“Cut! Kai, you're doing it all wrong!”

    I give a loud groan as my manager stomps over to me grumpily. Sehun flings an arm around me as he snickers.

    I swear I will punch him in the face during our afternoon break.

    “Bad day? You've been screwing up your last few shots. Where's your charisma?” Sehun teased as he made a motion of a flying chicken. “Did it fly away?”

    “No,” I snap at him, my tolerance rapidly decreasing. “And shut up.”

    I puff out my cheeks as the makeup artists start to wipe the sweat off my face and work on my foundation and eyeliner. Sehun walks over coolly and tosses me a bottle of water, which I gratefully accepted and downed it within seconds.

    “Ready for the next one? Get into positions!”

    I lift the hem of my shirt a little as I pose with a little bend in my body in front of the hotel's private beach. I can feel my feet gradually sinking into the soft beady sand, the salty white waves wrapping themselves comfortably along the outline of my feet.

    “Much better, but your expression was a little off,” the director shouts as I give another groan. “We are in France, for god's sake! You need to have that, hm, I don't know, seductive look on your face which captivates everyone. Well, you're not captivating enough, yet. You're going to be on the cover of our magazine along with Sehun, so buck up Kai.”

    Sehun frowns a little as he jogs over towards me, ignoring his manager who calls for him to get into position. “That was a little harsh. Care to tell me what happened during break?”

    “Mind your own business,” I grumble as I shove him slightly out of the way.

    Time rolls by at such a slow speed that I am positive I am going to faint if break doesn't come around soon. It was annoying to be bombarded with sympathetic and stoic looks of the others as my manager berated me from the beach to the café.

    “Be back in forty-five minutes!” He hollers as I trudge to catch up with Sehun who is walking a good few metres in front of me. Well, at least some of the young female hotel guests are pointing and giggling at me, making me feel like my presence is at least acknowledged.

    “Thought you were going to ignore me for life,” Sehun grunts as I scoff at him. “It's true! You and your hissy fits.”

    “I am not a man who gives hissy fits, you idiot!” I smack his head and roll my eyes.

    Sehun grins as he rubs the spot on his head I've hit him on, his boyish curls bobbing as he shakes his head. He's my partner for this photo shoot we're filming in France, but we've known each other since we had even entered the company as proper models. To be honest, we didn't entirely expect this sort of offer when we started our as-long-as-I-am-employed-I-am-happy job hunt. People occasionally complimented us for our good looks, but we didn't take it seriously. Until one day we got casted and took up lessons for proper posture and poses. That was when we realised that a new chapter of our life has just begun.

    “You should feel grateful,” Sehun mutters as we stand in front of the counter, contemplating which flavour of juice we should pick. “Many people would die for this job, you know. Seriously, I mea- Hold on, yes excuse me, which one's more popular? The avocado one or the yellowish one with that, uh, orangey thing in it?”

    I sighed as I remove a few dollar bills from my wallet, my eyes automatically wandering off into the distance. The hotel isn't exactly packed (I like it that way) and hence it isn't very noisy. Since it's afternoon now, many guests are in their swimming trunks and bathrobes after stepping out of the elevator, making their way to the hotel pool. I made a mental note to myself to check that out with Sehun after our schedule for the day ends. My eyes glances over to the concierge and there's a young lady sitting in front of the desk, her ears perked in curiosity as she diligently draws something on the map in her hand. Her hair cascades down over her shoulders in soft curls as she gives an occasional smile and satisfied nod of her head. I blink rapidly as I abruptly turn back to find Sehun looking at me.

    “Jongin, Kai, or whatever name you prefer, I've said this for the thousandth time. Which beverage are you ordering?”

    “A black coffee?” I mumble, placing my bills absentmindedly on the countertop.

    “I'll pay for you this time, Jongin,” Sehun comments as he glances at me. “You've been out of it lately. Tell me about it later.”

    We walk over to a table in a secluded corner as we wait for our order numbers to be announced. Sehun looks at me, a knowing look on his face.

    “A bad breakup?”

    “You know me too well.” I shift my legs uncomfortably, the small piece of note with my order number scribbled on remains clutched tightly in my hand, nearly crumpled.

    “Poor paper. Let go of it will you? It had nothing to do with your breakup,” Sehun laughs as I glare at him, throwing the note across the table. “I mean it. Let go of the breakup, the paper, whatever. Don't dwell on it too much, yeah?”

    “That helps a lot,” I say sarcastically, stepping on Sehun's foot under the table.

