V was certain that he heard a familiar voice but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The metal spoon clunked loudly on the table before he could figure out whose voice it was.
Simultaneous calls of ‘are you alright’ ‘what happened’ ‘what’s wrong’ rang in the room. Two arms embraced him, each one on either side. The warmth was comforting, but the noise only confused him further.
By the time he got his bearings, the familiar voice was long gone.
After a couple of ‘I’m fine, nothing’s wrong’ and a forced smile, the family went back to normal.
Though Arwan had a concerned look on his face, he knew that nobody could force V to talk if he didn’t want to open his mouth. The most that he could do was ask someone to bring a new spoon and check with security to make sure everything was alright.
Arwan inwardly promised to make sure every security camera around the Moonlight Suite was properly in place as he sent off his family for the night.
--
The sound of the waves crashing by the cliff was loud but pleasant, the thrumming was the perfect background noise to the early morning sun shining through the balcony.
It would've been the best way to wake up if only there wasn't a myriad of clinking and thumping and shouting somewhere outside the Moonlight Suite.
V sat up and pulled his blankets off, ready to make a noise complaint to the front desk. He outstretched his hand to make the call but hesitated midway.
Why was he acting like a regular customer when they own the place?
He had a direct line to the boss, so he might as well complain to him.
Fueled by displeasure, he hastily grabbed his phone and clicked the call button on the contact named [Boss 1].
First ring.
Second ring.
It made it through the third ring before the call connected, Arwan's raspy voice pushing out a weak, "Hello?"
"Boss, how come your hotel is so noisy? Is it moving day?" V didn’t care for the time. If he was awake, then his brother should be too.
“Hold on, let me check.” There was a rustling noise on the other side, and then Arwan’s distinct voice asking the manager about the situation. When he came back, his voice was no longer raspy, evidently awake. “There’s a photoshoot outside. It’s for a perfume ad.”
V was both shocked and excited by the news. “I didn’t know we opened the place for photoshoots.”
“We don’t. It’s just this one time. Anyway, you better go back to sleep, I’m sending you back home after breakfast.”
“I want to watch, Boss!” V was energized, displeasure gone.
Arwan could only groan, saying ‘no’ to their little Omega was not a habit he practiced over the years. If he couldn’t stop him, he might as well make sure everything goes well instead. “Okay, I’ll tell my friend but you better behave yourself. Also, bring a couple of security guards with you.”
V wanted to argue, to tell him that he was grown and that he can fend for himself. What kind of danger awaits him at a photoshoot, anyway? Are they going to smack me around with a camera or something? He bet he could overpower those skinny models even if they ganged up on him.
Their eldest cut him off before the words left his mouth. “If you don’t, you can’t go. You’ll only get in the way.” Their family may have spoiled him rotten but there were things the Alpha refused to compromise on.
“Fine, fine. I’ll be good.” V ended the call with a promise. Even though his brother was being overprotective, the Omega was still happy to witness something new.
The two Mu Hen brothers left their beds in different moods with different objectives. The younger one went out to play while the older one started the day on the defensive.
--
Leo couldn’t believe that a place like this existed. There were flowers everywhere - a mix of marigold, dahlia, daisies, and a lot more he couldn’t name. The wall that sealed the area off from the rest of the hotel was blooming with rose vines. Several large, cherry trees stood here and there. There was a birdbath, stone tables and chairs, an iron bench, and a wooden swing hanging from a tree. There was no obvious arrangement to the place, he even dared to say it was disorganized, but it was messy in a way that made sense. It also felt personal, like a secret place he intruded on.
If it wasn’t for the unobstructed view of the water, he would’ve forgotten that they were on a cliff.
The highlight of the place was a solitary, but obviously well-maintained, tower that hosted a large balcony facing the horizon. The stones that made up the tower were glittering under the sunlight, white and golden sparkles that added splendor to the structure. None of the other parts of the hotel was like this. It was more of a movie set than anything, too picturesque that it was almost unrealistic.
