Saturday morning came and went, with the boys busy with the photoshoot while Jery went around Incheon herself. Kyuhyun was only glad to get a break by lunchtime, meeting up with Jery and guiding her around the places she had yet to visit.

They returned to the studio around early afternoon in time to witness the creative director yelling invectives. Kyuhyun was at first confused but found out from the group that the shoot was derailed since the extra model they had hired for the shoot didn’t show up. The director had been calling the model’s agency, and apparently, there was a misunderstanding, prompting him to yell into the phone.

At that moment, a grey-haired elder went into the studio, effecting a drastic change in attitude from the director.

“Ah, Mr. Modine, apologies. It seems that the model we had for your clothes is not showing up, a misunderstanding with the modeling agency. And none of the agencies I’ve called can hustle up one in this short time,” the director said.

The man only raised an eyebrow. “Well, but we cannot delay the shoot Director Park – the women’s apparel featured here are grace notes only to the clothing modeled by the SuJu members. SPAO will fine my company for the delay.”

He looked around the room, apparently deep in thought. He paused after seeing Jery, did some creative re-imagining in his head before pointing her out. “She will do for a replacement.”

Everybody’s eyes went to Jery, causing Jery to look around. She had not been paying attention as she was looking for a place to sit on. She was just walking towards an unoccupied seat when the fashion designer pointed her out.

A staff member hurriedly took her arm and propelled her towards the designer and the director. She looked around in confusion.

“Will you be interested in modeling for us today, Ms…,” the designer asked.

“Uh, Adelair… Jery Adelair, pleased to meet you sir. Uh, modeling?” She was truly confused at the turn of events. The boys behind her moved forward with interest.

“Well, we are one short of a model, and you happen to be a perfect fit,” Mr. Modine said. “And rather than let this day go to waste, you offer me a perfect opportunity to salvage it.”

“Uh, sir, I’m a foreigner here, and I haven’t exactly explored the possibility of my contract being open to other employment…” she started to explain, but he interrupted her.

“Who do you work for?” Mr. Modine asked.

“Uh, Novgorod Tech, sir.”

“Oh, Charles is a friend of mine. Just the guy to call.” And without further ado, he flipped open his phone and called the company president.

Jery’s eyes widened. “He can’t do that, can he?” she asked the director. What had she gotten herself into?

Donghae began to laugh. “You should see your face, noona! Of course he can! He’s Mr. Alain Modine, one of the best foreign designers based in Korea. He’d know foreign company presidents anywhere.”

“But I haven’t exactly agreed to anything, my contract notwithstanding, not to mention what Korean Law I’d be breaking if I were to agree. Besides, I’m not a model! I’d likely mess up your shots,” she continued to protest.

The director, in the meanwhile, continued with the other photo shoots that was within his control.

“But he’s a designer, noona. Out of anyone here, he has the necessary experience to know what to look for in a model, particularly of clothes that he designed. If he says you’re perfect for the photo shoot, he has reason to say so,” Sungmin volunteered the information.

Mr. Modine presently came back, holding out the phone to her. He must have received good news because he was smiling. “Your boss wants to talk to you.”

“Uh, hello, sir?” she said onto the cell phone.

She distinctly heard the heavily accented Nordic voice of the company president, Charles Avaristaad. “Ah, Ms. Adelair, found yourself in quiet a predicament, eh?”

“Yes, sir, I didn’t actually expect this.”

“That’s alright; Alain has explained his need for an emergency model, which happens to be you. I’m in consultation here with our lawyers, and here is what we know: your visa restriction has no applicable negative list when it comes to your employment – what it means is that you can have any work outside the party you contracted with, which is us, and so long as there are no provisions in your contract restricting you to be employed in another company. You, however, are restricted only from working in a similar IT company, but since this is a fashion job, you can work as a model. Now, regarding image issues, Alain understands that he cannot use your face in his print ads, well, for now at least, until the details of your contract with him is ironed out. For that, I’ll be sending over Atty. Lee Jinha for a provisionary contract that you and Alain need to read, understand and sign before you even step into those clothes. And for today also, Atty. Lee will act both as your legal representative and manager – he will make sure that whatever transpires there will be in keeping to what is applicable for you insofar as your work here in Korea is concerned. You have any questions?”

