"Excuse me?" Leon raised a brow in question to the instruction just given to him by a complete stranger.
"My boss wants to see you. Get in the car," the stranger said.
Leon glanced to his left and right, searching for a camera crew somewhere because he felt like this person was filming a movie scene.
"You've got the wrong person here. Tell that to whoever your boss is." Leon said to the stranger. Then he attempted to walk away, but the door of the car opened.
The stranger in a suit alighted in a flash, overwhelming Leon with his height and broad frame. Leon, who was by no means a short man with his 170cm height, found himself appearing small when faced with the broad stranger.
'Alpha. Definitely an alpha,' Leon thought in alarm.
"Step into the car." The stranger said with a forceful tone, releasing commanding pheromones.
Though not a coward, Leon did as the stranger said. He was sensible enough to know that repeated refusal would lead to a situation worse than meeting whoever the alpha's 'boss' was.
The alpha opened the door for Leon, and he stepped into the car. Nothing prepared Leon for the identity of the person he saw inside.
The person had a striking shade of platinum blond hair. His skin was smooth and pale white. He had a refreshing kind of beauty that pulled one in as he wore a bright smile on his face.
'What the fuck? Why's he the one??' Leon felt like throwing up immediately.
"Hi, Leon!" James AM waved at Leon like they were long time friends.
"I'm sorry we're meeting like this for the first time. I couldn't think of any other way to see you. But don't you think it's cool? It's straight out of a movie!" James spoke enthusiastically.
This was only their first meeting, yet Leon already knew James. He knew him so well that he didn't want another meeting with him.
"I… Why did you do this?" Leon managed to force out those words from his mouth.
'Do you even know what you're doing?' he almost asked James, grabbing the leathery cushion of the chair he was sitting on.
Leon felt suffocated in the roomy car. If he had known that it was James inside the car, he would've ran away regardless of how silly it would seem. He wouldn't have come in. He wouldn't…
"Oh, this must be overwhelming for you. Don't think of me as a celebrity. I'm just a normal person! Like you. You can call me Jamie. All my friends do. I assume we'll be friends soon, so don't hesitate to–"
"Stop. Please." I can't take it anymore.
Leon didn't say the other part. James was as annoying as he knew he'd be. Though Leon had never interacted with James on a personal level before, he could predict James' character pattern using his own twin brother's personality.
They were both dominant omegas with petite and cute bodies. They were both born for the big screen. Both naive and pathetically foolish. Leon could see his brother, Ezra, as he looked at James.
"I'm sorry that I'm coming off too strong. The thing is that I really need your help." James continued speaking.
"I've been going around searching for piano tutors, but I kinda have high standards. I want the best of the best. Last night, I was supposed to watch Master Tomo and was hoping to be impressed by him. I was impressed by you instead,"
"I heard about your tight schedule from Vaughn, but I promise not to take up too much of your time. I am willing to pay any amount you want me to. Please, just be my tutor." James spoke with a sweetly sincere tone, his baby blue eyes widening pitifully.
"No." Leon curtly refused.
James' plump lips parted, surprised by Leon's blatant rejection.
"P-Please?" James stuttered.
"No." Leon refused clearly.
There was no way he'd agree to tutoring James. It was not even a matter of James' high profile personality. Leon was sure that James would pay him more money than he'd ever get to see in his lifetime if he agreed to tutor him.
It was also not about James being over the age of a young learner. It was about his own peace of mind.
If Leon agreed to help James with this, he'd be agreeing to spend more time with James. Get invited to James' house, grow closer to him, and probably his family.
No way. There was absolutely no way Leon would willingly choose to walk into a burning furnace with open eyes.
"You don't understand me," James suddenly said, tears pooling in his eyes.
Leon's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he observed James. He'd seen him pull this move several times on TV. Crying to get what he wanted or throwing a tantrum about it.
Just like Ezra would do.
"In a few weeks, I'm starting to shoot a new series. News of it isn't out yet, so don't tell anyone," James added the last sentence as an afterthought.
'Should you really be telling me that?' Leon shook his head internally.
"It's not an idol drama or a rom-com like I'm used to. It's more of a deep slice-of-life about a pianist. The only reason why I got the role is because the director said I looked like the main character in his head. But I don't understand it. Not at all,"
"I love singing. I do. But I'm not really connected to music. So I need someone to guide me and help me understand it better. I looked through your records, and though you're not that big, I've seen that you're very compassionate about your music." James said.
'You must have seen lies. I'm only compassionate about the money I make from music. Not the music itself.' Leon almost laughed aloud because of his own thoughts.
He had misled a lot of people in his life with his 'passion for music'. Music was the only thing he was slightly good at. He didn't have any natural inclination or intense fondness towards it and only found it easy.
"If you can help me understand music better, I'll be able to put out a good performance of the series. I trust your senses, and you seem to be a really dedicated person. I'm really desperate here." James was still trying to convince Leon.
Leon sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose before he said, "You seem to have faulty senses. I'm not interested in taking another student for tutoring. And there are countless dedicated people who are passionate about music in this town. You found me, you can find them,"
"I'm not interested in your offer. And I have someplace else to be. So have a good day."
Leon didn't wait to hear anymore of James' silly words before he got down from the car and sped away from it. Once he was sure he was far enough, Leon did his special breathing technique to clear his mind.
He refused the offer. James should now understand after being clearly rejected that there was no future for the two of them.
Leon didn't feel regretful or guilty for rejecting the offer. He didn't care about what James wanted to achieve. It didn't matter at the end of the day.
As long as he stayed far away from James AM, he would be able to live a normal life. And Leon wanted nothing other than that.