By the time October rolled around, it had been a little over a month since Sooyoung had moved in. Jiwoo had slowly gotten more used to seeing the other girl, and sometimes Sooyoung would even join her for a movie or two. She eventually got to the point that she didn’t feel like she had to have her guard up around Sooyoung all the time. Jiwoo had become less interested in making sure she didn’t make a fool of herself, and more interested in getting to know her neighbour. After all, it was the perfect opportunity to make a new friend. Jungeun was a great friend, and Jiwoo couldn’t ask for more from the girl, but she figured it would be nice to have more than one friend. Plus, Sooyoung and Jungeun got on like a house on fire— usually at Jiwoo’s expense, but it was nice to see them get along nonetheless.

 

“Hey, hey, Jiwoo!!” Jungeun ran up to Jiwoo excitedly as soon as she entered the filming site.

“For the last time, Jungeun, I don’t think it’s important that Mr. Park’s manager has his eyes set on one of the PD’s.” Jiwoo shook her head and got to work.

“Okay, first of all, that’s not what I was gonna say. Second of all, I’m going to watch that little weasel get rejected and weep tears of joy.”

“Right. And what you were going to say?” Jiwoo raised her eyebrow.

“So, I heard from the Director’s assistant that the company’s going to hold a Halloween party for this studio, to celebrate god knows what.” Jungeun rushed out, hopping around in excitement.

“Oh? This is actually interesting!”

“I resent that!” Jungeun gave Jiwoo a look of indignation.

“Anyway, you think they’ll let us have +1s? I’m sure Sooyoung would love to come.” Jiwoo said thoughtfully.

“Hey, that’s a great idea!” Uh-oh. If Jungeun thought it was a great idea, there was definitely something wrong.

“Regardless, let’s wait for an actual notification to the staff,” Jiwoo rolled her eyes.

“Suit yourself,” Jungeun shrugged and got back to sorting out the prosthetics they would be using later in the week.

Jiwoo found herself wondering about the alleged Halloween party. She couldn’t figure out why the company had decided to start doing something like this now. They hadn’t thrown a Halloween party the previous year, so why now? Jiwoo might’ve been overthinking things again but she had a bad feeling about the party. Maybe Jungeun was wrong and there wasn’t actually going to be a party after all. Regardless, by the end of the day, there was no news, and Jiwoo was spared further thought on the subject.

 

When she returned home, she was surprised to see Sooyoung in the hallway. If she didn’t know any better, she might think her neighbour had been waiting for her.

“Hey, Jiwoo!” Sooyoung greeted “Are you going to be watching a movie tonight? Would you mind if I joined you?”

“If you don’t mind vampire films,” Jiwoo smiled, “feel free to join me!”

Ten minutes later Jiwoo and Sooyoung were on Jiwoo’s couch watching the opening credits of Interview with a Vampire. Because it was a vampire film, Jiwoo had her sketchbook out, ready to take notes in case it would help her at work. Sooyoung watched her curiously, but never actually said anything. It hadn’t occurred to Jiwoo that she had never actually told her neighbour what she did and that her hobbies may have seemed a little odd.

 

About half-way through the movie, Sooyoung broke right through Jiwoo’s focus.

“It looks pretty realistic,” she marveled.

Jiwoo nodded. “The makeup is done well.”

“Isn’t it mostly visual effects?” Sooyoung turned to face Jiwoo.

“Well some of it is done by editors, but a lot of it is SFX makeup!” Jiwoo had to stop herself from geeking out and talking Sooyoung’s ear off.

“Wow you know a lot about this stuff,” Sooyoung commented.

“I work as an SFX makeup artist, so I’d hope so,” Jiwoo giggled and gestured to her sketchbook. “We’re working on a vampire film as well, hence the notes.”

Sooyoung looked like she’d just had an epiphany. “Oh! I thought you were just really into horror movies or something.”

“Well, there’s that too.”

“So you do makeup on actors and stuff? Like fake blood and all?”

Jiwoo nodded. “Among other things, yeah. If you’re interested, I could bring you to the studio sometime.”

“That’s allowed?” Sooyoung’s eyebrows shot up.

“Well, you’d probably have to sign a nondisclosure agreement, but that’s probably it. The Director is really nice.” Jiwoo said thoughtfully.

“That’s so cool! I’d love to come and see it! You also work with Jungeun too, right, so she’ll be there too?” Sooyoung actually seemed excited, and it threw Jiwoo off.

