#which costs like a zillion dollars

[zouisexo]

.

[fans4wga]

'The Hollywood strike can and must win – for all of us, not just writers and actors'

Excerpt:

"The thousands of workers engaged in this enormous, multi-union Hollywood strike – something America hasn’t seen since 1960 – represent the frontline of two battles that matter to every single American. You might not naturally pick “writers and actors” to be the backbone of your national defense force, but hey, we go to war with the army we have. In this case, they are well suited to the fight at hand.

The first battle is between humanity and artificial intelligence. Just a year ago, it seemed like a remote issue, a vague and futuristic possibility, still tinged with a touch of sci-fi. Now, AI has advanced so fast that everyone has grasped that it has the potential to be to white-collar and creative work what industrial automation was to factory work. It is the sort of technology that you either put in a box, or it puts you in a box. And who is going to build the guardrails that prevent the worst abuses of AI?

Look around. Do you believe that the divided US government is going to rouse itself to concerted action in time to regulate this technology, which grows more potent by the month? They will not. Do you know, then, the only institutions with the power to enact binding rules about AI that protect working people from being destroyed by a bunch of impenetrable algorithms that can produce stilted, error-filled simulacrums of their work at a fraction of the cost?

Unions. When it comes to regulating AI now, before it gets so widely entrenched that it’s impossible to roll back, union contracts are the only game in town. And the WGA and Sag-Aftra contracts, which cover entire industries, will go down in history as some of the first major efforts to write reasonable rules governing this technology that is so new that even knowing what to ask for involves a lot of speculation.

What we know for sure is this: if we leave AI wholly in the hands of tech companies and their investors, it is absolutely certain that AI will be used in a way that takes the maximum amount of money out of the pockets of labor and deposits it in the accounts of executives and investment firms. These strikes are happening, in large part, to set the precedent that AI must benefit everyone rather than being a terrifying inequality accelerator that throws millions out of work to enrich a lucky few. Even if you have never been to Hollywood, you have a stake in this fight. AI will come for your own industry soon enough.

And that brings us to the second underlying battle here: the class war itself. When you scrape away the relatively small surface layer of glitz and glamor and wealthy stars, entertainment is just another industry, full of regular people doing regular work. The vast majority of those who write scripts or act in shows (or do carpentry, or catering, or chauffeuring, or the zillion other jobs that Hollywood produces) are not rich and famous. The CEOs that the entertainment unions are negotiating with make hundreds of millions of dollars, while most Sag-Aftra members don’t make the $26,000 a year necessary to qualify for the union’s health insurance plan."

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[fearowkenya]

im soooooo mad

definitely not mad At anyone, but the circumstances in which i find myself are frustrating ):

every time around the holidays when i have to hang out w/ my stepdads family i think to myself Hmm i would love to get to know them better and be more implicated in their lives so that i can Feel Something (some kind of attachment or what have you) so i always tell myself Well then you gotta start going to more family functions otherwise theyre going to assume you dont want to go , and then they just won't invite you, and then of course you will feel Nothing and make no connections

anyway so my stepdads niece is getting married today and months ago i agreed to go which is fine , no one had to strong arm me into it, was even kinda looking forward to being Part of something.

smashcut to now, and its just the worst possible time for me to go anywhere. i dont even think id be able to get back home tonight :/ id have to stay at my moms and go home in the morning and i hate that. for so many reasons.

cabbi (my cat) is just recovering from a UTI so im going to be thinking about her all day

its like a zillion degrees today (~30C today, 'feels like' 30-38) and we live on the third floor so our apartment gets even hotter. theres AC in only one room in my apartment and cabbi hates the AC. girl im sorry for trying to make sure you dont turn into a puddle

even tho the weddings at 3:30 i have to take the fuckall early train at 9:30am so i cant do my normal saturday routine for the second week in a row

i have to stay over at my moms (i might try to find a way around this) so i cant even go home tonight and start my sunday routine properly in the morning

my roommate also happens to be away today and is similarly not going to be back until like midnight so no one is gonna be home to feed cabbi , and tbh thats whatever , i can give her all of her food this morning , its the uti recovery + outrageous heat that im worried about

i knew this was happening but this week has been so turbulent that i didnt like, remember the Exact Circumstances as outlined above and now im just seething about not having been more prepared and making a better plan

"mattie take an uber home" i am not kidding you it will cost like 100 dollars if i do that. my mom lives so fuckign far away from here, and the wedding is in the same town that my mom lives in so i couldnt even take an uber from there

"mattie what about public transit" the closest public transit is a town over, and its a weekend so the schedule is skeletal at best

"mattie cant you get a lift with someone else who does not live out in the beautiful but very distant sticks" i am going to try but i dont now if i will succeed

fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[earthstellar]

Holy fuck, someone bought the War for Cybertron Unicron only to dump it at a thrift store???

THAT SHIT COSTS NEARLY $600. SIX HUNDRED USA DOLLARS. 

I freak out whenever I decide to splurge and spend £20 on a figure, how fucking rich are some of these collectors out here buying UNICRON only to drop him at a a thrift store? 

I can’t even blame the store owner for being like “do not touch, not for sale”, it’s a massive, heavy figure worth a fucking zillion moneys.

Which begs the question why it’s on display in the first place, but who knows, maybe the store owner price checked it, realised it’s worth a lot, and has to display it for some period of time before claiming it themselves, lol. 

Either way, there are some TF collectors out here with unimaginable cash, apparently.

That, or a collector died and their stuff got dropped off at this thrift store, in which case, that’s sad. :( 

Actually, considering the (vintage? doesn’t look like a re-issue) box in front of him, that might be the case. 

If so, RIP collector. Raising an energon cube in their honour. 

The Chaos Bringer Unicron himself, sadly not for sale :(

[the100thballoon]

at my old house, on a small cul-de-sac right off the main road we always got our lawn mowed by this old man (not dissimilar to dick van dyke) who lived a few minutes down that main road. the main road was named after his family, and he was the only one still left in the area. my family discovered, after several years of confusion, that he was dating the lady whose elderly mother lived behind us. (also, he had beef with our other elderly neighbor, a retired police detective who was also named rich. the problem, apparently, was that rich the detective started getting his lawn mowed by someone other than rich the lawn guy, and this was Highly Problematic and Deeply Offensive.)

anyway. rich the lawn guy, legend that he was, lived on a VERY rundown little lot, and yes, lot is the only possible correct word for his little space. he had actually purchased his lot as well as the one next to it and the one behind it, and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it except store his heavy duty equipment and a lot of inexplicable stacks of logs. his house did not have siding, as was typical of the homes in our area. at least, not normal siding. the best way to describe it is driftwood? it looked like driftwood, exactly the kind of house you would expect of a retired sailor with leathery wrinkled skin. he was never, to my knowledge, a sailor. he did speak fondly of riding his motorcycle through cornfields while the police chased him. occasionally we would be driving home from taco bell and pass rich the lawn guy, who might be puttering down the road in a skidsteer, ford pickup, or bicycle- whatever had struck his fancy. rich the lawn guy was a character, and his house matched.

we didn't have an HOA in my area, as far as i know, since we were weirdly situated, ten minutes from an ivy-league college town where it costs approximately ten zillion dollars to park on the street for an hour, and ten minutes in the other direction from the state capital, which is also the kind of town where you could watch drug deals happen on the sidewalk in front of the library. our mail would have any one of up to six different town names. so given the location of our cul-de-sac, we didn't have an HOA.

but we did have the township, and it was committed to doing its job. they saw rich the lawn guy with his piles of logs, giant mysterious hill covered in patchy sod, and three to five burnt-orange cat heavy duty vehicles. my mother still speaks of the time she looked in her rearview and saw rich the lawn guy driving a frontloader. rich the lawn guy's property did not, to my knowledge, have a frontloader.

suffice it to say, the township did not like rich the lawn guy. specifically, they were not big fans of his driftwood house. they sent him a letter telling him to Paint It Or Else.

rich the lawn guy painted his house.

he gave it a clear coat.

the township did not try again. rich the lawn guy had won, and now he lived in a slightly reflective driftwood house.

[plumbergilbert3]

How to Deal With(a) Very Bad Plumbing Gilbert AZ

Couldn't so be astounding, however, assuming that were attainable? Here is a fast in and out model… I just purchased a delightful new Condo (new to me, it was worked in 1970), and my Complex as of now has Solar Panels on our rooftops, which I believe is extremely moderate.

Plumbing Gilbert AZ

Truth be told, I might truly want to see one bunch of the Solar Panels associated with one of the pools at my complex (unexpectedly, I would like the Solar Panels associated with MY number one pool in the complex (there are 3 - - yippee!), the one encompassed with a zillion plants and trees… like a little desert spring in the city!).

Yet, beside my own personal stake in having a beautiful warm pool the entire year, I believe it's awesome that we could utilize our Solar Energy to warm it. Consider the possibility that every one of the pools in North America were warmed with Solar Energy.

Furthermore, assuming there were a workable method for boring into the earth to get to the Goethermal energy to change over into energy to control various parts of my Condo Complex without upsetting the region to an extreme, couldn't that be an extraordinary utilization of supportable energy? The issue could be the sheer beginning expenses included, however couldn't the expense be off-set by the general reserve funds into what's to come? Well… I'm jam-stuffed brimming with questions like that… what's more, many a lot seedier inquiries, as well, yet assuming you've perused any of my other stuff, you definitely knows that!! Haha! I can't see you haw energized (and eased) I am to have my Site back up… man, that was startling.

I was down for more than a month, however in my 'vacation', I completely revamped my totally different spot! Woo Hoo! It's dazzling… vaulted all through, which is exceptionally surprising in a 'City Condo'. Man, I cherishes me a Vaulted Ceiling! I think they cause the entire spot to feel a lot more spacious.

If you end up being in the pains of a Build, this moment, and you were considering having the conventional level ceilings,have a gaze toward the potential in your roof to Vault it. You're simply going to protect the rooftop pillars and drywall over that (gracious, I have a decent connection for this… jump into my 'Protection and Drywall Page', and you'll see a few pretty cool photos of this interaction). At any rate, the expense is insignificant, considering the way that beautiful and open your new house will be.

I've never taken a gander at Plumbing Gilbert AZ the expense of raising the roofs to make another Vault in a Renovation, yet in the event that you have no primary changes outside of raising the roof, it shouldn't cost so much, in the plan of things… however, you realize I work in 'Development Dollars', so consistently have more available than you naturally suspect it will cost, to ensure you're actually living inside your means and don't flip out when you get the bill! Alright, it's incredible to see you, once more! Did I specify how extraordinary you look? Have you shed another 10 pounds?? Not me! haha! Despite the fact that I guaranteed my Nurse-Practictioner that I would shed 10 pounds so I can remain on The Pill, since I'm almost certain that in the event that I don't continue to take 'The Pill',

I'll exchange the 10 pounds I should lose for a 10 pound child, and that seems like poorly conceived notion for me (since God Knows I figure I could get pregnant assuming a decent looking virile man strolled past me…which helps me to remember one of my number one jokes, this year, the "Forthright, I dropped the child" Stork joke, where Frank and his Stork Buddy are 'conveying' babies…), then again, actually I am incredibly, attached to infants, so I am attempting to recall that I live in America, presently.

However much I couldn't imagine anything better than to have another child, I truly shouldn't, what with working professionally, presently, an' all! So my occupation in the following 2 months is to lose that damn 10 pounds, and make my Nurse-Practitioner happy! Hello, Apple Crumble Diet! Farewell delicious chocolate.

For More Details Click : Plumbing Gilbert AZ

[indianajonessadhats]

I suspect it more comes down to the structure of the chocolate. In the construction of it in the video (which I realize now I did not link: TikTok, longer cut on Youtube), there's a structural dome to hold up the sculpted exterior and I would suppose make it wearable (does someone eat these afterwards? I would... not be inclined to eat something that just touched someone's hair*). I'm no chocolate sculptor but if this were, let's say, clay, you would definitely want an interior support to hold up a thin vertical slab like that because otherwise it would crumple while it was still unhardened. Then, because it is probably a zillion times easier to roll out a flat large piece of chocolate than try to selectively shape down a bubble or something a la shaping an actual felt blank, he also does this architecturally-minded maneuver:

SLAP A ROOF ON THAT BABY.

And looking at the "wall" here, there's already a cutdown in the back, so you can see where the connection isn't supported at the same height (and I suspect the weird bump in the middle is where it is resting on the interior support dome).

Also, just for shits and giggles, it's sitting flat on a cake stand, so there's a lot less curvature to the brim.

Altogether I think it's pretty good (I honestly wasn't going to post it until I noticed the back on my second or third watch-through). The curvatures and angles and behaviors we as fanatics understand about felt and have developed an eye for are, tragically, not only things less than 1% of fans care about but also decreasingly noticed by your average fashion consumer because we just societally don't wear hats anymore, and they're mass produced almost always when we do. If this were a felt hat I would take it over many real hats currently in existence (and then knock that back dent out); so, credit to him as a sculptor trying to translate one material to another. (And a structurally fickle one, at that!)

However, to be real real, I don't think Bethesda likely gives that much of a shit, and probably Lucasfilm doesn't either. Disney's always busy raking in the Star Wars dollars and it's not like the ever-shrinking, profit-minded Hollywood prioritizes detailed artistry unless some artist is out there fighting for it. They're (collectively) out here trying to market a new video game with viral chocolate sculptures and not-even-half-assed IHOP promotions. (Also, even more Bethesda!failure at that last link.) If Lucasfilm does have someone dedicated to the minute developments and lore of their properties, they're either doing a bad job by Indiana Jones, or it's not on their radar at all.

(Lucasfilm, if you're looking to hire someone to be a brand pedant, I'm available.)

It's not just them, though, I do really think it's more of a Hollywood problem at large. Smaller studios have been bought up and now megastudios are only invested in an IP as far as they can squeeze a new movie or streaming show or theme park ride or licensing deal out of it; they're not in it to create, nor are they even invested in propping up their own legacy by thinking long-term about the brand. It's immediate and expendable. Anything that costs money is a liability. Brand design bibles are a thing of the past; in-house design is a thing of the past; what you definitely can do is pay pennies on the dollar to some internet influencer fan to do something for you. As older creators retire and sell off their work, the buyers are collectors at best and predators at worst. Prioritizing the legacy and craft is not even a scribbled inkblot on their agenda.

(To be frank, I don't think one of the world's leading choclatiers commands "pennies on the dollar" for his work, but I have seen enough we-stole-this-idea-from-Etsy-fans quality of merch from Disney/Lucasfilm that I do know that to be their level of fucks given. Couldn't tell you about Bethesda but that "collector's edition" globe Does Not Make Me Think Otherwise.)

*I will not make an "eat my hat" pun. I will not make an "eat my hat" pun. I will not m—

This is a sad hat.

