….

  After finalizing the st details of the tract, Regal stepped out of the building.

  He was informed that after another round of discussions and a few verification steps, the final signing would take porrow.

  Catg the bus, he was already on his way to the and final destination of the day, his thoughts shifting to the text he had sent earlier that m - to his sister.

  Before diving headfirst into what he hoped would be his 'big break' Regal knew he had to front the tangled mess of retionships he had let fall apart over the years.

  Or, more truthfully, what little remained of them.

  His sister was the only person still in his so-called circle.

  Seren Seraphsail, his 'twin' younger sister, was attending the prestigious Valmont School of Fashion Design is District, located in Downtown Los Angeles, right in the heart of the Arts District.

  The bus screeched to a halt, snapping Regal out of his thoughts.

  He grabbed his bag, stood, and disembarked without missing a beat.

  A short walk, and he arrived at the café they always met at.

  It had been months since his st visit.

  He pushed the door open and spotted her immediately - there she was, absorbed in her phone like it was the only thing keeping her from busting.

  As he made his way over, she gnced up. Her eyes locked with his, and a slow, almost smug smile crept across her face.

  "You made it!" She almost shouted.

  Regal rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Calm down… Seren."

  He slid into the seat across from her and waved over the waiter, a coffee for himself. As he looked across the table, his eyes nded on two empty cups beside her and the half-filled one in her hands.

  He raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been waiting?"

  "Not long." She said, tilting her head slightly, her resting on her palm. A glint of curiosity flickered in her eyes. "Only ten minutes. Why do you ask?"

  "Nothing." Regal replied, brushing it off with a casual wave.

  He had been te, sure, but not by much. And he knew his sister well enough that she couldn't down two cups of coffee back-to-back.

  But, then again, he wasn't even speaking about her alcohol tolerance.

  The sileweeretched for a few seds before Seren broke it.

  "...Finally had some free time?"

  Her tone had shifted, and Regal instantly knew what she was getting at. He wasn't pnning to dodge it.

  "Actually." He drawled, taking another slow sip, theing the mug down with a little too much emphasis. "I dropped out. A few months ago."

  ?...?Seren froze, her brows knitting together as the realization sank in.

  Her face darkened, eyes narrowing. "You… dropped out? Why didn't you tell me?"

  Just like that, the floodgates opened, and her volume rose again.

  Regal leaned ba his chair, his expressioral, but there was a faint shrug of indifferen his posture. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, and you always wanted me to quit anyway."

  For a heartbeat, Seren just stared at him, lips pressed tight, trying to piece together whatever was going on behind his eyes.

  He khe look, the way she was trying to figure him out.

  Then, her expression softened.

  Regal saw it ing before it hit - the glimmer of emotion in her eyes that meant ohing, she was about to get seal.

  "I hate you." She muttered, quickly wiping her sleeve over her eyes to catch the tear that had threateo fall.

  Her voice softened, wobbled a little, almost childlike. "You always do whatever you want... You told me you had enough for tuition when I asked."

  Seren was childish, yes, but she wasn't dumb - she could ect the dots in ways she hated to.

  Regal watched her, the way her shoulders slumped just a bit, the sniffle that followed.

  It was hard to tell if he should chuckle or apologize.

  She looked like an abandoned puppy.

  God, she is twenty-two nal screams internally.

  An adult, or so they said.

  But deep down, Regal couldn't shake the feeling that he robably the only person in the world who still found her cute in all her emotional chaos.

  Before he could decide if he should say anything - or worse, let her stew - someone's voice sliced through the tension.

  "Hey... that's enough."

  Regal's head so the side, his eyes narrowing as he tried to pce the source of the interruption.

  A guy.

  Late twenties, maybe?

  Definitely a few years older than Regal.

  Instantly, Regal's response was ready. Fuck off.

  Who the hell just barges into someone else's drama without knowing the first thing about it?

  Seren wasly making a se.

  She set, sure, but she wasn't out here screaming for attention.

  If anything, she was more sulking than throwing a tantrum.

  But this guy? Apparently, he thought he was the hero in some dumb sario.

  And then Regal turned fully toward him, their gazes log - and just like that, everything in him froze.

  ?!What. The. Hell?

  Regal's brain short-circuited for a moment.

  "Just because you are Seren's brother doesn't mean you get to decide who she wants to be with." The man's tone was bold, almost rehearsed, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

  Regal's fusion only deepened, more question marks popping up in his mind.

  "She is my girlfriend, and nothing will ge that." The words hit like bombs, oer another.

  Regal's gaze darted betweewo of them, a sinking feeling crawling under his skin.

  Just as he was about to voice his disbelief, Seren cut in, her voice like a shriek from a suddenly-exploding volo.

  "You dummy! What are you doing here? I haven't even told him about us yet!" Her face ractically fire-engine red, and she wiped at her damp cheeks with quick, frantic swipes, her embarrassment clear.

  Regal didn't react right away.

  He let his eyes linger on the guy for a sed lohen shifted his focus to Seren.

  The sileretched thin, a quiet tension humming in the air.

  Then Regal decided it was time to cut through the mess.

  "Hey, Seren." He asked, his tone a mix of feigned calm and thinly veiled sarcasm. "You his girlfriend?"

  His eyes locked on her, and he could feel that simmering irritation bubbling just under his skin.

  Seren kly what was at stake here - what her answer would mean if it didn't align with her brother's expectations.

  The guy wasn't walking away with all his teeth intao matter how much he tried to look like some generic aovie hero.

  In the meantime, Regal's hand twitched instinctively.

  He already knew what he would do if the answer was no.

  A punch.

  Straight to the guy's face.

  It didn't matter who this guy was.

  Even if he was… Keanu Reeves.

  The future superstar himself, one al's favorites.

  He wouldn't blink.

  The response came quickly. Seren's answer came swiftly, but it was not quite what he expected.

  "No."

  …that's it! Regal's fist ched instinctively, the muscles in his arm tightening, ready to unload a punch straight to the guy's face.

  But then she added, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's the other way around. He is the ohat's my boyfriend."

  ?...Regal froze.

  His fist remained ched, but his frustration shifted.

  Of course. It was always like this with Seren.

  She had a knack for plig everything just for the hell of it.

  Her childish pride nearly wrecked things, but in the end, did it matter?

  Was the order of things really such a big deal?

  He rexed his grip, a sharp exhale esg him as his irritatioed into something else.

  In a fluid motiourhe potential punto something else entirely.

  He extended his hand, the smirk that spread across his lips part amusement, part smug satisfa.

  "Regal Seraphsail… A future director." He said, voice rich with irony as he offered the handshake.

  The title rang proudly….

  The maated, clearly thrown off by the sudden shift in energy.

  He knew what Regal had just attempted to do, and he wasn't oo back dowher.

  He was ready to go for it if he wao...

  But after a brief pause, he accepted the handshake.

  Just like that, Regal had unknowingly met the first actor in what would bee not only his debut film but the start of an iic colboration in the years to e - which he would only realize in future.

  "Keanu Reeves…"

  He introduced himself.

  .

  ….

  [To be tinued…]

  ★─────??★??─────★

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