QUALITIES

“If you let your shoulders down a little bit more, it’d be better. You look also bit stiff overall, hyung… And your nonchalant face is good but if you take it up just a notch, the audience will think you’re pissed off or something. Try to be nonchalant in a good way, okay?”

Chanyeol nodded to the instruction and walked back to the starting point, namely the door. It was supposed to be a try-on yet here he is, taking walking lessons. Walking lessons. What the ?

It’d been four days into his so-called training (Hana named it like that, Chanyeol simply settled on unnecessary torture) but he has already had enough. He’s going to be on the runway for three minutes at most. He’s going to walk with such speed that the spectators will barely have a moment or two to recognize what he’s wearing. Why does he have to train so much then?

And what’s even worse; walking lessons weren’t the only thing Chanyeol had to do. He’d got a workout schedule, a diet and tips on how to take care of his skin and hair. Not to mention that except for the weekend, he had to visit the company every single day.

He had to remind himself more than once a day why he’s doing this.

Chanyeol turned around when he reached the door. Walking lessons weren’t tiring for him, more than annoying. Walking is just walking. He had felt from the start that the model, who was sent to coach him, was making a too much of a big deal out of it.

Said model was currently sitting on a chair, in the corner. His name was Jongin. Chanyeol didn’t get who he is until he had checked out the homepage of the fashion house and saw him in one of the photoshoots. He was Kai, a famous young model inside and outside Korea. Chanyeol was pretty sure he has seen his face or body in commercials and such.

Kai in real life proved to be less glamorous, more human. They are close in age, maybe that’s the reason why, but all in all he was kind to Chanyeol and tried to treat him more like a friend instead of a rival, co-worker or worst, object. It made going through these weeks a tad bit easier for him.

Chanyeol took a deep breath as he walked another round. He tried to do what he was taught but even before Jongin could evaluate his moves, he already knew he’s still not getting it right.

“It’s not easy. Don’t feel pressured, hyung.” Jongin comforted him then patted the seat next. “Come on, let’s take a break.”

Chanyeol plopped into the chair with a sigh.

“What do you usually think of when you walk?”

According to his profile, Jongin has been in the industry for eight years. He must have some tricks up in his sleeve. Maybe he can pass them on too.

“Not much. Most of the time I’m just trying hard to look ahead.” The model grinned. “Once I glanced at the audience and saw an old woman in a leopard-printed hat. She looked so funny. I almost broke into a laugh on the runway… What do you think of?”

Chanyeol smiled back. Jongin had a smile which immediately made people around him mirror it.

“Honestly? How ridiculous I look.”

“That must be the problem. It’s cliché and all but try to be confident. Say yourself you look good and pretend you’re trying to impress somebody or do the opposite and pretend you’re just walking down the street in your everyday clothes.” Jongin said after taking a gulp of water. “These are simple but common strategies. I usually follow the second. Sehun believes in the first one.”

Chanyeol had met Sehun. He was introduced to all the models and staff who will be part of the show. Sehun was a blonde model with a nonchalant face right now Chanyeol wished to have.

“I don’t know which one I should follow.”

“You can make a third one. Anything which makes you feel good and relaxed.”

“That’s it. I have no idea what I’m doing here. I can’t be relaxed.”

Jongin tilted his head to the side in wonder.

“There must be something. I mean, if you really hated this, you weren’t here, right? Moreover, I don’t know how long you know Hana but she knows what she’s doing. If she believes you’re going to do great, you have the potential to do so.”

“Do you think so too? Like…” Chanyeol cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Do I look like a… like a model? From a model’s point of view.”

“You certainly have the qualities.” Jongin mused with a smirk in the corner of his mouth. “I wouldn’t date you because you’re not my type but you do look good. You looked hella fine in that suit, hyung.”

Chanyeol chuckled dumbly. Was that an attempt at flirt? It wasn’t, right?

While Chanyeol was swimming in a little mental breakdown, the door of the room opened and a girl hurried in, in a patterned skirt and see-through red shirt. When she turned around, she had lensless glasses on to complete her look.

It was Hana. She looked weirder than ever but Chanyeol had become kind of used to seeing it now. She wasn’t a designer for nothing. She’s had a taste in clothes way beyond Chanyeol’s grasp. Unfortunately, her style had barely done anything to make her less attractive.

“How are you guys doing?”

“Slowly but we’re progressing.” Jongin said a white-lie. “What do you need, noona?”

“I just came down to check on you two. You’ve been training for hours.” She turned to the other tall guy in the room with a lifted eyebrow. “Would you show me that progress?”

Chanyeol involuntarily stood up.

