Kris doesn’t feel he has much of a social life. Yes, he speaks with plenty of people every night and involved in plenty of conversations, but it wasn’t the same feeling.

After works ends, he takes a cab home to his apartment and steps inside, groggy as the tolls of the night take its effects.

He drinks nothing but water for his high thirsts and aspirin, he drinks so many wine bottles that he’s sure his liver’s shot. He rarely cooks and just eats whatever food he finds in the stalls outside to bring in, quickly eating it so settle his appetite for the day before he knocks out on his bed in the morning. Just as the rest of the world is ready and prepared for the day.

And once the sun begins to set, his routine starts all over again.

His closet is full of black clothes and he holds many boxes of jewelry, and though he lives alone, there’s enough shoes by the door that most would think otherwise.

He’s used to his regulars, but he’s still in wonderment as he recognizes the young woman who already takes the same distant seat. Kris no longer sits so far away and sits right by her side though he doesn’t face her. He admits he holds a grudge over her pity, and she’s well aware of that. And though there’s a long silence between them, it’s not of tension or awkwardness, rather a comfortable one.

As he leans over as another host speaks to him, she catches the scent of vanilla.

Kris looked up as Victoria peered closely at him before returning to his former position.

“Change your cologne.” Victoria states. At Kris’s puzzled look, she adds. “Your cologne, it’s too creamy.”

“I like this scent.” Kris says crossly.

“I don’t.” Victoria utters.

“Spices are your only preference then? Jo Malone Vetyver, is it a personal favorite or just choice of the night?”

Victoria looked surprised. Kris has been surrounded by so many scents, he can just about pinpoint them all.

“Maybe one afternoon I can accompany you and help you choose a decent one then.” She suggests lightly.

He knows she’s just saying it, but he still has to reject the playful offer. “I don’t think you’re too aware of the etiquette here. It’s bad manners to meet after hours are over. Staying longer here is considered proper for your host.”

“Hmm, I see.” Victoria muses. "Then what of the woman I saw-..."

Kris's swift look silenced her. She sees his eyes subtly scan the area around him and notes each nearby host. A glint in his gaze deepens as he nears her and whispers, "An exception. A rare one."

Victoria focused on the table in front of her, refusing to look elsewhere. She feels the heat dissipate as Kris pulls away.

“On the surface of the host club, it acts as if the hosts cater to a client’s every whim. When in reality, the client has to cater to your needs. Why is that?”

Kris smiles. “Because women like to care for people, whether it’s someone they love or someone they pity. We act as the men in their lives they want to take care of and show their appreciation, it’s something they enjoy doing.”

“Not all women do.”

“You’re right, but those who come by here do. Like you.” Kris utters. “Don’t act as if I’m the only one you’re coming to see now. You’ve been keeping an eye out for Krystal.”

“She needs a friend,” Victoria says to suffice. Kris sees that determination in her eyes and it amuses him.

“Trying to save everyone, it’s a task no one can fulfill.”

“That’s why I’m not trying to, I’m just caring for those I hold dear to me.” Victoria defends. “I’m sure even you, and the others here can understand that sentiment.”

Kris smiles, “You’re thinking better of us now?”

“My opinion can change.” She reminds him and Kris has a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

Usually the eyes can detail everything hidden behind a person, but even Kris masters the illusion. She finds it hard to tell which is his real self and his persona. She knew Kris kept it distinct, it sometimes amazed her how well he could do it.

She wants to ask him, if he feels as detached from his life as she did?

The answer felt obvious, but she chooses not to ask.

-

The cameras lined up as they took photos of the various guests.

Victoria was no celebrity, but her family’s status was enough to draw some attention to her. She then sees an older man gesture for her to come towards the podium. She walks to the stage and waits at the end of the short stairwell as her father speaks to the audience.

Her father may no longer have a formal position, but the former politician had a strong influence amongst the party. And when her father ends the gripping speech, the applause is her cue as she walks up to the stage alongside her mother and present themselves beside her father. She smiles for the photos and gazes towards the crowd in endearment.

When it’s said and done, her parents and her descend the stairs and then part ways without words or even quiet thanks. She continued back towards her seat.

“It’s exhausting.” One notes out loud about her table, another daughter of her father’s colleagues, who set her sights on becoming her own entrepreneur. “Sometimes they just refuse to work at all, all they do is complain about the workload. They say there are plenty of people who’d want a job at all, but from those in my shop, I find little truth in that.”

