Dress? Check. Makeup? Check. Hair? Check. Smile? As good as it was going to get. I sighed before I went back to the photoshoot. Pose, smile, flash. Change pose, smile, flash. It was always the same thing. Nothing new or exciting. Same , different day. I glanced over at my mother who was standing to the side watching my every move. She came with me to every shoot to make sure I was doing everything right. I had been modeling for almost 5 years. I didn’t need her correcting my every move anymore.

    “Outfit change.” The photographer called and I went back to my dressing room and my mother followed me.

    “Yaling. You were too stiff out there. You need to loosen up a bit.” She said as I began changing into my new outfit.

    “Mom, if you want me to do better then send me to Seoul. I’ll do better there.” I didn’t want to be there anymore and my mom knew it.

    “Again with the dream thing…” She rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch in the room. “I have told you this every time and I’ll say it again. You will not go to Seoul unless your modeling career goes with you.”

    “But mom…” I slumped down beside her and placed my hands on her arm.

    “No buts, and that’s final! Now go finish getting ready.” With that she got back up and left the room.

    I sighed and sat down in my chair to get my hair and makeup fixed. I stared over at the picture of my best friend, Guanlin and I. It was from two years ago when he came to visit me for my 17th birthday. He’s been busy lately as he won a spot in a new boy group called Wanna One. He was so lucky. He got the opportunity to move to South Korea and he became a star so quickly. He was so talented so it wasn’t too much of a surprise.

    When Guanlin and I were in middle school we were partnered up for a research project. We were assigned South Korea. Our friendship began because of that project and so did our dream. We both fell in love with South Korea and we decided that our dream was to move to Seoul one day. Guanlin has fulfilled his dream, but my parents keep me trapped here because of my modeling career. If I only had the opportunity to go model there.

    “Yaling!” I heard my mother yell from outside the door.

    “Coming!” I stood up from my chair and stared into the mirror. I was now wearing a swimsuit and coverup for a summer catalog. I sighed yet again. “Back to work, Ling.”

    My parents were great people, but not the best at parenting. They gave up on my older siblings after I was born. My oldest brother, Chun-chieh or Jun, left after he turned 18 to go study to become a doctor. Chia-hui or Jia, my older sister, also left when she turned 18 so she could study art. They are both much older than me, almost 16 years and 13 years. Jun and Jia both loved me much more than my parents. They came to visit me often, but tried to have little interaction with our parents. Both Jun and Jia followed their dreams and are very happy now. My parents try to give me everything so I’m happy, but the only thing I wanted was to follow my dream. Even my own brother is moving to Seoul soon. I wish he could take me with him.

    “Excuse me, Ms. Ma.” I turned around in my chair to see a man standing in the door with a clipboard.

    “How can I help you, sir?” My mother stood up from the couch and approached the man.

    “Ah, I am here to talk to Ms. Ma about a job opportunity.” He explained as he glanced over in my direction.

    “I am her manager. You can talk to me about it.”

    “My name is Park Jaesung. I am from a modeling agency in Seoul and I am here to offer her a position in my agency as the head model.”

    I stood up from my chair abruptly, causing it to fall backwards. “I accept!”

_________________________

    

    I somehow convinced my mother to let me take the offer, so I was now in my bedroom packing some of my clothes away to send with Jun. Jun and Jia had come to see me once I told them the news. I had called Guanlin to tell him as well. I explained everything that had happened that afternoon.

    “I’m so happy for you Ling. Finally, your dream with Lin Lin is coming true.” Jia hugged me tightly as she congratulated me.

    “When will you be coming?” Guanlin asked.

    “Next Saturday. I’ll be leaving around 3:00pm and getting there around 5:00pm.” I finished packing my first bag.

    Jun was going to be leaving in the morning to Seoul even though he didn’t necessarily start his new job for two weeks. He was transferring to one of the best hospitals in Seoul to replace the Head Surgeon who was retiring. He wanted to go early to go check out the apartment. He wanted to make sure everything was the way he requested. He had to change some of the designs once he found out I was going to be living with him, so I could have my own space once I get there. Guanlin requested that he wanted to help decorate once Jun gets there. Jun and Guanlin were close like brothers despite the age difference.

