“That’s all for June's schedule. Oh, I remember you told me that you wanted more opportunities concerning interior decor, so I skimmed through the offers you received. It turns out, there was a leather goods brand that wanted you to redesign their headquarters, and do a video about it. Let’s be honest, they are probably treating it as an opportunity to ride on your fame while revitalising their diving sales, but it’s not a bad deal for us since they will cover the cost, and even give you a hefty paycheck !”

  Cyrielle was in Julie’s office, listening to her friend and manager list their pns for this month. But there was something that was pulling at Cyrielle’s heart, a kind of uncomfortable feeling.

  “There was also the matter of Bil’s stream, it will be held next week. It’s just a chatting stream, nothing to prepare. And you also have some things Bernadette asked you to do, a design for a cover and a photoshoot for Femme Frenchie. She is really doing things well, getting your name recognized in the fashion industry, while propelling her magazine in the top ranks.”

  It was at this point that Cyrielle finally understood what was bothering her. She interrupted Julie in a low tone.

  “We are living together, but we don’t see each other that much.”

  Julie blinked a few times, confused. She didn’t know where that sudden remark was coming from.

  “Yes, I mean, we are both busy. It’s normal that we wouldn’t be able to spend time together.”

  Cyrielle gritted her teeth.

  “Are you okay with that ?”

  Her friend scratched her head.

  “Not really. You are my best friend and I would love to be with you at all times, but our agency is very new, so I have a lot to do if I want to make it work. We are also currently creating our website, it’s a lot of back and forth with the service provider.”

  “Do you like your current job ?”

  Julie fshed a big smile, with her usual mischievous look in her eyes.

  “I love it, and I’m making way more money than I ever could as a cashier ! It’s tiring, but fulfilling.”

  ‘Am I the only one who is bothered by it ?’

  Cyrielle wanted to say something, but she felt very selfish. If her friend liked her job, who was she to stop her ?

  “I was searching for my own apartment, but I don’t think I will move. I mean, look at you ! You are not homeless anymore, but you are not putting on any weight ! Do you even eat correctly ?”

  At these words, Cyrielle finally snapped. She stood up and looked down at Julie with cold eyes.

  “You are one to talk. I can’t recognize you these days because you look like a skeleton. Is your objective to die from overwork, or from starvation ?”

  And she stormed off, without listening to anything Julie had to say. The other employees were looking at her with wide eyes, wondering what could have happened to make her exit the CEO’s office so suddenly. But they were polite, so they didn’t ask.

  Cyrielle took the elevator down to the parking lot, and entered the van where her road manager was waiting for her. It was a new hire, taken in after the cosmetic ad and the new contract for the Versailles photoshoot. Now that the agency was doing well, they could afford it. The burly man turned to Cyrielle, worried.

  “Is everything okay ? Why aren’t you with the CEO ?”

  But she didn’t answer. She was having a silent conversation with someone else.

  ‘I don’t understand why I acted like that ! I mean, I was so angry ! But why ? She wasn’t wrong, I’m not eating properly.’

  [People can count your ribs by gncing at them, it’s true.]

  ‘I know ! But on the other hand, Julie isn’t taking care of herself either ! She was a bit plump before, but now her cheeks are sullen. And why is she wearing baggy clothes in June ? By now, she should have already taken out her crop tops !’

  [Sometimes anger can come from worry, like a mother screaming at her child when they go missing for an hour. You are worried for Julie, therefore you got angry when you realized she wasn’t going to slow down on work. You are also upset that her job is taking so much of her time, and you can’t be with her every day like you used to.]

  ‘You are probably right. But I shouldn’t have left like that. She needs help, and someone to care for her because she can’t do it herself.’

  [You also can’t take care of yourself.]

  ‘At least I have you, pestering me every day until I eat something for dinner. But she doesn’t have that. I should apologize.’

  She was about to take out her phone when she heard a knock on the car’s window. It was Julie. Cyrielle opened the door, and her friend sat next to her on the backseat, holding her hands.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t notice you were worried and upset. I know how hard it can be to watch a friend wasting away, I felt that too. I guess I just wanted your success so much, I forgot that having a friend next to you is also part of happiness. I want to be there for you, probably as much as you want to be there for me. If work is going to tear us apart and make us miserable, we need to find an alternative.”

  She opened her leather case, and took out a new contract.

  “Renegotiating previous terms is a bad thing to do, but I thought you might agree to it. When we first started this, the two of us, I thought that what I would earn didn’t matter, since I did all of that for you. But it’s become apparent that I can’t operate the agency with that contract.”

  Cyrielle silently read the paper. The previous cut of 9:1 was changed to 7:3. There were also other terms that were slightly worse than before, but it was still better than other contracts in the industry.

