HIATUS

Chapter 1 - Change of Lifestyle - Part 4

"REDSAID'S YI JEN MADE HER RETURN TO THAILAND THIS AFTERNOON. SHE WAS GREETED BY A HOARD OF FANS BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE AIRPORT AND EVEN STOPPED FOR PHOTOS TO SAY THANK YOU FOR WELCOMING HER BACK WITH OPEN ARMS AFTER HER DEPARTURE BACK IN 2014-"

"Poor girl. I bet all she wanted to do was come back home for a bit of peace and quiet and she's still being bombarded with press." The middle aged female turned the radio off completely. "I'll tell you something, this industry can swallow some people up. You have to be strong and able to handle it all." She motioned to the boy in the passenger seat, gripping his leg; the boy sat with a script in his hand, headed to an important audition.

"Mum, trust me, I'll never be as famous as Yi-Jen. Plus, the acting and idol industry are very different worlds. Also, what makes you say "poor girl"? I bet she's well off." He fidgeted with the hem of his white shirt, trying to remember the lines before the big day.

"She might be well off but you never know what's going on behind closed doors, always remember that." Mrs Kanawut was an intelligent, well dressed mother of two; one girl, one boy. She was always lecturing them about the world and how to stay alive in the limelight, after all, she had been in it back in her time.

"Ok, we're here. Do you want me to stay and wait?" They pulled up in front of a large company building with what seemed to be a large crowd just outside the door. The nervousness began to creep in. Another reassuring hand was placed on his knee.

"Better just to go, I don't know how long this could take. Probably hours." He unfastened his seatbelt and grabbed his bag from the foot well.

"Ok, well, phone me if you need anything. I'll be in the area so I can be here relatively quickly." She leaned forward to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Mum, please, I can't have lipstick smudges on my face before an audition." He quickly avoided the connection before swinging the door open. Mrs Kanawut chuckled with a reassuring nod to him.

"Hey, good luck today, you'll smash it! But you don't need me telling you that." He closed the door behind him and began to walk away from the car. Mrs Kanawut rolled down the window.

"Gulf, don't forget to tuck in your shirt!" He winced and shielded his face from embarrassment; the car drove off. The front of the building was mobbed, an entire crowd surrounded what looked to be a young man. He must be here for the audition, he thought. He knew at least one person who had already acted would attend. He just had to be better, or at least, at par. His mum wasn't a pushy parent, or forced him to do something he didn't want to, but in whatever field he had chosen she would always encourage him to excel.

There wasn't a huge crowd inside but there were enough people to make Gulf feel daunted. He approached the front desk where 3 older women sat.

"Can I take your name please?" One of the elder ladies offered a white sheet of paper with a string to put around your neck; 0064.

"My name is Gulf Kanawut." He took the paper, putting it on.

"Very good, if you can just follow the line along to your left passed the elevator. You'll have your photograph taken, don't worry, it's just for reference." Gulf nodded and followed the signs approaching the elevator.

There seemed to be some commotion around the elevators entrance. Gulf approached assuming that's where the line started; stood at the elevator entrance was a young looking asian man, looming over someone. When there was no sight of a line, Gulf continued to walk passed the elevator entrances; maintaining his stare. The younger man seemed to be having an intense conversation with what he could make out was a young girl; if it weren't for the cap and mask he could've gotten a full view. To ease his mind, he stayed behind the wall to make sure the girl was ok. After all, his mother raised him to treat all women with respect.

"I won't do it! They can't make me!" The young girls voiced sounded so familiar.

"Stop shouting, you're gonna get us caught..." The young man roughly whispered. "We need to get out of here as quickly and quietly as possible, if you could just go back upstairs and wait for me to pull the car around there's a chance no one will know we were here. There's people everywhere, they couldn't have picked a different day?" He pushed the elevator button and turned away from her, about to walk back out towards the entrance.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S YI JEN!" A man standing not far from Gulf screamed, pointing a finger at the pair standing at the elevator. Yi-Jen? As in the Yi-Jen? Gulf revealed himself from behind the wall to get a proper look. The pair stood cold not knowing where or how to run. Luckily, the elevator door pinged and the couple threw themselves in. Surely not. Why would Yi-Jen be here, at an old company building? A large hoard started to form around the elevator entrance, before he knew it, Gulf was pushing himself through just to get a full breathe. He bent over, once released from the crowd, gulping for air.

"Hey, you alright man?" Gulf noticed a pair of shoes directly below him, he looked up to see who they belonged to. In front of him stood a rather handsome young man, with prominent features and light, blonde hair, almost golden. Mew Suppasit.

"Uh, yeah, just got caught up in the crowd, that's all." He stood upright, stammering as he did. He didn't match Mew's height but he was close to it.

"Any idea what's going on? I heard someone scream and suddenly everyone was rushing inside." Mew's features warmed up as he spoke, Gulf had to stop himself from staring.

"Uh, yeah, I didn't get a good look but apparently some kid saw Yi-Jen waiting for an elevator." Mew's eyes widened.

"Yi Jen? As in the Yi Jen?" Mew lifted his head to see over the crowd but with no luck.

"You're not one of those crazy fanboys are you?" Gulf lifted an eyebrow, how could someone so handsome be interested in some idol? Wait, handsome? Gulf blushed.

"I'm not proud of it but I guess you could say that. I'm a big fan of hers." Who isn't? Gulf thought. Mew looked down towards him. "Probably nonsense, why would she be here? Anyway, are you here for the audition?" Mew questioned.

"Yeah, I was actually just headed towards the line but I couldn't find it." Gulf eyed the room.

"The line's just disappeared, they've all crowded here. If we're lucky we could skip ahead to the start." Mew motioned for him to join and with a nod from Gulf, they both took off to start a new line.