    “Ow! Hey, leave my shoes alone. It's the latest edition! Don't dirty it or you'll wash it for me!” He whines childishly just as they call out his order number. “I'll step on your foot later and you'll see how it feels like!”

    I shrug playfully as Sehun gives me the finger before running off to collect his smoothie. That boy has a thing for smoothies, milk shakes and bubble tea. Wherever he goes, he definitely has a sweet drink clutched in his hands, and whoever tries to pry it off him, he'll say, “Leave me and my baby alone!”

    His manager always warned him to stop drinking or he'll “get fat”, but he never listens and argues back with a “I'm not fat!” - which was very true. I envy his naturally slim body though; whenever I eat or drink a little too much, I'll have to lose the excess weight by hitting the gym.

    “Back!” Sehun says a little too enthusiastically as he slumps into the seat in front of me. “What's taking your coffee so long?”

    He extends his smoothie towards me, and I grab it before slurping it hastily. We've shared drinks and food millions of times till we are immune to the stares others' give us.

    “Who's this girl that made my almighty Jongin pine after her?” Sehun laughs as I attempt to step on his foot the second time, making him yelp as he tried to dodge, almost knocking over the table in the process.

    “Firstly, the girl is normal, not some goddess that you picture her to be,” I snap as I hear Sehun mumbling something incoherent.

    “Secondly, I do not pine after her!” I swear I heard Sehun snickering.

    “Lastly, I am not yours!” Sehun positively whined after hearing this. (On a side note: I've always wondered whether he was gay, but he definitely isn't after he had asked for me to be present to act as a pillar of moral support when he had finally decided to hand a bouquet of daisies -who even does that?- to a girl right at the doorstep of her house. She rejected though, which was a huge downer and an extremely depressing experience for him as he drank ten smoothies a day to “suppress the pain growing in my (his) heart”.)

    I snatch his smoothie again as I drank a huge gulp, making Sehun yell at me.

    “KIM JONGIN, YOU !”

    Thank god my order number was called.
    
    “Your coffee, sir.” I grab my coffee as I give a curt nod and mumble a word of thanks. I started to sip and the liquid nearly burned my tongue.

    “So what's her name?” Sehun asks when I return to our table, only to find him the pearls out of his smoothie.

    “Mila,” I dish out, the memories of our first kiss and official date came flooding back into my mind.

    Sehun must've noticed the pain in my eyes, for he remains quiet and the table turned awkwardly silent. I laugh plainly as I grab his hand, “It's not your fault. I really, really want to share it with you. Plus you owe me one, remember?”

    I look at him as Sehun starts cracking up, “Y-yeah, oh my god. That girl which I tried handing a bouquet of daisies to. What's her name again?”

    “Andrea,” I offer.

    “Yeah, she rejected me,” Sehun smiles as he reminisces. “I was so shocked. Who would reject me?”

    “Your confidence makes me want to land a fist on your face.”

    “Excuse me?”

    “Okay!” I chuckled as I held up my hands defensively. “So do you want to hear me out or not?”

    “Spit it, bro,” Sehun mutters as he settles his head on his palms.

    “So to start off, I love Mila, and she loves me too,” I pause. “Or so it seems.”

    “So you're saying that she's seeing someone else-”

    “No! Wait, sort of?” I laugh nervously as I wring my hands together.

    “You don't have to hide anything from me, Jongin,” Sehun whispers calmly. “I won't judge, I promise.”

    I nodded as I fight the urge to envelop Sehun in a hug. He is so understanding, even if he's a jerk at times; it's safe to assume that he understood me more than I understand myself.

    “I love her and she told me to give her some space…” I trail off as I start to shake uncontrollably. Sehun leans forward to pat me comfortably on the back.

    “Look, her parents doesn't approve of the fact that I'm a cover model,” I sigh as I run my fingers through my hair, somehow picturing Mila's small hand getting tangled in my brown locks as I lay comfortably in her arms.

    “They didn't like us being together, and she didn't do anything to stop it,” I say plainly, looking down at my feet.

    “Jongin. Jongin, please, stop upsetting them!” Mila lashed out. “Of course I'll listen to Dad and Mom. Why can't you just listen to them? Why can't you listen to me, at least?”

    “Excuse me?” I shook my head, bewildered. “We've been together for already a year-”

    “Does that mean I'll cut you any slack just because you've never dated girls for more than a year before?” She spat as she frowned, clearly displeased.

