"You must have been surprised, Eugene."
Ashley glanced at the omega with an apologetic smile as they walked back to the drawing room. It seemed like the person who got panic attack was already isolated in another room to be soothed, and there were only some cameramen doing screen tests.
"It's not my first time with someone who has a hyper-sensitive nose, but..." Eugene tilted his head to look at the beautiful ceiling, recalling Hannah's--thankfully--not-very-severe reaction. "Yeah, I was surprised. I've never seen someone with that bad a reaction."
A clear guilt flashed on Ashley's face. Eugene could tell, however, that it wasn't directed at him. "I was partly the cause of why he ended up like that, so I feel responsible for his condition--even if I know he's an adult man already."
"Once your baby, still your baby?"
Ashley laughed. "Something like that," she nodded, the sad, guilty smile she had shown earlier was gone. "He lived with me since he was a baby, so he's more like a real brother than a cousin."
"That explains it," Eugene nodded.
"Was it so obvious?" Ashley laughed again. She took him to the stairs instead of going straight to the room, to the second-floor gallery where they could see the whole drawing room from a vantage point. "To be honest with you, I pulled him to this team because I want to keep my eye on him."
"Isn't he too old for that?"
Ashley glanced back and smirked. "Once my baby..."
"Always your baby," Eugene finished it with a chuckle.
No wonder that guy felt like a sheltered young master. He had a protective older sister at home who took care of him well.
"How envious," Eugene muttered with a bitter smile.
No matter how shitty his father was, it would be so much better if he had a supportive and protective brother. He didn't even need two of them--just one. Just one of his brothers taking his side, and everything would feel so much better.
If only one of them were on his side, he wouldn't have to run away from home and leave his mother behind.
But then again, despite the hardship, the freedom he found after leaving that house was something he wouldn't throw away.
And then, there was Hannah.
He wouldn't trade Hannah for any amount of brotherly love. Or fatherly love, for that matter.
"Oh?" Ashley seemed to catch Eugene's mutter and turned around to look at him, shooting a playful smile. "But I heard Sophie thought you're hers too?"
"Pfft--" Eugene held onto the railing as hard as he held back his laughter. "I still have no idea how it came to be."
Ashley leaned against the railing and pointed at him. "Just so you know, despite her disposition, Sophie doesn't befriend people easily."
Eugene just smiled. "I know."
How could he not, after six years of friendship? It felt kind of strange, though, talking about their mutual friends as if they belonged in the same circle. But knowing that Arthur also didn't know anyone aside from Allen and Sophie among the sophisticated circle of friends, despite living together with Ashley all his life...
Strangely, it didn't feel strange anymore.
They proceeded to discuss the set in detail from above. Eugene didn't really have many inputs, just giving suggestions about adding some stuff that would give more character to the scene. After deciding where they would place items that contributed to the foreshadowing, they took the short trail to the wooden cabin on the hill.
The hill was full of trees, which was good for them. The cabin scene happened when Illian got lost exploring the small woods owned by Jude's family, and Jude came to his rescue just before a nasty storm hit. It was a classic trope of getting isolated during an unexpected storm, and Eugene didn't expand on this scene much because it felt too tropey for him, but the writers love it.
"It's a cliche because it works!" Diana defended the scene passionately. "Besides, it's not exactly their first meeting. They are already crushing on each other, so this is just giving them the courage to confess their feelings."
"Yeah! It's not falling in love through a forced situation!" the senior scriptwriter added.
Eugene was rather perplexed. "People are so passionate about the sex scene, huh?"
"That's not it!"
The symphony of the writers' denial attacked him on the way to the cabin, and Eugene only laughed at how people seemed to be more passionate about his story than himself.
Well, his theme around this scene was one night that changed everything, so perhaps he unconsciously didn't want to expand on it too much.
But, hey--it was still a commercial movie, so an expansion of romantic scenes was a must.
The surrounding was perfect; it could be made denser with simple editing. The problem lay in the cabin.
"It's bigger than I thought," Eugene said.
The 'cabin' in his narrative was more like a shed. This one was a proper holiday cabin, probably made for the children of the owner, or for their teenage child's friends if they came over. It had an attic, but thankfully not a second level.
Still, it was too big and too polished even on the outside.
"Yeah, that's one of my concerns," Ashley sighed. "But it's literally next door, so it's too tempting not to be used."
