| Fan Fiction |
by biniBningPunkista
How many floors it has? I had no freaking idea…
I stood in front of the building which Toma’s father owned. It towered the entire place, a sky scraper that invaded the sky with its peak. My heart swelled as I looked at the enormous structure in front of me, thinking what difference would it make if Toma would be able to reconcile with his father? How many companies, workers and families would rely on him if he gets to have such connections? What would be the gap between me and him in status if he does decide to acknowledge his father? Will everything between us still be the same?
My mind kept on asking such questions as I stared blankly ahead, when suddenly an image in my head appeared; Toma in a high chair at the end of a very long table, while at the opposite side of that same table, I sat holding a phone on my ear. The person on the other line was Toma telling me he’s already tired of dating me.
I pushed the image away and shook my head vigorously. That was such a crazy imagination! Why did I let my mind run like that?
I shivered with that thought as I continued to look at the building in front of me.
“So what did you come here for again?” Jun asked, invading my thoughts.
“To find Kennishiro Tomoko…” My voice trailed off softly, not entirely digesting that the person I was looking for was a big time tycoon.
“Well we’re here. The least we could do is ask for Kennishiro Tomoko at the reception.” Jun said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me inside the huge building.
The inside of the building has a vast space, there weren’t much decoration. They kept the first floor simple and very spacious. Aside from the reception desk, where a pretty lady sat, there was a small spiral structure in the middle, besides that there was nothing else. I couldn’t even locate where the elevators are but I could have guessed where to go since several people were coming in and out of the building through the back of a big wall with…
…my painting?
I was stunned to find out that the building Toma’s father owned would even decorate my art work in their lobby. It was very disturbing in some aspect and yet… flattering.
It was one of the huge paintings I have done a couple of years ago; I remember vaguely how I felt back then while painting it. I was too obsessed with the beach at some point, that all I could paint were beach inspired sceneries. The painting somehow came out much more decent than I thought it would be. It had the brightest sky blue color I could manage, and the water reflected it with its calm waves. There was not a sun in sight, but a few clouds hanging on the sky while water was painted softly rolling onto the sand. Now that I look clearly at the painting, it was so much like the building. The brilliance of the color blue in that art fit well with its surroundings.
My eyes were stuck through that direction where my art was solely hanged on the wall that I didn’t get to notice that Jun has been poking my arm.
“Why are you spacing out? The lady at the reception was asking if you had an appointment with the big guy, she’s Japanese so there’s no need to worry.”
“Eh?” I was confused for a moment as he said the big guy.
“Do you have a reservation?” It was the receptionist’s turn to ask, noticing that I was totally not listening to Jun.
“Ano… I don’t have one… but…” I stuttered and then she cut me off immediately.
“I’m sorry but Kennishiro sama do not meet with people he doesn’t have an appointment with.” The receptionist interrupted my flailing trail of words while her friendly look turned stoic.
“But I… his son…” I started to say but she completely ignored me as she resumed typing something in her small computer, all these while Jun has been standing beside me quietly, and then all of a sudden he moved closer to the receptionist, took her hand and inspected it well.
“Your hands are really pretty… how do you take care of them?” Jun asked, his face full of honest curiosity.
“I… I… I don’t do anything about it. It just happened to be like that.” The lady blushed as she let Jun hold her hand. Then slowly, Jun released it and smiled sadly.
“I wish my ex girl friend had a hand like yours, if she did we wouldn’t have broken up in the first place.” He sighed loudly again. The lady took notice of this and looked at him with concern.
“Wouldn’t the woman beside you now be upset if she hears you saying this?” She gestured at me.
“Oh her? She’s my cousin…” he said while smiling broadly, then whispered.
“She’s also a spinster.”
My eyes grew big as I heard this, I wanted to smack him right there but the girl looked at me and gave a small sneer, barely noticeable but it was still there.
The nerve of this girl giving me that piece of shit. It’s not like I need her crap. It’s all Jun’s fault that I had to endure this stuff from…
My trail of unforgiving thoughts was cut short when the lady suddenly spoke without looking both at me and Jun in the eye.
“I heard Mr. Kennishiro had to attend a company party tonight. It would be held at Ambassador’s hotel this evening. Here’s the location and… my number in case you would need it.” The receptionist smiled subtly at Jun as his hand took the paper and lingered there for a few moments.
