The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

[BOSS, what's wrong? Boss? Remi!]

That voice from his earpiece brought him back to the present. He didn't answer and just stared intently at the back of the man. The other seemed to feel his gaze and turned towards him.

Remi suddenly felt his heart jumping to his throat. He was thinking what the other's reaction would be once he saw him. Would he be shocked? Would he cry and run towards him? No, what he truly wanted was just to hear Noa call him 'young master' once again. He would be satisfied with just that.

But when Noa finally looked at his direction, when their eyes finally met, it didn't even last a second before the other took back his gaze and looked up at the man standing beside him. And when Noa smiled at that man, Remi only felt like someone had stabbed him at the heart and then continuedly twist it until it was cut into a thousand pieces.

Before his brain could function properly, his feet were already moving towards Noa. Maybe the other just didn't see him properly. The lighting here was not very good after all. Yes, that's probably it. There's no way Noa wouldn't recognize him.

But when he was just a few steps away from him, a big, sturdy body suddenly stepped in his way. Then, he felt his shoulders being pressed. Followed by a rough voice saying;

"What the hell, man? You're not acting according to the plan."

Remi raised his head and saw a tall man with a buzz cut. It took a while before his muddled head recognized who the person in front of him was. "Get out of the way, Hunter."

"No. Do you know what you look like right now? You look like someone who has been abandoned and was ready to do something crazy!"

[Hunter, take Remi out of the club.] – said a female voice from both their earpiece. [I'll take over.]

Remi's expression suddenly changed and turned completely ugly. "Don't you dare—"

Before he could finish what he's saying, he felt a something prickling his neck. The next moment, everything just turned dark.

"Tsk. This guy is going to kill me later," Hunter complained as he supported the unconscious Remi.

[Don't worry, I'll share the blame with you. So, go and take him out of here.]

Hunter dragged-carry Remi out of the bar. When they walked out of the entrance, they bypassed a woman with flaming red hair and wearing clothes that simply demanded attention.

"Good luck, Callie," Hunter whispered under his breath to the woman.

The woman – Callie only smiled before walking inside the bar.

*********

The next scene that followed was that of Callie – the grifter of Themis – trying to ingratiate herself to the mark – Kit Brooks. With her beauty and her wiles, it was quite easy. Especially since Kit Brooks had an obvious weakness against beautiful people. By the end of the night, she was almost part of Kit Brooks' inner circle.

With that, she also found out the identity of the black-haired man. His name was Noel. Kit Brooks introduced him as a new friend he met and got close to lately. It was hard to see whether the other was indeed just a 'friend' or someone involved in the kind of business Kit did.

Before Callie could have a good read of him, the other had already left. With her alone with Kit, she increased the intensity of her attack until she finally able to make the other agree entered their trap.

She probably had never worked so hard on buttering up someone like she did that night. The loyal viewers of the show also had a good laugh watching their cool sister Callie seduce and flirt a man like there's no tomorrow. If it was them, they might not even last an hour before they decided to give her everything they own. It's no wonder that this Kit Brooks willingly jumped to the pitfall that Callie made.

This little scene was a good change from the heavy scene of Remi and Noa's separation.

When Callie left the bar and returned to the manor they rented for this mission, he heard fighting coming from inside. She entered the manor and saw Remi and Hunter fighting. Or rather, it was Remi trying to land a hit on Hunter and the latter was simply evading the former. After all, if Hunter really fought back, Remi would definitely be sent to the hospital.

Callie tried to stop Remi but it seemed that the other wouldn't listen to anything he would say. Unless, she said something that would attract Remi's attention. So, she told him about the black-haired man named 'Noel'. Their current job was almost compromised because of that man's sudden appearance after all.

**********

"He said his name is 'Noel'?" Remi asked.

Callie nodded. "I couldn't get a read on him."

Meaning she wasn't sure what kind of personality the other had. Which was a first for her. Being a grifter most of her life, it had been a second nature to her to determine what kind of personality a person had. Being able to do that helped her in how to deal with other people, controlling their heart's desire.

"Whoa. Wouldn't that mean that this guy was a better grifter than you, Callie?" Hunter said with amazement.

The silent Remi suddenly stood up and climbed the stairs.

"Hey, Remi, aren't you going to tell us how you knew this Noel person?" Hunter called out to the other.

Remi paused in his steps. "His name is not Noel."

That's what he only said before he continued walking.

Hunter scratched the back of his head. There was a confusion on his face as if he couldn't understand what just happened. "What's wrong with the boss? Is he sick or something?"

Callie narrowed her eyes, looking at the spot where Remi stood. "Yes. He just got the most troublesome sickness of all."

"What? What kind of sickness?" Hunter asked, already panicking.

Callie turned to the other and smirked. "Love sickness."