“Uh, sir, I haven’t exactly agreed yet to the project…” She could hear her boss starting to laugh.

“It will be up to Alain to convince you, then. Either way, inform Mr. Lee of your decision when he gets there – if you opt not to do this, Mr. Lee will make sure that you do not get coerced into doing something you do not want. Will that do? Personally, I do not see any conflict with regard to the company – your preference, of course, is another matter entirely. I just wanted to reassure you that you have our support, whatever you decide on. Fair enough?”

“Well, put that way sir, I’ll weigh my options here, and have an answer by the time Atty. Lee gets here. Thank you, sir.”

“No problem, Alain was the one who called anyway, he has the need. Let me talk to him again. Thanks. And good luck Ms. Adelair.”

“Thanks again, sir.” She looked up to find Mr. Modine still watching her. “Boss wants to talk to you,” she said, handing him back the phone. She didn’t listen in to the conversation.

“Well then, apparently I have an hour to convince you to say yes,” Mr. Modine smiled, hanging up the phone. “Or at least until your lawyer gets here to make things legal.”

The director was also listening in. “So we have an hour to know whether this will be a go or a wrap.” He shook his head. “But I guess this is better than nothing.”

“Sit with me, Ms. Adelair? I will appreciate it.” Mr. Modine led her to a long sofa in one corner of the studio.

Mr. Modine began. “Let me first apologize for setting this burden on you. I know you are not here on any professional capacity other than to accompany the boys for the photo shoot – Director Park explained as much to me. When he had called me earlier to inform me that the model hired to wear my collection didn’t show up, I was pressed to look for alternative models. Which happens to be a tedious process especially since it is a weekend, and that I’ve seen the portfolio of the modeling agencies around town and I can definitely say they do not have the type I need. You, however, fit the shoe, so to speak.”

“But I am a plus-size,” Jery frankly pointed out to him, in case he didn’t notice.

Mr. Modine merely smiled. “I am not exactly known for designing clothes for small people. My designs all tend to be, superfluous… I’m sure some of the pieces fit you, you are not that far from a normal-sized Western woman for whom the clothes are designed for. And luckily, this shoot was also designed in such a way that I am not allowed to reveal my model’s image. Remember this is primarily a SPAO photo shoot, with the boys as the main image models – my collection will run the ad alongside SPAO, as they also sponsor the said collection – but that is why we were getting anonymous models. You will basically be shot from behind, or on profile, or if there is a need to shoot from the front, the collection comes with headpieces that will cover your face. The clothes are the highlight, not you. But I do admit I need somebody to be wearing the clothes.”

“But still, Mr. Modine, a trained model would do better.”

“Not really. Besides, you move in a way that puts possibilities I haven’t seen when I designed the clothes, so I have a good feeling when you get to wear my creations. So please, say you’ll agree. Just for today, at least, and to help out a rather desperate old man.”

Jery sometimes wished she had low empathy. Looking around, everybody had worried looks sent their way. Of course, it didn’t escape her that part of the loss Mr. Modine would incur will involve a lot of money, not to mention any scandal that might arise from this.

“I’ll need to talk to the company lawyer – I believe there is a contract we need to both sign before I can even see the clothes – but there’s nothing revealing, is there? I draw the line at showing more skin than necessary, and I do not have the body type to go bare.”

Mr. Modine laughed. “You dress well for a woman who has a lot of body issues. And no, the theme is summer chic – the sports magazines can take care of the swimsuit stuff… I don’t design those types of clothes, anyway. Regarding the contract, I’ve told Charles I will give you the same terms agreed on by the other model – and since you don’t have a manager, the manager’s fee, which is part of the contract, will also go to you. It’s rather substantial, as I was dealing with a model and an agency that considers their talents to be the best. But very unprofessional, I should have noticed.”

“If I do say yes, you’ll have to tell me what to do. I can take instruction, but I don’t think I can naturally model.”