I can’t believe what just happened. Did I just witness an actor’s charm being used to an innocent lady? Well… probably not innocent, but still!
When we got the information we needed, both Jun and I bolted out of the building and quickly walked down the stairs, all the while Jun clutched the paper in his hand.
Then he gave a quiet laugh unexpectedly.
“What’s funny?” I asked utterly curious with his private joke.
“That receptionist was funny. If she thinks she’s getting in bed with me then she got it wrong. That lady was not my type at all.” After saying this, he immediately crumpled the paper in his hand and tossed it to the trash can at the end of the stairs.
My eyes went round with bewilderment when I saw what he just did.
“What the hell are you doing?!?” I shouted at him, Jun froze at his step and gawked at me.
“What did I do now?” He asked feeling frustrated.
“You threw away the piece of information I needed!!!” I was about to go to the trash can and get the paper when Jun grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Did you think you could actually get inside Ambassador Hotel without being in the guest list? Are you stupid?!? BAKERO! Only A list people gets to be invited in those kind of things. Are you one of the A list people?” Jun asked me totally bewildered.
“I could be one!” I yelled stubbornly.
“You don’t get it Mao… Let’s just go back. What’s with this Kennishiro guy anyway that you’re even going to grab for the trash just to get to him.” He shook his head in disapproval not letting my arm go.
Jun raised his hand to call for a cab, which instantly came in front of us. I was still struggling to get out of his grip inching towards the trash can when Jun forced me to face him.
“Stop it! You should know when to give up.” He looked at me, no ounce of playfulness in his face that totally caught me off guard. I reluctantly went inside the cab and sat silently during the whole ride. Jun didn’t even try to make a conversation; we sat in total silence until we reached the hotel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the Hotel room I was so upset that I didn’t know what to do. All I wanted to do was see for myself who Kennishiro Tomoko was and probably by doing that he would somehow be able to lead me to Toma. When I think of it carefully, Toma’s phone should have been on roaming, I should have been able to contact him by now, but his phone was dead. My mind gave me more imagination than it should have. To relieve stress, I took a nap as soon as I came back and then took a nice long hot bath when I woke up.
I sat in front of the vanity mirror still aggravated with the whole situation, my relaxation techniques did not help at all. My reflection on the mirror reflected the way I was feeling, I could see the stressed out lined between my eyebrows, the glower my eyes had as it looked back at me and this annoyed me more. I shifted my foot to slouch on the chair when my toe touched something hard and soft. I prodded it again to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. It wouldn’t be the table’s foot or the rug because it slid a little when I gave it a nudge, it must have been something else.
I stooped down to check out what it was. There it was a velvet purple box at the very corner, under the table. It was hidden pretty fairly enough that a cleaner wouldn’t even notice it that well. I reached for it then placed it in the middle of the table.
It looked like a jewelry box.
When I finally opened it, there sat the most simple and yet stunning ring I have seen in my life. It was lovely beyond words. There were 3 diamonds imbedded in that thin silver ring, which gently formed a triangular shape, it had intricate designs on the band and had dents to give it a more sexier capturing look, while at the back of the ring, there where characters engraved… in kanji.
It simply said, “Stay with me.”
My heart suddenly clenched with the thought that somehow… this ring… could have been mine. These were the same exact words Toma had told me three years ago. I wonder who actually had this room before me. Would it be bad if I tried the ring out for myself?
I gave it few seconds to think before my greediness won me over. I gently took the ring and slid it on my ring finger, it was a perfect fit. My cheek suddenly felt wet, I just realized that I was crying when a single tear slid on my cheeks and gently dropped on the ring. This must have seemed pathetic to someone else if they saw me crying over a silly ring, but for me… it felt like a heavy blow.
Drama was washing over me when someone knocked on the door and rang on the bell.
“Room service.” A muffled voice said behind the door.
Quickly wiping my face, I looked at the door puzzled, because as far as I remember I didn’t call for a room service. I stood up from my seat totally perplexed and walked over to fix the mistake. As soon as I opened the door there stood Jun Matsumoto, holding a box and a paper bag in his arms.
“Special delivery for the lady in this room.” Jun grinned brightly at me.
“What’s that?” My curiosity got in the way of bitterness from the incident earlier.
