Ignoring the look from someone who had left her confused, ignoring her boss when he said there was paracetamol in the first-aid kit and Elana only had to ask one of the office boys or Manda to get it for her, ignoring everything because her objective was already perfectly clear. She was heading to the café across the street, the cozy, comfortable café that had always served as her personal paracetamol pharmacy.
A smile blossomed on Elana's face when she opened the café door and was greeted by the fragrant aroma of coffee, not to mention the friendly smiles of the two baristas—one of them that tall cutie. She wasn't sure, but it seemed the cutie was a new employee because in all the time she'd been a regular customer, she'd only been served by him a few times. And after those few encounters, Vincent had already memorized her order.
"Afternoon, Sis!" they greeted her in unison. Elana smiled as she walked toward the counter.
"The usual, right?" Vincent asked. Elana nodded.
"I'm curious about something," she muttered, making both baristas turn toward her. The slightly shorter male barista turned too while cleaning a cup to fill with espresso powder.
"How do you know my order?" she asked in confusion. That made both of them chuckle softly and nod. Vincent reached for a piece of paper stuck to their counter after tapping at the computer screen, then held it out to Elana. The sight left her stunned for a moment before she let out a disappointed snort.
"Our owner made it. He said you were definitely going to order this and never anything else," he explained with an innocent smile. The young man's hand took back the paper bearing Elana's name and the same monotonous order she always requested.
So what had been the point of Elana acting so flustered and getting way too confident all this time? She'd thought that Vincent guy was into her. Girl, talk about being full of yourself!
Just as Derin had wanted to mutilate the snot-nosed brat who had driven him into a rage after the stupid rumors circulating lately, here they were. His secretary had to reschedule Derin's entire calendar, pushing back everything from a meeting to lunch with their colleagues, simply because Derin needed to meet with the now utterly indifferent brat.
It was truly incredible that someone like Derin was willing to do something this ridiculously stupid.
To be honest, Derin was only able to do this because it turned out that the brat named Kaiden was still with the same agency as Elana—even though they belonged to different divisions, with Elana under the modeling division and Kaiden under the actors' division. Killing two birds with one stone, they had come to discuss the contract and transfer of shares, while also gaining the benefit of meeting that innocent-looking brat.
After taking care of the transfer of sixty percent of the shares, which now legally belonged to Derin, they began discussing the work contract because Derin intended to offer Elana a sponsorship deal. It had already been discussed well in advance, and the agency itself had approved it. No matter how high a price they demanded to sign Elana, Derin would pay it.
But before they could go deeper into the sponsorship contract, he had to deal with this ridiculous problem first. Ignoring Haga, who let out a tired sigh; ignoring the law firm they'd brought in as witnesses and as the legal party handling the share transfer and work contract; ignoring everyone in the somewhat enclosed meeting room with its freezing air-conditioning.
"I don't want Elana getting close to anyone." His words were like a spear piercing the river's murky water, splitting the body of some poor fish swimming through it. Everyone fell silent and blinked, including the snot-nosed brat, who was no longer acting indifferent.
"That's also why I asked you to come here." As if he understood the look Kaiden was giving him, Derin spoke calmly, arrogantly, and of course, somewhat annoyingly. Haga desperately wanted to stop Derin's foolishness.
"What does that have to do with anything? I mean—I... Sis Lana isn't some Korean actress who isn't allowed to date. This is Indonesia. Sis Lana isn't an idol like JKT48, either. Indonesian fans love pairing celebrities up. They love shipping them, and it helps with popularity if we give the market what it wants." Derin had already guessed that someone—anyone, including this brat—would ask that question.
"I don't want Elana's reputation damaged. She'll be the face of my company and several of my properties," Derin replied in the same calm tone. His eyes fixed sharply on the young man across from him, who was now glaring back at him with irritation, disbelief, and a clear refusal to accept his answer.
"Does dating really ruin someone's reputation?" Kaiden asked again. Derin could see Kaiden's manager and even the agency's boss trying to stop him from continuing to argue with everything Derin said.
Derin sighed before leaning back in his chair and twirling the pen between his fingers. "Haven't you checked your social media? Didn't you see all the nasty comments Elana received—and the ones you both received?"
It wasn't just Kaiden. Everyone fell silent now, looking thoughtful and finally acknowledging the truth. They'd been scrambling in confusion after both sides were bombarded with attacks once the rumor spread. Their expectations had been completely wrong. They'd thought the two of them might boost each other's reputations. In reality, they were wrong. Both Elana's fans and Kaiden's fans vehemently rejected their closeness, hurling hate comments at one another and arguing endlessly, with nothing positive coming of it—even if some people still supported them.
Derin had come as an investor. Setting aside the purchase of the shares, he was here to sign Elana, and the girl's good reputation was, of course, the most essential requirement. Derin was prepared to spend a fortune, and that fundamental demand should obviously be taken into consideration. But Kaiden still wasn't willing to accept it.
Derin frowned when Kaiden narrowed his eyes at him, studying him with a somewhat judgmental look. "Uncle... you like my Lana?" he shot out without warning.
Two things made Derin raise his eyebrows in disbelief: the word Uncle, and what had Kaiden called her? My Lana? Seriously, this snot-nosed brat—since when had Elana become his? And then there was that idiot Haga, quietly turning away to chuckle.
Kaiden's manager lightly stepped on his foot, making the young man let out a soft yelp before he resumed grumbling and glared irritably at Derin. Derin stared back with one eyebrow raised.
"Sorry. He's kind of rude," Yoga said. Derin only answered with a soft snort. The man never took his eyes off Kaiden, who continued staring back at him defiantly. Haga desperately wanted to put an end to this ridiculous nonsense—and to Derin's sudden childish behavior.