3^rd Person POV

In a bustling and restless city like Seoul, swarmed with people of flawless physical features, of course one of the biggest professions is to be a model. A successful model would be highly paid, showered with exposures, tempting offers, and beloved by many—who doesn’t want all that in life? But, the journey to be one is surely not going to be a cakewalk. One would need the look, the attitude, and pure talent to even win the attention of a scout (and even that still need a lot of luck).

There goes Yeh Shuhua, a young Taiwanese girl that just turned 20 last January. On her school days, Shuhua has always been adored by many, but also envied. What with her snow-white skin and lively eyes she’s attracted so many hearts, but being a timid girl that she is, she’s always kept her circle small. Shuhua has never been fond of exposure. She always had a hard time being confident even if she’s gifted with a physical appearance so beautiful that she can’t even remember how many admirers she’s turned down before; not because she’s arrogant, but because she’s insecure. Other girls would either hate her or love her simply because of who she is, and she always tries her best to live with that. This girl moved to Seoul with a huge dream in her head: to be a renowned model. What she doesn’t know is that turning 20 would be the biggest turn of events in her life.

“Whoa..” Shuhua muttered under her breath as she flipped pages after pages of a fashion magazine. “Are you kidding me? They all look so gorgeous, I could never…” she sighed as she placed the magazine back on her desk. The pale-skinned girl then typed on her browser’s search engine, looking up for a name. “Seo Soojin. Right, that’s her name” said she to herself as she pressed enter. Then the search engine brought up numerous results, mostly photos of the woman named Seo Soojin. “She.. she was my senior, I always look up to her, I can’t be mistaken!” a huge smile appears on Shuhua’s face, as if she just found a priceless gem. “I can’t believe she’s a famous model now, but I’m not surprised either, she was and still as breathtaking as ever” she kept talking to herself excitedly, admiring over this Seo Soojin.

Back on her school days, Soojin happened to be Shuhua’s senior. Soojin was a famous student, your typical it girl with countless admirers and achievements, everyone in school knew her. The latter was famous for being the leader of the school’s dance team, and Soojin’s never failed to impress. Soojin was known for being #1 in almost everything, but word has it that she’s actually very shy & quiet when not under the spotlight.

“Yeh Shuhua, aren’t you supposed to go to the audition today?” a voice came from behind Shuhua. “I know Yuqi, I was just,“ “admiring?” the other girl’s voice interrupted Shuhua, followed with a small chuckle. “No dummy, I was trying to get inspired!” Shuhua quickly turned off her computer and stood up with a pout, facing her roommate. “Yuqi-ya, will you come with me and be my emotional support? Pweease~?” plead the younger girl with her irresistible puppy eyes, “I’m only coming because you’re treating me after” Yuqi replied with her tongue out.

With that settled Shuhua wore her best outfit, fixed her bareface look, and went to the mirror to check herself out. She experimented by making small, modest poses, along with a suitable facial expression, and then took a deep breath. “Off we go” Shuhua said to her own determined reflection. Today’s supposed to be the day where Cube, one of the best modeling agencies in Seoul, opens an audition for young aspiring models, which means it won’t be easy for Shuhua to get through. Shuhua felt that her insecurity grows larger as she glanced at other participants and saw how beautiful they all are. “Shuhua, I believe in you” Yuqi placed her hand on Shuhua’s shoulder before sending the younger girl off to the audition room when her turn is up. Shuhua responded with a weak nod and a gulp, feeling her heart beating so rapidly inside her chest it almost hurt. “I won’t break” Shuhua whispered to herself and entered the audition room with a strong will.

Inside the room is cameras, backdrop sheets, some properties, and of course judges. But the judges are so occupied by the pile of papers containing the participants’ profiles that they don’t even realize Shuhua already standing before them. Shuhua intentionally cleared to get the judges’ attention, “Hi, I’m Yeh Shuhua and I’m here to audition” Shuhua introduced herself with a polite bow. Surprisingly when the judges finally took a glimpse of Shuhua, they went speechless. Shuhua felt that she’s being observed from top to bottom, judged if whether she got what it takes to qualify to be a gorgeous model, and she tries her best to unleash her inner confidence to them.