  “I would understand if you didn’t agree to it, but…”

  Julie couldn’t even finish her sentence. Cyrielle had taken out her pen and immediately signed the paper.

  “As your primary talent, I will also invest in the company. So, do what you need to do, hire more people, and for heaven’s sake, eat correctly. You can even hire a personal chef for all I care.”

  Her words were curt, but they carried a great deal of worry. Julie felt it, and hugged her friend tightly. At that moment, Cyrielle could feel the extent of the damages. She could not only feel Julie’s ribs, she could even count her vertebrae. It sent her into another fit of rage.

  “Hugo ?”

  The road manager turned to her. He had been doing his best to stay discreet, understanding that he wasn’t supposed to witness such a scene.

  “Book an appointment with a doctor. Right now.”

  He nodded enthusiastically, noticing what the situation was about. Julie, on the other hand, was protesting vehemently.

  “What do you mean ? We are supposed to head to a meeting right now !”

  Cyrielle flicked her forehead.

  “They will understand, if we say we are heading to a health appointment. And, if you don’t go to see a doctor right now, I promise you, I’ll quit.”

  Julie sighted, but finally buckled her seatbelt. She didn’t have the right to say anything, she would have done the same with Cyrielle. And it was true that both of them hadn’t had a medical check up in a while, so it was time.

  Thankfully, there were a lot of doctors in Paris, and one of them had a free time slot only an hour ter. After booking it on the Docteliby app, they headed to the appointment.

  The first thing Julie had done when she had pnned to have more employees, was to prepare a health care mutual for the company. Thanks to that, the two girls didn’t need to pay for anything, even though the check ups took a while. Julie was seriously underweight, to the point where specific blood tests were asked of her, to eliminate the possibility of an exterior factor. She also had a long list of supplements and medicine to collect at a pharmacy, and doctor’s instructions to follow everyday. Cyrielle ? Well, she might need to put on some weight and do her annual blood test, but she was otherwise very healthy thanks to ‘fortitude’.

  With that out of the way, Cyrielle made Julie promise to take care of herself and work less, and went on with her schedule. While in the van with Hugo, a chat bubble appeared suddenly.

  [You just gained a huge amount of karma.]

  ‘What do you mean, because I brought Julie to the doctor ?’

  [You can’t ‘peek into the truth’ right now, but know that things would have been really bad if you hadn’t gotten angry today.]

  Cyrielle reflected on that statement for a while.

  At the same time, that story was leaked to a certain fan group.

  {Hello fellow horseboys !

  I want to tell you about something just incredible that happened today. You know where the Angel-Minet agency is located, right ? It’s in a big building with a lot of other companies offices. Well, I work at one of those companies, and sometimes I can cross paths with Mademoiselle Cyrielle when I go to work ! I’m already a super successful fan because of that, but it’s not the most important thing.

  I was going out of my car, when I saw our angel storming out of the elevator and entering her van. She looked pissed ! And, I mean, we all know how nice and precious she is, so I thought ‘Who is the bastard who made our angel upset !’, like I was ready to throw hands or something. Then I saw CEO Julie, our dear content provider, run after her and enter the van too. But she didn’t close the door behind her, so I swear I didn’t want to, I’m not a stalker, but I heard everything !

  Here’s a quick run down of the situation : Angel was mad and upset because her friend Julie didn’t take care of herself because she was working too much. So Julie apologized and said she wanted her happiness but had trouble running the company because she had given her a contract that was too good. And you know what our angel did ? She immediately signed a contract with worse terms and said she would invest in Angel-Minet, so that Julie can take care of herself !

  I swear, she is so precious, I love her so much ! It also means we, as fans, are not doing our job properly ! I mean, we made our angel upset because there isn’t enough money for her friend to live well ! We are such a failure, we should repent…}

  -omg I’ll repent for the rest of my life, how could we make our angel upset T-T

  -This story is so touching, Mademoiselle Cyrielle really must be a goddess descended on earth !

  -How does it end??? Is Julie going to take better care of herself ? I’m so invested !!!!

  ?They went to see a doctor from what I heard, but after that they closed the door and went off, so I don’t know

  ??Good for them, I hope the results are good !

  -Hello, admin here ! After reading this post, I reflected a lot on what we could do to help Mademoiselle Cyrielle and the Angel-Minet agency, and I prepared a few pns that include : Voting for our angel for the model of the year award, and buying as much of her album as you can when it’s out, and gifting it to all the people you know. The full list is avaible here [Link]

  A new wind was blowing for Cyrielle, and it hadn’t been seven months since she first sang at the ‘Bad Mother Breaker Pub’ karaoke.