Studio C was located at the 10^th floor of GALAXY-ENT. After passing through the café on the first floor to get his daily shot of coffee Americana, Hans Young, together with Jack his manager, headed off to the largest studio in the building. It was nearly ten-thirty when he arrived for he insisted to take a, according to him, much needed thirty minute nap after that harrowing encounter with CEO Park.

“You’re late,” the director said, shaking her head as she ordered the staff to direct Hans to the dressing room.

Hans raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon? A star is never late,” he said indignantly. “We always arrive exactly on time.”

“That would be acceptable, except you’re not as big as you think you are,” she replied, without looking at him.“Hair and make-up? Please attend to Mr. Young, immediately.”

Hans was about to retort, but the director had already left the room, leaving him all alone with his rage. Not as big? Was she even aware of who she had just spoken with? Hans checked his reflection. His eyes were a bit puffy, and his face was paler than usual. To the untrained eye, it was easy to mistake him as a sick person, and not as the perfectly fit and healthy Hans Young. He sighed. This was why it was necessary to have that eight-hour sleep.

The door finally opened and a girl carrying a large black bag, entered. She greeted Hans with a bow, which he felt he didn’t need to return. She was just a make-up artist anyway, no need to show any sort of acknowledgement.

“You must be new here,” Hans said as the girl unpacked her kit one by one. Without waiting for an answer, Hans started to list down the specifics of he wanted to look. Though there was already a set theme, he insisted that he be dressed in something classic as this fitted appropriately with his image.

“Do you understand?” he said. The girl glanced at him and gave a tiny smile.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you deaf or something?” Hans continued. He was getting frustrated. Usually, people jumped at the opportunity to speak with him. Sometimes, bringing out their cameras and snapping a picture with him was the first thing they did. But this girl, she didn’t seem to care at all.

Just then, a bald man with a single gold earring entered. “Everything okay, Ari?”

Ari gave him a thumbs-up, which the man returned.

“Hans, this is Ari by the way, she’s going to be in charge of you today. She can’t speak though. So if you need anything, just call me.”

“Alright, see you later,” Hans replied. He waited until the man left and shut the door before turning back his attention to Ari. She had started to work, and was now applying a moisturizer on his face.

“It’s my first time meeting a mute person,” Hans began. “Have you always been like that?”

Ari did not reply. She didn’t like it when people asked her how she lost her voice. For one thing, reliving the accident was something she didn’t want to do. And for another, she thought it was very rude for people to even ask.

“Did you hear me?” Hans closed his eyes as Ari applied foundation. “Oh, sorry. Forgot… can’t speak,” he added, smirking a little.

What a rude bastard. Ari thought. Poking him accidentally on the eyes was seriously tempting.

“I heard mute people tend to be deaf as well, or was it the other way around?” Hans continued, oblivious to the hard look on Ari’s face. When she was done with his face, Ari proceeded to style his hair. While heating the hair-iron, Ari went ahead and handed Hans his outfit. His eyes widened upon seeing what he was supposed to wear – leopard printed leggings, a white tank, and a green army vest –

“What the hell is this?” he shouted. “Are you telling me, I’m supposed to be wearing this?”

Ari shrugged. Those were the orders.

“Argh! Answer me!”

Are you out of your mind? I can’t speak, remember? Ari looked incredulous.

It took half an hour and a spat with the entire production team to convince Hans that it was necessary that he stuck to his outfit. Hans threatened to have whoever was in charge fired, but when they told him it was CEO Park who selected the outfits, he grew silent. He wasn’t about to cross the CEO again, not after what happened that morning.

“I hate this shoot,” he said, more to himself, as Ari styled his hair. “My day is not going well… it could be worse… at least, I still have my voice.” He laughed at his own remark.

What a vile creature! Unable to take it any longer, Ari pressed the hair-iron into Hans’s earlobe.

“AAAAAGHHH! OUCH!! WHAT THE HELL?!” Hans jumped off his seat, holding his right ear and staring, wide-eyed at Ari. His eyes darted to the hair-iron in her hands, and to her eyes which was narrowed and filled with cold fury. Then, Ari placed the hair-iron on a table, got the green vest hanging on the rack and mercilessly hit every inch of Hans she could reach.

“WHAT… THE HELL …IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” Hans shielded his face. Ari, who now saw a magazine, opted for this instead and started hitting Hans on the head.

This girl was clearly insane, Hans thought as he ran out of the room, closing the door and holding tightly on the knob. The ruckus has caught the attention of the crew and of ZE-US, who was having their turn.

“Help! That girl is crazy!” Hans called, still keeping a firm grip on the door knob.

The bald man with the single earring hurried towards Hans, shocked and confused. “What’s happening here? Open the door.”

Hans refused, but again, he gave way when they said they would call the CEO. When the door was opened, they found Ari sitting on the boudoir, head buried in her arms. Among the crowd was Will, who, upon seeing her, immediately rushed to her side.

He gently lifted her head up. “What happened?” he asked as he wiped away the tears with his thumbs.

Ari threw herself into Will. I can’t stand it. How can people be so mean?

“What did he do?” Will said loud enough for everyone to hear. Soon, all eyes were turned to Hans, who stood by the door, watching.

“What? I didn’t do anything,” Hans said, defensively. “I was just talking about how lucky I am to still have my voice, and then… she turned into a maniac and attacked me!”

“You silly boy!” the bald man said, “…people with disabilities don’t appreciate it when you speak about it. Where’s your heart?”

Hans was stunned. For some reason, he felt really weird, and ashamed. “I… I thought she couldn’t hear me,” he said in a small voice.

Will and Ari walked by. “She can’t speak, but she can still hear you,” Will said, eyes glaring. Without another word, they left the room. One by one, the people left as well, but not without showing how much they abhorred his actions – some threw him dirty glances, while others shook their heads.

As he watched them go, Hans felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It felt like a black hole suddenly appeared, in his insides. It was horrible.

The shoot went on without much incident, and Hans, who suddenly felt unwelcome, mostly kept to himself the rest of the day. He had a couple more interactions with Ari, she was his stylist after all, but then on, it was the most awkward feeling ever. After letting out her tears, Ari seemed fine. In fact, it was as if nothing happened at all. And this cheery demeanor was what made everything all the more uncomfortable – it made Hans think of himself as a heartless creature. Maybe it was better if she started hitting him again, rather than smiling at him, and acting all kind.

It puzzled Hans even more how, despite not being able to speak, Ari seemed to have a lot of friends. The whole crew seemed to care for her deeply, and they even laughed with her, without her even saying anything! It was frustrating to think about, and Hans was even more frustrated with how frustrated he was at the thought of her. Why did she even matter? He didn’t even know about her until today.

His thoughts were filled with her the whole day, even until he fell asleep.