Invitation

Darah made her way inside with great difficulty after seeing all the jealous glances directed towards her direction. She somehow kept her head low and entered the classroom. 

"Did you see that car?"

"Forget the car, did you see that guy!? He must be hella rich!"

"Everything is possible when you have a rich boyfriend… Lucky her." 

Darah's skin crawled hearing all the unwarranted comments thrown towards her. Even their whispers were as loud as shouting through a whole damn speaker. It irked her even more when they threw certain glance in her direction. Since when did people start envying me for the things I'd never imagined to have? For all she knew, she was a very silent, soft spoken girl who was ignored by her classmates. They never had a reason to envy her to begin with…

"Hey Judy, hey Jake!" She called out cheerfully, ignoring the group of girls who were gosipping at the corner. Jake passed her a smile but was distracted when a friend began talking to him instead.

"You're quite early today. What's the deal hmm?" 

"This isn't even early Judy." Darah giggled. 

"Well it is for you! You're always late to class so it's a surprise." Judy snickered, pulling Darah by her wrist and making her sit over the table. She then placed her hands over Darah's lap with a sly smile over her lips. 

"Say, who's that hot guy I saw outside huh? Your new boyfriend? Or you never told us about him, hm?" 

Darah blushed, not knowing how to answer to that. Boyfriend? But they never even talked about it. Does he see me as a girlfriend too? What even are we? It wouldn't make any sense to call him my boyfriend without him even knowing about it. 

With defeated shoulders, she finally answered.

"Nope, he's just a friend." 

"Ooh. There's still a chance then. Why don't you give it a shot?" Judy's eyebrows wiggled in a teasing manner making Darah chuckle out of embarrassment. But the fact is, we are already a thing, she thought. A thing without a name to it. 

Jake was watching the whole thing with a smirk to his face. That was until Judy accidentally pulled Darah closer to examine her scarf which she thought was pretty. But the moment it came off on one side, it was enough to send his blood boiling in anger. All those red marks down her neck… He felt extremely agitated just looking at it as Darah immediately covered it up before Judy could see the whole thing. 

"Oh my God-"

"They're just rashes left by my allergy!" Darah blurted out all of a sudden, feeling her heart race. A very handsome allergy by the way, she thought.

"Ok class, get to your seats now!" The teacher sounded firmly at the students. Darah was extremely thankful for the timely intervention because of which Judy had let go of the matter then.

______

"Sir, I have a call from Mr. Gerald Yang!" Ryu's assistant, who was a middle aged but skilled man named Guen, arrived with his phone. He stopped in between looking through certain important papers and took the call.

"Pixie's father..." Ryu muttered to himself in irritation. Even though he was nothing like his daughter, nice and had lots of stories to tell, Ryu knew he was only calling to make sure the Shengs will be present at their grand event. They talked for a while and in the end, just as he expected, Gerald reminded Ryu again.

"I hope Lyra will be there too. It will be a pleasure to see you all." Gerald laughed heartily on the other side. 

"Yes, Mr Yang. I'll gladly be there." Ryu smiled for the sake of it. Just as the call ended, the expression in his orbs changed to that of an empty void while his secretary stood there dumbfounded. 

"Mr Guen. Listen. I know my father entrusted you to me with great hopes that you'd be a flawless guide to me becoming the perfect CEO. But unlike my father, I have a very bad temper, such ugly mannerisms that would get me kicked out of my position as the current President of the company. So the first and only rule I'll be setting for you, is that you will not directly relay to me the calls which have little to no importance. Is that clear?" 

Guen was silent for a moment, blinking blankly. If it was true that the young boss has a bad temper, then it would be double the trouble! He'd hate to disappoint Mr Aldric when he'd promised him to make a responsible man out of Ryu! But good things always came with great sacrifices! God bless me! 

"Yes Sir!" Guen agreed. Ryu smirked in reply. Poor thing was already scared. In reality, Ryu was far from losing his temper, but he deeply hated doing sweet talk with other business men. It drained him, probably because he didn't find anything entertaining about his job. 

