Chapter Text
Lights.
God, they were blinding. They flashed and sparkled like stars but burned like the heat of a sun. It took everything in him not to blink. All he knew was to keep his head up and walk forward. Walk like the lights didn’t bother him and walk like the attention didn’t make him want to run away. Walk like he loved it.
Which he did, so it wasn’t that hard.
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
Langa grew up in a quiet environment. The cold Canadian wind only brought the sound of nearby storms. His parents spoke very softly. He didn’t have any siblings. It was simple, then. It was simple to enjoy that peace that came when the world was silent. Now, it was so loud. It made his skin crawl.
He couldn’t find much reason to complain, though. Fame put money into his pockets. It put his mother into a comfortable house. And he had it doing what he loved.
Langa found that quiet when he put his foot on that board. He found peace when the cheers faded into silent excitement. When the countdown went from red to yellow to green. His only focus was to win. It wasn’t about his clothes or his reputation or what anyone thought of him. It is simple.
But another half of him loved how loud it was. He loved the attention and the love he got. He loved the beautiful clothes and boards. He loved that people cared. He wouldn’t know what he would do if no one did. Maybe thats why he stayed where he was. Maybe he was just so afraid of the alternative, which was being forgotten.
Langa sighed, sipping a cold glass of champagne. He sat in the back of the event. He didn’t particularly know anybody or wanted to get to know anyone. He was fine with spending this evening alone. Drips of condensation made their way onto his fingers. Drips of conversations made their way into his ears.
“Mr. Hasegawa! What are you doing here?” Said a voice to his side.
Langa looked over. A man was looking at him with a large grin. Half of it was covered by his lopsided red hair. He looked vaguely familiar. But then again, many people did now. He had trouble remembering all the people who went in and out of fame.
“Hello.” He responded. He wanted to greet him back with his name, but he couldn’t remember. He felt like he had it on the tip of his tongue. The man took a seat next to him.
“I’m a really big fan of your work. You’re very talented.” The man gushed. Langa almost frowned. Wasn’t this supposed to be a closed off event? What was one of his fans doing here?
“Thank you.” He responded humbly. “It is good to see you as well.”
“I came up to you because I wanted to offer you something… my clothing label would like to reach out and design your board and outfit for the coming beef next weekend.”
Clothing label… and red hair. God, he could almost remember. It started with maybe an ‘R’, or was it an ‘S’?
“That’s a very kind offer. Would you be designing my outfit?”
The man shook his head. “I’m a board designer, but one of my coworkers, Miya, will be designing your outfit. I believe he’s worked with you before. Wasn’t it for your beef you had with Miguel Ramirez last October?”
Yes! He has worked with Miya. Miya worked for a brand called DOPE SKETCH. He believed he mentioned a board maker he worked with…
Reki. That was his name! He was sure of it.
“Of course.” Langa nodded, taking a sip of champagne. “He did quite a good job. I don’t already have an outfit lined up, so why don’t we meet up sometime to discuss the details? I believe I’ll need something particularly striking for my competitor this time. My manager can give you my contact details.”
Reki gave another wide grin. “That’s great! I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“I believe I’m free tomorrow night. Would that be alright, Reki?”
Reki’s face seemed to turn red at the sound of his name, but it was hard to tell with the dimmed lights. Nonetheless, he continued smiling. Langa liked how much he smiled. Not many people’s smiles were as genuine.
“That should work. Thank you for your time, Mr. Hasegawa.” He said as he got to leave.
“Oh… and before you go,” Langa added as Reki turned around.
“You can just call me Langa.”