On the day Daren finished his shoot, he started to feel hungry as he had skipped lunch. Moreover, in the afternoon he had a shooting schedule for a movie that was shoot at night.
"What time does the shooting start?" Daren asked Mike as they walk to the car park.
"Six o'clock, it's still half past four. We better go get some food first, Daren. You need to keep eating or you'll get sick," Mike replied.
He nodded. "Yeah, I've been feeling hungry too. We'd better buy some food and eat it on the way."
As they were about to enter the car, a model who had previously done a shoot with him came over. A tall man with blue-black ombre hair, he stood in front of Daren.
"Hey, are you leaving now?" he asked while leaning one arm against Daren's car.
"Yeah, why would I stay here? The shoot is over," he replied.
"That's not it, as colleagues wouldn't it be good if we got to know each other better? Or can we get better acquainted? My name is Ace Monalova," Ace said as he extended his hand to Daren.
Daren's blue eyes glanced at Ace's hand inviting him to get acquainted. Ever since he was betrayed by Sam and there were so many cases of actors taking advantage of him, Daren's trust in others had decreased. He didn't even seem to want to get too close to people if it wasn't for his job.
"I'm Daren Harry," he said, shaking Ace's hand. It was obvious that Ace was smiling as Daren accepted his hand.
Meanwhile, Mike who was there was still watching them while checking his watch.
'A Beta, huh? It's not usual for a Beta to approach an Omega. I'd better watch out if a guy named Ace keeps approaching Daren,' he thought.
"Daren, it's time for us to go or we'll be late," Mike called out to which Daren immediately replied.
"Sure, then I have to go. Goodbye." He entered the car, leaving Ace standing by watching the car drive away.
"Omega is so sweet."
On the way to the set, Daren ate the burger in his hand. He was really hungry and tired. He had been away from the entertainment world for almost a year. He had forgotten how exhausting it was to work as an actor.
"Slow down, you might choke on it," said Mike who was driving the car.
"Yes, I'm already slowing down. I feel like taking a nap before filming starts. But it looks like we'll arrive 30 minutes before shooting starts," he said while massaging the bridge of his nose.
"Right, we'll be arriving at the location soon too. If you want, just put down your food and close your eyes for a while. When we arrive, I'll wake you up. At least rest for five minutes."
At Mike's suggestion, Daren put down the bag of food and leaned back a little and closed his eyes. He sighed, feeling quite tired.
Mike looked over occasionally, seeing how quickly Daren had fallen asleep. Seeing him in this state sometimes made Mike want to turn the car back home so that Daren could rest comfortably in his room.
However, this was all his wish. Daren had to be responsible for all the expenses incurred at his house. He refused to use Marabella's money, saying it wasn't his.
'I don't want to see you exhausted like this, Daren. But I know this is what you want to do. I know you want to be a famous actor. That's why I can only support you, help you feel better about taking breaks in between so you don't get too tired,' he said to himself, rubbing his head lightly and staying focused on the road in front of him.
"Vic..." called Daren in his sleep. He thought that the hand rubbing his head at this time was Victor because usually the Alpha was always beside him and rubbed his head when he was asleep.
He turned to him as the man called his lover's name, instantly Mike pulled his hand away from Daren.
"Even in your sleep, you only think about him. You really love him, don't you?" Mike said quietly and then returned to the steering wheel.
The car pulled up to the set, but he didn't wake Daren right away and waited for ten minutes. Mike checked his watch again, making sure Daren had enough time before filming started.
"It's still 50 minutes before it starts. Maybe I'll give it another ten minutes. I'll tell them Daren has a shoot scheduled beforehand," he muttered.
After ten minutes had passed, Mike rubbed Daren's head to wake him up as usual. "Daren, come on, wake up. We're already at the location, you don't want us to be late, do you?"
"Umnn? Are we there yet?" he asked sleepily and rubbed his eyes. She got up and stretched herself. "Alright, let's get off."
They both got out of the car and saw the crowded set. Daren walked up to the director yawning, but he quickly roused himself so as not to look like he had just woken up.
"Mr. Roy, I've arrived. Sorry if I'm late," he said.
The director looked over and was relieved that Daren had finally arrived at the location.
"Oh you're finally here! I almost had a heart attack when you were nowhere to be seen!" he said with a slight increase in his tone.
"Ahahaha..." laughed the Omega who was confused whether the director was happy or scolding him.
"Sorry about that, Daren had a schedule elsewhere earlier and just finished. That's why we just arrived here because it's quite far," Mike explained.
"Hmn? Who is he?" Roy asked Daren.
Daren explained that Mike was his new manager. He was the one who received the email and replied to it for this movie offer.
"Oh new manager, then where's your bodyguard? Aren't you guys together every time you shoot?" the man asked again.
"Umnn... He's no longer my bodyguard. He went back to where he came from because he had some business to attend to," replied Daren again, trying to find an excuse.
He knew that those who had filmed with him would definitely ask about Victor's whereabouts. Moreover, the bodyguard was like an icon for Daren. Wherever he went, Victor would be there.
"I see, well then hurry up and get dressed! Filming will start soon. I don't want to overstay my welcome!"
"I understand."
He and Mike then entered the tent where the actors and actresses changed clothes and dressed up. Just entering the white tent, a man approached him.
"Daren, why have you just arrived? You left earlier than me," the man said.
He reflexively turned his head and was somewhat surprised to see the same man he had done a photo shoot with earlier and left in the parking lot.
"Ace."