SHOOT

"Please follow us this way."

The chauffeur told Eirene as she buttoned her coat up and stepped into the scene behind the wall where it seemed like countless lightning was raining nonstop.

As soon as she stepped into the scene, the screams were like savages. Screaming and putting up their phones to record the one and only Eirene Queen in the fresh.

Although the bodyguards circled the actress with Jaxon right by her side, it didn't stop Paparazzi from getting as close as they could, pushing the guards in the process, and clicking the shutter like maniacs.

It was as if they were also trying to record her scent with those inflated nostrils.

Even though they escaped the crowd and paparazzi on the inside, there were twice as many, waiting for them just outside the doors that separated the building and the vehicle driveway. They were the ones who didn't come early and couldn't find space inside.

The fans carried various banners, with some even cosplaying the characters she played in the movies to show their support.

The windows of the black SUV, carrying the actress, her manager, three bodyguards and a driver, were heavily tinted just as Eirene liked. Giving her a sense of relief from all the flashes.

Jaxon was about to slump on the seat from all the exhaustion when suddenly, the unthinkable happened.

As they passed the crowd outside the airport, composed mainly of fans, Eirene lowered the window and even raised a hand to say her greetings. Needless to say, the cheer and the shrill she got doubled.

"What the actual frick was that?" The manager asked when he recovered from the shock. They were already way past the crowd and were on the highway.

Unlike the person who smirked every time she got the chance less than an hour ago in the air, she was a completely different person when she faced him with icy eyes. "You are overreacting."

"Oh, please!" The manager rolled his eyes.

The actress acted as if she didn't hear that. She then went through her purse to get a book with a brown cover and began reading it with a room light on top of her. Nobody knew what kind of book it was, not even Jaxon had an idea, not that he was interested.

The manager soon removed his laptop from his bag and began replying to emails he hadn't had time to reply to.

Bodyguards didn't dare to say anything and looked out the window to see if they were being followed, and after checking, they continued to look out the window to ease their boredom.

The car became silent apart from the sound of the tire biting into the surface of the road tirelessly.

-----

The man with a thick beard welcomed the duo and the five bodyguards. "Hello, Mr Easmon. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Karim Abadi." He and Jaxon shared a handshake. Karim then settled his eyes on the woman guarded by bulky men. "And you must be Ms Eirene Queen."

Although he was only initiating a handshake, the men followed the actress's movements when she stepped in front twice.

Eirene brought out her hand and shook his hand. "Hello. Nice to meet you." Her voice was clean and deep, soothing but left a trail of coldness.

Before the atmosphere could get cold and awkward, the manager stepped in with a friendly smile. "While she gets ready, should we go through the contract again over a cup of coffee?"

-----

Karim literally felt the oxygen needed for respiration leave his lungs as he watched the glowing woman elegantly walk down the spiral staircase.

The sunlight from the windows created a halo over the actress's head. He had to blink several times to confirm that she wasn't actually emitting stars and light, nor were her clothes.

The satisfying sound of the heels of the boots on the tiled floor echoed in the quiet room, successfully captivating everyone's eyes.

"I'm ready," said Eirene once she had reached the end of the stairs. She then fixed the round silver piercing on the side of her lower lip.

The first half of the shoot's theme was gothic style. And boy, she nailed it.

Just like trees on the bright snow, the dark makeup made a ghosty contrast on her smooth pale skin. Her usual straight hair had turned into wavy hair with a strand of white hair extension on the side of her face.

Around her hourglass waist was a tightly buttoned, black torso corset on top of her suit vest, accenting the figure that was said to be the body goal by the media and the public.

The shoes also didn't fail her looks. She wore black, lace-up platform ankle boots with square high heels.

Without any care for her surrounding, Eirene paid attention to her hand. As if to adjust the position of the silver rings on her slim fingers, the black lacy gloves fluttered in her hand.

Just then a woman's voice echoed in the spacious shooting room. "Wait! I think this will suit you well!" Her voice was going in a circle. It seemed like someone was chasing Eirene down the stairs.

Moments later, all the eyes that were on Eirene shifted to the owner of the voice. Her name was Qamrun Umar and she was an assistant stylist at the shooting.

When Qamrun spread the material in her hand, Eirene lowered herself so that it could be laid by the short girl. "Thank you." On the actress's shoulders was a black suit jacket with a white rose in the pocket.

