Picture of Choi Siwon who plays as Van Clinton :)

Happy reading!

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As soon as I spotted my bag, I quickly grabbed it from the moving platform and walked away, heading to the exit. With my bag in hand and Maroon 5 blasting in my ears, I make my way towards the lobby of the airport, where hundreds of people are waiting for their relatives to arrive.

I kept my eyes peeled out for Van as I trudged my way towards the exit. I called him earlier to tell him that I've already arrived and he said that to make it easier for me to see him, he described himself. He has dark brown hair and he's wearing a blue button-up and black pants. I told him to just write my name in a cardboard but then he said that it's too risky and someone might see it and we might cause attention.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and called Van, looking around. After five rings, he picked up.

"Where are you?" I asked

"By the bench behind the swarm of people. I've been standing for twenty minutes already that's why I sat down."

"Okay. See you." I ended the call and gave my bag to security to have it checked. Then I take it back and walk towards the bench, and then there he is, Van Clinton. I walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He looked up at me and his eyes widened before he stood up and held out his hand.

"N-Nice to meet you, Karine. Van Clinton."

I shook his hand and smiled at him. "Same here."

He smiled at me before he gestured to my bag. "Let me take that for you."

"Oh, thanks." I said as I gave him my bag.

"Is it okay for you if we head to my office now? I know you're tired and all, but I just wanna discuss something with you."

I nodded at him. "Okay. Lead the way."

When we exited the lobby, we went straight to the parking lot. Shock came to me but I recomposed myself immediately when we stopped in front of a white Camaro. I should've figured. He's the talent manager of Kaline Derricks of Silhouette Aces.

He opened the door to shotgun and gestured for me to get in. I smiled at him before getting in and soon after, he followed suit and we drove off.

×

The car stopped in front of a very tall building, and Van climbed out. Before I could grab the door handle, it opened from the outside and I saw a guy holding out his hand. I grabbed it and helped myself out, and that's when I saw that the guy has a name tag attached to his clothes.

"Usual spot, Yan. Take care of my baby." Van said as he threw his car keys at the guy whom I assume is Yan and he caught it and smiled. "Don't worry."

He entered the car and drove off, and Van gestured for me to come in first. I nodded and walked ahead of him and I fought the gasp that threatened to escape my lips when he placed a hand at my back. He must've noticed my reaction and quickly retrieved his hand. "Sorry. Just something that my mother taught me. She used to say that guys must make the girl feel that he's just behind her and that everything will be alright."

I just smiled at him. "It's okay. It's my fault anyway. I was just caught in surprise."

We entered the elevator and he reached out from behind me to press the floor number. Then he retrieved his hand and shoved it in his pocket. Halfway through our destination, he suddenly spoke up. "Do you sing?"

I turned to look at him, confusion running through my veins. Uh, why the hell did he ask that, I don't know. "U-Uh, yeah. A little."

"Dance?"

I slowly nodded, still looking at him. His eyes started to wander, raking up from my shoes to my face, even making the gesture that artists and painters use to look at something that they want to paint, and I can't help but blush and bite my lip. This guy is creeping me out.

"Yah! D-Don't look at me like that!" I spilled out, hugging myself tightly. He just chuckled and ruffled my hair before the elevator doors opened, and he gestured for me to get out first. He must've sensed my hesitation because he held up his hands.

"If you're afraid that I might be doing this because I want to look at your ass, then fine, I'll go first." He grinned before getting out first and waiting for me. I just rolled my eyes before stepping out of the elevator and we walked side by side.

We entered into the glass door just in front of the elevator and Van talked to the lady in the counter. While he was talking, I heard him say my name and look at me and the lady just nodded before writing down something. Then he turned back to me and gestured for me to follow. I just stared at his back as we walked.

There is only one word to describe his office: chaotic.

