The sounds of the heels rapidly hitting pavement were muffled by the honks of cars, birds chirping, and the rustling of trees nearby.  As the July sun blared on Seoul's hot concrete ground, Eva's jolt came to an abrupt stop as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead, and tried to compose herself before entering. A little dusting off her dress, lightly fluffing up her hair, checking her watch for the current time, and-

“What the..” Her neck slowly craned in back into the opposite direction.

Her eyebrows rose as her attention was diverted to the crescendo of loud shrieks of girls holding black placcards with neon words printed on them swarming a large black van. Being that she was going to hopefully be in this industry, she looked at the over zealous young girls and could already predict what would be happening next.  

As on cue, the van door slid open and the shrieks were multiplied as six boys came through. Before she could get a good look at any of the guys, something clicked in her brain, reminding her why she was even in front of Jellyfish Entertainment. 

Eva sped walked into the lobby and greeted the raven haired secretary. While the professionally dressed secretary finished her phone call, Eva sat down in the waiting area and took in the buildings interior design. As her eyes were wandering through the lime green walls, she came across the recognizable pictures of the celebrities the label housed, but then her eyes landed on a picture of six unrecognizable handsome guys. Unrecognizable only because she has been away finishing her studies in New York City, NY for the past 3 years.  She scanned through each one of their faces, and stopped at a cold gaze from one of its members.

Ah I guess those are the guys fr-

“Annyong!” The overwhelming cheerful voices interrupted her thoughts and filled up the lobby.

There they were, the same boys she had just seen in a picture a moment ago. She figured that they had just come from a perfomance or recording as they walked in their studded paint splattered suits and perfect hair to match. They greeted the secretary and walked towards Eva direction, greeting her as they walked by. Eva stood up and politely bowed while flashing them a side smile. One by one their eyes sparkled at Eva's strong gaze. 

Except for…

She recognized that same cold stare as the picture plastered on the lime green walls. Her mind reacted instinctively and gave the flame haired idol her best eye smile. It was something she always did- try to make the unhappy...happy- and her remedy? A simple smile would always do the trick.

However, it didn’t work in this case.

Looking at her, he held his disinterested expression for only a short moment as they were placed back right back in front of him. Eva lightly shrugged as her eyes followed the six boys as they walked on. She sat back down idlying playing her with necklace as she waited. After sitting there for a moment, she used her free hand to zip open her portfolio. Going through each page, she brushed through her mental notes on every page. 

“Excuse me, are you Ms. Eva…Kim?” Her voiced slightly confused at the Korean last name Eva wore. Eva stepped out of her thoughts, and turned towards the quizzical expression the raven haired secretary gave out. She mentally chuckled at her genuine facial expression- her ethnicity was always a hit or miss. People either thought she was full Korean with good genes, mixed, or just Spanish. But in fact she was a hapa- her mother was Spanish & her father Korean. Eva’s facial features included her full slightly arched eyebrows, double-lidded almond shaped eyes, with high prominent cheekbones, a high nose bridge with a cute nose, and full lips- it was never a wonder why people would question her ethnicity.  

“Yes I am”

The waved digital perm of the secretary bounced while she nodded her head, “Oh perfect, please head to the 7^th floor, there will be someone there waiting to you to your interview.” Arching forward in a small bow, she motioned her hands towards the elevator's direction.

Eva bowed back as she thanked her, and made her way to the same direction the boys were heading towards. As she got closer to the elevator, she saw that the last member was just getting into the elevator. Eva did a quick dash and pressed the up button just in case the doors were about to close.

As she went to step inside the fortunately spacious elevator- she bowed once again. The group of guys giggled and shuffled their way in a ‘U’ form letting her stand in the middle; she walked in and faced the closing elevator doors.

Before she could go extend her hand to punch in the floor button, a lightly tanned guy with a gorgeous smile curiously tiled her head, “What floor?” 

“7 Please” The ethusiasm could be heard in her tone- while the tanned idol politely nodded. As she stood still in the boxed mirrored elevator, she could feel their eyes burning a hole in her back. In turn,  she decided to drown them out by mentally preparing herself for her interview when a voice asked,

“Didn’t we just see you a moment ago?” She turned to the voice’s direction, and in front of her was a cheerful young guy with dark brown spiked up hair. The quiet muffled chuckles were spreading behind him as his cheeks pushed up into a large toothy grin. 

Looking at him, she couldnt help but be infected by his happy virus, letting out her statement with a sighed laugh, “Ne, I’m here for an interview.” He only jofully hummed through his lips in understanding while a smile formed on her own. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to get that much closer to her ultimate dream job. 

BING! ‘Level 5’ a voice announced.