“But of course, that is why I am here. I am pretty much hands on when it comes to my craft – I do not leave the modeling to models as I have a clear concept for each outfit.”

“Let me think on this further? I promise to decide by the time Atty. Lee gets here.”

“Sure, sure, no problem. I, on the other hand, will need to go and do some adjustments on the clothes… I had to sew in a couple of inches to fit the smaller model, I should have just left them as is… ah well, when will I learn…”

Jery wandered over to where Leeteuk and Sungmin were gathered, watching Donghae's solo shoot. Everybody else was in either wardrobe, or makeup.

“Settled everything already?” Leeteuk asked, quietly fussing with the hairstyle they had him on for the next set of shots.

“We’re waiting for the company lawyer as my legal representation. But I’m hesitant about doing this… it’s rather daunting.”

“There’s nothing daunting about it… they dress you up and make you up, and all you need to do is just move the way they want you to move. Just act like a live doll,” Sungmin advised.

“I don’t exactly have what you would consider beautiful features… I mean, I’m happy with mine but all these,” she gestured to herself from head to foot, “are not exactly modelesque.”

“We’ve seen the way you dress up and walk – you do have the fashion sense and bearing of a model, you just don’t realize it because it’s how you naturally move.” That statement from Sungmin surprised her. “I realized you were walking when Mr. Modine first noticed you. He would have seen what we normally see when you walk to the office.”

“Uhhuh, you watch me go to work.”

Sungmin laughed. “Well. That’s about the same time I do my warm-up exercises. You didn’t notice that the terrace outside me and Shindong's room happen to have a good view of the street going down to the main avenue. Of course I’m bound to see you go to work.”

“I’ve always thought I walk like a tomboy.”

“Yeah, you do that, too, noona, especially when you are home, or wearing rubber shoes – you actually change your walk depending on what you have on,” Eunhyuk chimed in. “Just try it for now. We promise we’ll be gentle,” he teased.

Donghae was done by that time. “Yes, Jery-noona, why not try it for now. You could find it fun. Who knows, it can offer you an alternative career here in Korea,” he encouraged. “Besides, it’ll be fun to model with somebody we know. Half of our shoots don’t turn out fun when we have to keep up with the professionals. If it’s with you, we can just act like we usually do when we hang out at your place.”

Atty. Lee presently arrived, casually dressed for that Saturday but still bringing the signature briefcase he uses in the office.

“Hi Ms. Adelair,” he cordially greeted. They’ve bumped into each other a couple of times in the office, but never really had any interaction other than the usual his and hellos. “Seems like we’ll be working together on this impromptu career of yours.”

“Sorry that they had to send you out here for this on a weekend.”

“Oh, no worries. I actually live here. I just work in Seoul. That’s why they sent me – I’m the nearest company lawyer here, and the company and I have a tacit agreement about emergency legal representation for employees. It’s part of the job, so I can’t complain. Let’s go talk with Mr. Modine?”

Jery led him to the temporary area Mr. Modine had commandeered for the shoot. A lot of the clothes were already up on the mannequins, body size adjusted to an approximation of her. Looking at the inanimate dolls, Jery figured she really wasn’t that big.

“Mr. Modine?” she called the designer who was busy with the adjustments.

He turned around and greeted Atty. Lee with familiarity. “Jinha, nice to finally see you here.”

“Yes, hyung, it’s been a long time. And still making waves in the fashion industry, I see.”

“You’re too kind. But we do our best.”

“So what’s this about wanting to hire one of our most valuable employees to model for you?” Atty. Lee asked. Mr. Modine provided him the details as he had earlier explained to Jery.

“What’s your decision, Ms. Adelair?” he asked her in turn after hearing Alain’s story.

“Well… I’ll do it. If Mr. Modine’s convinced I will do, then I will not waste anybody’s time.” She announced.

“Ok then, before that, here’s the provisionary contract,” Atty. Lee handed them both a sheaf of papers. “And I’ll need to have a look on the contract you gave the other model. If there are necessary revisions, I will do them then print out the final contract for you to both sign, and then you can proceed with the shoot.”

