CH11

A romantic comedy where a guy links arms with another girl in front of the girl he likes.

Even upon a closer look, this is definitely a comedy. 

Although it seemed not at all to the people involved.

"Thank you for the warm welcome. Oh, there's Robert coming in, too."

"I met that person at a party a few days ago. They don't usually attend such parties but make a special appearance; shouldn't you be paying more attention to them?"

'Ah, this is bad. Really caught in a bind.'

If it were anywhere else, Ian could somehow manage to peel off the clinging Charlotte, but this place is a charity party hosted by her.

Cause embarrassment to her while she's the host?

'Not even Ben's grandfather could win here.'

Just one sad look and tomorrow's gossip column's front page would surely feature Ben and Charlotte.

Ian exchanged a look with a sweating Ben and silently conversed.

'You should've been more careful.'

'Do something about it.'

'Shall I help?'

As if saying, "Is that even a question?" Ben quickly nodded. 

Promising himself he'd be repaid in full later, Ian took a step towards Charlotte.

"Hello?"

"Oh, my apologies for the late greeting. You're the kind-hearted kid, aren't you?"

"I've always wanted to say something when I met you!"

With an innocently cheerful voice, Ian gestured, and Charlotte leaned in to listen.

"I heard you've been thinking of shedding the wild party-goer image. Wouldn't it be wise not to lose a connection over nothing?"

"Hmm."

Charlotte's eyes twinkled like a fox, amused by his words.

With a flirtatious smile, Charlotte unlinked her arm from Ben's.

"Mr. Roberts, may I have a word with this young man separately?"

"I came in place of a guardian, so it's difficult to leave him alone."

"It's okay. What could possibly happen here?"

With Ian joining in, Ben nodded.

No one knew what was whispered, but Ian was no ordinary child. 

At a charity party filled with children, there was no chance for accidents.

"Come find me as soon as you're done talking."

"Don't worry, have a good time. I'll be back soon."

After Ben left, Ian, taking Charlotte's offered hand, moved a bit away from the party venue.

Sounds of splashing water and children's laughter were faintly audible, perhaps from a nearby pool.

Reaching a spot away from eavesdroppers, Charlotte sat down on a table, crossing her legs.

"You said something interesting earlier? What did you mean?"

"It wasn't anything special. Just that acting like a scandalous celebrity and stirring up all sorts of gossip seems to have reached its limit for you."

"Acting. On what basis do you say that?"

Ian, mirroring Charlotte, crossed his legs while sitting on a chair and smiled with his eyes just like her.

"You like parties, but you're not really the type to go off the rails, are you? More like, you're calculating?"

"In what way?"

"The fact that you get paid tens of thousands of dollars for party attendance and you're a savvy businessperson who promotes all sorts of things at parties? Oh, and by day you're dedicated to business, and by night, you enjoy parties with tremendous energy."

Hearing the answer, Charlotte burst into bright laughter.

Excluding the times she did crazy stuff at parties, it's hard to tell how often she laughed this cheerfully.

"I see why Ben Roberts keeps you around. You really are an interesting kid. Do you want something from me?"

"I don't."

"If you were about ten years older, I might have thought you were trying to seduce me."

Ian felt neither sexual desire nor material greed. 

Charlotte was quite taken with his way of simply seeing her as a person.

Gently rising from her seat, Charlotte softly stroked Ian's head.

"As much as I am, I wouldn't want to be misunderstood as a pedophile. Shall we go then? The host can't be away for too long. Let's meet again if there's a chance."

"Sure. I don't know at which party it will be, though."

She's a party animal who attends parties to the point of exhaustion for others, so she wouldn't be hard to meet again.

Charlotte, throwing a playful kiss with her hand, left to meet the guests, and Ian headed back to where Ben was.

'If you helped, at least do it well.'

A child hiding behind their mother in fear and Ayla Olsen with an awkward expression.

A scene that perfectly illustrated the thorny path ahead for Ben.

Ben waved eagerly at Ian, who returned sooner than expected as if seeing a savior.

"Ian! Over here. Here! You came back quickly?"

"Just had some light chit-chat. Hello, I'm Ian Pryce."

Ayla greeted him warmly in response to his polite introduction.

"I'm Ayla Olsen. This is my daughter, Rachel Grace."

A blonde child, resembling her mother, shyly peeked out and then quickly hid her head again upon making eye contact.

Ayla laughed as if in a bit of a dilemma.

"As you see, she's quite shy. I brought her here to make some friends, but it's not easy."

"Ian, I hear you're very popular at school. Your parents were bragging about it."

"Oh, really?"

This is why you shouldn't carelessly take in a blonde beast. Such betrayal.

With hopeful eyes, Ayla looked at Ian, making him feel cornered.

'I don't even know why kids like me.'

He had never made an effort to be friendly, and before returning, he had lived as a face with no connection to children.

How could he possibly know how to approach Rachel, who was like a rabbit hiding in a burrow?

'Oh well, let's just try something.'

With that thought, Ian sat down on a chair a bit away and started to whistle.

Ayla smiled broadly at the gentle melody.

It was her hit song, Goodbye Sweetheart.

The innocent love of a young girl flowed softly in the whistle.

"Wow, it's beautiful."

Rachel peeked out and exclaimed at the empty sky.