    I took a deep breath to calm myself as I struggled not to explode. “Mila,” I tried to speak level-headedly and in a reasonable tone. “I love you. Let's not let anyone come in between us.”

    When she stayed silent, I was scared. Frightened.

    Afraid of losing everything we've built so far.

    “You love me too, right?” I choked out feebly as I was close to turning around and running away to hide in the comforts of my car.

    “I do.”

    That was the promise we've made. Until she'd easily broke it a week later. Just a week later.

    I found her grinning at a tall male around my age. He was holding her hand and flashing beautiful smiles at her as if he was her boyfriend. My fists clenched involuntarily at my sides, the anger within me rushing over the edge at a terrifying speed.

    Mila seemed uncomfortable, yet she didn't jerk away. She even extended her other hand out to clasp over his left one.

    “She's mine,” was the last thing I muttered before I walked towards them with the intention of punching that guy in the gut.

    But I didn't.

    “Who the hell are you?” I glared at him. I can feel my face heating up from ferocity.

    “Kai. Jongin, please-”

    I swatted Mila's hands away as I felt the stares of others burning holes through my back.

    “Answer me!” I pulled the man up by grabbing his collar. “Who are you to touch my girlfriend like that?”

    “You have a boyfriend, Mila?” The man's eyes visibly widened as he struggled to get out of my tight grip. “Why didn't you tell me? And why would you even come for this then?”

    I instantly loosened my grip on him as I turned to face Mila once again.

    I was disappointed.

    It wasn't hard for her to see that I was clearly upset about it, for she quietly lead me out of the pastry shop, ignoring the curious eyes that followed our every movement.

    “H-have a nice day, and thank you!” was the last thing I heard from one of the pastry chefs sitting behind the counter as she looked up from the stacks of bills to stare at me holding Mila's hand as Mila lead me out the door.
    
    Well, that was nice, I thought bitterly as we left the stranger (only Mila knew him but I don't, and I really don't want to know him anyway) standing at the scene in shock.

    “Mila, why-” I opened my mouth to speak when a hand flew past in a blur in front of my face.

    The skin on my face felt like it was cracking.

    “Stop forcing everyone to do things your way!” She started sobbing as I found my heart cracking, breaking, even more.

    “Go away. Please.” The way she had almost begged made me lower my head in even greater anger and disappointment.

    I clutched the stinging side of my face in the palm of my hand, but all I felt was the undeniable cold that stayed within my heart.

    “Hold on,” Sehun interrupts. “She really saw a guy behind your back. I'm sorry, but that's wrong and sick and it isn't how she's suppose to treat you-”

    “Sehun, quiet,” I shush him as we fell into silence once again.

    I spoke up moments later, “She didn't tell him, the guy I had almost thrown a punch at, that she already had me.”

    “Exactly!” Sehun mutters. “She's doing this on purpose because she wants to date someone else. Forget about Mila, you have much better options.”

    “Sometimes, I really can't blame her,” I whisper, earning a shocked and irritated expression from Sehun.

    “What in the world- Dude, she betrayed you!”

    “I know that. And trust me, it was beyond disappointing,” I sip my coffee as I let out a soft, broken chuckle. “But she was a good girl. A very, very good girl.”

    “I'm guessing she didn't talk nor introduced you to her parents until recently?” Sehun inquires.

    “I think so. She listens to them a lot. How can I blame her for that?” I shrug as I try not to let my emotions get the better of me. “But it would be great if she could listen to me, a-and maybe we'll still stay together and manage to work things out a little.”

    “Oh no,” Sehun glances at me as he at least ten pearls up his straw. “Jonginnie is really serious about Mila, isn't he? Jonginnie, you've fallen in love! Like, really deep love!”

    “Oh lord, save me. You speak as if it's my first love or something,” I answer, embarrassed. “But we've never seen each other since that day.”

    “Are you serious?” Sehun almost choked on his pearls. “Don't you think you guys are a little too reckless? I mean, there's nothing to get so upset over. Maybe you should take the first step, and ask her.”

    “W-why should I?” I splutter. “What if she doesn't want to see me or my texts? Maybe she'll ignore me and officially break up with me. Our relationship is already on thin ice! Wait, maybe she'll even-”

    “Because you're the guy,” Sehun says it as if it is the most obvious thing in the world and you're an idiot if you don't know about it.