“Yeah, she’s also an SFX makeup artist.”

The two girls had long forgotten the movie that played behind their conversation. They ended up talking for hours before Jiwoo decided she should sleep and bid Sooyoung a good night. She told herself that she would ask the Director if it was okay to bring Sooyoung to observe their work. She knew Jungeun was going to have a field day with this whole thing, so she tried not to think about that too.

 

As she had planned, Jiwoo had a conversation with the Director the next day. As she had suspected, the Director gave her the okay to bring Sooyoung as long as she signed a nondisclosure form. Unfortunately, however, Jungeun just happened to come into the Director’s office while Jiwoo was asking, so now Jungeun also knew. When the two girls left his office together, Jungeun was smiling like a psychopath, and Jiwoo kind of wanted to hit her. Jiwoo thought her habit of appearing at the worst possible times was rather uncanny.

“So, what’s this about Sooyoung visiting the studio?” Jungeun asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

If Jiwoo hadn’t wanted to hit her before, she definitely wanted to now.

“She was curious about the effects when we were watching Interview with a Vampire last night, so I said she could come and watch us work,” Jiwoo said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Hold up, hold up. There is so much to unpack here,”

“I’m just trying to make another friend, Jungeun. You can’t be my only friend forever.”

Jungeun stopped walking. “What? Why not?”

“Because, if you text me while you’re drunk at two in the morning one more time, I might kill you.” Jiwoo laughed.

“Haha, very funny,” Jungeun rolled her eyes, and the two friends went back to work.

 

After talking with Sooyoung, they decided that the best day for her to come and visit the studio was that Friday. Sooyoung was free, and Jiwoo knew they would be shooting the scene with the prosthetics that Jungeun had finished. By the time Thursday had come, Jiwoo was starting to get antsy. Of course, Jungeun hadn’t kept shut, so at least half the studio knew that Sooyoung was coming the next day. Of course, never being out of the loop, that included the lead actor. Jiwoo was going to lose her mind if he asked if Sooyoung was hot one more time. Just another thing to worry about, Jiwoo thought. She made a mental note to avoid him as much as humanly possible until she realized she had to do his makeup anyway. Jungeun, on the other hand, was very excited for Sooyoung to come. Jiwoo was 90% sure her friend had some kind of ulterior motive or end game planned, but she was way too tired to think about that as well. In reality, Jungeun just wanted to watch the lead actor and his manager both get rejected on the same day, and Jiwoo had nothing to do with anything at all.

 

Of course, as life would have it, things started off a mess for Jiwoo on Friday. Jiwoo had told Sooyoung that she would drive them there, but once the two girls reached the building’s parking lot, everything fell apart. Jiwoo tried to start her car approximately 372 times before giving up. She looked up at Sooyoung apologetically, as if her car not starting was not just an unfortunate circumstance.

“Sorry, it won’t start,” Jiwoo said dejectedly.

“Don’t worry about it! Give me directions, and I’ll drive us.” Sooyoung smiled.

“Are you sure? I’m sorry for the trouble,” Jiwoo locked her car and followed Sooyoung through the parking lot.

“Here we are,” Sooyoung said, stopping in front of a sleek and expensive-looking red car.

Jiwoo felt like passing out on the spot. Jungeun was going to have the time of her life when she found out. Regardless, she got in the passenger side of the car and gave Sooyoung the directions to the studio.

 

Just as Jiwoo had predicted, Sooyoung’s car attracted a lot of attention. People stopped and stared when Sooyoung parked, and they didn’t move on until Sooyoung had locked the car. Jungeun, who Jiwoo knew had been waiting for them to arrive, waltzed up to the two girls.

“Wow! Nice car, Sooyoung,” she winked.

Sooyoung just laughed, “Thanks.”

“Well, shall we?” Jiwoo rolled her eyes.

If the car had turned heads, it was nothing compared to the heads that followed Sooyoung on a swivel when the three girls entered the studio. Jungeun and Sooyoung, who were engaged in small talk behind Jiwoo, didn’t seem to notice, but Jiwoo did. She heard the whispers and saw the eyes. She had been hoping for a much more inconspicuous entrance, but Jiwoo supposed if there was one thing Sooyoung wasn’t, it was inconspicuous. Once they had reached the filming site, things seemed to calm down a bit. Jungeun showed Sooyoung the prosthetics she was so proud of and explained what they were for while Jiwoo rounded up all the actors and actresses that would be fitted with them. Including the lead actor.