Jery easily breezed through hers, understanding enough legalese to approve the provisionary contract. Her eyes widened, though, when she saw the contract price from Mr. Modine’s company. “That much? For a session?” she couldn’t help asking.

“Plus the manager’s fee, which is twenty-percent of the contract price,” Mr. Modine replied, flipping over a page to point to her the applicable clause.

“That is slightly above the standard rate, Ms. Adelair. The fashion industry essentially makes models public property, so the compensation has to be commensurate,” Atty. Lee explained. “We would not have accepted if we didn’t know that Mr. Modine gives out fair contracts. To even credit the manager’s fee to you speaks highly of his work ethic.”

“And you, what will you be getting?” she asked Atty. Lee.

“Oh, I’m not allowed to get ‘anything’ from this, Ms. Adelair. I’m well compensated enough by the company to represent the employees whenever they need legal representation – that is how Novgorod takes care of its own. Besides, this will be another feather in my already impressive legal experience, so I actually welcome the opportunity.”

Jery shook her head at the man’s obvious pride in his work. Her eyes kept going back to the manager’s fee clause, and even to the provisions with regard to the manager. “Mr. Modine, how about you name yourself the manager? Make this a direct contract between you and me? That way you don’t need to give me the manager’s fee, at the same time it’ll be understood that I take instruction from you for this session. Can that be done, Atty. Lee?”

Both men were surprised that she would think this way. If it were anybody else, they’d have jumped at the chance to wring more money out of Mr. Modine.

“Sure, I do not see any problem to making this a direct contract. But I’m not following your line of reasoning,” Atty. Lee said.

“Well, this whole contract was designed to have a third person, namely the manager, which I do not have. It is the manager who vouches that the talent delivers the expected body of work – since I am entirely new to this, the only way I’d be able to deliver the expected results is for Mr. Modine to direct me. We’ve already talked about this earlier, Mr. Modine. And since you’ll be responsible to SPAO for this, we could just name you my manager for this session and avoid further complications in the future.”

Mr. Modine raised his eyebrows. “Well, this is rather new for me – I haven’t exactly had contracts for my own talents. I‘ve always went through modeling agencies because they already have the necessary work provisions in place for their own talents.”

“Well, Mr. Modine, your contract also provides for the minimum requirement – talent fee, insurance, non-disclosure terms. And now that Ms. Adelair pointed it out, a direct contract will actually protect you. It means that you directly hired her, so the issue of her being a non-professional model will not come into question. Though the law provides that the industry should take licensed professional models – hence the requirement to hire models through a modeling agency – it also provides a designer leeway on the so-called creative license. If you have a direct contract with her, that means she becomes an in-house model, and the requirement to hire professional models is therefore waived, because you take responsibility for how the collection turns out when you opt not to hire a professional model,” Atty. Lee explained.

It was Mr. Modine’s turn to be contemplative. But it was an easy decision to make. “Okay, revise the contract so we can get started,” he told Atty. Lee. “I’m being hands-on for this anyway, I might as well have my CYAs in place, as you mentioned. But truthfully, I have a good feeling about how all these would turn out.” Almost as an afterthought, he turned to a surprised Jery and kissed her on both cheeks.

“You’re such a wonderful person, Ms. Adelair. I’ll make this an experience you will not regret,” he promised her. Jery was a bit embarrassed, but she silently vowed to do the best she could, given the circumstances.

“Now, while Atty. Lee takes care of the papers, I will go ahead and consult with the Director and of course, hair and makeup so that we can organize your shoots with the boys. We’re already slightly behind schedule but I think this is a welcome development for everybody.”

It was about 4 PM when Jery started on her “modeling” stint, the necessary papers signed and Atty. Lee okayed on the seven concepts Jery needed to model with the boys. There were also two sets of clothes for each theme, one in skirts or shorts, and another in pants. That totaled 14 shoots for her. It was roughly the same number of shoots the boys had individually.

