In the early mid-day, in her room in front of the vanity, Jangmi sat fretting about her appearance and looking at an eyelash curler as if it were an alien probe.

  Jangmi had her iPad on the vanity table playing a makeup tutorial, which for the life of her she could not follow. She had never done something like this before. The instructions the girl in the video was giving seemed clear enough, but the actual application was surprisingly difficult. It didn't help that she was lacking some makeup items and she was making do with what she had. Today Jangmi discovered that she had an unsteady hand and an eye had fluttered uncontrollably when something came to close to it.

  She groaned with frustration. Why couldn't she do this? She had always showed an interest in makeup, but up until just recently, she never had an occasion to use it. Today she and Rayoung were supposed to go meet up with Jungkook and Taehyung, and Jangmi wanted to at least make herself presentable.

  She never had much motivation to wear makeup as well. She had thought that it was a hassle to put it on and take it off, the time and numerous products used seemed tedious. She didn't see much point in using it when her life mostly just involved going to and from school.

  She thought back to Sewon, how pretty she was and how she obviously put care and effort into her appearance. Sewon had been radiating with beauty. Compared to her, Jangmi was plain and unassuming. She sighed and set down the makeup that she had borrowed from her mother. She had no business with makeup.

  That thought was quickly interrupted by a source that thought otherwise.

  "What are you looking so gloomy about?"

  Jangmi fell off her chair and took some lipstick to the floor with her. "Rayoung!? What the- When did you-"

  Rayoung laughed. "Sorry, Jangmi, your servant or whatever she was let me in. I came in quietly just to scare you." She took her hand and pulled her back up.

  "You're a bit early…" Jangmi grumbled.

  "Yeah, well it's rude to be late."

  "Well- wait, where are your glasses?" Jangmi noticed the absence of her thick black frames. "And are you wearing makeup?"

  Rayoung puffed up her cheeks in a warning not to say anymore. Jangmi noticed that her black hair was loose; her glasses were gone, showing her big brown eyes. There was a touch of gloss on her lips a hint of blush on her cheeks.

  "Oh my god, Taehyung must be really something if you're willing to dress up to meet him!" Jangmi squealed.

  "Shut up, I just thought it be nice to dress up for a change."

  "I thought your catchphrase was "I don't give a crap how I look.""

  "Shut up."

  Rayoung gestured to the vanity full of makeup. "You need some help with this?"

  Jangmi looked at her feet. "Well…I was…but it's fine. I'm a bit plain anyway; I'm not suited for it…"

  Rayoung frowned. "That's a load of ." She pushed Jangmi forcibly down onto the hair and turned her to face the mirror. "What the hell are you talking about; you're gorgeous, Jungkook is lucky to have you as his girlfriend. Just cuz you're not flashy, doesn't mean you're not pretty, you're just a different kind of pretty."

  Jangmi shuffled uncomfortably; it was a bit embarrassing to be given a speech like that. She didn't really believe what she said. Rayoung was her friend so it's normal for her to say that to her.

  "Look." Rayoung began. "I'll help you with the makeup, and I exchange you'll help me with my hair. Trust me you look great. Deal?"

  Jangmi shyly nodded her head.

  "Great. Let's get started."

  Rayoung suddenly focused in on her face like a surgeon. She took the makeup and began applying it on Jangmi's face. It was a strange sensation for Jangmi; some of the products felt like Rayoung was spreading peanut butter on her face. The two struggled for a bit when it came to the eyes. It took a lot of control on Jangmi's part not to flinch, and a lot of patience on Rayoung's part not to tape her eyes shut so they wouldn't move.

  "Done." Rayoung exclaimed. She stepped aside and pointed to the mirror like an artist unveiling their painting.

  Jangmi was amazed. She had somehow become prettier even though she couldn't tell how any part of her face had changed. Her face looked brighter, she looked more awake, and she looked healthier.

  "I don't see the makeup." She said as she turned her face in the mirror to observe all sides.

  "It's called "Natural" makeup. Ironic name right?" Rayoung grinned proudly. "Your face is perfect for that kind of makeup, I know you don't like bright colours anyway. I didn't even have to use that much. You know the skin makeup is actually too heavy for you."

  "That's because it's my mom's…"

  "It's your turn now."

  The two switched places and Jangmi began tussling Rayoung's hair. She French braided it from the right side, creating a detailed side braid that fell over her left shoulder. She finished the look by adding a flower clip to hold back her bangs.

  "Wow, that's great!" Rayoung praised. She stood up from the seat. "So where are we going to meet the guys?"

  "They're coming here."

  "What."

