•••••
{ MR COOPER’S SON }
“Then what if…?” he paused looking at her face some sign of her reaction.
“What if what?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What if I’m your Ricky?” he said,finally facing her fully.
There was a long,deafening silence. She stared at him,stunned,unable to form a response.
She suddenly she broke into a fit of laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Ricky asked,raising his eyebrows.
“You… you’re joking,right? Are you really pulling my leg? How can you make such an expensive joke? You’re MPS Ricky? Unbelievable” She asked between fits of laughter.
“I knew it! How could I expect her to believe me right away?” he thought,sighing.
“I’m leaving,good night” he said and walked off.
“Seriously? You’re leaving me hanging like this?” she called out,still laughing. She hurried after him,she catch up to him and gabbed his hand.
“What now?”
“Hold on, I just want to know if you’re serious or not. How can you say something like that and then just walk away?”She said,her laughter now fading.
He turned to face her,his expression still serious.
“I am serious” he said,holding her gaze.
Lily’s laughter died down as she took in his expression. Despite his serious face,she couldn’t bring herself to believe him. Instead, she doubled over in laughter again.
“I’m sorry,I just can’t believe you”
He huffed and turned to leave again.
“Where are you going?” she asked,trying to stifle her giggles.
Ricky said nothing.
The two of them walked back to their apartment, but Lily’s laughter followed them all the way.
She giggled the entire way, even as they arrived at the door. Her laughter finally died down as she caught her breath.
“Goodnight!” Ricky said and entered his house.
“Seriously? Why can’t stop laughing,is he trying to be a cool type or what? He’s totally not my type!” Lily shooked her head and walked in.
•••
<NEXT DAY••MR COOPER’S OFFICE>
There was total silence as Mr Cooper watch the CCTV footage with Manager Gregor.
“I told you sir,he’s really innocent” Manager Gregor said as the video ended.
“So.. when are you releasing this?” Mr Cooper asked.
“As soon as I leave now,I already inform the press to meet you and also Trace should give a statement to his fans too and…
“Gregor!” Mr Cooper cut him off.
Manager Gregor blinked.
“Get to the point and stood wasting my time here”
“I’m sorry sir, I just feel I should let you know first” Manager Gregor bowed.
“It’s okay,you can go… And tell Ricky I’ll like to have a word him” Mr Cooper said.
“Sure!” Manager Gregor said and walk out.
Ricky was just heading back from the restroom when he saw him.
“Good thing I bump into you,the CEO will like to see you” He told him.
“Mr Cooper? But why?” Ricky wondered.
“I dunno,you should go to him now… You know how he can be” Manager Gregor patted him and started walking away.
“When are you releasing the footage?” Ricky shouted after him.
“Now!” Manager Gregor turned and said.
Ricky rough his hair and made his way up,to Mr Cooper office.
Mr Cooper was on a call when entered. He immediately end the call and face him.
“You called for me” Ricky said.
“Yeah” Mr Cooper smiled and got up,walking to him.
“You shouldn’t be wearing that mask while you’re with me,” Mr. Cooper said,slowly removing the tie and pulling it off his face.
“What do you want from me? I’m busy!” Ricky asked,his patience running thin. “
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face. Don’t you think?” Mr. Cooper said,ignoring his question.
“Since we’re both busy! I’ll be quick about this. About my proposal…
“I’m not interested,I’m not going to let you manipulate me like this.You can’t use my friends as bargaining chips. I won’t let you control” Ricky clenched his fists.
Mr Cooper scoffed.
“You don’t have to be. I was only telling you about it,not like you can stop be from getting what I want”
“What!” Ricky raised his brows.
“Is it that hard? Get rid of the rest of the members and become a solo artist with your talent alone. You can sing,dance and even write your own song… Except for the rapping aspect,I’ll take care of it”
“I f_cking told you I’m not interested” Ricky snapped.
“Sooner or later,I’m gonna find a way to get rid of other members. Too bad my last plan didn’t work for Trace!”
“Don’t tell me…. You set this all for him to be out of the group” Ricky’s eyes widened.
“What do you think?” Mr Cooper whispered with an evil smirked.
•••
<ROSES AND PETALS>
“I can’t believe you’re doing this! I mean how could you say yes to him that easily” Lily exclaimed, crossing her arms.
Amelia rolled her eyes.
“What was I supposed to do? Say no to a star?” she said,fixing Lily’s hair.
“Com’on baby girl. This is your chance to get close to Ricky. Just think about it,if you’re close with Kelly,you’ll get to see Ricky all the time. He might even introduce you to him if you become his girlfriend” Amelia grinned.
