Chapter 7

A/N:

// text like this is used when the characters speak in their head; thoughts //

<< text like this is used when characters are talking with one another; basically the dialogue >>

\\ text like this is used with social media; calls, messages, texts, captions, etc. \\

It's a busy Monday at GE Inc. and both Shen and his friends are all preoccupied with their work like the usual. Kris is caught up with promoting his new music video, Taylor and Gigi with their food variety show where they go and visit malls to eat, and Pete with a new partnership with a famous toothpaste brand. As for Shen, he's told they're going to be starting the acting workshop for You + Your One Million Layers today.

After Vincent's audition last Monday, Lulu continued the search for the remaining supporting roles in the series for about a week before announcing to the fans, via social media, that the casting has finally finished. As a treat to them and a reward for their waiting, Lulu started releasing the interviews of each cast members, inquiring about their journey in getting the role, their thoughts on the novel, their insights about their characters and who they will be playing. Lulu released Tony's interview last Friday where he tells the fans of the novel that he'll be playing the role of Jasper, Gerard's best friend. Papi's interview gets uploaded the following day where he tells the fans that he'll be playing the role of Lemuel, Ned's best friend. Shen's interview gets uploaded the next day as well and judging by the pattern of the reveal, Shen thinks Vincent's interview will be revealed today.

Throughout the week after Vincent's audition, he made sure do his homework about the series and about the acting gig as well. He read the novel first then researched more deeply about the book and its characters. He found the novel was surprisingly good quality and upon acquiring essential knowledge about Ned, his relationships, his environment, and his personality, a solid image of him was now clearer in Vincent's head. After that, he bought an acting guide book and thoroughly read it while also watching acting tips online. Once he was done with the book, Vincent transitioned to watching BL series in order to prepare himself for the task of being in a BL drama. He observed the way the actor's portrayed their roles and he watched interviews about how the actor's approached their roles.

When Vincent mentioned the series to the rest of his family, they were all surprisingly supportive of him despite it being BL. His father told him he was glad that Vincent was finally giving those computers of his a rest while his sister demanded signatures from the actors at GE Inc., particularly Gigi's. Knowing that they're not prejudiced when it comes to subjects like BL, Vincent's decision to accept the role finally felt fully solidified. Of course Vincent asked Lulu for permission to tell and she was fine with it as long as they didn't spread word about his role in the series. Lulu also instructed Vincent to have all his undertakings settled within a week before coming in to sign a contract with GE Inc. Because of this, he and Shen weren't really able to talk that much. With the celebrity being fully booked and he himself busy sorting out his affairs at work and with his family, opportunities to chat weren't really present. Despite that though, they were still able to at least send one another messages about volleyball game schedules, locations of foods they personally are interested in, and memes.

Vincent arrives at GE Inc. around 8 in the morning the following week and heads straight to the 22nd floor as instructed by Lulu. There, he's welcomed by Lulu's assistant, who leads him to Lulu's office where he signs the contract of working with GE Inc. They talk casually once business is done before Lulu brings Vincent with her up to the 23rd floor where the acting workshop is being held. They enter the room and Vincent immediately spots Shen at the corner talking with Tony and Papi. Shen beams at the sight of Vincent and waves at him before calling him over. Vincent excuses himself from Lulu before breaking away and walks towards Shen's group.

<< Oh it's you! You're that guy who talked to me during auditions. Vincent right? >>

<< Yes. Tony, right? >>

<< Nice, you remember me. So, you being here means you got the part you auditioned for. I wasn't really able to ask but whose part did you audition for? >>

<< Uh, Ned's. >>

<< Oh! So it's you who got the part. That's amazing. I also auditioned for Ned but Noriel felt like I suited the role of Jasper more so that's what they assigned to me. Congratulations though! >>

<< Thanks. >>

The two of them continue to chat before including Shen and Papi in their conversation. They talk about how their week has been and as their conversation progresses, Papi mentions the game they had and Tony asks about it. Papi then sends him the YT link to the video of their match before they hear clapping in the middle of the room. They turn around to see Lulu calling for everybody's attention and Papi motions for them to huddle up in front of Lulu. Shen sits beside Vincent on the floor and once everyone in the room is settled, Lulu welcomes them all to the first day of their acting workshop. She gives an introductory speech that earns her a round of applause before introducing Yasmin, their acting coach and Noriel Silver himself.