Although she hears of her rants often since her business first began, this was the first time she felt her interest peaked. Victoria chimes in. “Are you involved in the hiring at all? I believe I have someone who’d do the job without a single complaint.”

The woman is mildly skeptical, but Victoria’s demeanor puts her at ease. “Really? Who?”

Before she could answer, they’re interrupted.

“Good evening.”

Victoria raises her gaze to the man who smiles delightfully at her. She greets him back. She expects the usual praise for her father and some self-praise as well. She waited expectantly.

“I’m Ryan Liu.”

Victoria blinked, though she kept herself distanced from politics, she was aware of who this man was and his family’s position.

“I wish your father the best of luck, I’m sure he’ll run this country well.” She adds and Ryan gives a downcast smile. This obviously wasn’t what he wanted to speak with her about.

“I was hoping we could speak privately,” he requests.

She pauses but tries not to display her hesitation. She looks back to the woman, “I’d like to speak with you more about it after.”

Victoria accompanies him outside the stoned balcony. There’s flowers cascaded down the rails and lights that lit up the city, with its breathtaking view, it was easy to become lured.

“I’ve admired you for a long while,” he tells her. “I always held back considering your relationship. When I’d heard of you two and your recent...”

“It’s nothing I concern myself with,” she adds. Her answer brightens the man’s demeanor considerably. She studies the man whose boyish charm displayed nicely with his matured looks.

“I know I’m just a stranger to you, but I’d like us to get to know one another better. And I wonder if maybe,” he meets her eyes. “Could you possibly consider me?”

She’s known many men who make their motives known, but this was rare. Victoria’s decision was already made up in her mind, but she takes a moment or two.

She takes a careful pause and clenches her fingers, “I’m sorry, but as of right now I’m not ready for a relationship.”

She usually said yes in these situations just for the sake of it.

“Oh,” Ryan said understandably, masking his disappointment. “Maybe when you are, we could?”

She had no reason to reject him, no known one. And she quietly regrets the false hope she’d instill in him.

“Possibly.” She replies.

That possibility in her mind appeared very slim.

Victoria while sitting in their town car home, thinks back to her behavior and wonders if she’s becoming as enamored as that woman who first arrived with Kris that night. By now, Victoria would know better than to keep a good distance between them. Yet, like the others in her family, she inherits a stubborn trait.

She’s well aware of what she wants. And her usual confidence around men is dampened a bit. Kris knows how to keep boundaries, and she finds it hard to cross those lines.

Victoria’s lips curve into a small smile, stifling a small laugh she hides from her parents who don’t pay her any mind. What was she thinking?

He must think of her as a nuisance. Nothing more than child’s play.

-

Kris lifts through the alley and hoists a drunken man from the floor over his shoulders, “I’m sorry,” he says as he nearly shoves the man inside the opened taxi. He gives the address and it drives. The man isn’t a customer, but one of his colleagues, and he won’t be the last one either.

Kris helps to wake up the last of the bunch as he closes the door and they all heave outside and depart ways. Kris takes his own taxi once he’s sure everyone’s fine, and leaves.

Despite being surrounded by constant women, he never felt so lonely. Sometimes like his colleagues, the idea of a girlfriend is comforting. Someone who’d want to care for you, a different sort of want. As of late, these thoughts are a little more out of control.

And like every morning, before he succumbs to emotion, he sleeps.

There’s a code amongst their members, and in other clubs as well. Your ultimate goal wasn’t to sleep with a client, after all, once the customer had with their desired men, they usually left. They built relationships so the woman could come back, they had to last if they were make their living.

“I love you Kris, I do love you.” She whined to his shoulder, eyes b with tears.

He smiled.

“I’ll do all I can for you.” She tells him. He brushes his hand affectionately across her cheek. “I’d die for you.”

“I don’t want that,” Kris said quietly. “If you live, every night is a little brighter.”

She hangs around his neck and nestles closer, and gradually falls asleep.

He knows her declaration isn’t the first time, and has been said to other men, other hosts before. It’s words he’s heard before, said by a different person until he understands the routine. The declaration holds little value.

He’s overwhelmed by the strong citrus he feels she pours on her skin, resonated to his senses strongly but he acts as if it’s pleasant. Oriental, fruity and floral scents, it’s the usual bounty he comes across every night.

Spices may not have been his favorite scent, but it’s one he prefers right now.