“You’ll see. I’ll pick you at 6. Ja!” He shoved the box and paper bag in my hand then pushed me back inside the room and closed the door behind me.
“What the…” I stood there gaping at the closed door unable to react properly.
What was that guy thinking?
I walked over at the bed then lay the box and paper bag on top of it. There was an envelope on top of the tissue covering.
It read, “For: Matsumoto-san From: Pres. Kennishiro Tomoko, Empire Industries”
I opened the envelope in haste, almost tearing it apart and then read the letter inside.
-----------
Dear Matsumoto-san:
The company has heard of your arrival in Taiwan, it will be the company’s privilege to invite you the business party that Empire Industries would be holding at the Ambassador Hotel at 7 pm. Thank you for supporting the company and being its endorser for this season.
Sincerely,
Kennishiro Tomoko
Empire Industries, President
-----------
Along with the letter was the direction for the hotel and the dress code that should be worn. This was all too good to be true. I rummaged through the box that Jun gave me and saw a stunning evening dress. It was simple and yet elegant, a light satin greenish-white gown tube like dress that looks like a wrap-around with a free flowing fabric at the side. An oriental embroidery of tiny silver beads on a thread like band was clasped below the free flowing fabric at the right side of the dress and attached at the back that give it a more dramatic look.
My voice got caught in my throat. I was speechless beyond belief by what was in front of me. I have worn this dress in a magazine shoot, but I never have dreamt of wearing it in a certain occasion. It was one of Armani’s collections, and to top it all the Jun provided a pair of dazzling shoes!!!
Prada nonetheless! A silver closed toe shoe that is as sparkly as the embroidery in the dress. It was the perfect look.
I looked at the clock to check the time. It was 5 pm in the afternoon and all I had to do was prepare.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Wow…”
It was Jun’s statement the moment he saw me at the door as he picked me up an hour later. This made me feel a bit self conscious with myself. I have never worn something for an occasion that I did not pick myself. The dress hugged my body in a justifiable look and my right leg shows through the slit that was subtly hidden at the side while I walk. Aside this self consciousness I felt like a top celebrity. I haven’t felt like this for a long time, not even when I had first worn this dress for a photo shoot.
“Thanks.” I said curtly as I walked ahead of him towards the elevator.
“Inoue Mao. You have exceeded my imagination. I have seen you before in this dress during an Armani photo shoot. I was supposed to be your male counterpart then, but my schedule was too much for me to handle that day that I arrived too late. You were already walking to the changing room. All I was able to see was a glimpse of you in that dress. You definitely look spectacular now that I look at you.” Jun grinned as he followed suit inside the elevator.
The guy has been complimenting me the whole time whereas he, himself looked amazing in his chosen attire. He was wearing a white rayon suit with side pockets, while underneath he had a grey patterned scarf that accented his suit while a silver buckle was clasped on his belt. Jun looked striking as any sought out actor would have looked like. The outfit was like tailor made for him, but if I didn’t know better it came out of vogue and was one of Dulce and Gabanna’s designs. Nevertheless, it looked good on him.
We look good together too, though I would never admit that to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
During the whole ride, Jun was being very pleasant and animated inside the limousine. I don’t know why he wasn’t so cocky all of a sudden. This made me wonder if he had any other alternate reason for all of this.
“You never told me you were acquainted with Kennishiro Tomoko. Why did you bring it up just now?” I asked casually.
“Because I never thought I would be invited, and I came into Taiwan for purely vacation purposes. I had no idea that the Empire Industries would know I was here. It never dawned onto me that business would actually follow me here. Truth is… I have never talked to Mr. Tomoko personally. It was either the consultant or some representative who spoke with me in terms of business. So technically I am not acquainted with the man in any way.”
“Souka.” I said, though still uncertain but then I looked at him in the eye.
“By the way, Matsumoto-san you look great tonight and… ano… thanks for the dress.” I said timidly, breaking the eye contact between us.
After a couple of years of having a steady boy friend, it never dawned on to me that I could find the tiniest bit of attraction to some other man. Even with this snotty actor.
SHIT!!! What am I thinking?!? I am not attracted with this monkey. Just because he happens to be good looking and… and very nice doesn’t mean that I’m actually attracted… God! Inoue!!! Get a grip of yourself.
