Chapter I:

Don't judge a book by its cover

            My high heel stilettos made a rushed clicking sound on the wooden floor; it can be heard in a large-sized studio room and the walls mostly consisted of posters of models in their agency. As I briskly walked towards my cubicle, I checked my reflection in the mirror and fixed my fashionable business suit. “Looking good Tiffany”, I mumbled to myself as I fixed my side bangs.

I threw my designer hand bag on a paper-filled office table which produced a loud thud and caused a few office materials to fall. I sighed deeply as I checked my wrist watch and anxiously biting my lower lip.

“I have to change my afternoon class schedule. Now I have less time for brainstorming over this new project.”

I inhaled and exhaled deeply; I stretched my short arms and sat on my comfy thinking chair. “All right, going back to the zone.” I shuffled a few fashion magazines on my messy office table and swiftly flipped pages to come up with new ideas for the fashion show coming up this weekend.

Personally, I enjoy what I do in the business by sharing my opinions on the outfits, make-up, and props that are used in every pictorial of the models, it’s my forte. It all depends on the theme, and everything is just so thrilling for me. My favorite is the Barbie themed shoots since mostly are pink. Pink cardigans, shoes, lipstick, background, everything pink just makes me crazy. Pink is so fascinating to me. Okay, don’t judge me, I have my imperfections and that happens to be one of many.

Going back, I stopped on a page that I found a bit interesting; my index finger was tapping on my table, trying to figure out how to come up with a new concept. After a few minutes, I heard coughing sounds just inches away from my cubicle. I know that annoying cough too well; it indicated the presence of a poker-faced co-worker that will tell me to quiet down every time I made that tapping sound on my desk.

“Hey, can you keep it down a little? It’s annoying me and I can’t concentrate on my work.”. Oh there you go, the first line that she usually gives me in the late afternoon.

“Good afternoon to you too, Jessica” I said in a mocking tone as I kept away the magazine.

“My afternoons are not good, thanks to you. It’s always ruined because of you. You should be at school at this time, you’re not getting any younger you know.”

I rolled my eyes with that remark. Jessica has a poisonous mouth but she’s actually pretty nice…at most times of the day. I work right after my class ends. Being 27 years old and back to college is hard and a bit embarrassing, but who cares? I know I can improve my talents and someday, I believe I can be fit for the entertainment world.

Jessica and I have been best friends ever since high school and have the same passion as mine, working in a fashion industry and pursuing to be a famous singer. I can say that we’re practically twins with complementary personalities. She graduated ahead of me, obviously, since I stopped school when I was 20.

“Tsk tsk, don’t say that. Because of me, you wouldn’t even be working here.”

Jessica glared at her, clicking her tongue in annoyance, “Fine, you win. But let me just say that you were the one who forced me to enter your agency, not me.”

I laughed and lightly slapped her bare shoulder, “I was just kidding, don’t take it seriously. And besides, I’m very thankful that you’re here with me or else I would be emotionally unstable right now.”

Jessica scrunched her eyebrows and pouted, looking at me with a sympathetic look. I hate that look since I don’t want people to see me as being weak.

“Don’t give me that look Jess, you know I’ve long forgotten about it. I moved on, it’s not going to affect me now. Not ever.” I assured her with my best smile

“Good because if you’re still hanging on to the past, I might give you a long beating.” Expect tough love from Jessica Jung. The fierce-looking girl but has a heart of a missionary. Pfft, no, not exactly a missionary but something like that...

 I sighed again, I have been doing that a lot lately and I wonder when it will stop. I can’t stop myself from remembering my painful past. As much as I want to forget, I can’t. There are just too many unanswered questions that left me traumatized which made my self-esteem on the low. I wasn’t as bubbly and talkative as before, I became less sociable and more serious. But thanks to Jessica, I had little sanity left in me. She was the one who helped me get back to my toes and continue on with my life.

A loud snap brought me back to present. “Hey, you airhead, were you even listening me?”