-5 Days Later-

“It’s so hot today, what are we waiting for?! I want to get this photoshoot done and get to cooking!” whined a white-dressed blonde girl to her manager. “Soojin-shi, this is not our call—“

“Okay everyone let’s gather round the girl’s here!” the photoshoot producer informed the crew. “Girl? What girl?” the blonde girl turned to her manager again in confusion. “Soojin, I want you to meet our newest model, erm, what’s your name again?”

There everything happened so quick for Shuhua, she never imagined her first day as a model is to be in a shoot with the Soojin. Is it a coincidence, or is it fate? Shuhua introduced herself to Soojin, trying not to tremble before her, and bowed. She can’t even look at Soojin straight in the eyes, especially with Soojin already looking so prepared for the shoot. “PD-nim, are you sure about her? She can’t even look at me in the eyes, she’s too shy for this” Soojin scoffed at the producer, “Seo Soojin, are you doubting my choice?” the producer gave Soojin a sharp glare that turned the famous model silent. After the entire introduction, Shuhua was asked to head to the wardrobe and meet her stylist. It was told that today’s photoshoot theme is heaven and hell, in which Shuhua and Soojin are paired up to portray each.

“Hm, you don’t look so bad” said Soojin to Shuhua after she came out of the wardrobe, eyeing her from head to toe, “you’re up, new girl, show me what you got” Soojin cocked her head while giving Shuhua the spotlight. At this moment, Shuhua’s head is still trying to process everything while at the same time maintaining a professional attitude; to get used to all the cameras, to all the eyes looking at her with expectation, with judgments, to all the direct pressure. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few second, and stepped forward facing all the cameras with a sweaty hand and a racing heart. ‘I can do this’ she convinced herself as best as she could.

After finishing the shots, both Soojin and Shuhua are called to review the results, and Soojin was rather displeased by Shuhua’s. Soojin glanced at the new girl from the corner of her eyes and walked towards the producer, whispering something to him. “Shuhua-shi, new girl, let’s retake your shots! I need all of your confidence out, young lady”, with that, Shuhua obeyed obediently and quickly got in her position. But what’s different this time is that Soojin followed behind, and just when Shuhua realized that, her breath got stuck. Soojin caught Shuhua off guard when she leaned in to whisper, “I can see why the producer picked you out of all the other potential participants, but you’re still lacking. See, if we’re going to have a shoot together, I’m gonna need you to help me make it quick, so I’ll show you the ropes”, Soojin positioned herself facing Shuhua, leveling her face so that they can look at each other’s eyes. There Soojin guessed it; the problem with Shuhua’s lack of confidence is that she can’t even look straight at Soojin’s eyes, let alone the cameras. “Shuhua, you need to look me in the eyes, straight. Look. At. Me.” Soojin dared herself to place her hand on Shuhua’s cheek, forcing her to look, while Soojin rested her other hand on Shuhua’s waist.

Having received this kind of gesture from someone she looks up to for so long, Shuhua’s eyes instantly shifted to Soojin’s, giving the blonde-haired girl a soft, yet sharp stare.

For a moment, Soojin was taken aback by the intensity of Shuhua’s gaze, feeling the depth of it. There Soojin felt like time slowed down, she didn’t even realize that her eyes are already roaming around Shuhua’s face, absorbing her flawless facial feature, her silky smooth skin, and her gleaming eyes; Soojin did not expect this kind of feeling from the girl. On the other hand, Shuhua can’t help but to keep her eyes locked on Soojin’s, her heart thumping so loud she’s afraid if Soojin might hear it. Other than that, Shuhua can’t resist not to glance at Soojin’s luscious red lip as she took everything into her account, not wanting to forget this moment, this feeling, and this breathtaking view. They both jumped in surprise and stepped backwards when they feel a bright flash being shot at them, “Magnificent! This is what we need! Seo Soojin, you are indeed our treasure” exclaimed the producer, “Yeh Shuhua, you have earned your place”. Soojin took one last look at Shuhua before walking to the producer, and then Shuhua quietly followed. “That’s a wrap everybody, thanks for all of your hard work, you may all go now!” everyone bowed to one another, but Shuhua doesn’t want to leave before thanking Soojin for helping her navigate through the shoot. Unfortunately, Shuhua lost Soojin in the middle of all the formalities so she decided to just go back. “Miss Shuhua, wait!” just as Shuhua was about to head to the wardrobe to change, she turned around to see a middle-aged lady. Shuhua was baffled by how hurried the lady seems to appear, so then the lady quickly took Shuhua’s hand and dropped a piece of tiny paper, “with her regards. Have a pleasant day, Miss Shuhua!” the lady came and went so quick that Shuhua didn’t even have any time to respond.