“You look funny. What are you thinking?” Jun asked looking at me curiously.
This made me stare at him and analyze the whole situation, between the two of us. I was the damsel in distress, he was my knight in shining armor… but my not my prince. That’s just how it was. Right, he’s the knight.
“You’re just a knight… not a prince.” I said out loudly.
“Eh?” He reacted said with confusion.
“You think of the craziest things Mao-chan. Oh, by the way please quit calling me so Matsumoto-san. You make me sound too old. Also, I’m curious… you did tell me earlier that you were engaged but you weren’t sporting a ring back then and now…” He pointed at my finger.
“Oh crap…” I immediately removed the ring from my finger and placed it carefully into my purse. I have completely forgotten that I was wearing the ring I found in the hotel room, because I was too overwhelmed with the news from the party.
“Not mine. I… incidentally found it in my hotel room and tried it on. It was too exquisite not to sample it and it was exactly my kind of engagement ring too. Mind you I am really engaged, I just...”
“Yeah… you’ve said that already.” Jun said still looking unconvinced.
I don’t know why I felt the need to explain this kind of things to him, but I quickly shut myself up and was immediately clothed in an uncomfortable silence.
“We’re here.” The driver finally said which made me sigh silently with relief.
The hotel was on top of a hill, it was big and stylish; just the type of place to hold exclusive gatherings like this. I was relatively amazed by the whole place while I drank the whole sight in, and then suddenly I had this cold feeling wash over me. It’s not like this was the first time I would be attending functions like this, but I couldn’t ignore the butterflies in my stomach. I was nervous all of a sudden with the thought that I would be finally meeting Toma’s dad.
I climbed out of the limousine and stood before the entrance clutching my chest, unable to move. I tried to gather my wits within me, thinking of questions to ask, situations to deal with… all those things. This wasn’t the time to be scared.
“Are you ready?” Jun asked.
“Yeah.” Sounding unsure of myself.
“Nervous?” He asked again.
“What should I be nervous about?” I asked smugly pretending I wasn’t nervous, then took his arm and pulled him to walk towards the hotel entrance.
As we entered the ballroom where the party was held, Jun was immediately swarmed with people and camera shots were taken. Suddenly, we have become the center of a small crowd.
After several greetings, a new couple came over. The woman was stunning in her strapless black gown. The clothing was intricately formed to a rose-like cloth design at the front of her dress and the satin fabric falls down layered to her shoes. The man beside her stood smartly and was really good looking. He was wearing a shiny gold over all striped suit, dark grey long sleeves underneath and a patterned white scarf beneath the suit. A gray bow tie was clasped by his neck with a silk handkerchief on his chest pocket. This man knew how to carry the shiny clothing he was wearing, though the look was blinding, his face held the confidence of one that was used to such flashy clothes.
The three began talking in Taiwanese, that made me bored the instant I have to listen to a conversation I don’t understand. Instead, the back of a tall man caught my attention. His build looked rather familiar.
I tried observing him as much as I could, then suddenly he turned to his side and I got a glimpse of his face. A realization struck through me, he looked like the older version of Toma.
Clearly, it was his father. Right in the middle of the room, Kenneshiro Tomoko was finally in front of me. Within my grasp… all I had to do was approach him. The nervous feeling I felt awhile ago doubled over. My mind was whirling fast on how I would talk to him and confirm the things I would like to know.
A server came over with wine, I immediately grabbed a glass and downed it in one gulp. Not minding that the people Jun was talking with looked at me with surprised expressions.
“You seem to like that drink, does it taste good?” The woman in the black dress asked.
“Ye…ah?” I was stunned that she knew how to speak Japanese.
“You’re Japanese?” I asked.
She smiled at me brightly and shook her head.
“No. I just lived in Japan half my existence. Sorry to be rude, we didn’t give time for Jun to introduce us. I’m Rainie Yang and this is Mike He. Don’t mind him, he’s just a silly actor in a shiny suit.” Rainie winked at me, and reached out her hand for a shake.
The moment I heard her name, I had the feeling of being suddenly washed with cold water. This was the woman who kissed my man!!!
My hand reached out automatically for her hand without any emotions registered in my face. I tried to hide my irritation as of the moment. I have forgiven Toma for this, and I wasn’t clean myself as I am supposed to be. Who goes on parties with an actor the moment their boyfriends are gone right? But this girl in front of me tried to seduce someone else’s property. That’s what I disliked from the start.
