Chapter 2 : Misunderstanding

At first, Ashlay thought he would find a way to slip away before this "boring" event was over. But he stayed in his seat until the last note of music.

At the end of his performance, Gwenval stood up, bowed to the applauding audience, and walked backstage. His face expressed nothing special, and he barely smiled to appear friendly.

The master of ceremonies returned to the stage. He called out to all the musicians who lined up behind him:

"Thank you again, ladies and gentlemen, for attending our charity concert. Thank you to all the musicians who performed tonight and the technical crew." He began. "A buffet has been set up in the next room. There, you can meet our musicians and chat with them. We'll also be announcing the amount of tonight's fundraising. Please follow our staff to the buffet." He informed, pointing to the exit.

At the end of his monologue, the master of ceremonies bowed to the audience. The musicians did the same. The audience stood and applauded.

Soon after, the performers returned backstage with the master of ceremonies, while the guests headed for the buffet room.

Ashlay, on the other hand, had kept his eyes locked on Gwenval and had barely heard the closing speech.

He was awakened from his reverie when Secretary Shin tapped him on the shoulder:

"What?” Ashlay gasped.

"I called you several times. Everyone's going to the buffet, we should do the same."

"Yes!" He agreed, stood up and straightened his suit.

Outside the auditorium, Ashlay was thinking about how to get in touch with Gwenval:

“If I wait for him to come to the reception hall, I might not be able to talk to him. He seems very popular. There's no guarantee he'll come either. Maybe he'll go straight home and rest... That leaves only one solution…”

"Secretary Shin, go ahead. I'm going... to the bathroom. I'll join you afterward." Ashlay lied.

"Understood.” 

Without adding anything, Ashlay separated from his secretary and headed for the bathroom. Halfway there, he stopped and turned around to make sure his secretary had entered the buffet room. Once that was done, he grabbed one of the bouquets on a table beside him and headed for the dressing rooms.

"I hope no one had the same idea..."

____

Gwenval had just finished talking to some of the musicians and was quietly making his way to his dressing room. He was feeling a little tired, but still had the energy to stay and attend the reception for an hour or two.

When he arrived at the door of his dressing room, he had a strange feeling and suddenly remembered the presence he had felt before going on stage.

He instinctively glanced around, then carefully turned the doorknob. He saw something inside and quickly entered the room, locking the door behind him.

"That crowns it all!" He said, annoyed by the situation.

As he was taking his phone out of his pocket, Gwenval heard footsteps approaching in the hallway. He unlocked the door and discreetly looked outside. He saw an employee talking to someone. He couldn't really see the face, but he knew it was a rather young man holding a bouquet of flowers. He claimed to be a friend of the musician. Gwenval closed the door without locking it, then turned off the lights.

As for Ashlay, he had brilliantly managed to sneak into the backstage corridors. Naturally, several staff members had asked him what he was doing there. But thanks to his charisma and his most charming smile, he obtained the information he wanted: the location of Gwenval's dressing room and confirmation that no one was with him.

“Come on, Ash! Your goal: invite him to dinner!”

A few minutes later, he reached his destination. He tidied up his hair and jacket before knocking on the door. One second... Two seconds... Three, four... Ten seconds. No answer. Yet he had been told that the musician was there.  Ashlay knocked again and called the pianist. But there was still no answer. Ashlay had a bad feeling. What if something had happened to him? Ashlay entered the dressing room and tried to switch on the light. When the light came on, the young man was confronted with a horrifying scene.

On the mirrors in front of him, the word "Die" was written several times in red paint. Crushed flowers and knives were scattered on the floor. The furniture was damaged. The room was large enough to accommodate three artists at once. However, Gwenval was the only one occupying it that night. So there was no doubt that this word was meant for him. The cushions of the chairs and a small sofa had been torn up. The table in front of the mirrors was covered with mutilated photos of the musician, dripping with paint.

"What the..."

Ashlay realized immediately that this was no simple “prank”. He looked around for the musician but was suddenly slammed against the cupboard to his left. The bouquet in his hand flew across the room.

"Who are you? Only staff and artists are allowed in here." The musician asked coldly."Besides, if we were friends, I think I'd know."

"I'd never imagined our first meeting like this.” Ashlay joked.

Ashlay didn't know what to say. He didn't understand why he had been greeted like this.

"I asked you a question." Gwenval repeated, tightening his grip a little.

Despite the situation, the musician's eyes showed no sign of fear.

"Ouch! Okay, okay! There's no need to react like that." Ashlay replied half-seriously. "My business card is in my jacket. If you let me go, I can show it to you. And if you like, I can even show you my ID card, too."

It occurred to Gwenval that he might have made a mistake. He let go of Ashlay and took a few steps back, looking a little embarrassed.

Ashlay turned cautiously to face the musician, both hands raised, and remained frozen for a few seconds. Since there was quite a distance between him and the stage, he hadn't been able to get a good look at the musician. Now that the musician was in front of him, his brain stopped working completely. He observed him in detail. Apart from his slim and elegant physique, his glasses gave him a cultured look. His eyes were two beautiful green emeralds, and his features were refined. He also wore an amethyst earring in his left ear. Ashlay's heart skipped a beat. Gwenval was so his type.

"He's also stronger than he looks." Ashlay thought excitedly.

