♫ Will you ride this sinking ship with me?

♫ Will you climb aboard

♫ Knowing that we’ll drown

♫ In the middle of the deep deep blue

♫ We’ll be Romeo & Juliet

♫ Down in the big unknown

♫ Will you ride this sinking ship with me?

My alarm rang, blasting out pH’s Sinking Ship. I laid there, in bed with my crimpled up clothes that I didn’t bother changing out of. I felt my mouth sink of morning breath and built up grim from not brushing my teeth. My hair was greasy and my skin, oily. Some say stubbles make a man look hotter but mine makes me look like a teenager in the middle of puberty. Feeling gross and filthy, I just listened to my alarm play.

I had these few days off but I had forgotten to turn off my alarm. However, I had gone to sleep fairly early so waking up now didn’t seem so bad.

In my cracked morning voice, I sang with the chorus of the song. It’s one of the OST songs for How To Lie, a book turned movie that's currently promoting even though they're still in post production. The bestselling book was about a girl’s double life as an underground assassin. There was action, there was romance, and there was comedy. However, the reason why I fell in love with the novel was because I felt that I could relate to her. A girl with a big heart, but unfortunately, that heart held nothing inside it.

♫D-♫D-♫D-♫D-♫D-♫D-♫

♫D-♫D-♫D-♫D-♫D-♫D-♫

My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. It was Eric, my manager.

“Hello?”

“How was your first day of break?”

“I almost died.”

“I know, I know, you’ve been working a lot lately. Take a break. I’ve got a new project for Dawn Front for when you come back.” And with that, Eric hung up.

Eric probably thought I meant the incident where an overhead lamp almost fell on me. Sadly he didn’t know that that brush of death made me want to pursue it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I suddenly sat up on my bed, frantic as I realized I had forgotten to get her number! While as I was wallowing in despair, my phone once again rang out. It was one of the other band members, Shil.

“Hello?”

“SEPH!!! We’re going out for a drink later tonight. Are you coming?”

I swear his name should just be Shrill since that’s what his voice sounds like all the time. It’s a mystery how his singing voice is so touchingly deep.

“No. I need to be in my tip top shape tomorrow.”

“OH LA LA. Someone got a date?” Shil teased.

“Yes. Don’t get in my way. Tell the others not to call me unless it’s an emergency.” With that, I hung up. Soon, a text came my way.

『 Name, pic, and we better get the details on how you met, how the date went, and if you’re official when you get back from break! 』

I chuckled but my mood turned down. How we met… I sighed again. I decided to put that problem away for some other time.

Ding. Another text came in.

『 Lanjin Tower, Noon.

Lavender rose tea with crystal pearls.

no sweetness. no milk. 』

Confused, I looked at the name of the sender – Vivian Oang. Who? I couldn’t place a face to the name even though I’m usually so good at it. It was quite obvious I had met this person before otherwise, how else would I have their name saved in my contacts list. As I was trying to put a face to the name, another text came.

『 Wear dog ears. 』

My eyes widen in shock as I realized SHE was called Vivian. Excited, I texted back.

『 I’m Seph Young. 』

Immediately, my phone rang out and what I saw shocked my heart.

『I know.

Seph Young

Heir to NIN Inc

Born to Ru Young and Tes Pan

Oldest of 3 children.

Lead vocal of Dawn Front

Struggling with depression 』

I… didn’t know what to feel when I read all that. She knew me? But how much did she know? All she said were information that was already released online. A range of emotions flooded within me. Disappointment, anger, fear, hope, and happiness.

Disappointed. Because now I know she already had an impression of me.

Anger. If she knew that much about me, she must either be a fan or cared enough some way or somehow to do research on me. Is that why her eyes always seems like they knew everything? Because she thought she did?

Fear. I had begun to like her. But how we met…

Hope. She’s still talking to me.

Happiness. She still gave me a chance. To be her pet but still, I’ll be close to her.

Ding. Another text interrupted my emotional tornado.

『 Even if you google me, you won’t find anything. 』

I let out a sigh again. I wonder if she knew all the things running through my head right now.

『 How did you get my number? 』

『 While you were having your moment yesterday, I took your phone and entered my number. Knew you were too out of it to remember to ask for it. Still didn’t even notice I changed your wallpaper huh. 』

I hurriedly went to my home screen. Sure enough, there was a selfie of her with the brightly lit city behind her. The candle light gave her a soft glow while the city light gave her a cheerful vibe. I ran my thumb over her cheek. With a smile that even I knew looked silly, I replied.

『 You’re beautiful. 』

『 I know. 』

Laughing at her self-confidence, I got out of bed to groom myself into a squeaky clean pet for tomorrow’s “walk”.