The Alchemists

Maybe it was the many glasses of glow wine they had consumed, maybe it was because the general atmosphere was quite romantic, they both looked at each other and smiled wryly. The girl narrowed her eyes and brought her face closer to Jean's face and touched his cheek.

Both of them had very similar cat eyes, now staring at each other study the other person. Subconsciously Jean pulled down the scarf that covered half of his face and brought his lips closer to the girl's, and kissed her. She was rather surprised, but then she closed her eyes and returned Jean's kiss.

They kissed for a few minutes, first gently and gradually they got more excited. The girl had a broken heart and her feelings were still fragile, while Jean was not fully able to control himself because all the glow wine he had drunk.

Passers by who saw these two good-looking people could only smile and whisper. The scarf that had covered half of Jean's face finally fell to the floor as he closed his eyes and kissed the girl in front of him with all his heart.

He bit her lower lip gently and looked for a way for his tongue to explore her mouth. Both of them drifted deeper into the euphoria, and now they began to caress and embrace each other.

One by one the passersby began to recognize the handsome young man - who was kissing a girl in a cafe in the middle of this village. The amused whispers slowly turned into protests and gossips and Jean was immediately aware when he heard the sound of camera shutters.

"Jeez ... is that Jean? Turns out he's on vacation here," people cried.

"Didn't he already have a fiancee? Why kiss another woman?"

"Jean is one of the few good men in Hollywood, why cheat on Billie? Gosh, this is big news!!"

Jean looked around and quickly, almost instinctively, placed a 100-franc bill on the table and pulled the girl by the hand out of the cafe.

"Shhh ... let's run away from here," he whispered.

The girl was stunned. Subconsciously, she ran after Jean who was holding her hand, breaking into the crowd at the festival.

"Where are we going?" she asked in puzzlement.

Jean turned and smiled broadly, not answering. The girl smiled back and didn't ask further. Somehow her heart, which was initially very sad, now felt much lighter. With a laugh she ran arm in arm with Jean away from the village.

When they were finally alone, they stopped at the edge of a river. The water was crystal clear and flowed very gently. They sat on the grass to catch their breath.

"You run very fast," said the girl, laughing happily. "Why did you run away so fast, anyway? Did you see a ghost?"

Jean shook his head, "It was worse than a ghost. I saw the paparazzi."

"Paparazzi?? Who are you to be chased by paparazzi?" The girl brought her face closer to Jean's and narrowed her eyes to observe the young man. After five minutes, she patted her own forehead and sighed in surprise, "You're Jean! We've met once."

Jean frowned. At first he thought (and half hoped) the girl finally recognized him as a very popular actor, the dream guy of many women, but apparently the girl was not impressed at all. She was actually rather indifferent.

He frowned a little because this girl was apparently different from all the girls he had met before, who immediately screamed in excitement when they saw him and tried to attract his attention.

"Have we met before? Where?" he asked.

"It's a long time ago. At that time we were called to Singapore because Lauriel's goddaughter was poisoned by Alexei and Katia. You were also in Singapore at that time." The girl replied with a laugh, "I know you are a famous actor, but I don't really follow the news in the film industry. So don't be disappointed if it turns out that I'm not your fan."

Jean laughed at the girl's candor.

"Is that so obvious?" he asked amusedly, "I look disappointed huh?"

Marion nodded with a chuckle. Both of them looked at each other again. When they recalled what had just happened in the village, their faces suddenly reddened.

"Uhm ... sorry, I'm usually not like that. Sorry if I was rude," Jean said in a low voice. He blamed himself for drinking too much glow wine that afternoon. The festival and the atmosphere was very lively, and coupled with the natural beauty of the environment and the cloudy weather, he got carried away by the whole situation. "I didn't mean to take advantage of you because you are vulnerable."

Marion looked at Jean's cat eyes that looked very similar to her own and shook her head, "You are rude. Not because you took advantage of a fragile woman like me, but because you already have a girlfriend. I didn't expect you to be like those other despicable men."

"Uhn ... you're wrong. Billie and I have separated for some time now," Jean said in his defense. "I would not hurt a woman like that."

Marion stared at Jean's eyes intently. She was finally satisfied when she saw the honesty in Jean's eyes.

"All right. I believe you."

"Thank you."

They were silent for some time. The sound of the gentle river gave a romantic feel as the two sat side by side in the meadow, looking at the water in front of them and the blue mountains with white snow-covered peaks in the distance.

"Gosh," Marion said suddenly.

"What is wrong?" asked Jean in surprise.

"This is very romantic. Ohhh!!! I hate you, Switzerland! You are so awful. Everywhere we go things are so beautiful and romantic," Marion complained, frowning.

"Don't you like it?" Jean asked.

"Not with you. This romantic atmosphere is supposed to be enjoyed with a loved one. But right now I don't have anyone."

Jean just smiled at that. "If you want, I can go. I'm sure it must be torturous for you to sit in such a beautiful and romantic place with me."

Marion turned her head and stuck out her tongue. "There are bears in this area! I dare you to leave me alone. I'm gonna kill you and bury your body in Jungfrau!"

Jean just laughed at that. He didn't understand Marion's fickle attitude, but the girl had managed to make him laugh.