Blindspot

Chapter 7

As usual, Freen arrived early to pick Rebecca up but what was unusual was that there was someone else already waiting in Freen's car-- Looknam Orntara Poolsak (Nam).

"P'Nam! What are you doing here? Is Freen your manager as well?" Rebecca asked.

"Nong! Yes! I thought you knew that I signed under Idol Factory as well!" Nam greeted Rebecca happily and patted the seat next to her to invite Rebecca to sit. "My manager is on maternity leave and Freen is taking over until she's back. When I heard that you signed with Idol Factory, I was over the moon. It is so great to see you again and we get to work together!" Rebecca smiled warmly and got into the car, "Yes, part of the reason why I signed with Idol Factory was because of you and Irin. I missed you guys too. Even though we had only filmed one series together, you guys made my first filming truly memorable for me. I still remembered how you comforted me and encouraged me to improve on my acting and Thai. I really meant it when I said that if you hadn't been there, my life would probably have taken a different path than where I am today. I would have given up."

"Aww, nong. You know how to make a girl cry." Nam hugged Rebecca. They chatted like old friends while Freen drove quietly to the venue, listening quietly to their conversation. Occasionally, Rebecca would glance at the rearview mirror and she would sometimes catch Freen's glaze, but she wasn't sure if Freen was just checking for other cars or whether she was looking at her.

The event was the opening ceremony of a new luxury brand store in Central World and in collaboration with several other artists, many were invited to gain publicity. The podium was surrounded with thousands of fans each trying to outshout the other for their favored artists on the stage. In addition to herself and Nam who were representing Idol Factory, there was also Iris from Top Idol agency which was Rebecca's old entertainment agency. Putting the cherry on top for worst possible coincidences was that Winnie was also there as the manager of Iris. Sometimes the universe just loves to kick you in the face by putting someone you want to avoid together in one place. Rebecca didn't want to notice but she groaned inwardly when she spotted Winnie in the crowd. She also noticed how many fans had come to this event to support Iris as well as the numerous camera flashes that occurred around Iris's vicinity. She couldn't be certain but she could feel Winnie gloating at her rising star, and it burned in Rebecca's throat.

"Something wrong?" Freen asked Rebecca.

"No. No. Nothing is wrong" Rebecca was surprised by Freen's sudden question as they were standing backstage waiting for the ceremony to start.

"She didn't say anything. Freen, you are acting like a mother hen  guarding her child. Stop hovering and stop worrying! This isn't our first rodeo." Nam told Freen but Freen ignored her and looked at the general direction of where Rebecca was staring. Once she spotted Winnie, she looked back at Rebecca and did the patented Freen-one eyebrow raised 'are you okay' look, at which Rebecca just resignedly nodded that she was fine. Nam witnessed the entire bizarre interaction and wondered if they had telepathy and could speak with each other. She could not pinpoint exactly what it was, but it seemed like the pair had a private conversation in a room full of people where they didn't have to say a word but clearly understood one another.

There was a large disproportion of Rebecca's fans versus Iris's fans as her fans was outnumbered to almost three to one. When Rebecca happened to glance at Winnie, she couldn't help but see the smirk on her face, the 'see-i-told-you-so. You can't be a star celebrity without me' smirk. Rebecca thought she might be too sensitive but her intuition is screaming at her that Winnie was not remorseful for betraying her, and wondered how she never saw through Winnie's façade all those years. She was forced to changed pleasantries with Winnie when all the artists were awaiting behind the stage for the MC to introduce them one by one. Legally, Rebecca is forbidden to announced to the public that Winnie had been embezzling from her since the very beginning until it was proven in court, otherwise Rebecca could be sued for defamation of character. Therefore, Rebecca had to bit her tongue and smile sweetly at her ex-manager and ex-friend.