_it's love

You were in love.

When you first accepted this job as assistant to the new make-up artist for Block B's slated comeback, you weren't all that excited. You expected the -work, for lack of better terms. Of course, there was always need for someone to serve and support the main staff – those they saw as essential – and while it was perfectly respectable, you had a minor problem with authority, especially if they treated you like dirt. Considering that this gig was for an idol group, you were considerably wary of it happening. But you needed the money, and the experience couldn't hurt, even though it wasn't exactly the part of the industry you wanted to get into.

What you didn't expect, however, was for the entire staff and the whole set to be bustling with such a warm, friendly atmosphere. It was, strangely enough, like a huge, happy – albeit rowdy and a little insane – family.

Basically, it was the perfect environment for you to fall in love. At first sight.

Well, kind of.

The first hit was when the make-up artist – you called her Haejin-unni, at her request – called you over to help with the retouches on the flourishing black ink on his chest. Retouches of what, you couldn't quite recall because he looked up at you from his seat, fiddling consciously with the scruffed edges of his shirt. If you could even call it that because it was cut almost obscenely at his sides, to reveal most of his torso, all the way down to his hipbones. Of course, that meant that his arms, lean but toned and also decorated with various splotches of other ink designs, were completely exposed for your roaming gaze. It took an embarrassingly long second before you were able to meet his eyes again. By then, he already noticed how you were looking and had the barest hint of a smirk on that handsome face of his.

“Hi,” he said slowly, nodding his head towards you.

“H-hi.” Suddenly remembering your manners, you bowed slightly. “Uhh, I'm ___. I'm helping Haejin-unni out for the day. I'll work hard!”

Haejin threw you a curious glance over her shoulder, grinning knowingly before returning to her work. She was dabbing make-up around the edges of the black ink, making it look stark against the backdrop of his pale skin. “Oh, sorry, Minhyuk-ah. I forgot to introduce you two. So yeah, this is ___. She's looking for an apprenticeship from what I heard.” She brushed off the slight smear on the edge of the 'b' on his left shoulder before patting his leg affectionately. “Alright, all done. Now be a gentleman and introduce yourself properly.”

He frowned, exchanging some kind of look with her that you didn't quite understand, before getting up to stand directly in front of you. He took one hand from underneath the remains of his shirt, holding it out with a charming smile. “Hi, ___-sshi. They call me B-Bomb, but I'd much prefer if you called me Minhyuk.”

You took his hand without hesitation, bowing as he introduced himself. “N-nice to meet you, Minhyuk-sshi!”

“Places, people!”

You released his hand like a hot brand when you heard the director's shout echo on set. Haejin was still grinning, patting absently at the powder in her hand before nudging Minhyuk out towards the camera crews. They were set up to focus on a particularly cramped part of the empty building, blocked off and decorated with what looked like extra pipes, wires, and a slew of blotches and spray-painted letters on the walls. “Alright, enough with the pleasantries, young people. Go ruin the make-up I worked so hard to put on, Minhyuk-ah.”

He laughed and nudged her on the shoulder with an elbow before running off towards the cameras, greeting the PD and the camera crew with endless bows and polite greetings. You watched him the whole time, jumping nearly three feet in the air when you felt someone poke your lower back. “Y-yes ma'am?!” You whipped around to face Haejin, blinking owlishly at her. “U-unni...”

She raised an eyebrow at your frantic expression, visibly holding back the peals of laughter your behavior probably warranted. “You've never met them before?”

Swallowing thickly, you shook your head. “N-no. I've heard of them. I've seen some videos, but I've never had to meet them until now.”

She considered that silently for a second, leaning over to pick up the unused brushes and make-up sponges and piling them into your cupped hands. “Well, I guess that's understandable. So, what do you think?”

“Huh?”

Haejin gestured towards the set, where Minhyuk was now settling onto the wiring and pipes with his arms still tucked under his shirt. “About our Minhyuk-ie, I mean. He's the first one you've met. I'm interested.”

You turned from her back to where he now stood, stretching the muscles of his arms, legs, and neck with controlled swings and twists. The tones of his outfit were similar hues as the walls, but there was just no way he was going to blend in with the way he carried himself. He seemed to notice the two of you looking because he suddenly stopped what he was doing and brought a hand up for a tentative wave, smiling in your direction. Immediately, your eyes darted away, back to Haejin's beaming face as she nodded in acknowledgment towards Minhyuk. “He's good-looking, isn't he?”

Your face erupted with heat. “Uhh-”

“Oh, ___. You don't even have to answer, babe. It's written all over your face.”

---

The second hit was ruthless. Really, whoever said third time's the charm has obviously never met Lee Minhyuk. All he needed was two for a certified knockout. And he didn't even need props. All he needed was music and a few special lighting effects. Hell, probably not even those. You were pretty sure he could've stood there and did a monkey dance and you still would've fallen all over yourself.

But damn, did he work what he was given.

As you predicted, he stood out from the backdrop like a conspicuous ball of and raw energy. The heavy beats of the song filled the entire lot, echoing off the slabs of old concrete and metal. The roiling bass vibrated the place, shaking you to the core. If it hadn't been for Haejin's arm hooked casually around yours, your knees would've buckled and sent you hurtling to the floor. Because when he danced... Well, simply put, it blew your mind.

