Chapter Two
A Portrait of HappinessJESSICA’s POV
Smiling while holding my glass of wine, I stared at Soojung being carefully assisted by my team. This week, we’re on our second fitting for the Met Gala gowns.
I could see her reflection from the grand tri-fold mirror of the VIP dressing room of Blanc & Eclare. The lighting was adequate for all of us, but Soojung… it’s different. Her smile was radiating.
She was practically glowing.
I remember the very first day the invitation letter reached my desk.
*flashbacks*
September 2020.
It was two weeks after I arrived from China, since I had schedules over there as a Music Artist. I was busy going over B&E’s fashion catalogue for the Fall Season. My secretary, Ms. Ahn, came forward after knocking outside my office’s door. She was pushing a cart full of delivery packages for Blanc towards my table. On top of the boxes was a well-ordered manila envelope with distinct yellow color.
It stated…
JESSICA JUNG SOOYEON, MUSIC ARTIST AND CEO
BLANC & ECLARE
“What’s this?” I thought to myself.
Ms. Ahn, who was equally curious as well, encouraged me and said, “The delivery person reminded me to be extra careful with that particular one.” Huh. Isn’t that supposed to be a given already? Aren’t they a courier service to begin with?
Dismissing the thought, I began lifting the manila envelope from the pile and started opening it.
Then, all I got was a very sophisticated and stylish medium-sized envelope. A letter, huh?
It read in embossed typeface…
THE MET GALA 2021
The next thing I remembered was Ms. Ahn calling my attention. Huh?
“Ms. Jung? Hello, Ms. Jung? Are you all right?” I heard her faint calls.
“What? Yes, what happened?” I was brought back to reality. “You spaced out for a moment there, Ms. Jung.” Oh… “Since everything seems to be fine now, I’ll be on my way, Ms. Jung.”
“Oh, yes. Alright, Ms. Ahn. Thank you.”
I looked at the envelope I was holding. Then, I went to my lounge area, sat on the couch and hurriedly opened it.
In boldfaced letters, various sets of words only mattered:
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART’S COSTUME INSTITUTE
YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE MET GALA 2021
MONDAY, MAY 3RD OF 2021
6.30PM
NEW YORK CITY 10028,
USA
TWO SEATS ARE RESERVED FOR BLANC & ECLARE
I dropped the invitation after reading the contents of the letter.
I found myself staring at nothingness. The words “Met Gala 2021.” “Metropolitan Museum of Art” “Two seats for Blanc & Eclare” kept repeating inside my head.
And as if I was struck by lightning, I smiled to myself. Felt happier, even.
I knew the perfect person to bring with me.
Nobody loves The Met the way she does, my baby sister, Jung Soojung.
*end of flashbacks*
I checked the date on my phone, it’s the last week of October 2020. I looked over at Soojung trying out the design piece of her gown, we had celebrated her 23rd birthday two days ago. Our family and our closest family friends were the only ones invited, as Soojung didn’t want a grand celebration. She would rather travel to different countries, embrace the experience of each journey, than celebrate with a lot of people she barely knew.
We feasted on her special day, to the point that I almost forgot about our gown-fitting scheduled today. Haha, oops.
Fortunately, our body measures did not change significantly. Our gowns still fit perfectly.
The Met Gala is the most exclusive party invitation in America. Hmmm… I wonder, who will we meet at the Gala?
AMBER’s POV
“All done, Ms. Liu. I guarantee that you’ll be the Met Gala highlight this coming May 2021.” It was the Creative Director of Yves Saint Laurent. I smiled, oh no need to flatter me.
“Much thanks, Mr. Vaccarello. I hope you remembered my personal suggestions.” I have these intricate details in my mind that I would like to emphasize in the suit. Nothing grand, just the Amber Liu signature touch.
Today’s the second whole-day fitting of the YSL suit that I will be wearing at the Gala next year.
This is going to be my fifth time attending the party, I have dined and mingled with fellow famous personalities here and there. So much so, nothing really memorable struck me. To the point, I even thought of sitting out this year, but look where I am right now. Now in my second suit-fitting.
I just hope the rascals received their invitations too. When we’re all together, we don’t need anybody.
Kring!
Speaking of the devils… I fished my phone from my pocket.
From ByunTaeng:
“Yah! Are you still alive? Why aren’t you replying to any of us? Got good news, bro. Message me when you get this.”
[Sent at 4:24pm, Wednesday]
From Player Kwon:
“What’s up? Did Tae message you? Reply to my message first, so I can boast it to her. Btw, got something for you. Let’s hang soon!”
[Sent at 4:30pm, Wednesday]
What a pair of walking headaches. Everyone, meet my best pals. Meet Kim Taeyeon and Kwon Yuri.