Approaching timidly like a scared little animal, Rachel eventually sat down beside him, and Ian asked in a gentle voice so as not to startle her.

"Do you want to hear something else?"

"Um, yes… Sometimes I'm Happy? Sing it this time."

It was also one of Ayla's songs, and fortunately, he knew it.

The original song was lively with intense choreography, but he had to change it up since it was hard to sing it exactly like the original.

"I'm happy sometimes, just for the brief moment a rainbow appears. It must be because the times without you feel so long."

Rachel stared into space as if mesmerized by his calm singing.

To others, it might have seemed strange, but Ian just sang calmly.

Clap, clap, clap-

As the song ended with his unbroken, youthful voice, Rachel clapped loudly.

"Was it okay?"

"Yes!"

Rachel nodded vigorously as if she had never been shy, and Ian cautiously asked her.

"May I ask you one thing?"

"What is it?"

"Do you see something?"

Yes, Rachel Grace, the daughter of Ayla Olsen.

There had been rumors about her that Ian had heard.

Hesitating slightly and glancing at Ayla, Rachel whispered into Ian's ear.

"Mom says I can see sounds as colors. But it's weird. Aren't sounds supposed to sparkle?"

The rumors Ian had heard in passing were true.

'She really has synesthesia.'

It turned out the rumors about Ayla's daughter, who could see sounds as colors, were true, and Ian understood the child's peculiar behavior.

"That must be very beautiful."

Unlike her peers who accused her of lying, Ian easily accepted her truth, making Rachel excitedly bounce on her feet.

"There are a lot that look strange. Ugly, distorted things. Dark, painted colors are more common."

"What about me?"

"It was pretty, though."

After tilting her head in thought for a moment, Rachel seemed to remember something.

"There was something strange."

"Strange?"

Rachel, with her small hands like ferns, reached out and touched Ian's face. 

As she molded it like clay, she said with a puzzled expression,

"It's not very hard. Why did they call it that?"

"Hard?"

"Yeah, it seemed like you don't use your face much. Like you're wearing a mask!"

"Ah!"

Ian's eyes widened at Rachel's words. 

It was something he hadn't thought of.

His face, distorted by burns, didn't move the muscles as freely as before.

Considering how much facial muscles contribute to vocalization, it was natural there would be deficiencies.

'Of course, the difference must be slight. No one else has pointed it out, after all.'

Yet, Rachel catching onto this was even more astonishing.

There was only one word for someone like her.

"You're a genius, aren't you?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you're really amazing."

For Rachel, who had always been treated as the odd one out among her peers, this was the first time she received such recognition.

Her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly ran behind her mother and hid.

Although it seemed like she had reverted to her initial behavior, everyone knew this wasn't a negative reaction.

A moved Ayla asked with a bright face, "Can we meet more often?"

"Of course."

Ian readily agreed.

Being around brilliant talent was always a joy.

***

The summer when major broadcasting companies review new shows is the busiest time of the year in the entertainment industry.

Producers, pitching their new shows, hustle to explain their ideas to top executives of broadcasting companies.

Agencies run around trying to get their actors into shows, and casting directors sift through actors to propose to production companies.

Adelia was meeting with a producer and a director to recommend actors.

The two of them paused at the same name on the list they were reviewing.

"Ian Price. That's the boy from the video, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

This drama required many child actors due to its theme, and Ian Price was one of the young actors Adelia confidently recommended.

'His acting skills were exceptional, for sure.'

So exceptional, in fact, that it was concerning whether he might intimidate the other child actors.

This wouldn't have been an issue for a typical drama, but…

"It's not easy, is it?"

"Right. Our drama requires a lot of physical activity from the child actors."

The director had seen the script for the upcoming drama.

'Invisible Children' was a drama set in a zombie apocalypse world where zombies were less aggressive towards children. 

It centered on the story of adults living in hiding and the children who struggled to gather food for them.

'Eventually, a child becomes an adult and will need a child to support them. Just like our reality.'

It critiqued a society concerned with birth rates, viewing children as a resource.

Due to the nature of this drama, there were many scenes of chasing and escaping from zombies.

"Excluding the prejudice against Asians, his physique isn't the best. The child actors we're gathering basically need to have good athletic abilities for the action to be convincing."

With filming set to begin in earnest from the end of July, it would be hard to see a significant improvement even with training.

"Let's proceed with contracts for the actors we're sure about and think a bit more about the young actor you mentioned."

"Understood."

Adelia agreed, albeit reluctantly. It wasn't her place to insist in the face of the production company's reservations.

As Adelia was about to leave the office, her phone buzzed insistently, prompting her to stop.

Addressing an urgent message, she turned back to the two who were paying no mind.

"Is the biggest issue with Ian Price the action part?"

"Yes, that's right. But why ask again?"

To the curious producer, Adelia presented her phone.

The video, sent by her frivolous brother who had been cut from a film set, showed a scene of action.

-Gasp!

A dropkick executed flawlessly after jumping off a roof.

It was dark, likely night, but not so much that the person couldn't be recognized thanks to the light spilling from a house.

It was definitely Ian Price, as seen in his profile.

"…Is that really him?"

"It appears so. It's a video that came out during a trial."

"A trial?"

Adelia shrugged, indicating she wasn't entirely sure of the details herself, but one thing was clear.

"It seems we don't have to worry about the action part."

The producer nodded in agreement.