─── Nine ───

    I squirmed in my seat, smoothing down my blouse. I wasn’t used to wearing such formal clothing, but I was told this would be a formal meeting. The man standing at the front beside the projector droned on and on. I was currently at SM Entertainment to discuss EXO’s latest comeback, their manager sitting on my left and Nari on my right. While I should feel thankful that they gave us the honor of being the head of hair and makeup for this project, I tuned out. Seven in the morning is too early for me to be productive.

    “Since EXO has a unique plot of hailing from exoplanet, we plan to continue that story and make this concept…” He halted for dramatic effect. “Aliens!” Ah, SM Entertainment—the CEO of thinking they can pull of anything they want. They’ve done some questionable things in the past, yet this was probably the weirdest of them all. He proceeded to flip through a slideshow of alien-inspired looks. I liked the galactic look with holographic highlighters and cool face paint and perhaps even prosthetics, but I just can't wrap my head around EXO doing something so peculiar. They would become a laughing stock to the other fandoms for sure. Still, I’m confident that they can pull it off if they tried. Aliens is definitely a unique concept…but maybe a bit too unique. There are so many other themes to choose from that could fit with EXO’s story. Literally anything besides aliens would be better. As the man continued raving about the brilliance of this alien concept, my mind wandered to the American show I had binged yesterday. It was called Versailles. Normally, I like Korean historical dramas, but one of my unnies recommended it to me. In my opinion, those 12+ hours where I was absorbed into the scandalous and lavish world of King Louis was 12+ hours well spent. And the castle...it was so gorgeous! Visiting Paris definitely moved up on my bucket list thanks to Versailles. Wait. That’s it! A royalty concept! God, I can already imagine how good EXO would look! Sehun wearing a crown and sitting on a throne alongside s? It would be an aesthetic masterpiece that fans would bow down and worship.

    “Hey, what are you thinking about?” Nari asked, tapping me on my shoulder. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to her excitedly. The meeting ended without me even realizing.

    “A concept that would be way better than aliens!” I giggled. EXO’s manager sent me a warning look, as if he was wordlessly telling me to watch my words.

    “No, listen to this—a royalty concept! Imagine how good EXO would look as kings! I mean, they’re already kings, but now we’re really making them ones.”

    “That’s such a good idea! You should suggest it to that guy, umm, what was his name again?”

    “Kim Byungchul,” EXO’s manager answered. “And while I admit I like that better than aliens, he and his team has a reputation for being closed-minded.”

    “Doesn’t all of SM?” I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth. I can’t believe I just said that! He merely laughed at my snarky comment.

    “He’s the worst of them all. He’s very set in his ways.” We began walking towards the exit of the large meeting room and stood in the middle of the lobby.

    “Well, I’m very set in my ways to ensure EXO gets the best and only the best. They’re Nari and I’s top clients, after all.”

    “Aish, nothing stands in the way of a fiery 20-something-year-old and their goal, huh? Fine, I hope to see some good progress soon. Good luck! You’ll need it.”

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    In less than half an hour, Nari and I found ourselves sitting at opposite ends of the coffee table in her living room. The long process of planning this royal concept had begun. Nothing excites me more than finally transferring an image in my head to paper, especially when it turns out better than I expected. And that’s exactly what happened today. We were absolutely speechless the moment we lined up the nine drawings together. They fit together as perfectly as puzzle pieces. Just as I thought, EXO’s princely visuals are perfect for this. It really felt like this royalty concept is destined for them.

    “This is…” I began.

    “A masterpiece!” Nari finished.

    “Kim Byungchul must be crazy if he says no to this!”

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    “No,” Kim Byungchul said the next afternoon. He straightened up the papers and put them back in the folder before holding it out to me. Nari and I gave up the only break we have for this? I felt crushed. I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into these only to be rejected. I guess EXO’s manager wasn’t exaggerating when he said Kim Byungchul would be a formidable foe in our quest to get EXO this royal concept.

    “Can you give us a reason, at least?” I asked, disappointedly taking the folder back into my hands.

    “Purely because you’re only a makeup artist and hairdresser. It’s bold of you to think you have a say in this multi-million dollar company. Actually, I take it back. It’s amusing.”

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    The two of us exited the SM building with our heads down. The walk back to the salon was silent, as well. It hurt to be belittled like that. I thought I was actually important for once considering the clients I have now. However, in the eyes of an important professional like Kim Byungchul, I was nothing. I actually take pride in my work unlike other makeup artists I’ve met throughout the course of my career so far. Some of them just slap on makeup without considering their client’s unique face, but I take time to map out their faces, figure out their strongest point of beauty, and work from there. I want to enhance their natural features and give them individuality, not create fake beauty on their faces. In my eyes, everyone is an almost finished painting that just needs a few refinements to become a full piece of art. That mindset is what landed me the job I have now. I applied that to Red Velvet and EXO at the awards show and worked my way up from being a simple errand girl. If I followed the same basic protocol that everyone else did, I wouldn’t have a chance of being with Sehun. I deserved to be heard, even if Kim Byungchul thought lowly of me. So rather than being discouraged by his insult, I saw this as a challenge. He wants me to prove the impossible to him? Fine. I’ll do that and even more. He asks for the stars, I’ll give him the sun and the moon!

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