Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Foundation

By: TheRealityWeWanted

Chapter 1

Haechan

“Haechannie, why do you look so different today?”

My cheeks got hot. Oh, man. I expected this, so I should’ve had an answer ready. I always had an answer ready. 

But this time I didn’t. 

“The new makeup artist,” I mumbled.

Mark spun in unison with me; a shimmy-shimmy here, a shimmy-shimmy there. Bass kick swingin’, but instead of Bruce Lee, I was...Hyuck Lee. A legendary idiot.

“What?” Mark prompted. “Can’t hear ya, man.”

Good. Doyoung was right next to him, and he looked for any opportunity to mess with me the way I messed with him. I didn’t want him to hear me, so I kept my voice low.

“The foreign makeup artist. She...messed my face up.”

This time Mark stopped to stare at me. Good thing it wasn’t the whole group, but just me, him, and Doyoung getting in some last minute practice before Musicbank. 

We were up next, and I knew I looked bad. Because I was so dark, it was hard for the Makeup Noonas to find me foundation. That’s why they went a few shades lighter, and said I looked better that way. 

It was fine. I was used to it. So why did the new foreign makeup noona have to go and change things? It pissed me off.  

“How did she mess up your face?” Mark finally asked. “You look fine. Just different.”

“You look darker.” 

Aissssh. Doyoung had caught on.

“I know. She used the wrong color,” I grumbled.

Mark tilted his head. It was the curious puppy look that drove our fans wild. “I mean, yeah, I guess it’s darker than usual. But your face and your neck are like...the same color now.”

“The color of poop!” Doyoung snickered.

Mark frowned. “Hyung! That’s so mean!”

I held back two things: a wince and a mean comeback of my own. It was fun arguing with Doyoung hyung, but we didn’t have time. We were about to go on stage. I could fix this if I hurried.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, leaving the dressing room.

“Don’t be late!” Mark shouted.

“Yah! Don’t piss off the new makeup noona, she looks scary!” That was Doyoung, of course.

I walked into a wide room lined with mirrors. In front of those mirrors were the rest of my hyungs and the makeup artists working on them.

Everyone in the room— no, the whole building— was Korean except for the makeup noona at the station in the far right.

She had big, curly hair. It kind of looked like one of the wigs comedians wore for gags, but it was actually growing out of her head. And it was...nice. The curls were a shiny dark red, and looked soft. They framed an oval face stamped with big eyes, a round nose, and full lips. She had a birthmark by , but you couldn’t see it unless you were close. Her skin was darker than mine. 

 For once someone’s skin was actually darker than mine.

I’d been all over the world, so I’d seen black people before, but I never thought our company would hire one to do our makeup. Everyone was shocked on her first day, and even more shocked when she spoke fluent Hangukmal.

So far she’d been with the company two weeks, but already had a million names.

"Mari-sshi" for acquaintances and strangers. "Mari Noona" for us. "Mari-ah" for people she was close with, and "Chocopie-sshi" by people behind her back.

Right now Mari noona was finishing up Johnny hyung’s makeup, and it looked good. He’d said something in English, and now they were both laughing. It seemed like he was her favorite, because they were both from America. That was why she made him look perfect. Anger started bubbling in my chest. It wasn’t fair.

I walked over as Johnny was getting out of her chair. I plopped down in it and smiled at her.

She raised an eyebrow. “I already did you.”

“Yeah, but I think you made a mistake.”

Johnny’s eyes widened, and a few other people in the room looked over curiously.

Mari noona didn’t say anything for a second. She just stared at me with big brown eyes, a makeup brush hanging from her fingers. 

“Okay...it’s Haechan, right?” she asked. “Just point out the mistake and I’ll fix it.”

I moved a hand in front of my entire face. “Here it is. You made my face too dark.”

“That’s your shade.”

I gritted my teeth. “This is your first time doing my makeup, and I know it’s hard, because of my skin, but—"

“Hard?” she blinked in confusion. “It’s not hard. I had your shade ready in my kit.”

“I know it’s not what you’re used to, but you look good, Haechannie,” Johnny added thoughtfully. 

I glared at him, then Mari. “Look, this isn’t America. I want you to use whatever the other makeup noonas use.”