His friend said the suite inside and the area around it was exclusive for one of their family members, but what kind of suite takes up roughly three floors alone? If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought it was Rapunzel’s tower instead.
Was it called Moonstar? Sunlight? Mooncake?
He couldn’t remember the name. Nonetheless, Leo felt proud of himself. He couldn’t believe he managed to force, ahem, persuade his good friend to open the elusive and ever-so-private Tala Hotel as a location for their company’s ad. For years, they only catered to private gatherings and promotions specifically for the hotel.
It was good timing as well, his boss told him yesterday to cease all surveillance activities on the Omega they’ve been watching for months. Because of this, he could take a short vacation while he supervised the photoshoot.
He felt that his luck was finally turning around. His back hurt whenever he thought of how he was slammed to the ground.
As he was stretching to relieve the phantom pain, he saw their company’s rising Omega star make her way through the cobblestone path. Angelique Stella - with her long, strawberry blonde hair framing the heart-shaped face that held her pale, phoenix eyes - lived up to her name. The off-shoulder, lilac, tulle dress that flowed gracefully with her every movement only accentuated her healthy figure and long legs. Her natural makeup was hardly any different from her bare face, but the subtlety brought out the freshness of her youth like a flower on the verge of blossoming.
Angelique was unabashed in showing the shock on her face upon seeing Leo. It was her first time seeing the Beta in person but she was made aware of the identities of the company’s higher-ups on her first day.
She gathered her long dress and went over to greet him with no pretense. “Good morning, Director Leo. My name is Angelique Stella, this is my assistant, Harper.” She gestured to a bunny-like Beta beside her. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I didn’t expect to be here either, he wanted to say, but there was no need to inform them that the mighty director of Venus Entertainment was running like an errand boy for several months. Instead, he said, “Ah, yes, I heard that you’ve been doing a good job and wanted to see for myself.”
“Thank you, Director.” She lowered her head and accepted the compliment with poise.
They exchanged a few more perfunctory words before Angelique was called to start the shoot.
Leo strolled around as the photographer shouted praise and commands. The shoot was going well even if he didn’t pay attention, the staff busying themselves without prompt. He lounged around on the iron bench and inhaled the blend of various floral scents and seawater, relaxing his overworked bones. For him, to come to work and do nothing was the best.
He closed his eyes and inhaled again, catching a whiff of sweet peaches that had a hint of curiosity and elation. Cocking his head to the side, he tried to remember if he saw any peach trees nearby. All he saw were cherry trees and a massive willow tree that hid the entrance. So where did the smell come from?
The Beta opened his eyes and looked around for the fruit, his appetite successfully roused. He scanned around slowly and took note of what he saw: the makeup artist, the model, her assistant, the photographer, the lighting staff, the stylist, two burly men in black suits, a silver-haired Omega.
He paused, eyes landing on the casual wear that mismatched with the formal attire of the men surrounding him. Slowly, he dragged his sight to meet the last face he wanted to see.
Why is he here?
His back ached as a shiver ran down his spine.
--
Arwan was in the middle of briefing the chef on what to serve for breakfast when the hotel’s general manager, Felice - his memory supplied, came running to him. One of her shoes almost fell as she called for him, clearly in a panic.
“What is it?” He asked as she made her way, panting and out of breath.
“The young master,” she could only say as she realized she still didn’t know his name. “Your brother, sir …”
“Slow down, what’s wrong?” He feigned calmness, but the pheromones he was unconsciously releasing fooled no one.
“Sir, h-he,” she stammered and took a step back, afraid of the sudden dangerous shift in her boss.
“Speak up!” His hand was turning numb from clenching it too tightly; he was losing control with anxiety. “Did something happen to him?”
She shook her head and then nodded, unsure of how to describe the situation. “N-no. Y-yes! Your brother, h-he jumped off the cliff!”
Okay, that’s not so bad.
He was trying to calm down the beating of his heart when he heard Felice say the three words that made it drop:
“With Director Leo!”
