Love For Sell

1

With a cup of her favourite soy latte in hand, Tzuyu Chou strolled down the street , surrounded by half busy citizens of the bustling city of Seoul. Behind her aviators , Tzuyu watched their unsuspecting faces and smiled to herself. They had no idea that they were in the presence of the blue dragon film and grand bells award award - winning renowned actress. She picked up her pace , not wanting to be late for her first table-read for her third leading role , and her third movie production . Tzuyu's pace became a skip .when she finally found the towering structure of the office her manager texted her weeks before, her exhaustion dawned before her. But only because on that fine autumn morning , a paparazzi shot towards her and blinded her with the flash of his camera.

''Hey!" Tzuyu flinshed and held up her arm to shield her features to the glaring lens of the man's camera . Her cry , however, attracted more of the pap lurkers. Cameras flashed and clicked as every photo they took was of Tzuyu screaming her head off . She was unable to see the way to the office, making her zigzag across the pathway. Tzuyu bumped into one of the obnoxious scrumbags , and he had the balls to swear at her?

"If you don't get out of my way, I am going to break that horrible camera along with both of your knees!" Tzuyu shrieked , her elbows digging into the man's side. She ignored the grunt of protest and cry of 'bitch!', for she had no time to care . She was two minutes late, and Tzuyu Chou was never late .She stepped over the collapsed paparazzi and hurried inside the building, where the security guards finally came outside to chase away the affronted gossip and photography mongers.

Tzuyu huffed and leaned back against the wood panelled wall of the elevator as it lulled her up the seventy floors . Her coffee no longer tasted sweet with the perfect amount of soy milk and sugar. It tasted bitter .Her whole mouth tasted bitter , and as much as she wanted to simply go home and take a nap, she had a responsibility, and she will fulfill it.

The elevator bell rung and she walked down the plush carpeted corridor until she reached the conference room. Through the glass walls , Tzuyu could see that Lisa , her manager , was there along with the rest of the cast , the directors , producers , writers, and other executives . Tzuyu took a deep breath and stepped inside , all eyed trained on her . "I'm sorry I'm late."

Lisa perked up and waved her over. Reliable as always , she had another copy of the script that Tzuyu annotated in case she forgot her own - which she rarely did , but it was pleasant to know she had her back incase she forgot it. She collapsed on the hard plastic chair and sipped her acrimonious coffee. Clearing her throat , Tzuyu splayed her hands on the dark table and met the eyes of the bigwig - the executive producer . "After all, it's not my fault of the incompletence of your security guards. I was assailed by paparazzi right outside your door."

"Tzuyu , don't." Lisa murmerd , her hand on the actress thigh .

Shaking her manager off , Tzuyu tipped her chin and opened the first page of the booklet. She read through it ten times already, so she was confident in her competence . She was not sure about the rest of the cast

The executive producer , a lady in a business suit that probably cost as much as Tzuyu's brownstone , cleared her throat and swept her gaze across the room , only for her rich , mahogany eyes to land and linger on Tzuyu. "Enough. Let us begin."

After hours upon hours of the table-read for the first and second act of the movie , the executive producer , by the name of Kim Jina, decided to end the day's session. To Tzuyu's relief, she went straight out of the conference room , leaving the cast and some of the crew to mill about. Lisa rubbed Tzuyu's back and smiled in a attempt to encourage her. "You were fantastic, as always."

"I know" Tzuyu sighed and tried not to burrow into Lisa so she wouldn't have to face her co-star who, right now , was making eyes at her .She diverted her gaze and faced her manager. "But I don't think I can take much more of this. I'm exhausted all the time, and I'm lonely. She eyed Lisa who nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. "It's just...Baekhyun's always travelling with his band while they try and play everywhere they could get there music out there. I didn't even want to go to today's table-read since he's coming home today and I wanted to meet him, but..." Tzuyu shook her head. "It's no use complaining now."

"Oh, Tae." Lisa rose up and tugged Tzuyu up with her . They left the conference room just as Tzuyu's co-star was about to open up a conversation with her . They left him standing, jaw dropped as they rode the elevator down to the ground floor. "I can't do much about Beakhyun's absence ...wait, you two are still together?"

Tzuyu nodded."But not in the way that you think. We're not together romantically. I think he's only with me because I have a house and he doesn't want to go back to Daegu." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms together. "It's mostly a relationship of comforts now, I think. But I'm not mad or trying to get rid of him. It's nice to have him around. He's..."

"Familiar." Lisa supplied . They stepped out of the lift and went into the brisk fall afternoon, the sun already taking cover behind a thicket of clouds. Tzuyu shivered and tightened the scarf around her neck.

"Come, let's go get coffee and then I'll let you go home to your boyfriend." Lisa teased, bumping Tzuyu's hips with hers.

They slunk into a small coffee shop. Tzuyu sat herself on corner booth, hidden behind a fake potted plant as Lisa ordered for both of them. She returned with two steaming mugs of warm chocolate, a plate of grilled cheese, and a slice of apple pie. Lisa pushed the apple pie to Tzuyu and took a bite from her sandwich. "So, while I was waiting in line, I got a text from my girlfriend."

"Jennie? What did she say?"

"She was telling me what she wants to do to me when I get home, but I don't think you wanna hear about that. She gave me an idea though." Lisa lowered her voice and leaned forward, coaxing Tzuyu to do the same. "You said you were stressed and frustrated, right? I think I have a cure for that, but I'm not sure you'll be into it."

"Lisa at this point, I'm game for anything." Tzuyu breathed . Her manager was definitely the best one for her, even though she was Lisa first client, and she had no past experience whatsoever. But for Tzuyu, that was the point. She wanted them both to learn as they went through show business together, and now, Lisa was providing to be a genius.

"And you said you and Beakhyun don't fuck anymore"

"LISA!"

The blonde giggled and lowered her voice once more. "Did you two even do it?"She asked, but then did not wait for Tzuyu's response. " I have a friend actually, she's one of my best friends from high school. She has this ...service that helps women who want to keep everything private and on the down low."

Tzuyu blinked. " what, like I need privacy for yoga sessions?"

"Yoga? No, that's lame.I hate yoga." Lisa scrunched up her nose. "And that has totally nothing to do with what I'm thinking. I'm saying, Tzuyu, when was the last time you got laid?" The question made Tzuyu pause, and Lisa took it as a sign. "See, you have to think about it! I dont, because I just got laid this morning. That's not the point though." She nibbled on the corner of her sandwich and sipped her hot chocolate.

"Are you going to tell me or are am i going to have to beg?"

Giggling, Tzuyu's manager licked her oily fingers and stared directly into the green eyed girl. "How do you feel about paying for sex?"