First up was Yesung, which she had to collaborate with for the Preppy theme. Her first outfit was a simple lilac button-down women’s polo with ¾ rolled-up sleeves tucked into dark grey slacks. The outfit was made slightly feminine by the ruffling detail along the front and white strap sandals. The only accessory she had was a thick white bangle on her right wrist. Her short hair was parted on the right, rather than on her usual left, which partially covered her face. Her spectacles were replaced with dark violet shades in the Top Gun design. She inwardly laughed, recalling the first set of eyeglasses she had on third year high school, another symbol of her nerdiness. She briefly checked herself on the full-length mirror, pleased that the clothes fit her rather well. It also wasn’t that far off from her usual office getup.

The boys hooted when she finally got out for the actual shoot, with Sungmin commenting she looked slightly cooler with her current getup than when she went to the office.

“Thanks guys, but holler if you need me to do something. I’m actually blind with these glasses,” she said. True, she could discern outlines, but without her eyeglasses and wearing darker shades, it was extra work for her to see through the glare of lights.

Yesung was already waiting up front on the gray background, sporting an outfit similar to hers. His mint-green polo had its short sleeves rolled up to the biceps and his slacks were a lighter shade of grey. A dark blue kerchief scarf, white canvass shoes and black wire-rimmed glasses completed his outfit. “Hey, noona, we're twinning!” He commented as she went to join him.

Then there wasn’t much conversation as Jery listened for instructions from the director and designer. It seemed like time just flashed by as she went through costume change after costume change, hair and makeup after hair and makeup, photo shoot after photo shoot.

She had to wonder, though, if she was doing everything right as there was nothing but praise sent her way from the directors and the boys. She finished the Casual theme with Donghae, the Sweet theme with Sungmin, Formal with Leeteuk, Street Punk with Eunhyuk and Romantic with Kyuhyun. She specially loved her Formal and Street Punk outfits and had more fun modeling those. It also helped that the clothes she modeled were in variations of her favorite color purple. And true to what Donghae said earlier, she and the boys had fun throughout the shoot.

It was already 8 PM when the director announced their dinner break, just right after the Romantic photo shoot with Kyuhyun. Jery was tired by then, more tired actually as Kyuhyun had taken to dipping her every now and then for the “romantic” poses. While the boy had supported her weight, she also made sure she braced herself, as she was aware that he had undergone rib surgery before due to an accident. He did assure her he had fully recovered. Holding the poses also took its toll, but there were times they had to literally freeze while shots were being taken. She marveled at how the boys were still energized after a long day that wasn’t near to ending yet.

She changed out of the last costume back to her outfit of the day before she joined dinner with the boys and crew. She had just found a place for herself on a crate near where the boys were gathered when somebody handed her a bottle of mineral water. It was Kyuhun.

“Thanks,” she said, even as he took the place opposite hers and joined her for dinner. “Egad, I’m famished.” She took a big gulp of water and a mouthful of food before even attempting to join in the boys’ conversation.

“How do you manage to stay active after a whole day of this?” she asked the boys during the lull in the conversation.

It was Kyuhyun who answered. “We don’t do twelve straight sets of shoots in four hours, Jery-noona.”

She stared blankly at him before realizing that compared to her, each of them only did two sets, and had rest for most of the four hours. “Oh, right.”

“Yeah! You did great, noona,” Sungmin saluted her. “We actually marvel at your stamina. There’s nobody we know who can do what you did – most models would take lengthy rests between shoots, never mind the schedule. You actually went ahead and did shoot after shoot.”

It was then that she recalled how Mr. Modine kept asking her if she wanted to take a break first. “I thought hair and makeup was the break… it wasn’t?”

Leeteuk laughed. “No, it isn’t, Jery-noona. Next time you do this, remember to take a real break.”

“Yes, but you know, I’ve been looking at the contacts, and I tell you, noona, you never ruined one shot. They can actually cut you out of the pictures and publish you ahead. It’s us who actually spoil the shot, for some weird reason or other. That’s amazing.” Donghae chimed in with his own two cents.

Of course, Jery hadn’t seen the contacts. Mr. Modine presently came up to her, having finished a meeting with Director Park. “Jery darling,” he actually cooed, pecking her again on both cheeks, never mind the foundation makeup still on her face. “You were wonderful! Superb in every shot! See, I told you you’d be perfect. We’re also ahead of schedule because you did shoot after shoot.”

