3
Illusion
It was lunch break and she'd just taken a seat when her cellphone buzzed. A new text message. It was from her boyfriend who complained about how much he missed her and that he had an exam the following day. Da Eun frowned after have glanced at the clock in the upper-right corner, it had to be in the middle of the night in New York. Pressing a few buttons Da Eun replied back, telling the male that she missed him, too, and that she wished him luck. Having to endure College was something she'd skipped, as she'd already found her call in life. But the decision of not continuing with school had caused the girl a great deal of suffering, and she'd been given an ultimatum from her parents; College or being thrown out. Da Eun choose the latter and never had she regretted it.
"There you are, I was looking all around for you." she looked up from the cell phone and stared into the eyes of Jieun, the other stylist. "why so?" the older woman smiled, "I thought we could eat together. If you want to of course." oh. Maybe she shouldn't have wandered off so quickly. "Yeah, sure." the girl moved over, thus making room for her co-worker to take a seat. "So, what do you think. Is it as you imagined it to be?" Da Eun put her cell phone aside whilst deep in thought. It wouldn't be fair to come with a statement as it was only her third day at work, "I don't know yet." she paused to take a breath, "I mean, there's a lot of new things and it'll take some time to get used to everything." her phone buzzed as it lay on the table, indicating that another text message was waiting to be read. "Boyfriend?" a foolish smile painted her lips and Da Eun glanced down on her food, flustered by the question. Was it so obvious?
"Don't be embarrassed. I think it's good you have one, so you don't get sidetracked by them." Da Eun's eyes flew open as she turned to look at the woman, "what do you mean?" did Jieun just imply they would hit on her? "Don't they also have some rule? Like no relationships?" a shiver ran down her spine when she recalled Kyungsoo's words and actions. It couldn't be that he… no. His way of showing it was really weird in that case. "I'm going to tell you something, but only because I like you and don't want to see you fired." dear god. Was it that bad. "I'm not supposed to know about it though, so you can't tell anyone." Da Eun felt incredibly uneasy. A feeling that only got worse as Jieun began to explain further, "there was this other girl, a hairstylist, too. I think she was a couple of years older than you are. Anyhow. I was working late one night and overheard a member of EXO talking to Mr. Oh, and he were accusing the stylist for ual harassment." that familiar pull in her stomach made itself known and Da Eun drew in a deep breath, "she was fired?" the older woman nodded, "they wouldn't even hear her out." getting her fired, was that Kyungsoo's real intention? She gulped, but couldn't keep herself from asking one more question, "do you know who made the accusation?" her heart would probably stop if Jieun said it was Kyungsoo. "I can't remember."
Da Eun was right about to ask one final question when her cell phone rang, it was her boyfriend, "I need to take this." grabbing onto the device she half-ran towards a more deserted and quiet location. "Yes?" she'd strictly told him to not call during working hours if it wasn't anything serious. "Wow, what are you doing? Running a marathon?" the girl rolled her eyes, "not exactly." there was a brief silence before Da Eun spoke again, "why are you calling?" a loud sigh could be heard from the other end of the line, "I miss you." an immense pain erupted within her heart, she missed him as well. "I don't understand why you had to take that job though. Aren't there plenty of hair stylist jobs in New York?" it was Da Eun's time to sigh, they've been through that conversation several times. "Don't. We've already talked about this." faint mumble, that was the only thing she heard from his side. "I have to go, someone needs me." the girl ended the call after having said goodbye, as it was impossible to talk to him when he acted in such a way. It was like conversing with a wall. "DA EUN WE HAVE TO LEAVE." Jieun was shouting at her from down the corridor, "HURRY." the girl sighed once more. So much for lunch break.
There had been some schedule conflict and everyone around her were on the phone, trying to come up with a way to handle the sudden ordeal as canceling was out of the question. "Can someone reschedule the photo shoot to later today." for once did the hectic nature not bring any satisfaction for Da Eun, and she was instead rooted to the spot, waiting for orders. The girl couldn't do anything before everything was clear. Even the six boys stood at the side, chatting and playing around with each other. It sure took time and half an hour had passed before the problems were solved, "Inkigayo now and the photo shoot after that."