This is a sad hat courtesy of... Amaury Guichon?!

[wilhelm scream]

However, still not the worst chocolate hat sins we've been witness to here. And it's wearable!

[officialcameronfrye]

i am TRYING to find good straight leg/mom jeans that have a darker kinda indigo coloured wash that won't cost a zillion dollars so i tried checking tiktok (which really is my fault) and all the people are holding up medium blue jeans like... i specifically searched DARK WASH JEANS

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry #25 (part one)

Victor

The past couple of days have been interesting.

First of all, I grossly underestimated Yuri’s ability to shop. Seriously, set that man loose in a sufficiently large retail area, and there’s no stopping him. He got access to his trust fund when he turned twenty-five, and I guess he figured that since he doesn’t actually need it to support himself, he’d go wild with his first monthly allowance from it.

Today, we came here to the city, and I got dragged all over the place by my very enthusiastic soulmate, who evidently knows where every menswear shop, shoe store and jewelry boutique in Kyoto is located. Mostly, I think my main purpose was either to be arm candy or to carry all his shopping bags. That, and I was there to loiter outside every fitting room and answer the question "Does this make me look too skinny?" a zillion times.

I'm not complaining, though. By the time we were done, he was tired, but he seemed happy and way more relaxed than he'd been over the past week, and I was grateful to see him doing better. Too much stress is bad for his chronic illness, and we'd both prefer that he doesn't get sick again any time soon, so anything that helps him unwind is good in my opinion.

The only thing I bought, other than lunch, was a cute surprise present for Yuri, which I'm sure he'll be pleased to show you later. That's not to say I didn't come out of it with anything for me, however. Yuri bought me a suit, because he said I needed one for our wedding photos.

Now, before anybody gets too worked up, let me just say that we're not actually getting married. With all our joking around about it, we somehow had the idea that it'd be fun to get some couple portraits taken by a professional photographer. We've been referring to them as our wedding photos ever since we decided to do it.

But, let me get back to my new suit for a minute. It was a fairly significant purchase, considering I haven't worn one since my high school prom. Yuri took me to this fancy shop where a sales lady literally did all my measurements before she even let me look at anything. Then, she recommended some colours and styles she thought would work for me, and followed me around to help me choose.

Apparently, this is how it's done in Yuri's world. Yuri is so unpretentious and normal that sometimes I forget he comes from a wealthy family and that rich people do stuff a lot differently than people like me. Last time I bought a suit, my mom took me to a department store, gave me two hundred dollars and basically told me to pick something that fit, in any colour but grey, because it wouldn't look good with my hair.

Turns out, I rock grey suits.

I probably don't need to tell you, this ensemble cost way more than two hundred Canadian dollars. My mom would have a fit if she saw the receipt. I almost did too, but Yuri was using words like 'elegant' and ‘sophisticated’ to describe how I looked in my new suit, and he was gazing at me like he thought the only place it would look better than it did on me would be on the floor of our hotel room, so I stopped worrying too much about the price tag.

Right. Our hotel room. I guess I need to backtrack a bit, to explain what we're doing here in the city in the first place.

You already know what happened between me and Yuri on the weekend. It was pretty awful, but thankfully, we made up on Saturday night.

Yesterday, which was Sunday, we stayed in bed till mid-morning and had a long talk, and then some making up of the nonverbal variety, the intensity of which came as a surprise to both of us. Maybe it was because we were both starved for attention, but we got way more excited than usual, and ended up trying some things that neither of us had ever done before. It was a little scary, maybe more so for Yuri than for me, but it was exhilarating at the same time. Also, it was a great distraction from our current problems.

After another nap, we finally got up and had a bath, and then Yuri took me to the walk-in medical clinic in town in the afternoon. Luckily, my regular GP works in that clinic a couple of weekends a month, and this was one of his weekends. I would've been fine with any doctor, but it was nice to see someone who's already got some idea of the overall state of my health.

I explained to Dr. Sato what had happened, and he examined my shoulder and back. He asked me a bunch of questions about how I was feeling psychologically, and he agreed that I should have a short break from work. He also suggested that I should speak to a counsellor about my experience. I'm still not sure I want to do that, even if it would only be one or two sessions, but Dr. Sato gave me a recommendation anyway, so at least I have the contact information of someone I can make an appointment with, if I change my mind.

After leaving the doctor's office, we went to the fitness center so I could give Dr. Sato's note to Tomiko. She works Wednesday to Sunday, so I knew she'd be there.

I was caught off-guard by how nervous I felt as I walked into the place. It's a good thing Yuri was holding my hand, because I think I might've turned around and left, otherwise.

We found Tomiko in the administration office, and when I handed her my sick note, she didn't seem at all surprised.

"We had a complaint," she said.

"About me?"

"Well, not about you specifically, but it certainly had something to do with you," she said. "it seems we have a very observant custodian. She noticed that you finished your first session on Wednesday morning quite early, and she said it looked like you were limping when you came out. When she went in afterward to clean and disinfect the room, she noticed a crack in the mirror."

At that, I felt as if my stomach dropped. Ren had pushed me against the wall twice, and both had been really forceful shoves, but I hadn't realized he'd pushed me hard enough to crack the mirrored panel on the wall. For some reason, I had an irrational fear that I was about to get fired, or that I was going to be responsible for the damages to the mirror, at the very least.

Yuri must've noticed a change in my expression or posture or something, because he moved his chair closer to me and put his hand on my leg, under the table and out of Tomiko’s view.

"Have you looked into it?" Yuri asked.

"I asked the custodian to fill out a written incident report, but I only just received it yesterday around lunchtime," Tomiko said. "I've forwarded it to the General Manager, and he says he's going to contact our security company to review the camera recording from that room from Wednesday morning."

"That's good," was Yuri's response.

Tomiko fixed me with a serious look. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me about, Victor? Anything I should let the General Manager know before he sees that video?" She flicked her gaze down toward Dr. Sato's letter. "Since your doctor has written that you need to be off work due to a trauma-induced psychological injury, I'm going to assume there's a story.”

"If I tell you, what's going to happen?" I asked.

"That depends on what you tell me," she said.

I glanced at Yuri, maybe hoping he'd say or do something to help me get out of talking about it, but he gave me an encouraging little smile and said quietly, "It's okay. I'm here."

So, I told Tomiko what she and the General Manager would see on the video. It took several minutes to explain, and I cried a little bit. It definitely wasn't easy to talk about, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd imagined, and by the time I was done I was amazed to realize I felt kind of relieved.

"You should have reported this immediately," Tomiko said, once I'd finished. "I understand why you didn't, and I respect that, but this isn't the sort of situation you should try to handle on your own."

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry. Am I still going to have a job after this?"

"If everything you've told me is true, then I don't see why you wouldn't. I'll speak to the General Manager tomorrow morning, and once we've reviewed the video, then we'll make a decision."

"Tomorrow's your day off," I said, without thinking.

Tomiko smiled. "Sometimes we do things that are outside our job description," she said. "I know you've only been working here for a couple of months, but I want you to know, you've made a big impression on me and your other co-workers, and we've already gotten some great feedback from a few clients. I'd hate to lose you so soon."

"Thanks," I said.

"I'm going to recommend to the General Manager that we continue to pay you while you're on your medical leave," she said. "If everything you've told me is accurate, I think he'll agree that's the least we can do for you."

"Thank you. I really appreciate that."

"We may want to meet with you, once we've seen the video."

"Okay," I said. "Yuri and I were planning to go away for a while, though."

"That's fine. Just don't leave the country." she said. I knew she was making a joke, but it felt kind of weird to hear her say it, considering that leaving the country was exactly what we'd been planning to do.

Of course that means our hastily-planned trip to Canada is temporarily on hold. We're probably still going, but now we have to wait at least until I receive confirmation that I'm still employed.

When we got back to the house, we packed some stuff anyway, because even though we knew we couldn't go far, we still intended to escape to the city for a few days. I had to show Yuri how, because he's the sort of person who'd bring five suitcases when one suitcase and a backpack would do. I also learned that he’s never packed his own luggage for more than an overnight stay. He hasn’t travelled much since moving out of his parents’ house, and when he lived at home and his family went on longer trips, either his mother or the housekeeper packed for him.

He whined about having to pack light, but I pointed out that I had a sore shoulder and my own stuff to carry, and he was only allowed to bring as many bags as he could manage by himself.

"If you can't carry it from the car to our room, you can't bring it," I said. "Besides, you know we're going to leave with way more stuff than we arrive with, and you're going to have to be responsible for that, too."

He had the grace to look embarrassed. "That's true. I mean, I might want to shop a little."

"Only a little?"

"I'll try to behave myself."

I didn't entirely believe him about the shopping, with good reason as it turned out, but I will give him credit for succeeding in keeping his luggage to one suitcase and one small bag.

Once we'd finished with that, Yuri stayed upstairs and called his mother while I worked on dinner. I don't know what they talked about, but by the time he joined me in the kitchen for some chicken and vegetables and steamed rice, he was looking exceptionally pleased with himself.

That's when he informed me where we were going to be staying.

On Saturday night, when he first suggested we should stay in a hotel, I was picturing something like an EconoLodge, like the sort of low-budget place where my mom and I stayed the few times we visited some old university friends of hers up in Britechester. I was not at all expecting the high-class address he programmed into our car's GPS after we’d concluded our big shopping adventure this afternoon.

When we got there, I thought it was a mistake, until he told me, "Drive up to the curb in front of the entrance and wait."

I wasn't sure what we were supposed to be waiting for, but it didn't take long for me to find out. A guy in a uniform that looked like it was straight out of a film set in the fifties came out and waved for me to roll down my window. I did, and he asked me for the keys.

Slightly panicked, I looked over at Yuri in the passenger's seat. "Why does he want the keys?"

"It's courtesy parking," Yuri said. "He'll bring our luggage in, too."

"Really?"

"Get out of the car, and let him do his job. We can check in, and by the time that's done, our stuff will be inside, and we can get someone to take it up to our room."

"I can carry—“

"Victor, get out," Yuri said, looking amused. "It'll be fine. Trust me."

I hopped out of the driver's seat, and gave Uniform Guy a thumbs up. "Try not to scratch the paint," I said, and grinned at him.

He didn't seem to find me entertaining.

Yuri came around the front of the car and did his best to hustle me away from it and from Uniform Guy. "Come on. You can at least try to be a gentleman and walk me in."

"Uhh... right," I said.

I tried to position my arm like I'd seen men do in movies. It must've been right, because Yuri slipped his own arm under mine and rested his hand on the inside of my elbow.

He smiled up at me. "Very nice. You've been paying attention to all the historical romances we've been enjoying."

"You've been enjoying," I corrected. "I just sit there and watch them with you as an excuse to cuddle."

He laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Inside, I had to make a conscious effort not to stand there and gawk at everything like the uncultured idiot I am. If I’d thought the courtesy parking guy looked like he came from a movie, I’d just found the movie set. The place was gorgeous, and every centimetre seemed to exude class. I felt awkward and out of place, not to mention underdressed. People who come to places like this probably don’t wear sneakers and hoodies when they show up.

“Yuri, can we afford this?" I asked, already kind of worried about what the answer would be.

"Us, personally? No, but my parents can. When I explained to Mama that we needed to get away for a few days, she suggested we should stay here, and she said we could put it on the corporate account."

"Really? Is she going to get in trouble for that?"

"I hope not. She's good at circumventing Papa's ridiculous rules, though, so I think it'll be okay,” he said. “By the way, she said she's going to come here and see us before we leave. She wants to talk to us about something.”

"I'm not sure how I feel about that, honestly," I said.

"I still don't understand why you're so afraid of her."

"Because she's scary?"

"Why does everyone think my mother is scary? Seiji and Taka have both said that about her, too."

"I can't speak for them, but for me it's how she looks at me, like she's constantly analyzing me and looking for reasons why she shouldn't like me."

"She does that to everyone," Yuri said. "Don't worry. She likes you."

"She does?”

That was news. I wouldn’t have suspected that Rei Okamoto liked me in the least, if all I had was her demeanour toward me to base it on.

“Mama isn’t always good at showing how she feels,” Yuri said. “But, she does like you. She told me yesterday that she appreciates you for taking care of me. Almost as well as she could, she said, and coming from her, that’s high praise.”

“Wow. That’s… unexpected,” I said, slightly stunned by the revelation.

By that point, the lady at the front desk was finished with the guest ahead of us, and it was our turn to check in. I marvelled at how easily Yuri handled everything, calmly explaining that there should be a reservation made under the corporate account of Okamoto Electronics, his parents’ company. The lady at the desk told him it’d be “the usual room” and handed him a key card. She gave him some information about room service, the pool and fitness facilities, and on-site entertainment, all of which sounded awesome to me.

“Enjoy your stay,” she said

“Thank you. I’m sure we will.”

“You’re not even impressed by this, are you?” I said, once Yuri came back to where I was waiting with our bags, which had been brought in by Uniform Guy, just like he said they would be.

“Maybe not as impressed as you are,” Yuri said. “But, this isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence for me either, you know. Hana and I didn’t always get to travel with our parents like Yuki does. More often than not, we got left behind at home with the housekeeper and our tutor.”

“But, you’ve been here before and you know what to say and do. I didn’t even know about the parking.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “Let’s go to our room, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“I’m kind of nervous about our room,” I confessed. “Like, I’ll probably be scared to touch anything.”

“I know there’ll be one thing in our room you won’t be scared to touch.” He gave me a cheeky little grin.

“Is someone trying to tell me that he wants to play?”

“Someone might be doing that, yes," he said. "Oh, did I mention our room has a hot tub?”

“An actual hot tub? In our room?”

“Mm-hmm, and I think we should take full advantage of it, don’t you? If we’re going to be hiding out at an expensive hotel, we might as well make the most of it.”

“And you want to play in the hot tub first.”

“I do.” He squeezed my arm. "We can revisit all the spots that made it so much fun yesterday morning, and see if it’s just as fun in water.”

"I want to know what you did with Yuri," I teased him. "My Yuri isn't usually this forward, so you must be somebody else."

"It's definitely me," he said. "I just never realized we could get that result without doing something neither of us is comfortable with. I liked it."

“Judging by the fact that you want to try again so soon, I’d say you more than liked it.”

“What can I say? You obviously have a talent for pleasing me.” He tugged me gently toward the stairs. “Now, come on. You’re not allowed to keep me waiting any longer.”

I laughed. “Okay, Mr. Bossy.”

Our room was every bit as impressive as the lobby, and it did indeed have a hot tub. To me, it was more like an apartment than just a room. Other than our bedroom that opened onto a balcony, there was an en suite bathroom, and another connecting door that led into a space with a kitchenette, table and chairs, and a sitting area with a TV. I was incredibly glad Yuri's parents were going to be getting the bill, because renting this place for four nights would probably cost more than two months' rent for our house.