 

Jiwoo and Jungeun went to work applying the prosthetics, and Jiwoo made sure to leave the lead actor for last, with the hope that perhaps Sooyoung would lose interest and wander off somewhere else. However, Sooyoung was fascinated with the way that the actors were transformed right in front of her eyes, and it wasn’t long before the encounter the Jiwoo dreaded was unavoidable. The scene that they were filming today was the lead actor’s first time ‘changing’ into a vampire in the film, so he required the most makeup of all the actors.

“You’re Sooyoung, right?” was the first thing the idiot said when it was his turn for makeup.

Jungeun almost lost it when Sooyoung turned to him with nothing short of disinterest and nodded.

He turned to Jiwoo. “Well, don’t be an airhead, introduce me.”

Composing herself as best she could, Jiwoo obliged. “Sooyoung, this is our lead actor, Mr. Park.”

Sooyoung towered over him as he sat getting his makeup applied, and narrowed her eyes. Oblivious to her obvious distaste towards him, he dug his grave deeper.

“How about you join me and my friends for drinks later tonight?” he grinned, as if there was no possible way Sooyoung would say no.

Sooyoung looked him right in the eyes with an expression Jiwoo had never seen, but Jungeun recognized as disgust. “Over my dead body.”

“Maybe next time then,” he said, obviously not taking the hint.

Rather than waste her time, Sooyoung decided to look around the set and left Jungeun and Jiwoo to finish the lead actor’s makeup in silence.

 

Once they had finished, and both girls had resisted the urge to kill him right then and there, they went to find Sooyoung. They were surprised to find her chatting with one of the PDs, Jinsol.

“Oh, Jiwoo! You didn’t tell me you worked at the same studio as Jinsol!” Sooyoung said when Jungeun and Jiwoo approached.

“You two know each other?” Jungeun asked, and the two girls nodded.

“We went to school together,” Jinsol explained.

“What a small world,” Jiwoo said, and Jungeun nodded thoughtfully.

The four girls talked for a while when the scenes were being filmed. Jiwoo learned that Sooyoung was technically qualified to be an actress, but chose not to of her own volition. The more she learned about her neighbour, the more mysterious she became. If Sooyoung was any good at acting, she had everything it would take to be wildly successful. When Jungeun and Jiwoo were called away to do makeup for the next scene, Sooyoung and Jinsol remained in deep conversation.

“I can’t believe they know each other!” Jungeun exclaimed. “This is so perfect!”

“Huh? Why?” Jiwoo was beyond confused.

“Oh, never mind.” Jiwoo shot Jungeun a look of exasperation but went back to fixing makeup without questioning it.

 

The rest of the day went smoothly. There were no other problems with the lead actor, and Jiwoo and Sooyoung were able to leave peacefully.

“It’s quite the lively studio,” Sooyoung commented when they were driving back home.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Jiwoo sighed.

“Kind of surprising that Jungeun hasn’t straight up murdered that lead actor.”

Jiwoo laughed. “She would if she could get away with it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your time there, even if I was busy 90% of the time.”

“Yeah, it was great. I think I learned a lot about how horror movies are made.” she smiled back at Jiwoo.

 

For about two weeks after Sooyoung’s visit, Jiwoo got at least one question about her neighbour a day. Exactly a week after, Jiwoo was approached by the director.

“Your friend is a nice girl,” he started. “Jinsol told me she could’ve been an actress.”

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it too,” Jiwoo shrugged.

“Say, why don’t you bring her to the Halloween party?” he suggested.

“Sure, I’ll ask—” Jiwoo paused, finally processing what she’d just heard. “Wait, what? Halloween party?”

“Oh, didn’t you get the notice about it?”

“I guess not.” Jiwoo shook her head.

“Ask Jungeun about it, I’m sure she knows all the details by now,” he chuckled and left to look for one of the actors.

“Jungeun,” Jiwoo sighed, somehow not the least bit surprised.

She found her friend working on prosthetics as per usual. Most of the main actors had to have multiple sets for different scenes, and it kept Jungeun busy.

“You weren’t going to tell me about the Halloween party?” Jiwoo asked.

“But I did tell you!” Jungeun whined.

“I thought you said it was just a rumour?” Jiwoo said incredulously.

“Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you it was officially announced.” Jungeun laughed nervously.