Lulu explains that Noriel will be visiting from time to time to assist in questions regarding the characters, their motives, personalities, attitudes and tendencies. Lulu then hands the stage over to the Yasmin who explains that their agenda for the first day will be just to remove all their inhibitions and shyness away by having them participate in the activities she's prepared beforehand. Apparently the goal is to make each one of them comfortable with one another so that it'll be easier to approach their characters' individuality and play their roles as genuine and real as possible. With that she asks everyone to stand and form a circle.

<< An actor's major tool is the body that's why for our first activity today, we're going to do some stretching to loosen up those muscles of yours. But we're going to add a twist. Instead of counting numbers, I want you to muster the silliest sound you can think of and use that as our counting. Something like 'kree' or 'bahh', I don't care. I'm going to go lead first and you guys follow alright? After the first 16 counts, I'm going to pick a person to replace me and that person will have to think of the next stretching exercise we'll do and an entirely new sound. No copying alright? Once that person is done, they get to pick the next one and so on and so forth. Got it? Good. Let's start with our head. >>

The acting coach suddenly goes to the middle of the circle and let's out a fart noise as she starts stretching her neck. Before Vincent can process what's going on, beside him, Papi imitates her and lets out a fart noise of his own and on his other side of him, Shen does the same thing. Not wanting to be pointed out, Vincent does the same and soon enough, the room comes to enjoy the activity as thinking of a silly sound proves to be harder than expected. When Yasmin points to Vincent, almost all the sounds he's thought of have been taken already. Feeling panicked as all eyes are on him in the middle of the circle, he puts his hands on his waist and thrusts forward before letting out an embarrassing moan as his silly sound.

// A fucking moan Vincent? REALLY? //

Vincent curses himself in his head but the damage has already been done. It's not like he can take back the sound that just came out of his mouth so he just pushes forward and pulls his waist back with another moan. It's no doubt that his ears and cheeks are already a brimming red color but when everyone else copies him, he feels his shyness dissipate dramatically. Five moans in though, Vincent can't help but burst into laughter mid-moan as the unison sound of moaning becomes too much for him to bear. This makes a few of them start to laugh and in record time, everyone of them is laughing, putting a halt to their stretching. Shen on the other hand, from Vincent's very first moan, has been fighting off the creeping boner in his pants.

After the stretching, the next activity their coach instructs them to do is a breathing exercise. The exercise reminds Vincent of one of the games in a children's birthday party wherein whoever can say 'Happy Birthday' longest wins except instead of 'Happy Birthday', it's their characters' names they're going to prolong. Since Vincent knows how to sing, he feels that the exercise will be easy for him. According to the coach, learning how to utilize one intake of breath is essential in acting. After the breathing exercise, the coach moves them on to a more technical activity she calls Spaghetti.

<< Another thing actors must be able to do is to evoke emotions. For this activity, it's real easy. You just need to come in one at a time to the center of the circle and as you walk in, I'm going to give you a word, an emotion, or something to feel. Once you're in the center, you just have to say the word 'spaghetti'. For example, if I tell you to feel sad, you're going to evoke sadness and once in the center, say the word spaghetti but with sadness. Did everyone catch that? Good. Let's start with you. >>

