Bonus Chapter: Part 8

**Bonus Chapter: Part 8**

**“I see that you’re pretty excited,”** Allison said between her laughter. She was amused by her son’s chipper reaction. It was her first time seeing Friso dance so enthusiastically just because he was happy.

“Yes, I am!” Friso exclaimed with indescribable joy as he hopped back to his mother after making a distance because of his fancy dancing. “I missed playing with dada,” he added, his eyes holding a hint of yearning. He was very much attached to his father, and the time that they hadn’t had a proper interaction was painful.

The empathetic mother looked at her son quietly for a while, looking particularly at the child’s eyes that held such a gut-wrenching emotion. Feeling her heart lurch at that moment, she decided to talk to Hades about making more time for Friso after this. Well, it was one of the reasons why Hades accepted becoming a feature in this show’s episode anyway. It was to find an excuse to spend quality time with Friso.

“Looks like you’re all set. Let’s go?” she patted several mangled parts on Friso’s clothes and smiled brightly at the child, standing up.

“Yes!” Friso answered and held his hand up, which she wholeheartedly took. It felt cute how small the child’s hand folded into hers. It felt fulfilling for some reason, directly feeling the touch of another life she bore from herself. One day, there would come a time when his hand will be bigger than hers. She hoped that day would come a tad bit slower.

They began to walk out of the bedroom, passing by the crew who followed them with an expectant gaze. Allison looked behind to see if Haroun would signal that the tape stopped rolling, but the director waved his hand at her, motioning to keep on going since the tape was still rolling.

Getting the signal, she turned back to Friso, and they both walked down the hall with everyone else following them from behind. It was supposed to be a shoot with a tinge of awkward-like atmosphere, but it wasn’t since little Friso was a bit too chatty. He ended up entertaining his mother with his random unpredictable questions. Most were assurances if he could really get to play with his father. He would then cheer in delight to when answered with “yes.”

“Are we weally playing with dada?!” he suddenly asked the crew behind them for reassurance, his grey orbs sparkling with glee at the director, who gulped since he was now included in the conversation. It felt like the 4th wall was broken. Never mind, he’d have it edited out.

“That’s right.” Haroun declared and the excited boy squealed for the nth time. “Yay, I… I’m so egz… egs…” he tried to get the word out but his tongue and tired lips weren’t cooperating with his meter-breaking energy. The people behind Haroun and the cameramen controlled themselves from laughing out loud out of amusement, waiting for the child to finally say the word he wanted to say.

“Egz…woited! Egzwoited!” he finally said it, and everyone else could no longer hold themselves back. Even Allison was already choking her own laughter. Her son was just too adorable!

“What’s funny?” Friso asked, confused about their reaction.

“Oh. It’s nothing, baby,” his mother replied. “You’re just too cute!” she added, pinching his chubby cheek.

When they arrived behind the dining room, Haroun had the cameras out. “Prepare the setup for scene 2,” he declared. The team was quick on their feet for the next move, they packed up the remaining paraphernalia left in the bedroom while the flow of the second scene was being oriented.

“Mr. de Vries…” Haroun called for Hades since he was now involved in the scenes. The man looked around and ended up walking into the dining room where his entire world stopped. He fell stiff on his position, and a broad ray of light flashed on his face, blinding him.

There he was, Hades de Vries, in all his unimaginative glory. He was sitting elegantly on his seat, his long legs crossed into an elegant de quattro posture. His right arm stretched as it held the tabloid he was reading from an arm’s length while his other hand was holding the mug of coffee he was sipping satisfyingly. Everyone froze in their spots, in awe of the breathtaking view. There was no need for any lighting or mechanical enhancement to make the scene look more astounding. It was already a god-tier scene itself.

“Oh, director,” he looked over in their direction when he noticed their presence. He put his coffee back on the table shortly. “I thought it was going to take a bit long t—"

“Stay that way, Mr. de Vries,” Haroun cut him off as something sparked in his eyes. It was a sight to see, a peak of perfection! He must capture the broodingly charming man in such a sinfully handsome pose at once!

“Jamaal, come with me and shoot this,” he called for poor Jamaal and began directing the operator on capturing shots of Hades from different, unimaginative angles. The latter was indefinitely exhausted with all the demands given and positions he had to pull off just to get the perfect angles the demanding director wanted. He deserved a raise, and some yoga classes.

“What was that for?” Hades asked the satisfied director when it was finished. The crew behind them ran off and began setting up, though some were in a daze after witnessing the godly view. It would be forever set in their minds.

“It was art, sir!” Haroun answered with such unconcerted conviction. At that time, he felt like Michelangelo carving the statue of David. It was unusually fulfilling.

“Art?”

“Yes, art!”

“All… right…” Hades trailed off, his brow slightly raised in confusion at how the creative was acting. Looks like what he heard from the mainstream were right, directors do have unique quirks.

“Dada!” a keen voice called for him, and a small tug on his blazer stole his attention. He looked down on his seat and saw Friso clinging to his clothes, cheeks puffing and lips pouting while looking at him with anticipation with his large, doe-like, grey eyes. His heart immediately melted at the sight.

“Hey, buddy,” he said, rested his newspaper on the table, and picked up the young man. “You look fresh today, no?” he asked and began snuggling his nose on his son’s neck, to which the latter laughed heartedly since it felt ticklish. “Dada! Tickle!” Friso said between his laughter when Hades started to plant kisses on his face as well.

“Wow, that was a good take,” a voice said that stopped Hades from further tickling his son and raining him with kisses. In front of them was one of the other cameramen and Haroun… again. This time, he was holding the script, and the people watching them had increased, which included Allison and now a new batch of the household’s servants.

He faked a cough. “What do we do now, director?” he asked and placed Friso on his lap.

“Oh? Oh yes, Mr. de Vries!” Haroun hastily ran beside him and began explaining what to do in the next scene. Allison would also have several parts to partake in, but she wouldn’t be in the spotlight anymore like in the first scene. There were a few adjustments on the furniture, and setup done, and after a few readings on several lines to be answered in the script, it was good to go for another shoot.

“No, no. Can’t you see they’re already perfect?!” Haroun exclaimed at one of the makeup artists who came and ask if she could apply some light makeup on the family. She was given the same remark earlier when she was about to put on some makeup for Mistress de Vries.

“You ready, baby?” Allison asked Friso, who was now standing behind the walls, waiting for the clapper’s signal.

“Ready!” the child said with full, dead-set determination. He was finally going to play with his dada, and he would not fail!

“Scene 2, take 1. Lights, camera, action!”

"Dada, good morning~" Friso chirped as soon as he entered the dining room, flailing his arms excitedly as he happily skipped to his father’s lap.

"Good morning to you too, son,” a smiling Hades greeted back brightly. From Friso and Allison’s view, it was the same old charming smile that he always showed them with his eyes holding the gaze that screamed how much he cherished them. But from the others, it looked like a monster’s lopsided smile. It looked terrifying.

The butler, Richard, pulled a highchair out of nowhere and replaced it from the chair resting next to Hades’, “Take a seat, young master,” the elder said, effortlessly lifting the boy and putting him right into place. The child giggled and greeted him as well, "Good morning, grandaddy Richard.”

One by one, servants came and served them breakfast. Friso didn’t let the opportunity pass and greeted them all, “Good morning, Ms. Miwanda. Granny Ishtole, Mrs..." The crew was in awe at how well-mannered he was. His parents raised him right!

"Good morning, Young Master," they all greeted in reply with large smiles forming on their faces.