Give me a minute, I’ll just send them a message.
To Player Kwon:
“Hey, bro! You’ve got something for me? Let me guess… Damn it, Yul. Don’t tell me you broke hearts again. Easy with those girls. Soon, you’ll have your match. Trust me. I’ll facetime you guys in a minute.”
To ByunTaeng:
“Yah! ‘Sup, bro? For your information, I’m still alive and well. Thanks for asking~.”
Calling the group Hoe-ly Trinity~
[ByunTaeng and Player Kwon accepted the call]
“Guys, does anybody here still have their sense of time? Sigh. Hello~ It’s goddamn 1:35am here in LA. We don’t share the same time zone, ok?”
“Oh come on, Amber. You were the one who called, not us. And as if you still follow a designated sleeping time.” It was Taeyeon speaking. She’s playing with Zero.
This time, it was Yuri. “Bro! I missed you, bro. When are you coming back here?” I tried to observe her background, she seems at home.
They totally set aside what I just said. Oh you two will have your day…
“Haha, missed you two. I still don’t know when I’ll be back though. Anyway, what’s up? How’s South Korea?” I asked the ert and the player. I’m the nicest one here, I’m telling you as early as now.
“Still the same, bro. Nothing new. Although it’s currently my break time right now and Zero’s with me! I brought him here. I’ll have a meeting with SM producers later on tonight.” Taeyeon answered first. She seems happy.
Yuri followed suit, “I’m at home. I just finished a K-Variety Show shoot earlier, now I’m just resting…” Uhuh. Resting, huh?
They both had this knowing smile… err, that was creepy. Out of nowhere, they started barking at each other. “You go tell her first. I’ll be the last one to tell her.” “No, you go first, Kwon!” “No, you tell her first, Byuntae!”
Sighing at their antics, “So… anyway, what’s the news?”
Taeyeon mumbled something but still went on ahead, “Guess who’s invited at the Met Gala next year?” Tae just tried to wink! I repeat, Tae just tried to wink! My sleepiness and tiredness are now long forgotten.
“Are you serious?! You got your invitations already? Oh yeah!” I screamed at the front camera of my phone screen.
Wait… if Tae got her invites already, then that means… I looked at Yuri. She had this smirk… oh dear.
“With that smirk plastered on your annoying face, I’m really guessing that you received yours too?!” Yuri grinned. “Yes! I RSVP’d already! New York City, prepare yourself. The Hoe-ly Trinity will rock your world at the Met Gala 2021!”
We found ourselves dancing like chimpanzees.
After a good 5 minutes, the chaos subsided and we laughed it off. Finally we’re going to see each other again.
We’ve been friends for a long time now. It’s been a while since we last saw each other.
The last time I visited South Korea was back in January 2020. It was a short-vacation, and I figured visiting these two at their agency, SM Entertainment.
My friends are hella popular as well. Soon, you’ll know why.
AUTHOR’s POV
It was a Friday evening. Everyone was on their way to the high-end clubs situated in Hongdae, Itaewon, Cheongdam-dong, and Gangnam. After a long busy week of work it’s very rewarding to loosen yourself up and meet new people.
A great variety of individuals are seen going in and out of clubs, from high-profile personalities to regular people planning to wash their exhaustion and stressors away – even just for a night only.
Hours have passed, a flock of photographers and paparazzi gathered around a certain club’s perimeters. All of them were trying to get a shot of the intriguing celebrities allegedly seen walking out of the club together.
“Wait! Look over there! There they are!” A photographer from a magazine company shouted, making all other photographers turn their heads to the direction he was pointing at earlier.
Another one mumbled, “She’s so familiar… Did you guys see her? I couldn’t quite see from here.” He was relatively short compared to the other photographers.
“Oh my God! It’s Y— it’s really her!” A man holding a camera shouted. “Who?! Speak clearly!” Another photographer retorted.
“Wait… They’re walking towards the other side! Come on, let’s follow! We might lose them!” Somebody shouted.
They ran altogether while holding dearly to their cameras. “There they are! Kwon Yuri and Son Ye Jin!” Sounds of shutter were heard from everywhere. “Nice one, boys! We have a strong headline for next week!”
[MUSIC ARTIST AND CELEBRITY CHEF, KWON YURI, SEEN HOLDING HANDS WITH SOUTH KOREAN ACTRESS, SON YE JIN, AFTER EXITING A CLUB TOGETHER IN ITAEWON]
YURI’s POV
“Yuri-shi, how did this happen? I thought we’ve talked about your frequent club visits already?” Here we go again, folks. SM Entertainment higher-ups invited me and my Manager over for a quick “meeting” because of the headliner last weekend.
