Kibum and Taemin turned toward the newcomer at the same time. The tall man, taller than either of them by at least three inches, had to be the most ridiculously good-looking man Kibum had ever met. His thick eyebrows, deep-set eyes, high nose, and oddly circular lips were perfectly set in what should have been a comically small face... In combination with that height and that lean, muscular physique…

“Hi, I’m Choi Minho. I know what this may sound creepy, but I really am hoping that you two are models. Are you?”

Kibum snapped out his trance, and he was about to brush off what he thought was flattery when he saw Taemin staring up at the man with a frown on his face and an air of inexplicable hostility. 

Kibum smiled up at Choi Minho and replied, “I’m afraid not. He’s a game developer. I’m an intellectual property attorney.”

“Oh, wow. Okay. So... this may be a stretch, but would you like to be, just for today?”

“Huh?” Kibum’s mind, which had just been blown by Taemin’s unexpected views earlier and then this Choi dude’s male beauty just now, was having trouble loading.  

Choi Minho handed him a white card bearing the words “Forever Young” and Choi Sooyoung underneath.

“My sister’s.”

Kibum was familiar with Forever Young. There was a particularly nasty dispute involving the young brand and another company who wanted to pass off their new skincare brand as affiliated products of the rising Korean fashion house. Choi Sooyoung managed to win that dispute with the help of Kibum’s old boss. In fact, their firm handled Forever Young's IP portfolio.

Really, how many times would this day leave Kibum gaping like a fish?

“Wow,” he said as intelligently as he could. Not his finest hour, obviously.

“Why are you asking?” Taemin asked curtly. Must be hypoglycemia—they only had a few minutes before they had to proceed inside the wedding hall, and he must be feeling hungry.

Choi Minho seemed to have decided that it’s easier to talk with Kibum. He turned toward Kibum and said with a touch of urgency, “May I speak with both of you outside, where it’s a bit more private?”

Taemin was still glaring balefully at the man. Kibum tugged at his blazer, sending the younger man an unspoken plea to stop. 

After a few seconds of looking into Kibum’s eyes, Taemin exhaled in a huff. “Lead the way.“

The three of them only stepped out to the hallway. Taemin crossed his arms in front of his chest and said belligerently, “Well?”

KIbum gave him a side glance. 

“Ok. We’re actually in a bind right now. We have a fashion show for the wedding fair in a little more than an hour, and two of our male models had to be taken to the hospital just now for severe allergies. We already have all hands on deck at this point, and we can’t have the other models walk in their ensembles.”

“Why us, then?”

“We weren’t expecting anything to come out of it, but my sister asked me to look for a couple of male models in the fair. The model agency we work with was already fully booked, and there’s no time to reach out to the others. I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to find actual models when I headed to the fair, and then I saw a couple who looked the part...and here we are.”

Kibum choked, just a little bit. “But we’re not…” 

“Ok. We’ll do it.” Taemin suddenly spoke up almost at the same time.

Kibum’s neck almost snapped with how fast his head swiveled to stare at Taemin. “What are you doing?” he mouthed at him. Taemin just stared at him, his lips forming a slight, mutinous pout.

“Can we…”

Minho’s sigh of relief was audible. “Oh, thank God. Great! You both move well, so I think that walking wouldn’t be a problem. Let’s go backstage and have Sooyoung-noona discuss the details with you while you get hair and makeup done.”

Kibum and Taemin silently followed Minho further down the hall to a side door leading to Dynasty Hall’s backstage. The flurry of activity inside with models in various states of undress, make-up artists, and assistants made Kibum's head pound. 

They approached a tall woman resplendently dressed in a striking black gown with a skirt beruffled within an inch of its life, but so artistically that it still managed to look elegant despite the busy detailing. Unbelievable, but the woman was no less stunning than her brother, it’s not fair, Kibum thought as a relieved smile bloomed in her harried-looking face as she looked over Minho's shoulder to the two of them. 

"Oh, God, finally! Yibo-yah called and said that Zhan-sshi is doing fine, just woozy. I was thinking of cutting their segments, but the final pieces..." She squeezed Minho in a quick hug and stepped around him to greet the two of them, yelling over her shoulder, "Sora! Stop trying to call Madame and bring Yibo's and Zhan's clothes over there." 