They had to, in difference to the previous day, share the dressing room with another male group. It didn't exactly bother her too much despite it being quite crowded. One thing was different though, her actions around Kyungsoo. Da Eun was wary, especially as she didn't want to get fired. But then again, there were no proof or evidence that he'd been the EXO member to come with the accusation Jieun was telling her about. A light push against her back caused the girl to stagger forward and she ended up crashing into the chair in front, the one Kyungsoo was currently seated in. Straightening up Da Eun glanced at the mirror to say sorry, only to halt when seeing the look he was giving her. Eyes dark, jaw tensed and lips pressed together. It was probably the first time she felt small and pathetic by someone's gaze. Kyungsoo noticed it, too. How the older girl avoided looking at him. "Could you wait, I need to get something." Da Eun spoke in haste, she couldn't work with him when he was acting as such, before she wandered off towards Jieun, who was preparing Suho. "I need to talk to you." the older woman glanced up, slightly surprised by Da Eun's appearance, "now?"
They couldn't leave the room so the two of them had to take the conversation in there. "Please, can't you take Kyungsoo? He's making me uneasy." the younger male was the first to accomplish such bothersome feelings, and Da Eun was far from pleased. She would have to talk to him later, because they had to sort it out. "That's weird," Da Eun agreed. She, too, thought it was weird, "I mean, he's always so cooperative and nice." not when it came to her. In fact, she'd not seen him be cold to anyone else but her. "Please? I would never ask if it wasn't serious." a loud voice called out, telling everyone in the room that EXO-K was expected on stage in fifteen minutes. "Okay, okay. I'll do it. Just get Suho ready." relief washed over Da Eun and she headed off to the other male, who looked surprised upon her arrival, "Jieun sshi had to take care of Kyungsoo." there were no time to spare so she got to work immediately.
She was given a moment or two to relax once the six boys headed for the stage and she breathed out a deep sigh, "thank god for Jieun." Da Eun would've had to suffer through the ordeal with Kyungsoo if it hadn't been for the older woman. "Da Eun?" it was Jieun, "can we speak?" they exited the room to talk in private, something that was close to impossible with everyone running around. "Come, I know a place that's not in use." the said location was some sort of storage room in the other end of the corridor and Da Eun was shocked to see that there was no lock on the door, "shouldn't they care a little more about their stuff." she understood why there was no lock as soon as the door opened, because the only thing in there was a few chairs and tables. "Close the door." Da Eun did as told and all the chaos disappeared.
"I've already told you this, that I don't want to see you go." it took barely a second for the said girl to understand that their conversation would be about Kyungsoo. "But I can't always be there to help you." she knew, "I know and I'm going to talk to him later. I bet we've just misunderstood each other." Da Eun smiled despite knowing there was something else. It couldn't be a simple misunderstanding, not when he was behaving like that. "Good. Now let's go back before they're starting to wonder where we are."
The photo shoot started half an hour after the music show and they'd rushed there as soon as the recording was over. Da Eun had already made up her mind to talk to Kyungsoo right after everything was done. In the meantime would she focus on the other five members, and it didn't take long before Chanyeol came running, "noona, Kyungsoo messed up my hair." she shot the other male a quick look, he was smiling right back at her and the twinkle in his eyes told her more than she needed to know. He'd done it on purpose. But why?
The girl tried to recall anything she might've done to him all the whilst the photo shoot proceeded. Nothing. Da Eun couldn't remember a single incident that could've upset him, with the slight exception of her being shoved into the chair he was sitting in. But the problem began earlier though, and even during the introduction had he acted in an unfriendly manner. Da Eun glanced up, careful to not spark attention, before she stared at him. He looked totally different like that, his face and posture soft yet intriguing. But the smile, it was too obvious. The emotions weren't sincere and Da Eun felt that hard pull in her stomach again, as his eyes showed no joy or happiness. Maybe he was just tired and needed sleep. Da Eun should've settled with that and left. But she didn't and ended up staring right into his eyes when he looked in her direction. The reaction from Kyungsoo's side was immediate and she saw how his chest heaved as he took a deep breath. He looked thoroughly pissed off and the glare he sent her seemed to confirm that thought.
Da Eun moved about, anxious to get out of his sight. There had to be more to it though, because you just don't act like that. Not so suddenly and definitely not in front of only one person.
Her heart was pounding frantically within her chest as she made her way outside. She needed fresh air, especially after such a hectic and overwhelming day. Da Eun sighed when stepping out on the deserted street, "why did it become so hard to do my job?" it was all Kyungsoo's fault. He'd made it difficult with his childish behavior. Why couldn't he just act like the rest of them?
