Chapter 4

Mannequin

The weekend was the longest two days in my life. It had almost been a week since I've arrived to Seoul, and I've always been busy.

had an extremely long sleep, I packed out my the boxes, had lunch and took a walk near my flat. However, on Sunday I really couldn't do anything, so I just opened a Seoul underground map and studied it. By the end of the day I already knew all of the stops of the line I had to take in order to get to the company, and I felt a bit more confident when it came to public transport.

But when the alarm started ringing on Monday at 5 am, I couldn't decide if I was happy or not. I didn't want to go back to the people who seemed to hate me, even though I knew that at least part of it was not true.

Jongup's letter was still next to my bed. I still didn't know how he managed to put it in my bag, but I was really grateful for it. I read it once again.

The CEO wants to fire me as soon as possible. I won't let him do this.

I sighed as I got up from my bed. Actually, it was not a bed, just a futon. It was raining outside pretty hard, and this made me feel even worse about this day. However, I got up, and after I did my normal morning stuff. I headed to the outfit company to get the girl's clothes for the MV.

~~

Yongguk has been staring at the ceiling for a long time. There was a storm in the dawn which woken him up, and he couldn't go back to sleep anymore. So he was staring at the ceiling, thinking about random stuff, like the girl's debut, their comeback, but only one thought came back to his mind over and over again: the CEO and the poor new stylist girl. She didn't deserve this treatment, because nobody deserved it.

Jongup said earlier that he had written a letter to her. First, everyone was some kind of upset about it, just because Jongup could've gotten into trouble, but he just slipped his shoulder and smiled it off. He always did that and the others always forgave him.

Yongguk checked the time. It was not much past 5 am. Now he accepted the fact that he won't fall sleep again, so he got up and went to the kitchen to have breakfast, trying not to wake up the others.

~~

I looked desperately at the four big bags in front of me. How am I going to carry all these to the MV filming set? I sighed, scratching the back of my head nervously. I somehow managed to pick them up. It was not the problem that they were heavy, it was just clothes, but the bags were so big that I couldn't hold them properly.

I checked the time. It was five minutes past eight. The MV filming started at half past nine, and the way to the scene took around an hour. I started carrying the four big bags, which was especially hard, since the underground and the streets were full of citizens who were on their way to work.

By the time I managed to get on the metro, I already got some annoyed looks from people around me. I was apologizing to everyone in the process, but it didn't satisfy everyone.

I had to change lines several times, and it always was the same.

~~

Ten minutes past nine. A studio somewhere in Gangnam. One of the stylists came to me when she saw that I've arrived.

"Do you know what the time is? The filming will start in 20 minutes. 20 minutes. And oh my God, how do you think you're carrying those? They're clothes! Now look at them, they are totally creased. It's clear that you didn't have any education. No one would carry clothes like this. Now go, there's an ironing table there. The outfits for the dancing scene have to be ironed in ten minutes. And then, the others. And if you won't iron them in time, I'll see the extra costs of the delay cut off from your payment. I mean, if you ever get a payment here."

I apologized and rushed to the ironing desk. I started ironing furiously, and I was ready on time. I rushed with the ironed clothes to the dressing rooms. The stylist who scolded me earlier was already there. When she saw me running in with the outfits, gasping for breath, she let out a small smile, but not the ironic type.

"Just in time. Now help the girls get dressed."

I automatically went to Kye Rin, because I didn't want any more rudeness for… like the rest of my life, but the next half an hour would do.

Kye Rin greeted me with a smile, and started chatting as soon as I got there.

"Unnie, imagine, when we woke up, they took us to a make-up salon! Everyone was paying attention only to us, and it was so exciting! I really feel like a real idol now. I am so excited about the filming too. Do you think we'll do well?"

"Yes, you'll definitely do well." I smiled and tried to encourage her.

"The MV filming for 'Smile' starts in five minutes. Please stand by. Repeat: the MV filming for 'Smile' starts in five minutes. Please stand by." a loud voice said from a loud-speaker. It was so sudden that both me a Kye Rin jumped in our places. We started laughing, but Soo Hee told her member that they have to go.

I started watching the girls' dance. I think they've done well, but the director didn't seem to think so. He stopped them at any minimal mistake, making them do it again and also scolding them badly. Regardless of how the girls treated me before, I felt sorry for them.

"What are you watching here? You have a job to do." I felt the touch of the stylist on my shoulder. I suddenly remembered all the outfits that were waiting for me to iron them.

"Are there any kind of hooks so I can hang the clothes after I've ironed them?" I asked timidly.

"Yes, there's a hook over there. Do you see it?" the stylist - Shin Ra, as I got to know later - pointed to the corner of the big room. It was a hook similar to the ones in the clothes' shops. I nodded and pulled the hook to the ironing desk.

I was quickly ready with the ironing and went back to see the filming.

The title for the song was Smile. Every girl had their personal scenes and a dancing scene. The personal scenes were about the girls making the people smile around them.

