Don't Be Afraid To Ask

*25* Perth

Six days later, after countless hours of preparation, sleepless nights to rehearse every step, every gesture and every word so that everything looks natural, so that we feel confident and at ease, so that our voices do not fail us in  the most important moments and here it is after many photo shoots, interviews, walks on the runway and conversations with people we were unable to remember, the moment that many of us have been waiting for has finally arrived.  I didn't think that one day I would be so close to something as big and mysterious as Formula 1 that I would take a place of honor in one of the garages.  I wasn't a die-hard fan of the sport, but every once in a while I watched a particular race and this one looked really exciting.  On the plane, at the very beginning of the journey, my eyes closed by themselves.  We were overworked, sleepy and hungry, but overjoyed.  The lack of P'Aof and P'Sky ordering us around and making sure we don't do something we shouldn't have been refreshing to the entire team.

To my surprise, Mark called me and informed me that I would have to share a room with Kaownah, Yin, and Yoon at the hotel.  I was surprised that I was promised a double room at most, which I could share with someone I get along with best.  I thought I'd get to spend some time with Singto or Saint, but Mark asked me to keep an eye on Kaownah.  Well, just great!  I didn't know Kaownah at all, I'd heard a bit about him, but I hadn't had the opportunity to meet him yet, I knew Yoon from the series in which he played a mafia boss, and I sometimes met Yin at various media and promotional events.  However, I was afraid that it would be difficult for us to find a common topic to talk about.  The three of them were not supposed to join us until the day of the race.

— Damn it, Mark, couldn't you have warned me sooner? —   I asked.

— Sorry, there wasn't time.  Why?  Have you already made any plans?

The question was tricky, I felt that he was trying to ask me about a subject we both knew.

According to Mark, I've been single for too long, he didn't think this life suited me.  He himself had a wife and a lovely two-year-old daughter who was the apple of his eye.  He said that initially he did not want to get involved with anyone because he thought his job was dangerous, he was afraid that something would happen to him and the person who would love him would suffer, but when he fell in love his thinking changed, or rather  Claire changed it.  Mark loves to talk about it, he is proud of it and he always says how wonderful it is to be in love and have someone always waiting for you at home.  I don't know, I didn't know such experiences, all that was waiting for me in my apartment was a cold lunch in the fridge that I had to reheat myself, an empty bed, cold pale blue walls and only a few small gifts from the most persistent fans.  Even as an actor and model, I wasn't much appreciated.  It was said that I was lucky to be given roles in such huge, successful series like KinnPorsche and Cutie Pie, that I should be happy about it.

The truth was that it wasn't down to luck at all.  By the time I got the role in Cutie Pie, I was already a little recognizable for my role as Ram in My Engineer, but I still had to pester P'Sky, buy expensive gifts for him, and send dozens of messages asking him to let join me the cast.  I got a little character to play again, the owner of the Gemini bar.  It was a small role, but apparently suited me.  I accepted it with a sigh of relief, because I could call it a dream come true.  The more that I was a free artist, I was not subject to any agency or manager, I had to fight for everything myself.  Prior to working on Cutie Pie, P'Aof worked with me to improve my pronunciation.  I also got my own trainer who practiced with me not only my scenes in the series, but even those already owned by NuNew, Yim, Tutor, Zee, Max and Nat.  I spent long hours without food and without a break, practicing lines that were not my character under P'Aof's tutelage in a stuffy, air-conditioned conference room of some cheap, run-of-the-mill hotel.  Everyone cut costs as much as they could, and we did too.