INTERLUDE

ii. 11:11

“Everything finds its place and leaves

You took all of me and left

But like the two hands of the clock in my heart

I keep lingering in the same place."

2019 - JESSICA

Jessica wakes to muted streaks of red and orange bleeding into the blue of the sky. The sunrise still looks just as pretty, even when she is suspended thousands of feet above the ground in an aeroplane. She glances at the minimalistic watch on her wrist.

2:30PM

6:30AM KST blinks on the monitor in front of her.

She was heading home, back to Korea, back to Seoul and the prospect of seeing her sister, Krystal, manages to free her from the weak hold of sleep.

For the past five years or so, she’d ventured away from Korea and settled upon the States pursuing her interest in fashion designing. It was hard, especially initially. The unfamiliar environment, differences in culture, and in language had brought about the feeling of homesickness. Whilst she was greeted with the high-rises, the hustle of shopping malls and stretches of golden beaches every day, she longed for the sights she could not see—the sights she’d grown up to know.

But after endless hours immersed in the work she had a passion for; after finding and settling into her own personal circle of friends, and after she’d become more acquainted with the language and the culture, the pangs of homesickness subsided, replaced with a newfound sense of security. Slowly but surely, America became a home away from home.

She watched as her hard work became what was now, Blanc, her own successful brand.

And it was time to come home, and well, maybe see if Blanc could potentially find a place in her first home as well.

/

Jessica’s brows furrowed underneath the pair of aviators in annoyance, as the sound of camera shutters became incessant.

She was well-known, but not that famous, especially not here in Korea.

“Jessi!” A familiar voice shouts across the arrival hall and the presence of the paparazzi suddenly makes complete sense. She would recognise that voice anywhere, and Jessica cranes her neck trying to locate its owner.

Jessica spots her sister is jogging towards her, face sporting a wide grin.

“Hi Sis! I missed you.” Krystal says as she immediately pulls the fashion designer into a crushing embrace. When the two of them part, Jessica’s previous irritation vaporises and she's sure her expression mirrors that of her sisters.

“I missed you too, Krys. What are you doing here? Surely, the rising model, Krystal Jung, has some photoshoot to be at?” Jessica jests, though she is genuinely and pleasantly surprised by Krystal’s appearance.

“Nope. Told the lot of them to bugger off, I wouldn’t miss seeing my sister for some lame photoshoot, now could I?” Krystal responds cheekily and loops her arm around Jessica’s own pulling her towards the carpark.

"No, you just brought them with you to annoy me." Jessica gestures dismissively at the cameras still clicking away.

“It's not my fault that cameras follow me everywhere. You can thank me for sharing the spotlight with you this time. Come on, hurry up you slow poke!”

"No thanks, I don't want your stalker crew." Jessica replies bluntly. Her eyes spot a familiar vehicle parked at the end of the row.

“Did you drive?”

“Yep!”

“Am I going to die in a traffic accident on my first day back in Korea?”

“I am offended by your insinuation that my driving is crappy, Jessica Sooyeon Jung.”

Jessica finds herself smiling at the familiarity of their easy banter and she lets herself be dragged to Krystal’s car.

Like old times, they fight for control of the music and just this once, Jessica intentionally let’s Krystal win.

“Hey Krys, so are mum and dad back from their trip in Japan yet?”

“Nope, they decided to stay for a bit longer, something about pretty sights and needing more time to appreciate them. So how long are you staying in Korea for this time?”

Jessica takes in the scenery passing by and is just as glad to see both the familiar and unfamiliar sights of her hometown. She shrugs in response to Krystal’s question, because she wasn’t sure herself.

“I don’t know. I need to meet a couple of important people about Blanc and discuss the potential for the brand to establish a permanent name and customer base here in Korea, which means, lots of meetings and business dealings. I’m going to be here for a while, that’s for sure.”

Jessica notices that Krystal has grown quiet and decides to sister a bit, gently nudging the younger one’s shoulder with her elbow.

“What? Not happy that your unnie is going to be staying for longer? Can’t wait to get rid of me again?”

“NO! Unnie…it’s just that—I’m glad you’re staying for longer...I really missed you.”

Jessica's face softens upon hearing the words.

