Been going to the gym much?”

 

Jiro turned back with a grin. He was pleased that she had noticed the results of his workouts. “It shows?” He flexed his back with his shoulders, showing off. Ella laughed, wondering why on earth she had fallen for such a vain boy.

 

He took pride in his appearance and every mirror he passed was a pal. He had no qualms when being teased about it, instead basking in the attention it brought him. He accepted that it was part of the job. But it always took him aback when Ella noticed him. He still felt like that young upstart in the presence of a shining star whenever he was around her. Even when she was standing right in front of him without a touch of makeup and barefoot.

 

With ten feet between them, Jiro stared deep into her eyes. Their separation had been too long and it seemed like he was seeing her for the first time.

 

[Flashback]

 

Ella was kind of nervous. She was an entertainer and should be used to meeting new people right now especially with her sunny personality. However, she realised just how important first impressions are. Especially since this was her first day of filming the new show ‘Hanazakarino Kimitachihe’ and she would be working with these people for the next few months for hours on top. She didn’t know what they thought of her even though they had never met before. That was a problem with being a known face on all sorts of media, people judged her anyway they wanted.

 

Deep down, she was still that same girl who was been teased for looking like a boy back when she first started.

 

“Ella, this is Wu Chun.”

 

A wide eyed boy or man gave a bashful smile. So this was her co-star whom according to the script she would be kissing. And based on the filming schedule, they would be filming that kissing scene in less than a week. How nice that directors always thought filming the hardest and most awkward scenes would help their actors break the ice.

 

Her personal assistant, who was actually her sister had informed her Wu Chun was a previously a model. He had been scouted to play the lead in the drama Tokyo Juliet and hot from his success on the show, cast opposite her for this show. Her hair had been snipped off for the role of a girl who dressed up a boy to study in the same all boys school as her crush. It was a little far fetched but since when were dramas adapted from Japanese anime rationale.

 

She had a slight issue with handsome leading men. Wu Chun was definitely one hot specimen. Though it would definitely make acting easier. It wasn’t too hard to pretend that she had the world’s biggest crush on this long haired cutie. Was her freshly shorn hair even shorter than his? She touched her own neck and felt skin. Yups definitely.

 

“Hi Wu Chun!” She smiled and shook his outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”

 

“Hello. Hope we’ll work well together.” This time, he looked straight at her and gave her a proper smile. Ella felt her cheeks flush a little, he must know he had that effect on females. His Mandarin was clumsy though.

 

“So you are from Brunei?” She had learnt of this fact about her co-star on the way to the set. The wardrobe mistress came into the room. She was carrying a few outfits. The drama was set in a private boys school so one of the outfits that they had to wear were uniforms.

 

“Yups.” He replied bashfully, as the lady measured the shirt against his shoulders. 

 

“Oh my, it’s been a long time since I’ve worn these!” A loud voice popped up next to her, taking her unaware. Almost dropping the pair of pants she had picked up, Ella turned to face another boy. She hadn’t noticed someone else had entered the room.

 

Slinging his arm comfortably around Wu Chun, this boy who had golden unkempt hair flashed a dazzling grin. Ella felt the room spin. Disconcerted, she put a hand on the table to steady herself. Damn the little sleep that she had been getting.

 

“So what do you think, Chun? These are traditional Taiwanese school uniforms.” He spoke again loud.

 

Ella looked from one boy to another. They were familiar together. She squinted. The newcomer had really defined features. If Wu Chun’s features were sharp, the other guy’s were even more delicate. Suddenly, the other boy swerved his attention to Ella, his almond shaped eyes glinting in the light. Oh damn, he was gorgeous.

 

“Oh and this is Wang Dong Cheng.” Someone introduced him.

 

“I’m Ella.” She didn’t want to risk shaking his hand so she just waved and shrugged her shoulders.

 

“I know! You are our senior!” Jiro disregarded her wariness and shook both her hands enthusiastically. His slim fingers gripped hers tight. His current display of brashness would be the same that his character Xiu Yi would have in the drama.

 

She felt abit shy about her eyebrows now. Jiro’s was perfectly groomed.

 

“Oh yes!” The pieces clicked into place finally in her head. “You guys are Fahrenheit.”

 

“Well with Calvin and Aaron but yes, we are. It’s a pleasure to be working with you.” Another grin and he finally dropped her hands.

 

Inside, the relief she felt coursed through her frozen veins. Man, was she glad she didn’t have to kiss Jiro for work. Not that it wouldn’t be fun. Stop that, guys like these didn’t like her. She wasn’t your typical sweetie pie with long wavy tresses and large anime eyes. She commanded herself as she tried to ignore the warning bells in her head.

 

But he looked like he would be a bundle of laughs, like a barrel of monkeys. “I think it will be fun!” She quipped and gave him a smile of her own, warming up to him. It was good to have the pressure off her, knowing she would always be treated like one of the guys. She always made it a point to get along privately with her on screen colleagues and seeing as she would be the only girl on set for a long time, being one of the guys wouldn’t be that bad.

 

And that was the meeting that began the summer she, Jiro and Chun would spend together, filming the show.