Mike, the shiny guy shook my hand and greeted me.
“Konbanwa, welcome to Taiwan… I believe I’ve seen you somewhere?” He started to say.
“On magazines maybe...” I said without much enthusiasm.
“Oh my GOD!!!” Rainie squeaked in total awe.
“You are Inoue Mao aren’t you? You’re that artist who’s being the pride of Japan right now? And… you’re Toma’s girl friend?” She asked her eyes wide eyed.
“Fiancée.” I corrected her.
“No way…” She said, her eyes obviously darting to my ringless finger.
Then there was suddenly an awkward silence between us, until Mike the shiny guy spoke up.
“Ah… I remember now where I’ve seen you before. You were an Armani model for the magazine, and that’s the same dress you were wearing. You look very lovely in that dress by the way. ” Mike said.
For an actor, he does know when to notice something good in front of him. I think I’m going to like this shiny guy.
“How come you’re not with Toma right now?” Rainie asked reeling my mind away from the shiny being.
I don’t know what’s wrong with this woman, but she asks the most infuriating questions that I rather not answer. I was about to say some snide remark when everyone’s attention was turned to the entrance and to the man I have been looking for.
Toma looked very handsome in his dark charcoal over all suit. A bow tie was clasped on his neck with the coat neatly buttoned. There was a double layer of fabric for the coat which shows on the lapel as he walked towards the middle of the ballroom to his father’s side and he hasn’t noticed me yet among the crowd.
Both Toma and I, we lived in simple dreams.
Being a tycoon’s son… he seemed to be far away from me now. I was just an artist, that’s all I had. His mother called me brazen hussy, maybe that’s just all I could turn out to be in the end. My inferiority complex surfaced in the most inconvenient time just when I needed self confidence so badly…
I gazed at Toma with longing eyes, wishing that he’d look over here. Maybe if he does look this way... my confidence would go up. As though telepathy was sent to Toma’s head, he turned to look my way…
But then… Rainie rushed over in front of me and walked elegantly towards Toma. I could see her bare back before me, my confidence was suddenly crushed.
Who was I to face his father? Who was I to face all of this? I am just a girl who came from Sapporo and dreamed of becoming a well-known artist. I just love shoes and clothes… prestige and power was not in my list.
I had to get out of here…
I darted away from Jun’s side, he quickly noticed this and grabbed my arm making me loose grip of my purse. The handbag fell on the ground and the contents were strewn on the floor. I hurriedly gathered my stuff and pushed them inside my purse, all the while thinking that I had to leave that place.
“I have to go.” I told Jun, shrugging his hand off my arm.
“You haven’t approached Kennishiro yet.” He said looking over worriedly.
“I don’t have to anymore.” After saying this I ran towards the exit and hailed the first cab by the hotel entrance.
Again, I was running away.
~To be continued~
This is purely a fan-fiction.
------------------notes------------------
Too dramatic?
I never thought she would actually run away!!! Tsk tsk… I told Mao thousand times to stay put and approach Toma, but the silly girl just couldn’t. *sigh* I am frustrated with the situation myself.
*insert*
I have been lurking in the Fashion sites and had these pictures in my head while thinking of all their attires for the party. Enjoy couture!!! Comments would be loved as always. ^_^v
Mao
http://www.style.com/community/lookbooks/view/mylookbook26317?iphoto=27
-Couture by Armani
Jun
http://men.style.com/fashion/collections/S2009MEN/complete/slideshow/DGABBANAMEN?event=show1742&designer=design_house366&trend=&iphoto=36
-Couture by Dulce and Gabbana
Toma
http://men.style.com/fashion/collections/S2009MEN/complete/slideshow/DGABBANAMEN?event=show1742&designer=design_house366&trend=&iphoto=57
-Couture by Dulce and Gabbana
Rainie
http://www.style.com/community/lookbooks/view/mylookbook11394?iphoto=20
-Couture by Marchesa
Mike
http://men.style.com/fashion/collections/S2009MEN/complete/slideshow/DGABBANAMEN?event=show1742&designer=design_house366&trend=&iphoto=6
-Couture by Dulce and Gabbana