The coach points to a different actor and assigns her the word pain. She walks to the center of the circle and says the word spaghetti as she clutches her chest, her expression filled with pain. Everyone gives her a round of applause after her turn before the coach points to someone new and the activity sets off. When the coach points to Shen, she gives him the word disappointment and without so much of a hitch, Shen walks to the center of the circle and says the word spaghetti, his voice laced in disappointment that Vincent doesn't even need to see his facial expression to tell. After Shen, the coach points to Papi and gives him the scenario of just winning the lotto. Immediately, Papi runs inside the circle screaming spaghetti at the top of his lungs, making everyone laugh before returning back to his position. The coach points to Tony next, assigning him with the word dying and upon hearing this, Tony drops down to the floor, shocking everyone, before he dramatically crawls to the center of the circle and utters the word spaghetti before dropping his head onto the floor, signalling his death. Everyone claps for him and when the coach points to Vincent, she assigns him the word embarrassment as he walks to the center of the circle.

// Embarrassment. //

Vincent thinks back to the last time he's felt genuine embarrassment and the one thing that comes to his mind is that moment at Kastilla when he brazenly sat on Shen's lap and did those things with him. Almost instantly, Vincent's whole body rejects the memory in a way that can only be described as embarrassment and in that moment, Vincent speaks out the word 'spaghetti'. Shen watches this and for a split second he feels secondhand embarrassment from Vincent as he somehow can tell that in his spaghetti moment, Vincent felt truly embarrassed. Vincent then returns to his spot in the circle, thanking the lord that the moment is over but not before Yasmin and Shen clap at him. He thanks them for their praise before Yasmin resumes pointing to the rest of the actors and assigning them their own words.

True to her words, Yasmin came prepared with so many activities for them that by the time their workshop ends, it's already lunch. Vincent is surprised that they finish so early as he's expecting them to take the whole day.

<< Oh? I thought we we're going to do the workshop for a whole day. >>

<< Nope. That'd be too tiring both physically and emotionally. These usually only last up two or three hours. >>

<< Okay. >>

As they pack their things, Papi asks if any of them know a good place where he can buy some takuyaki. He asks Shen if their partnered food company, The Corinthians, has takuyaki in their menu but Shen says no. Vincent then vaguely remembers a takuyaki stall at Promare Mall and suggests they go there for lunch if they're willing to drive. Papi claps in agreement before announcing that Shen will be their driver for the day.

<< Ah, why me? >>

<< Because you've got the nicest car among us. >>

Vincent then interjects with a meek smile and a raised hand.

<>

The four of them finish tidying up and once they're all set, they thank Yasmin and Lulu once again and announce their leave before exiting the room. Outside, they see Beau apparently waiting for Vincent.

<< Hey, just in time. Hold up, you're going out for lunch? >>

<< Yeah. Papi's craving for some takuyaki and I know a place at Promare Mall. >>

<< OK. Then I'll be quick. This here is Dig. Starting today he's going to be your manager. >>

<< Huh? You mean like a manager-manager? >>

<< Yes. He'll be the one to manage your schedule, drive you around and basically take care of you as you're now part of the company. >>

<>

<< Vincent, GE Inc. is a talent agency. You just signed with us so you're already one. Also it was Lulu who insisted on hiring one for you. >>

<< Oh, OK then. Uh, hi Dig. My name is Vincent. >>

Vincent and Dig greet one another before exchanging numbers and since it's Dig's first day, Beau tells Vincent that he'll have to show Dig around first before they can get to know one another. Vincent thanks Beau for his kindness and once everything's cleared up, Beau and Dig leave. The four of them take the elevator down to the lobby and resume their walk to the parking lot. On the way there, Papi teases Vincent about Dig.

<< Wow, a manager on the first day? How envious. When Shen and I signed, they only gave us a manager a month after. >>

<>

<< Trust me you'll need one. >>

They get in the car and since Papi is still on the boat of getting Shen and Vincent together, he lets Vincent take the front seat despite him being the one who usually sits there. Shen is confused by Papi's change in behavior for a second but lets it go as having Vincent beside him makes him feel better. Shen starts the car and asks which restaurant they'll be eating at so that he knows which building to park at. Papi says at their usual and Shen just nods before driving off. Vincent is intrigued by this 'usual' place they seem to frequent and he can't help but feel giddy, thinking that he's welcomed in their circle enough to be brought along to their 'usual'.

