm, she toyed with the purple succulents that looked like they were enjoying their moments of life better than her. Being a human was tiring. Having feelings wasn't a joyful thing. As tears welled up in her eyes, s
Yes, his plan succeeded. However, it was a plan that was going to ruin his friendship with Kyle. Brandon carried the unconscious Clover over his shoulder and threw her into his car. Bumping into anyone at this moment was literally sending him to hell. As he reversed the car, his foot went numb. He couldn't feel anything although he was stepping on the oil pedal. Sending a vulnerable girl into harm's way was going against Kyle's principles. He understood it very well. But it was either this or having those pictures exposed. There wasn't any third option or a win-win situation. He warned her! He warned her to stay away! He warned her to leave this place! She didn't listen. So now, it'd be her fault if anything bad happened to her... right? "Damn!" He slapped the steering and sped away. 'Don't waver. You're doing this for Kyle, man.' Upon reaching the entrance of the deserted place sent by the anonymous sender, Brandon hesitated once more. He surveyed his surroundings—a drab and
"Clover?" Kyle opened the door. But the face that appeared wasn't who he expected. "Hey!" Stella took off her boots and brushed past him as she entered the house. "What are you doing here?" He sounded cold. After what had happened at Sonderella, a fragment of doubt still lingered within Kyle. He didn't know if he should believe that she had nothing to do with it. Despite having known her for more than a decade, there were instances when he felt that he never truly knew or understood her. If she hadn't purposely acted lovey-dovey with him in front of the cameras when they left the hotel that day, he probably wouldn't have suspected her. But she did, so he couldn't help but wonder if it was her who had leaked their whereabouts to the media for the sake of getting entangled in another rumor with him. However, as much as Stella wanted to have rumors speculated about them, she shouldn't have involved Clover. Having no idea what was going on in Kyle's mind, Stella turned around and s
Clover entered. As soon as the warm familiar ambiance enveloped her, tears welled up in her eyes. She pursed her trembling lips and glanced around the minimalist house that kept her in when she had nowhere else to go. She ran her fingers over the cushion and let out a soft chuckle, recalling how Brandon stuffed his mouth with chips while trying to chase her away. "You know..." Brandon whispered, lingering behind her on purpose. He was trying to block her view from Danise, who was unknotting his shoelaces in the back. "Maybe—" "Don't..." She sucked in a deep breath. "Don't say anything..." Right then, Stella stormed out of the kitchen, her azure satchel bag dragging along the floor. Clover quickly composed herself and noticed that the red gift box was still inside Stella's bag—neatly wrapped. Upon catching a glimpse of the wet tracks on her face and the redness at the tip of her pointed nose, Clover frowned. However, before she could open her mouth to say anything, Stella returned
The table was set under the hanging gray pendant lamps. Steaks were served; champagne corks were popped. The birthday party was about to start. "Clover!" Kyle called while craning his neck to look past the wall. "It's all done!" Clover shook her head and blinked a few times, regaining her composure before she stepped out. Any hints of tears on her face might ruin her entire plan—the fake birthday plan. "Put on a good act, Clover Hon." She exhaled a silent breath, patted her cheeks, and got on her feet. With his arms folded, Kyle stood by the table and stared at the condiments—honey garlic sauce, salad dressings, and mustard. He seemed to have trouble selecting the sauce to go with Clover's steak. After a while of hesitation, he finally picked up the mustard bottle and opened its cap. Just as he was about to pour a small portion of it on her plate, he changed his mind again at the last second and took the honey garlic sauce instead. However, the honey garlic sauce wasn't flowing o