If he should name one positive thing about this whole mess, he would say he had seen Hana almost every day. She had insisted on taking care of him after dragging him into this. He still wasn’t sure how they’re standing, if we insist on a label, that might be casual friendship, but for now Chanyeol was cool with it.

“Let’s put on some music!” Hana advised and Jongin started the player.

In the meantime Chanyeol reached the wall and was waiting for a sign. Jongin usually yelled a “Go!” at him. Now that wasn’t what happened. The girl on the other side had sent Chanyeol an encouraging smile and his legs started to walk on their own.

He relaxed his facial muscles as Jongin had told him earlier and looked straight ahead. He relaxed his arms as well but not too much, just to look composed. Chanyeol had reached the chairs faster than ever before but for the first time, felt a bit better about it.

“You’re truly improving.” Hana exclaimed with a little clap. “Your walking was almost perfect. Your facial expression is still too stiff but we have a lot of time until the show. Good job so far!”

It wasn’t a praise on his looks, wasn’t anything she had said earlier but contentment ran through Chanyeol hearing it.

Jongin eyed the two then smirked.

“Noona, why don’t you show off?”

“Show off what?”

“You damn know what I’m talking about. Come on.”

Hana stood up but not before kicking the model in the shin.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Kim Kai. I’m your boss.” She then turned to the other guy. “I’ll show you another example, okay?”

Chanyeol watched curiously as the girl went to the other end of the room. Really now?

Everything had made sense when Hana turned around. There was determination in her eyes and elegance in her movements as she started walking towards them. Chanyeol couldn’t take his eyes off of her and from a side-glance, Jongin either.

“You can never forget to be proud.” Hana spoke up, now standing in front of the two guys. “Be proud of what you’re wearing but more importantly be proud of yourself. When you walk down the runway, you have to be self-confident. That’s the key. Once you accept yourself and let go of your worries, it’s easy as pie.”

Soon the heiress had to go. She had an important meeting two floors above.

“If you’re finished with Baekhyun, come and look for me on the fifth floor, please” Hana said before leaving. “I want to show you something great.”

Chanyeol nodded.

When the practice was over and he was gathering his stuff at lightning speed, Jongin made a comment.

“I see you’ve found your driving force. Going with Sehun’s method, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The model grinned and shrugged.”

“If you say so.”

* * * * *

The staff of Hong’s House wasn’t many and what’s even more surprising, it consisted of mostly males.

The fashion house was focusing on men’s clothing (heavy emphasis on formal wear) but Chanyeol was surprised to find out besides Hana there are only two female designers and that they don’t even reside at the building mostly.

“Boa unnie is on maternity leave.” Hana explained while the two of them were taking the elevator to the sixth floor on a Friday afternoon. “She often sends in designs though and helps with the decoration. Our youngest, Jinri, is studying abroad. She went to Italy for fashion school. We don’t really want to involve her but she leaves us with no choice but answering her e-mails and going over her ideas.”

“So it’s basically only you and a bunch of guys?”

“Yeah. I know most of them longer than I remember. They’re great.” She smiled. “You’re going to love them.”

Chanyeol tried. For some people, it wasn’t hard. Jongdae, the freelance hairdresser was a nice guy with never-ending positivity and generosity. He has had some complaints about his hair (“How do you have so much hair for a guy? I mean, on your head… We need a ton of hairspray to tame this hot mess.”) but overall was supportive and tolerant.

Baekhyun on the other hand, the freelance make-up artist with the pretty face - foul mouth combo, had been everything but easy to get on well with. Which is shame because when he wasn’t fussing over his skin (“Are you a ing teenager? What is this big pimple on your chin?”) or scolding him for not being careful enough (“Yo, put that sandwich down. I won’t re-apply your lip gloss for the third time in three minutes.”) he seemed like a funny guy, a true mood-maker. Whenever he said something, it made the people around him laugh and swat at him affectionately. Chanyeol was hoping they’ll eventually befriend. Preferably before he quits.

And then there was Kyungsoo.

“Come in!”

The petite guy was kneeling on a chair, big eyes behind even bigger glasses skimming over a long paper. As the door closed, he looked up and smiled faintly.

Chanyeol learnt to read that smile. It only showed when he saw Hana and disappeared exactly one second later as Chanyeol appeared behind her.

“We came down to continue where we have left off last time.” Hana explained. “We’ll be quiet and only stay for approximately twenty minutes.”

Kyungsoo agreed with a firm nod.

“Just make sure he won’t touch anything.”