On the drive, Vincent asks if the acting workshops are really about the activities they did back at the 23rd floor. The three then explain the usual pattern they go through in preparation for a role and Vincent feels both nervousness and excitement towards the uncharted territory of acting. They continue talking about their recent workshop, noting each of their favorite among the activities and Vincent picks the breathing activity since he was the one who held his character's name the longest without running out of breath. After that, Tony mentions the novel and since Vincent has just recently read it, he actively talks about his favorite parts while diving in depth into the personalities of the characters in it. Papi entertains him since he recently just read the novel too and they even debate on some aspects of their characters' relationship. Tony joins in on the topic but since he hasn't read the full novel yet, he only jumps in on the conversation when he recognizes what Papi and Vincent are talking about. As for Shen, he's read the draft script but hasn't really read the novel yet. He makes a mental note of reading it during his free time.

<< Do you think Lulu will mind if I post a story of us? It's cause she told me not to post anything related to the series yet so I'm not sure. >>

<< Let Papi or Tony do it just to be sure. She told me not to post anything as well. >>

Papi scoffs at Shen and Vincent's conversation and calls the two of them chickens before whipping out his phone to take a video story of them himself. He directs the camera at Tony first then asks him in the Dora, the Explorer theme, 'Where are we going?'. Tony does the clap and replies, 'To go get lunch!' then Papi asks again, 'Who are we going with?' and Tony replies, 'Shen and Vincent!'. Papi pans his phone to the front where Shen and Vincent wave one after the other before he ends the video to tag all of them before uploading.

They arrive at the Promare Mall just shortly after and they discreetly make their way to their usual place, Pepper Lunch. On the way there, some fans recognize their group and stop them all to ask for pictures and by all, Vincent means Papi, Tony and Shen. It's not like Vincent has this expectation of people recognizing him. After all, he's not a celebrity like the three of them. Despite his followers on IG rising to 6,000+ in the span of a week, it's feeble compared to the 4M Shen and Papi are sporting and the 1.3M Tony has. On the bright side though, Vincent finds it funny that in spite of their efforts to be discreet, they still get recognized every few meters they walk.

When they get to Pepper Lunch, Vincent is surprised that they already have a reserved table in a private room waiting for them. Once in the private room, their orders are taken there, unlike regular customers who have to queue in line and this makes Vincent think that being a celebrity must really come with a lot of perks. Their food also arrives much faster than usual and Vincent can't help but feel bad for the people outside. Tony catches Vincent's expression and decides to confront him about it.

<< I also felt bad the first time I came here and found out that we were being prioritized. I thought 'what about those who have been waiting longer than me?'. Here's the deal though. As much as these restaurants are glad to have celebrities in their premises, they also want to make them leave as quickly as possible. Can you just imagine if fans caught whiff of our whereabouts and decided to storm in here? It's a recipe for disaster. Try to look at it that way and you won't feel as bad as you're initially feeling. >>

Now that Tony has explained the nonverbal agreement of restaurants and celebrities, he gets to see their benefit in an entirely different light. Rather than a privilege, Vincent now views it as more of a strategy that focuses on helping one another. Giving good publicity for the restaurant in exchange for priority meals is a win-win situation for both parties.

After eating, they pay using the black card again before Papi hounds Vincent over the takuyaki stall he mentioned earlier. Vincent leads them to it and Papi buys each of them a single set before asking what's next once they finish their food. Apparently, Papi is free until 4 in the afternoon and since Vincent thought their workshop would last the whole day, he really didn't make any plans. As for Shen, he has a fanmeet at 3 in the afternoon while Tony has a photoshoot at 2 so he has to go back to the studio.