"I'd suggest young boss to rely on me whenever you feel like you cannot hold in your anger! I'll immediately provide you with a solution." Ryu smiled at his naive enthusiasm. No wonder why Aldric absolutely adored this man. But nothing would make him smile as much as that one person. Thinking about it, he felt a thought crossing his mind. He hadn't told Darah about taking her to the party! But his father was adamant on being there too. His presence would ruin everything. The old man especially had a habit of rushing him into romantic relationships while Ryu had always avoided it like the plague. But being a spoilt brat had it's own fair share of qualities when it came to desperate times like these. Ryu Sheng had already mastered his plan dealing with Aldric, and it would only be moments till it takes full effect. Forgive me, just this once father, Ryu thought as he scoffed to himself. 

"Oh and Mr Aldric told me that you could take off early today since you have to attend the party." 

Those words lit up glimmers of hope inside Ryu, a villainous smile creeping up to his lips. In that case, she'd be delighted to see a surprise waiting for her after class. 

_____

When evening neared, Jake saw the two women step out of their classrooms after a brief chat. Darah was carrying the heavy load of their printed notes which Judy had passed to her. It seemed too much for Darah to take back home. Luca had told he'd be there but was nowhere to be seen. 

"I can't with this Judy! This is torture! They taught all these while I was gone!? This isn't fair!" Darah cried. It had the weight of two thick books stitched together. 

"Be grateful I at least wrote it down! The rest aren't even here to study at this point. I see them sleeping all the time." Judy snorted, walking ahead but then stopped to probe into something else.

 Aren't you going to check in with the Cafe manager? I thought you were joining today." Judy asked, carrying some of her notes because it wouldn't fit in Darah's little bag. 

"Oh, I haven't yet talked to them in person. I'm too tired today, so I guess… Tomorrow?" She shrugged. From a distance, Jake once again approached her with hopes of carrying her papers but was blocked when a figure stepped right ahead of him, blocking his view. Why is he so familiar? It's… The man from today morning! 

"You'd better hurry up." Judy suggested

"Well, I'll try to see to it today the-"

Darah stumbled in between her words, watching all the gazes directed towards the runway model approaching her from a distance. Oh Ryu Sheng, not again… She seemed to shrink every time he appeared, or even better she wanted to just disappear. 

His cold lips gradually picked up his sinful signature smirk as he stepped closer and closer in all it's contagious beauty. Darah, just as she feared tripped lightly upon being distracted by his arrival. Ryu moved forward quickly and held her by her arms so as to not make a mess out of her papers.  Removing his yellow tinted sunglasses and placing it over his pocket, he carefully took the bundle of notes from Darah's hands ever so lightly while she gazed awestruck. She couldn't blame the girls drooling at him. He looked like a literal prince and even she felt worthless standing next to him. 

"W-When did you even get here?"

"Right now. Aren't you happy?" Ryu smiled, carrying the notes gently like he were holding a feather. Judy was just as speechless as Darah, lost in his striking features. Was this a creation of the Gods of beauty, or the God himself!? Judy couldn't tell. 

"You looked like you were carrying bricks. Does your back hurt?" 

"Oh yes it does! I wasn't certainly looking happy while holding it, was I?" She sucked her lips to a side, seeing how effortlessly he was carrying it with a faint smile. Judy placed her notes over the bundle too, like a cherry on top with a grin on her face. Jake watched everything with a cold gaze, his hands turned into fists. Feeling irritated, he pulled the hood over his head and left without sparing them another glance. 

"Where are you going?" Darah asked, smiling and waving goodbye to Judy inbetween who was busy throwing her thumbs up signs as if cheering her on. She then composed her expression. 

"To the car obviously. I parked it outside just like you said, to appear less "flashy."" Ryu stressed the flashy part but Darah could see the swarm of girls literally follow them outside like creepy stalkers. Feeling harassed enough, she got into the car immediately. 

"But where's Luca?" Darah asked, gripping tightly over the seat as he sped off quickly. 

"Told him to stay back since I got off early today. We have a party to attend, Darling. Aren't you coming with me?" Ryu asked casually, not noticing how Darah's lips trembled at those mere words. Darling!? Just kill me already! And what was this party he was talking about!?