“I can’t do that!” Lily protested,pushing Amelia’s hands away.
“It would be leading him on!” She shooked her head.
“Wh@ťěver. Look here!” Amelia brought out some make ups and started applying it on Lily’s face.
“What are you doing?” Lily stop her by grabbing her hand.
“Dolling you up for a date!” Amelia winked.
“This is not a date,Amelia. I’m not interested any sorts of relationship with Kelly!” Lily got up and grabbed her bag,she walk out meeting Kelly.
“Are you ready?” Kelly turned to her.
Lily nodded.
Kelly opened the car door for her, and she reluctantly got in.
He started the car, but before they could pull away,he leaned over and wiped a bit of lip gloss off her cheek.
“What his he trying to do?” Lily thought.
“You had some on your face,” he said, a smile playing on his lips. She nodded,feeling awkward as he started the car again.
“So… Where are we going?” Lily asked after a while of being silent.
“It’s a surprise,I have something to show you” Kelly said, a mischievous glint in
Lily’s curiosity
Lily nodded and turn to the mirror side,her mind filled with one thing.
What he’s planning to show her?
After thirty minutes,Kelly pulled the car to an halt in front of an old rundown house. Lily stared out and discover they are in some outskirts of Cali.
Se had never been to this part of California before,and she wondered what could possibly be here that he needed to show her.
“Why are we here?” She asked as come out with Kelly.
“Come!” Kelly suddenly held her hand and took her in. Her eyes didn’t leave the hand he was holding for a second.
Kelly led her up the front steps and opened the door,ushering her inside.
The house was dark and dusty,with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and the musty smell of disuse permeating the air.
“What is this place?” she asked, shivering slightly in the cold,damp air.
“Wait here” Kelly said and disappeared into another room.
A few minutes later,he returned,pushing a wheelchair carrying a sleeping girl.
“Who is this?” Lily asked, staring at the girl in wonder.
“My sister….” Kelly said,a sad smile on his face.
Lily’s eyes widened in surprise. “I thought you were an only child. You never mentioned having a sister…
“She’s the only family I had left” Kelly added.
“What about your mum? You often share pictures with her on your Instagram page and…
“I never had one from the start. It’s was all our CEO’s plan. We had to lie about our family,friends and even fake our identity. Isn’t that too creepy?” Kelly chuckled.
“Why are you telling me all this?” Lily mumbled.
“Cos not all you heard or see about us are the truth! You will never know,they were made up for us to look good. For the fame? The money? The popularity for Ricky maybe” Kelly chuckled.
Lily blinked.
“I’ll continue telling you this. Ricky is not the kind of person you think he his. Haven’t you ever wonder why he uses mask when we all claimed he’s dangerously handsome to the public. The truth is he’s only hidden in plain sight,without you recognizing him… He can go around doing wh@ťěver he wants without affecting his fame….
“Stop! Just stop!” Lily snapped.
“Is the truth that hard to take? Or you’re probably too obsessed with him for you to believe me” Kelly scoffed.
“I’ve to go” Lily turned and start walking out.
Kelly got up and grabbed her hand.
“I’ll drop you off…
“I can handle myself” She threw his hands off and left.
“Sooner or later,you’ll have no choice but to believe me” Kelly smirk as he watch her leave.
•••
<MONDAY••RICKY’S APARTMENT>
“When will you stop coming here?” Ricky groaned as he opened the door and saw Jiwoo.
“What do you mean? Eomma ee-yo! (I’m your mum)” Jiwoo said dropping the stuff she brought on the table.
“And so what? I don’t want anyone seeing you here? They will surely know I’m Ricky!” Ricky mumbled.
“Well.. you’re Ricky!” Jiwoo grinned.
“What are you doing here? I know you wouldn’t come here since you’re always busy”
“Are you saying I don’t have time for you,is that it?” Jiwoo scorned.
Ricky sighed out.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,come over here” She waved.
Ricky just stared at her.
“Ppali!! (Hurry!!)” Jiwoo pouted,Ricky walk to her and sat on the couch.
“What is it?”
“You dad said you didn’t listen to him… Again” Jisoo muttered.
“If this is about dad,I’ll rather not want to talk about it” Ricky stood up but Jiwoo grabbed his hand.
“Please son,you should know he only want the best for you. He might not say this often but he loves you dearly like his own son….”
“Really?” Ricky scoffed.
Jiwoo nodded.
“Let’s just talk some other time mum… You should leave”
“Huh?”
“Please mum” Ricky sighed and entered his room.
•••
“Hey! Is there something bothering you?” Amelia said,sitting next to Lily.