I focused on the girl in front of me and smiled sheepishly, “Uh, yeah, you were saying?”

“Aish, I was talking about some ideas on the new project. I was thinking of a y concept. You know, since it’s the weekend and its right after exams, there will be a lot of young audience scattering around that would like to watch the fashion show.”

“Uh-huh, so what do you mean by the y concept? It’s so overused, and aren’t models supposed to act as y human beings? It’s already innate to them, so we have to think more creatively.”

“Hmm…how about a Katy Perry concept? We can have cotton candied underwear and M&Ms sprinkled over chocolate bikinis. Don’t they sell them on ebay?”

I lowered and shook my head in disapproval as Jessica continued on to her fantasies of models wearing sweets. Sometimes, I can’t figure her out. She really is bipolar.

An hour had passed…

It seems like I can’t make her stop when she’s so absorbed in her fantasies of Korean girls with sun-kissed skin wearing carbs. “And yes we can make them wear wings too! Just like the Victoria’s secret models! I think it can work—“

As she was giving me loads of her impossible ideas, I was faking interest by nodding my head. My thoughts were somewhere else like my assignments for school and what to cook for dinner. I looked at the wall clock and it’s almost time for our meeting with the big boss.

“Jess, I think we need to go to the boss and prepare for the meeting.” She looked at the still talking Jessica who’s talking more to herself while making exaggerating animated gestures to the wall.

"Good grief.”

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Jessica and I went inside the executive office, along with the other creative team, we discussed on the agenda but mostly on how their personal life went. We’re not that professional at work, we have fun everyday but in the presence of the “boss”, we have to be robots again.

            As the sliding door opened and revealed a man with a stern look on his face, a typical one to see in every commander of the agency, the team swiftly greeted him with a bow and prepared their materials for presentation. He replied with a nod and eyed us one by one, I half-smiled but his expression didn’t change as he sat on the big office chair.

“Let’s make this quick. I have other matters to attend to.”

The meeting went pretty smoothly, and the team is as organized as ever. The employees here are exceptional that’s why we had retained our satisfactory status in South Korea. As I shoved my notebook and pen inside my handbag, someone tapped my back and whispered.

“Tiffany, your father wants us to stay for awhile. It seems like we have to evaluate some models for the upcoming event.”

I made a confused look. “But isn’t that settled a week ago?”

My co-worker had a concerned face, “There was a problem with their performance. Your father wasn’t happy about it so he had to fire all of them.”

My eyes grew big like saucers, not believing how irrational the boss is being, “All of them?! But we don’t have time to look for new models! You know how hard it is to look for a certain body type, height, and the face value….everything!”

I think I went overboard when I saw my co-worker cower in fear. I sighed in disappointment, “I’m so sorry for ranting, so when are we going to recruit for new models?”

The poor girl fixed her thick reading glasses on the bridge of her nose and shyly looked to the direction of a long table. Most of the managing team was there, including the boss. “That stubborn man.” I murmured grudgingly. I scrutinized him for a few seconds and a tap on my shoulder made me get back to reality again.

“Miss Tiffany, it’s right now.”

I crossed my arms and huffed in annoyance, as I nodded my head to my co-worker I lazily walked to their area and sat on an empty seat beside the boss, clearly looking pissed.

“Tiffany, fix that attitude of yours. The team needs you for this.” A deep strained voice. It’s so different from the voice she always hears in the past. I softened my face but still not looking at him.

“The one who needs an attitude change is you.” I mumbled to myself as I retrieved my reading glasses and held the resumes presented on the table. I looked at the whole body pictures of the applicants, most got my interest. Looking at half- bodies was no big deal, I got used to seeing those chiseled abs and y long legs.

Don’t get me wrong, its part of my jobs so I got used to it. I’m not a ert like most of my generation. Something like that won’t seduce me.

“I swear I won’t this time.”

“I’m sorry?” the girl at beside me asked worriedly.

“Oh it’s nothing.”