    Jun, Jia, and Guanlin were the ones who I thought of as family. My parents were not very happy that I was going to be leaving, but since they promised that if I had an opportunity to model there then I could go. They also felt slightly better that I was going to be living with Jun because I wouldn’t be alone. My parents were so strict and protective of me because they thought of me as being the only chance they have of keeping our family name well-known. Neither Jia nor Jun were models or famous in any way. Jun was the closest to being famous between the two of them. Jun was highly-respected by many.

    My parents were not expecting to have another child when I came along. They tried for many years after Jia, but had no luck. Then I came along one day and they say me as a last chance. My parents were depending on me to keep the family popular. They believed happiness belonged in fame and fortune. My grandparents were all famous. My mother was an actress and a former model, and my father owned a famous restaurant chain around the world. People worldwide knew who my family was and I had to kept that trend. I was forced into acting when I was child and I started modeling in middle school. It wasn’t until high school when my career started getting crazy. I was becoming more and more popular and famous. I never had a simple life. I was forced to drop out of school because according to my parents, it was getting in the way. I stopped acting except for in advertisements and commercials. My entire life revolved around modeling.  

    Once it started getting late, Jun and Jia left to go back to their apartments so they didn’t have to deal with my parents. Guanlin and I continued talking for awhile though. We frequently had nights where we would talk until early in the morning, forgetting to sleep.

    “Hey, did you see my performance on tv the other day?” He asked me as I went to grab another bag to pack things in.

    “Of course I did. I never miss your performances.” I smiled as I remembered the performance.

    “I got to meet the group BTS. I actually became pretty close to Jungkook who is the youngest member. I even got his number and we’ve been texting a lot. I even told him about you. He says you’re really pretty and he can see why you are a model. You should look them up sometime.” He explained. “Oh, I didn’t realize it’s so late. I have to get up early. I’ll talk to you later.” With that we said our goodbyes and hung up.

    I walked over to my desk and sat down in the chair. I opened up my laptop then typed ‘BTS’ into the search engine. Guanlin was right. They do seem really cool and really cute too. They had two sides to them though. It seemed like when they weren’t performing they were cute and showed their silly sides a lot, but when they performed they had a y, bad boy side. Maybe once I moved I would run into them. At that thought I closed my laptop and got ready for bed.

______________________

 

    A week had passed and I was now on the plane on my way to Seoul. It had been a while since I had last flown on a plane. I had forgotten what it was like to be in first class. The attendants were constantly checking on me, but all I wanted was some peace and quiet. I had been listening to a playlist I put together of a lot of BTS’s songs. Within only a week, I had become a fan of them. I knew their names, but it seemed like the only ones I could point out in a picture of them were Jungkook and J-Hope. I was still learning. I closed my eyes but only to open them again when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked up to see one of the attendants.

    “I’m sorry to disturb you Ms. Ma, but we are going to be landing soon so if you could please turn your phone off and put your seatbelt on.” She smiled at me before walking away.

    I did as she said and put my phone and earphones away then put my seatbelt back on. I stared out the window as Seoul began to come into sight down below. It was absolutely amazing. I smiled to myself as I continued to watch the scenery as we landed.

    I got off the plane with my carry on and purse, and headed to the baggage claim. I quickly retrieved my bags and headed to where Jun told me to meet him and Guanlin. As I was heading in that direction, I accidently ran into someone and we both fell down. I tried to get up, but the man I had bumped into had fallen on top of me. He quickly got back onto his feet and held out his hand. I looked up at the man. He was wearing all black clothes, in a black hat, sunglasses, and a mouth cover. He almost looked scary, but I took his hand and he helped me up. I went to picked up my suitcases and bags.

    “I am terribly sorry for running into you, sir. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” I apologized as he grabbed his bag.

    “It’s fine.” He said briefly before leaving quickly.

    “That was kind of rude.” I pouted slightly then turned around to go back to looking for Jun and Guanlin.

    I was getting closer to the entrance to the airport when I heard a lot of screaming coming from that direction. I could see a group of girls huddled around what looked to seem like the members of Wanna One. I rolled my eyes and walked in that direction. I could see Jun watching the girls.

    “I’m so glad to see that Guanlin brought everyone to see me.” I said as I snuck up behind Jun.

    He jumped a little then wrapped his arms around me tightly. I put my stuff down and hugged him back.

