Sasaeng

Season 2 – Chapter 16

House of Cards

“Alice! Over here!”

“Alice! I need that sheet!”

“Alice! Please help!”

“Alice! Text the manager for the times!”

By the time it was lunchtime I’d begun thinking about changing my name!

“Thank God we have a break!” Hyungjoon sighed as he joined me and Jeongha to the convenience store on the corner. We have a two-hour break since we’re going to be working until early evening before the flight and then a couple of hours when we get into Hong Kong… I’ve not had enough caffeine for today!

“And I still don’t have anything to wear tomorrow, I’m screwed” I sighed, trying not to give up on the whole awards show.

We entered the convenience store and Hyungjoon went instantly to snacks section and picked up a bag of his favourite chips… and then another one… and another one… and moved to the chocolate aisle…

“He’s blocked Hyungjoon’s number. Alex that jerk” Jeongha cursed his name while angrily grabbing a bottle of water.

“Yes, the jerk, Alex the jerk” Hyungjoon pouted behind us, holding onto his snacks. “I’m done with guys for a while; I need to find a really hot girl” he sighed quietly as he looked out the window as staffs walked into the city centre.

“You have bad taste in girls too” Jeongha rolled her eyes and went to the checkout. “I’ll set you up” she said, putting a hand on Hyungjoon’s large shoulder.

“Not today! Today we need to help Alice get a dress!” Hyungjoon suddenly tried to change the attention away from his love life. “We’re going straight to my Noona’s boutique, she’ll love you” he turned to me with a sneaky smile, looking up and down me as if imagining what I’d look like in her dresses… I had a bad feeling…

“HYUNGJOONIE-AH! JEONG-JEONG!” a high voice called through the boutique as we arrived. A tall, gorgeous woman came running through the shop. She was about a head taller than me, long black hair that was styled perfectly, her body was curvy yet slim. She was definitely his sister…

“Woah! A foreign beauty!” she gasped, looking down at me with wide dark eyes. ME!? A BEAUTY!? Her large dark eyes gazed over me once before she flew off down her store racks… everything looked very expensive…

“So exciting!!!” she cheered while scooping dresses off the rack. She chose quickly and beckoned me to a room behind her which turned out to be a private fitting room with a seating area. “You can change behind that curtain if you need help just call me in” Hyungjoon’s sister told me with arms full of dresses…

I hadn’t even said a word since we stepped inside the boutique and I was already trying dresses on… In the changing room, I looked through the dresses and was completely clueless… I knew that I needed to blend in with the other staff that were attending and not stand out… which none of these will do!

They were gorgeous dresses that were classy and elegant… which I am not! And when I tried each of them on, I felt like a child dressing up as an adult! Lace. Bodycon. Bright colours. Extravagant. Hyungjoon’s sister loved them all and took plenty of pictures but the others could tell I was uncomfortable.

But then I saw one at the very back… A very simple black strap dress with a few layers of chiffon. A black strap belt embellished with gems. Down one side there was a hidden slit to my knee. Simple yet dressy… and when I put it on, I found it was very comfortable…

“I love it!” Jeongha cheered, clapping her hands before picking up her phone and started to become my own personal paparazzi.

“Whoa, Alice! It’s so pretty on you! I so wish I could give you a smoky eye look and a dark red lip!” Hyungjoon’s creativity was spiralling and his sister was already gathering accessories for me which she happily packed it with the dress for me.

And after many more hours of work, we were finally done! Dress and luggage in hand, I joined Jeongha and Hyungjoon in their staff car… but when we arrived, we found the airport was packed with photographers and fans…

Anxiety filled me… too many people… I gripped my seatbelt in fear…

Being the amazing friend that she was, Jeongha saw my face and remembered my fear of crowds. She gave me a reassuring smile and put her hand on my arm for comfort. “I’ll help you get through” she told me.

