Cast a Shadow [My Stand In]

someone comes along

It was a miracle that Ming was alone.

Joe rarely saw him alone. The few times he had, Ming's guards always appeared like the wind, brushing off any encounter like human interaction was a danger to Ming's health.

But this time, he was alone.

As Joe slowed down and lowered the passenger window, he half expected to be accosted by the big, buff men who seemed able to disappear and appear at a moment's notice. But no one came.

"Do you need a ride?" Joe asked.

Ming didn't reply.

Squatting on the side of the road with a forgotten cigarette slowly burning between his fingers, Ming stared into nothingness. Even when Joe honked his horn, Ming didn't move, didn't startle.

Wherever his mind was, it wasn't anywhere near where he was squatting.

Clearing to the side, Joe got out, pulling off his jacket as he approached Joe to cover him. Once again, he wondered if the guards were present. If they were, he wondered why they hadn't come to get Ming.

As he squatted to meet Ming, Ming gasped nearly jumping out of his skin as Joe moved to steady him. With nothing else to stop their fall, Joe slammed Ming into the metal bars right behind him as Ming groaned in pain, finally coming back to life.

"What the fuck?" Ming cussed, closing his eyes as he grimaced.

"I'm so sorry."

Joe had such horrid luck. For weeks, he'd been trying to talk to Ming since he got back into the country. Unlike his sister who was a regular visitor on set, her brother had never been to any of the sets of any of the movies that Akarayota Enterprises sponsored. The only reason Joe knew who he was, was because he'd walked into him at the hotel where Wut threw a closing party, in Tong's last movie.

As far as Joe knew, Ming didn't interact with anyone in the movie industry and probably didn't even watch any movies. A silent recluse who was always followed by big, scary guards.

It was just Joe's luck that the one day he'd found Ming alone, the one day they could actually talk, he'd gone and mistakenly assaulted the man.

"I didn't mean to startle you."

"Get your hands off me," Ming said, shrugging Joe off as Joe moved away.

"My bad. Look, I-" He searched for a way to salvage the situation. "Do you need a ride home?"

"I'll find my way home."

"How?" Joe asked. "Where are your bodyguards?"

"They're where they're supposed to be," Ming said, a somber anger in his tone.

Joe immediately backed away, hands raised in the air for Ming to see.

"That's fine," he said. "I meant no offense."

He turned and headed to the car when he heard a soft gasp emit from Ming.

"Are you alright?" Joe turned back to find Ming staring at him, eyes wide with barely concealed horror. "What's the problem?"

"You just..." Ming began, shaking his head. "You... from behind. You look like someone I know."

"Oh?" Joe asked with an exaggerated, charming smile. "I've been told I have a stunning behind. I should," he said. "After all, I'm Tong's stand-in."

"Stand in?" Ming asked, unconsciously taking a step toward Joe. "What's that?"

"A stunt double for the movie star."