    “Welcome to Korea, Ling.” He said as he let me go.

    “So is Lin Lin over in that sea of fangirls? Think I could fit in with them?” I chuckled as I looked over at the group.

    Jun rolled his eyes and glanced over at them as well. “Guanlin told his group about you and they had to come with him to greet you.” Jun shook his head. “This is absolutely crazy.”

    “Yaling!” I heard Guanlin’s voice say my name. I could see Guanlin pushing his way through the crowd toward me. Once he got through he ran over to me with his arms open wide.

    He wrapped his arms around me and spun me around. I could feel the glares and daggers from the girls that had been trying to get his attention for who knows how long. I had taken him away from them and that is the last thing you do to fans. Slowly the crowd began to disperse and the members of Wanna One began greeting me. After meeting them all, my favorite had to be Woojin. I absolutely loved his snaggletooth.

    “Ling, guess what.” Guanlin said as we were walking to Jun’s car with all my things.

    “What?”

    “Your apartment is only a couple blocks away from ours. We’ll be able to see each other a lot.” Guanlin smiled as he said that, which made me smile.

    “I’d be happy even if you were an hour away. It is much better than being in a completely different country.” I said and hugged his arm. We smiled and laughed together as we approached the car.

    Guanlin was coming with Jun and I to the apartment to help me settle in, but we would be meeting the rest of Wanna One around 7:00 for dinner at some fancy restaurant nearby. I was so excited to check out the apartment because Jun told me that I had my own room, my own closet and makeup room, and we had our own pool on the terrace.

    As Jun pulled up to the apartment building, I could only stare up at it in amazement. It had to be at least 30 stories tall. It was huge. Jun and Guanlin grabbed my bags and we headed inside. Jun pushed the button for one of the elevators and we waited for it to arrive.

    “Hey Jun, what floor are we on?” I asked as we waiting.

    He simply smiled at me as the elevator arrived and the doors opened. We stepped in and I watched as Jun pressed the button for the 32nd floor. That was the very top floor. Were we going to be living at the very top? I listened to the ding as we passed every floor leading to the top. Finally, we arrived at the 32nd floor. We got off after the doors opened. We were in a hallway that had a very elegant look to it. There were two doors in the hallway. One led to the stairs and one led to our apartment. We walked toward our door and Jun handed me a keycard. He smiled at me and I took the card. I swiped the card then heard a click. I looked over at Jun and Guanlin, then slowly opened the door.

    “Welcome to your new home, Ling.” Jun said as I slowly walked inside.

    I turned around in my place as I looked around at the apartment. It looked amazing. Instead of walls, it had windows that were the entire length from the ceiling to the floor. I had always wanted to live in a place with windows like that. I loved that natural sunlight feeling. The entire apartment had a neutral color theme which I loved. Each room had an accent color as well. When you first walk into the apartment, the kitchen and dining area was to the left. There was a resting area in the center, which had a crystal chandelier right above it. The living room or main area was to the right. All the furniture was elegant and fancy looking, but it also had a comfy and cozy look to them.

    “My room and study is right down that hallway. If you ever need me, I most likely will be in either of those two rooms if I’m not out here. Down that hallway is the entertainment and rec room. Your room is upstairs along with the entrance to the terrace. Guanlin will show you the rest. I have business to attend to before dinner. Please excuse me.” With that Jun hurried to his study.

    Guanlin smiled at me and several of my bags then headed toward the stairs. I quickly grabbed the rest of my bags and followed after him. We walked up stairs and through the windows I was able to see the terrace. I could see the pool, which was a lot bigger than I was expecting. There was also a hot tube beside it. Furniture was placed all over. Jun went crazy with trying to make use of every corner of the terrace.

    “Your room is the first door to the right. The second one is to your closet and makeup room, then the door on the left leads to the terrace.” Guanlin explained as we reached the top of the stairs and approached my bedroom.

    I got in front of him and opened the door to see my new room. I gasped at the sight of it. It too had a neutral color theme, but my room had a blush pink accent color. To the left was my bed that had a blush accent wall behind it. It matched the pillows and throw cover on the bed perfectly. The back wall had a ceiling to floor window as well, but had curtains so if I wanted to I could shut them. It had a small table and chair to the right of the window. By the foot of my bed there was a gray tufted bench which I used to set all my bags and suitcases on. To the right of the room there was a door, but to the side of that was a desk and chair. Guanlin laid down on the bed as I continued to look around.