They showed me set of photos from last Friday night.
I was wearing a black leather jacket, a denim button-down inside and a white tee as my inner shirt, coupled with a pair of black pants. Son Ye Jin, on the other hand, was wearing a blue long sleeve blouse, a pair of black pants and stilettos. Wow, our clothes really did match.
Why is it ~my~ problem, then? They’re paparazzi, that’s what they do. Let’s just say, I provided them with content.
“You know how this kind of things usually happen, why aren’t you being cautious? You’re a popular female Music Artist in South Korea. I’m sure you’re well aware of the traditional beliefs of the citizens here in the country. Imagine what they might think of you because of this.” Ugh, there we go. Here comes the ‘traditional’ blah blahs…
I finally speak up. “With all due respect, Sir. A part of the reason why I was there at the club is because, one, I was trying out food from the club’s Restobar. Last time I checked, I’m still a Chef. It’s technically not wrong of me to explore inspirations from other reputable restaurants. Two, I’m a Music Artist. I was enjoying the DJ’s set list, vibe and ambiance of the entire club. I just happened to bump into Son Ye Jin-shi who was coincidentally present that same evening. The paparazzi just conveniently captured the moment when I was assisting Son Ye Jin-shi.” Yup. That’s how you should reason out, kids. You point out the obvious and anchor your arguments from there.
Well, I still am a celebrity chef. It’s true. In fact, I have a cooking channel on YouTube. Every Wednesdays, make sure you tune in. *winks*
I’m a Music Artist, I still perform every now and then. Collaboration projects are also on the table, so yes.
And last but definitely not the least… Is it my fault that people are naturally drawn to me?
“Yuri-shi, we just want you to be safe and cautious. These club visits could really affect your image as an idol. We’ll do something about this. But we hope this is for the last time, understood?” One of the higher-ups said. And then, my Manager and I stood up. We bid thanks and finally bowed.
After walking few meters away from the conference room, Manager oppa and I finally laughed at the same time. We were holding that laughter in for quite some time now. See? Manager oppa knew me so well. This is why we get along very much, he’s not the typical manager you’ll see anywhere. He’s like an older brother to me and he treats me like a real younger sister.
“Yuri-ah, I know you got what they said earlier so I won’t further speak about it. But try to lie-low for a while, alright? You just received the invitation for the Met Gala 2021, so you better take care of yourself. That party invitation is a grand one, remember?” He said.
“Yes, Manager oppa. Thanks, again.” “No problem, rascal. Now, where do you want me to take you? Are you tired? Your schedule for today is cleared.”
“Hmm, staying at home sounds perfect right now.” “Okay, I’ll drop you off there.”
“Thanks for the ride, Manager oppa. Have a safe drive, alright?” He just nodded.
I went straight to my penthouse. After washing up, I jumped on my bed. Now, what to do?
Kring!
Wait a minute… where’s my phone?!
From 011 1XXX XXXX:
“Hi Kwon Yuri-shi. Good afternoon, are you free tonight?”
[Sent at 5:30pm, Monday]
To 011 1XXX XXXX:
“Hey there~ I didn’t catch your name, who’s this?”
[Sent at 5:32pm, Monday]
From 011 1XXX XXXX:
“Hi! This is Han Ye Seul. It’s my other number.”
[Sent at 5:33pm, Monday]
To 011 1XXX XXXX:
“Oh hey there, beautiful! Sure, send me your location. I’ll fetch you at 8pm. See you~ ;)”
[Sent at 5:35pm, Monday]
What should I wear this time? Hmmm…
To Hoe-ly Trinity:
“I have a date tonight, wish me luck!”
[Sent at 5:40pm, Monday]
[Read by ByunTaeng at 5:41pm, Monday]
[Read by Llama Master at 5:42pm, Monday]
From ByunTaeng:
“Again? The player strikes again!”
[Sent at 5:42pm, Monday]
From Llama Master:
“Oh, nice one bro. To the lady you’re taking out for tonight, I wish HER good luck.”
[Sent at 5:44pm, Monday]
To Hoe-ly Trinity:
“Yah! Come on, a little support here wouldn’t hurt.”
[Sent at 5:45pm, Monday]
I smiled at myself. Their manner of affection may be different, but that’s alright. They’re my best pals. We get along very much.
Now, where was I? Oh, right! The right choice of clothes for my date tonight.
Sorry, Manager oppa. Hehe.
Screw staying at home tonight, I've got a date!
Hey, guys! I'm back. How are you?
Like how the saying goes "The more the merrier." same is true with this one. *winks*
Ready for the third one? Let me know what y'all think.
PS. Thank you for the 2 upvotes and 40 subscribers, guys!
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