Gwenval had also analyzed Ashlay. Everybody could see right away that he was the son of a rich family. Maybe even the type to spend lavishly, to party in fancy bars and nightclubs to drink expensive alcohol.

Ashlay noticed that the flowers in the bouquet he'd brought were the same as the ones on the floor. He realized that there must have been a misunderstanding. He took his business card out of his right jacket pocket and handed it to Gwenval.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Ashlay began nervously. "This is a bouquet I found in the hall. I'm not responsible for this mess, if that's what you think."

"How can I believe someone who says they know me when they don't?"He asked as he picked up the business card.

"I... " He cleared his throat. "My name is Nienrao Ashlay. I enjoyed your performance, so I wanted to congratulate you."

The pianist looked suspiciously at the person in front of him before returning his attention to the card.

"Nienrao Ashlay, executive director of the Orchid Prestige Hotel ." Gwenval looked up at Ashlay. "Am I mistaken? If that's right, there's no reason for him to do that."

"I've been assured that no guests are allowed in the dressing rooms except members of the management, staff, and those specifically designated by the artists."

"I know how to be convincing." Ashlay assured proudly.

" ... Security needs some upgrading." Gwenval retorted, looking away from Ashlay and started taking pictures of the scene.

"Even if I did lie to get here. I really hope to get to know you better. But right now, I think, we'd better call the police." He announced, looking at the state of the room again.

"No!"

Gwenval immediately blocked Ashlay's hand, which was already dialing the police number.

Up close, the musician was even more attractive. Ashlay struggled to concentrate. However, he had noticed Gwenval's strange reaction. He was a popular artist, so it was obvious that this incident would be front-page news, but to refuse to call the police out of fear of the spotlight. Seriously?!

"I apologize for my behavior.” He took a step back from Ashlay. “I was too abrupt... I also have a favor to ask of you: Could you please forget this ever happened and not contact the authorities? I can even pay you for the psychological damage caused if you wish. Don't worry about the dressing room, I'll take care of it."

Gwenval was oddly calm. Added to his behavior a few moments ago. It was as if…

"This isn't the first time this has happened, is it?” Ashlay asked suddenly.

The musician paused for a few seconds, then resumed taking pictures.

"It's none of your business. I can take care of it myself.” He replied nonchalantly.

"It happens that I'm suddenly feeling concerned about it."

Gwenval turned back to Ashlay, confused by what he had just said.

"You see, I don't like injustice and even less to be accused of something I didn't do. Let me help you." He asked with a smile. "Tell yourself I'm doing it for me too. I will not be able to sleep for the rest of the week knowing you were in this situation."

"Well, then you'll just have to put up with it until next week." Gwenval replied sarcastically.

Ashlay didn't know how to react. He sensed that the musician was determined not to ask for or accept help. It was as if there was an invisible wall around him. Just as he was about to make another attempt to convince the musician, his cell phone began to ring. It was Secretary Shin. He'd completely forgotten about him. He was suppose to have gone to the bathroom.

"Hello? Hello, sir? Where have you been? Don't tell me you've gone?" Secretary Shin inwardly prayed that he hadn't.”

"No, don't worry. I'm not gone. In fact... I'm with the pianist Altaha Gwenval. We were talking. I'll come with him soon. We have to go through the video surveillance room first."

"What?!" Secretary Shin felt that he'd shouted a little too loudly when he saw that some people had turned to him. He lowered his voice a bit and continued. "What happened to bring you together? And why the video surveillance room?! Are you alright? Do you need me to join you?"

"Ah ah ah! You need to calm down. There's no need for you to join us. It won't take long."

Shortly afterwards, Ashlay hung up and looked at Gwenval's dark expression. The musician couldn't understand why this young man wanted to interfere in something that was none of his business.

"I just threw him against a closet, the dressing room is a crime scene, and he still hasn't run away? What kind of person have I met?

"You won't give up, aren't you?..."

"One week." Ashlay announced firmly.

"What?"

"I promise I'll find out who did this within a week. If I don't, I'll disappear from your sight. If I succeed, you agree to have one dinner with me. As long as we don't involve the police, you don't have any other objections, do you?"

"Excuse me?!"

Gwenval was speechless. He couldn't help but laugh nervously at Ashlay's absurd proposal. On the other hand, he knew in his heart that a little help wouldn't hurt. Looking back at the state of the room, he pondered what to say.

"I can't trust him, and he doesn't know anything. But at the same time, he doesn't seem inclined to leave me alone." He sighed inwardly as he looked at the person in front of him.

"All right." Gwenval agreed. "A week and not a day more."

Ashlay, overcome with joy, forgot the situation he was in and quickly approached Gwenval to warmly hold his hands. The young businessman, with his sparkling eyes, saw an opportunity to get closer to the musician.

Gwenval was very surprised by this gesture and didn't know how to react. He just stared into the man's eyes.

After a few moments, Ashlay came to his senses and realized what he was doing. He quickly let go of Gwenval's hands and took a few steps back while apologizing.

"Does it make him so happy to help me? All this for a meal with me?" Gwenval found this behavior both funny and a little disconcerting.

Once they were on the same wavelength, Gwenval finished taking pictures of the room. Then the two men tidied up a bit before heading to the video surveillance room.

"So how long has it been?" Ashlay asked.

"It's been almost a month."