Jery finally laughed. “I didn’t know I was supposed to be tired between shoots, Mr. Modine. I just assumed that hair and makeup is actually the break time – I was just sitting anyway, while the coordinators did everything as you instructed.”

“I had even thought you would be timid with the boys, but it seemed they were more comfortable with you around,” Mr. Modine commented.

“Actually, Mr. Modine, I think it was us who were at first uncomfortable with noona – with every outfit, she kept transforming into somebody else,” Yesung shared. “But once she heard instructions, she immediately went into modeling mode so we had no choice but to keep up with her.”

“Yes, Jery darling, I noticed that, too. Are you sure you haven’t modeled before?” Mr. Modine asked.

Kyuhyun remembered something. “She’s had experience before with performing on stage. I’d assume that background of hers helped. You’re actually used to being in front of people and performing as required.”

“Hmm, maybe, but it’s more of being used to finding myself in situations I’ve never been to before. I’ve always managed to adapt.”

“Really noona, you’ve performed on stage? Theater?” Yesung asked, who was currently starring in a musical play.

“Oh no, nothing like that Yesung-ah. I’m a terrible actress, and I fumble lines most of the time. It’s an ethnic percussion and dance group, and that was back when I was still in university. I admit though, that was the time I developed a thick skin. I was so nervous most of the time during performances, so much so I’d forget my steps, that to remedy it, I subjected myself to even more performances until the nervousness took a backseat to the thought of just performing out there for the crowd.”

“Now I see where you got that sense of space and balance you use with your poses – one thing why the shots were so good, you actually complemented what the guys did – not overshadowing them, but not forgetting to also highlight what you were modeling.” Mr. Modine said.

Director Park and Atty. Lee presently came out of the meeting room and made their way to them. Director Park spoke.

“Atty. Lee here has pretty much okayed all your shoots, Ms. Adelair, even the ones where some of your facial features were clearly visible.”

At Jery’s inquiring brow, Atty. Lee answered, “Well, you don’t actually look like yourself when you’re all made up. And Mr. Modine kept pointing out that you have the kind of face that can’t be put together in a jigsaw puzzle. I really do not know what that means but as was so kindly pointed out to me, it means you cannot be identified by just a feature alone, so that’s what made all your shots being approved for use.”

“I also got a call from SPAO and the boys’ agency after I sent them a couple of the contacts for approval – it seems they’re interested with your ‘in-house’ model, Mr. Modine. You’ve apparently just launched Ms. Adelair's modeling career.” Director Park told Mr. Modine.

They all turned to a suddenly coughing Jery. “I can decline further inquiries of a similar nature, right?” she asked Atty. Lee.

“But of course, Ms. Adelair. We can just always refer to this as a ‘special favor’ to Mr. Modine.”

“Well, boys, if some of you can start on wardrobe, hair and makeup, let’s start. I’d like to do the last set of photos by 9,” Director Park instructed. It was already 830. “The boys will go ahead with their group shots. Ms. Adelair, take advantage of the break – we’ll have you done last in time for you to join the boys in the group shot.” Then he turned back to the staff and crew who were already preparing for the final shoot.

“Huh.” Eunhyuk suddenly uttered.

“What’s wrong?” Donghae asked when Eunhyuk didn’t say anything after. Even the others were waiting.

“No, nothing wrong. Everything’s right, actually. I just realized we’re going home early tonight – I keep expecting to finish by 2 AM, but that’s not the case now.” He visibly cheered with that realization.

Kyuhyun shook his head. “You just realized that now, hyung?” he irreverently teased, laughing as he did so. That earned him a chase around the studio as Eunhyuk wanted to make him pay.

>>>

“Ok, guys, that’s a wrap!” Director Park announced at exactly 10 PM, earning him a lot of hurrahs.

Jery and the boys were already breaking out of their last pose and celebrating the relatively early finish. She also earned thankful hugs from some of the boys.

“Ah, Jery-noona, thank you lots,” Sungmin told her while hugging her tight. “I’m glad they got you for the shoot – you made everything so much easier and simpler.”