“Yeah, I guess,” Jiwoo rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I found out because the Producer told me to invite Sooyoung.”

“Woah, for real?” Jungeun suddenly lost interest in the task at hand.

“Yeah. What could possibly go wrong.”

“Uh, lead actor, plus probably alcohol, plus her? You better make sure she doesn’t kill him, we’re not done filming yet.”

Jiwoo raised her eyebrow. “I could say the same to you, Jungeun.”

“I have no idea what you could possibly be referring to,” Jungeun feigned innocence and went back to work.

“Right,” Jiwoo shook her head.

 

Later that week, when Sooyoung had decided to join Jiwoo for another horror movie marathon, Jiwoo brought up the Halloween party. Sooyoung agreed without much hesitation, to Jiwoo’s surprise.

“Oh, Jungeun says you’re not allowed to kill our lead actor because we’re still filming. Afterward, he’s fair game though.” She teased.

Sooyoung pretended to look thoughtful. “Very well, I’d almost forgotten about that loser. I want compensation for having to deal with him again, then.”

Jiwoo suddenly forgot how to breathe. “Oh.”

“I will go on the condition that you do SFX makeup for my costume,” Sooyoung said.

“That’s it?” Jiwoo asked, not hiding the surprise in her voice.

Sooyoung laughed. “Yeah.”

“Okay, sure!” Jiwoo exclaimed. “Do you have a costume in mind already then?”

“Hmm, no,” Sooyoung shook her head, then looked at Jiwoo. “You choose!”

“What?”

“Well you’re going to be doing my makeup, so you choose! It can be anything, within reason.” Sooyoung’s eyes sparkled, and Jiwoo felt the familiar feeling of wanting to pass out.

“That’s too much responsibility!” Jiwoo complained.

Sooyoung only shrugged. “I trust you.”

Jiwoo fully intended to ask Jungeun for help in this matter. She just hoped Jungeun didn’t suggest something stupid.

 

It took another week and rejecting at least a hundred ideas from Jungeun before Jiwoo decided what Sooyoung’s costume would be. She had decided on a siren, as she figured it was fitting. Jungeun had agreed to make prosthetic fins and scales for Jiwoo, but the rest was up to her. She had also decided that she wasn’t going to tell Sooyoung what she had decided on, and instead let her find out when the costume was applied. Her last decision was whether or not to apply the costume at home, or bring Sooyoung to the studio early to apply it.

“Jungeun, if I bring Sooyoung here early before the Halloween party, will you help me apply her makeup?” Jiwoo asked her friend.

“Only if you bring sketches of what you want it to look like,” Jungeun replied.

With that decided, Jiwoo was starting to look forward to the Halloween party instead of dreading it. She had never been able to do SFX makeup on a friend before.

 

Halloween snuck up on Jiwoo as she was busy with the influx of shooting for the film. The Director had wanted to get to a certain point before Halloween, so their schedules got a lot tighter during the last week. This time, Jiwoo’s car decided to start, and she was spared the spectacle that Sooyoung’s car brought with it. Jiwoo and Jungeun had decided to do matching costumes, an angel and devil respectively. It was simple but still fit into Sooyoung’s costume’s supernatural being theme. Jiwoo and Sooyoung arrived at the studio a few hours early, so that they would have time to apply all the makeup that was needed for both of their costumes. Jiwoo had only requested that Sooyoung wear normal clothing that she wouldn’t mind getting stained. Not that Jiwoo was planning on ruining the clothing, that was just sometimes what happened when it came to SFX makeup.

 

Jungeun was waiting for them, already covered in red and black makeup.

“Ay, a devil. Nice,” Sooyoung commented.

Jungeun laughed. “Hey, it’s not done yet. I have to help put yours on.”

It took a good hour and a half for both Jungeun and Jiwoo to finish with Sooyoung’s makeup. As Jungeun had requested, Jiwoo had brought extensive sketches detailing her ideas. From the bright green circle lenses to the shiny blue prosthetic scales and fins that Jungeun had made, it was coming together nicely. Jungeun had even gone beyond what Jiwoo had hoped and given Sooyoung claw-like nails and hand scales and webs. There was only the feeling of something missing that bothered Jiwoo. Standing back to admire their work, she got an idea.

“Sooyoung, do you mind if I use coloured hairspray in your hair?” Jiwoo asked suddenly.