The first thing we did was to change into something more comfortable, and then I decided I needed to document my experience, so I could prove to my family that I actually stayed in a five-star hotel.

Yuri was laughing at me. "Are you taking a selfie right now?"

"Come here and be in the picture with me," I said. "I need to show this to my mom."

"I'm not sure I want your mom to see me in my robe. It's not exactly appropriate."

It was my turn to laugh. "Weren't you the one who was talking all naughty to me down in the lobby a few minutes ago? And now you're worried about my mom seeing you in a robe?"

"I wasn't naughty," he said. "And it's my choice if I don't want to show off my chest to just anybody."

"Pull your robe closed then," I said. "Once we're done, you can show off your cute chest to me. How about that?"

He was blushing furiously, but he folded his robe more closely around himself and obliged my request for a photo. I have to say, he looked adorable.

I texted the picture to my mom with the caption 'Livin' the good life'. I could hardly wait to tell her all about it the next time I talked with her.

We ordered room service for dinner, or I should say Yuri ordered it, and then we watched TV until our food came. The person who brought it left it on a little wheeled cart outside our door. After we were done, we put all the dishes back on the cart and put it in the hallway again. Yuri said someone would come by and collect it later.

I'm not even joking; I felt like I was in some kind of reality show or something. It was so surreal. This was the first time in my entire life that I'd ever done anything like this, and it felt strange, but I guess that's probably because I'm not used to living in luxury.

I'm not sure I could ever get used to this lifestyle. Yuri, though? It was obvious he was in his element. This was the life he'd been born into, and I wondered if he’d ever regretted his choice to try to make it on his own, or if he resents having to do regular things like vacuuming and grocery shopping and packing suitcases for himself, instead of having household staff to do it.

I've never doubted that he's happy with me, but seeing him fitting into the high-class world so effortlessly, I couldn't help wishing I could give him a better life. Not for the first time, I found myself feeling amazed that he thinks I'm good enough for him. He deserves so much that I can't give him, and yet somehow, he wants me anyway.

"Hey," he said, slipping his arms around me from behind and resting his head against my shoulder. "What's wrong?"

For a moment, I didn’t reply. I closed my eyes, letting myself be comforted by the warmth of his small body tucked against my back, and the sweet, calming scent of sandalwood essential oil that always manages to seem simultaneously delicate and masculine, like him.

"I’m okay," I said at last. I placed one of my hands over his and stroked his thumb with mine. "Don’t worry. I was just thinking."

"It couldn't have been about anything good," he said. "You looked really sad all of a sudden. What were you thinking about?"

"Us," I said.

"What about us?"

"I was thinking, I want to be able to give you the kind of life you deserve," I said. "But, I can't, and I'm sorry."

"I don't deserve anything more than any other person. Love and respect and kindness... you give me all those."

"I know, but I mean this." I gestured around at the room. "This is the world you belong in, and I'm so far from this, I might as well be from another planet."

Yuri carefully turned me around, never once breaking contact. Even though he had both hands on me, it was his gaze that held me in place. "Victor, I want you to listen to me, okay? This is important."

"Okay,” I said.

“Your social class doesn’t matter one bit, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t measure people’s value based on that, and you shouldn’t either. I don’t want you to ever doubt your worth because of the way you grew up.”

“But, I don’t have fancy manners like you, and I don’t know about courtesy parking and tutors and which fork you’re supposed to use for salad. I probably couldn’t even afford the salad you’re supposed to use the special fork for.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he repeated. “You can learn most of those things if you want to, and as for the money, that’s irrelevant.”

“How is it irrelevant?” I asked.

“What’s the point of being wealthy if no one loves you or cares for you?”

“Yeah, I guess, but—“

"Have you ever wondered why I call you my treasure?"

"Because I'm important to you?"

"Because you're the person I wished for my whole life and never thought I'd find," he said. “Do you know, I made a thousand paper cranes, wishing for someone who’d love me the way you do.”

“You did?”

“If you make a thousand of them, they’re supposed to bring you health or prosperity or happiness, whichever is your greatest wish. I finished my thousandth one just before I met you.” He smiled softly. “You're rare and beautiful, and you're worth more to me than anyone or anything else in the world.”

"But, I’m just—“

“You’re not ‘just’ anything. You’re everything,” he said “Yes, I'd like to live the kind of lifestyle I grew up with, but if I have to choose between that life and the life I have with you, then I'm always going to choose you. You’re my wealth and my happiness.”

“But, it’d still be nice to have money, right?”

"Yes, but it’s possible to be happy without it," he said. "I love you, and I know you love me, and no amount of money or social status could change that one way or the other."

[yokelfelonking]

Getting back to "capitalism killed R-rated movies"...

I'm guessing the argument is "film producers won't make R-rated movies anymore because they want to maximize profits by chasing the broadest possible demographics, which basically means they want everything to be PG-13". And that's not an entirely invalid take. However, let's look at the alternatives.

First (and most likely) option is that the government gives film-makers funds; but, politicians being politicians, they immediately put demands and restrictions on what can and can't be filmed, because they want propaganda pieces. You don't put out piece after piece about how brave and noble and heroic the government is, you get no money. And those sure as shit aren't gonna be rated R.

Second is the "Real Socialism!" option, wherein The People decide what movies they want to see! It's film-making by committee! The People will decide what they want!

...But then you have the current problem magnified, wherein The People are going to demand a movie that appeals to the broadest amount of The People possible. So nothing offensive, nothing that might shock children, nothing that would offend sensibilities! R-rated movies sure as shit ain't getting made under this system. It's going to be the blandest, most soulless schlock imaginable.

Then you have the system wherein the government finds a film maker, gives them a ton of money, and says "Here's a zillion dollars, go wild! Make your artistic vision come to life!"

Under this, a few R-rated movies may get made. You may see the occasional bit of absolute genius. But 99.99% of it is going to be absolute crap; complete box-office bombs. For every Pulp Fiction or Joker there's going to be a thousand Battlefield Earths and Morbiuses; the difference is that, instead of it costing the studio money, it costs you and me money.

What's more, once folks figure out that they government will give you ridiculous amounts of money to use at your own discretion, most of those movies are going to get the Rings of Power treatment wherein they get a billion dollars worth of funding and then the producers just pocket it all, using a tiny fraction to do the actual filming, with cardboard cutout set design and costumes that look like they came from Spirit Halloween.

I think one of the biggest casualties of capitalism is rated r movies

[scentedmoonbear]

Turkish rugs: everything you need to know and how to bring it home

Turkey is all amazing, and along with the natural beauties, it also has a series of local products and exquisite handicrafts, such as the famous Turkish rugs, jewelry, and ceramics.

On our trip, we visited a rug factory/shop. I don't remember the store's name, but as it's local art, I believe it's not hard to find places like this to visit. The space was huge, massive like "don't leave me alone in these 53204 rooms and with zillions of colorful Turkish rugs online everywhere". Yes, the place was impressively big!

Upon arrival, we were met by the factory owner, a Turkish man (of course) who spoke excellent English, which made it much easier to understand the entire process of making Turkish rugs. He took us through the various stages of the process. We saw the women weaving the rugs, an incredible and challenging job, and we saw the extraction of the silk, coloring, and finishing.

Regarding the work of these women, do not think that they are slaves. At least in this region, they cannot spend more than 2 hours weaving the threads. Yes, it's a pretty heavy job. Some do things at home, others at the factory. In addition to being a naturally complicated job, as they spend a few hours a day on each rug, the process becomes time-consuming.

Another fascinating thing that we were taught is that what changes in the price of a Turkish rug is the number of knots per cm²: the more knots, the more intricate the piece, the more silk, and the more work.

I confess that I was never interested in these Turkish rugs. I thought it was ok, and I will never have one of those. But then my world fell apart, and I changed everything! I saw the most absurdly incredible rugs in the universe in this place. Unbelievably beautiful prints that changed shades depending on the angle you looked at, prints that cost fortunes, prints that were so crafted jewels. Pieces I thought were impossible to make with this hand weaving method. Jaw-dropping, completely.

The cool thing is that after all the explanations, we went to a private room, and they showed several rugs, explained each one of them and why this one was more amazing than that other one—all based on tea and coffee, treated with sponge cake. And really, it was the best. I didn't expect any of that on this tour. I was even a little wary of "touring a store = rough stuff they'll force me to buy."

Now let's talk about the serious stuff, what matters: how much it costs and how to bring it home.

HOW MUCH DOES A TURKISH CARPET COST?

It's not cheap, and it can't be. If it's very cheap like

Grand Bazaar

, be suspicious. It's certainly nothing like these here. You won't find anything below 100 euros, this being the most "cheap," that is, with the most straightforward design and small size. The price varies up to 80 thousand euros. Yeah, there's something for every pocket.

What I found interesting is that all values are given in Turkish lira, euros, and dollars, so you choose what is best for you, if you have money for any of these, if you want to pay in 3 currencies and mix it all up… you can do anything. It's time for real math because you'll have to do the conversions to see what's best at that moment.

The payments are in cash or card. Also, be prepared to negotiate, but don't force the bar. They get offended, especially here with a luxury product. If it's 100 euros, don't even waste your time offering 20, it won't happen. But healthy trading is super plausible.

HOW DO I BRING A TURKISH CARPET HOME?

Ahhh, here we have three options, and the company helps you in all of them. After all, the important thing is that you leave with a rug under your arm, hehe. Oh, and look, it's no use telling me that "I'm not even going to buy it, I don't have a place to put it/I don't have money" or any other excuse, because when I get there, my friends, I want to take everything. Sell the house and take a rug like that. So it's good to go prepared with money and space in your suitcase, ok?

[worthnetjayz]

Jay-Z Net Worth 2021 Biography, Career !

Jay-Z Net Worth 2021 Biography, Career !

Jay Z Net Worth web truly worth is known to get an incredible $1 billion by 2021, which made him the wealthiest rapper possibly, plus the primary millionaire throughout the rap sector. However, Kanye has since end up being the wealthiest, pushing Jay-Z lower to #2.{Buzrush.com}

Jay Z Net Worth, brought into this world Shawn Corey Carter, is definitely an United states rapper, businessman, and investor. He grew to become one from your top selling music artists at any time, after getting offered 100 zillion data, and got 21 Grammy rewards for his function.

Just like most of the other powerful musicians and athletes worldwide, Jay Z Net Worth didn’t allow audio work as the be-all and finish-all his job. He diverse, and started purchasingrestaurants and nightclubs, their very own outfits range and record content label.

Very early Living

Shawn Carter was designed around the fourth Dec 1969 in Brooklyn, New It is possible to, You . s . Suggests. He was increased in Marcy Properties, a homes job in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant local community. Gloria, Shawn’s mum, raised him and the 3 sisters and brothers following their daddy abandoned them.

Shawn gone to Eli Whitney Older person Secondary School in Brooklyn until finally it had been closed down cheaper. {Buzrush.com}Then he went to the encompassing George Westinghouse Career and Technical Schooling Older High School with potential future rappers The Widely recognized B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, put into practice having a stint at Trenton Central Older Senior High School in Trenton, Nj. He never ever finished Senior citizen High School Graduation.

Gloria secured a increase box for Jay Z Net Worth birthday, at first sparking a wish for tunes. Subsequent this, he started free of charge-styling and publishing lines, following a brand ‘Jay-Z’ to identification his coach ‘Jay-O’.

Career

Originally, Jay-Z was marketing information through the trunk of his motor vehicle. He’d no report package, and yes it was unsigned, so he did no matter what he could to promote his tunes.

He founded the history label Roc-A-Fella documents with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs, that have been remaining with these {Buzrush.com}impressive a circulation manage Priority. This then accepted Jay-Z to produce his debut record ‘Reasonable Doubt’ in 1996.

Go toward today, and Jay-Z works with the report for several number one albums which has a solo musician round the US Billboard 200 with 14. He’s also had four amount #1’s around the Billboard Very hot 100.

The amount of is Beyonce & Jay-Z’s put together internet well worth?

By 2021, Jay-Z’s internet worth is $1 billion, and Beyonce’s internet worth is $500 million, which provides the pair a combined internet price of $1.5 billion.

So, how Exactly Does Jay Z Spend His Money?

Jay Z exists in the $6.85 mil condominium in Manhattan. He obviously booked a $400,000-every-four weeks summer time time residence within the Hamptons.

Also, he contains a massive range of vehicles as an example Tesla Version S, Bugatti Veyron, GMC Yukon, Mercedes-Benz Mclaren SLR, Moves-Royce Gold Cloud, 1957 Chevy Corvette, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ferrari F430 Spider, Most Highly Regarded Phantom plus much more.

In New Orleans, Jay Z keeps in a $2.4 million former Presbyterian Cathedral presenting three become an expert in bed rooms.

He’s a terrific selection of jewelry similar to a reliable rare metal sequence pendant which is worth $234.000. Also, he incorporates a Hublot Big Group watch well worth $73,700.

Often he brings his household on holiday on $3.6 mil non-public Bahamas area and $61.4 mil yachts.

Highlights

Listed below are the favorite attributes of Jay-Z’s profession:

Preferred Rap/Trendy-Hop Artist, American citizen Music and songs Rewards (2004, 2009)

Finest Males Trendy-Hop Artisan, Wager Rewards (2001, 2004)

Movie from the season, Wager Prizes (Otis, 2012)

Hustler with the season, Option Hip-Hop Honours (2009,2012 and 2011, 2013)

Lyricist of your season, Wager Cool-Hop Rewards (2009)

MVP of the season, Wager Fashionable-Hop Honours (2009)

Musician with the time of year, Billboard Music Honours (1999)

Very best Worldwide Men Single Performer, BRIT Awards (2010)

Ideal Rap Single Efficiency, Grammy Prizes (99 Difficulties, 2005)

Favored Jay-Z Rates

“I would confront the area go shopping, the bodega, and simply pick up a newspaper case or get liquid - anything just to acquire a document case. And I’d produce the language round the paper bag and stuff these ideas within my budget until finally I procured back. I Then would transfer them in to the laptop.” - Jay-Z

“I’m not really near becoming lord, however i operate the lord damn difficult.” - Jay-Z

“I imagine interactions{Buzrush.com} are damaged up because of the marketing.” - Jay-Z

“Successful individuals have a larger anxiety about failure than people who’ve never done anything if you haven’t been effective, then you definitely don’t understand how it feels to get rid of everything.” - Jay-Z

3 Tips for Results from Jay-Z

You’ve now learned about Jay-Z’s net truly worth, and just how he accomplished success here are the best good results coaching to comprehend from Jay-Z:

1. Enthusiasm Can Hit whenever

You read the guy, he comfortable with get a container only for the dark brown papers to make sure that he could write cheaper any lyrics or concepts that found his mind. If this hit, Inspiration can strike anywhere, and Jay-Z ensured he was ready for. That’s near the point, though he most likely drank that bottle too.