I walked over to the door and opened it. It led to my own bathroom. The walls and counters were made of a white and gold marble. There was a giant walk-in shower which the water came from the ceiling instead of having to deal with a shower head. It had a sink area with two sinks and a giant mirror. The toilet was to the left of the bathroom and the bathtub was to the right of the sinks. It was a large bathtub that was surrounded by the white marble design as the walls and edges. It also had a tv built into the wall in front of where you sit when you bathe. A window sat right above the bathtub, so there was natural sunlight that also came into the bathroom. I thought it was a beautiful bathroom.

I walked back into the bedroom and Guanlin and I walked next door to my closet and makeup room. The entire room was white and gold. To the right was an entire area for my makeup vanity. Drawers surrounded the area beside it. Some were filled with makeup, some nail polish, others hair products, the list went on. Some of my pictures were hung up around the room. I noticed one was of Guanlin and I. I walked over to it and smiled as I looked at it.

“I thought you would appreciate seeing something that wasn’t necessarily modeling related.” He said and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Alright, let me explain the layout here. This floor is all your casual, everyday clothing and shoes. Downstairs is all your formal, fancy clothing, your bags, and jewelry.”

“Downstairs?” I looked at him confused.

He turned around and pointed toward a staircase that led down to the floor below. I headed over to the stairs and walked down. It was a spiral staircase, which I enjoyed a lot. He was right. All my dresses and fancy clothing was down here. All my bags and jewelry were on the opposite side.

“I didn’t realize how much clothes you had until Jun asked me to organize it all.” Guanlin shook his head as he sat down on an ottoman.

“Mom always wants me to look my best. You never know when someone snap a picture of you. Better look good than bad.” I explained as I sat down on another one beside him.

He took ahold of my hand and smiled.

“I am so glad your dream finally came true.”

“Our dream came true.” I said as I wrapped my arms around him and brought him into a hug. “I love you, Lin Lin.”

“I love you too, Ling.” He wrapped his arms around my waist. “Now, go get ready for dinner. You need to wear something kind of formal. Jun has my clothes in his room so I will go change in his room.” He kissed the top of my head before disappearing back up the stairs and out of the room.

I stood up and walked the length of the doors that contained my dress. My eyes fell on a gray dress that had a lace and sequin top. I opened the door and took the dress out to observe it closer. I nodded to myself and went to change into it. I picked out a small gray purse and a matching pair of heels. I quickly did my hair and makeup. I was putting on some jewelry when I heard Guanlin knock on the door.

“Almost ready? Everyone is waiting for us.”

“Almost. I just need to put my shoes on and grab my bag.” I hollered to him, hoping he could hear me.

“Jun and I will be by the entry way.” I could hear his shoes echo through the hallway as he walked away.

I quickly put on the heels I had picked out and grabbed me bag. I checked my hair and makeup before I left the room. I turned the light off and closed the down. Hearing the sound of my heels hitting against the floor with every step, I made my way down the hall and to the stairs. I grabbed onto the railing and carefully made my way down. I looked down at the entry and saw both Guanlin and my brother. They looked handsome in their suits. They cleaned up very nicely. Jun and Guanlin were laughing at something they must have been talking back, but as soon as Jun notice me he nudged at Guanlin’s arm to turn around. Guanlin glanced over his shoulder at me. As soon as his eyes locked on me, his lips parted slightly in surprise. I walked over to them once I safely stepped off the bottom step. Stairs were not my friend when I wore heels, so I always walk slowly when I walk down.

“Do I look okay?” I asked once I was standing in front of them.

“My sis really is the prettiest girl out there.” Jun kissed my cheek then gave me two thumbs up with a bright smile.

I glanced over at Guanlin who was still staring at me with his mouth open. I placed my hand under his chin to close his mouth.

“You’ll get used to it.” I said as I stepped between the two of them and intertwined my arms around theirs. “Let’s not keep the others waiting too much longer.”

