Chapter 35

“Hey baby, how are you?” Ryo asked, looking at the tablet propped on his vanity. He had a shower and was drying his hair with a towel.

“Doing great but I miss you, though.” Ellie said. She’s lying on her stomach and looking through the tiny screen of her mobile phone.

“Yeah. Me too. I fucking hate this long-distance shit. I want to be with you always.”

“I hear you. Me too. How long has it been? A month?”

Ryo nodded his head.

“It felt like a year or longer, Ryo.”

“I know.”

“So, how’s your calendar like?”

“Hmm… I have some talk shows, and a TV sitcom. My out of the country shoot got pushed out, thank goodness.”

“I see. Is that pretty free or is that still hectic?”

“It’s normal. At least I have some breather.”

“That’s good. You need work and life balance too.”

“Yup, says my workaholic love.”

They talked for a couple more hours. It’s funny how they talk to each other every day, but they never run out of topics to talk about.

Like their previous video calls, they ended up feeling lonelier the moment they hit the “end” button. Their conversations felt like a minute shorter than it’s supposed to. Time was never enough to bridge their distance.

Before going to sleep, Ellie made some last-minute phone calls and tidied up her things. She had a long day ahead of her.

The following day, Ryo woke up feeling downtrodden. He and Ellie had been in a relationship for a month already. He wanted to celebrate the milestone with her, but he had commitments both to his work and to the clan.

It was only the start of the day, but his face was already so dark. He called Ellie the moment he woke up, like he always does.

But instead of hearing her voice, all he got was the automated voice prompt saying her number was unavailable.

Today, he’d be shooting a comedy. How ironic. He needed to make people laugh when he badly needed one himself.

Since they’re shooting in a studio rather than on location, his only consolation was he had his own dressing room. He did not want to waste his energy socializing with people he did not want to interact with.

“No guests. I want to be alone.” He said to his bodyguard standing by the door of the dressing room, who nodded his agreement.

He only had a couple of sequences and they’re not filming them yet. He’s happy about the delay because he’s not in the right frame of mind yet.

He plopped himself on the soft couch and took out his phone. Once again, he dialed Ellie’s number. And again, he got the voice prompt saying she’s unavailable. He hated starting his day without their phone calls. He had to hear Ellie’s voice to get him going. It does not matter if it’s only a simple “good morning” or “hi.” Anything is fine as long as he hears her soothing voice.

A knock on the door disturbed his thoughts. If fire were to come out of his eyes, the door would have turned to ashes.

“Mr. Matsuda. This is Kim from makeup. They’re shooting your sequence next.”

“Come in.”

Ryo sat in front of the mirror in silence. Kim took care of his makeup, making sure she worked efficiently. His silence is palpable. It felt like a single mistake would make him erupt.

Most people knew Ryo for his easygoing personality, but his temper tantrums were also legendary. Nobody would dare cross him. Not only because he’s heir to the Clan but because he fires people on the spot for no reason.

Kim worked in silence, making sure she got everything done right the first time. Looking at Ryo’s mood, she did not want to make a mistake that could lose her job. She wanted to get out of Ryo’s hair as soon as possible.

“It’s done Mr. Matsuda. I’ll ask the wardrobe to bring your clothes.” Kim said as soon as she’s done with his makeup. She scurried to the door like a rabbit getting away from its predator.

Kim warned the wardrobe personnel of Ryo’s mood. She, too, scurried away as soon as she gave Ryo his clothes.

The next knock on the door was the call for Ryo to go to the studio. Ryo, like always, delivered what the role demanded. His acting was impeccable, although it did not measure up to his personal standard. His practice with Ellie made him up to his standard. She would give her constructive feedback about his performance. She also gave suggestions on how he could do a scene better. He listened to her suggestions, and everyone saw his improvement.

But because of his foul mood they had to retake his scenes five to ten times. Ryo hated retakes. He’s always been a one-shot actor much to the delight of his director and peers.

But today was one of those days when the universe was bent on giving him the worst day ever.

He strode back to his dressing room, not bothering to smile at the people he met. His brows furrowed and his lips pursed.

He dialed Ellie’s number and again he received the same electronic voice. In his anger, he threw his phone to the vanity in front of him. He flopped himself and did some breathing exercises. But it did not help him at all.

“What’s going on, Ellie?” He muttered under his breath. This is the first time he’s unable to get in touch with Ellie.

He played with a stress ball to relieve some of his tension. His hand squeezed and relaxed around the rubber ball. Not content with the squeezing action, he threw the ball against the wall and caught it when it bounced back.

He called his men, who were watching Ellie. They reported there was nothing unusual about her actions. He could not ease his mind from thinking about what’s going on with Ellie. Why was she unreachable?

Ryo’s concentration was at its peak as he racked his brain about Ellie. He heard the doorknob of the dressing room unlock and the door opening seconds after.

“I said, I want to be alone!” Ryo shouted and threw the stress ball towards the door.

He did not bother swiveling his chair to see if he hit a person or not.

“Uhm… I’m sorry. I’ll… I’ll go out now.”