Chapter 3

"Sir, Madame Jasmine is waiting for you in her studio." Charles, the personal servant of Gold or what the golden boy's mother calls: butler Charles, informs.

"Okay." Gold answers, closing his eyes. His head is spinning because he had a little too much to drink.

He really cut classes today just to have a drink in a pub. It didn't matter that he's a minor. That place won't be raided by the police, anyway. Only those who are filthy rich can enter.

Huh. They say money can't solve everything, but they're wrong. Money keeps the world spinning. Money is the reason why everyone is striving hard.

"Would you like to stop by at a convenience store first?" The butler offers politely. Seeing the young master's expression makes Charles uncomfortable. He worries that the golden boy wouldn't be able to face Madame Adana.

"Please," Gold covers his mouth. It feels as though his internal organs want to go out. He cannot handle his alcohol. This doesn't mean that he's willing to drink moderately, though. He's just so stubborn.

"Right away, Sir." Charles maneuvers the car. He's been in this kind of situation many times already. Every time Gold is pissed, frustrated, or confused, he goes to Early Night, the pub's name, to drink—to pretend like he is a grown up, to pretend as if he likes the taste of alcohol.

He doesn't. In fact, he despises it. The scowl on his face says it all. Gold is just like any other teenager—doing stuff they think will make them look 'matured.'

He's just looks pathetic.

Actually, if Charles wants, he can just tell Mr. and Mrs. Adana about this side of their son; however, the butler can't bear to see Gold being scolded, especially not by Madame Jasmine. That woman has no mercy. Besides, he watched the golden boy grow up. He treats him as if Gold is his own son.

"Here you go, Sir." The butler hands his master the instant ramen and bottled water he just bought. He also gives him an aspirin to help with his headache. Gold's intoxicated. He can't even open the door of the car.

"Shall we go now, Sir?" Charles asks after almost an hour.

Gold seems a little better now.

"We should. My mom is waiting."

Charles nods his head. Despite his efforts to get Gold out of trouble, the young master never said thank you to him. Not even once. It's kind of cruel considering that Charles has been the only supportive person in the golden boy's life. Both of his parents are too busy with work.

"Good evening, Sir Gold! Madame Jasmine wants to see you now,"

Gold ignores the batch of maids that follow him. He just goes straight to his mother's studio.

He isn't surprised at all to see the huge room empty. This is so predictable. Their servants claim that his mom's already waiting for him, but obviously, that's incorrect. Jasmine Young Adana is a VIP. People wait in line just to get a glimpse of her ethereal beauty.

Gold sits on the white chesterfield couch. Sighing, he roams his eyes around the fancy room. This space is six times larger than his already spacious bedroom.

Jasmine basically lives in her studio. Everything she needs is already here. A photoshoot corner, mini gym, a bathroom, powder room, a walk in closet for her 'celebrity' outfits, mini living room, and other 'necessary' spaces for her job.

For a moment, Gold enjoys the silence that tames his throbbing temples, but then again, peace is just a guest. After exactly thirty minutes, the door opens—revealing his mom.

He hears the click clack of her high heels before he sees her face.

"Hello, son..." Her sweet voice travels the corner of the room.

Gold stands up, facing the woman who gave him life. Jasmine is standing tall. If strangers happen to see this very scene, they might think that Jasmine and his son are lovers, or twins.

Twins. Right. Gold is Jasmine's carbon copy. They have the same bambi brown eyes, thick, long lashes, soft jet black hair, and thin lips. Their only difference is probably their skin color. Jasmine has a cool undertone while her boy is sporting that neutral undertone.

The mother gave birth to Gold at a very young age: nineteen. She didn't want to be a mother at that time, but then Jasmine is head over heels to Joe, so when the latter requested that they should get married and bear a child, Jasmine agreed. It's his assurance because he knows that there are a lot of temptations in the show business.

Needless to say, Gold's parents are very much in love. It's just that Joe is a decade older than his wife.

"Good evening, mothe—"

The golden boy isn't able to finish his greeting because the resounding slap across his face got in the way.

"Mr. Song called me," she's shaking in anger, but her fake smile doesn't waver. Not even a bit.

Gold inhales deeply, touching his numb cheek. He's used of this. Jasmine resorts to violence to discipline her baby boy.

The golden boy can't look at his mom. He is certain that she's disappointed in him.

"You're just one of the lead dancers." Jasmine wants to vomit.

She cannot and will not ever accept this absurdity. Gold should always be the center, the highest, and the number one! It will bring a great shame in his mother's name if the media finds out that the son of a superstar is just like the others: typical.

Jasmine values her career more than she cares for her son. Her husband wanted a child, but she doesn't feel the same way. Gold is the reason why she gained a few pounds. It's also his fault that she had to undergo many sessions of ablative lasers just to get rid of stretch marks.