Soo Hee was in a little convenient store, and she helped an old lady carry her bags. I laughed to myself. It looked like an awkward, alternate universe version of my morning, mostly because of carrying bags. The old lady was grateful for her and bought the leader some sweets, and Soo Hee also helped on the lady's way home.

Eun Ji was in a café, and she saw a waiter trip and drop the coffee which he had in his hand. She rushed to him and helped him clean up the mess he made, even though the waiter tried to send her away. When they were ready, the boy tried to show his gratitude somehow, Eun Ji just laughed and ordered another coffee.

Eun Ji was having a break and she called me over, looking really annoyed.

"Look at my make-up." There was no problem with it. "It got smudged dover here." It was a bit smudged next to her eyes, barely visible. "Do I really need to tell you? Your job is to make me look perfect. I'm an idol. An idol does not have a smudged make-up."

I sighed and started to fix her make-up. I was ready within a minute, but Eun Ji still looked annoyed.

"You were doing well. I really like your scene." I said to her, smiling. She looked surprised, nodded and went away to continue her scene.

Hee Min went to a hospital to cheer children up. She danced and did aegyo for them. She even taught them to rap. The children laughed and clapped for her. She did a histrionic bow and the children clapped even more.

Kye Rin's scene was at a playground. A little girl came up to her and asked her to play together. They went to the swing and swung together. When the child went home, she gave Kye Rin a few flowers she found at the playground.

By the end everyone was really exhausted.

"OK, everyone listen a bit!" the director started shouting to get everyone's attention. "There are still a few scenes that are not perfect. Everyone be here tomorrow. We'll start at 10 am."

Many people were frowning, but everyone accepted what the director said. I helped the girls undress and went home. We were able to leave the outfits in the studio, and I was really happy about it.

~~

On the next morning, I paid extra attention to the time. I was at the studio like an hour before the filming, and I was almost the first. I took the hook with all the outfits to the dressing room and waited patiently for the girls to arrive.

~~

This day was shorter than the previous one. When the filming was ready, Shin Ra ordered me to take the outfits back to the company. She put them into the bags (exactly the same way as I've carried them) and let me go.

Since it was pretty early, the underground was almost empty. I arrived fast at the company. The receptionist girl hid an ironic smile when she saw me struggling with the bags and looked at me while I carried the clothes to the elevator. She didn't do or say anything, just watched, which was irritating enough.

When I got into the elevator, I put down the bags and started breathing heavily. Carrying like ten complete outfits across Seoul is not funny, and I felt like I was a sixty year old retired social worker.

The door of the elevator opened, and I bent down to pick up the bags. I looked up to see B.A.P looking at me on the corridor. None of us said anything, we were just staring at each other. The doors started closing automatically, and Himchan jumped in to push the open button.

"What are you looking at? Go and help her." he said, ordering s. Everyone grabbed one bag except for Yongguk and Himchan, and started carrying them out of the elevator.

"Where should we take them?" Daehyun asked.

"To the storage room at the end of the corridor, but you don't have to help me…"

"Did you carry all these clothes from the studio to here?" said Youngjae, not even letting me finish my sentence. I nodded, Youngjae and Daehyun exchanged a meaningful look, which I couldn't decode.

We arrived to the storage room. It was really big. The boys put down the bags and asked me if I need any help. I shook my head and they left the room, but I remained there, searched for an empty hook and started hanging the outfits. I didn't notice I was not alone.

I felt a light touch on my shoulder, but it was so sudden, that I let out a small scream. Luckily it was just Jongup, a bit surprised, maybe he didn't expect this kind of reaction. Not long after he started smiling.

"Did you get my letter?"

"Yes. Thank you very much." I was really grateful.

"I want you know that us, B.A.P, will not follow the CEO and the others in this. If you have any problem, you can talk about it to us." I nodded. "Are you sure that you don't need any help?" I nodded again. "Then, I'll be going. Take care of yourself." He waved, I bowed and continued my work.

~~

B.A.P were having dinner in their dorm when Jongup arrived.

"Did she get your letter?" Zelo asked.

Jongup was just smiling brightly, and this made clear that his answer was a yes.

"I can't believe they made her carry those clothes all across Seoul. Even one of them was heavy, and I can't imagine four…" Daehyun was just thinking out loud, but everyone agreed.

"I'm worried about her." Jongup whispered.

"You like her, don't you?" Himchan asked out of the blue. The others thought it might be true. The dancer was talking about the stylist girl way more often than the others, and there was also the letter and the fact that he wanted to stay with her more today. Once he liked a girl years back then, and he was completely the same.

First, Jongup was just looking surprised. But soon, when the realization hit him, a big grin started forming on him face.


Author's note:

It's a cypher, I'm a rider Imma ride it like a biker YASSS I can officially cycle :D

Sorry, I know this chapter is lame. However, the good news is that I exactly know what's going to happen next, so maybe I'll be a little faster next time.

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akumu_no_musume
Skydive MV is out! Did you guess X right? I did :3

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Donnakiins
#1
Chapter 4: This is interesting so far! Jongup was my first bias (even tho Himhan is my ultimate bias now LOL) so I'm enjoying this story :)