Man of Fiction

Ten years later

Having a routine is always guaranteed and safe. But it eats away at your soul, Emily Rose decided. She woke up at five in the morning and headed straight for the kitchen. This was the day things were going to go smoothly for her.

Great. Morning duties usually were no trouble for her, but she opened an empty refrigerator. She groaned, cursing herself for not doing any grocery shopping for the week. She opted for the granola bar sitting alone at the top rack, and immediately popped it into her mouth. Emily went back to her room to get dressed.

Great. Another run in her stocking. Emily looked closely at the damage and decided it wasn't that bad. She put on her running shoes and went for the door. She was ready to face the world but then another stupid reminder stopped midway. She forgot her work I.D. and her bag. Emily was this close to punching herself in the face. But harming herself would only waste time. She headed back to her apartment complex, only to see that she forgot to turn her lights off.

Fortunately, she did not miss the morning bus. She was standing, which was totally fine for her. The next thing she had to endure was an hour and a half ride from her home in Opal City to the bustling Mavon City, where her work was located. Traffic was horrible in the morning. The later she took the bus, the more late she would be for work. She wanted to get a job near her apartment, but there were simply no opportunities there.

Well there was one thing she could do, but she pushed that thought back into her subconscious where it belonged.

While she was immersed in her own thoughts, the bus driver made an abrupt stop and the standing passengers turned into dominoes, slamming into each other simultaneously. For a moment, Emily thought her life flashed right before her eyes when a tall man's warm butt slammed into her abdomen. It did not feel good at all.

After arriving at the hotel, she greeted the guard with her her heavy workbag. For some reason, her I.D. went to the bottom, and the top part of her bag was filled with files, keys, card holders, and... a lot of trash. Did she really need all of these things??? She gave guard a quick smile of reassurance as she pushed her arm deep into the bag. Great, the guard was giving her the look that anyone would give to an asylum patient. The look became more apparent when random items fell into his tiny inspection desk. It wasn't her fault that her bag decided to rearrange itself!

She went to the employees' locker area, where her make-up and hair products were waiting for her. Vanity was necessary for the job. She needed to be presentable to hotel guests and to her coworkers… well, mostly to her coworkers.

Great. She sneezed while applying mascara, and a goopy black stroke smeared across her nose. "It's okay," Emily chimed to herself. "Once it dries up, it will come off like a sticker." However, her naughty index finger unconsciously tapped her nose as she said that and the dark mascara stroke has spread throughout her cheek. It was such a shame that making noise was prohibited. The only thing she could do was grab her make-up remover, and start all over.

Once she was all dolled up, she grabbed a quick standard brewed coffee from the pantry and headed to her office. The sounds of still coffee pours, shifting keyboards, monotonous telephone rings, the rumbling air conditioners, and shuffling photocopy machines became familiar sounds to her in the office. It was a quiet place, where only the non-living things could make a ruckus. It was her sixth month as the executive secretary in the Administrative Department of Blates Luxury Hotel. Hopefully she could maintain this one, but office life drained the life out of her.

Once she sat on her desk, she opened the resident computer for emails and reminders. She took note of all the appointments that needed to be done and memos that needed her attention. She jotted all of them into her handy-dandy Danooki Notepad. Danooki was her favorite raccoon cartoon when she was young, and the cute pastel stationery was the only thing that sparked joy in such a black and white setting.

Emily gave her beloved raccoon notepad another look to check the first thing that she could do before her boss arrived. She faced the bulky computer and opened a series of documents that needed some refinement.

An hour later, her boss Helga Rooney arrived.

She still could not decide if she liked the Assistant Hotel Manager or not. She was a very confident woman in her thirties, who certainly did not look her age. She breezed through the department like a supermodel, with her designer handbag hooked on her left elbow and a customized blended coffee drink on her right (definitely something she did not make from the pantry). She wore her signature hot pink coat, black leather gloves and oversized cat-eye shades. Her strawberry blonde hair bounce with her graceful movements, and her lips were stained with a shade of berry pink.

The other staff members greeted her, and Rooney only responded to them with a quick nod. She went straight to her large desk, which was located right behind Emily's, not saying one word to her. This was why the young assistant felt so unsure about her superior. She tends to do things that make her feel uncomfortable, like initiating first greetings.

Emily controlled her urge to sigh and stood, carrying her mustered courage. "Good morning, Madame Helga." she said as cheerfully as she could.

"Oh and the General Manager is asking for a full report on the sales made by the Food & Beverage Department." Emily said.

