Ch 3

Kunal fidgeted at the front of the studio. Today was his photo shoot and he was nervous that his loose blue coat without a vest that revealed his bare upper body might upset the staff, if it slid.

Tightening his coat, he saw his tattoos which he revealed occasionally at pictagram. As he looked at his tattoos he thought about his past filled with gore and violence.

Unlike others, his hands were filled with so much blood, that he might have received the death penalty or life imprisonment if he was an adult instead of a juvenile.

At the thought of his past, his father's and his ex-gang leader's faces come to his mind but despite his hate, his face remained calm as he followed the staff beckoning him to enter the studio calmly.

Kunal, look here, not there. Yeah, try to relax a little on the sofa. Good; try to appear sexier. You know what, Kunal? Just place a hand on your chin.

Meghan pointed at the nearest staff and told her to unbutton his shirt appropriately.

The female staff looked around like a deer caught in the headlight and approached Kunal while blushing profusely as she opened his top buttons.

Her blush deepened upon seeing Kunal well well-defined chest, finished with her work she ran away swiftly while hiding her blushing face.

Kunal, caught in the middle of the situation smiled awkwardly as the staff laughed at his manly charm.

He continued smiling when the water got in his eyes due to a staff mistake while spraying water on his hair and face.

'Thankfully, I applied waterproof makeup today.' Kunal professional smile impressed the staff not knowing that he was slightly unhappy as he could have opened his button himself.

'Hypocrisy, at its best. What if I reverse the gender?' Kunal sneered internally as he waved at the shy staff peeking at him through her files.

'At least, she is pretty.'

A few minutes passed as the prop was placed and changed again by the photographer Meghan's whim, troubling the staff.

A satisfied Meghan glanced at her model's sexy chest showcasing a tiny part of his tattoo licked her lips before giving the green light.

This random mumbo jumbo of instruction was something he was hearing for the first time, as he was an esports player and a YouTuber, not a model.

This was his first time being a model huge brand, and even though he told the staff that it wasn't much of a problem, in reality, he couldn't understand why were there so many demands in taking a simple photo.

That was a professional lie; he told this to people often while working. And he was not wrong about understanding their instructions, as seen by the photos and the jubilant staff.

The staff were happy that even the photo in which he had sneezed accidentally turned out to be great.

"He is so elegant just like royalty." Staff whispered among themselves at Kunal's gentlemanly and elegant way of carrying himself.

"Yeah, he might be a foreign royalty, just look at his face." Another staff expressed her doubt about Kunal being a foreigner.

An oblong-shaped face with 10% fat on his face and an ideal measurement of his blue eyes, nose, and mouth made him visually pleasing to the eyes, and even though some guys like to say online that he kinda looked feminine without a beard, what can we say? Everyone has a different preference.

Meghan checked through their photo shoot ideas and found a great idea that was nearly buried in so many ideas.

She licked her red peachy lips, as her body shivered in excitement at the mere thought of seeing Kunal's upper naked body.

Her eyes shining with desire coincidently met Kunal's making his hair stand on end.

"Take off your coat, "said Meghan firmly, her words agreed with all female and some male staff wishes.

"Nani!" Kunal, an anime fan unconsciously followed his Japanese counterpart at being in a similar situation.

He naturally tried to refuse, as doing so might ruin the atmosphere but their encompassed desire pressured him continuously.

"This is a Kalvin Klien ad, dummy. We have to at least show a little of your underwear. Meghan huffed, exasperated at his shyness.

"But I am not wearing anything underneath.

Give me a vest at least." Kunal, who had not loosened his grip on his shirt, requested awkwardly, knowing that this much skin was nothing in this business.

After all, actors and models can go nude in the name of empowerment.

"You show abs at Pintagram anyway, so why are you feeling shy now? and we have to at least show your abs for the sexy concept. There's nothing wrong with it, okay??" Meghan tried to appease him, blaming his hesitance on his shyness.

"OK, but don't regret it later," Kunal warned as he slowly opened his only coat button.