<< My manager is here to pick me up so you guys have fun. >>

They walk Tony to the elevators before deciding to spend their afternoon at the arcade. On the way there, they make casual conversation before Papi gets a call from his manager. After the call, Papi faces Shen and Vincent with a guilty look on his face.

<< What is now Papi? >>

<>

Apparently, Lulu is mad that he posted a story of them with Vincent because now fans are jumping to conclusions that he's the actor playing Ned in the series. Now Lulu is demanding for Vincent to return to the studio to film an impromptu interview since the implication of him being the actor to play Ned is already quite heavy. Shen laughs at Papi's flustered state but can't help feeling a little damp over not being able to go to the arcade with Vincent.

<< Aw. And here I was looking forward to going to the arcade. >>

<< It's OK Vincent. We can always go next time. >>

<< Yeah. I guess you two can enjoy your free time now. I'll just take a cab back to the office. >>

<< I'm sorry Vincent. I didn't know that Lulu would get mad over it. >>

<< It's OK Papi. I was already waiting for my turn to be interviewed anyway. >>

<< Ha! And he called us chickens. I'll have that over Lulu's anger anytime of the day. >>

Vincent laughs at Shen's teasing before parting ways with the two boys. Shen initially insisted to drive Vincent but the other man didn't want to intrude on the rare free time he and Papi had. It took a little bit of convincing but eventually Shen gave in and let Vincent leave on his own. When Vincent arrives back at GE Inc., Dig meets him in the lobby before they go up to Lulu's office. They come in and immediately Vincent is ordered to sit as a makeup artist starts fixing him up quickly. Lulu enters the office a second later, anger very prominent on her face.

<< That darn Papi, I told him not to upload anything about the cast. >>

Lulu then moves away from the door as a camera crew enters and sets up her office to something pleasing to an audience's eye. She explains that since Papi basically gave the surprise factor of casting Vincent as Ned away, they might as well just move the interview up and upload it now. Once everything and everyone is ready, Lulu instructs the crew to begin with the interview. Before they start though, Vincent asks how he's supposed to answer the questions and Lulu just says to answer them honestly but to reveal his character at the end. With that, the interviewer asks Vincent the first question.

<< Please introduce yourself. >>

<< Hello, my name is Vincent August. I'm 23 years old and you can call me Vincent or Vince for short. >>

<< Why did you decide to audition for You + Your One Million Layers? >>

<< Actually, I didn't really 'audition' for the drama. I was offered a role by director Lulu herself. She contacted me and asked if I'd like to star in the drama and honestly I was super surprised by this. I mean, I have no acting experience at all so I was really confused why she would choose a complete novice for her drama. But after talking about it, thinking it through, I decided to say yes and now I'm going to be part of it. >>

<< Do you think the role given to you is similar to yourself? >>

<< Well, it's going to be a tough. I label myself as an extrovert. I love going out, meeting new people, doing sports and things like that. But we do have some similarities though- we both love singing. >>

<< What are your preparations for the role? >>

<< Obviously I had a lot of things I needed to work on but the most important thing I knew needed to be done was definitely to read the novel. After being cast, I immediately bought a copy of the novel so that I could find more about the story. I read about the characters, their relationships, and their environment all so I could have a clearer direction in my head. After that I bought an acting guide book and even till, I'm still doing my research so that I can definitely do my part. >>

<< Can you say a line from the character that you will be playing? >>

<< We haven't been given the official script yet so I'll just say my favorite line of his from the book. It's from chapter 8. It goes like this. 'People's feelings aren't always clear-cut. It's not something that you could just present as evidence or just say out loud. So if you don't tell me what exactly you want from me, I'm afraid I'm just going to read your signs and leave them at read.' >>

They continue interviewing Vincent and he answers all the questions as honestly as he can just as Lulu instructed. He finally reveals his character, Ned, once he is given the cue and when they arrive to the final question, the interviewer asks Vincent what the fans of the novel should expect.

