The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

"BUT seriously, how do you feel about going on a date with Lauren?" Astrid asked, acting all serious.

Reas rolled his eyes. "It's not a date. It's just a simple lunch."

Honestly, he also didn't know how the heck that came about. He was just chatting with Lauren the other day, and then one topic led to another, until they suddenly decided to have lunch tomorrow. He didn't even know who invited who because it felt like the both of them invited each other.

But if he remembered it correctly, they were talking about food. Then, that led to a conversation about this restaurant that just opened in the capital that was receiving good reviews from the people that had eaten there.

They started to discuss whether the food there was more delicious than Astrid's cooking. Of course, they both agreed that Astrid's food would definitely be more delicious. But Lauren's curiosity was already piqued and he wanted to test whether they were correct.

The other said that he only had a few hours of free time on Sunday, so he might go to test it. Then, he complained a bit that even if he went, he would be alone. Then, Reas, for some reason, told him that he could go with him.

And that's how the two of them ended up making an appointment for tomorrow.

"Two people going out together, isn't that definition of a 'date'?"

Astrid's voice brought Reas' attention back to the present. He drank a sip of tea and said;

"You forgot the part whether those two people were romantically involved."

"Semantics," Astrid said, waving his hand as if what Reas said was unimportant. "Besides, isn't that where the two of you are headed to anyway?"

Reas was glad that he just finished drinking a sip of tea. Because if not and he was actually drinking when he heard that, he might have choked on it, or worse, he might have directly spitted it out. He would definitely not hear the end of it from his brother. He could already see just how much teasing he would get.

"I didn't know that my brother actually have the ability to see the future," he said in a dry voice.

Astrid only smiled at that. He decided to stop teasing his brother, at least for today. What if Reas stood Lauren up because Astrid teased him too much, making him embarrassed to go on that date with Lauren? Yes, he firmly believed that this was a 'date'. Because the people involved were clearly interested with each other, even if they still hadn't realized it yet.

He smiled inwardly. Astrid wondered just how long would it take for the two to move to the next level. But then again, he's not really in the position to wonder that when he, himself, was not so sure as to how his own romantic relationship should develop. Or if it ever would be, for that matter.

He shook his head and just drank his tea.

-----

By 11:50 in the afternoon, Astrid and Reas was already sitting on the living room of the apartment with the projector already on stand-by. They were just waiting for 12:00 to arrive. It was not only them, but also their parents. From the screen of Astrid's Terminal, they could see the two sitting in front of the television set-up of their home.

"Why do 10 minutes feel like forever?" Gage asked, looking anxiously at the screen.

Emmy jokingly slapped her husband's shoulder. "Hey, the way you're acting, one would think that you're the star of the advertisement."

Even though she said that in a light tone, Emmy was also feeling nervous. EMMA had a special place in her heart. So, watching an ad of the brand with her son on it just felt surreal.

"That's why I'm nervous. Because it's not me but Aster," Gage said.

"Dad, Mom, don't worry," Astrid said to the two. "I think I did a pretty good job."

"Of course, you did!" his father said in a very matter-of-factly tone. "I'm just worried that the people involved in making that advertisement video didn't do their job properly and made an ad that wasn't deserving of the effort you put in. I swear, if they did some--"

"Okay, relax, honey," Emmy said, cutting off whatever Gage was about to say. "Let's not be too pessimistic."

"It's starting!" Reas said, making the other three put their attention on the wide screen/projector in front of them.

The camera slowly panned over a frozen lake. Standing barefooted at the middle was a young man wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and black trousers. The cold air surrounding him makes his breath visible, adding to the cold atmosphere he was exuding.

He looked like an untouchable snow prince which no one could get close to. But despite that, people watching him couldn't stop the feeling of wanting to do the exact opposite.

Then, he suddenly looked at the camera, as if someone called him. He then slowly walked towards the direction of that camera. The sound of cracking ice filled the air, building a sense of anticipation. He stopped in front of the camera, and the camera zoomed in to show his intense gaze.

As the camera continues to move around him, the frozen lake begins to thaw, and the once-frozen water now became a wide ocean. The cold young man was nowhere to be found. Instead, they saw another young man.

He was running towards the beach. A few buttons of the shirt he was wearing was unbuttoned, teasing a white expanse of skin. The hem of the shirt was flapping against the wind as he ran. His expression was full of youthful vigor and charm.

Just by looking at him, one wouldn't know if they wanted to completely unbutton his shirt or to have a conversation with him because he just seemed to be such a fun company.

The young man reached the shoreline and paused for a moment, catching his breath and looking out at the sparkling blue ocean. And then a bright smile appeared on his red lips.

The camera then panned towards the sea. Then, that sparkling blue sea slowly turned into a dark indoor pool.

A young man slowly got out of the water. Because of the dimly lit surrounding, they couldn't really see his full figure. They could only see the outline of his slender back. But this only made people want to see more.

The camera then made a close-up shot as he was getting out of the pool. First, it was his jade-like feet, then his calf, when they finally thought that they would see more, the camera suddenly zoomed out. When it zoomed in again to the young man, he was already wearing a dark, velvet robe.

The young man swept back his wet black hair, raising his face in the process. As he did, he looked exactly at the camera. Then, the corner of his lips turned up into a sensual smile. As if he was trying to seduce the people watching him.

Then, everything suddenly faded into black.

Words appeared on the black screen.

[Eros]

[Allure in every shade.]

Then, the last one was the logo of EMMA.