Edited by: Kuro, Lille, and Nyxx

"Alec, get up, you have a photoshoot today." The man said with a deep, gentle voice. Usually, Alec was up by the first nudge, but for some odd reason, he was sleeping quite deeply.

Alec, who finally woke up, groaned before sitting up. His hair stuck up in many directions because he had fallen asleep with his hair wet. When he yawned, tears hung on his long lashes, threatening to fall. His dark brown hair shined an array of colors from red to light brown to even blonde. His hair only got like this when natural sunlight hit his hair.

Alec, oblivious to his manager staring at him, looked up and tilted his head. "I thought I had the morning off."

Damien thought Alec was being really cute lately. Alec's face was the usual expressionless face, but his eyes easily read: Confused, tired, lazy, wanna sleep.

He gave a soft chuckle. "Sorry, but the director ordered this. The photoshoot is for EverLasting Bloom. You will be taking pictures with the Light Prince Stephan, and the famous Rising Star Kyle."

While Stephan played the role of Crown Prince, Rising Star Kyle was playing the Crown Prince's trusted Knight and Knight Commander. The two were very close in the show and had to interact a lot. This also made Stephan fall for Kyle.

"Photoshoot?" Alec tilted his head to the side trying to think of this memory from the original. He could kind of recall, but it was difficult. He was probably just too tired. He had other movies and shows he acted in, as well as modeling. Everlasting Bloom was his biggest project though.

He yawned again before getting up and stumbling his way to the bathroom. His tired figure slammed into the door of the bathroom. He blinked for a couple of seconds before finally opening the door.

Alec, the host, was not a morning person at all.

This baffled Damien. Did Alec wake up on the wrong side of the bed? He was usually a lot better at masking his tiredness. Now, all his emotions could be read through his eyes and body language. He didn't have to even move his facial muscle to express his emotions.

Why did he feel that Alec was much cuter lately? How many times did he have to ask himself that?

Anyway, his job as Alec's manager was to wake him up, make sure he ate, tell him his schedule, and essentially be his voice. Alec wasn't good at speaking with others or at self-care so Damien became more like a nanny than a normal manager. With the way Alec grew up, it was no wonder that he didn't see the need to take care of himself.

Alec's adopted parents had tried for years to warm his heart but it was no use. Still, they loved him just like their own. But they were busy, often going overseas for work, and left poor Alec alone a lot.

Damien hoped that Alec would find that special someone who could change and take care of him. He didn’t know if he could take care of this man forever, though the thought sounded nice to him.

"Damien, I'm ready to go." Alec broke his train of thought.

Damien looked over to see Alec's usually expressionless face but he seemed more awake. His hair was now tamed and he wore casual clothing, easy to change out of.

"Hmmm, let's get you a light breakfast before the photo shoot."

"Okay."

Damien had a strange thought. If he weren't there, no one else would take care of this poor child who could barely feed himself. He felt that it was more than ever his responsibility to protect this precious being.

*****

After breakfast, Damien and Alec headed on over to the studio where the photoshoot for Everlasting Bloom was taking place. It was for the cover of the first season.

When they got inside, Alec was immediately pulled into his dressing room to get ready. The stylists had him in the same clothes and makeup as yesterday and happily waved him good luck. He thanked them as always and slowly walked to the set.

When Alec got there, he saw the green screen and two chairs sitting in front of it. The chairs were extreme opposites from one another. One looked like a beautiful throne that was fit enough for a divine entity to sit on while the other chair looked like something that came straight from hell. The color contrast made it seem odd for the two chairs to be next to each other.

As he waited on the side, Stephan and Kyle finally walked out. Stephan was in the usual Crown Prince outfit equipped with a blue cape, a crown, and a sword hanging on his side. Kyle looked like a fantasy knight donned with a red cape, a shield, and a sword in hand. The two were very similar in height but it was very noticeable that Kyle's body was more toned and defined. He was playing the role of a Knight, so he had to keep his body in shape.

Stephan glanced at Alec for a few moments and then smiled. It seemed like a kind smile but his eyes were looking at Alec as if he was just a bug, easy to squish and get rid of.

Alec only returned Stephan's look with a blank face before looking away immediately. He wasn't impressed by his princely persona and could only wonder how people didn't see it as arrogance instead.

The cameraman pulled the three together and told them his vision for the cover picture. The Crown Prince, Felix Renaud, had a personality similar to that of Stephan's persona, so his role further reinforced the public's view of him. Along with his protagonist halo, he seemed like the perfect man and everyone's dream.

