The night sinks deeper, the moon shines luminous at its peak. Half of the world was drowning in fairytale dreams or surreal nightmares, but not Luhan. No, Luhan was far from dreams and imaginary worlds; he was in reality, and reality was a club party thrown by a colleague, with him as the guest of honor.

The rising star of the youngest generation.

From celebrities to managers to big shot producers, Luhan has talked to them all. Making a name for himself has always been easy, given his natural beauty and incomparable charm. No one can match up to his doll-like face, his charming smile that can make a million girls swoon, and his sculpted body that lies hidden beneath designer clothes and accessories. He lives under the spotlight – always admired, always remembered, always loved.

Luhan is the brightest star.

“Luhan, you should be in your room at exactly 2 a.m., ok?”

Luhan gives his manager a reassuring smile before entering the club and making his way to the dance floor. The blinding disco lights that swirled in rhythm with the loud techno music, the lingering layer of smoke that concealed the dancing figures, and the strong smell of high-class alcohol and wine, made Luhan’s body pump in excitement and anticipation. With a tight schedule and non-stop events, parties have become his primary mean of relaxation and escape from the busy world of showbiz. Partying hard was his forte and no one can stop him from enjoying himself for one night.

Every head turned to his direction as he walked across the dance floor like a model on a ramp. The females would swoon and blush when he flashes his 100-megawatt smile and the males would gulp when he meets their wide-eyed gazes. Yes, no one can resist his beauty; no one can resist the beauty of a creature with the blood of Aphrodite.

“Hey.”

Luhan turns around and comes face to face with a girl slightly shorter than him with big brown curls and bangs that swept across her long lashes and acknowledging eyes.

“You’re Luhan, right?” she asks with a slight tilt of her head to the side.

Luhan recognizes her. She was the newest singer in the company who goes by the name Risa. Her songs were topping the music charts, creating labels, and pushing her to stardom. The girl had the perfect height and a ridiculously slim body that millions of girls would die to have. Despite working under the same entertainment company, this was the first time Luhan had actually interacted with her.

“Yeah, that’s me. What can I do for you?” Luhan says with a charming smile that he usually shows off to women he finds attractive or nearly attractive. His smiles have different effects on people, especially to women, ranging from the simple heart-stoppers to the fainting ones. His smiles were like a drug that can render a girl overdosed. And yet, much to his utter surprise, Risa didn’t show any reaction. No blush, no wide-eyes, no fidgeting. Just a perfectly casual smile.           

“Uh, yeah. I just wanted to say my congratulations since I heard you won another award.” Risa says with another polite smile. Luhan felt the smile on his lips disappear as he looked at the girl in front of him. 'She just came to congratulate me? Ha! She’s playing hard-to-get!'

“I don’t get what you mean.” Luhan regains his composure as he smiles again, refusing to let his pride get crushed by this mortal’s silly excuse of a game. He’s dealt with her type for a million times already! He just needed to find the right time to break her front and sweep her off her feet.

“I’ve heard about you from a couple of fellow singers.”

“Oh? Is that so? Well, may I know what you’ve heard from these fellow singers as we grab a drink?” Luhan offers as he extends an arm for her to take. Luhan could see the slight hesitation in her eyes before finally linking her arms with his. 'Ha! I knew it!' He guides her towards the bar where he wastes no time and asks for two champagnes from the bartender.

“So, what are these things that you’ve heard about me?” Luhan asks, a smirk playing on his lips as he watches the girl sitting next to him blush slightly.

“Hm. They told me to be careful with your tactics because you seem to enjoy getting people’s attention and stuff.” Risa answers innocently, not certain on how to speak comfortably with the male side-facing her because everything about him just spoke trouble. From his perfectly-styled blonde locks to his distinct outlined eyes, his flawless face and perfect set of white pearls, his expensive clothes that hugged his lean and muscular body, Risa thinks that Luhan looks perfect. Too perfect.

Luhan hides the smirk that attempts to escape his lips as he watches her eyes roam all over him. Her answer was contradictory in a way, because Luhan knew that his reputation exceeded those before him and yes, he liked attention, but he also knew that everyone else liked giving him their attention. He was just plain eye-catching.

Luhan was about to say something when the waiter arrived and placed a small circular tray in front of them. Risa carefully took her glass just as the waiter placed them on the table, accidentally making her fingers brush with that of Luhan’s and making both of them blush slightly.

“I’m talented. I work hard and I look good, that’s why people love to give me attention. You seem to have talent yourself.” Luhan comments as he grabs his glass and drinks the liquid. He felt the acidic taste slide down his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, as he watched, from the corner of his eye, Risa staring at him with a gaping mouth. When she caught his gaze and suddenly look away, Luhan wanted to laugh so badly at the girl’s obvious like towards him even if she was playing hard-to-get.