Jaehyun hyung, who was sitting in the station next to ours, watched quietly while Taeyong hyung laughed nervously. The room was quiet except for his awkward chuckles. Jaehyun’s makeup noona reached into her bag and pulled out foundation. She looked like she wanted to give it to Mari, but Mark and Doyoung burst into the room.

“Okay, we’re on in five minutes!” Doyoung said. “Haechannie. You still look like poop.”

Mari shot him a look, then sighed. “I’m sorry you feel uncomfortable, but there’s no time for me to re-do your makeup. Why don’t you make due with this today, and next time you can choose the foundation.”

I curled my hands into fists. Whether she realized it or not, these Musicbank episodes were going to live forever on YouTube. Her mistake on my face would be immortalized. The comments would...hurt. And she was standing there talking about a next time?

I got out of the chair to join the rest of my hyungs by the door. My throat felt tight, which was going to throw off my singing. “I don’t know if I want there to be a next time,” I said to Mari.

5 hours later...

“Uh...Hyuck...I think you’re gonna wanna see this,” Mark said, handing me his phone.

We were in our van, and our manager was driving us back to our dorm. Everyone was excited, because we’d won Musicbank! 

I’d felt a little self-conscious on stage, but ended up losing myself in the music and forgetting about my appearance.

I took Mark’s phone and glanced down. There were already lives of our performance and win. The video on the phone was a HD fancam of me from Musicbank.

“Look at the comments,” Mark encouraged.

I’d never admit it out loud, but I was scared to. Why did Mark want me to read them when there were bound to be nasty comments about my looks?

“Come on.”

I sighed and started scrolling down. 

What I read surprised me.

NCTzenoftheYear98: Um...is it just me or is Haechan getting hotter and hotter???

Hyuckilwillbethedeathofme’s reply to NCTzenoftheYear98: It’s not just you, sis. He’s definitely getting hotter. 

HyucksWaifu10: I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something different about him. He’s glowing.

BabyDOESlikeits reply to HyucksWaifu10: Of course he’s glowing. He’s our Melanin King.

PureLikeSnow: He looks too dark :-/

Taeyongmakesmesoft’s reply to PureLikeSnow: There’s no such thing. It’s simply genetics, and not an imperfection. And if you’re a so-called “pure fan” you’ll like Hyuck the way he is, naturally.

Armyzen945’s reply to PureLikeSnow: GTFO. We don’t need your negativity. The fact that he exists means there are tan people in Korea, and they shouldn’t be made to feel like crap.

Firehyucksubangcha!: What a bronze god

Biaswrecked127: His skin is honestly so pretty. It reminds me of those Werther’s caramel candies *drool emoji*

TheHardestStan222: I think I know why he looks different...his darn makeup matches his neck for once.

BabyDOESlikeit’s reply to TheHardestStan222: OMG I’M SCREAMING!! You’re right! Usually his face is like two shades lighter than his neck, but now they actually match!

highwaytohaechan’s reply to TheHardestStan222: Wooowww I can’t believe it. I mean, he always looks good, but this looks better.

127247: No more two-toned Haechan! He looks amazing.

SheDoesntEvenGoHere: I’m happy he’s starting to appreciate his honey skin, and I wanna hi-five the makeup artist who’s responsible. 

The8thSense: His makeup artist needs a raise for real. He’s going to photograph better too. The flash isn’t going to make it look extra weird since the foundation matches his natural skin tone.

OGKpopfan28: I’m imagining some little kid in Korea looking at Haechan’s skin and thinking, "Maybe I’m not so ugly after all..."

I looked up at Mark, who’d been watching me with a soft smile on his face. My mouth was dry and my throat felt tight again.

I wanted to make a joke, but I was afraid that if I spoke my voice would crack. 

Because Mark was my best friend, he seemed to understand and just slung an arm around my shoulders.

“Told ya you looked good.”

***

Author’s note: I wrote this on a whim at 4AM in the morning, so please cut me some slack. It's keeping my spirits up during the quarantine. 

I also know Haechan likes his skin and Doyoung would probably never compare it to poop, but for the sake of this story, I tweaked some things. 

Please comment :)