It was obvious that Stephan would be sitting on the heavenly chair while Alec sat on the hellish-looking chair. To Stephan's right, Kyle, who was acting the character Sir Lewis Walters, was told to have his sword pointed to the ground as if he stabbed it through the ground. His body was faced forward, like a disciplined knight. Posture was perfect, and even the way he lifted his chin slightly was perfect. He looked like a knight in shining armor, ready to protect the ones he loved.

The three got into place. They were already told beforehand how they were supposed to pose, so Alec immediately got it. His legs were crossed, he had his head leaning on his left hand, left arm resting on the arm of the chair, to have a more relaxed and leisure look, but he was looking right at the camera. His back was still straight, making it so that it didn't look like he was hunching over. His right hand held a rose close to his nose so he could smell it. His eyes looked over at the camera as though he was looking down at the person through the lens. He waited for his cue to crush the red rose. Its juices dripped, creating an image that made it seem like what he was crushing was not a rose, but someone's head. His face had no expression, but his eyes told another story.

On the opposite side, Stephan, seeing Alec quickly get into his pose, gritted his teeth. He tried to keep up with Alec but was showered with complaints from the cameraman.

"Stephan dear, you are a little too stiff. Look this way and lift your chin a bit. The rose needs to be held out like this, so it looks like you are handing it to your beloved. No no no no, your smile is too stiff. Look at my camera as if it's the most beautiful thing in the world."

Even after all those tips, Stephan couldn't get into it because he felt inferior to Alec. They had to take many retakes before the cameraman finally gave up and had everyone take a break. He was stubborn and wanted perfection.

Stephan apologized and said that he needed to take a breather before going to his dressing room with his manager. Alec indifferently went to stand next to his manager who was standing up against the wall nearby.

The two didn't say anything. It was a comfortable silence, or more like Alec was chatting with System 225.

'Did this happen before, System?'

[This happens a lot whenever Alec and Stephan are put together. He holds a grudge against Alec because he knows that Alec will always be better than him. He just has a hard time accepting it. He will slowly crack until he sees you getting buddy-buddy with Kyle. That’s when his patience to get rid of you shatters.]

'Hmm, makes more sense now. How sad that Alec was just trying to find himself in this world but some jackass had to come around and couldn’t mind his own business.'

"Alec, if you keep frowning like that you will chase everyone away," Damien said as he did his usual, which was gently pinching both of Alec's cheeks. There was no force, it didn't hurt or tingle, but just the sense of touch snapped Alec out of his thoughts. This was the only way he could get Alec to stop frowning. It was their usual interaction but it somehow sparked something between them. Especially Alec who immediately looked up and looked into Damien’s eyes...

It was odd, but he felt something. He didn't know what it was; it wasn't scary or different, but it was warm and exciting.

[That's... Should I tell the Host? But seeing that... ] System 225 mumbled to himself. He was torn. If System 225 told Host, he would treat Damien differently. There was no harm in telling the Host when he came back to the space.

For his Host, he would do anything. He owed his Host that much at least.

Meanwhile…

In the dressing room, Stephan was clenching his fists so hard he wanted to draw blood. He was so irritated but he had to keep up his appearance.

Stephan was pacing around the dressing room, trying to calm his anger but he felt like his eyes were going to pop out of his socket from his glaring. He always had a hard time managing his anger and his single dressing room was his only solace for being able to express himself.

“Why is he always better than me? We started at the same time but he seems to surpass me in everything that we do.” He was angrily whispering so other people wouldn’t hear him.

His manager was standing off to the side wanting to sigh but also not wanting to get the brunt of his anger. As his manager, it was only natural that he knew of Stephan's true nature. To have gone on for this long was a miracle.

"Dark Prince, eh?" Stephan gritted his teeth.

"He started at the same time as you, which is another reason why he has that title." The manager chimed in. He was actually a lowkey fan of the Dark Prince. He would never tell Stephan that, but he enjoyed how authentic Alec was. He was a good judge of character so he knew that Alec was a nice person.

As a manager for their company, he could not pick who he managed. His work ethics were good, so they assigned him to Stephan, the top-rate actor of the company. He regretted it though and thought about changing jobs. Stephan was too cruel for him to handle at times.

"Just because we started at the same time, doesn't mean he can just take my spotlight from me! I worked hard to get here." He gritted his teeth. He knew he had a shitty personality and no one would love him if he was his arrogant self. Deep inside, he envied Alec who was able to be himself and still be loved.

It was annoying that he had to always put up his guard against Alec. He should be the best actor, but he knew he was not. A glint in his eyes quickly flashed by. A series of schemes entered his head making him chuckle evilly.

"Stand in my way and I will burn down all your bridges and set your house on fire."

It was said in a low deep whisper making his poor manager shiver. The manager knew what Stephan was capable of, he could only pray that Alec would stay safe.