"I WILL chat with you later. I'm Choi Sooyoung, but just call me Sooyoung-sshi. I am so glad that you're in attendance, and I can never thank you enough for doing this." She ran a critical eye down the both of them and said, "God, you two are beautiful. You have to give me your agency's details later. Please follow me." She led them to an unoccupied long table where a petite woman was busily setting up make up paraphernalia on the table and another was pulling a rack of menswear. Sooyoung murmured, "You can place your stuff here. Please excuse me," and then proceeded to talk to herself as she pulled out a measuring tape from the gown's pockets—Kibum's eyes bugged out at the fact, and he exchanged looks with Taemin. After a second, Kibum stripped off the cardigan and placed it on an airport tray beside his bag. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Taemin shrug off the blazer and begin to remove his rings. Kibum held out his hand, and Taemin placed the rings and several leather thong bracelets on his palm. Taemin placed the blazer on top of Kibum's cardigan. 

Looking at them critically, she said to Taemin, "Yibo's torso is a bit longer than yours, but that's a minor concern considering the designs of the tops. I think the pants would look perfect. Damn, it's a crime to cover your legs. I'd love to showcase them… maybe next time?" She started measuring Taemin all over and then signalled to the petite woman manning the makeup, "Hyuna, start with him," she instructed as she took out one of the pants from its hanger, "Go with the color scheme we had originally planned with Zhan, but I want you to subtly emphasize his cat eyes and that dashing slit on his brow. God, how could your jawline look exactly the same as Zhan’s? It's so weird."

Choi Sooyoung was a whirlwind, and Kibum found his admiration for the woman's boundless energy dispelling some of his nervousness. He sat immobile on his chair, trying to keep as still as possible as the makeup artist deftly and quickly applied some foundation on his skin. 

"Wait, I don't know your names."

"He's Kim Kibum. I'm Lee Taemin." 

"Okay, Taemin-sshi, can you change into these first? Kibum-sshi, please stand up for a moment, I can't see your waist. Can you hold up your shirt a bit? Ah, just as I thought. Sora, take in Zhan's pants a couple of inches. Then get Wooyoung's spare pair—Yibo's shoes are too large for Taemin-sshi." Looking around, she again called out in a loud voice, "Soon-ah, come here and help me once you're done there."

Kibum's make up did not take as long as he expected, and soon Sooyoung was handing him another ensemble from the rack. He headed toward another collapsible tent to change.

Once Kibum came out of the changing room, Sooyoung let out a whistle. "Damn." 

Minho had wandered over, dressed in his own ensemble and looking even more devastating than he did earlier. Kibum couldn't help but feel gratified at the approval in the man's eyes as he surveyed him from head to toe. Kibum's eyes slid from the taller man and started looking around for Taemin. 

He was seated at the table with the makeup artist earlier. From what Kibum could see from his back, he was wearing an all-white ensemble—which was at that moment covered by a sheet to protect it from stray flecks, and his longish hair was disheveled and parted off-center. 

Kibum looked down at his own ensemble: slim black pants and a half-black, half-red, black collared, double-ed blazer that closed with, instead of buttons, a flowing sash made of iridescent black chiffon that cut strikingly across the waistline against the red half. The coat did not allow for an undershirt. 

Sooyoung walked over and rattled off final instructions for altering Kibum's other two ensembles. Then, she looked at Hyuna, who gave her a thumbs up, then asked Taemin to come and stand beside Kibum. 

"God, look at you two! I wanted to see the final pieces first, because you know, I need maximum firepower at the end. I think the adjustments worked pretty well, and it's a good thing we have your shoe sizes available…" 

Kibum really, really liked the woman, but his mind blocked off her chatter in an attempt to process what he was seeing. Taemin's white ensemble was a perfect complement to his, with the ice blue sash being the focal point, but his pants were flowy instead of fitted like his. The all-over effect was ethereal...until you looked at his face. 

Taemin looked like a devil who was out to snatch souls. 

***

"Excu