“I missed you too Krys. I’m back now, so let’s hang out as much as we can alright?” Jessica shuffles so that she was somewhat facing her sister despite the limitation of her seatbelt.

“So what is the model Krystal currently up to? To be honest, I think I might borrow you for Blanc, because you my sister, are very popular it seems, with your personal stalking crew and all.”

“Will I get paid?” Krystal quips

“Jung Soojung! Stop avoiding the question. What projects have you gotten yourself into now?”

“Hmm, I’ve got a couple of photoshoots lined up next month, as I’m kind of busy shooting for a music video…” At the thought of her music video project, Krystal shoots a quick careful glance at her sister. The topic made her uncomfortable and wary. She replays her conversation with Tiffany, reminding herself that her sister wouldn’t remember Taeyeon, and it is only then that she finds herself relaxing slightly.

“You’re featuring in music videos now? I’m proud of you Krystal. So who’s the music video for?”

“Taeyeon.”

“Taeyeon? Hmm, name sounds vaguely familiar…wait, Taeyeon as in Kim Taeyeon of that idol group, SNSD?”

“Yup, one and only.”

“I’m not too familiar with them but wow, you’re really making it big Krystal.”

“Yeah…”

Jessica picks up on Krystal’s glum mood. Her sister didn't sound like she wasn’t particularly excited or pleased about the music video.

“What’s wrong?”

“It nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Jessica drops her line of questioning but she wonders if something had transpired between her sister and the lead singer of SNSD.

/

As this was her first music video shoot, Krystal finds herself jittery and filled with unexplainable nerves. Although, she was no stranger to the life in front of the lens, having featured in many magazines and fashion campaigns, they'd all ultimately boiled down to a single snapshot in time; a single moment of perfection. With videos, it was different. The notion of having to appear perfect in every single one of the thousands of frames captured was daunting.

As if sensing her nerves, her manager breaks away from his conversation with a few of the other staff and comes over to her, eyes warm and a small encouraging smile on his face.

"Hey Krystal-ssi. Don’t worry you are going to do great. This is like any other job, just do what you do best."

Krystal takes a couple of deep breaths and smile sincerely at her manager. "Thanks, I really needed to hear that, I was kind of freaking out a bit here."

"Don't worry, besides, Mr Park, the creative director will guide you through it all. He happens to be a friend of mine so I'm sure he'll treat you well. You get to skip out on the usual angry yelling."

From the horrified look on Krystal's face, the manager is quick to clarify that his comment on the “angry yelling” thing was a joke, much to the relief of the tall girl.

"Geez, don't give me a heart attack oppa!"

The manager's reply is interrupted by the arrival of the creative director who was accompanied by the one person Krystal had never wanted to see again, the one and only Kim Taeyeon.

The creative director motions for everyone to gather around.

"Hi everyone, I'm sure you all know who I am," A ripple of chuckles spread through the room. "So let’s skip my self-introduction. Today we are going to be commencing the filming for Taeyeon-ssi's music video. Please support her album when it's released! Anyway, we have a few special guests joining us for this project. Krystal Jung--yes, it's the Krystal and please keep your fanboying or fangirling to a minimum--has kindly accepted our invitation and will be starring alongside Taeyeon in the music video for Make Me Love You."

Krystal bows politely in greeting as she feels the attention of the staff shift to her.

"Hi everyone, I'm Krystal, it's nice to meet you and I hope we can work together to produce a successful music video."

Taeyeon who was up until now, preoccupied with typing out a message or note on her phone, suddenly raises her head at the sound of Krystal's voice. Krystal finds her own eyes meeting Taeyeon's curious gaze. Subconsciously, Krystal's eyes narrow and her lips become pulled into a thin line.

"Thank you, Krystal." Says the director, inadvertently breaking her staring contest with the idol. "Now, have we all read the paperwork outlining what is expected to be completed by today?" The crowd nods. "Okay good, so can we set up the props, cameras and lights please? And hair and makeup as well? Oh, a word with Krystal-ssi and Taeyeon-ssi before you guys run off to get changed, please?"

The various teams disperse to carry out their tasked duties leaving her alone with Taeyeon and the creative director.

"Hi girls, before we get started, I just want to say the hardest task will rest upon your shoulders. You have to portray a connection with each other, otherwise the viewers will not be able to correctly interpret the