2. Constantly Be Hustling

Jay-Z’s world wide web worth is not such as this of quite a few other rappers on the planet. Must know why? he did not go to rapping. He accessed entrepreneurship, buying dining establishments and nightclubs. {Buzrush.com}This is where the majority of his web worthy of originates from.

3. Don’t Wait around Til You Might Have Everything Required

Jay-Z didn’t have the equipment or dollars he’d have adored because he very first began out. He earned use what he’d, and began where he could.

This may almost certainly be the key reason why a lot of people never get started by themselves ambitions. They can be indicating they are patiently waiting till they’ve almost everything they require. {Buzrush.com}Effective people today find out other options for obtaining started without every little thing jazzy items.

Bottom line

Jay-Z is considered the most successful hip-hop artists on earth, and he’s also a skillful entrepreneur. Everybody knows this person is the genuine article, plus the world wide web cost of around $1 billion reveals it.

He’s encouraged lots of other musicians sooner or later ahead and initiate making.

More Info-

https://www.buzrush.com/jay-z-net-worth/ 

https://sites.google.com/view/jay-z-net-worth-update/home 

https://celebritysworth.blogspot.com/2021/08/jay-z-net-worth.html 

https://celebritynetworthupdates.blogspot.com/2021/08/jay-z-net-worth.html 

Related Keywords-

jay z assets | jay z entrepreneur biography | eli whitney apartments | jay z quotes on success | toni jay | Jay Z Net Worth 2021

[jayznetworth]

Jay Z Net Worth

Jay Z Net Worth is assumed to be an incredible $1 billion dollars by 2021, which made him the richest rapper actually, along with the preliminary {BuzRush.com} millionaire inside the rap business. However, Kanye has since end up being the wealthiest, pushing Jay-Z lower to #2.

Jay Z Net Worth Corey Carter, is undoubtedly an American citizen rapper, business owner, and buyer. He became a single in the top selling music artists ever, after getting supplied 100 million records, and gotten 21 Grammy awards for his work.

Much like the majority of {BuzRush.com} other powerful musicians and athletes around the world, Jay-Z did not allow music serve as the be-all and finish-all his job. He diversified, and started out purchasingnightclubs and restaurants, their very own clothing line and report label.

Early Living

Shawn Carter came to be across the fourth Dec 1969 in Brooklyn, New You can actually, U . s . Claims. He was elevated in Marcy Properties, {BuzRush.com} a real estate task in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant area. Gloria, Shawn’s mommy, increased him along with the 3 sisters and brothers following their father abandoned them.

Shawn joined Eli Whitney Senior citizen Secondary School in Brooklyn till it was shut down reduce. He then attended the encompassing George Westinghouse Technical and Career Education and learning Elderly Senior High School with upcoming rappers The Well-known B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, adopted by using a stint at Trenton Main Senior High School Graduation in Trenton, Nj. He in no way done Senior citizen Senior High School.

Gloria obtained a thrive box for Jay-Z’s bday, primarily sparking a need to have music. Pursuing this, he started off cost-free-styling and creating words, after a name ‘Jay-Z’ to identification his coach ‘Jay-O’.

Profession

In the beginning, Jay Z Net Worth was promoting documents from the trunk area of his car. He’d no history deal, and it was unsigned, so he do whichever he could to market his audio.

He launched the history content label Roc-A-Fella information with Damon Dash and Kareem Biggs, that had been kept along with them stunning a submission deal with Top priority. This then authorized Jay-Z to generate his very first recording ‘Reasonable Doubt’ in 1996.

Go toward right now, and Jay-Z {BuzRush.com} can handle the document for several top rated albums using a solo performer around the US Billboard 200 with 14. He’s also possessed a number of number #1’s round the Billboard Very hot 100.

The amount is Beyonce & Jay-Z’s put together online worthy of?

By 2021, Jay-Z’s internet worth is $1 billion, and Beyonce’s internet worth is $500 million, which provides the pair a combined internet price of $1.5 billion.

So, how Exactly Does Jay Z Spend His Money?

Jay Z exists in the $6.85 thousand condo in Manhattan. He apparently hired a $400,000-for every-four weeks summertime time residence within the Hamptons.

Also, he features a large selection of automobiles for example Tesla Product S, Bugatti Veyron, GMC Yukon, Mercedes-Benz Mclaren SLR, Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, 1957 Chevy Corvette, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ferrari F430 Spider, Most Respected Phantom plus much more.

In New Orleans, Jay Z Net Worth stays in the $2.4 million previous Presbyterian Church featuring 3 learn rooms.

He’s an amazing range of pieces of jewelry just like a strong gold chain diamond necklace that may be worth $234.000. Also, he includes a Hublot Huge Group view worthy of $73,700.

Often he brings his family members on a break on $3.half a dozen mil personal Bahamas isle and $61.4 zillion yachts.

Shows

Allow me to share the favorite features of Jay-Z’s profession:

Favored Rap/Cool-Hop Artist, United states Tunes Awards (2004, 2009)

Very best Men Cool-Hop Musician, BET Honors (2001, 2004)

Online video of the year, Guess Honours (Otis, 2012)

Hustler of the period, Guess Cool-Hop Awards (2009,2012 and 2011, 2013)

Lyricist of the season, Guess Trendy-Hop Prizes (2009)

MVP from the year, Wager Cool-Hop Awards (2009)

Performer from the time of year, Billboard Songs Prizes (1999)

Finest Around the world Men Solo Designer, BRIT Honors (2010)

Finest Rap Single Overall performance, Grammy Prizes (99 Issues, 2005)

Preferred Jay-Z Estimates

“I would deal with the area go shopping, the bodega, and just grab a pieces of paper bag or get liquid - something just to acquire a paper bag. And I’d create the terminology round the document stuff and bag these ideas in my budget right up until I obtained back. I Then would move them within the notebook.” - Jay-Z

“I’m not even near being our god, nevertheless i function the lord damn challenging.” - Jay-Z

“I consider connections are destroyed up because of the media.” - Jay-Z

If you haven’t been effective, then you definitely don’t understand how it feels to get rid of everything.” - Jay-Z, “Successful individuals have a larger anxiety about failure than people who’ve never done anything

3 Strategies of Good results from Jay-Z

You’ve now learned about Jay-Z’s web worth, and exactly how he obtained success here work most effectively success instruction to learn from Jay-Z:

1. Creativity Can Attack at any time

You observed the man, he familiar with invest in a package exclusively for the brownish pieces of paper to ensure he could create lower any lyrics or ideas that discovered his brain. If this hit, Inspiration can strike anywhere, and Jay-Z ensured he was ready for. He most likely drank that bottle too, but that’s near the point.

2. Constantly Be Hustling

Jay-Z’s web well worth isn’t similar to this of many other rappers on earth. Need to find out why? he did not check out rapping. He entered entrepreneurship, purchasing dining establishments and clubs. This is the time virtually all his web worthy of originates from.

3. Don’t Hold out Til You Have Everything Required

Jay-Z did not also have the products or cash he’d have loved because he initially started out. However, he earned use what he’d, and began where he could.

This could probably be precisely why many people never get commenced alone dreams. They are declaring they’re waiting right up until they’ve everything they require. Powerful folks learn other techniques for getting commenced without everything jazzy information.

Overview

Jay-Z is among the most efficient hip-hop performers in the world, and he’s additionally a efficient businessman. Everyone knows he or she is the real thing, and also the internet cost of more than $1 billion shows it.

He’s encouraged lots of other performers in the future frontward and commence making.

More Info-

https://www.buzrush.com/jay-z-net-worth/

https://sites.google.com/view/jay-z-net-worth-update/home

Related Searches - 

jay z assets | jay z entrepreneur biography | eli whitney apartments | jay z quotes on success | toni jay | Jay Z Net Worth 2021

[cass1x1]

update tho: our landlady wouldn't let us sign for just a small amount of time EVEN THO we told her in march we'd be leaving. she was just like "oh well i hope you decide not to do t hat anyway here's another lease until next march pls sign or i'll be forced to look for new renters"

so i emailed her today to be like "hey we ARE LEAVING" and she was like "because the best time to find renters is february-april, you're not allowed to look for sublessors until february" like ummm how tf does that make sense? wouldn't you want to start looking now? and if we find someone to sublet that you like maybe they can take over the lease?

like we have to pay her bc we had to sign the lease bc we needed somewhere to live from march-now, so like i guess she's gonna get her money but we're gonna let the fucking pipes freeze bc we're not paying for heat we're not using, and if the apartment starts leaking again and there's water damage they won't know until it's too late, etc. etc. etc.

successfully canceled our wifi (ending date next month bc our bill is already paid for this month) and the lady was so nice to me i'm so grateful

[luvknow]

priceless | bang chan [1/2]

genre: rich kid!chan x fem!reader feat. rich kid!felix & rick kid!woojin ; friends-to-lovers ; fluff ; angst ; alcohol consumption ; crazy rich asians inspired summary: lucky you, you fall for the rich and powerful bang chan that every woman has their eyes on and he likes you back! but you get a taste of the luxurious life they all live in and you realize that someone like you isn’t meant to be with someone like him. wc: 12.9k a/n: two parts cuz this woulda been like 20k and i’m tired lol enjoy!

PART 2/2

Love at first sight was a horrendous idea. The thought of falling for someone the second your eyes met was absolutely terrifying. Of course this wasn’t exactly how it worked, but it sounded like sorcery, didn’t it? At least to Chan it did. He asked his father one time what it meant to feel so enamored by someone simply from the first encounter and he replied with,

“That’s just Hollywood mumbo-jumbo! Love takes time and it will come naturally, not right at the start. Love is patient. Just look at me - I’m patient with your mother all the time!”

So instead of expecting a spark with every person he met, Chan didn’t bother and let his feelings develop naturally. With every girlfriend he’s ever had, he let his heart take the lead and his mind, body, and soul followed shortly after.

Then he met you. Everything he knew about falling love went out the window. With you, love was not patient, nor was it kind, nor was it anything close to how it should ‘develop naturally’. It was a bullet train that hit Chan without remorse, crumbling every word and memory about what he thought love was supposed to be. It was unforgiving, with you two spending your entire college careers together as he watched you smile whenever you got your food, witnessed the stars in your eyes on your weekend nights together, and took note of the way your brows furrowed cutely when you were focused. The worst was when he had to sit there and listen about the guy you went on a date with or took back to your place. Love was truly unfair, and yes, he wasn’t so innocent on his side either, but how else was he supposed to distract himself from you? Surely partly-meaningless but healthy relationships with other women was much healthier than drowning in alcohol or whatever his inheritance-mooching friends did these days, wasn’t it?

Koi no yokan. It meant something along the lines of the type of feeling when you meet someone and you know that one day, you’ll fall in love with them. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but it was inevitable. Chan hoped that was the kind of feeling you had when you met him. He hoped - he even prayed! - that the day you two met, you looked at him and thought, ‘he’s the type of man I could see myself falling for endlessly one day. Absolutely, positively ardently.’

Even when everyone around him and his ancestors above knew that you two couldn’t possibly be together, he’d find a way. Bang Chan always found a way.

After one thousand four hundred sixty days, multiple meaningless flings, and a couple of diplomas later, Chan continued to wait for that day to come.

four years ago:

You met Chan through your classmate-turned-friend Felix. It all started with some stupid class that was some elective you didn’t care about with a Professor who still believed in assigning partners for projects because college students weren’t capable of doing work on their own. Lo and behold, you were paired up with Felix, who wore an impossible amount of hyped-up designer brands, some of which you haven’t even heard of before. Of course you thought you were stuck with some rich, snobby, stuck-up inheritance-hogging brat who only went to college and majored in business so he could upstage all the other rich kids in his Daddy’s social circle, making him look like he was better than the rest of them for earning his inheritance. Surprisingly, that wasn’t all true. He was definitely trying to be The Top Heir, but he wasn’t a total dick. He was actually pretty nice for someone with a zillion dollars. That was the start of a beautiful and dynamic friendship.

“I can’t believe that’s what you really thought of me!” Felix gasped, clutching his heart at your insult. You tried to shush him from the nosy customers in the coffee shop, but he didn’t care. “You can’t judge a book by its cover, _____.”

“How can I not when you’ve rubbed your worth in my face since day one?” You took his Gucci x SUPREME collab black wallet with the signature GG logo and a Kingsnake painted on it that held four of his very heavy credit cards and shoved it in his face like he did with you and his entire existence.

“Yo, chill! The friction isn’t good for the credit cards!”

“I’m sure you have your emergency billion dollars stashed up in your penthouse suite just in case.”

“Yeah, but I hate carrying cash, so stop it,” he whined, snatching his wallet back. His phone vibrated on the table. “Oh, he’s almost here.”

“Who?”

“One of my friends. He asked to borrow the Versace belt you love so much.”

“You have two dozen Versace belts,” you scoffed. “Which one?”

“The one with the Barocco print.”

“English, Felix, English.”

“The floral one.”

“Oh my God, he wants to borrow that six-hundred dollar color-clashing mess!? Shouldn’t you people with money have some sort of fashion sense?”

“You are so mean. Stereotyping ‘my people’ is not cool, _____. Not cool! And my fashion sense is A-1!” he scolded, poking you harshly with his embossed fountain pen. “Can you at least try to be nice to him when he comes? You’re always so distant when you meet my friends.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Remember when you met Changbin?”

“Changbin told me he wanted to fly me to Paris to wine and dine me and rent a room in the Palace of Versailles like a Diamond-Grade prostitute, of course I try to stay far away from him!”

“But isn’t that the nicest thing a guy has ever told you? Isn’t it tempting to want to say yes? If I were you, I would’ve taken the offer.”

“Not surprised.”

It was then an impossibly handsome guy walked through the door. That had to be him because all of Felix’s friends were hot, but it was hard to tell. He wasn’t wearing anything ostentatious that screamed he was born into money (unlike your buddy Felix) nor did he wear anything that even resembled expensive brands. He wore all black, and though some items were stamped SUPREME, you couldn’t tell or at least recognize any other brands he wore. His fluffy, curly hair, cut jawline, kind eyes, and a warm million-dollar smile let you know he wasn’t like Felix’s other friends at all.

“_____, this is Chan, a family friend of mine. Chan, this is _____, the sole reason I haven’t flunked school yet.”

Chan was raised to judge every person he met by their looks and what they wore - it was an old habit his parents and grandparents embroidered in his brain, like silver thread on fine silk, that he was trying to get rid of since he started college. You wore nothing that indicated you were either from old or new money, nothing that said anything about your family name or bloodline, and no jewelry that looked like you inherited your great-great grandmother’s jewels that were gifted to her by a Prince. You were ordinary - quite possibly one of the only ordinary people he’s met thus far at this school.