And so, we unbuckled our belts and my brain seemed to switch off. My eyes glued to the floor, I blanked out the world and let Jeongha do everything for me. My headphones in all the time, blasting music for the whole hour we were there.

We went to board first, waiting at the gate for the members… whose arrival was announced by the screaming of fans. I watched worriedly at the door which the members were going to come through… they’re safe… right???

… Jimin was first through the door looking like A GOD DAMN SNACK!!! Black skinny jeans. Black print shirt. Black leather jacket. And a black cap… as a fan and as a girlfriend… it was a blessing for my eyes but a curse for my brain!!!

“Miss me?” Jimin smirked when he saw me. I blushed heavily and suddenly forgot how to talk! I barely managed to nod since it seemed that my movements had been damaged with the emotional blow of his ‘bad-boy’ appearance! He smiled at me with his breath-taking eye smile and patted my head lovingly.

I tried to not look at Jimin as we moved but it was extremely difficult! When we boarded the plane, the members moved to first class and the staff who were flying today went to the economy class.

Plugging my phone in and headphones ready for the flight, I was ready to close my eyes when I got a message. It was from Jimin.

‘Hey babyy! You looked very worried so I’m messaging to say that I love you and it’s going to be okay! See you tomorrow! From your Chim-Chim!’

I couldn’t help but smile like an idiot and felt tears stinging at my eyes. The text filled me with so many emotions I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So, I wrote my emotional reply, closed my eyes and fell to sleep…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Alice, stay still” Hyungjoon told me off as we sat on the hotel room floor, Hyungjoon doing my makeup and Jeongha finishing off my hair. She’d waved my hair in an edgy style to match the smoky silvery eye look Hyungjoon was almost finished doing.

“I’m sorry! I’m nervous!” I whined, feeling my hands still shaking. We were due at the venue soon to do the member’s hair and makeup. Our outfits already hung up in the car waiting in the underground parking since we’re getting dressed just before the event.

“Almost…Done!” Hyungjoon announced, marvelling at his masterpiece.

“Can I look now?” I asked him for the billionth time and finally, he said yes. So, I went to the bathroom and hardly recognised myself! For once I actually looked my age, but it was very unsettling to see a grungy look on me…

“Wow” I goggled, moving my hair from my eyes to see better. “Just… wow” I repeated, absolutely shocked at my reflection.

“I know right! Jimin will have a heart attack!” Hyungjoon clapped happily but paused to check himself out. I rolled my eyes and checked the time.

“We need to leave! Now!” I told them, rushing for my pouch. We all got our things and ran out the door, sprinted to the elevator and then out of it to the car. Hong Kong was different at night then it is through the day, for one it’s a hell of a lot busier! And chaotic! By the time we reached the venue, I was ready to have a panic attack!

“We’re here!” Hyungjoon yelled to the staff that was already there. You could tell who was going to the event and who wasn’t by the makeup since the staff who were going looked like they’d spent hours on their faces and hair.

“Alice! Jimin! Please!” Head-Stylist was having a mental breakdown while going over Taehyung’s hair again with red to make it as vibrant as possible! I nodded and ran to Jimin who was beaming at me from a chair.

“Whoa, so pretty!” Jimin said in English while giving me thumbs up. I blushed like crazy under my makeup and patted him embarrassed. He laughed at my reaction and I turned him, so he was facing the mirror. His makeup was already done, and he was in his suit looking beautiful!

“Saying I look pretty when you’re the prettiest one in the room” I mumbled quietly but he heard and made a sound of disagreement but continued to smile shyly. I began straightening his silver-grey hair, which didn’t take long but I could tell that he was ready to nit-pick at it.

“Jiminnie, there’s no way it could get any straighter” I joked but he slyly pointed to above his ear where it had tucked slightly. Sighing, I untucked it and hid my smile as he watched me through the mirror.

“Thank you, Alice” he tried to sound nonchalant, but you could tell he was being a sly little mochi! Jungkook replaced him in the seat and I could tell instantly that he was in another world.