Chanyeol followed Hana to a mannequin nearby while gritting his teeth. Kyungsoo has been this cold to him ever since they’d met. Most of the time he doesn’t even acknowledges his presence. It’s okay if they won’t be friends (Chanyeol has literally no obligations to that) but at least they could be on okay-terms. Even if it’s only for a short time, they’re supposed to work together, damn it.

“Can you tell me what kind of fabric is this?”

At Hana’s abrupt question, Chanyeol froze.

“Um, tweed?”

“Yes. What about the pattern on it?”

“Chevron?”

“Almost.” Hana took the jacket and lightly opened it. “See, there’s break at the reversal. It’s herringbone.”

“How was I supposed to know that without looking inside?”

Furthermore, “Patterns and Fabrics” lesson was exactly a week ago and he had made no notes. It’s embarrassing to admit but Chanyeol was too overwhelmed to get his mind right. All he has to do is walking, why the knowledge?

The girl grinned, letting the fabric fall to its place.

“After some time, it’ll come automatically. The more you see, the more differences stand out… And if you once get to do herringbone embroidery on a jacket, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.”

Chanyeol leaned closer and his eyes widened.

“No way. You mean these stitches… You sewed this all?”

“Of course not. I just sewed on the front.”

He’s never been great at Math but just for look Chanyeol found thrice as much stitches then what he has done in his life.

Hana caressed the fabric between her fingers lovingly.

“I was working on it for a week. I was so excited and nervous I might ruin this lovely fabric that for a few days I hadn’t even dared piercing it with a needle. Every stitch was a milestone. I’d pricked my finger more than I could count. When it was ready and the pattern showed, I cried… Kyungsoo did the pattern on the back. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

He wasn’t supposed to understand. Chanyeol has never sewed anything. It was either his mother taking care of his ripped clothes or holey socks landing in the garbage can. He didn’t care about it. Sewing is woman’s work, he had thought.

Now he looked at the embroidery differently. He could interpret it in a way he understood.

“When I first learnt to play the guitar, I’d got tendonitis.”

“You kept playing, right?”

“Yes. At the end I could barely move my fingers. I haven’t regretted it though… I improved a lot during such a short time.” Chanyeol smiled at the memory then cleared his throat. “If you have some time, you could teach me how to sew. It looks difficult but interesting. And I’d play you song in return.”

Hana chuckled.

“Sounds good. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hana, could you come over here for a second?”

Kyungsoo’s request came like a thunderbolt. Chanyeol knew it’s very unlikely it’s against him but the male designer has had such a great timing… as in always bothered Hana during their lessons.

“What do you think about this?”

“Hm. You’re planning to cover everything?”

“No. I want to leave this part empty.” Kyungsoo pointed at a part of the fabric he was working on. “If I cover everything, it’ll look too girly.”

“I guess you’re right. Now if you excuse me –“

“How is your design going? You haven’t showed me your progress.”

“I’ll show it to you when I’m finished. Don’t worry about it.”

“You haven’t showed me anything for weeks, Hana. Stay after the lesson. We’ll have a talk.”

Hana sighed.

“There’s no need for that. I’ll bring you my sketches tomorrow. Just go back to work, please. We’ll do as well.”

The girl went back to Chanyeol and started to question him about another set of clothes. Kyungsoo glanced at them from the corner of his eye cautiously.

* * * * *

For Chanyeol’s biggest surprise, the meet hadn’t ended with the lesson.

“I’ll have dinner with Junmyeon in an hour.” Hana told him after trying on the suit again. She was scrunching down next to Chanyeol to pin some fabrics together but he had heard her clearly. “I’ve thought you could come along. You haven’t met him yet and you must be hungry. What do you say?”

Amber mentioned a get-together at Henry’s bachelor pad. Chanyeol had said he might show up but that was it, he hasn’t made any promise. Get-together at Henry’s meant drinking and Amber leaving him to the Canadian’s weird friends. Having dinner with a girl he’s strangely a lot interested in sounded way better.

“Why not?”

He tried to sound casual about it. He hoped he succeeded.

The streets of Hongdae were filled with people seeking entertainment and relaxation. Chanyeol and Hana were walking down the street leisurely, engaging in a small talk.

“We’re going to eat at Fiordaliso. They serve Italian cuisine and it is in the honor of being Junmyeon’s favorite restaurant.” The girl said. “Have you been there?”

Chanyeol has been in awfully few restaurants. The one Hana mentioned sounded way too fancy (and expensive) for his family.

“No. Do you like it?”

“I usually just stay in silence, eat my whatever pasta and say “Not bad” when Junmyeon asks.”

Chanyeol suppressed a chuckle.

“You’re so honest.”