She spun around, a low gasp slipping from her lips, because there, right in front of her stood Kyungsoo. His dark eyes penetrating hers. "You shouldn't be here alone." his face remained impassive throughout the whole sentence, almost as if he couldn't care less. "Have I done something to you?" she noticed how his jaw tensed right before he spoke, "no." Da Eun didn't understand him, he could act one way with s and in front of everyone else. But turned hostile as soon as she was around, "then wh -." Kyungsoo interrupted her, "I just don't like you." she was left, mouth agape and pulse racing, when he walked inside.
Did he really have another motive?
"There you are, I was looking all around for you." she looked up from the cell phone and stared into the eyes of Jieun, the other stylist. "why so?" the older woman smiled, "I thought we could eat together. If you want to of course." oh. Maybe she shouldn't have wandered off so quickly. "Yeah, sure." the girl moved over, thus making room for her co-worker to take a seat. "So, what do you think. Is it as you imagined it to be?" Da Eun put her cell phone aside whilst deep in thought. It wouldn't be fair to come with a statement as it was only her third day at work, "I don't know yet." she paused to take a breath, "I mean, there's a lot of new things and it'll take some time to get used to everything." her phone buzzed as it lay on the table, indicating that another text message was waiting to be read. "Boyfriend?" a foolish smile painted her lips and Da Eun glanced down on her food, flustered by the question. Was it so obvious?
"Don't be embarrassed. I think it's good you have one, so you don't get sidetracked by them." Da Eun's eyes flew open as she turned to look at the woman, "what do you mean?" did Jieun just imply they would hit on her? "Don't they also have some rule? Like no relationships?" a shiver ran down her spine when she recalled Kyungsoo's words and actions. It couldn't be that he… no. His way of showing it was really weird in that case. "I'm going to tell you something, but only because I like you and don't want to see you fired." dear god. Was it that bad. "I'm not supposed to know about it though, so you can't tell anyone." Da Eun felt incredibly uneasy. A feeling that only got worse as Jieun began to explain further, "there was this other girl, a hairstylist, too. I think she was a couple of years older than you are. Anyhow. I was working late one night and overheard a member of EXO talking to Mr. Oh, and he were accusing the stylist for ual harassment." that familiar pull in her stomach made itself known and Da Eun drew in a deep breath, "she was fired?" the older woman nodded, "they wouldn't even hear her out." getting her fired, was that Kyungsoo's real intention? She gulped, but couldn't keep herself from asking one more question, "do you know who made the accusation?" her heart would probably stop if Jieun said it was Kyungsoo. "I can't remember."
Da Eun was right about to ask one final question when her cell phone rang, it was her boyfriend, "I need to take this." grabbing onto the device she half-ran towards a more deserted and quiet location. "Yes?" she'd strictly told him to not call during working hours if it wasn't anything serious. "Wow, what are you doing? Running a marathon?" the girl rolled her eyes, "not exactly." there was a brief silence before Da Eun spoke again, "why are you calling?" a loud sigh could be heard from the other end of the line, "I miss you." an immense pain erupted within her heart, she missed him as well. "I don't understand why you had to take that job though. Aren't there plenty of hair stylist jobs in New York?" it was Da Eun's time to sigh, they've been through that conversation several times. "Don't. We've already talked about this." faint mumble, that was the only thing she heard from his side. "I have to go, someone needs me." the girl ended the call after having said goodbye, as it was impossible to talk to him when he acted in such a way. It was like conversing with a wall. "DA EUN WE HAVE TO LEAVE." Jieun was shouting at her from down the corridor, "HURRY." the girl sighed once more. So much for lunch break.
There had been some schedule conflict and everyone around her were on the phone, trying to come up with a way to handle the sudden ordeal as canceling was out of the question. "Can someone reschedule the photo shoot to later today." for once did the hectic nature not bring any satisfaction for Da Eun, and she was instead rooted to the spot, waiting for orders. The girl couldn't do anything before everything was clear. Even the six boys stood at the side, chatting and playing around with each other. It sure took time and half an hour had passed before the problems were solved, "Inkigayo now and the photo shoot after that."
They had to, in difference to the previous day, share the dressing room with another male group. It didn't exactly bother her too much despite it being quite crowded. One thing was different though, her actions around Kyungsoo. Da Eun was wary, especially as she didn't want to get fired. But then again, there were no proof or evidence that he'd been the EXO member to come with the accusation Jieun was telling her about. A light push against her back caused the girl to stagger forward and she ended up crashing into the chair in front, the one Kyungsoo was currently seated in. Straightening up Da Eun glanced at the mirror to say sorry, only to halt when seeing the look he was giving her. Eyes dark, jaw tensed and lips pressed together. It was probably the first time she felt small and pathetic by someone's gaze. Kyungsoo noticed it, too. How the older girl avoided looking at him. "Could you wait, I need to get something." Da Eun spoke in haste, she couldn't work with him when he was acting as such, before she wandered off towards Jieun, who was preparing Suho. "I need to talk to you." the older woman glanced up, slightly surprised by Da Eun's appearance, "now?"
