The Treasure She Never Asked For

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Adrian asked Marcel. The two of them were parked outside the tattoo and piercing shop. Adrian was scared of needles, so when Marcel had told him earlier that he wanted to get a piercing, he became pale. Since Marcel had a tattoo on the back of his neck, it didn't look like he had any issues with them.

"Mmmh, I've pushed it back long enough," Marcel said as he looked at Adrian.

"You wait for me. I'll be out soon. You look like you are going to pass out if you see the procedure," Marcel said with a laugh before getting off the car. 

"I can bear with it, I can accompany you," Adrian said after he rolled down the window but made no move to get off the car. He knew that if he saw the procedure, he would definitely faint as Marcel had said, but he didn't want him to be alone, either.

Marcel walked into the shop and mentioned that he was from Big Star, which was like an express ticket to getting immediate services. 

"Please come this way," the receptionist said and took him to a room that was in the back.

Marcel took a seat in the chair she pointed at and watched as she washed her hands and prepared all the equipment that will be needed.

Marcel couldn't help but feel a bit nervous when he saw everything. He thought he would just get poked twice and leave. Why was there so much to prepare?

Five minutes passed before someone opened the door and came inside. Marcel looked at the tattooed man who walked into the room.

"We have another one from Big Star?" he asked and turned to look at Marcel, who was also staring back at him.

"Yes," the lady said and soon left after she finished her tasks.

"Are you still a trainee? I've not seen you before," he said as he washed his hands.

"I'm still a newcomer," Marcel answered politely.

"That's why you are unfamiliar," he said, and sat in front of Marcel. 

Marcel continued to make small talk with the man and forgot about his nerves from before. When he got to the part he was getting pierced, the man's movements were so quick that by the time he was registering pain he had already fastened the earrings. After receiving instructions for aftercare, Marcel was ready to leave.

"Oh? You have a tattoo? Do you mind if I take a look?" the man asked. Seeing that he was genuinely curious, Marcel nodded and let him take a look. It's not like he can discover something abnormal about it.

"Phew, this is really good work. Where did you get it done?" he asked and Marcel became slightly flustered, even though he did not show it outwardly.

"He asked me to keep his identity a secret," Marcel said with a calm expression.

"Maybe he is a master at his craft, I'll look for his work in the competitions," he said as he contemplated.

"Mmmh, thank you for your hard work," Marcel said, not planning on carrying that conversation. 

"Come again soon," the man said as he removed his gloves and threw them in the bin. .

When Marcel got to the front of the shop, he saw Adrian on one of the waiting chairs as he fidgeted with his phone. He smiled as he walked towards him. He didn't think he would try to accompany him even if it's like this.

"I'm done," Marcel said and watched as Adrian looked up at him and fell into a daze.

"Does it look that good?" Marcel asked as he lifted his hand, but remembered that he couldn't touch his ears, so he put them down. Adrian, who hadn't seen Marcel with earrings before, felt that he looked too good. Who knew that the already good looking Marcel could look better?

"Mmmh," Adrian responded while nodding.

"Let's go first," Marcel said as he noticed that they were drawing attention to themselves. 

"Sure," Adrian said and got up from his chair. When Marcel was about to walk out of the door, the receptionist brought him a paper bag that had the things he would need for aftercare. After thanking her, the two of them finally left. 

"Is it strange? Is it because you've never seen me like this?" Marcel asked with an amused smile. He remembered that when he was on set, a lot of the people's reaction was similar. It's just that they looked away when he looked back at them. As Lane told him, his bad boy makeup made him look both handsome and intimidating, so no one dares to look at him in the eyes.

"It's definitely not strange," Adrian said and finally started his car. Marcel smiled when he saw him like that before looking out the window. He could already feel the pain getting dull, meaning that Avian was already working on the wounds.

"I have to go home briefly. We can go to the model house afterwards. Is that alright?" Adrian asked and Marcel nodded. He was curious about where Adrian lived as well.

Adrian drove to a gated community that looked exclusive at a glance. After the guard verified Adrian's identity, the gate was opened, and they drove in. Marcel looked at the luxury villas and inwardly vowed that he was going to be successful enough to buy a place in such a community. It was a wonder Adrian refused accommodation from the company.

The houses were generously spaced out, so they were quite far in between, affording privacy to the people living there. 

"We're here," Adrian said as he turned right and parked the car outside his house. Marcel looked at the house in front of him and although it didn't look as big as some of the houses they had passed by earlier, it looked sizable enough for a medium-sized family to live in comfortably.

The two got out of the car and walked towards the front door. Adrian pressed his finger on the small screen of the lock and the door unlocked. 

"Welcome to my place," Adrian said as he casually threw his car keys in the key bowl as he removed his shoes. Marcel took off his shoes and received a pair of new slippers from Adrian before walking into the house.

Marcel felt like his apartment would fit into the space covered by the living area. Adrian went to the kitchen and let Marcel look around at his leisure.

"My place must have felt like a box," Marcel commented as he followed Adrian to his kitchen. This comment made Adrian laugh, as it was very unexpected.

"But I like your place. It's easy to find you," Adrian said as he passed a bottle of juice to Marcel.

"Thank you," Marcel said as he took the juice from him. 

"I don't stay home much anyway so I bȧrėly use the house," Adrian continued and Marcel felt his heartbreak. The kitchen was so spacious.

How good would it be for his audience to see his cooking in such a big kitchen? Yet it was wasted on someone who didn't even cook. Marcel thought inwardly as he rummaged around. Adrian did not mind, and even encouraged him to look around some more. If he liked his house, then maybe he will come over often.

"You can look around first. I'll be back soon and give you a tour," Adrian said and raced up the stairs. Marcel briefly looked around before he went to sit down on the white living room sofa. He pulled out his phone and took a selfie and intended to post it to his social media profile to show off his new piercings.

As he was taking photos, the doorbell suddenly rang. Marcel was startled, as he wasn't expecting any guests would actually come by. He waited a bit and didn't hear any movement from upstairs, so he went to open the door to check who it was.

When he opened the door, he saw what he ȧssumed to be an office worker waiting in front of it. He looked down at the documents she was holding in her hands before looking at her in the face.

Marcel leaned against the door as he continued to look at her. The girl was not expecting to meet such a person at Adrian's house. She just had to drop off the documents she had and pick up the ones that Adrian had.

"How can I help you?" Marcel asked when he saw that she was just staring at him without saying anything.

"Is Mr. Pearce here?" she asked, and it took a while for Marcel to figure out who she was talking about.

"Adrian?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered as she looked at him. Everyone always avoided coming to Adrian's house because of how long he would make them wait outside. It just so happened she was the one who lost in rock, paper, scissors so she had to come. She couldn't wait to tell them that rather than wait outside by herself, she was accompanied by a handsome brother today.

"Oh? You've arrived already?" Adrian asked as he opened the door wider to look outside.

"Yes sir," she answered and gave him the files in her hand.

"Oh, give me a second," Adrian said after receiving them and went back inside, but not even two seconds passed before he came back, pulled Marcel back inside, and closed the door behind him. The lady stared at the closed door and suddenly realised just how stingy her boss was. He wouldn't let her look for a few more minutes as she waited for the documents.

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