Yes, you were nothing special material-wise, but you were pain-painstakingly stunning. How was that possible? Maybe it was your cute nose, or your pink lips, or the adorable way your brow quirked that caught his attention. Your curious eyes met his wide ones, sending his heart up to his throat, stopping him from breathing. It took him a minute to realize you had your hand out, waiting for him to connect. Quickly and awkwardly, he took your hand in his and felt his heart drop back into his chest cavity. But now he was sweating.

The effect you had on him was dangerous.

“Nice to meet you,” you said politely for the sake of Felix’s plea. The boy only nodded silently, trying not to look too affected by your infectious, beautiful smile. Great, another weirdo, you thought. Why were all the rich kids in this school so fucking weird!? Maybe it was your fault for accepting a scholarship to one of the country’s most expensive schools.

“Here’s the belt you requested.” Felix pulled out the belt a unicorn vomited on and handed it to Chan, who had snapped out of his trance. Your disgusted look doesn’t go unnoticed by him and he’s afraid you’re judging his choice in accessories. He wondered what kind of style you liked if you didn’t like this belt because all the upperclassmen born into old money that had girls falling on their knees had this belt. He’d have to ask Felix some other time.

“Thanks, dude. Mom said if I didn’t have Versace to wear at the charity event this weekend that she’d write me out of her will.”

So dramatic, you thought. You didn’t want to listen to boys talk about what pieces of clothing they had that cost more than tuition, so you sat back down and went back to studying.

“You owe me. Don’t get any champagne stains on it. And I better not see any wrinkles or stretches in the leather.”

“Yes, Dad. I can’t believe you let me borrow this. What are you gonna wear then?”

“I don’t know, something vintage probably, but I’ll figure it out. Got a date?”

“That’s requirement number two in order to stay in Mom’s will. I’m bringing Sana. What about you?”

“I’d rather go stag than bring some clingy arm candy to a simple charity fashion show. Unless _____ wants to be my date ~?”

“I’d rather die than be your arm candy,” you snorted.

To your dismay, Felix ruffled your hair playfully. “She hates it when I talk about this stuff. Don’t tell anyone I’m not bringing a date or else I’ll get kicked out, they’ll figure it out once I get there.”

“Gotcha. I’ll see you then.” After their bro handshake, Chan mustered up the courage to say, “It was nice meeting you, _____.”

“Nice meeting you,” you said in a sickly-sweet tone.

He saw right through you - you didn’t like him. He’s not sure why, when you barely talked to him for those two minutes he was there. Was he being too weird when you shook hands? Maybe he was talking too much about the show, since Felix mentioned you hated those kinds of talks, but why? Surely, you had to be used to this kind of stuff, right? Really, it shouldn’t bother him so much to know you didn’t like him already, but that famous Bang Pride coursed through his veins because everyone loved Bang Chan! It didn’t help that even knowing he didn’t need your attention, he was still so intrigued by you. To have those feelings not be reciprocated for the first time, to have you not eyeing him like you wanted him so badly, to you being completely disinterested at the simple mention of a high-class charity event that everyone was attending… It was exciting.

He accepted the challenge. He was going to win you over, whether you liked it or not.

“So what’d you think about Chan? He’s not so bad, right?” Felix asked before snatching up the last madeleine.

“He’s a little weird.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why, though...”

“You mean he’s not a space case all the time?”

“Not at all. If anything, he’s the one with the most confidence and focus out of our group of friends. Usually, people become a space case because of HIS presence, never the other way around. Did you cast a spell on him, or something?”

“I must have if I got one of your cocky millionaire friends to fall silent. I can feel the power in my veins.”

“Hey man, you better not flaunt that big ass head of yours. If word gets out that Chan was like that around a lil ol’ ordinary Olivia like yourself, you could be in big trouble.”

“You never warned me like this when it was Changbin. What makes Chan different?”

“Chan’s wealth has a long history. Like, really long. Almost pre-1800s long. His great-great-great-grandmother was one of the most well-regarded doctors in the country in her time. She was very well-off with the money she made, lived happily on her own, did her duty as a citizen and helped heal the soldiers during some war, and captured the heart of one of the most honored war heroes. Chan’s fortune began with a doctor and a war hero who gave birth to some inventor guy who married a luxury hotel heiress, whose history of wealth even I can’t trace back, and gave birth to the hotel heir that expanded its locations to eighteen different countries who then married the founder of a children’s charity, much to everyone’s surprise, and they gave birth to Chan’s grandmother, the sole heiress to the number one luxury hotel chain in the world. His Mom, who is currently sits at the head of the charity organization, is next in line. Then Chan gets to lead the organization until he inherits the hotels.”

Your brain struggled to wrap around Chan’s pedigree. “So he’s rich just like the rest of you.”

“Yeah, but he’s filthy rich. He’s been the Asia'’s most eligible bachelor under twenty-five twice in a row. What I’m saying is Chan is probably the number one most sought after guy slash son-in-law right now, and if anyone knows he’s taken even the slightest interest in you, they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you two don’t happen.”

Well, that was terrifying. “God, this sounds like Cinderella on steroids. You better make sure we don’t happen!”

“I refuse to mess with fate, so this is all on you, babe.”

The F in Felix stood for Fake Friend.

Chan couldn’t find anything about you.

Google told him nothing, your social media showed him zilch, hell even his family private investigator only got as far as your great-grandparents owned a restaurant together which your grandfather and then your father happily took over. Really, he should have known from the start when he saw your clothes and lack of jewels that you didn’t come from the same background as him or Felix. This only made you more interesting.

After his thorough research on your social media and accidentally hitting the ‘add friend’ button (to which he shut his laptop and refused to look at the app for at least twenty-four hours out of pure embarrassment), you added him back only a couple hours later and he couldn’t stop the goofy smile growing on his lips. He felt like a little kid with a crush on his classmate! Your pictures were very silly, but you were still so pretty, and your captions were goofy with a touch of your wit peaking through and God, Chan had never been so struck by someone before, let alone by someone whose family history didn’t have their own Wikipedia page.

He needed to get to know you - to pick your brain, figure out your taste, and see that smile again. He needed to.

Poor Felix had to deal with texts like this:

issa banger [11:03 am]: wyd

yung felix [11:05 am]: eating lunch, why?

issa banger [11:06 am]: is _____ with you?

yung felix [11:09 am]: ??????????? no, why??

issa banger [11:09 am]: Read at 11:09 am.

And this:

issa banger [9:23 pm]: is that _____ in your snapchat?

yung felix [9:26 pm]: yeah u creep, we’re studying.

issa banger [9:32 pm]: what a coincidence, me too! i’m coming over.

yung felix [9:55 pm]: oop, she just left.

issa banger [9:47 pm]: ………..…. well i’m already here, so open the door.

And most recently this:

issa banger [2:15 am]: she’z sooiioioo cute felix…………

yung felix [2:17 am]: oh my god can u shut the fuck up.

This was all within one week of meeting you! Felix had to end this. He had never seen such a sad, desperate, puppy-loving side of Chan before, it was disgusting! What happened to the ‘I-don’t-care-about-love-I’ll-just-fuck-around-for-now-because-I’ll-probably-be-arranged-to-be-married-and-have-a-mistress-on-the-side-before-I’m-thirty’ Chan he knew since they were in diapers!? And like, no offense to you, but Chan was like this because of you, of all people, who came from a working-class family. The Bangs were groomed to date and marry only the best, so you two would never work out for even a day if it even got that far. But whatever, if meeting you again was all it took for Chan to stop bothering him, then so be it. You might kill him later for setting this up, but he’ll take the fall - anything to get his filthy rich and lonely friend to stop breathing down his neck.

fungus [5:43 pm]: hey u at the coffee shop?

you [5:57 pm]: yeah why?

fungus [6:01 pm]: i told chan to drop off The Versace Barocco-Print Belt with u if that’s cool

you [6:02 pm]: uuuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh fine

fungus [6:05 pm]: thanks bro.

fungus [6:06 pm]: play nice ~ he’s a cool guy.

On cue, the ever-so handsome, front cover of GQ magazine, most eligible bachelor under twenty-five who added you on social media at three in the morning last week walked through the door. Again, he didn’t wear anything that stood out or any brands you didn’t recognize, so he didn’t necessarily look like he had any type of money Felix had informed you the first time, but the way he walked made up for it. Back straight, broad shoulders that swayed, chest out and peaking through the white satin button-up that was buttoned too low, flexed jaw and pursed lips that said ‘move, bitch’, and his expensive dress shoes that clicked and echoed on the floor, drawing the attention of everyone in the cafe. He may not have dressed to stand out, but that didn’t matter because he drew everyone’s attention anyways.

He paid no mind to everyone else because all of his attention was on you. The second he laid eyes on you was when his annoyed expression melted into a mix of something sweet and thankful.

“_____,” he greeted simply in his honey voice. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Hi,” you said casually. “Likewise. Do you have the world’s ugliest belt with you?”

He chuckled lightheartedly, which sounded more like a cute giggle. “Is it really that ugly?”

“Too avant garde, if you ask me.”

Chan invited himself to a seat next to you. When you didn’t object or look noticeably disgusted by his presence, he took it as a sign that you welcomed his company. One foot through the door. “I’ll have you know it was a hit last weekend.”

“I’m sure anything you wear is a hit, even if it is something so atrocious.”

“It’s called couture.”

“I suppose my taste isn’t as high-class compared to your couture.”

“What is your taste?”

“I don’t think the lack of zeros in my bank account qualify me to answer this question.”

Another silky laugh escaped his curled lips. _____, stop looking there! “You don’t need to have a lot of money to know or have good taste.”

“There’s a whole world of clothing, food, and architecture that I didn’t know about before meeting Felix, so the expanse of my knowledge when it comes to a taste of anything isn’t as vast as those who do have a butt-load of money.”

“Even so, I happen to like your style.”

You did that cute little brow quirk he liked so much. “My t-shirt and jeans? You’re kidding, right?”

“What? I’m wearing a shirt and jeans, too.”

“Your shirt is made from the finest silk China could afford and mine is a mix of cotton and polyester.”

“Close enough. At least our jeans match.” Chan placed the belt free of champagne stains and leather wrinkles on the table. “Here’s your favorite belt of art that’s been passed around our friend group like a blunt.”

“Ooh, I can’t wait to hold something that’s touched nine millionaires’ crotches.”

“I bet,” he teased. “You look busy, so I’ll leave you alone.”

Normally, you’d be more than happy to bid a man farewell, but something came over you. “Actually, I’m not. Are you busy?”

“Me? No, why?”

“I’m kind of hungry. Would you like to join me for dinner?”

Chan had to stop his grin from growing. He couldn’t look too excited, or that would creep you out. And to think he doubted himself about winning you over. You even beat him to asking you out! “I’d love to. I know the perfect place.”

“I’m sure you know this by now from my impeccable style but please choose somewhere affordable.”

“This place is cheap, I promise.”

“Like two dollar signs on Yelp cheap?”

“One.”

“Now you’re talking my language, Mr. Chan.”

He’ll talk all your ‘languages’ - your food language, your money language, your love language - he’ll come to know all of them like the back of his hand.

Despite picking a place to eat for the both of you to enjoy without denting your bank account, Chan ended up paying for both of your meals with his black metal credit card.

“Hey, why’d you do that!?” you whined.

“I never let my friends pay when they’re with me.”

“Well, I’m not one of your money-hungry friends! I have pride and dignity! This means I owe you a meal next time.”

“Ok, it’s a date.”

Chan was making his way towards the door before you could fully process the exchange. A date? Oh God, was tonight’s dinner a date!? No way, right…? Out the door, you saw him chuckle at how confused your face must have looked and he ushered you with his hand to hurry and follow.

Smooth move, Mr. Chan… I’ll let that one slide.

two years ago:

Falling for Chan was effortless. After dinner the night he returned Felix’s belt, spending time together happened so frequently that you didn’t even notice how fast you were falling. You hate to sound cliche, but Chan wasn’t like all the other rich kids within their massive social circle. He didn’t flaunt his worth, he didn’t judge you for your lack thereof, nor was he some dumb ass kid going to school to just party and hook up every other night.

Chan was kind. He’d always put your needs above his, like wanting to pay him back for all the food he’d buy, but that got hard to keep up with real fast. He never wanted you to pay him back in the first place, but if buying him a cup of coffee would make you happy, then so be it. He’d always walk you back to your dingy apartment after dinner or drive you home in his blacked-out Ferarri after studying at the library so late because he worried about you walking alone in the dark. You fell faster on the days you were sick and he’d stop by with the best chicken soup in the city, packets of fragrant teas to chase the Nyquil, and the fancy tissues with vapor rub and soothing lotion. But he must do these kinds of things with all of his friends, because that’s the kind of person he was.

Chan was intelligent. He told you about his childhood spent in private schools with private tutors while playing sports and instruments and learning multiple languages and if he didn’t rank in the top 5% every year, he got his ass handed to him by his mother (fourth year of high school was rough). What amazed you even more was how he retained all of the languages and talent.

“I took five years of Spanish and I can speak at a child’s level,” you pouted. “How the hell do you know seven languages!?”

“Gotta learn the languages of where the hotels are located, y’know?”

“Of course…”

Chan was passionate. Not just about the charity work his family does, not just about the hotel business, but every little thing that interested him sparked a little fire inside. Chan put his mind, body, and soul into all his projects, his work, and everything he ever cared about. When he’s focused and has a goal in mind, he won’t stop until he gets it done and the execution is perfect. You thought it was kind of hot - the way his pupils dilated, the satisfied smirk after completing something, the dangerous little sparkle in his eyes… So hot.

It was the little things that solidified his place in your heart. All the times he tucked your hair behind your ears, when his hand was on the small of your back to guide you, and when his breath tickled your ear when he leaned in close to whisper were all little catalysts to your already-aching heart that beats for him.

What were you to do? You, a simple woman growing up nowhere near his and Felix’s type of lifestyle. You didn’t have diamond-encrusted pacifiers, or ten maids and nannies, or a yacht that you got on your eighteenth birthday. You lived a simple teenage and young adult life that you wouldn’t change for the world, yet you fell for someone who had everything served to him on silver platters and fine china. You thought that there was no way you two could ever work even if he reciprocated your feelings.

But he didn’t see you as the simple woman you saw in the mirror. He saw the extraordinary, goofy, diligent, beautiful you all the time. Your background or financial status didn’t matter to him. The way you smiled at him mattered; the way your hand lingered on his arm a little longer after you hit him for something funny he said mattered; the dreamy look in your eyes that you had whenever you looked at him mattered. Nothing else mattered.

“Why do you always look at me like that?” he asked you one evening while hanging out on his massive penthouse porch.

“Like what?”

“With your wide eyes and that soft little smile that breaks all the boys’ hearts,” he teased. “Did I do something? Am I that sexy?”