"You're welcome. Oh, you are breathtaking." The assistant stylist took a step back just as others took a step front to tattoo the artwork.

From head to toe, one could not simply find any flaws in her. The clothes, the hair, the makeup, and the way she stood were spot on, but most of all, her being was the one that made her stand out from people and drew their eyes.

The entire style was the ideal combination of masculinity and feminity.

"My god..." The female stylist muttered and covered her mouth. "Here I thought I was straight..." She voiced out what everyone was thinking. "I guess I ain't anymore."

----

Under the merciless flaming sun, Eirene's gaze remained unchanged, still freezing cold, with almost little to no emotion visible.

Even the cameraman deliberately hiding behind a professional camera couldn't help but sweat under her presence with goosebumps on his skin.

As he carefully snapped the last photo in that location, he courageously made eye contact with the goddess-like creature looking back at him like an ice statue.

"L-let's take a break. You must be feeling hot." He said with a nervous laugh and fanned himself. No wind was created with the motion.

"Okay." The actress agreed and walked over to the tent where the staff of the shoot waited.

Once she was there, they fixed her hair and makeup and wiped the sweat off her skin as she removed the black scarf from her shoulders so that the cool breeze could lower her body temperature.

The second shoot's theme was a stylish summer outfit.

Her previous gothic makeup was gone and replaced with a very natural look, this time with some colours other than black.

This time, she wore a sleeveless black sheath dress with golden buttons along the line of her heart. The neckline was cut square and there were no slits to the dress. So instead of sleeves, she got a black scarf that partially covered her hair and entire silky arms.

There was nothing that was thirst-trapping about her, her clothes or the pictures but people still criticised and sexualised her for trying to get attention by "showing off" her skin.

About twenty metres away from the tent, there was a rope that restricted people from entering the scene. Along that rope were dozens of Nixies taking pictures of the woman checking herself on the pictures. They also jumped up and down every time their idol looked at them.

Karim watched as the woman stood up, left the cool shade to the crowd along the line, and told them something. Moments later, she came back nonchalantly to continue inspecting her own self in the photos taken.

After a few minutes, she looked at her fans again but this time, the shrilling was gone as if somebody had unplugged the speaker and they were nothing more than a silent movie.

"Wow." Karim exhaled, getting Jaxon's attention.

"What is it?"

"I have never seen anyone who has controlled a crowd as Ms Queen does. She is amazing. In my three decades of experience, I have met countless top stars from all over the world, but none has acted as she did. Instead, they encourage the fans to cheer for them, which sometimes is a nuisance for us. But she handled them so well. Even providing them with water and shade. I'm stunned."

The manager proudly smiled as he watched the actress check on her fans. "Thank you for the compliments. I'm sure she'll be happy to hear that from you."

"Oh yeah, this reminds me," Karim gestured for one of his shooting crew with a laptop. The crew seemed to know what he was supposed to do, and he walked over to the duo with the device, flicking a couple of keys.

"It might be hard to see it here so let's move to the shade." The crew said after he had a hard time seeing the screen.

The three moved into the nearby tree's shade, far from crews, fans and the crowd.

Under the shade, the screen was clear. With the crew holding the computer for the two, Jaxon read what seemed like an email from an anonymous source. "Death threat?"

Karim shook his head, "Sadly, it's not clear." He then looked at his crew working and checking the photos together with the actress.

The manager read the last paragraph out. "... I'll f*cking kidnap b*tch Eirene Queen and f*ck her and sell her on auction. She's a f*cking pig, and I'm going to get her. Wait there like a sloth and watch me take that b*tch..."

Just like Karim did, Jaxon shook his head. "I don't know who this is, but the way he thinks cursing is intimidating or something is very idiotic, to the very least. Sorry for bothering you with this kind of negative messages."

The director waved his hand, "It's nothing. I was going to tell you over coffee but this slipped out of my mind when I met you. Don't take it to heart be extra careful."

"Thank you for your advice..." Jaxon nodded and lowered his voice, "And could you keep this from Eirene? She gets loads of this everyday and I don't want to add this."

"No problem." Both the young crew and Karim answered.

"Thank you." Just then, the manager spotted the actress checking on the three. He placed a friendly smile over his lips and walked to her. "Are you done?"