The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era



WULFRIC picked up the teacup in front of him. Because he felt a bit nervous by the question, he forgot that the tea he brewed didn't exactly taste great. So, when he drank it, the bitterness that filled his mouth almost choked him. Causing him to cough uncontrollably.

"Damn, that tastes like shit," he blurted, almost wanting to throw the teacup to the wall. If it wasn't for the fact that this teacup was owned by Aster, he probably would have already done that.

Reas only looked at him as if saying, 'I told you so'.

Wulfric cleared his throat. He should have shown a more dignified appearance. This was a very sensitive time period. After all, he was at the stage where he was still trying to get Aster to like him. Having his future brother-in-law approved of him would definitely be a must. But how could he do that if he only showed his lame side to the other?

Now, he even missed the perfect timing to answer Reas' question. He was planning to act all cool and honestly tell the other about his feelings for Aster. But saying that now, after he just almost choked on the tea he brewed, would only feel like a joke.

"I'm visiting him," he could only say at the end.

Reas frowned, seemingly not liking his answer. "The General must be busy with work. Did you go all the way here to the capital just to visit my brother, despite your busy schedule?"

Wulfric felt like what the other was really saying was 'so, instead of doing your job properly, you came here running to my brother to disturb him?'. Because of that, he suddenly felt like he should explain himself.

He cleared his throat once again before speaking. "I just finished a very dangerous and highly classified mission. So, I'm on a break right now."

In short, he just finished doing good deeds for the Empire, so he deserved this break.

"I see. But isn't there a better place to go on vacation than the capital?" Reas said with a hint of sarcasm. "I mean, surely, the General could relax more on some recreational planet than in my brother's small apartment, right?"

The other's question was like him directly saying 'why are you hanging here in my brother's place instead?'. Which would take them back to Reas' original question of what was he doing here.

If Wulfric didn't answer that now, their conversation would not go anywhere. This was probably the right moment to tell the other what he was planning to say earlier.

"You're right. I'm not just here simply for vacation. The main reason why I travelled here to the capital was Aster. I wanted to see him. But when I got here, that simple reasoning had now evolved into something else. Something much deeper."

Reas frowned, not really liking where this was going. But he didn't interrupt the general and just let the other speak.

"You see, your brother and I had a conversation. Which led to me having this life-changing realization. I discovered that..." Wulfric stopped, taking a deep breath inwardly, before he continued, "I'm in love with him."

Reas felt like there was a loud gong ringing directly beside him when he heard what the other had just said. It was ringing so loudly that he couldn't hear or see anything else. It made him unable to react. So, he could only sit there and let the other continue to talk.

"And I'm here to make Aster fall for me."

---------

  "Okay, cut!"

At the shout of the director, Astrid's expression returned to his usual 'business face'. Which was primarily just a gentle smile with a slight tilt at the corner of his lips.

"Good job, Astrid," the director praised. "I didn't think we would actually get everything in just one take."

"No, it's because the director directed me well. That's why everything went smoothly," Astrid said generously.

But deep inside, he just wanted to quickly go back home. That's why he did his best to finish this commercial shoot in one take. Thankfully, the director was not too fuzzy and let everything passed easily. The other changing the schedule at the last minute probably helped. He probably felt guilty doing that and didn't want to make things hard for Astrid.

Of course, this didn't mean that Astrid's performance was not up to standard. Despite him wanting to finish this shoot as quickly as possible, he wouldn't just jeopardize his performance. A good actor should always know how to separate personal from professional matter.

"I'm sorry again for rescheduling like this," the director apologized a second time. He apologized the first time when he arrived earlier.

"It's alright, Director. I understand," Astrid said.

After a few more conversations, the shoot officially ended.

Astrid and Ellis said goodbye to the staffs and walked directly to the parking lot.

"Since the shoot had been moved ahead of schedule, it would most likely air ahead of schedule as well," Ellis said as they walked.

This commercial was for a new smart cookware set produced by a pretty famous brand known for being family-friendly and user-friendly. Once this commercial aired, Astrid would have an approachable image that could appeal to the general public. It would balance out the elegant and noble-like image he had that was propelled by his EMMA advertisement.

This would only be advantageous for Astrid's overall image. It's one of the reasons why Ellis chose this brand's product. Not only because of their good reputation but also because of how popular it was to the general public. Like at least seven out of 10 households had their cookware sets. 

The fact that they chose Astrid to promote their new cookware set was a testament to his newly gained popularity.

Ellis was about to praise the other for another job well done, but before she could, she noticed that Astrid was no longer walking beside her. Confused, she looked ahead and saw the other was already numerous pace away from her.

He was walking, no, striding, as if an axe murderer was running after him.