“Shut up,” you blushed. “I’m just thinking about how it’s weird being friends with you.”

“Why weird?”

“I don’t know. I’m not used to being around all of this.” Your arms widened to showcase Chan’s apartment that was at least ten times the size of yours.

“Ah, you mean my butt load of money. Even after two years of being The Dynamic Duo?”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. I just feel out of place, you know? I see the way some of your other friends look at me. It shouldn’t bother me so much, but I can’t help it. I feel like I don’t have the prerequisites to be your friend.”

“Who’s looking at you funny? Is it Bambam? I’ll kick his ass -”

“Stop, don’t kick your friends’ asses.”

“They just haven’t gotten to know the wonderful, thoughtful, dumb ass _____ yet.” Chan pulled you into a tight bro-like hug and ruffled your hair like a little kid to mask his rapidly-beating heart. “Don’t pay attention to them. You should know by now I don’t care about money.”

“But -”

“None of that about you matters to me, ok? Only you matter.”

You learned by now to not be affected by his poetic words, but tonight you fell back into your old habits. Only you mattered to him - that felt good. Feeling defeated by your dumb feelings, but comforted at the same time, you lazily wrapped your arms around Chan’s tiny waist as you lay your head on his shoulder.

“You’re so corny,” you muttered.

He ruffled your hair once more. “Only for you.”

It was then you thought to yourself that maybe this could work. Maybe falling for him wasn’t a mistake and being together wasn’t so far-fetched and being loved was something obtainable. For the first time, you thought having Chan by your side wasn’t as ridiculous as it seemed.

But of course, it wasn’t that simple. Nothing was simple when it came to Bang Chan. It was always out of the ordinary. Extraordinary. The night you realized you and him would never be was the same night you witnessed what life was like when you could drown in your own gold and jewels.

“Singapore?” you repeated to your two Aussie friends incredulously. “You’re going to Singapore just for the weekend?”

“We’re going to Singapore,” Chan corrected.

Felix called you and said to come over immediately because it was an emergency, which was Felix talk for ‘I have a trip in a couple of days and I need you to help me pick out my outfits.’ Really, you never actually helped with the picking process, he just wanted you there to tell him he looked good. So as usual, you sat in one of his oriental-style bright red cushioned chairs that were placed on both ends of the ten-by-ten foot mirror in his massive walk-in closet and Chan stood next to you, wondering how you ever put up with Felix’s outfit changes. Tonight wasn’t the usual packing agenda when they broke the news to you that yes, you were definitely joining them on a weekend trip to Singapore for Choi San’s birthday this weekend.

“I can’t afford that!” you screeched. “I can’t just book a flight and a hotel like this on the spot!”

“Oh, _____, you’re so cute ~” Felix teased, adjusting the collar on his shirt. “Like hell am I going to let us fly like the locals. We’re using my Dad’s private jet and staying in Chan’s private Black and White bungalow, of course. And none of us have to pay a dime.”

“But I don’t even know San like that.”

“You will this weekend. C’mon, it’ll be so much fun! It’s going to be the party of the century! He always throws the most extra parties.” 

“Even if I did want to go, I don’t have the clothes for it. I don’t own anything high-end like you guys. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I already got that covered.” With his shirt half-buttoned, Felix ran to the other side of the closet to open a door you had never seen before. Inside of his bedroom, which held a 500 square foot closet, held a smaller 300 square foot closet. A closet within a closet - closet-ception, if you will. You didn’t have to go inside to see all the crystal-embroidered tulle gowns and the silkiest shirts that hung on black velvet hangers. “My older sister keeps her clothes here sometimes so Dad doesn’t see it. Just borrow some of her stuff.”

“I can’t just take her clothes!”

“Actually, she already picked out the ones she thinks would look best on you,” Felix showed you her incoming text messages as proof that one, you definitely had her permission to wear whatever you’d like and two, she thought you looked best in Valentino.

“Ooh, Valentino ~ I agree,” Chan piped in.

“I don’t know…” you hesitated. You could handle Felix and Chan and their riches when it was just the two of them, but to be surrounded by hundreds of people who had the same kinds of bank accounts? And you, floating among them in clothing that wasn’t even yours, faking your way into the social circle? It sounded like a suicide mission.

“You’ll have one of us by your side the whole time, we promise. We want you to meet our friends and show you that not all rich people are assholes like our parents.” Chan stuck out his lower lip and clasped his hands together like a kid begging for some ice cream. “Please come?”

Felix joined in with the begging and now you have two golden retriever puppies begging you to go on what should be a multi-million dollar vacation for the weekend with them, dressed to the nines twenty-four seven. You had to be crazy to not immediately scream yes, but the whole idea of this weekend was just terrifying. But you’d be with Chan, vacationing in a beautiful country, with him by your side. You couldn’t pass this opportunity up.

“Fine,” you sighed in defeat.

“Yes! Ooh, this weekend is going to be so much fun! Hey, we should all match for the party! _____, I know exactly what you should wear -”

Chan snickered at the excited boy pulling out piles and piles of clothes to dress his new life-size doll. You already deeply regretted your decision.

As Felix held up pastel-colored tulles and jewel-toned satins up to your body in front of the ridiculously-sized mirror, Chan couldn’t help but fantasize about the weekend. He already had it all planned out - you would take the front seat in his cherry-red convertible and breathe in the clean Singaporean air with the biggest smile on your face as you all pulled up to his Black and White bungalow, your eyes would widen at the decor, you’d claim the bedroom right next to his, you’d take tons of pictures and capture every moment together, eat the foods he grew up with when he spent his summers here, and then party ‘til the sun rose. You’d look so beautiful in whatever Felix chose, and you’d link arms with him like you two were together. Then you’d dance, drink, and laugh the night away in his arms for hours. Felix would probably stray away to find some poor soul to bother and that’s when it’d be just the two of you. When the party was too much to handle or the alcohol was too strong, he’d walk you home. If you were stumbling over little bumps, he’d pick you up and carry you the whole three blocks distance and you’d be so cute and giggly that he, too, couldn’t help but laugh because the warmth of your blushing cheek pressed against his made his heart ecstatic. Once you arrive home, he’d take you to the backyard and you two would stargaze or watch the sun rise, depending on how late you came home. You’d start out with some space in between. Then he’d get closer. Then he’d brush his hands against yours. Then he’d hold them, fingers laced loosely at first, hoping you’d squeeze back tightly. Finally, he’d confess that after two years of knowing you, he’s fallen for you harder every single day since he met you at the coffee shop. If you felt the same, then perfect, the night would end with a soft kiss. If you didn’t, he’ll run to the pier and sail his yacht all the way back home and claim he was blackout drunk, or something.

Yeah, that sounded like a solid plan. What could go wrong?

It was six in the morning when you were dragged out of bed and thrown into Chan’s Ferrari. Felix’s private jet only had you, him, and Chan as passengers. You thought for something as big as a damn plane that maybe the whole friend group would be tagging along, but apparently they insisted on flying on their own and leaving a larger carbon footprint, but hey you weren’t surprised in the least. That just meant less arguing over what to watch on the eighty-inch flat screen and more champagne for the three of you.

“Holy shit,” you muttered after taking the middle seat in front of the television.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Felix boasted, hopping on the seat to your left. “Have I not introduced you to JASMINE before?”

“I think I’d remember if I’ve been on your private jet before.”

“Ah, maybe I’m remembering the time you went on my yacht, ROSEMARY.”

Chan joined in to your left with a handful of flute glasses filled with bubbly, golden champagne and a single raspberry at the bottom for you and Felix. He raised his glass in celebration. “Cheers to the weekend.”

“It’s six thirty in the morning,” you groaned tiredly.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

“You can’t keep using that excuse, Chan, your liver will fail you one day.”

“A wise man once said YOLO, my dearest _____, so let’s drink to that!”

“Ugh… cheers,” After taking a sip, your face twisted sourly. “Oh, that’s not good…”

“It’s terrible, but it gets the job done.”

“You’re both crazy, I love this stuff,” Felix said, chugging the whole glass. “Forget water, make sure only champagne and 1738 course through my veins for the next two days.”

For the duration of the six hour flight, the three of you watched one horror movie (to which Felix cowered under his fluffy monogrammed blanket) and one romantic comedy (to which Felix cried while holding his Rilakkuma bear). Then after the smoothest plane landing you’ve ever experienced, you finally landed in the beautiful country of Singapore. The skies were so blue, the skyline was gorgeous, hell even the airport was voted the most beautiful airport in the world. A red convertible pulled up to the three of you waiting at the arrivals section and the driver tossed Chan the car keys. As the driver put your luggage in the back of a separate car, Chan opened the passenger seat open for you like a gentleman.

“Your chariot awaits, my darling,” he smiled cheekily. “Her name is Cherie.”

“Do all rich people name their motor vehicles?”

“Of course, it’s only right.”

The crisp afternoon air felt good flowing between your fingers. Chan caught glimpses of your smile and knew then that inviting you to this weekend was the best decision he’s made concerning you. His plan was going swimmingly thus far - now to survive the next couple days.

The Black and White house was quite literally a Black and White house, but it was nothing close to being monotonous. It was a beautiful symmetrical white bungalow with black trimming and a tanned overhanging roof. All of the shutter-style windows were wide open, allowing the same beautiful breeze to pass through the house, wafting the smell of fresh scones and muffins as you walked through the door. The inside of the house got more extravagant with every step you took. The walls were all white (porcelain white, not daisy, of course), the tiles a glossy pearl, every corner filled with the greenest potted plants and too many antique potteries to count, high ceilings with a crystal chandelier dropping in the living room, and a deep mahogany wood door that led to the backyard that overlooked the entire city.

“You vacationed here in the summer!?” you gasped.

“Yup, every year.”

“It’s beautiful!”

“You should see Changbin’s bungalow,” Felix interjected. “He demanded the house to be repainted black instead of the classic white.”

“My childhood summers were spent on my grandparent’s farm. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to wake up every morning to freshly-made scones and fruit jam.”

Chan led you up the stairs to show you the bedrooms. You lost count of how many there were by the time you got to his. His room was enormous, with a king-sized bed right in the middle covered in the fluffiest white covers. He had his guitar and other music-related toys on one wall of the room with a soft yellow neon sign that said ‘CB97’ mounted high on the wall with posters beside it. His room was decorated very Chan-like, and you thought it was quite charming.

“I didn’t like being by my siblings, so I asked to get the one at the very end and the spares were used whenever Felix and the guys came over. Felix’s is across the hall and your’s is the one next door.”

“Ah yes, Chan’s room - where all the magic happened,” Felix teased, jumping on the bed. “I’ve heard way too many stories about the girls you’d take up here -”

“Ah ha ha ~! No need to relive that!” Chan blushed deeply.

“You’re suddenly shy about it now? You sure didn’t have any problem boasting about it every summer.”

“That was so long ago.”

“Please, two years was not that long ago. Didn’t you come her last year, too? God, who knows what happened then.”

Your heart sunk. So he’s taken girls up here before. A lot of girls, according to Felix, and by the way Chan blushed from embarrassment, he wasn’t denying it, either. It wasn’t right for you to feel jealous, you didn’t even know him during those times, unless he had a fling last summer that no one knew about. No, it definitely wasn’t right for you to feel jealous, but the burning in your chest was a little difficult to ignore at one in the afternoon.

“Gross,” you say as light-heartedly as you could. You left sourly without another word to unpack your belongings.

Fuck. Damn Felix and his big ass mouth! You probably thought he was a disgusting playboy now. This was one of several things Chan was afraid of when you were introduced to this side of his life - that his scandalous, rebellious past would come back to haunt him and hit you in the face and you’d be so turned off by it. Well, that’s exactly what happened, not one hour on the island. He couldn’t help that he was a horny teenager back then! Chan chucked one of the embroidered silk pillows at his cowering childhood friend before hastily following you.

You held up a jewel-toned satin piece that Felix chose from his sister’s closet. It was different than the one chosen a couple of nights ago (“_____, I change my mind, wear this one instead.” “Wha - Felix, we’re leaving in ten minutes!” “Just trust me!”), but Chan thought this one suited you much better. The look on your face said you thought otherwise.

“Not a fan of Valentino?” he teased.

“Quite the opposite. I think it’s beautiful, it’s just I don’t think it’ll look beautiful on me.”

“Nonsense. You look beautiful in anything.”

“There’s no need to lie.”

“Who’s lying? You look especially dashing in t-shirt and jeans.”

“My impeccable sense of style,” you giggled. “Is the party tonight really going to be this fancy? Isn’t it just a house party?”

“My dear _____, it’s not just any house party, it’s the house party,” Chan corrected. “San owns the biggest Black and White bungalow in the country. He decks it out to the max with unnecessary decorations, hires Singapore’s multi-Michelin star restaurants to cater, ships in expensive wines and spirits, and hires those exotic dancers that hang from the ceiling. San’s parties make international headlines, and this one’s extra special because it’s his birthday, so yes, fancy is just an understatement.”

“Yeah, I really don’t belong here…”

“Don’t worry about it for now. What we need to worry about is lunch, ‘cuz I’m starving.”

“Hey, I’m gonna be with Jisung and Changbin until the party. I’ll just see you guys there,” Felix waved off casually.

“Guess it’s just you and me.” Chan hoped he didn’t look too glad Felix was gone. “I want to take you to a restaurant I always ate at in the summer.”

“How many dollar signs on Yelp?”

“Not telling ‘cuz I’m paying.”

“Chan, you ass, you said you’d make things even from now on!”

“A man just wants to fly his friend to a whole new country and treat her to his favorite restaurant, is that too much to ask for!?”

You didn’t answer while following a happy-go-lucky, skippy Chan to his red convertible. You’ve never seen him so happy before. He must have missed being on the soil that held his summer-y childhood memories. Being in the hot sticky sun in the house he loved the most with the widest, dimple-iest smile on his cute lips let you know that Chan was at home. Spending every moment with him for the next two days watching his smile grow as he revisited memory lane would make it hard for your heart to stop fluttering.

It was no more than a ten minute drive from his house, but from where you parked, you couldn't spot any restaurants.

"It's a bit of a hole in the wall. I hope you don't mind walking a bit."

"Not at all! The best places to eat are always hidden well."

The surrounding area reminded you of the more crowded and space-efficient parts of home. The buildings were all kind of squished together with tiny alleys in between and there was a ton of foot traffic, but it was probably because it was the weekend. You almost lost track of Chan until he grabbed onto your hand and guided you through the sea of locals.

"It's a little overwhelming if you haven't been here before," he said apologetically. "It's worth the journey, I promise."

"You used to come here a lot over the summer?"

"Almost every day. The woman who runs the place was like another grandmother to me. She is the sweetest thing. Oh, there she is!"

