─── Eight ───

    “You have those foundations I told you to bring, right, Jihae?” my boss asked me, locking the car with the click of a button. She, Nari, and I were currently at a small event venue about twenty minutes away from our salon. After the awards show that changed my life, our boss received many emails and DMs asking if we would host any makeup and hair lessons. So, today, that’s exactly what Nari and I were doing. We had prepared an abundance of tips and tricks to present.

    “Of course! Don’t worry, Boss, we made sure of it before we left,” Nari answered for me after I didn’t respond right away. I was still down in the dumps after last night. Sehun consequently left the room along with the rest of s and managers following my outburst. I considered sending him an apology text, but what’s done is done. I crossed the line calling him selfish and I can’t take it back anymore. Honestly, I was expecting some sort of call today to relieve me of my duties as EXO’s personal beauty team. Perhaps they would contact me later.

    The three of us entered the venue, the staff immediately greeting us. They had decorated the room just as we had asked with fifty-five chairs for our attendants and a lightly furnished stage area. Our models, a male and female, would be arriving soon, too. Nari and I each had our own stations on the stage, so we temporarily separated to get set up. She got to work plugging in her straighteners and neatly laid out heat protectants and hair spray. Meanwhile, I stared blankly at my table. I found it difficult to motivate myself despite how simple the task is. All I needed to do was lay out my products and tools. However, my guilt continuously gnawed away at me, my mind overflowing with negativity.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    “Good morning, everyone, and welcome! My name is Park Jihae. I am a makeup artist at de Fleur Beauty Salon here in Gangnam, but you probably know me better as the makeup artist behind EXO’s ‘godly’ makeup and Red Velvet’s ‘princess’ makeup.” A round of applause ensued at the mere mention of Nari and I’s claim to fame. “Today, I will be recreating those looks on our lovely models. I hope you learn something new and thank you for being here to spend the day with us! Shall we begin?” I turned towards our female model and picked up a makeup wipe, reminding my audience how important a clean face is. Nari already pulled her hair back into a sleek, high ponytail that mimicked Irene’s hairstyle from the awards show. She started the session first, reasoning that we should get the less complicated steps over with prior to the technicalities of the makeup. I explained every step in great detail, occasionally stopping to answer questions. The princess makeup went by without much difficulty, but once I moved into the godly makeup, there was much more attention. It seemed to be the highlight of the lesson. Everyone was much more focused and they raised their hands every five minutes or so to ask why I did this a certain way or does this shade work instead.

    Following a brief closing speech and some pictures, we packed up and left around 19:00. I would’ve eaten dinner with Nari and our boss, but they both had other places to be. Our boss needed to pick up her children from music lessons and Nari had to rush to the hospital to visit her newborn niece. Thus, I went straight home, hoping Hwayoung would be there to keep me company. Of course, she went to the club instead. Now that I was alone, my thoughts wandered back to yesterday. I let out a groan and sat down on the couch. Maybe if I asked one of my unnies, they’d meet me for tteokbokki. Whenever I feel sad, spicy food tastes so much better. As my thumbs hesitated to tap on Seoyeon or Eunae’s contact, I received a phone call from Nari.

    “Hi, how’s your niece?” I asked.

    “Jihae, I may have—oh, you mean Youngmi? She’s great, very cute and tiny!”

    “You may have what?” I didn’t realize that I interrupted her. I could hear various voices in the background chatting animatedly. It was her parents, I assume, excited about the latest addition to their family.

    “Ah, well…I may have given Sehun your address. Please don’t get mad, he’s there for a good reason! Gotta go, bye!” she hurriedly said.

    “You what?” The line went dead before I could get anything in. Just then, the doorbell rang and lo and behold, there was Sehun on the other side of the door. Once again, it appeared that he came from practice. He wore a tight-fitting black shirt underneath a dark green bomber jacket, gray joggers, a baseball cap, and  black Converse. He held two plastic bags in each hand. I looked up at him, skeptical on how to react. Of course, I was shocked and mad, but at the same time, I wanted so bad to ask for forgiveness. I was the one who overreacted, after all. I had no right to yell at him the way I did yesterday. 

    “Jihae, I’m sorry,” he began. “I never meant to make you feel that way and I wasn’t trying to use you at all. I really care about you, you’re like family to me. I promise I won’t do that ever again.” Instantly, all the bad emotions I felt towards him melted away. I opened the door and let him back in. He was my reason behind everything, so why would I shut it? After all, I’m not going to waste this opportunity that fate gave me.

    “Fine, I forgive you.” My heart warmed as his eyes turned into little crescent moons. God, I missed those so much.

    “Are you in the mood to drink? I brought my favorite chimaek!” He opened up two bottles of beer from a pack of eight and took the chicken out of its container, placing everything on the kitchen counter. I’m sure Hwayoung will get mad at how much the room would smell after this, but I didn’t care. In a way, this made up for that date I thought Sehun and I were going to have. This time, though, there was no worry about what I was wearing or what I should say. It was just the two of us spending quality time together and in my eyes, that’s the most perfect date.

    “Oh, and by the way, as a congrats on completing your first lesson—cake!”

    “Why does it say this, then?” I giggled, referencing to the “Happy Birthday” and balloons frosted in different colors. He paused for a moment, scrutinizing the dessert.

    “I thought I grabbed the Congrats one…!”

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