They couldn't leave the room so the two of them had to take the conversation in there. "Please, can't you take Kyungsoo? He's making me uneasy." the younger male was the first to accomplish such bothersome feelings, and Da Eun was far from pleased. She would have to talk to him later, because they had to sort it out. "That's weird," Da Eun agreed. She, too, thought it was weird, "I mean, he's always so cooperative and nice." not when it came to her. In fact, she'd not seen him be cold to anyone else but her. "Please? I would never ask if it wasn't serious." a loud voice called out, telling everyone in the room that EXO-K was expected on stage in fifteen minutes. "Okay, okay. I'll do it. Just get Suho ready." relief washed over Da Eun and she headed off to the other male, who looked surprised upon her arrival, "Jieun sshi had to take care of Kyungsoo." there were no time to spare so she got to work immediately.
She was given a moment or two to relax once the six boys headed for the stage and she breathed out a deep sigh, "thank god for Jieun." Da Eun would've had to suffer through the ordeal with Kyungsoo if it hadn't been for the older woman. "Da Eun?" it was Jieun, "can we speak?" they exited the room to talk in private, something that was close to impossible with everyone running around. "Come, I know a place that's not in use." the said location was some sort of storage room in the other end of the corridor and Da Eun was shocked to see that there was no lock on the door, "shouldn't they care a little more about their stuff." she understood why there was no lock as soon as the door opened, because the only thing in there was a few chairs and tables. "Close the door." Da Eun did as told and all the chaos disappeared.
"I've already told you this, that I don't want to see you go." it took barely a second for the said girl to understand that their conversation would be about Kyungsoo. "But I can't always be there to help you." she knew, "I know and I'm going to talk to him later. I bet we've just misunderstood each other." Da Eun smiled despite knowing there was something else. It couldn't be a simple misunderstanding, not when he was behaving like that. "Good. Now let's go back before they're starting to wonder where we are."
The photo shoot started half an hour after the music show and they'd rushed there as soon as the recording was over. Da Eun had already made up her mind to talk to Kyungsoo right after everything was done. In the meantime would she focus on the other five members, and it didn't take long before Chanyeol came running, "noona, Kyungsoo messed up my hair." she shot the other male a quick look, he was smiling right back at her and the twinkle in his eyes told her more than she needed to know. He'd done it on purpose. But why?
The girl tried to recall anything she might've done to him all the whilst the photo shoot proceeded. Nothing. Da Eun couldn't remember a single incident that could've upset him, with the slight exception of her being shoved into the chair he was sitting in. But the problem began earlier though, and even during the introduction had he acted in an unfriendly manner. Da Eun glanced up, careful to not spark attention, before she stared at him. He looked totally different like that, his face and posture soft yet intriguing. But the smile, it was too obvious. The emotions weren't sincere and Da Eun felt that hard pull in her stomach again, as his eyes showed no joy or happiness. Maybe he was just tired and needed sleep. Da Eun should've settled with that and left. But she didn't and ended up staring right into his eyes when he looked in her direction. The reaction from Kyungsoo's side was immediate and she saw how his chest heaved as he took a deep breath. He looked thoroughly pissed off and the glare he sent her seemed to confirm that thought.
Da Eun moved about, anxious to get out of his sight. There had to be more to it though, because you just don't act like that. Not so suddenly and definitely not in front of only one person.
Her heart was pounding frantically within her chest as she made her way outside. She needed fresh air, especially after such a hectic and overwhelming day. Da Eun sighed when stepping out on the deserted street, "why did it become so hard to do my job?" it was all Kyungsoo's fault. He'd made it difficult with his childish behavior. Why couldn't he just act like the rest of them?
She spun around, a low gasp slipping from her lips, because there, right in front of her stood Kyungsoo. His dark eyes penetrating hers. "You shouldn't be here alone." his face remained impassive throughout the whole sentence, almost as if he couldn't care less. "Have I done something to you?" she noticed how his jaw tensed right before he spoke, "no." Da Eun didn't understand him, he could act one way with s and in front of everyone else. But turned hostile as soon as she was around, "then wh -." Kyungsoo interrupted her, "I just don't like you." she was left, mouth agape and pulse racing, when he walked inside.
Did he really have another motive?
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