Julian smiled faintly. "Sounds like you did well."
Karl puffed up proudly. "Obviously. The director even said, ’Good, let’s move on.’ Which, in director language, means I was perfect."
Adrian muttered, "Or they just wanted to go home."
Karl ignored that, already picturing tomorrow’s scenes in his head.
The next day, inside Miranda’s office, Karl sat slouched in the chair like a wilted flower, his knees together, hands gripping the edge of the seat.
"Oh my god, I can’t live without my wife and brothers!!!" he blurted dramatically, his voice trembling as if Miranda had just announced the end of the world.
Across the desk, Miranda kept her calm, professional expression, though the corner of her lip twitched. "Karl," she said slowly, "it’s just a dorm. You’ll be staying here because some shoots will run late into the night. You’ll survive."
"Survive?" Karl’s voice cracked. "Do you know what happens if I sleep without Jules blanket tucked over me? I wake up freezing and—" he sniffed hard, looking genuinely emotional.
His manager leaned against the wall with a long-suffering sigh. "Karl. Professional behaviour."
Karl sniffed again. If he were at home, someone would already be patting his back, handing him snacks, telling him how brave he was. But here? Here, all he got was Miranda’s patient stare and the ticking of the office clock.
He dragged in a shaky breath. "Okay..." he said finally, nodding as if he’d just agreed to a vital organ.
Just then, the door swung open.
"Kaelan," Miranda said, her voice softening in welcome.
Kaelan stepped in with the kind of presence that made the room feel warmer, flipping his golden hair back with an easy motion. "Hey," he greeted with a smi kmle that could probably sell out theatres on its own.
"You’ll be sharing a dorm with Karl," Miranda said, gesturing toward the sniffling man in the chair. "Make sure to take care of him, alright?"
Kaelan glanced at Karl—just in time to see the tears vanish like magic. The sobbing, the sniffing, the drooping shoulders—gone. Karl’s posture straightened, his eyes lit up, and a wide, delighted grin spread across his face.
Miranda blinked. Did she just... hallucinate the crying?
Karl was practically vibrating. "Ohhh..." he thought to himself, "not bad! Not bad at all! My dorm partner is Kaelan!"
His heart swelled with joy, but then, as if remembering his tragic departure from home, his expression crumpled again and he began sniffling softly. The office filled with the sound of wet little sobs—until, just as suddenly, Karl burst into a high-pitched laugh.
"HAHA—oh my god, I’m going to stay with my favourite actor today!"
His manager: rubbing his temples, wondering how this was going to work.
"Umm... Karl, I think we should go on time to the set. The director’s already calling us," Kaelan said, glancing toward the hallway. And Karl followed him out. Then Karl nodded so fast it was a wonder his head stayed on. "Don’t worry, Lan! I’ll take care of you! You won’t regret sharing a dorm with me!" He puffed out his chest proudly, like a hero making a grand promise.
Kaelan raised an amused eyebrow. "Oh? And how exactly are you planning to take care of me?"
"I’ll... wake you up in the morning! And make sure you don’t miss breakfast! And if you forget your lines, I’ll whisper them to you... in code!" Karl said with absolute sincerity, holding Kaelan’s arm like they were already lifelong best friends.
Kaelan chuckled. "Haha, sure... you sound fun."
"I am fun!" Karl declared, then narrowed his eyes as if he was about to ask something of great importance. "Do you have a wife?"
Kaelan blinked, caught off guard. "...No."
Karl grinned, leaning closer like he was sharing a big secret. "Haha! I have one!"
Kaelan laughed softly. "Well, aren’t you lucky."
"I am! She’s the best. And don’t worry, Lan, even though I’m married, I still have time for friends. I can balance both, you know," Karl said seriously, patting Kaelan’s arm like a seasoned mentor.
Kaelan was clearly trying not to laugh too hard. "That’s... good to know."
"And if you ever get married, I can give you advice!" Karl added proudly. "Step one: always listen to your wife. Step two: when she’s angry, bring snacks. Step three—"
"Let me guess... step three is don’t argue?" Kaelan interrupted, amused.
"No, step three is pretend you’re sick so she feels sorry for you!" Karl said with a straight face.
Kaelan shook his head, still smiling. "I think I’m going to learn a lot from you."
"You will, Lan! You will!" Karl said, beaming as they headed toward the set. "By the end of this shoot, you’ll be calling me your life coach."
Since Ruby would only be coming to the set for work on weekends, she had spent the whole day teaching them some simple, basic things so she wouldn’t have to handle everything alone. At least this way, they could manage on their own when she wasn’t around.
When she finally took Karl back home that evening, he had barely buckled his seatbelt before falling asleep on the passenger seat, his head leaning slightly toward the window. He looked completely worn out, the excitement from earlier replaced by the quiet exhaustion of a long day. Ruby’s eyes softened as she glanced at him.
From tomorrow, he would be staying in the dorm during the shoot. The thought made her worry—Karl might be cheerful and talkative, but she knew he had never been away from them for long. Still, she was thankful she had taken this editing job. It would let her keep an eye on him from the same set without getting in his way or disturbing his work.
She adjusted the car’s speed, letting him sleep peacefully for the rest of the drive.
When they reached home, Ruby didn’t open her door right away. Instead, she leaned over the passenger seat, her white hair brushing lightly against Karl’s arm as she looked at his sleeping face. He was breathing evenly, lips parted slightly, his head tilted to one side.
To be continued... 🪄