Everyone is running from here to there, phones against their ears or stacks of paperwork in their hands. But even if everyone's in a frenzy, it's still surprising that they're not too noisy. Everyone is talking in hushed voices and as we get nearer to Van's main office, the number of people looking at us--or rather, me, is increasing and it didn't fail to give me goosebumps. I swallowed the lump in my throat nervously before quickening my walking pace. I'm wearing eyeglasses and makeup, so they wouldn't recognize or mistake me as Kaline, right?

To my relief, I saw Van held out the door open for me, and I quickly got in and released a sigh of relief, calming my nerves down.

"Not too comfortable with attention?" Van asked as he smiled slyly at me. He walked towards his desk and sat on his swiveling chair. I sat down on the chair in front of his desk and nodded, placing my hands on my lap. "I get too nervous whenever I'm put on the spotlight or whenever everyone's eyes are on me."

An understanding look flashed on his face. "Oh. No wonder Kaline doesn't mention you in her interviews. You're not fond of attention." I just nodded at him

"Speaking of Kaline, let's get back to business. When was the last time that you've seen her?" He asked, leaving forward towards me.

"The last time I've seen her in person was five weeks ago, I think. It was when she asked me to have breakfast with her in the hotel that they're staying at when they had an interview with the local radio station downtown. We are together in secret because her band mates doesn't know of me yet and she didn't want to freak them out." I said

He pressed a finger against his chin, trying to take in everything that I've said. "And when was the last time you've talked to her?"

"Well, after four weeks when we had breakfast together, she called me while I was at work, so it was just quick. She called me to inform me of her plan of visiting our grandparents in Japan. She asked me if I could come but I said that I can't because of work, so she just asked for the address and told me that she'll be back a week or two after."

He nodded and leaned back on his chair. "A few of my friends went to your grandparents in Nagasaki last week, and when they asked them if Kaline have been there, they said that she haven't. They even told them that it's been a year since they last saw the two of you. Then they searched around, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Hokkaido, but they didn't find her. At all. Even the TV stations there didn't know that she was there. We thought that it was impossible for the TV stations to not know that she arrived, seeing that she's a rising star and all, but when they looked for her name in the airport, the last flight she was in was a year ago, when the two of you visited your grandparents."

"So it means that she really didn't go to Nagasaki or to Japan..." I mumbled in understanding and I felt Van nod.

"Don't the other members of Silhouette Aces know anything of her whereabouts?"

He shook his head and rolled up the sleeves of his button-up. "I'm afraid they don't have any idea. They're worried for her, too. They've gotten close already and considered each other friends. So I guess they wouldn't be hiding something like this if they knew something."

I closed my eyes shut and silently cursed. Where the fuck is she? She's not only making her manager worried, but also me. She's not the type of person to run away without a reason. Heck, she haven't ran away, ever. Even when we were young.

I heard Van snap his fingers and I looked up, only to see his eyes filled with sparkles. I raised a brow at him.

"Don't you really know anything, Karine?"

I clenched my jaw annoyingly. "I told you, that's all I know."

"You see, your sister has been missing for about three weeks already. And now that Silhouette Aces' recording for their next album is nearing and because Kaline is the female vocalist of the band, we really need her right now."

"But I've told you before..." I said, running my hands through my hair. "I don't know where she is! The last time I've talked to her was a month ago, and she told me that she's going to visit our grandparents in Nagasaki. That's all."

"That's not what I'm trying to say or point out, Karine." He said, his lips pressed in a thin line.

"So why am I here? Why are you asking me that question again?"

He grinned at me. "Welcome to the band, Karine."

I raised a brow at him, clearly confused. He held up a poster of Kaline, then a picture of mine. Realization sunk in. My jaw dropped.

What the fucking--

"You're going to be Kaline for a while until she gets back."

--hell?!

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And let the fun begin!

The story's just getting started! Give it a chance and I promise that you won't regret reading this in the first place!

P.S. Sorry about the photos :c I know, I'm trying hard and it's not okay huhu

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Love,

Nikki

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