“Yeah,” Eunhyuk came up next for a hug. “Next time we have a photo shoot, let’s request for her – she works fast,” he teased.

Then a staff member was directing her to the changing room. She needed to use it first before the boys took their turn. She surprised them yet again when she got out, apparently just changing back into her own clothes.

“What, noona, you didn’t use the shower?” Leeteuk asked.

“I’m still tired, Leeteuk ah. I need to rest first before I can take a shower. There’s still the drive back to Seoul – I can always shower back home,” she said, already making the rounds and fixing her things before sitting back on the makeup table and removing her makeup.

“Huh? Is that advisable, noona?” Yesung asked even as he awaited his turn at the showers.

“Well, it’s kept me from getting enlarged veins,” she said, holding out her relatively smooth hands and feet. “Besides, I’m more concerned about my eyes. Whenever I take a shower right after a tiring activity, the body heat escapes through my eyes. It fogs up my glasses, irritates my eyes. It takes a while before I recover my vision, that’s why I don’t do it.”

Everybody else looked at their veined arms, apparently wondering if they got it because of their daily habits.

“Don’t mind me, though. I’m just following some folk tale we have back home – it’s a weird practice that seems like only I do. And I only continue to do it because it’s what’s comfortable for me.”

Atty. Lee presently came to say his goodbyes. He had stayed until he gave approval for her photos. “By the way, you should go check your contact prints, so you have an idea how you looked,” he suggested. “Is your ride home okay?”

“Yes, Atty. Lee, I’ll join the boys in the van. And thanks for being here today. I’ll make sure to send the President a glowing review about what you did here,” she said. The lawyer merely nodded at her, before waving goodbye and heading home ahead of them.

Jery did spend her waiting time looking through the photos, and she had to admit she did justice to the outfits and the concept. She was also unrecognizable, what with the pictures mostly featuring her covered face.

“Can I get a copy of these, Director Park?” she asked.

The director looked at her, even while she was browsing the pictures. “Mr. Modine should be sending you hardcopies of those that get to be published,” he informed her.

She looked up. “Only those that get to be published?” She sighed, understanding there may be legal issues to her having a copy. “Just wanted to have these for a keepsake. I admit, I don’t think there will come a time again that I’d look like these.” She truly wanted a remembrance of what may turn out to be her first and only modeling stint.

Mr. Modine apparently heard what she said because he offered. “Let me work on having the sponsors approve the release of these pictures for your personal copy. I’m sure they’ll be amenable with you keeping a remembrance of these.” He smiled. Then he handed her a box. “And this is for you.”

“Ah, Mr. Modine, you shouldn’t have…” she started to protest, but he insisted. Jery finally opened the box to reveal an elegantly styled lavender dress. She had not noticed it as part of the collection, and said so.

“Actually, I always make it a point to create another dress that looks part of the collection, but doesn’t really belong in the collection and give it to the model. This, my dear, is yours. I want you to have something from me that’s uniquely yours. What you just modeled will be replicated in my stores, copied even by other dressmakers or fashion wannabes. This however, is an assurance that you have something from Modine that has no copy. I’d be honored if you wear it someday.”

“Wow.” For a moment she didn’t know what to say. “This is really beautiful Mr. Modine. Actually more exquisite than the collection. If and when I get to wear this, I really do hope to give it justice.” Then unable to contain herself, she jumped up and genuinely hugged the designer.

“I’m not really the type to go for clothes, Mr. Modine, but just looking at this dress makes me want to be beautiful,” she said, embarrassingly so because she was mooning over a dress.

Mr. Modine laughed. “You actually captured what I try to evoke in my creations – that any woman who sees, and wears a Modine, will feel beautiful. And my gratitude to you, for stepping up when the chips were down. You’re such a wonderful person, and I’m glad to have met you, and worked with you. I’m proud to say you’ve made this as one of my better collections.”

She bowed deeply. “Thank you also for the opportunity. It is truly something I will never forget.”

“So, I’ll be seeing you around, my dear? Visit my store when you have time. Besides, I still owe you all these photos,” he gestured in the general area of the computer.

