Achieving More

*THREE YEARS LATER*

"Miss Arizona Yu! How do you feel about your new series, Dear Society, Can I Be Pretty Too? surpassing the ratings for previous highest hit of all time despite the imprisonment of one of the actresses, Taste the Moon, that more importantly starred Carmine Jung? You two were publicly known to have a close relationship before he returned to Korea, so many of us are curious; you entered the industry now, and we're all enamored with your example. Are you two competing these days?"

I sighed briefly, with the flashes of cameras at my first press conference I thought I could never handle pointing at my face. We were going over the new series I'm actually allowed to say I'm the lead in - that sounds too good to be true. Though going through so many questions was as blinding as I expected, I still knew something about it was the taste of success. This represented all of the hurdles I had to jump for, and if shouted that I made it. It couldn't get any better than that.

"We haven't talked much about it. He's congratulated me for landing a role that I never could've imagined I'd be able to handle well enough, and maybe I didn't, but it was a fun project to give my all to - but we've never tried making what is a passion and love of ours a competition." The memories we had together seemed to flash before my eyes, like they say happens to you before you die, and before it made the best of me, I tried making a joke out of it. "But between you and me, don't you think that I'm flourishing beating him out so quickly when he's been in the industry so long? I'm a rookie, aren't I?"

The people looking up at the stage laughed, but it seemed to tie off altogether shortly after, and it worried me that I've done something wrong. Being in the eye of the public took a lot of effort to be sure you looked good in front of it, and Carmine going through that for so long was insane, but I found shortly after that the problem wasn't me, and that there really wasn't any sort of problem.

"Wow, Riza." I froze up at the nickname that shouted out to me from behind the curtains, because after all these years there's only one person whose ever called me by it. His presence was coming in closer to me, but I didn't dare turn around in case I was imagining it. "I leave for not terribly long and you're already talking behind my back? Ouch, Arizona. That shyet kinda hurted."

I knew he was behind me at this point; making fun of the terms I used near to when we first met was enough of a confirmation, but when he pulled me into a back hug with a closeness that only he had the power to give, I knew what I was feeling and hearing was real. Carmine was here.

The crowd squealed at our interaction. "Arizona Yu! What's the relationship between you and Carmine Jung? Is it still the same as it was three years ago?"

"Who? You mean the man that just back hugged me right now?" I played around with them, proving to them that I enjoyed my time in front of them and that talking to them was worthy. They began to nod eagerly, and with it Carmine gave them more to look at; a quick kiss to my cheek. "This man that just kissed my cheek?"

"Yes Arizona! How's your relationship?" The audience chanted, nearly growing tired of the suspense that I was forcing them to go through.

"Eh, we're just friends." I messed around with them again, finally glancing at Carmine at my side, the most offended look on his face, exaggerating his clutch to the cloth in front of his chest.

"I come all the way here, Riza, only for you to break up with me and humiliate me like this?" He played around with my joke, prolonging it further, and our fans and shippers were absolutely living for it. Who knew that one day people would ship me, a zero percent-er with the Carmine Jung?

It's then, watching all of our supporters staring right up at us, knowing that we were their source of happiness, and then, with Carmine's hand interlocked back with mine where it's belonged all this time that I was with the person I was born for, doing what I was born to do.

I realized that there's no reason to wish upon those shooting stars. To wait around for them to show up at night. All that does is make your nights sleepless and the next morning tiring. Praying to the one who created such beauty is where the answers will be.

Sometimes those prayers aren't answered right away, but with the trust of his timing, soon enough you'll know that he has something better in mind; better than we are able to comprehend until it arrives.

God doesn't cause the suffering we go through. The Devil does; the wicked world is in his hands and only for a little longer will it stay that way, but what's important to note is that God will definitely take what bad that his opposer has caused, and twist it until something good. So good that it's almost impossible to believe that it's the life you're living.

"You know I was kidding, Carmine. Don't be such a baby." I yelled, so that those all the way in the back could hear me.

"I love you, Riza."

"I love you too, Carmine."

"Didn't I tell you that our paths would still be connected even if time passed us by?"

I nodded, gripping tighter to his hand, and pulling him closer to me so our shoulders touched and there would be no debate on if they were or not. The crowd went wild in their support.

Yes, my beauty isn't the same as the trends. I'm completely opposite of what the trends could ask for, and I'm freaking beautiful. There's nobody that can tell me otherwise.

Because I made it. I made it all the way here.

A trend couldn't get more useless.