Gryphon's Glenn

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

One Week Later...

Hiro was extremely nervous. The Season Two premier event in Tokyo was set to be the biggest party of the year. He was going to be a featured guest along with the entire Japanese cast. One of the most anticipated guests was Jennifer Jarmel, who voiced both Queen Bethany and Princess Victoria in the English dubbed show. At the last minute, they'd also booked Jason Kwan, the incredibly gifted K-Pop idol who had created the theme for the show's end credits.

Hiro had never met either of them in person, but he was looking forward to it. He'd followed both of their careers closely. He'd seen all of Jennifer's work, and he owned every single song Jason had ever put out. Hiro wasn't exactly a fanboy, but he was kind of in awe of the fact that his career had led him to this opportunity.

As he arrived at the party, Hiro crept inside unseen. He hated crowds and wasn't eager to get swarmed by the fans waiting outside. The crowd was larger than he'd expected, but that made sense given the announcement that Kwan Jason would be one of the guests. Idols tended to draw crowds of obsessed fans anyway, and Jason was the top idol in the business. K-pop was just as big in Japan as it was in South Korea, if not bigger.

The VIP room for the featured guests was impressive. They had their own top-tier banquet set up on a row of tables at the front. The Japanese cast sat together. Hiro nodded at them in acknowledgement before walking toward the food. They'd prepared a little bit of everything, from Asian dishes to American ones. Hiro went straight for the hero sandwiches, not desiring anything fancy. Growing up in the system had meant eating whatever they gave him and not complaining, so his taste tended to be very simple.

Someone entered the room. For a split second, Hiro felt like he couldn't breathe. He looked up and saw a gorgeous smiling blonde woman making her way toward the table. Jennifer Jarmel was even more stunning in person. Hiro watched as she selected some celery and a little bit of salad.

"You should try a sandwich," he said softly. "They're delicious."

Jennifer smiled at him in surprise. "Thanks, but I'm not really that hungry," she replied politely. She studied him for a moment before recognition dawned in her eyes. "You're Hiroki Fujimori!" She cried in delight.

"I am, Ms. Jarmel," he replied with a respectful bow.

"Jen's fine," she told him. "It's so nice to meet you, Mr. Fujimori. I'm a huge fan!"

"You can call me Hiro... And thank you. I'm quite a fan of yours as well. You're a very talented actress. I've yet to see a role you couldn't tackle."

Jennifer blushed slightly. "You're very sweet," she said.

Suddenly, the entire energy of the room changed. The man who entered radiated a sense of cool sophistication as he walked. His leather jacket enhanced this image. It didn't change until his face suddenly lit up at the sight of the food. "Chocolate cake! Sweet!" He declared with an impish grin that immediately endeared him to Hiro as he grabbed a slice.

"Oh my gosh, you're Jason Kwan!" Jennifer said in shock. "You're amazing! I own all of your albums."

Jason flashed Jennifer the most charming smile Hiro had ever seen. "So the American actress likes K-pop," he said.

Jennifer grinned. "I watch a lot of anime," she said. "The theme songs kept getting stuck in my head, so I looked into the groups and kept finding more music I loved."

"Well, I love your work, too. Smiling Like Mad is one of my favorite movies."

"So the K-pop idol likes romantic comedies," she teased him.