When Helga looked up and gave her secretary an austere gaze. Usually this meant Emily did something wrong… again. "Didn't I tell you to send such a report to him last Friday?" Helga asked, caution emphasized on every word. She definitely did something wrong, so she had to think of her next words carefully. "You mean the sales report made by the Banquet that week?" she said, almost softly.

Helga shifted suddenly into her seat, letting out a scoff. It was worse than she imagined. "Just that week?" Helga repeated with an incredulous look on her face. "Emily, it's the end of the month. The General Manager wants a full monthly report of the revenue."

"You specifically asked for that week." Emily defended, flipping through her notes for proof.

"I specifically asked for a FULL sales report on that department." Helga corrected, her silk voice turning into rough fabric. "I never mentioned the word, 'week' in those instructions."

Emily looked at down at her previous notes and realized that Helga was once again right. The words 'full sales report' appeared next to the Danooki cartoon of the page. It was under Emily's assumption that full meant that she would get just a weekly report. She could not help but think that the cute Danooki's smile was mocking her for her stupidity. "I'm very sorry, Madame." was all she could say. Helga let out a sigh, leaning against her large chair. "Head to the Food & Beverage Department now and have that report done by today." Helga then turned her chair away from her subordinate. Six months, and she still was not used to scoldings. This is stupid, Emily cursed to herself. You're now an adult. You should be able to handle this by now. She kept telling that to herself, but it did not stop her legs from turning into jelly.

A shaken Emily Rose slowly walked out of her department and swallowed the lump in her throat.

Great. Office life sucks.

*****

Five in the evening has finally arrived. The last thing she did was turn in the correct sales report to the General Manager, who accepted the document with a grim look on his face. He was aware of her mistake, too. Emily could only give him a quick smile. But before she could make an exit, she almost tripped on her own feet. She hoped the General Manager did not see that, but he could sense him shaking his head as he browsed through the requested report. At least the worst was over, Emily thought. She could now return home and unwind before the tiring office cycle repeated itself.

She raced for another early evening bus, but she failed this time. This gave her a three-hour trip back home, thanks to the intense traffic jam. The ride made her feel so groggy that it made her forget the mistakes she made at work.

During a standstill traffic, Emily reached for her smartphone so she could breeze through the internet to pass the painstakingly slow time. SoPop, a social media platform that has been with her for years, appeared on her phone and showed her current posts from her friends list. As usual, there were a couple of great news from her peers.

First, Maya Cormick posted a passive-aggressive quote about love and Emily could not help but roll her eyes. It was obvious that she was aiming this post to one of her ex-lovers, who probably did not live up to her standards once more. She could not still understand why some of her female peers were so hard on their significant others for not being...romantic enough. But what did she know, she was never in a relationship, haha.

Norman Blue, Shaya's ex, finally graduated from college after dropping out a couple of times. Good for him, Emily thought. He posted another photo of him with an expensive new car and it garnered a thousand of likes, including one from Shaya. She wanted to snicker.

Then there was Alaric Bentlee. Now this was a post that caught her eye. He posted a layout of his brand new apartment… in Opal City. She began to wonder if he was in the same building or somewhere near--

Nope. Never mind, she should stop thinking about that. She scrolled on.

Things took a dark turn when she saw Shaya Diem's post. It was a brand new picture of herself in a new bikini, posing at a tropical beach somewhere in the East. It wasn't just some picture she bragged about, but it was the next cover of West Fashion Magazine. Her ex-friend recently signed in with a major modeling company and so far, she has been doing well to Emily's dismay. She still could not understand why someone like her was in her SoPop feed. Heck, why were they even SoPop friends??? She scrolled away from the well-loved picture, with darkness brewing inside of her.

As her thumb scrolled through the pictures and words, a heavy feeling sunk into her gut. This always happened to her whenever she opened SoPop. Seeing all the success that her peers were experiencing in their adult lives made her feel so pathetic. She started the race with them and just like what happened in the General Manager's office, she tripped.

Before she could drown in her misery, she saw enlightenment in the post of Magda Travey. She captioned, "#Nostalgia" and underneath was a video about… Mob Boy Order.

Her fatigue and sadness disappeared instantly. She did not recall Magda liking the show one bit, but it didn't matter. It has been a while since she has seen her favorite animated show. She tapped play and the video showed the epic fight scene between Cyrus and the Protectors of the Don Head Families. She admitted it was a perfectly executed scene. When the episode aired, it was what the only thing the internet talked about for days. Then the video showed scenes of Rowan, the main girl of the show, showing off her excellent surgeon skills during the third arc. She wasn't Emily's favorite character, but the character development was impressive.

