The Job
Behind the Mask [Bangtan]Zhen leaned towards the computer, squinting at the font. “Can we change the color? I can’t see this one all too well.” She said, sitting back.
Jungkook nodded. “Yeah, of course", he said, scrolling around until he’d highlighted the words and then scrolled to the color box, changing the font from yellow to red. “Better?” She shrugged, but offered a smile. Jungkook smiled back, but his eyes stayed locked on hers for a moment, and he leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. Zhen’s eyes widened and she leaned back as he leaned towards her. What was he doing? Seriously? There was no reason for him to be that close to her. His arm brushed hers as he lifted his hand and gestured to his right eye. “I think there’s something in you eye.” He said simply, pointing near the edge of her eye. “Right there.”
Zhen’s shoulders relaxed and she reached to wipe her eye. “Gone?” She asked, and Jungkook nodded, sitting back. At that precise moment, Zhen’s pocket began to buzz. She reached for her phone and, as she pulled it out, noticed that Cho Hee’s name was displayed on the screen. “One second.” She said, standing and walking to the side. “Hello?”
“Zhen Ai, oh thank god! Listen, I know I should have asked you first, but my boss was losing her mind. Our photographer quit and we have a few shoots this week, for Passion and a few other bands, and we’re desperate. I took your portfolio and showed it to my boss, and she wants to hire you.” Zhen said nothing, she didn’t even breathe. “She said that if you do well, she’d like to hire you full time, as our company photographer. But, of course, that’s only if you want to.” She was quiet then. For a long few minutes there was only breathing, and listening. “Would you like to come down and negotiate?”
Zhen turned to look over her shoulder, at Jungkook, who was staring down at the laptop, to V, who was immersed in his TV show, to Jin, who was glued to his phone, to Rap Monster, who had fallen asleep, and to Jimin, who was looking back at her. “Is everything okay?” He mouthed.
Zhen nodded. “Yeah,” She mouthed back, looking towards the back door. Could she sneak out without anyone noticing? “Uhm, I can be there soon.” She said quietly.
“Wonderful! Would you like me to drive down and pick you up?”
“Please,” Zhen said before hanging up. She smiled to Jimin, who smiled and looked back down to his phone, and then she slipped out of the apartment, taking her shoes with her. Suga and Mallory were on the terrace, and since Mallory was the only one who could drive and she was busy, Zhen didn’t want to bother her. She wasn’t sure whether she was busy with her phone calls, or if she was busy with Suga, but Zhen wasn’t willing to find out.
Mallory lay on her back, her hands in her hair. Her right leg was stretched out and her left was bent at the knee so it was beside her right knee. She’d just ended another call with one of the photographer of a magazine she’d modeled for. He was refusing to pay her the decided amount, and it was really stressing her out. It wasn’t as if she really needed the money, as her other modeling jobs were well, her renovated houses were selling, and she was doing incredibly well on stocks, but it was her money, and it made her nervous.
“So now what?” Suga asked, sitting beside her. He sat crosslegged with Kirby in his lap. His fingers were teasing the top of Kirby’s ears, which were twitching endlessly. “Should you call your manager?”
Mallory shook her head. “He won’t do anything,” She sighed. “Anyways, he’s too busy with the Caleb stuff, so it’s not like he’d even listen if I were to bring it up.”
Suga’s brow furrowed. “Caleb?” He asked.
Mallory opened to explain, but the door to the terrace opened and Jungkook stepped out. “Uh, hey,” He said, starting forward. “Look, I don’t really know what happened, but Zhen disappeared.”
Suga frowned and Mallory shot to her feet. “What do you mean?” Mallory asked, putting her hands on her hips. “Where could she have gone?”
Jungkook shrugged. “I don’t really know. We were doing the project one second, the next she was taking a call, and then she just… wasn’t in the apartment. Jimin said he saw her on the phone, and she was by the door, and when he looked back up she was gone.” He reached behind his head to rub his neck. “I was just wondering if she was out here, but I guess she isn’t.”
Suga shook his head. “No, she isn’t.” He turned to Mallory, who was already beginning to panic. “Calm down Mallory. Zhen is old enough to take care of herself. Besides, you have her phone number, right? Why don’t you just call her and ask where she is.”
Mallory reached out and snatched her phone off the couch. Typing in the number, she held the phone to her ear and waited, her eyes locked with Suga’s. “She didn’t answer.” She said, taking the phone away from her ear and hanging up. “What now? I can’t drive around town searching for her!”
“Knowing Zhen,” Jungkook started, and both Mallory and Suga spun to face him. “She didn’t want to bother you with driving her around. She’s probably at the Shins, or Big Hit.”
Mallory shoved her phone in her pocket and started towards the house. “Well then, sounds like I’m bringing you guys back to Big Hit.”
“I don’t understand,” Suga started, lifting Kirby and starting towards the apartment. “Why are you so worried about her?”
Mallory bent to grab her shoes before turning to face him. “I promised Cho Hee I would keep an eye on her.” She untied one and bent to put it on her foot. “And I can’t leave her alone. She thinks too hard wh
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