Chapter 123 | Keanu Reeves.

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On a freezing night, in Los Angeles, California— a man who was nearly in his 40s, was scribbling down his thoughts on a blank white sheet of paper.

In front of him, it was just not one—there were hundreds of papers.

From his long hair which grew past his shoulders and the pair of glasses that hung on the bridge of his nose, it was a given that he was some sort of a writer.

His beard and mustache, which had grown a bit more than usual, itched from time to time.

"Hey, Sunshine? Uh- it's so out of character! Hmm… Let's see what we can do," he scratched the entire dialogue out and started rewriting it.

"Not. Gonna. Work." He thought and rolled the pen in between his fingers.

Keanu Reeves. His name was engraved in the pen. It was a gift given by his wife, wishing him the best of luck when his first published novel hit the shelves.

Not soon later, he realized what he was into.

"If… If the scene was changed, there would be more time for the lead to get into character," He thought and tore the paper out of the notebook.

*Knock Knock*

"I'm sorry honey, but I thought a coffee would be nice. It's already past 2,"

His wife was someone who he adored wholeheartedly. She was accepting, understanding, kind, wise, and absolutely beautiful in his eyes. She was a housewife but also gives piano lessons to a bunch of 12-13 years old kids.

"Thank you, I'm struggling at a point, and I somehow want to move forward from this since I've been holding the same scene for two-three days now." He said while rubbing the temples of his head using his hands.

"Take a break. I'm sure once you let all of your thoughts wander to places you haven't before, you'll get over this phase sooner or later. It's just a matter of time," she said and kissed his forehead.

He nodded and stood up from where he was. Taking the piles of papers, he arranged them neatly and placed them in the lower drawer, which was almost filled with his drafts of different good scenes.

Taking the cup of coffee, he walked out of the little room he was in and shut the door behind his back.

"Hello, daddy!" His seven-year-old daughter came running toward him.

"Why are you awake?" He asked and looked at his wife.

"She couldn't sleep because you weren't there for her bedtime story. And you know how hot-headed she can be,"

"Story time?" He asked in a gentle yet rough voice.

"Yessss!" She danced around him happily, and they both walked towards her bedroom.

The bedroom was colored in purple and pink walls, and in every corner, there were books, books, and some more books.

"Can I ask you something?" She whispered in her little voice.

Although his eyes were hurting too much from trying to maintain focus while writing, he wanted to tuck his kid into the bed.

"What was your ambition when you were going to college?"

"Hmm… Good question. My little princess is finally growing now. No more fairies and zombies?"

She giggled while he tickled her.

"Well, I wanted to become an actor one day."

"An actor?" She asked in her little voice which always made his heart swell in cuteness.

"Yes, an actor. The work as an actor can be quite tricky. And as with everything in this universe, things are bad and good. But, when you become a good actor, it can inspire thousands- no, millions of people. There are actors with the hearts of angels. Who gives life to many good characters? And sometimes in life, we don't have to learn from bad experiences, we can also learn by watching those types of characters winning their life, or losing for that matter. Hmm… So the thing is, I wanted to become such an actor…"

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9.15 am, at Renner Studio, Main Office Building.

"Damn it! Are you sure Ian Renner isn't inside yet? We honestly have been waiting for quite some time now. All we see are employees, is it possible that he went inside from any other entrances?" The reporter questioned the fellow reporters around him.

"No. I don't think so, and as far as I know, he enters the office from eight-thirty to ten o'clock am. We can only know if we waited for some more time without leaving without the necessary interview." One of them whispered.

Currently, there were around ten reporters and the respective cameramen on their media channels. Holding equipment to get a word out of Ian Renner.

The main reason for all the chaos right in front of the entrance was how the movie trailer became a hit right after its release.

"Persistence brings new stories. Persistency brings better stories. You wait…wait…wait a little more, and then stories come." One reporter among the bunch, whispered to himself which brought everyone else's attention.

"What were you saying?"

"Ah, the first day waiting for Ian, also the first day working as a reporter. It's nice to meet everyone, but how long do we have to wait? My legs are already hurting!"

"Maybe you should go back to your little chanting. It might actually help in a career like ours, without whining about how your leg hurts," Another reporter scoffed and said, which made almost everyone laugh.

"Ian Renner! It's Ian! It's Ian!"

After getting out of his car, he was met with the people with microphones and cameras, which he had expected after the blow of the trailer.

Which was why he was dressed in his favorite navy blue suit.

"Ian Renner, can we get a word?"

"Ian, we need to know about the new movie! A word please!"

Ian walked a few feet far away from them while waving his hands toward the camera.

"Is Ryan Gosling your go-to star when the movie genre is romcom?"

"What do you have to say regarding how good the trailer was?"

"How long have you been working on the movie?"

"Ian, when will the collaboration with Goofy be released?!"

Ian couldn't say anything but walked inside the company building. Every one of the reporters was equally if not more frustrated than one another.

Some had their heads down in their failed attempt, and others simply walked toward the vehicles they came in.

-

"Raelynn, what a pleasant surprise?" Ian said with a smile while walking inside his office of Mason.

"Good morning, Ian. Mason asked me to be here in the morning, saying he had some stuff to discuss regarding Resident Evil."

Ian frowned at that mention. "Isn't there a cinematographer to help them around?"

"Of course. Just that, Mason has his ideas in the movie, and he wanted to share them first before talking with Mrs. Bird. It's fine, I suppose?" Raelynn asked.

"Hm… Yeah, it is. And you don't have to ask it from me," Ian said while his lips curled up.

"What?"

"What?"

"Why are you smiling like that?" Raelynn asked.

"You're easily distracted, aren't you?"

"Yeah, well… Even my mom used to say that a lot," She said while her voice was slowly decreasing.

"Used to?"

"Yeah, she passed away. I'm kind of an orphan myself." She said with sadness layered in her voice, yet a smile appeared on her face. Her parents passing away never made her sad, but strong.

"You're an independent woman, and I never would have guessed you have a heavy heart until you opened your snarky mouth."

"It's nothing to blabber about. Just that, I remembered her from your statement. And, what happened to your parents?" Raelynn asked.

"They got into a flight crash. More like, it's how fate was written to end both their lives. Although I'm bitter about it, it's nothing to talk about."

"Well well well, aren't we on the same page, director?" Raelynn said while brushing her hair roots from her fingertips.

At that moment, Ian noticed how pretty she looked.

Ian sighed and nodded at her words. He wasn't sad, but talking about death always dulled his mood. Al-fucking-ways.

"I guess we are. But yeah, life can be quite tricky to deal with. Especially when it comes to the deaths of people who are closer to us."

"Yep, it's nice to know that you can sympathize with people."

"Isn't that a normal human trait though?" Ian asked for which Raelynn just nodded. "What more do you think about me—Oh shoot! I'll find Mason and I've to be somewhere, uh, I'm sorry for going in between our talk. It was nice knowing you!" Ian said with his lips curling up.

"I thought we were already friends, Ian. Ouch-" She said while faking a dramatic sadness. Ian chuckled and walked outside the office room.

Raelynn was smiling from ear to ear at his expression. He was truly something, she thought to herself.

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