Despite the busyness of the Linton ND airport, there was a strange stillness that filled the space. No one was speaking above a whisper.
The anticipation was perceivable - everyone knew that someone of high prestige was about to arrive.
Just at exactly 2:00pm, a man alighted from a gold-plated private jet. Wearing black sunglasses, a black cloak, and was surrounded by bodyguards, he was almost invisible to the crowd.
Even those closest to him could barely make out his features. Worse, to the crowd farther back, he was merely a silhouette.
The press crowded the runway. Photographers gripped their cameras, anticipating the perfect shot. Journalists held microphones, ready to record every word.
But as the mysterious man approached, they stood frozen in place, not a camera flash to be seen, not a word spoken into a microphone.
Silence reigned and no one dared drop a pin to break the silence. No one wanted to annoy or be on this man's bad side, whoever he was.
Whispers started to ripple through the crowd. "Dorian Gray looks so good!" someone said in hushed tones.
"How do you know? Not like you can see him," another whispered.
"I don't need to see him to know he's handsome," the first replied haughtily.
"Well, even if we can't see him I believe our coming here isn't a waste." Some other added, heaving a sigh.
"Yeah, I just hope Morgana posts a picture soon. I guess she's the only one who has access that even the news doesn't have." said another.
"You mean that sicko bitch?!" someone hissed. "Didn't you see her last post?!"
*****
Dana inched to the edge of her seat, clutching the armrests. She tried not to look at the gorgeous lady next to her, her thick waves of hair, her long, manicured fingernails, her high cheekbones, and her elegant, expensive clothing.
'I might just die trying to restrain myself from letting my paraphilia take control,' Vance thought. Being a victim of paraphilia and at the same time inhabiting a woman's body is tiring.
"Hey, Dana!" the lady said, leaning closer. Dana stood up abruptly, nearly tripping over her own feet. "I-I'm sorry!" the lady stammered.
The lady was none other than Cassidy Keith, Dana's best friend. 'Hmpf!' Dana huffed, turning away from Cassidy. Vance cursed the stars that had put him in this situation, wondering how to salvage what was left of this tempting friendship.
Just when he thought everything was going to be alright, ignoring the daring temptation of the beauty standing close to him…
"What's this?" Cassidy suddenly said, in a questioning tone, raising the gold chain and card with a capital "W" painted on it she found in Dana's bag.
At first Vance saw a confused and puzzled expression on Dana's best friend's face, Dana—no, Vance—was left stunned for a moment too before a look of sudden realization crossed Dana's face as Vance glanced at the card in Cassidy's hand, through Dana's eyes.
"Oh, that…?" the words rolled out from Dana's tongue plainly.
'It belongs to the bastard who made me end up in this situation in the first place,' Vance wanted to say, but remembering he was now Dana, in a female body, decided to keep it short.
'What happened to etiquette? At least even if I'm going to vandalize all this, I should still treat myself ladylike,' Vance thought, wanting to change his form of response before the sudden pain in her limbs and the system's emotionless voice interrupted his thoughts.
[Host, you have to get a director or else the pain will keep persisting for hours…]
'Huh?' Coming to a sudden halt, Vance blasted the system with curses in his mind.
'Damn system! How the heck am I supposed to get a director out of nowhere?'... 'Although I have a great body and a thousand would be pleading to sign me,' Vance added, trailing off point as he gave his package a glance.
Cassidy narrowed her eyes at the card then said with a suspicious tone. "Isn't this Hendrick Callaghan's card? The director of Ding&Dingle Entertainments?"
"Wait a minute… Director?" Vance managed to mutter, coming to realization as he glanced at the black gold-labeled card in Cassidy's hand that had suddenly started shining like a star before Dana's eyes.
Meanwhile, Cassidy was left speechless by Dana's varying reactions from the one question she asked. This female bestie had been acting too strange recently.
'Has she found a lover without telling me? Has she been hiding him from me? Why would she keep his card in her bag? Who the f**k is he?' Cassidy's mind spun as she tried to make sense of it all.
Just when she was about to barrage Dana with questions, she saw Dana suddenly leap up like a monkey, sprinting towards her as she stretched out her hand to grab the card from her before she could react.
Dana reached out, snatching the card from Mr. Hendrick's hand. "This is mine!" she half-shouted. Her fingers trembled as she clutched the card, her heart pounding in her chest with overwhelming joy she could barely contain.
Not noticing or considering Cassidy's reaction, Vance in Dana's body suddenly walked up to a table by the corner and grabbed the phone which was on it.
And without even caring about whose phone it was, Dana hurriedly dialed the numbers on the card. This left Cassidy speechless as she decided to watch what was going on.
After a few rings, a deep, hoarse voice rang out over the phone. "Hello, this is Hendrick Callaghan on the line. Who am I unto?" The man's voice was gruff, confident and perhaps poise.
"Mr. Hendrick, it's me, the girl from the hospital." The words tumbled out of Dana's mouth, not wanting to think the words through but just spew it as it is in her head.
"Oh! Miss Hollywood?" The voice from the other end, Mr. Hendrick, spoke quizzically, not entirely certain of who he was speaking to, but there was a hint of confidence in his tone, as if he were partly sure of the caller's identity.