“No…”
“Are you sure? You’ve been pacing out! Did something happen?” Amelia asked worriedly.
“No. I’m just a bit stressed out” Lily force a smile. Deep down,she couldn’t get her mind off what Kelly said.
“Did you watch the news about Trace…
“Yh. I was going to mention it first. Thank you so much for helping him,I would have been sad if he really left the group”
“It’s all because of you” Amelia smiled.
“But then,how did you get the footage at the hotel?” Lily suddenly said.
Amelia went mute.
“I- I’ve to get back to Mrs Rose,I was helping her with the plucking” Amelia stood and left.
“Is she hiding something from me?”
Her phone suddenly chimed. It’s a new text,from an unknown number.
.WE’VE TO TALK. I’LL TEXT YOU THE ADDRESS.
“Who’s this?” Lily mumbled as she stared at the text.
•••
<NELLY RESTAURANTS>
Lily entered the restaurants and her face immediately formed a frown when she saw Tanya.
She’s the one who texted her?
She scoffed before walking up to her.
“Why did you want us to meet?”
“Take a seat first,would you like to have something to eat?” Tanya grinned.
“I don’t think we’re that close enough to eat together. What’s this about? And how did you get my number?” Lily inquired.
“You seem to be the only one who don’t know who I am. I’ve my ways” Tanya chuckled.
Lily scoffed.
“What did you want to talk about?” She asked.
“I need you to help me get close to Ri…. Jun hee!”
“Why will I ask him to do that?” Lily raised her brows.
“Cos he only listen to you” Tanya snapped.
“What?!”
“Didn’t you know? Are you that blind to notice that jerk is in love with you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about,quit pretending!” Tanya yelled.
Lily got up and try to leave.
“This is my last warning Ɓîtçh! There’s nothing I can do when it’s comes to him,even if it’s means ending your miserable life,I’ll do it” Tanya rolled her eyes and stormed out of the restaurant.
•••
<SOUND SCAPE ENTERTAINMENT••7PM>
“Aren’t you tired of rehearsing? The second round is still untill next week. We should take a rest” Kelly said turning off the music player.
“But Kelly….
“He’s right. All my ribs are hurting like hell!” Cody pouted childishly.
Trace turned to Kris and Ricky.
“First time I’ll be agreeing with him… Let’s just continue tomorrow” Kris suggested.
“Fine! Tomorrow morning…” Trace said and walk out with Cody. Kelly left too.
“Aren’t you tired?” Kris asked as Ricky started doing the dance steps again.
“You’re overdoing it” Kris said, noticing the sweat pouring down Ricky’s forehead.
“I think you need a break. We’ll resume tomorrow. You don’t want to hurt yourself,right?”
Ricky shook his head and kept dancing, completely lost in the music.
“I’m fine” he said,his voice breathless.
“You’re not a robot,you know,” Kris said, ahint of concern in his voice.
Ricky finally stopped dancing.
“Here!” Kris hand him a bottle of water.
Ricky uncapped it and drank gulped some of the content.
“She didn’t believe me” Ricky said dropping the bottle.
“Who?”
“I told her I’m Ricky…..”
“Really?!” Kris eyes widened.
Ricky nodded.
“Well.. I wouldn’t believe if I was her. Why not wear a mask and show her?”
The door suddenly opened and Linda came in.
“Babe?” Kris called surprisedly.
“Here you are.. I’ve been looking all over for you” Linda smiled.
“Awwn… Really?”
Ricky rolled his eyes.
“Yh,I finally got the tickets.The movie,let’s watch it tonight” Linda whispered.
“We’ve to go. Let’s talk later okay” Kris said.
“Bye Ricky!” Linda waved and left with Kris.
Ricky started packing his stuffs to leave too,but the door suddenly opened and Mr Cooper entered.
“You’re still here” He said and Ricky looked up.
“Talk about being passionate. This is one of the reasons why I love you the most,how can the rest leave when you’re all supposed to practice… No one else is willing to put in the work like you are. They don’t have the same passion and drive that you do”
“We’ve been rehearsing for hours! We all need the rest” Ricky cut him off.
Mr Cooper scoffed.
Ricky grabbed his bag and started walking out.
“You’re still refusing to bent to my request… I guess I’ll just do it my way. Who should I take care of first? Kelly?”
Ricky stopped walking.
“Or would you rather I get rid of the member you’re the closest to? Is it Trace? No… Yh,Kris?” Mr Cooper said a smug look on his face.
“Mr Cooper!!!!” Ricky yelled.
“Shouldn’t you at least drop the formality since we’re the only one here,son….” Mr Cooper smirked
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To Be Continued