Jungeun gave her a questioning look, but Sooyoung shook her head, so Jiwoo rummaged around until she found what she was looking for. She added streaks of blue, green, and silver to Sooyoung’s hair before finishing with a glittery spray.

“There!” she clapped, and Jungeun twirled Sooyoung to face the mirror.

“Wow! This looks so amazing,” Sooyoung looked thoroughly impressed. “You guys really outdid yourselves.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Jiwoo smiled, swallowed by a feeling of shyness.

Jiwoo was someone of the opinion that art told a lot about the artist, and with Sooyoung scrutinizing her work, she felt exposed somehow. Jiwoo opted to apply her own makeup instead, hoping that Sooyoung was being genuine. Jungeun followed suit and finished her own makeup. They managed to finish their makeup around a half hour before the party officially started.

 

With their makeup finished, and Jungeun and Jiwoo changed into their proper outfits, the three girls went to find Jinsol. Sooyoung had insisted that her friend see the work of art that Jungeun and Jiwoo had made her into. They were surprised to find that the party had already started, the space already at least half-way to legal capacity. Most of the studio’s staff was already there, and it looked like the Director had encouraged them to bring friends. While Jiwoo was indeed good with people, she really wasn’t a fan of large crowds. As the night progressed, Jiwoo became more and more exhausted. Inevitably, Sooyoung disappeared to find Jinsol and mingle, and Jungeun had gone to God knows where. She escaped to the bathroom to avoid the crowd, and fix her makeup in case it had gone askew. Surprisingly, the bathroom was empty, and Jiwoo was immensely grateful. No people, no small talk. She discovered she’d celebrated too soon when she heard the door open as she was examining her makeup. Nothing would have prepared her for turning to look the lead actor right in the eyes as he stood against the closed door.

 

“Mr. Park. this is the women’s bathroom,” she started. “But given that you are obviously drunk, and also insufferable, I’m guessing that wasn’t a mistake.”

“Perhaps you’re not as much of an airhead as I thought,” he grinned.

Jiwoo didn’t miss the way he was leaning against the door to make sure it didn’t open, and she didn’t miss the way his words met in the slightest slur. Damn. She was so tired. She didn’t have time to deal with his bull tonight, and she hoped he hadn’t encountered Sooyoung at all. Jiwoo wasn’t scared of him though. Despite the fact that her current situation didn’t look good for her, Jiwoo wasn’t weak in any means. She also hoped that he realized if she complained to the director, he would lose his place in the movie.

“It’s just me here, so if you were looking to get lucky or something, it’s not going to happen,” Jiwoo said, returning to fixing her makeup.

“So?” he countered. “Maybe I was after you.”

Jiwoo snorted. “Yeah, and maybe I’m not human.”

“You obviously have a thing for me,” the lead actor started. “You always make sure to be the one that does my makeup, after all.”

Jiwoo wanted to die. She wanted to drop dead and descend into hell. What kind of drugs was this guy on? She was the only one that did his makeup because no one else could stand being alone with him without wanting to kill him. How could he possibly twist it into Jiwoo liking him? She decided that men were just delusional.

“I think you’re sorely mistaken,” Jiwoo said, not even looking at him.

“Why bother lying? We’re already here,” he smirked.

Jiwoo whirled around to stare at him just in time for the door to be pushed open as if he wasn’t lying all his weight against it. Jiwoo gaped as none other than Jungeun and Sooyoung entered, Sooyoung’s hand still against the door. She watched as the two girls’ eyes swept between Jiwoo and the lead actor.

 

“Jiwoo,” Jungeun said, her voice dripping with suspicion. “What’s wrong?”

“Mr. Park just made a mistake,” Jiwoo said, hoping the loser would take the hint and leave.

He didn’t take the hint. “She won’t admit that she likes me.”

Jiwoo could only watch Jungeun’s gaze darken, and before she could say anything, Sooyoung was already moving. In the blink of an eye, Sooyoung’s hands were on his collar, and he was being dragged out into the hallway by her. Jiwoo let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. Jungeun rushed to her side.

“Are you okay? Did he do something? I will kill him,” Jungeun rushed out.

Jiwoo just shook her head. “No, I’m just tired. Let’s find Sooyoung, I want to go home.”

Jiwoo couldn’t shake the image from her head though. Hadn’t Sooyoung been a little too strong, a little too fast? She wondered if she really would’ve been alright had they not come. She was grateful to have such a strong friend like Sooyoung.