Chapter 10

James went out on his own wearing a mask and a blank look on his face. The conversation with Kevin earlier was intended for him to check on his friend after yesterday’s revelation of his past. He must have been shaken and wanted to forget about it, but it seemed that he was fine and coping with the reporter yesterday.

Maybe he is thinking of him too much? He thought to himself, trying to shake his worries away. James was thinking of how his becoming the leader of a group changed him this much, to be a caring and loving elder member of a group in front of the cameras, but in truth, he is a worrywart and the one catching the harsh comments and feedbacks of their manager and people helping them with their songs.

Too much pressure is being put on him to the fact that he is thinking that if the band fails, it is his fault.

“James? Is that really you?”

His focus on somewhere else was halted when someone called for him. His eyes widened, but only a little until he blinked a few times to be back to his normal self. In a flash, the real James Wilson was gone, and the idol James was present. He flashed his signature gummy smile that made the fan that approached him almost skip a heartbeat.

“It is really you!” The fan squealed at him. She brought out her phone and opened the camera application. “Would you like to have a picture with me?”

“Sure.”

It was his automatic response through the years of being a performer; being able to accommodate and grant his fans’ wishes, as long as it does not cross a line. He was thankful for having the fans on their wishes that were mostly grantable at the time, even though some of them were weird enough for him to say no.

But then again, nothing is more important than the fame and success of the group than his feelings, and that is why he is going to set it aside. They all have to set it aside.

While taking a photo, James spotted a faint flash coming from his direction and the man subtly took his exit after noticing that he was looking directly at him. Before he could even go out of the building, he excused himself after satisfying the fan that wanted to take a photo of him.

He bowed down and bid his goodbye, immediately going outside in a brisk walk, and running to the right side where the man was in sight.

“Hey!”

With one word coming from his mouth, the mysterious man immediately ran, and James took flight and started to chase him. He was broad in the daylight, but he did not mind or care, for he only focused on the man that looked suspicious back in the office. The man turned right on the busy street, making his pace even faster in order to not lose him in his sights.

James turned and stopped for a while and saw the man also stop running and look behind. When they crossed their eyes once again, the chased man resumed his attempted escape to him. It made James’ blood pump up and ran once again until he turned to the pedestrian lane and the lights just stopped from green to red, signaling that the time to cross the street was already done.

He could only look at the surprised and eventually satisfied face of the man that looked at him and even smirked in his direction before disappearing from the crowd. He was about to chase him when someone whispered behind him. A man with a thick voice, seemingly threatening, and ultimately unfamiliar to him.

“Are you really going to waste your time worrying about an old friend?”

He turned around curiously and annoyed and saw no one until the corner of his vision spotted a fan giggling by herself and slowly stretching out her phone to him.

James looked around and saw that eyes were spotted on him as if they found a treasure near them. Even though he is puzzled about the voice that he suddenly heard from behind him and wants to still chase the man that was inside Kevin’s company, he ultimately gave it up, for he is in the middle of his own business, or hell, as he sees it nowadays.

Being locked inside the fans and the world’s expectations and putting the burden of maintaining a good figure for the company to keep the band, his passion, going.

The man panted and looked around once more behind him to see if the idol is not following him anymore. When he was in relief that no one is tailing him from behind, he breathes a sigh of relief and walked normally, but still being wary of the surroundings. The man then turned to a narrow alley until a man in a nice suit and wearing shades was waiting for him, immediately fixed his tie, and looked at his watch as he sensed that he is approaching him.

“You’re late.”

“You don’t even have an idea that an idol kept chasing me until I lost him at the pedestrian,” the man told a valid excuse, hoping that his pay will not be diminished for being a minute late at the meeting time with the rich man before him.

“Ah, yes, I heard it from my assistant earlier,” the man let out a smirk, looking at the side and bringing down his shade to the bridge of his nose. “You were barely lucky that you escaped him earlier.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” he said in exasperation and pulled a small envelope from his pocket and gave it to the man. “Here are the photos that you asked for. Now, where is my money?”

The man did not respond and took out the photos and saw that there is nothing extraordinary, except for a photo with the idol that his accomplice mentioned that was chasing him. With a smile and a glance at the greedy eyes of the man, he took out a fat check from his pocket and tossed it to him. The man who took the photos looked at the contents and how thick the money he received was. A flash of a smile as if it was Christmas was shown on his lips and letting out a chuckle.

“You look happy now, I hope you will have a good time spending your money,” the man in a suit said to him as he put the small envelope in the pocket of his suit. “I will keep you in contact until I need you once again for another job.”

“I am sorry, mister, but what are you going to do with that kind of information, anyway? Do you all rich people in suits stab one another in the back like this?”

The man in the suit only turned around and smirked at him, shook his head, and silently walked away, not answering his query. When he was approaching his car, a fierce gaze in his eyes was showing, implying the anger that he is feeling for Kevin and ENT, a small company among the entertainment giants.

“After I built the company for so long and kept it alive, they decided to push me away like that, yes, I have all the right to be angry and put it to the ground like it used to be.”

He told to himself before stepping on the pedal and starting the engine, running away from the alley.