“Yes sir, you’ll be definitely seeing me around.” And then they both bid each other goodbye as Mr. Modine and his staff had already finished packing up.

They were en route to Seoul by 1030, the boys quickly finishing their showers. They all bid thank yous and goodbyes to the crew left behind to finish packing the equipment they used for the shoot.

Everybody settled onto their seats in the van, even Jery hunting for her own berth, rather than usually sitting with Sungmin or Kyuhyun, and considering half of the group weren’t traveling with them, having left earlier in the afternoon. She promptly curled up on the seats, jamming her folded legs between seats to secure herself before going to sleep, mumbling something about waking her up when they reached home.

It seemed like everybody was asleep. But not Kyuhyun – not Kyuhyun who pretended to be asleep on the seats across Jery, watching her from beneath his jacket’s hood which he wore as an excuse to keep the light out from his eyes. And to disguise the fact that he was watching her. Nobody else noticed because everybody else was asleep.

KyuHyun was finding himself conflicted. He had a growing attraction to Jery. He didn’t know when it started but all he knew was that every new little thing he found out about her just only made her dig another tiny spot in his whole being. He didn’t know how else to describe it – like how it felt in the few hours he spent with her around Incheon, and watching her beautiful transformations as Modine’s model, not to mention partnering him, of all things, for the Romantic theme shoot. True, she wasn’t beautiful in the conventional sense but something about her caught him, hook, line and sinker.

It was a good thing no one noticed how quiet he was that day. He was only thankful the guys had a tendency to each go off into their own worlds whenever there was a group activity that ate much into their time. Everybody had different ways to cope with the passing time. And Kyuhyun had been spending it watching her.

Well, everybody watched her, in a sense, as she was that interesting to watch during the shoot. But Kyuhyun had the feeling he was the only one watching with veiled interest, so much so he had to get a grip on himself seeing her interact so easily with the other guys, keeping a lid on his sudden compulsion to want to keep her to himself.

But what to do? He knew how she looked at him – the dorky youngest of the group to be treated with tolerance and understanding because of his age. She seriously listened to him whenever he spoke his mind, but she did that to everyone else, displaying a rather high degree of intelligence and empathy whenever she responded to what was told her. She was the kind who would precisely see their 8-year gap as a gap, never mind if she at times treated him as an equal. But it only spurred his compulsion to want to be man enough for her – and he was realizing it was a rather daunting thing to do.

He couldn’t share his feelings with the hyungs – all older than him but not understanding why he, the youngest, would be mostly attracted to older women. They’ve seen that side of him – always looking up to older, accomplished women. They sometimes dismissed it as a manifestation of his hidden wish to spend time with his mom, or his older sister. But it just so happened that he liked women who are already sure of themselves - they just happen to be older than him. These days, he was also realizing that he didn’t have patience for the childish considerations of females younger than him. He’d mostly had a sarcastic reply or two for questions thrown at him about his current lack of a love life, or who his ideal woman is.

Then there was Jery herself. She wasn’t the only woman he’d had opportunity to meet and really got to know both within and outside the entertainment industry. But she was the first to catch his interest in almost every way. He was interested to know why she was rather unconscious of her own beauty, or why she makes decisions the way she would, sometimes expected, but most of the time unexpected. He wanted to know what attracts her to guys as she had not shown a hint of interest on any guy she knew, or saw.

He admired the way she looked after herself, working here in a foreign land, cognizant of its culture but never forgetting who she is, where she came from. She had such a strong sense of self that she didn’t allow anybody else to shortchange her. She had a way of doing things that demanded respect from those she met.

It had been rather difficult for him facing her earlier, to pretend that he was only pretending romantic feelings during their photo shoot. She was breathtakingly lovely in the dress she wore – hell, she was phenomenal with whatever she wore. But for their theme, the dress, the hair, the makeup, the ambience was such that he caught glimpses of her feminine, vulnerable side. He had to keep reminding himself that she was only being in character, quick to respond to the instructions being called to her, but still, that made him want to really know who she is as a lover.

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