Having more sets they could use in one location saved a lot of time and money. The estate even had a staff dorm that they could use for the filming staff and the actors to stay over during the filming. For a producer who had to manage the budget, it was hard to let go.
"Still, it doesn't make sense for a cabin this big to be 'abandoned', no matter how wealthy a family is," the director said.
"Can't we just make it look shabby through editing?"
The chief editor who came for inspection snapped immediately. "Do you want to kill me?"
"Heh heh..."
"Hmm...we can just change the cabin's identity itself," Eugene suggested after taking a better look at the cabin from the side. He continued as the others turned to look at him. "Rather than making it an abandoned shed, we can just make it a regular cabin that hasn't been used for years."
The director stroked her chin. "Hmm..."
"There is still furniture inside, right?" Eugene peeked into the cabin from the porch window. "We can just cover them with white clothes and make it dusty."
The editor accepted the idea immediately. "Oh, that's a good idea."
As long as he got a less demanding editing job. It would already be exhausting making the effect for the damn storm after all.
"It also makes more sense for two young masters like them to get it on somewhere cleaner," Eugene added with a shrug.
The director laughed. "Pfft--What can I do if the author himself says that?"
"Hmm...I understand the military boy is willing to get dirty, but how did Ian manage to do it?" Ashley tilted her head curiously.
"By the power of horny," Eugene replied in a flat, nonchalant tone that got the whole team laughing on the porch.
"I thought this was supposed to be a social commentary movie?!" someone screamed.
"Who says it isn't?" the director grinned. "Society is built on sex."
"Staph!"
The laughter intensified, but the inspection did not stop. The team was entering the cabin to check the inside when Eugene saw Arthur climb the hill alone. He already had his coat on, so it seemed like he returned to his car to fetch his neutralizer.
As the one who saw how pale the alpha was earlier, Eugene felt he had the responsibility to check on the man. He stepped out of the porch to meet Arthur at the end of the walkway and noticed that more colors had returned to the alpha's face.
"Feels better?" Eugene asked.
"Yeah, thanks again," Arthur replied with a grin, before handing over the madeleine bag Eugene had claimed earlier. "In case you want to snack while touring around."
Eugene arched his brow. He did want to snack while touring around. It was Hannah's afternoon snack time, so he also built a habit of snacking around tea time.
Haa...that was why he kept gaining weight despite all the exercise.
With equal lament and hunger, Eugene opened the bag. It was no longer warm, but they still looked good nonetheless. Normal vanilla and chocolate, green ones that were either matcha or pistachio, and...
Euegen arched his brow and took one out, holding it against the receding sun with sparkling eyes. "What is this blue-purplish one?"
Blue food! That was always a promise for an adventure!
"Oh, I used butterfly pea tea and lemon as flavoring," Arthur said, focusing on the omega's rare excited expression.
Eugene actually laughed. "I didn't know you could be adventurous?"
"Huh? What's so adventurous about tea-flavored cakes? I love using Earl Grey too, but I'm out of it," Arthur shrugged. "I don't know if you'll like it, though."
Eugene did not hesitate to take a bite, and his eyes turned as bright as his earlier laugh. "Oh--I like this one."
It wasn't a loud statement, but Arthur pressed his lips hard to hide his smile. Otherwise, he would be grinning like an idiot.
Eugene already knew it when he ate those muffins in the car, but Arthur was a good baker. He said the shepherd's pie and lasagna were from his grandfather, so it seemed to be a generational hobby. Just like any parent, he wanted to take it home for his daughter to taste, but he knew Hannah would spit out the butterfly pea one in a second.
Eugene popped the rest of the purplish-blue madeleine into his mouth. "I'd better eat all the blue ones; don't think she'll like this one."
"She?"
"What?"
Eugene almost spat the madeleine himself. His eyes widened before he could control his expression. Shit! This time, he couldn't even find an excuse.
"Arty! Come over here!" Suddenly, Ashley called her cousin from the porch. "I think we need to change the sound used for the cabin scene."
Thankfully, Arthur didn't question him further and moved along quickly. "See you later."
"...yeah," Eugene managed to reply with a rather hoarse voice. Only after he saw Arthur enter the cabin did he exhale.
It wasn't a relieved one, however. Eugene stuffed more purplish-blue madeleines in his mouth while scolding it. Damn this mouth! Why didn't you go over the words in your brain first before getting them out of his mouth?!
Eugene looked at the violet sky while sighing.
The madeleines were damn delicious, at least.