    “When you're the guy in a relationship, you can't afford to be petty,” Sehun continues. “You have to show her that you're willing to forgive her. It indirectly means you're the one taking charge, if you want me to put it in a simpler way.”

    “Uh,” I hesitate. “I don't think she needs anyone bossing her around-”

    “But that was good advice from me!” Sehun pouts as he finishes the last of his smoothie.

    I sigh as the coffee suddenly burns my tongue. “I… I don't think it's the best way to approach her.”

    “I- You're right,” Sehun slumps back in his seat and sighs contentedly as his body sinks further into the soft cushion. “But you know what? You should still approach her and talk to her about it. You were reckless. Maybe she'll realise that you're more important to her now that you two are physically separated-”

    “I texted her that I'll be in France,” I state flatly.

    “And?” Sehun gasps. “How did she answer?”

    “I don't know because she hasn't replied,” something inside of me cracked yet again as I manage to choke out the sad truth.

    “I'm sorry, bro,” Sehun whispers as he places his empty glass onto the table and wipes his mouth with the serviette provided. “She'd really broken your heart. How about this? Ignore her. It isn't fair for you to be the one always sacrificing in this relationship.”

    “Her parents could've wanted her to meet different people?” I question Sehun as I give him the most pathetic and hopeful look I can muster. “Maybe she really cares about me, but she's forced to meet that guy in the pastry shop that day. And it just happened that I stumbled across-”

    “No excuses,” Sehun lifts up a hand to interrupt, purposely ignoring my downcast expression. “I'm not saying that she's the one at fault, but still.”

    “I get it,” I smile sadly as I finish up the last of my coffee. “Anyway, you've really been a great listener.”

    “I've improved, haven't I?” Sehun winks as I laugh and smack his head. “You can always talk to me. You can count on me if you want to. I'll gladly help you.”

    I offer Sehun a hug as he jumps greedily into my arms. “Thanks, Sehun,” I pat his back before we pull back at the same time. “I'll see you back on the beach in ten minutes? Go on, your manager wants you back early.”

    I grin as I see Sehun wave at me for the nth time before bouncing off to his manager who started berating him on personal image and body fat. Sehun's shoulders are broad, and his features have sharpened a lot over the years, successfully making girls all around him squeal.

    I guess he really has grown.

    I tap my foot impatiently on the tiled floor in the lobby as I wait for the lift to arrive. My manager wanted me to pick up something he'd left in my room this morning, and I sigh when the doors slide open in front of me. With one last glance at the lobby, I step in.

    The doors slide close as I press my floor button, the carriage jerking a little as it starts moving up slowly before picking up speed.

    You've reached the seventeenth storey, the doors move for the third time as the voice blares over the small speakers above.

    I step out and turn to my left to travel down a long corridor. One has to reach the end of this corridor, take another left turn, enter a second corridor and walk till he or she meets a dead end to reach my room.

    I dig my hands into my pockets as I quicken my steps.

    Room 174.

    Room 175.

    176, 177, 178…

    I almost walked past a room before I stop abruptly.

    Room 179.

    The door is left slightly ajar.

    I wonder if I should knock on the door to see if anyone's in there, and politely tell the occupant to shut the door? Or should I close the door out of consideration? Hold on, is there even anyone in there in the first place?

    I give a hesitant knock as I wait for a response.

    None came.

    Oh well, I thought. I'll just close the door. It's dangerous if someone else comes along and decides to enter to do god-knows-what.

    As I grab ahold of the door handle, I cannot help but peek. I see a pink, bulky luggage on the ground, zipped and locked up. A folded towel is left to dry on a chair, and there is a used bathrobe placed neatly on the clean, white sheets. A few cosmetic items are strewn over a vintage-looking table, thereby confirming the gender of the occupant.

    I enter the room before I can stop myself, and what I saw left me gaping.

    This lady occupant has brought at least five thick books, with one of them titled as 15 Ways To Ensure Successful Baking, making me double over in laughter.

    So, she's a baker, I conclude as I smile. Probably even a pastry chef. 

    I feel like a total idiot smiling about someone I'm not even friends with, and I am so close to exiting the door when I hear footsteps and a light, melodious hum coming my way. I widen my eyes in panic as I flail my arms, frantically looking around the room to locate any suitable hiding spot.

    I contemplate rushing out of the room, but that is definitely not an option. I'll probably run into a hotel guest or worse, the occupant herself. That will definitely bring trouble and endless explanations.

    It might not be the most sensible thing to do, but I dove behind the curtains right when the door was pushed open.