“I have a very few things to hide.”

“I guess Junmyeon-ssi not knowing you hate his restaurant is among those things.”

“Exactly.” Her smile disappeared as fast as it had appeared. “The point is he loves it… We still have almost an hour though. Do you want some fish bread until then?”

Chanyeol watched as Hana, without waiting for an answer, sauntered over to the closest sweets selling vendor. She’s something, he has thought.

“Chanyeol, come here!”

Hearing his name called, the tall guy stepped to the vendor too.

“What is it?”

“I want that giant one with chestnut.” She explained while pointing to the biggest fish bread on the entire tray. “Which one would you like?”

Chanyeol had decided on a simple red bean paste filled one way before he has come over but the vendor, a woman in her forties, was looking at him so intently, he could barely utter a word out in embarrassment.

“Um, what about the… simplest one?”

Hana chuckled.

“Ahjumma, I guess he’s referring to the red bean paste filled ones. Can we get two of those? Thank you.”

The lady nodded and packed their food. Chanyeol felt her eyes on his back, even when they were out of earshot.

Hana bit into her bread then asked:

“Are you afraid of ahjummas?”

“You haven’t seen how she looked at me?” Chanyeol retorted while unpacking his food. “Like I did something wrong or something.”

“You saw it wrong. She couldn’t look away because you look good.”

“You’re joking. Trust me, I have four aunts, I’ve been dealing with ahjummas in my whole life, I know when they’re angry and when they’re –“

“You left your make up on.”

The guy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk in surprise. He reached a hand up to his face… and concealer stuck to his fingers. No way. Was he… was he in such a hurry he forgot to visit the restroom to remove all the products Baekhyun has been bathing him in lately? Then there’s spray in his hair too, right?

“There’s no need for you to freak out.” Hana approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “You still look like a university student… but one with confidence to wear light make up outside. That lady was mesmerized by you. She insisted to call you over before I could pay because he wanted to see you from closer.”

Chanyeol felt slightly better but was still dumbfounded by the situation.

“I’m not one to wear makeup outside. Makeup is for girls or- nevermind.”

Hana rolled her eyes.

“You’re too prejudiced for your own good… And you’re also in denial. I’ve been telling you you’re gorgeous for days and you still don’t believe it yourself. Guess we have to go the other way then.”

“What other way?”

The sudden cheerfulness in her voice didn’t foreshadow any good. Chanyeol followed the girl suspiciously.

The other way was overall easier but much more embarrassing. Hana dashed through the crowd with a hand around Chanyeol’s wrist and stopped people at randomly to ask what they think the guy’s occupation is.

“Idol?” A girl in a purple hoodie guessed after looking Chanyeol up and down.

Her friend agreed.

“Yeah. Aren’t you a trainee or something? You’re handsome.”

Chanyeol was so taken aback he couldn’t say a word. Hana assured the girls with a laugh that if he ever debuts they’ll be the first ones to know. (Chanyeol had made a promise to kill the her for that later.)

A middle-aged man and his wife thought otherwise.

“A rookie actor maybe?” The woman guessed with a friendly smile then turned to her husband. “He kind of resembles our son, doesn’t he?”

“Quit your nonsense, Sangjun looks way worse.” The man grumbled and both of them left before Hana could thank them for their help.

There were a few people who got closer to the truth. A young pair said model in unison. Two teenage boys stopped only to flirt with Hana (it was easy to guess from their lingering glances) but at the end both begrudgingly agreed on the fact that Chanyeol looks like a model. Two women in their late twenties asked which agency he’s working at and if perhaps he models underwear too. Hana accidentally forgot to thank them.

“Women nowadays… Anyway, let’s go.”

“But –“

Chanyeol wanted to stop her. Hana kept going around relentlessly, stopping people with no shame or consideration whatsoever. There were times people looked weirdly at them. A group of girls passed by them laughing and pointing their fingers at his face mockingly. But as more and more people came to the same conclusion, as more and more Hana looked at him proudly, Chanyeol started to accept the compliments.

In their hurry to the restaurant the two of them came across a shop window. Chanyeol caught a glimpse of his reflection and he unconsciously slowed his steps.

Hana saw him from the corner of her eye. Instead of saying anything, however, came to halt too. Junmyeon could wait a little.

Author's Note
Here is the second part of Chanyeol's POV. For a while I'm going to concentrate more on Hana again so if you enjoyed watching things from the new temporary model'spoint of view, hang onto these chapters. :D What do you think about the happenings of this chapter? Share your thoughts in a comment and subscribe if you like the story so far!

Until next time, take care!
chloris