As his shirt slid, showcasing his slightly neutral skin filled with tattoos of a dragon on his right arm and his left arm filled with artwork, A turtle on his right wrist, Patience on his knuckle, Aishwarya and Nitin near his heart—there were many other tattoos on his upper body except his abs and backs.

But what was shocking was not the tattoos, as this was something common in the present time, but the knife and bullet scars all over his body, giving the feeling that some of his scars were hidden in tattoos.

The lady giving him juice dropped the glass on the floor, shattering it and the silence that had formed unintentionally.

"Umm C, Co Continue with the shoot, everyone."

Meghan and the shoot director's voices trembled as they looked at the scars, which were not made artificially, and remembered something they had forgotten in front of his facade.

The man standing in front of them was not only an ex-esports creator but also a former gangster. The dragon tattoo on his shoulder was the symbol of his past gang.

He looked at the staff, murmuring to themselves and filling everybody who didn't know the story about him. Even Meghan, who was flirting with him with eyes filled with carnal desire, was now trembling.

'I already told you that you are going to regret this.' A melancholic Kunal sighed as he looked at his trembling incessantly.

"Sir, do you have any requests?" Their sudden respect didn't make him happy; it only saddened him.

His genuine smile vanished at their change and in front of their fear. It was replaced with the formal fake smile he always wore.

Just like always, he chose to hide inside himself, as his past was something that filled people with fear.

'I knew this was going to happen, so why does it hurt so much?" Kunal thought to himself while chuckling bitterly inside.

******************************

Kunal looked at the staff who were interacting with him like normal, then started walking around him on a thread and shook his head.

There was nothing wrong with their change of behavior, because if you are still with someone after knowing that they were gangsters and you don't know them personally, congratulations! You are an idiot.

Sam (Samuel), who was standing guard outside, frowned as he looked at the staff's changed behavior. Instantly, he glanced toward his friend and employer and saw his classic fake smile.

Sam combed his blonde hair with his hands, feeling frustrated as he ignored the lady trying to flirt with him.

The mood he had set up was destroyed as soon as he saw the discrimination toward his friend, and he grew more annoyed when he felt that he was deliberately not coming here.

He too smiled fakely as he maintained his friendly persona in front of others and approached his friend, hitting him lightly on the back discreetly.

"If you guys don't mind, I have to hurry home as Sam is hurrying me." Kunal excused himself politely and maintained that polite demeanor until he left the building.

"Don't you feel bothered or bottled up acting all day like that?" Kunal shook his head as he checked his car for any hidden microphones, and he only relaxed after he made sure that there weren't any in his car.

"So what happened that killed the mood?" Sam sighed as he threw his tie at the back of the car.

"None of those sons of the bitches saw my scar and pissed their pants. Spineless cowards all of them. " Kunal smirked as he got cozy in his seat.

This was his true self, unlike the one in the company who liked to curse often.

"Motherfucking bitch of a company, give me the phone; no, call the manager; shouldn't they inform me if they are going to take a shirtless photo of mine?" Kunal complained while stretching.

"What would have changed? You can't erase the scar, nor can those sons of the bitches. Sam retorted, not breaking his focus from the road.

San knew that his friend was only joking around but his fist clenched in pain as he recalled his friend's professional smile in front of their fear.

It's not your fault was something he wanted to tell his friend but their hands filled with blood stopped him and he could only stay by his side silently.

"You can't cuss them. It was not their fault that they didn't know me personally like you do. Ok, if you want to cuss someone, cuss society." Noticing his friend's serious mood Kunal replied cheekily as he patted his friend's thigh in mock compassion.

"And why did you leave that beauty behind? She was a smash, dude, a smash." Kunal gestured indecently with his fingers as he licked his lips.

"Shut up, you motherfucking bastard."

"Are you cussing my mom, You Bastard?"

"Ugh. I am sorry Aishwarya." Sam apologized as he hit Kunal. Their bickering continued as they hurried home to hear Aishwarya's adventures.