Turning back around to face her-“Well, this is our stop, but good luck on your interview! Fighting!” His outgoing personality made her chuckle as he put his fists up signaling ‘fighting’. She shuffled her body off to the side to let them through, and as he stepped off first, the lightly tanned guy mimicked his actions; sending her a reassuring look.

As they all stepped off one by one, they exchanged polite bows-

And once again she met his cold gaze.
And once again she smiled.
And once again- it failed to get her a response back.

Eva laughed it off, thanking him mentally for the comic relief before her interivew. She took a last look in the mirror to her left, making sure she had nothing in her teeth, and blotting her face from any oil. "Aja aja- fighting Eva!"

BING! ‘Level 7’ With perfect timing, the doors opened, and just like the secretary stated, there was someone awaiting her arrival.

“Ms. Kim?” The professionally dressed middle aged man with oversized eyeglasses addressed her, arching his neck towards her. His suit had been tailored perfectly, and Eva couldn't help but be impressed by that small detail. 

“Ne.” 

A tiny smile stretched out as he moved his body towards his left- signaling to Eva the direction of her interview. Eva quickly walked up next to him, and as usual- it didn't take her very long to start talk with a complete stranger. The walk didn't take very long as they came to a stop in front of two large white doors. Being a gentleman, he stepped in front of Eva and opened the door for her. 
 

"Thank you."

Unlike the lobby that had lime green walls painted- the meeting room she assumed was painted with a light orange color, bringing light and a sense of  enthusiasm into the large space. Sitting down at the long white matte conference table was a young woman, dressed very fashionably with perfect makeup to match.

“Ms. Kim, The Director will be here shortly. But in the meantime, take a seat and if you could please hand me your portfolio?”

. . . 

(Later that day)

She pushed her apartment door open, and quickly took off her favorite pair of white heels. Immediately dropping her belongings right at the doorway, she ran inside. 

“Leo!” She yelled. “Come here baby!” The soft rumble of tiny patters went from her small hallway into the kitchen. Her dog's body bounced as he rapidly ran towards his owner. She crouched down and her face was met her 2 year old light brown terrier. Picking him up, she cradled him as she made her way over the thermostate to lower the temperature just a smidgen. 

She turned back around and headed towards her red sofa. Finally resting her tired body, she stretched out her legs-  “Ahh~”

Holding Leo in her tiny hands, she stood his hind legs on her knees- his mouth open and pink tongue sticking out. “I’m sure I got the job, I mean-" She intently stared at her dog's lovable fluffy face, "-if you don’t have the confidence and optimism, then who will give that to you Leo? No one!” 

It was the way her mother raised her to be, confident and optimistic. Even when the worst things were happening in life, she still managed to keep her head up. Another thing her mother embedded in her brain was to smile at those that might be unhappy, because maybe a smile could make their day just a bit brighter than it was before.

She placed Leo besides her and reached for the white picture frame on the side sofa table. Eva gently grazed the picture of her mother, father and her with her soft fingertips. A small sigh escaped her lips, remembering her mother in her glory days. It was already 2 years since her mother had passed away from cancer.

Don’t worry Mom, I’ll make you proud

A tender and loving smile curled up her lips… 

Eva held the moment long enough to feel the her mother's reassuring support through the printed picture. After having her, mother-daughter time, she switched subjects. “Leo, you want some treats?” His ears automatically perked up and his tail wagged at the sound of his favorite word. Her voice went up two octaves in teasing her furry companion, “Yeah? Treats?”  His tail wagged faster, and a small bark left his sandy brown mouth. At the expense of her animal, she softly giggled, “Ara, ara, let’s go get you some treats.”

Getting up from the sofa, Leo jumped off with her and made a bee line straight to the kitchen. She laughed again at her dog's cute impatience for his beloved treats. She grabbed her small stool and opened one of the top cabinets.

She scratched the top of her head, Why did I even put them all the way up top here? Note to self: put doggie treats on levels you can reach without a stool.

~Y en esta historia           (in this story)
No existe el tiempo          (time does not exist)
Porque en tus brazos       (because in your arms)
Te inventé el universo~     (I invented the world)~

“Wah! Phone!” Eva yelled out. 

Maybe that’s my job offer?!

She jumped at the sound of her ringtone, and leaped off the stool, dropping two or more of doggie treats. Her hand rummaged through her purse to finally find her phone. Not looking at her caller ID, and swiftly sliding the side of the accept button she answered, "Hello, this is Eva Kim.”  Her uneven breath sounded through the phone's receiver. She tightly gripped her giant rectangular phone as she awaited to her the other line's response. 

Who's on the other line?

Author's Note: 

I know there was barely any Leo in it. But like I stated in the foreword, I really like building to that moment. But TRUST me- things will be better as the story progresses. I would really appreciate some feedback on the story- thank you so much!

Next chapter will have more Leo :)