Carl had just received a new music video in the morning, and in the afternoon, the company arranged for the marketing and publicity department to handle its promotion.
In order to increase sales of the music video, the company launched an all-out publicity campaign. They even prepared to shoot promotional photos for it to attract fans’ attention.
“Carl, Grace, get ready. We’re going to take a promotional photo and post it on Twitter,” his agent informed them as soon as he received notice from the company.
The two nodded in agreement while Grace curiously asked Carl, “What’s a promotional photo?”
“It’s like a headshot,” Carl explained briefly.
In the photography studio, Grace had already changed into her outfit and put on exquisite makeup with anticipation for their upcoming shoot. She wondered how she could make them look closer together.
Having taken many promotional photos before, Carl remained calm while reminding Nana to eat well before they started shooting.
“Carl, Grace, let’s start shooting now,” said their photographer. “Today is just a promo shot so don’t be nervous; keep your expressions natural.”
Grace performed exceptionally well during her first time taking promo shots. She affectionately held onto Carl’s arm with a sweet smile on her face.
“Great job! Let’s try another pose,” said their photographer who was satisfied with their familiar and intimate poses.
Grace thought for a moment, then stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around Carl’s neck. Her action startled Carl, “Carl, it’s the agent who told me to pose like this.”
Carl was about to push Grace away, but upon hearing her explanation, he just let her embrace him.
“That’s enough for today’s shoot.” The photographer looked at his camera screen with satisfaction indicating that they were free to leave now.
As soon as they confirmed which photo would be used for promotion purposes, the company immediately posted it on Twitter where fans quickly took notice of this handsome man paired up with this beautiful young woman. Their pairing sparked interest online causing many fans creating hashtags such as #LoveYouMoreThanOnce# or #MaleFemaleMVCouple# which quickly became trending topics.
Nana who was resting at home also saw this tweet while scrolling through Twitter feed. Seeing how close Grace was holding onto Carl made Nana feel uneasy inside.
Mrs. Waters had also seen the news and her face lit up with a smile. “Grace is so talented, just look at the effect she had in the first promotional shoot.”
Watching Grace and Carl together, Mrs. Waters couldn’t help but think they were a perfect match. She glanced over at Nana out of the corner of her eye.
“Grace is young and beautiful, with a bright future ahead of her in entertainment. Who knows? She might even be able to help Carl,” Mrs. Waters praised.
Meanwhile, Nana’s expression soured as she listened to this news silently while staring at her phone, watching Carl.
“Mrs. Waters, I’m feeling a little sick to my stomach. I’m going upstairs to rest,” Nana said dejectedly as she found an excuse to leave.
Mrs. Waters knew that Nana must have been upset by seeing Grace’s success and felt pleased about it secretly.
Back in her room feeling upset, Nana called Jane on the phone with a despondent tone, “Jane, Carl shot an MV with Grace today and people on Twitter are saying they’re perfect for each other.”
Jane saw this news on Twitter too, “I just saw that too but I don’t think Carl did anything wrong; it was that girl who was being overly intimate.”
As women themselves, Jane could tell that Grace wasn’t pure-hearted from one glance.
“Grace has known Carl since childhood and his mother loves her too much! The day when Grace came over to our house bearing gifts made me feel like maybe she likes him,” Nana slowly analyzed what she thought was happening between them both.
Jane comforted, “Nana, you’re pregnant now; you don’t need to worry about these things! You know how good he treats you every day at home despite all your hardships together. He won’t betray you!”
Thinking back on all of their experiences together thus far made Nana breathe easier, “But what about Grace?”
Now that Grace had entered into show business, there would definitely be more opportunities for them both to meet again soon…
“Don’t worry yourself silly thinking like this. How many female stars has he met before? There are so many prettier than Grace yet none have moved him,” Jane laughed reassuringly. “What you need now is just take care of yourself well enough so your baby can grow safely inside.”
With Jane’s comforting words ringing in her ears, Nana nodded slightly, “I understand now, I should trust Carl instead of doubting him.”
After chatting for awhile longer, the two hung up their phones.
In the evening, Carl returned home from work only hear Mrs. Waters’ voice upon entering through door.
“Son, I saw the promotional photo of you and Grace today, it was really well done. You both looked handsome and beautiful together,” Mrs. Waters praised with a smile. “Grace looks even more stunning on camera.”
Carl casually replied, “It’s okay, but how did Grace get into the entertainment industry?” He asked curiously.
“Well, of course she saw you in the industry and wanted to join too,” Mrs. Waters chuckled as she looked at their photo again.
After searching around the living room for Nana’s presence without success, Carl asked his mother, “Mom, where is Nana?”
“She’s not feeling well so she went back to her room,” Mrs. Waters frowned at the mention of Nana’s name. “She just got upset after seeing your photo with Grace; she can be so petty sometimes.”
Hearing that Nana was jealous made Carl secretly happy inside as he said to his mother before heading upstairs to check on her, “I’ll go see her then.”
In the room, Nana lay on the bed, looking at the photo of Grace and Carl on her phone. It felt like a needle piercing her heart.
Hearing footsteps outside the door, Nana knew Carl had returned. She immediately pretended to be asleep and tossed her phone aside.
Opening the door, the room was pitch black, “You’re back,” Nana pretended to have just woken up, saying.
“Yeah, heard from mom that you’re not feeling well,” Carl said slowly.
Nana softly acknowledged, “How was your day at the office?” she asked, trying to indirectly inquire about the promotional photoshoot with Grace.
“Not bad, did a promotional shoot with Grace,” Carl said tentatively, wanting to gauge Nana’s reaction.
Nana tugged at the blanket and asked quietly, “With so many people in the company, why did it have to be the two of you together?”
Carl knew Nana was jealous. He chuckled softly, realizing that Nana was finally concerned about him.
He reached over the blanket and embraced Nana, “It was arranged by the company, but don’t worry, I just see her as a neighbor’s sister.”