Hell's Actor

Chapter 264: Leaving Berlin

"Chicken thighs or chicken breasts?""Beak with vinegar."

"Dogs or cats?"

"Goblins, really."

"Long hair or short hair?"

"Short on women, long on men."

"Buttons or buckles?"

"Buttocks—I mean, Velcro."

"Ties or bowties?"

"Buck naked."

The interviewer looked up from her questionnaire, a glint of tired submission in her eyes.

The man before her, although brilliant in every sense of the word, was frustrating to interview. She had been at it for an entire hour and yet had not received a proper answer once.

She looked to her right, out of the camera frame, where the man’s agent stood. She, too, looked exhausted by her client’s antics.

"Alright, Mr. Auclair, thank you for your time."

Averie smiled, proud of the ridiculous interview he had just finished.

It had been a week and a half since the Serenes Film Festival, yet the interview requests remained aplenty.

Since he first appeared on the scene, the journalists had always shown interest in him. But these days, they cared about his views and opinions, as if he were a distinguished old man of the industry.

Questions like ’what do you think about the nepotism in the industry?’ were asked, but the answers never seemed to satisfy the interviewers. Averie took joy in that.

He didn’t want to do these interviews, but Hyerin’s insistence forced him to. ’Talk to them or they will make up stories about you’ was a convincing argument, indeed.

As the microphone was taken off his shirt, Averie said his goodbyes and made his way towards the pair of girls waiting for him.

"How was it?" he asked, proud.

Hyerin looked at Min-Ha as if asking, ’Can you believe this guy?’

"It was... satisfactory," she answered.

"This was the last interview, right?"

"Yeah, we’ve covered everything in the schedule." She patted her friend on the back. "Shall we go?"

"Carry me—"

"No."

"—princess-style."

"Double no."

And so, they left Berlin.

***

"He reached his hand around, moaning his companion’s name. The cold night on the riverside was turning hot."

Yoko stood up, scared by the sudden sound of her ringtone.

"Who’s it now?" she muttered, catching her breath.

Her face was red, as if she were caught in the middle of a suspicious act.

She closed the book in her hand and tucked it between the pages of the nearby magazine.

She presumptuously cleared her throat and picked up the call. "Hello, Mr. Auclair, it’s been a while."

"Hi, Ms. Roy. Reading smut, I presume?"

"What?" She felt flustered. "Of Course—Of course not."

"You aren’t? Well, that’s a shame." His voice was playful. "I would have presumed someone as resourceful as you wouldn’t waste your time on anything less profound than smut."

"Well," — The girl shied away from her phone — "I’m glad you think so highly of me."

"Anyway, do you have some free time?"

"Yes? Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

"We are on our way."

"Way to... where?"

"Wherever you are."

"Um, why?"

"Well, we need a place to stay and someone to guide us around town. And you, our dear friend, happen to be the fortunate soul who’s going to help us."

***

The days leading up to the film’s announcement were filled with excitement for Averie’s fans and acquaintances.

Across the world, trailers for Lady Ethereal were secretly released in theatres without any announcement, surprising the audiences.

And they always began with ’Dedicated to Chaoxiang Cao.’

Winning several awards for a performance described by the insiders as beyond words had raised expectations.

Many of Averie’s friends had made plans to go on vacation during this time, and almost all of them were planning visits to the theater in anticipation of his latest work.

One such group was the popular girl group NeRen.

The girls, having recently finished a tour across North America, were relaxing in their friend Su-Bin’s house.

"Remind me, why are you girls here again?"

"Don’t be like that, big sis," the youngest member of the group, Hee-Young, said. "This is the only place we can relax. You don’t have to worry about crazy fans."

"What does that mean?" Su-Bin yelled back. "Am I not popular enough?"

Huffing in rage, the actress swallowed a glass of wine, which the group’s leader refilled immediately.

Some distance from the three, Lenny and Cecile were busy examining what seemed like laminated film posters.

"I like this one," said Cecile, holding up a pristine piece of paper.

It was one of the Lady Ethereal posters recently distributed among the entertainment corporations and industry heavyweights in anticipation of the film’s public release.

These girls had managed to acquire a few, thanks to their management team, Hee-Young’s whining, and Sunny’s threats.

Lenny studied the poster in Cecile’s hands.

It depicted a man and a woman standing back-to-back. While the former faced the viewer, the latter was hidden behind a red umbrella.

Leaves glistening in neon lights had gathered around their feet. Everything else—the world and the background—had completely drowned in white.

Spilled out of the man’s satchel, Polaroids with letters on them spelled Lady Ethereal at his feet.

Lenny gave a nod of approval. "It’s nice, but I like the Marionette one more."

"Oh yeah, where is it?"

"Sunny took it."

***

Sitting at the window table of a coffee shop, Averie hummed a little tune. It had been a while since he had hummed so cheerily. All the gloom from his time playing The Lady seemed to have washed away.

Even though the skies were dark, the actor kept his sunglasses on. His friend, sitting across the table, insisted on it. And how could he refuse her, when she possessed the sharpest of gazes.

"So? Have you made up your mind?"

He looked up from his script. "I like it. It’s fun."

"I know; you would’ve thrown it away otherwise," she muttered.

After dunking it in hot coffee, she took a bite of the heavenly, soft milk bread.

’This is pure bliss.’

She almost moaned, cleared her throat, and continued, "I was worried you wouldn’t find it ’artistic’ enough."

"No need to put so much emphasis on it." Averie closed the script and added sugar to his coffee. "I needed something lighter. To hell with artistic values. The Lady gave me a headache for months. And I doubt I could ever best that performance."

Listening to her friend, feeling the richness of coffee on her taste buds, Hyerin’s lips curved into a smile. She was glad she could secure the script for him.

For the first time, she felt productive as she helped advance his career. Finally, she felt like the agent of the most talked-about actor in the industry.