The first shooting went smoothly than Jinri imagined. She had fun explaining types of fabrics that are good for making dresses and other kinds of clothes. Just like the two designers who were also as enthusiastic as she was, she was very involved in making the episode more fun. The hosts were very attentive and they kept on asking questions. The whole panel developed a very good chemistry with each other right off the bat.

The two stylists who used to work for celebrities received the baton from the designers and explained how colors, length of the clothes and even accessories affect the whole look of the wearer. Five models were dressed by them to explain the whole theory that they were talking about.

During the whole recording, Jinri couldn’t help but steal a glance of her celebrity crush who was sitting on the opposite table every now and then. Bang Sunghoon was glowing the whole time. It looked like he has his own set of reflectors. 

Aside from appreciating Sunghoon’s unearthly beauty, she could say that it was a productive recording. She was able to showcase her talent through a quick designing challenge. They made her and the two designers sketch up a whole look for each model. The writers and the producers were satisfied with how the shooting went. And they said that they were impressed as to how she was able to make her part interesting.

Her witty remarks received recognition from the hosts. And she couldn’t be happier. It was already late in the evening when the shooting ended. She found Sehun talking to one of the lady staff members. They were laughing at something that he said. She noticed how the lady touched his arm like it was the natural way to act. A bitter feeling settled in her stomach.

“Hi there.”

She quickly turned around and came face to face with Minho, the only guy designer in the panel. He was smiling at her.

“Hi,” she greeted back with a small smile.

“I just wanted to say that you killed it back there. You were so bright and just really fluent in explaining details.”

She blushed at the compliment. “Thank you. You were not that bad yourself. I actually liked the unconventional design that you made. Bold colors, if I may say.”

He shyly touched the back of his neck. He looked adorable. She knew he’s the same age as her but she finds him cute.

“I heard you work in Glam,” Minho said after a while.

She nodded right away. “Yes. I just started working there after my internship. How about you?”

“Ah, me? I’m not working in any company right now. I just started my own small brand.”

“What’s the name of the brand?”

“Mayhem.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re the designer of that brand? I-” she paused, staring at Minho who was equally surprised by her reaction. “-love your work.”

Minho blinked in disbelief. “You’ve seen my works? I’m surprised that my humble products even got your attention. I didn’t really expect you to be interested on my kind of style.”

Jinri got where he was coming from. Mayhem’s theme was heavily leaning into the darker side of the spectrum. The products were mainly graphic tees and other kinds of clothing which were labeled as unconventional. He liked incorporating painting in his works.

“I appreciate good art when I see one.”

He looked really flattered by what she said.

“Is it too much for me to hope that we could work for a collaboration in the future?” he asked, flashing her a hopeful smile.

“Absolutely not. I would love to work with you,” she replied right away, beaming. She’s already comfortable with him. Maybe it was because he’s an artist that she actually admires.

He smiled from ear to ear and she couldn’t help but do the same thing. They exchanged numbers right away. Wishing each other luck for the next shooting, they went their own ways. When she looked at where Sehun was a while back, he was nowhere to be found. She thought maybe he and the lady staff went out for a drink.

Shaking her head, she made it out of the studio. To her surprise, she saw Sehun talking on the phone. He had his eyes narrowed while talking. A sigh left his lips when he ended the call. He brushed his hair back before turning to where she was standing. It was too late to look away and pretend that she was not staring at him so she just stood right there.

He walked towards her. He looked pretty stressed.

“Ready to go?” he asked in a monotonous tone.

“Yeah.”

Sehun led the way and she followed just a step behind. She wondered if something happened. They rode the elevator down to the basement where his car was parked.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked. She internally scolded herself for letting her curiosity get a hold of her. The last thing she was wishing for is to get tangled with any of his personal issues again. He turned to her with a quizzical expression.

“You look like you were thinking about something so deep,” she explained.

A sigh left his lips as he stepped out of the elevator when it opened. She followed him right away. “My brother just called,” he muttered. “He told me that our grandma fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital two hours ago.”

She gasped as she slapped a hand over . A sudden rush of unexplained emotions came like waves. She could still vividly remember the time when her uncle suddenly called her and told her that her father fell unconscious and was sent to the hospital. At that time, she called her brother right away with a very messy line of thought.

She could only imagine how Sehun’s taking the news. She searched his face when she got inside the car. “You can go to the hospital if you want to. I’ll just take the bus,” she suggested.

Sehun shook his head. “My brother told me that she’s eventually regained consciousness not long ago and they’re going to take her home in a couple of minutes to be tended by the family doctor.”

“Then you can go home and wait for her there,” she pushed. She knew she crossed the line with that. She forgot the situation he’s in. He said before that his relationship with his family was bad to the extent that he would not dare appear in front of them. She bit her inner cheek, feeling bad for not being sensitive. “Sorry.”

He turned to her. “What for?”

“For being nosy.”

He stared at her for some seconds before giving her a half-smile. “You were not nosy. You were just being concerned and I appreciate it.”

For a second there, she thought he might not be as bad as she thought he is. But then again, she’s not really good in reading people. Look at what happened to Inho.

Sehun started the engine and stepped on the gas. They made it out of the parking lot in a few seconds. She kept on looking at him. His brows were still brown together. He noticed that she was staring.

“I’m just fine. Nothing to worry about,” he said.

“Then why do you look like you’re in deep ?”

An amused smile painted his face and her cheeks turned pinkish. “It’s just that I’m being forced to do something.”

She raised a brow. A sigh left Sehun’s lips. “What is it? Maybe I can help.”

It took full 3 seconds for Sehun’s face to beam like a great thing hit him. She regretted saying those words. She mentally asked herself if she just dug her own grave.

“You’re right. You can help.” He smiled.

And she just knew she’s stuck with him again.

I can’t believe he got me to do this.

A grunt of disbelief and frustration made it out of as she stared at her reflection. She was wearing one of her works which she never imagined using. It was a faded pink, almost purplish, long dress with gold details running from the waist to the hem. Gold fabric was also incorporated at the end of the dress, adding elegance to it. A gold