  From outside came a low rumbling noise.

  "Is that a motorbike?"

  The two girls grabbed their bags and made their way out the door. From the sound of it, Rayoung was right. It sounded like a motorbike, but Jangmi prayed to god that it wasn't. She felt scared enough just watching people ride those things, she didn't want to get on one herself. She thought the sound of a motorbike engine was like one of a roaring animal.

  The girls opened the front door and Jangmi's fears were confirmed. Right in the driveway was a big bright shiny motorbike with Jungkook standing beside it, and Taehyung standing behind it.

  "Wow cool!" Rayoung grinned, admiring the bike. "You're going on that, Jangmi? I'm jealous."

  Jangmi looked less than ecstatic. Jungkook tossed her a helmet that Jangmi clumsily caught just before it hit the concrete. She stared at the helmet and vigorously shook her head, taking a couple steps backwards. "No, no, no, I can't get on that. No I can't, no, I'll die."

  '"You're not going to die." Jungkook laughed. "I'm a good driver so nothing is going to happen."

  "Weren't you in the hospital because you crashed?"

  "Yeah but the crash wasn't caused a by my driving skills…it was because…of a different reason." Jungkook avoided looking in Jangmi's eyes as he said that; he didn't want her to know the real reason for the crash.

  Jangmi took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She trusted Jungkook so she was pretty certain she'd be safe. But that still didn't stop her from feeling scared. The bike was intimidating. And that wasn't the only reason she didn't want to ride it. Jangmi was never one to attract attention to herself, and a motorcycle was probably the most attention attracting thing on a road.

  "If you really don't want to, we can just go in Taehyung's car or take public transport."

  Jangmi shook her head and flushed. She was grateful that Jungkook was taking her feelings into consideration, but she didn't want to get in between Taehyung and Rayoung, and she didn't want to be a bother to Jungkook. "No, no, it's fine."

  "Are you sure?"

  Jangmi nodded. "It's fine." She looked at the helmet in her hands. "Um…how do you put these on?"

  Jungkook chuckled. "Here let me help you."

  After the helmet was on, the two got on the bike. Jangmi took a while to properly seat herself. She was wearing a skirt and she wanted to make sure that she was sitting on the fabric so it wouldn't blow up while the bike was in motion.

  She then realised what riding on a motorbike with Jungkook meant. She'd have to hold onto his waist. She immediately flushed with the realisation. She cautiously wrapped her arms around his torso, trying to keep a small amount of space between her arms and his body. She felt horribly embarrassed; however her embarrassment was quickly forgotten as soon as the bike took off into the street.

  She made a squeaking noise as the bike started moving, and as it picked up speed she forced down the urge to scream. She abandoned her embarrassment and grabbed onto Jungkook tightly for fear of falling off. The bike tilted to the side as they turned a corner which prompted her to make a screech like a dying bird. She could feel Jungkook's chest moving which tipped her off that he was laughing at her.

  They eventually stopped at a park. Jangmi got off the bike and nearly fell to the ground. Her legs were shaky. She stretched out her arms. She kept the muscles in there so tight the entire ride that they were stiff.

  "Are you okay?" Jungkook asked.

  "I'm fine." Jangmi answered. She then gave him a grumpy look. "Were you laughing at me when I squealed?"

  Jungkook looked like he was going to say no but he burst into laughter.

  "Jungkook!"

  "I'm sorry." He said as he tried to supress his laughter. "But your reaction was so cute."

  Jangmi flushed like tomato. "Where's Taehyung and Rayoung?" she asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

  Jungkook looked around and pointed a finger to the other side of the park. "They're over there."

  Jangmi could see the two of them. They looked like they were holding hands. She was so going to tease Rayoung about it later.

  "Should we go?" Jungkook asked.

  She nodded. She followed Jungkook into the park. They were putting some sort of event here today; Jangmi wasn't very sure what though. She forgot to ask. But there was a large stage and some stalls in the park centre so she was pretty certain that there'd be a performance of some kind and some funny foods.

  "You look really nice today." He complimented.

  Jangmi blushed. "Thanks…Rayoung's very good at makeup."

  "It's not just the makeup. You look nice every day."

  Jangmi noticed that their faces were rather close, which added to the redness in her cheeks. She was still very new to being in a real relationship and things like close contact made her uncomfortable. But still she wanted to make an effort. She stood up on her toes and gave Jungkook a small kiss on his cheek. "Thank you…" she mumbled.

  Jungkook blushed slightly but he smiled. He took Jangmi's hand in his own. "It's true though."

  Jangmi's mind flashed back to Sewon, but she forced a smile. "Thanks."