<< As a novice, I have to admit that I'm still learning for myself what I can offer to the table. But what I can tell everyone now is that the whole cast shares the love you guys at home have for the novel as well. We're all working hard to make this the best drama it can be while also building relationships with one another, supporting and willing to help one another to reach that goal. So to all fans of the novel, please continue to follow and support You + Your One Million Layers and we can't wait for you to see what we have in store for you. >>

Lulu praises Vincent for handling the interview so well, telling him that he can go back to the workshop before reminding him that if he ever needed anything that Lulu is only one call away. She asks about what Vincent thinks about Dig and he honestly admits that he feels it's an unnecessary thing to give him a manager since he isn't a celebrity or anything. Lulu tells Vincent to just think of it as helping another citizen earn money for their family before she leaves to attend a meeting somewhere.

Now that the interview is finished, Vincent ponders where he can go to next. He thinks about going home so that he can continue watching Into My World but he also thinks about catching up with Shen and Papi back at the arcade. Vincent takes out his phone and messages Shen on IG, asking if they're still at the arcade.

\\ Yeah we're still here. You done with your interview? \\

\\ yep, should i follow back there? \\

\\ You can but I'm going to be leaving soon. You can hang out with Papi if you want. \\

\\ ahh the fanmeet right?? \\

\\ In the smaller stadium at SkyDome. Remember the place where we watched volleyball? The dome beside it. \\

\\ kk, im heading there now \\

Shen mentions to Papi that Vincent is on his way back since he's finished with his interview and Papi worries that Lulu might still be angry at him. Regardless, they continue playing. When Vincent arrives, he loads a card for himself and joins Shen and Papi, who have a small number of people around them. When Papi spots Vincent he calls him over, making the fans turn to him in curiosity. This makes Vincent a little shy but smiles at Papi and Shen while greeting their fans with a small wave nonetheless.

Shen and Papi are currently in a heated battle of air hockey with Papi up two points and when Vincent says heated, he means blazing hot fire. Vincent is amused by how competitive they both are, remembering their volleyball match from before and admittedly has a hard time choosing who to cheer for. The two boys go at it like crazy but eventually Papi wins the match. Their fans cheer and the two let them take pictures with them right after. As the fans wait for their turns, Vincent hears murmuring from among them.

<< Hey, isn't that guy Vincent, the one from the volleyball game? >>

<< Yeah it's him. I wonder why he's suddenly hanging out with Shen. They've been in each other's stories lately. >>

<>

<< Or maybe they're dating like what the fan account says. >>

The gossiping fans giggle among themselves and Vincent can't help but think about the idea of him and Shen together. With Shen being a BL actor, it's given that his fans will literally ship him with any of his onscreen partners and now that they'll soon find out he and Shen will be a new couple of GE Inc., Vincent can only think about how the fans will receive their new ship.

Once Shen and Papi finish with the pictures, they show Vincent around, pointing and trying out the games they've played earlier. They do the shooting games, pinball machines, racing, ticket games, fighting games and even some virtual reality. Vincent thoroughly enjoys each of the games they try, especially the fighting one where he massacres both Shen and Papi mercilessly. They go back and forth between stalls and stations that by the time Shen needs to leave, they have a trolley filled with tickets.

<< Alright, it's about time for me to leave. You two cool staying here? >>

Vincent is about to agree but Papi then interjects by suggesting that Vincent tag along with Shen to his fanmeet. Shen eyes Papi suspiciously, wondering why and where the suggestion of Vincent tagging along came from but Papi just goes on about how he plans on going back to the office early, making it all the more reason to bring Vincent along so that he won't be alone. Shen scrutinizes Papi but Papi just puts on an innocent yet smug look on his face and Shen can't determine what it means and why it's there.

<< Well, it certainly beats staying at home and doing nothing. You mind if I tag along? >>

<>

<< Don't worry, I'll manage. >>

The three of them come to a consensus and after they redeem their tickets, Papi breaks away, grabbing himself a cab back to the office while Shen and Vincent make their way to the parking lot.

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