Chan sharply turned the corner of the street and you were taken to a whole other dimension. It reminded you of the beginning scene in Spirited Away when Chihiro and her parents stumbled upon the empty street filled with different tents of food, only this time you couldn't even see past the second tent. Even in the daytime, a place like this seemed so magical that it was no wonder a kid wanted to come here everyday. The different spices and aromas marinated in the air and it was so heavenly, you couldn't wait to get a bite! Somewhere in the middle, the tent that Chan had been dying to go to all year round was right where he left it.

"Auntie!" Chan called from the back of the endless line.

"Eh?" A cute little woman with a floral bandanna and red apron squinted in your direction. The second she saw Chan's handsome face, her grumpy expression smoothed to that of a grandma seeing her grandson grow so much in just a single year. "Channie! You're back for the summer!?"

"Just for the weekend, auntie."

She didn't miss a single beat as she continued to serve her loyal customers. "Ah, you're too busy to visit me everyday now, huh?"

"Sadly, yes," he pouted.

"You want the usual, Channie?"

"Yes, please! Can you make that two?"

"Eh?" Again, the little woman squinted in your direction. Chan had let go of your hand and placed them on your shoulder, indicating that you were his guest of honor this afternoon. A teasing twinkle gleamed in her youthful eyes. "Ah, I see ~"

Chan didn't deny her teasing. He didn't say, 'nah, it's not like that' or say 'she's just a friend'. Instead, he hung his head down embarrassingly, his grin not faltering, neither yours. You wondered what he was thinking.

The line was long, but it moved quickly when Chan was by your side telling you stories of his childhood spent with Felix and his other friends making a ruckus in the streets and buying up all the meat skewers until not a single shop had any left.

"Jeez, growth spurt much?"

"Hey, a man's gotta eat, ok?"

Finally, it was your turn in line, and the Queen of the shop already had two plates full of noodles slathered in a dark, sweet-smelling sauce and two large styrofoam cups.

"Channie never ate anything else besides my kway teow noodles,” Auntie told you. “The first few years of eating it as a little boy, he thought there were no vegetables, so I never told him there were any because it was the only way he'd eat them - covered in my special sauce.”

"No need to relive my unhealthy childhood…" he muttered while you laughed.

"It's fine now, since you've grown up to be so~o handsome!" she pinched his chubby cheek. "Finally, you have yourself a girlfriend. 'Bout time! Even San beat you! But that’s no surprise, the ladies love that bad boy."

"O-Oh, we're not…!" you stuttered nervously, unable to finish your sentence. She really was like an embarrassing auntie…

"We're not together like that," Chan concluded. “She’s just a close friend.”

She scoffed incredulously. "Yeah, for now."

"Auntie!"

She ignored her favorite customer’s whining and turned to you once more. “Watch out for this playboy, he’ll be hard to tie down.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Chan needed to get you out of there before any more of his past was brought up. So much for his stellar, fool-proof plan. He handed Auntie what looked to be a lot of money, but you’re not sure what the conversion is to their dollar. A quick kiss on her cheek and he whisked you away. “Bye, Auntie! Love you!”

“Visit me more often, you stingy brat! And by, sweetheart, it was nice meeting you!” she called out sweetly.

Chan hastily grabbed one of the wooden benches just outside of the long street of vendors. He seemed quite relieved to have left his favorite food stand before Auntie revealed too much of the past summers. Your feelings clashed with a sense of jealousy and a bit of pride that she thought you were his girlfriend. Yet again did you have to remind yourself that no, _____, you cannot be jealous, you dumb ass!

“Sorry about that,” Chan sighed. “She doesn’t have a filter.”

“I like her. She’s very spunky,” you laughed. “Does she do that to all the girls you bring to her?”

“No. Why would you think that?”

“It seems like she’s met a few of them.”

“I’ve told her stories, but I’ve never brought any of them to this place. Now that I think about it, you’re the first girl I’ve brought to her. That’s probably why she thinks we’re serious.”

“Really? Why’s that?” You took your first bite of the savory-sweet noodles. It’s chewy, glutenous gold. “Holy shit.”

“Crazy good, right? Auntie makes them the best. And you’re asking why I never brought anyone else here?” You nodded silently, too preoccupied stuffing your face with Chan’s childhood favorite dish. “This place holds a special part of my childhood. I can’t just bring anyone here.”

“What’s makes it so special?” You took a sip from the styrofoam cup. It’s sugarcane juice!

“When I was a kid, I didn’t come here to bask in the sunlight and play at the beach all day. I’d go to summer school during the day where I was taught math and economics at least two grades ahead of me and attend Mom’s business and charity meetings in the evening. I was always so tired, no matter what time of day it was. One time, I was being so bratty and was crying so much from all the unwanted stress and my parents didn’t like it because I’m supposed to be the Charity Chairman’s perfect son and the perfect heir to the hotel franchise, you know? But I just wanted to be a kid. My family got so mad at me for being selfish that they kicked me out of the house for the night without dinner and I couldn’t come back until the morning.”

“That’s crazy! Where did you sleep!?”

“The pool house behind the main house,” he stated obviously.

“Oh, of course. Silly me.”

He threw his crumpled-up napkin at you before continuing. “That’s when I met Auntie. I was crying and wailing and sobbing like a baby on a Wednesday evening, so it wasn’t busy and no one really saw me. I sat at this very bench with my head down crying until I could fall asleep because I really didn’t want to return home. Then I felt someone nudge me awake. It was Auntie, and she gave me a bowl of curry with some paratha and I thought, ‘an old lady wouldn’t try to poison me, right?’ So I inhaled that whole bowl and chugged all of the chocolate Milo. I tried paying her with all the cash I had because I was so thankful, and she couldn’t believe a young kid like me had so much in the first place, but she never took it. I came every week to order from her and she remembered me every time. I tried everything on the menu by my tenth visit, and the kway teow is my favorite. I’d come here after a rough day with my parents, after I failed an exam, after I cried over some girl I had a crush on, after I found out my Dad had a mistress, you name it. Sometimes I came for no reason at all - I just didn’t want to be home.”

A shaky sigh escaped Chan’s lips. His eyes were glossy and it broke your heart to see Chan on the brink of tears, but he’s smiling. His upbringing was rough, but he’s smiling because he wouldn’t have survived his childhood without the spunky woman behind the food stand in the middle of the street. You dared to reach across the table and hold his hand, hoping he’d find some comfort in your touch. He does, and you know so by the way he squeeze it back so tightly. There were no more tears in his eyes.

“This place was my secret hideout for a good chunk of my life. I can’t just bring anyone here.” Chan began to trace little circles on the back of your hand.

“What am I if I’m not just anyone?”

“Special,” he replied. “To me, you’re special.”

The air was filled with your cute giggles and you took your hand back to cover your blushing, glowing face. Chan always had a way with words. “You’re a cornball!”

“I’ll have you know that the ladies love cornballs!”

“Not this one.”

“Oh, hold still, you got a little of the dark sauce on your cheek.” Chan leaned over the table with a napkin in his hand as you sat still. The very last second, he drops the napkin, scooped up a hefty dollop on his finger, and smeared it on your cheek.

“EW!”

“That’s what you get!”

Your special man began running to the car with you on his tail laughing like two young lovers on their honeymoon. Both of you failed to see someone taking pictures as they sent them to San’s entire guest list.

“Bro, you look hot.”

You jumped at Felix’s comment and chuck a pillow at his almost-shirtless torso. He had a weird habit of not buttoning up his shirts until the last minute. One of his many idiosyncrasies. 

“Chill, that’s a compliment! Didn’t I pick out a hot Valentino piece? Chef kiss, m’lady.”

“You’re so gross… But you do have taste, so thank you. You really didn’t have to ask your sister to let me borrow this, though. I still feel terrible.”

“Shut up, you’re fine. She’s never going to wear that, I promise you. Besides, I can’t have someone not wearing designer stand next to me, that’d be blasphemous.”

“Can you please button up your shirt?”

“Why? These Hawaiian Sweet Rolls too much for you to handle?” he teased, flexing his six-pack. You dry heaved dramatically.

“You two are like siblings, it’s so funny - whoa,” Chan stopped mid-sentence, completely stunned by your presence. Of course he’d love how you looked if you wore a hoodie and jeans because he never even imagined you wearing something like this, but you blew him away.

“Good whoa or bad whoa?” you panicked.

“Definitely a good whoa… U-Uh, I mean, yeah. Yes.”

“Thank you,” you grinned. You eyed the man in the black and gold polka-dotted Muslin Yves Saint Laurent button up (buttoned too low, as usual) tucked loosely in Yves Saint Laurent cuffed trousers. Certainly, Chan was bound to be the center of attention at one point, regardless of whose birthday it was. Felix sported Louis tonight and you thought to yourself that you three were quite a sexy trio. “You two don’t look too bad yourselves.”

“Straight from the runway,” Felix boasted.

“Straight from my closet,” Chan shrugged.

“Can we get drunk before I cry about how much money I don’t have?”

Chan’s driver sported a white Rolls Royce to take you all there, despite it being only three blocks away (Felix was more than happy because he didn’t want to scuff his shoes). You thought you were fashionably late, but it turns out San was just showing off his cars and leaving them parked on the circular driveway. The size of his house made the cars look so, so tiny, but his house was truly enormous, way bigger than Chan’s. Couples among couples began to file in the house, making you feel nervous and very, very single.

“Do people usually bring a date to these parties?” you asked the boys.

“Yeah, for clout. Two shots later and suddenly everyone’s up for grabs,” Felix explained, walking up the driveway without waiting. “I’ll see y’all back at home. Or not. Don’t wait up for me ~”

When Chan saw that what Felix said didn’t lessen your nerves one bit, he held his arm out for you. “Wanna be my date for tonight?”

“You won’t ditch me after two shots?”

“Two, no. Five, maybe.”

How could you deny his dimpled grin? You couldn’t, so you slipped your arm through and walked into San’s palace. You were taken to a whole new world; a whole new dimension of luxury and riches that you only tapped into upon landing here. There was indeed dancers twirling on ribbons from the ceilings, loud music from some famous DJ that headlined at EDC, and liquor of every shade of gold in crystal glasses. Everything was so magnificent and expensive, it was like you couldn’t even afford to look at anything or even anyone. Everyone who was anyone was here, and you recognized a lot of their faces from Chan and Felix’s social media. You couldn’t even pronounce the brands they were wearing! Again, Chan sensed your anxiousness, something he was so unbelievably good at, and slipped his arm down so that he could grab on to your hand. He figured if you were able to let all his past worries go away by just holding his hand across the table that he could do the same, only this time he was by your side like he always wanted to be. You always predicted that his hand would fit so nicely in yours.

“CHAN! MI AMIGO!” San screamed into the mic from the dance floor. “Everyone, the sexiest bachelor of the hour has arrived!”

“Oh, boy,” he sighed.

He was surprised to hear you giggle at his friend’s nickname. “Looks like we came a little late.”

San stumbled in front of you before falling into your arms for a tight hug. You weren’t used to such an affectionate San - you shared multiple classes with him and you’re surprised he even remembered you, if you were being honest.

“Happy birthday, San,” you struggled to say as you held the boy up.

“Hi, _____! Thank you! I’m so glad you’re here!” San’s foxy eyes widened at the sight of his questioning friend. “Chan! I missed you!”

“Miss you, too, buddy,” he chuckled, hugging the sloppy man. “Happy birthday, bro. Making Mina work hard, I see.”

“Why, do you see her!? Don’t tell her you saw me!” And that was the last time you saw San.

Chan shook his head at his childhood friend. Then he took your hand and lead you deeper into the party. “Let’s go find people we actually know.”

As you slipped between the crowd, you felt eyes staring. A bunch of eyes, actually. A lot of them. The owners were mostly girls, ones you recognized, and that’s when you knew it was because of Chan, the bachelor of the century. They eyed you maliciously, switching between judging you from what you were wearing and your hold onto Chan’s hand. Where was that handsome waiter with a tray full of shots? You needed that right about now.

On cue, Chan handed you liquid gold. “Cheers to a fun night.”

“Right… Cheers.” Bottoms up! Oh God, that burned! But the warm finish was quite nice. “More, please.”

“Jeez, what for? You trying to leave me after two shots already?” he teased.

“No, I’m just trying to blind myself from all those… eyes…”

“Huh?” Chan caught a glimpse of what you meant when he caught the eyes of familiar flings and old friends. His jaw clenched. “Don’t worry about them, ok?”

“I’m trying, but you’re holding me back if I can’t take at least one more shot.” Reluctantly, your handsome date gave you what you wanted and he followed suit. “Bottoms up!”

Bottoms up indeed, several times too many, if Chan thought so himself. But you were loosening up and not worrying about another thing he feared about this trip - that you would meet his exes, or worse, they would do something to hurt you because that’s just what girls with tons of money do. He soon forgot about all his worries when you dragged him on the dance floor and had your body pressed up against his. You were so goofy and cute when you were drunk just by itself, singing to all the songs and taking silly selfies, but when you were dancing? He could hardly keep his hands off of you.

Chan pulled away and you pouted, not wanting the warmth of his body to leave even for one second, but he told you he had to go to the bathroom and that he’d be right back, so don’t you move! But your intoxicated self didn’t listen and you found yourself wandering to the backyard where Hyunjin, Woojin, and a bunch of people you were familiar with gathered around the open-pit fire and having a little party themselves.

“Did _____ get her Rich Bitch ID?” Hyunjin teased, looking at the label of your dress. “Shit, I guess she has.”

“It’s Felix’s sister’s, so no, it’s just a fake ID to last me the night.”

Woojin swung his arm around you boyishly. “You’re always welcome to OUR Rich Bitch club. No cover for girls,” he winked.

“How generous of you.”

Chan didn’t take long in the bathroom. He made sure to come back to you as quickly as possible to pick up where you left off, but after a couple of minutes searching the crowd, he couldn’t find you. He’s not surprised you wandered off somewhere, he just wished you sent him a text, or something. He felt a tap on his shoulder, thinking it was you, but it ended up being Sana, his old fling.

“Channie!” she squealed happily, throwing her arms around his neck. “I missed you ~!”

“Hey, I missed you, too,” he hugged back awkwardly. “Long time no see.”

“I’m glad the feeling’s mutual. Whatcha doing?”

“I’m just looking for someone…” he said, continuing to scan the crowd like she wasn’t there. He shouldn’t have drank so much…

“You mean _____?”

How did she know your name? Not important. “Oh, yeah. Have you seen her?”

“She’s outside with Woojin.”

“With Woojin…?”

“Yup! Take a look.”

Sana took Chan by the hand and lead him to the back door. His tunnel vision, though quite blurry, found you with your back facing the door and Woojin, his childhood rival, to your right, where he had his arm around your shoulder. Oh, he was such a Kim! He always snatched whatever was his when he wasn’t looking, just like that modelling contract! Normally, Chan would be the bigger person and not care, but this was you, someone so important to him. He couldn’t let this go that easily. There’s this uncharacteristic rage and jealousy that built up in his chest, making his heart hurt with every beat. You weren’t even doing anything, but seeing you in someone else’s arms just as he left for the damn bathroom? After trying to make you his for so long? It hurt. It really, really hurt...

