Mr. Brightside?

(Jiyong's P.O.V)

I was lying on my side in a warm comfy bed, covered with fluffy blanket, smiling to myself. The sounds of my favorite song woke me up few minutes ago, but I was feeling so comfortable that I still hadn’t opened my eyes, trying to invent ways to avoid leaving my room and going to school. The only thing that I felt lack of was just a bit of sunshine. It was after 7 o’clock in the morning but the daylight to the bedroom was limited by pulled down blinds. I hugged my big red dragon plushie, which I had been sleeping with since kindergarten, and fell deep into vision of myself living in an enormous and extremely modern house made of glass and steel. I would have all the electronic devices that would let me do everything without getting up from bed. At the moment like this I would only reach for a remote control and the blinds would be automatically put up, releasing the sunshine. I could see it clearly with the eyes of my imagination.

I fidgeted a little and sank into pillows.

Oh it really won’t be easy to get me out of the bed.

The things that I desired the most in life was being rich and famous. I longed for people’s attention and wanted to be admired. I could be, why not? I had a great potential, after all. Not many people from my surrounding were as creative as I was.

Yeah, I know I was selfish. Just a little. But I had all the rights to be like that.

If anyone, who didn’t know me, but had, let’s say, an supernatural ability to read minds and heard my thoughts, would probably get an impression that I was a sort of narcissistic guy who tends to show off, but is popular and recognized at school.

Well, it wasn’t true. Unfortunately.

I was actually rather a shy type, unnoticeable in the corridors, always hiding behind my books or a sketchbook. I rarely expressed my thoughts in class and didn’t even pay attention on the lessons. Constantly daydreaming, I was concerned only about my drawings and designs.

There was, however, one place where I could express myself fully.

The idyll for people like me - the Internet.

It wasn’t only a source of information about latest trends and changes in the industry. I was able to socialize there without revealing my true identity, what was kind of salvation for me - a person socially disabled in reality.

I, Kwon Jiyong, was a prosperous fashion designer who as yet simply wanted to remain anonymous.

Not to spoil the world with my awesomeness, of course. It wasn’t ready for me.

Or so I wanted it to be described.

To tell the truth, I had serious problems with self-acceptance and my inner-narcissist was the only way for me to somehow deal with it.

As a one of the most active members of online society koreafashion.kr, I was often asked for photos of myself or my real name by people who admired my works or wanted to collaborate with me. I refused or ignored each such request, getting annoyed at constant nosiness of complete strangers or their willingness to obtain financial profit basing on my designs.

There was, however, one person who didn’t make me any trouble of that kind. One guy, whom I considered my only friend, though we hadn’t ever met. I had no idea what he looked like, not that I wouldn’t like to. Sometimes I was about to ask him for a photo but that would mean that I should send him mine, too. So I had to be satisfied with my own vision of him.

Thinking of him reminded me that I should check my mailbox. I jumped out of my bed, completely forgetting about its incapacitating comfort and ran to my desk. After I had quickly switched my laptop on, I pulled up the blinds and opened the door to a small balcony. Still in my pajamas and with a total mess on my head, I stretched out and took a breath of fresh morning air. I tried to avoid looking around, not to spoil the moment with the sight of my neighborhood. It would make me lose all of my positive energy that I gained in the past minutes. As I stepped back to my room, familiar sounds started flowing out of my stereo system. Only few seconds of the prelude let me realize what song it was. The Killers performing Mr. Brightside. With a few changes in the lyrics it could become a soundtrack of my life.

Humming under my breath, I sat in front of my laptop. Few clicks of a mouse later I was scrolling down the main page of koreafashion.kr. Nothing new had shown up since yesterday. I quickly typed my nickname and password and hit ‘enter’. Even before my mailbox opened up, I had known there would be a massage waiting for me. I was so curious to read my friend’s opinion about my latest designs. We had been exchanging e-mails for more than half a year and he had never let me down. He was always sincere, didn’t hesitate to criticize, but every time he justified his point of view and gave suggestions, which were always the thing that I was looking for. I was aware that he risked nothing - he could tell me everything and simply stop writing to me - but I felt that we created some kind of reliable relationship. I didn’t know how he treated me truly, but for me he was a great friend, a person who possessed everything that was missing in me. Together we made a perfect combination, fitted to each other like two pieces of puzzles.

The mailbox loaded finally. My heart skipped a beat, when I clicked on the new message. I started reading avidly.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Sent: Monday, 1:35 a.m.

You know what, GD? You’re a genius. You’ve improved so much that I am simply amazed.

But there is one thing I have noticed - every design is drawn for a different kind of silhouette. Maybe you should try dedicating one collection to a certain type of body shape? Find yourself a model!!!

Sorry for such short answer, I’m extremely tired after my training >.>”

I will comment every design with details after I come home from school, I promise!

I’ll be online in the afternoon, so we can chat for a while : )

Have a nice day, G!

Cheers,

T.O.P