“I g-guess, b-but that doesn’t make us of the same kind.” She gives him a knowing look before continuing on. “I don’t enjoy it the way you do.”

Luhan raised a brow at the last statement before dismissing the thought and just nodding her off. “Yeah right. So what else did you hear?”

“That I should not get too close to you.” Risa pauses, scrunching her nose which Luhan found actually cute. “But I think that was more of a ‘back off he’s mine’ line.”

Luhan laughs, the feeling rippling in his chest as he wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. “I get that a lot.” Luhan laughs again.

“Aren’t you the conceited one?” Risa comments.

“Runs in the blood.”

“What? What are you? Families with Aphrodite?” It was Risa’s turn now to laugh as Luhan stares at her with a serious look.

“How’d you know?” He asks in a monotone voice and Risa laughs again. Her laugh echoes in Luhan’s ears and the sound makes him break into a small smile as he watches her pretty smiling face.

“God, you are so conceited!”

“Come on! Even you think I could pass as Aphrodite’s son or something. Admit it.” He jokes despite the fact of it being true.

“Hmm, maybe. But just maybe.”

Their small talk went on and as the night gets darker, Luhan finds comfort in listening to Risa’s fragments of memories and experiences and sharing some of his as well. He could feel himself smile unconsciously from time to time and laugh naturally at some jokes and funny stories. She made him feel alive and complete - something that has never happened to him and no one has ever done.

Maybe, just maybe, she could be the one to help him.

“So Risa, are you seeing someone right now?” Luhan finally asks as he feels the quickening pace of his heart. He should be used to this by now, but for some reason, Risa’s cute blush and the way she fidgeted in her seat made Luhan feel like a high school boy trying to confess for the very first time. And when she shook her head, Luhan smiles wider.

'She’s the one.'

Before Luhan could speak though, Risa opened and the words that escaped from it made Luhan’s smile turn into a frown.

“But I like someone. No, actually, I love him.” Risa proclaims as she covers her beet red face with her hands.

Luhan watches her smile, the way her eyes shone under the colorful lights of the club, the faint sound of her heartbeat against the loud music, the way her face turned red, and the way she just ultimately glittered in the aura of being in love.

Luhan knows the signs of Love. He wasn’t the son of the Goddess of Love for nothing.

And Risa was indeed in love.

“I guess that’s why I didn’t really fall for your charm.” Risa continues. “I mean you’re attractive and God knows how handsome and charming you are but my heart has been taken already. I hope you understand…”

Luhan could feel his hopes come tumbling down as he heard Risa’s words. He nods numbly, understanding what Risa was saying but not in a way that Risa thinks he does.

If there was one thing that Luhan couldn’t do, it would be to steal hearts that have already been surrendered to someone else. He cannot claim what has been given or rightfully claimed.

“Luhan?” Risa calls out and Luhan snaps out of his reverie.

“Oh, it’s fine. I completely understand.” Luhan finally answers with a fake smile that hides the disappointment in his voice. Risa gives him a shy smile before sneaking a look at her phone that doesn’t go unnoticed by Luhan.

“Hey Luhan? It’s already late and I need to get going. I have an early schedule tomorrow.” She picks up her purse and stands up before turning to the male beside her with a smile. “It was nice talking to you.”

Luhan was at a loss for words. He just looks at her, still confused as to what was really happening. He thought he finally found someone that might actually be able to cut the chain around his heart.

Well, that was just what he thought.

Before Risa could walk away, Luhan grabs her wrist and spins her around to face him once again before pulling her closer and landing his lips near her ear.

“Well, at least give me a good night’s kiss.” Luhan whispers softly.

The next thing he knows, her hand is on his left cheek and a stinging sensation arises as he watches her walk away with steps that shouted furious. He could hear the whispers and he could feel the stares of the crowd directed towards him. He didn’t care, well, he couldn’t at the moment, because he knows that he just ed up… again.

Before the hands of the clock hit the mark of 3 a.m., Luhan was already on his way to his hotel, a bottle of burgundy in his right hand and his phone in loudspeaker in his left.

“Ugh. My head hurts, keep your voice down.” Luhan half-shouts at the person on the other side of the call.

His manager kept yelling, something about another scandal and being late or was it about being late on another scandal? Luhan didn’t really care. He could feel the jet lag catching up to him and he just wants to drown himself in sleep, feel the softness and comfort of his bed, and drift off to a more real dream.

“Yes, Dad. I’ll be home in a couple of minutes.” Before his manager could protest about the former mistaking him as his’ dad, Luhan threw his phone to the other side of the car and gulps down another mouthful of the strong liquor.

In the horizon, the sun was starting to peek ever so slightly. The day was just starting and Luhan felt like it was time to sleep or go into hibernation. Last night was just another night to add to his list of not-so-good nights before completely forgetting about it. Luhan felt a stray tear fall down his cheek.

A new day was starting and here he was, still trapped in yesterday.