Sana took the opportunity to pull him away from you. “Hey, let’s dance. Like we used to.”

Without hesitating, Chan took the lead and went to the dance floor.

Time passed like it meant nothing while you caught up with some good friends, but sobriety was kicking in at three in the morning and you wondered how long Chan needed to go to the bathroom.

“I’m going to find my damn date,” you waved off to them.

Even at three in the morning, the house was still as crowded as ever, bumping music like the sun wasn’t going to rise in a couple of hours. You searched every room, every face on the dance floor, near every waiter that had a platter of liquor on it, and he was nowhere to be seen! Even the rooms that held couples making out (and then some) luckily didn’t have him in it, but where could he be? You ended up in the front yard last, perhaps he was looking at San’s cars, or something.

But that wasn’t where you saw him. At the end of the driveway, where it met the main street, you saw Chan walking some girl dressed in diamonds and crystals on the way back to the house.

That was the moment you knew you and Chan could never be. Even when he was with you for ninety percent of the night, he chose someone else. He was made to live his life in luxury, and that meant his love life was meant for luxury, too. No matter what you did, no matter how much you thought he liked you, how much you thought you were special to him, you could never live up to any of these other women at this party. You were nothing compared to them because you had nothing. You should have known better than to think otherwise.

“Hey,” you heard someone behind you. It was the ever-so handsome and dashing Woojin. Even in the dead of night, he looked so handsome. “Did you find Chan?”

“Um…” your voice was shaking. “Yeah, I think I saw him go home.”

From the tears in your eyes, Woojin assumed he didn’t go home alone. Typical heart-breaker Chan, always leaving girls behind to cry over him. Things never change. “Do you want me to walk you back?”

You nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

You and Woojin walked the three blocks in silence. There was a considerable amount of space in between as Woojin figured you didn’t want any man to be near you at the moment. Of course he understood - he’s had a fair share of his heart-breaking days. Those days were now over because he was getting tired of this lifestyle. His liver didn’t function like when he was younger and he craved something deeper than just one night stands. God, he sounded like a total douche.

The walk up Chan’s porch made you nervous and made Woojin nostalgic. He remembered coming here everyday after summer school when he was a kid. He kind of missed it here. Woojin was about to knock on the door but stopped when he realized you weren’t beside him. You stood by step, not wanting to go any further.

“Everything ok?” Woojin asked.

“Yeah… No. Not really. I don’t want to go to bed.”

“Why not?”

“Our rooms are next to each other and I don’t know how thin the walls are.”

Woojin didn’t laugh nor try to convince you otherwise. Instead, he walked up to you and stopped so close that you could smell his Gucci The Voice of the Snake cologne. Then, he smiled sweetly, a trait of his that you always thought was so cute, and sat on the stairs.

He patted the seat next to him. “I’ll keep you company.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t want to go home and I really don’t want to go back to the party.” His bottom lip pouted. “Please let me keep you company.”

You could use the distraction. “Even without trying, rich people get whatever they want.”

“Hey, we’re not all bad!”

“That’s what they all say,” you slurred, remembering that’s exactly what Chan said earlier.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’re pretty bad.”

“Maybe I should stop hanging around you guys and start hanging around my people.”

“But I like hanging out with you.”

“You know, before I met Felix and Chan and all your little yacht club friends who make fun of me for the clothes I wear -”

“Hey, that’s just Hyunjin, don’t lump us together like that! I like you no matter what you’re wearing.”

“- my life was so much simpler! I lived a simple life without luxury, I ate foods without truffles and caviar, I drank cheap soju like a regular poor delinquent instead of champagne and top-shelf liquor, and I didn’t like boys whose yearly income were worth ten times as much as I’d make in ten years!” You cried out to the skies above and buried your face in your hands. “Biggie was right… Mo Money Mo Problems…”

“There there…” Woojin comforted awkwardly.

“Woojin, can you be honest with me for a sec? Coming from a sad, average girl seeking advice from a rich bitch like yourself?”

“Of course.”

“Was I stupid to think I was anything special to Chan?”

Again, the handsome man beside you wrapped his arm around your shoulder like a good friend. Woojin was always a good friend to you. Outside of Felix and Chan, he was the only other man who was kind, despite you not being like the rest of his social circle.

“You said I can be honest, right?” he asked nervously.

“Oh my God, I’m an idiot.”

“Hey, that’s not what I was going to say. I was thinking naive was more of an appropriate word choice.”

“I’m so dumb, I might as well drop out.”

Woojin’s grip around you tightened. “Stop, don’t say that. You’re the smartest person I know, did you know that? Remember when you tutored all of us that one time? If you can tutor nine idiots in one session and we all somehow passed the class, you’re not an idiot.”

“Being book smart and Rich Boy smart are on two totally different levels of intelligence! Why am I so dumb in the latter!?”

“You aren’t. We’re the dumb ones. We let amazing people slip through our fingers because somehow this lifestyle sucks us back in. Some of us are able to overcome it, but most succumb to it.”

“... You’re right, you guys are the dumb ones.”

You and Woojin sat on Chan’s summer Black and White bungalow for hours, talking about the most useless things until the sun rose above the horizon and the light was almost blinding. It started out crying about how boys were stupid and ended with laughing until you couldn’t breathe from the stories he told you about his old flings.

“She said the mitochondria was the trap house of the cell,” Woojin tisked.

“She must have been kidding.”

“I can assure you she was not.”

“Wow,” you giggled. “You’ve dated a lot of… exciting people.”

“I wouldn’t say exciting…”

“Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I heard about some poor girl coming out of your place from Felix. He likes to whine about how lucky you are. Has Woojin lost his touch?”

“I will never lose my touch, don’t get that twisted,” he warned. “Maybe I’m tired of hook-ups. Maybe I’m trying to settle down.”

“Ha! Good one!”

“No, really!”

“Yeah, ok ~”

“Let me prove it. Let’s go on a date.”

Your laugh got caught in your throat. You’re stunned silent, looking at the man beside you like he was delusional. He had to be talking nonsense - it was six in the morning and neither of you had any sleep or anything to eat for several hours, he’s just talking crazy, right!? But the slight smirk on his lips told you that no, he wasn’t joking. He was enjoying that you were probably thinking about it right at this moment - what it’d be like to go on a date with Mr. Kim Woojin. He’s not wrong.

The front door to Chan’s house opened and startled you to death, but you’re so, so thankful that the girl Chan took home stumbled in between you two and you could avoid Woojin’s proclamation for a little longer. Both of you turned to see Chan in his pajamas bottoms and no shirt standing in the doorway, hair disheveled with droopy eyes, looking like he didn’t get any sleep at all.

Woojin helped you to your feet before greeting his old friend. “Good morning, Chan.”

The sleepy boy’s jaw tightened. Why did he look so triumphant? If you two were here the whole night, it’s not like you two did anything… right?

“Hey,” he greeted shortly. 

Woojin turned to you. “Think about it. I’ll see you later?”

You nodded silently, still too stunned to move. Then, taking advantage of your frozen form, Woojin swooped in for a quick kiss on the cheek.

Oh shit, this man was serious.

You’re completely sober and you really wished you weren’t because now you were going to reflect on everything that happened yesterday, from the time you landed until just this very second. On top of that, you were probably going to have to deal with Chan’s grumpy ass right now because when you walked right past him to the kitchen to chug a whole bottle of water, he followed right on your tail.

“How was last night?” he asked bitterly.

“Not as good as yours apparently,” you replied, trying to stay light-hearted and calm. Don’t get jealous, _____. You don’t have a right to.

“Nothing happened.”

“Oh?”

“She was puking all night. I barely had any sleep while taking care of her.”

“Did you bring her here just so she can puke in the comfort of your home, or was that just an inconvenient coincidence?” The words made you sound jealous, but you were genuinely curious. He claimed that nothing happened as if he knew you’d care if something did. Well, you didn’t!... you said, lying to yourself.

Chan stayed quiet. That was more than enough to answer your question.

“I’m tired,” you mumbled. “I’m going to bed.”

Chan wouldn’t let you. “What were you and Woojin doing?”

“Uh, talking?”

“On my porch?”

“Yeah? You left me at the party and I was all alone! So he was nice enough to walk me back here. I didn’t want to go inside to my room because God knows what you and her were doing there -”

“Nothing happened,” he repeated.

“Yeah, now I know. But if she wasn’t puking, who knows what would have happened, and guess what, I didn’t want to hear that or deal with it or even think about it, so we sat on your porch for hours until you opened the door.”

“You were the one who left me first. I thought you and I were having a great time! I was having so much fun with you and I wanted you back in my arms as soon as possible, but then I saw you in his. Do you know how much that hurt? I have liked you since the day you took my breath away when we first met, and I thought I could finally tell you that when you were back in my arms. But then I saw you in his and panicked. I swear to you, nothing happened with me and Sana. Nothing was going to happen, not when all I could think about was what you could possibly be doing with him. I thought you left me for him, and I got scared. I’m an idiot. I’m so sorry, ok? Can we talk about this over breakfast?”

That was what Chan wanted to say. But he’s tired, and he’s hurt, and the tears in your eyes were too much for him to handle. With his head down, he said,

“I hope you had fun.”

Chan brushed passed you to get to the coffee maker. He might as well stay up - what was the point in sleeping now?

You rushed up stairs so he didn’t see the tears rolling down your face.

The day was silent. Everything seemed to stop, but that was the last thing you wanted. You wanted to pack up, get in the damn cherry red convertible, and fly all the way home where you could forget about this whole weekend and the people involved. Felix finally made it home around noon, chatting nonstop about the yacht party that happened at four in the morning and all the girls he was talking to and thankful he couldn’t sense the tension between you and Chan.

The drive to the airport was silent. The flight back home was silent. The drive to your apartment was silent and the only noise you made that night was crying yourself to sleep.

Where did you go wrong? Was it when you wandered off to Woojin? Was it when you agreed to go on this trip? Was it when you fell for someone so unattainable for someone in your social class? Was it when you weren’t born with a billion dollars to your name?

Life was unfair and it had a funny way with playing with you and your heart.

You didn’t see Chan much after tonight.

[starlightswitch]

The Adventure You Need

(for Writer’s Month day 26, summer vacation)

“I want to go camping.”

Mariah looked up from her book. “Camping.”

“Yeah,” said her sister. “I want to go camping. I think that would be a good adventure for us.”

“Did we need an adventure?”

“It’s summer vacation!”

“That’s not an answer.”

Laura dropped into the bowl chair by Mariah’s closet. “I was thinking about it, and neither of us has ever been camping.”

“That took a lot of thought.”

“Notice,” Laura said, raising a finger high, “You still haven’t told me to shut up and leave.”

“That would be rude.”

Laura put both hands on her knees and leaned forward. “I excuse you. If you want me to shut up and leave, tell me to shut up and leave.”

Mariah sighed and shook her head and closed her book, a finger marking her place. “I just want to know where this came from. I’ve never heard you talk about camping before.”

“Because no one in this family is into camping.”

“That’s not the part I wanted you to explain.”

Laura started to pull her feet up but then remembered she didn’t like doing that in the bowl chair because her knees would block her view or her feet would hurt from the metal bar. “It sounds like fun. I started reading lots of posts about it online, I got on like this wiki walk except it wasn’t a wiki, and it just sounds amazing. Fresh air, the sounds of chirping birds and bugs, getting out of the tent in the middle of the night to look at the stars…”

“We don’t have a tent.”

“I told you, if you want me to shut–”

“My point is, you haven’t actually thought about this. You came in here to tell me your idea, and it’s really barely past the stage of being an idea.”

Laura crossed her arms and let her lips slide into a pout. “I wasn’t going to make any real plans if you didn’t want to go with me. Mom and Dad wouldn’t want to go.”

Mariah folded her hands, pressing her thumbs together. “Well, I need more information. I don’t think you know anything more about camping than I do, except for the romanticized descriptions from people who’ve done it a zillion times and have it all down. So if you can figure out where we’re talking about going, and what we’re talking about doing while we’re there because I don’t think camping is a full-time activity for– however long we’re going, which is another thing you need to figure out, and…” She looked at the ceiling. “…how much it costs, including renting a tent and whatever else we need to rent because I feel like camping stuff is very expensive and we’re not buying a bunch of it just to find out we don’t like camping–”

Laura got to her feet and started out of the room.

“I didn’t tell you to shut up and leave,” said Mariah, with half a smile.

“You gave me a long list of stuff to look up.”

“But I didn’t–”

“So I have to go look stuff up.”

 Laura was back before dinner. “So I found a place that’s a couple hours away and it has cabins. Then we could try it without having to rent a lot of stuff. And there’s a lake where we could go swimming, or I think they rent kayaks, and trails for hiking. And if you don’t like any of that, it’s a cabin, so you could just sit there and read. Basically like being at home, except it’s a cabin near a lake, so you could pretend you’re David Foster Wallace or whoever.”

Mariah’s eyebrows came down, and then she nearly smiled but tried to hide it. “Thoreau? Henry David Thoreau?”

“If you knew who I meant–”

“Okay.” Mariah pushed herself up so her back was straighter against the wall. “You found things for us to do and you figured out a way for us not to have to rent stuff. Did you figure out how much this costs?”

“If we just go in the middle of the week for a couple nights, just a couple hundred.”

“Just a couple hundred?”

“And I bet our parents would chip in if we made a big deal about how excited we are to go on this adventure together. Sibling bonding, all that.”

“I mean,” Mariah said with a bit of a laugh, “I can cover a hundred. Just, I’ve never known you to just decide to spend a couple hundred dollars out of nowhere.”

“It’s not out of nowhere. I told you, I was reading about it online.” Laura paused. “And I’m going to go nuts if I don’t get to do anything this summer.”

“Mm,” said Mariah. She fiddled with the edge of her book, still open on her lap. “Like I said, I can cover a hundred. And I guess chirping crickets and summer breezes does sound nice.”

“In a cabin it might feel like we’re avoiding everyone on purpose.”

Mariah nodded, keeping her hands still although she could feel the tears springing to her eyes. “Go ahead and book it.”

“You have to be 18. I’ll bring in my laptop.”

“Okay. Grab my purse?”

“Yep.”

“Actually we should probably talk to Mom and Dad. I don’t think they’re going to say no, but–”

“I think dinner’s almost ready.” Laura glanced toward the kitchen. “I’ll bring my laptop and show you, and then we’ll be ready to do it after dinner.”

Mariah leaned her head back against the wall. “A cabin in the woods is an ideal setting to avoid people,” she said towards the ceiling. “You do have a point there.”