Gold is a burden. His only way to make it up to her is by doing his best in school—to make Jasmine proud.

Jasmine needs everything to be perfect, just like her career. She's a solo artist. In their country, it's unusual for a soloist to succeed. People like groups better. Being a renowned soloist means that the person is really gifted.

Jasmine is gifted. She has a golden voice, she is a great dancer, a veteran actress, and she's gorgeous. Actually, she's famous all over the world. Just like Gold, she won many awards from various countries.

Now that her son is slowly falling from the highest, Jasmine feels as though her heart is being crushed into pieces.

"This boy stole your position." She shows her phone to Gold, and just like that, the son's face turns pale.

An mp4 is playing. It's a video of what happened just this morning. Christopher and his friends are beating the hell out of Kolya; it is cut short because suddenly, the camera is focused on Gold.

Entering the point of view of a stranger, Gold can say that from the looks of it, he seems like the leader of the bullies. His face is cold, like seeing a beaten up man is not a big deal for him.

"You had me followed," Gold gulps after watching the video.

His mother slaps his other cheek. It's louder and harsher that Gold feels as though he's gone deaf. His cheek is bloody red.

"You're a fool. Of course I had you followed!" Jasmine is hysterical.

Gold knows that he shouldn't have spoken because it'll only fuel his mother's anger more. It's not like this is newsflash, anyway. Jasmine claimed that Gold should be thankful that he is only being watched by the men he knows, not by some paparazzi.

"Do you have any idea what will happen to me if this video happens to be seen by the media!?"

It's game over for her. It will appear like she isn't a good mother. Well, she is not, but the media doesn't need to know that. In the eyes of the people, Jasmine is a perfect and strong woman.

"I'm sorry." Gold's breathes in slowly. He needs to calm down, otherwise his tears will fall. Jasmine will beat him up if she gets a glimpse of a drop of tear.

She's been training Gold to only have two expressions: happiness and a blank face.

"People will use your emotions to bring you down, Gold, so you only have to make them see that you're happy. The happiness of others is poison to insecure people." This is what Jasmine always says to her child.

If she can't fake a smile, she sports that blank face. People are just waiting for an opportunity to ruin the happiness of a person, so one should stay alert. Show nothing so that people can have nothing against you.

Gold follows his mother's advice and it's not because he knows she's right. He just believes that he owes her a lot. To be honest, he has this need to make her happy not because he loves her, but because he respects her.

Gold is certain that he doesn't love his mother. He only respects her for giving birth to him. It sounds cruel, but who can blame Gold? Jasmine acts like a creditor more than a mother. Her son constantly feels like he's in debted to her—that everything he has is because of her. That might be true, but it makes him feel like shit. Like what he has equates to debt and not his right, like Jasmine isn't giving it out of love, but because she's expecting something in return.

It's like his life is a loan and his mother is the high, compound interest: the pressure she gives keeps on piling.

"What did I say you should do when you're at fault?" Jasmine crosses her arm and huffs. She's offended that her son forgot her number one lesson.

Gold swallows hard.

"Don't say sorry, it's empty. Offer a solution, it makes you happy."

"Good." She holds her head high, as if she's wearing a golden crown. "What are you going to do, then?"

"I'll be more careful with my actions and..." He swallows once more, finally finding the courage to stare into his mother's eyes. "Expect a call from Mr. Song tomorrow. I'll get the center position again."

"Whose son are you?"

"Jasmine Young Adana."

"Good boy." She ruffles his soft hair. "And stay away from this boy." She waves the phone in the air to make him realize that she's talking about Kolya.

"He might have Korean blood, but he's not like us." Jasmine is half-blooded Korean too. "Because he's trash." To prove a point, she throws her phone in the trashcan.

"He's a trash." Gold repeats, trying so hard to convince himself.

Jasmine dismisses his son. The golden boy then goes straight to his room. He instantly dives into the bathtub to clear his mind.

"He's a trash." He repeats even though he's alone now. Gold isn't done convincing himself that Nikolai Park is nothing compared to him.

It's hard to believe his words when Kolya's face is embedded into his mind. Gold keeps on thinking about his tantalizing eyes, the soft blush that taints his cheekbones from time to time, his sweet, shy voice, and his comforting words.

"Because you were having a hard time."

"Fuck." Gold sinks his head in the water because of frustration.

He stays underwater as he blames every unfortunate thing in his life to Kolya.

If Nikolai didn't appear in his life, Gold wouldn't be frustrated in the first place. He wouldn't have to deal with Christopher, he wouldn't be late for Mr. Song's class, he would have been present in Ms. Manoban's class, he would still be the center in the dance performance, his mother wouldn't slap him twice this night and his hatred towards her wouldn't strengthen. Most importantly, he wouldn't have been this confused.

Gold's mind is haywire. Out of the many things to think about, why did his annoying mind decide to admire Kolya's face?