Don’t worry, pleasure is mine. Please don’t call me with sunbaenim -_-

Should I call you Soojin-eonnie then?

Whatever suits you.

Jinjin-eonnie it is!

We’re not gonna be besties, Yeh Shuhua.

After sharing all of today’s events to Yuqi and squealing together like a bunch of kids, Shuhua can finally rest in comfort as not only that she is one step away from being a successful model, but she is now acquainted with Seo Soojin whom she deeply admire too. There’s no telling what tomorrow might hold for Shuhua. On the other part of town, Soojin lies awake, keeping herself occupied by browsing for new food recipes because aside of posing and modeling for the cameras, cooking happens to be another passion of her. After a while, she became bored of it and decided to put her phone down, but not when a text notification pops and lighting her phone back up again. It’s the photoshoot producer; he sent today’s shoot results, the ones that are going to be published into magazines and the internet. Soojin’s eyes quickly fixed its gaze upon a specific picture, the one she shot with Shuhua. The picture has a vivid, monochrome color, setting a dark and mysterious tone to it, and Soojin absolutely love it.

There’s only one thing that got Soojin’s curiosity, “Why am I feeling this?” as Soojin set her eyes upon Shuhua’s eyes in the picture, her heart beating rapidly.

When morning came and the sun sets brightly, Shuhua opened her phone to receive the same text as Soojin has, and one other thing:

Hello, Shuhua-shi! My name is Cho Miyeon and I have been assigned by the agency to be your manager, so from now on, please always keep in touch with me ^^

Oh and please pack whatever’s necessary because we are heading to Bali for another photoshoot session. The public absolutely love you, especially the combination between you and Soojin! Have you seen it??

“Yuqi…” Shuhua called out to her roommate trying to contain her euphoria, “things just keep getting better and better”.

“This is where you’ll be staying, please keep in mind to get some rest since it’s late and we’ll have the whole day tomorrow, keep yourself healthy. We are going to stay in separate rooms so if there’s anything please call me up” Miyeon, Shuhua’s newly-assigned manager handed the junior model the key to room 601. “Thanks a lot, Miyeon-eonnie” Shuhua smiled politely at Miyeon before the manager left her to her own and opened the door to her room, along with her luggage. Shuhua gasped at how luxurious the room is; facilitated with a single king-sized bed, a bathroom equipped with Jacuzzi, and also a personal swimming pool with a view of the beach outside. But remembering what Miyeon told her, she quickly changed to her sleeping robe and prepared for bed. Just as Shuhua was about to turn off the lights, a knock was heard. “Who could that be?” Shuhua can only wonder as she walked to the door quite cautiously and opened it to see, “I heard about it”. Shuhua’s eyes went round and her heart starts beating uncontrollably again, “Jinjin-eonnie…? But I thought,” “No, no, the agency wants to pair us up on another shoot. May I come in? Or are you gonna let your sunbaenim stand here all night?” with that, Shuhua hurriedly let Soojin into her room and locked the door behind them. Just as Soojin was about to turn around and face Shuhua, the younger girl suddenly hugged her from behind, “I’m so glad I’m not doing this alone, truth is I’m still… scared” said Shuhua weakly. Soojin, remembering her early modeling days, sympathized with Shuhua and gently caressed her hands, “I know you, Yeh Shuhua… I remember now.” Soojin spoke softly with a smile hidden from Shuhua’s eyes.

After pulling away from Shuhua’s back-hug, Soojin finally turned around to see those beautiful eyes once again, “We went to the same school, right? I thought your name sounded familiar” Soojin held onto Shuhua’s hands with a genuine smile plastered on her face. All of a sudden, Shuhua kissed Soojin on the lips, letting the kiss linger for more than a second. At first, Soojin was shocked by her action, but she slowly closed her eyes and indulged herself in it. “I-I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist, it’s your lips it’s just…” Shuhua panicked a bit when she pulled off, but then Soojin took her by the chin and lifts it up, “By all means, just do it Shuhua”. Shuhua saw Soojin’s approving smirk and went on for another kiss, this time letting all her feelings out into it, “Soojin-eonnie, I like you”. Shuhua turned off the lights and took it to the bed, spending her night in the most unexpected, unimaginable way.