“Jungkook-ah, you okay?” I asked as I fluffed his dark hair. He nodded slightly but he couldn’t fool anyone with that. “Life is like a house of cards” I told him as I sectioned his hair to straighten too. He looked up confused.

“What do you mean?” he asked with squinted eyes.

“Through life, you’re constantly building yourself like a house of cards. Every person you meet, fleeting or forever, you add a card. Every drastic event and small moment, you add a card. But life is unpredictable” I smiled, remembering the words my dad had once told me.

“But your house of cards is only as strong as you are. If you let it even a slight breeze will knock your cards down, and therefore everything you’ve been building until that moment will mean nothing” I told him, avoiding his eyes to stop the cringy feeling building in my chest.

“Right now, your house of cards is crumbling because of Daisy. She’s the breeze that’s blowing as hard as a hurricane, so what do you need to do?” this time I looked at him, looking into his innocent eyes.

“I don’t know” he admitted, looking down at his hands.

“You rely on those your closest to and build up a defence. Build yourself back up and become stronger than before” I gave him a serious nod through the mirror when he lifted his head. “No single person can defeat a loyal army. And no single person can destroy a house of cards made out of steel” I advised him before finishing up his hair, putting clips in at the front to keep the shape of his bangs.

“Alice-Noona” Jungkook called me quietly as he stood up. He turned to me with a more relaxed expression. “Thank you” he gave me a small smile and leaned down to give me a quick side hug before going to join the members… and the sight of them hit me…

They were talking, just casually, but the feeling that they were a family… was so strong right now! And as I leaned against the chair, watching them… a thought threw itself in my mind…

‘Take this in while you can, because it might be the last time’

…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Daisy? Are you here?” I asked in the darkness of the alley. The shadow of a person loomed in front of me. But it didn’t look like Daisy. It was definitely a man.

“I’m here” her voice came from behind me and when I turned, I was face to face with Daisy… but she looked… strange…

“Daisy…” I gasped, looking at her appearance. She was thinner than ever. Her hair looked like wire and her skin was paper white. She looked angry… but also scared… petrified…

“Alice, I warned you” her weak voice wobbled, and she reached behind her for something tucked in her back pocket… it was a gun… THE gun… Aera’s gun…

“Where did you get that?” I asked her in a hard voice. She winced at my tone but held it out in front of her, pointed at me. “Really? I know you’re crazy Daisy but this?” I tried to joke, for some reason I trusted that she’d not shoot…

…

But then…

…

BANG!

Pain flooded around my shoulder as I fell back against the trash bags in the alleyway!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AUTHORS NOTES

AND THE FINAL OF THE THREE CHAPTERS IS UP! AND I PROMISE! THE AWARDS ARE DEFINIETLY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! HAHA! AND BECAUSE I'VE UPLOADED THREE CHAPTERS YESTERDAY AND TODAY THERE WON'T BE A CHAPTER TOMORROW.

I'M ALSO GOING TO BE WRITING THE ONE SHOT FOR BTS'S BIRTHDAY ON THE 13TH! I HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

ANYWAYS! NEXT TIME IT'S THE BIG DAY! THE LAST 5-6 CHAPTERS OF SEASON TWO WILL BE LARGE CHAPTERS JUST TO GET ALL THE STORY IN BEFORE THE END! THERE WILL ALSO BE NO SPOILERS FOR THESE LAST CHAPTERS! SORRY ^w^

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTERS UNTIL THE SEASON 2 FINALE: 5-6 CHAPTERS!!! 

(Sorry for the change but too much to fit into 4 chapters)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi! I’m EstelleKpop! I hope you like Sasaeng so far! I’m sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes, I’m not a professional writer hehe XD

I will hopefully be uploading every Tuesday and Saturday. Please look forward to more chapters soon!

Thank you for reading!

Laters!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KpopEstelle

xxx