“Buy some paracetamol,” he replied without turning around.
“Why buy it? There’s some in the first-aid kit. Tell Manda or Janu to get it for you! Elana!” The girl ignored him and walked out without looking back, making Derin frown. Something was off about that usually beautiful, cheerful face.
Elana’s eyes looked puffy, and the tip of her nose was red from rubbing it nonstop. “Is she sick?” he asked unconsciously.
“No, she’s perfectly healthy. She’s just being weird.” The answer came from the girl’s manager. Derin turned and looked at Tama, who was now staring at him too, letting out a soft snort.
“Elana’s paracetamol doesn’t literally mean medicine, sir. She means the coffee at the café across from the agency—especially the barista.” Tama’s explanation left Derin speechless. Ah! Did the girl like someone?
“Who? The junior?” Yoga asked.
“No, Vincent. The tall one.”
“Since when does Elana like younger guys?”
“She’s not crushing on him. She just likes ogling good-looking people. That’s why she only wants me as her manager—I’m the only good-looking one here.”
“Gross!” Yoga grumbled, pretending he was about to throw up. Tama burst out laughing, and so did the others. Derin, of course, didn’t, because he was too busy wondering what kind of coffee Elana liked.
Jeslyn: [Fireclass?] [I need something funny! I’ve been shooting nonstop since yesterday, I’m so tiredddd]
You: [You’ll get yelled at by your grandma later, Jes.]
Jeslyn: [Relax, my grandma’s in LA.] [My driver will pick you up.]
You: [No need. I’ll go there myself.]
Elana let out a sigh. She didn’t have any extra schedule items today and had been at home since six that evening, but her schedule would start going crazy tomorrow. Accepting Jeslyn’s invitation wasn’t a hassle. In fact, Elana needed the same kind of entertainment herself, and a club was obviously the perfect place for them to go.
Jeslyn Sujatmiko was a good friend of hers. They had met a year ago after both being invited to walk in Valentino’s show, and they had suddenly become close, though of course they weren’t that close. Their lives were somewhat too different, especially since Jeslyn didn’t come from the same agency. She had her own agency based in Singapore, and naturally, her career had taken off much faster than Elana’s.
Jeslyn usually came to Indonesia for family events or when she was invited by a brand or magazine to do a photoshoot. The last time they’d met was when Elana had been shooting in Singapore. They had spent time together there, riding a speedboat to a nightclub and ending the night with Jeslyn having to be picked up by her bodyguards because her grandmother had been furious.
Honestly, Elana was afraid something like that might happen again. But Jeslyn seemed to have more freedom when she was in Jakarta.
After finishing up the settings on the automatic food bowls for her dog and cat, Elana got ready to shower, do her makeup, and put on something suitable before ordering an online taxi. She messaged Tama because he needed to know where she was going, and because there was no one else she could inform besides him and Manda. If something happened to her, they were the only people Elana could rely on.
When she arrived at Fireclass and found that Jeslyn had brought friends from Singapore, Elana quickly got swept up in the thumping music, the cocktails burning down her throat, and the carefree laughter echoing through the VIP room Jeslyn had rented. They sang karaoke horribly out of tune, then played UNO.
Everything went smoothly and seemed fun. Elana fit right in with Jeslyn’s friends, who turned out to be friendly and entertaining. They exchanged phone numbers and social media accounts, then started sharing random stories and talking about their love lives once the alcohol began taking over.
Elana couldn’t drink too much alcohol herself. She wasn’t allowed to get seriously drunk because she had to go home alone in an online taxi, and she felt bad making Tama come pick her up, even though that was technically part of his job.
“So tomorrow you’re going to Paris?” Jeslyn asked, savoring her strong Bloody Mary. Elana nodded and explained that she’d been invited to a Fashion Week event and had to attend a rehearsal first.
“What time? In the morning?” Jeslyn asked again.
Elana took a sip of her cocktail and shook her head. “A little later in the day,” she answered calmly.
In the middle of their casual conversation, someone suddenly threw up all over Elana’s thigh. Jeslyn and the others shrieked in a frenzy. This definitely hadn’t been part of their plans for the day, and Elana had never imagined something like this happening either.
She blinked in stunned disbelief, then let out a long sigh as she set her glass on the table. She told everyone she was fine and would go to the bathroom to clean her clothes while they all looked at her sympathetically.
“It’s okay, guys! I’m going to the bathroom to clean my clothes,” she said calmly as she stood and grabbed some tissues to wipe her wet thigh. She told the others to take care of their friend, who looked seriously drunk.
Elana let out a heavy sigh and lowered her head, muttering under her breath as she wiped her wet thigh while walking down the corridor toward the bathroom. She groaned when her hand accidentally touched the vomit. Oh my God! My luck is seriously the worst. Gross! Wasn’t it enough that I’d been getting dragged by netizens since the day before yesterday? Now I have to get vomit on me too? Asshole!
Amid her irritation, anger, muttering, and silent swearing—along with the occasional mild curse escaping her lips as she tried to keep the damn vomit from getting all over her hands and thigh again—her body suddenly collided with someone. The impact startled Elana and sent her stumbling, nearly making her fall. A hand closed around her arm and kept her from hitting the floor.
Elana blinked in surprise, holding her breath before looking up at the man in front of her.
“Watch where you’re going!” he scolded. Elana cleared her throat awkwardly, straightened up, and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her eyes returned to the man in front of her, who was now frowning at her.