Then her heart stopped when the video showed scenes of Gareth.

She did not expect to feel the same way for this fictional character after all these years. When Mob Boy Order went on a hiatus during her first year of college, her obsession for the show also stopped. Yes, there was a void in her heart for quite some time, but busy college life absorbed her time and emotions. She thought she moved on from the show, but watching the video proved her wrong. It brought back warm and familiar feelings in her heart. All the excitement, sorrows, and suspense was rushing back to her and it felt good.

She found herself exiting SoPop and tapping on TubeSpace, a video sharing application. She typed in 'Mob Boy Order Gareth' on the search bar and watched a compilation of Gareth scenes in her mobile device. Most of the videos had abrupt cut edits, due to the app's strict regulations on re-uploading shows and movies. But seeing Gareth's handsome animated face was more than enough for Emily. Watching him being intellectual, gentle, and sometimes angry made the happiness inside of her swell up. She gushed at his prim and proper seating position whenever he had discussions with the Protectors, the urges to hug him returned when he argued with Rowan about Cyrus, and she grinned whenever he flashed his warm smile. She simply adored how charming he was, without even trying.

Time suddenly went by so fast. Her phone's battery went down to fifteen percent and the bus was already nearing her stop. When she pressed the stop button nearby, rain started to pour. This was odd. The West was undergoing a dry season, so rain was to be least expected. Emily groaned, irritated that she didn't bring an umbrella. She has been praying for rain for weeks and it came at such a terrible time. She gathered her black blazer above her head and braced the storm.

Luckily, her apartment building was nearby. However, with every step she took, the storm grew stronger. "Is it September already?!" she cried to herself. She took more frantic steps until she could see her home. As she moved towards it, she saw a strange figure standing before the building. Raindrops kept hitting her back like rocks and she could no longer take it. Emily moved closer to her apartment until she was right next to the stranger. She was then able to discern that he was a man. "Excuse me, sir! Are you all right?" she yelled over the heavy pour.

It was after she asked that she noticed something strange about the man. His clothing was not of the West. It actually appeared costume-y. He was wearing a green attire that looked very eastern. It was a turned-down closed collar with five large buttons and the long hem reached past his hips. The top was paired with soft gray pants and brown combat boots. He looked like he just came from an Eastern Cultural Appreciation Party that went wrong. His outfit was not only drenched from the rain, but it looked tattered and filthy as well. The muddiness reactivated from the rain and a shade of dark brown was staining his uniform.

Emily felt bad for the man and dragged him inside without any second thought. "Sir, you can't stay out here!" she said, pulling him inside. When she entered the apartment entrance with him, she nearly gasped. Finally, she could see his face but she was taken aback at what she saw.

He definitely looked like he was from the West. His tanned skin glistened under the lights of the entrance, showing signs of rigorous training. His hair was a bright shade of blonde, strands of it hugging the very shape of his wet face. His emerald eyes reminded her of Madame Helga's, but his was much warmer and more inviting. It is like they were made to understand all the mistakes she has made in the world. Emily still could not help but think that she has seen such a gentle gaze before, but it was the first time she has seen such a man.

He was definitely wearing a costume. When she reexamined the stained uniform, familiarity creeped into her system. She has seen this attire before. Emily tried to remember where else she saw a green uniform, until Mob Boy Order came to mind.

Yes, the man was wearing a perfect replica of the Protector Uniform. She noticed that there was a wolf on his left chest, as well. That's the Class S Wolf symbol from the show, Emily remembered. She eyed the man's face once more and took another look at the costume. There was no mistake about it.

He looks like him. A real-life version of Gareth.

No it can't be really him, Emily rationalized. Gareth was a man made of fiction. He was an animated character. He wasn't real at all. The man before him must be a cosplayer and there was probably a convention nearby that she was not aware of. The stranger only did a fantastic rendition on his Gareth cosplay. Yes that was it. However, she was concerned about how he was not saying a single word to her.

"Are you all right?" she asked again. "Is this your building or are you looking for someone?"

The green eyes blinked, like he just woke up from a dream. He once again focused on the girl, but his expression was ridden with disbelief. Emily's concern grew and she suddenly wasn't sure if talking to him was the best idea. Finally, the man spoke.

"Yes, I'm looking for Rowan."