__________________

 

    We went to dinner at a fancy restaurant that served five-course meals. Some of the members of Wanna One were a bit intimidated by how formal it was, but Guanlin, Jun and I were all used to this kind of environment. My father owned several restaurants and one he would frequently take us to for a family dinner was to one of his more elegant and formal restaurants. We were trying our best to act appropriately, but Seongwoon and Daehwi seemed to be having the hardest time. Since meeting them I had ruled out that they were the silliest and most energetic members of the group.

    I helped some of the members order what they wanted for each course, and we all decided that we would order some wine to have with the fourth course. The fourth course was usually the main course. I was at the legal age to drink in Seoul, but I wasn’t a good drinker. I was a huge lightweight, so I knew I couldn’t drink a lot. Typically, after about 2 glasses I was out of it. I never won at any drinking games when I played with Jun and Jia, who both could hold their alcohol really well.

    I ordered some stuffed mushrooms for my first-course appetizer. They were mushroom cups stuffed with seafood stuffing. For the second course, I ordered Penne Aglio Olio, which is a garlic and oil penne dish. My mother never let me eat anything with garlic since it gave you bad breath. She never wanted me to talk to someone with bad breath since they could write about it and cause me problems. Since she wasn’t there, I decided to run with it and ordered it. For the third course, I had simply ordered the salad instead of the soup. I was not a big fan of soup. Finally, the fourth course came along with the wine. I requested for the Chef’s choice which looked to be an Eggplant Lasagna.

    After I finished eating the Lasagna, I excused myself to the bathroom because I was beginning to feel a bit tipsy. I wanted to get up and stretch a little to sober up a little. I hadn’t had much of the wine, but enough to where I could feel it. Once I returned to my spot I glanced at my glass. It seemed that I had more wine left than I thought I did. I didn’t want to waste it so I felt obligated to finish it by the time we left. With that thought in mind, the last course was served and I drank more of my wine.

    “Alright Yaling. It’s time to go home.” Jun rubbed my back as we finished eating. I was resting my head on the table because otherwise the room would start spinning.

    “No...I don’t want to go.” I said and threw my arm up toward him in rejection.

    “Come on. Guanlin and I will help you walk.” He helped me sit up and wrapped my arm around his shoulder to help me stand up.

    “I didn’t know it was this bad. She had...a glass and a half maybe?” Guanlin said as he wrapped my other arm around his shoulder.

    “She’s a lightweight. She gets drunk after one glass even if she says she doesn’t.” I rested my head on Jun shoulder as they helped me out of the restaurant. They set me down on a bench once we got outside. “I’ll go get the car.” I stared at the blurry figure of Jun run into the darkness of the parking lot.

    I shivered in the cold night air. I rubbed my bare arms and looked up at Guanlin. “Lin Lin...I left my j-jacket inside.”

    Guanlin paused for a second then turned around and ran back into the restaurant.

    I sat there sitting into the darkness when I heard someone speak.

    “It’s a shame to see you like this, Ma Yaling.” I jumped at the sudden sound of a man’s voice. I looked up to see a dark silhouette of a man standing in the darkness beside the building.

    I stood up abruptly from the bench which caused me to almost fall down. “Who are you? Do I know you?”

    The silhouette began to slowly walk towards me. As he got closer I could see only his eyes. They had an icy, cold feel to them. “No, you don’t know me. But you will be seeing me around a lot more.” He said as he ran the back of his hand down my cheek.

    I was frozen in place as I felt my stomach churn from the way he made me feel. I felt scared and frightened by the man. I wanted to scream and run away, but by the time I felt like I could breathe again he was gone. I felt like I was going to throw up. I place one hand on my stomach and the other over my mouth. My eyes were full of tears.

    “Ling, I don’t think you wore a jacket tonight.” Guanlin said as I bent over and vomited.

 

A/N-

Welcome everyone to my new story. This is unlike all the other stories I have written, but I am extremely excited about it. I will be working on this and my other story It Only Goes On From Here at the same time, but after a while I will see which is in more demand and focus on one more. I want to try updating this story on Sundays and It Only Goes On From Here on Fridays until I go back to college next month. I am hoping by then that I will know which one to focus on more and adjust my schedule then. I look forward to writing this and seeing if it goes well. If you enjoyed this chapter please subscribe to get a notification to when I update. 

I hope you all are doing well and having a great day. Don't forget to smile because you are beautiful! See you next time <3