He moved with the beat with precise, sharp movements. His arms darted out before coming back around in a graceful arch, as if taunting the cameras. It was like the beat literally coursed through his lithe body and came back out with the force of a cannon, propelling his arms, his legs, his hips. Then he would switch it up with smooth, flowing waves of his entire body that transitioned right back into a power-packed punch.

Jesus, the way he moved.

Hell, at one point, all he did was stand there and stare at the camera, but you felt like your lungs were going to burst from the pressure of holding your breath. When it was over, it took Haejin a good few minutes to shake you back into reality and talk you out of the apparent self-induced daze. “___! ___, babe, come back to Earth, okay? We need you here.”

You had to shake your head vigorously, grasping for the vestiges of your sanity that this Lee Minhyuk so cruelly ripped apart with his stupid, charismatic dancing and freaking y eye-contact. “Holy sh-”

“Hey, hey,” Haejin whispered comfortingly, giving your shoulder gentle pats. “It's okay. I know, I know. It's your first time seeing him dance. I understand.” She craned her neck to find Minhyuk, who was standing with the PD to monitor the shot. “Although to be honest with you, that was exciting for me too. I rarely ever get to see him record like this. Very up close and personal, and all focused on him. Usually I see a lot of Jiho and Jaehyo.”

Looking at her like she was speaking gibberish, you just nodded. “Uh-huh.”

She laughed, wrapping her arms around you in what you could only call a very sisterly hug. You tucked your face into her shoulder, squeezing back with a sob. “How am I supposed to be able to do anything in this industry if I get all disoriented just from seeing something like that?”

She snorted. “Sweetie, you'd have to be dead not to have felt something from all that eye- we just experienced.” She smoothed a hand over your hair with a grin. “Alright, let me go get more powder from my box because we're probably gonna need to retouch just in case he has to do another shot. Can you be okay in the next minute or so and grab the brushes I gave you earlier?”

You bobbed your head in affirmative, going through all the motions of composing yourself. “Yeah, I can do that, unni.”

“Alright, I'll be right back.”

“W-wait! Unni, did you just say he has to do it again?!”

Oh, god! Could your poor heart handle seeing all that again? Maybe more than once, from the way she spoke of it. No, there was no way you could be ready to go into an apprenticeship if it involved working with people like him. You wailed inwardly, trudging over to find the chair you'd set the brushes on.

Only to find Minhyuk sitting on said chair, sipping his water bottle before wiping at the sweat that was beading on his forehead. “Oh! Hey, ___. I was just gonna go look for you.”

“F-for me?”

“Yeah. Umm...” He pointed to the tattooed lettering on his exposed shoulders, pouting slightly. “Can you fix these for me? I smudged it a lot.”

“Oh!” Right, why else would he be looking for you, dummy? “Well, Haejin-unni said she'll be right back. I'm really not a make-up artist. I'm really just here for extra help. Are you doing another retake right away? Do you want me to run and find her for you?”

“Ahh...” He looked around at the people milling about, standing to spot the PD looking over the clip with a few other guys. “No, not right away. Here.” He walked over with sure strides, snatching your wrist and tugging you over to the partitioned room where you assumed he'd changed; there were clothes littering the folding chairs and table haphazardly set up in the small space. He settled down on top of the table, picking up a small towel and handing it to you.

You took it in your free hand, staring blatantly at the wrist he still had his hand wrapped around. “Uhh... What do I-?”

He pulled gently at your arm, urging you forward. Unfortunately, your body didn't know how to be stubborn when it needed to be because you just stepped right in between his outstretched legs, your smaller stature forcing you face-to-chest with him. A gloriously half-exposed, tattooed chest. Fake tattoos, sure, but given the slight sheen of sweat from his dancing and the circumstances (that you were already half-smitten and found the man outrageously attractive), everything about the moment made your stomach drop and your heart want to fall out of your chest. “Can you just make sure the make-up isn't smudged onto the letters? Haejin-noona can do the rest later.”

For some reason you couldn't really explain, or maybe you could and just wanted to stay in denial, you found your hand moving up to comply. You raised the one still in his grip to one shoulder, bracing your hand there unnecessarily to wipe the slight smears off the blocks of Old English with the white towel. He did finally let go of your hand, letting his drop on his leg, precariously close to your hip.

The third hit was remarkably simple and extremely effective. He leaned forward until you could feel his breath brushing your cheek as he spoke. “You're beautiful...”

You looked up at him, a vicious blush gracing your cheeks. You were about to say something – nothing entirely too coherent, but something in response at least, when Haejin's voice came drifting into the little cubicle. As soon as she sidestepped into the tiny space, you ripped yourself away from Minhyuk, scuttling behind the chair with a squeal.

“Hey! There you are!” It took an excruciatingly long moment for her to scrutinize the scene – you on the other side of the chair, holding a towel with smudges of make-up on it and Minhyuk sitting on the table with an unreadable, open-mouthed expression. “Umm...” She raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow at your flushed face before letting the knowing smirk quirk her lips upward. “Okay, sorry to interrupt-”

“N-no, unni, it's not-!”

Minhyuk hopped off the table with a sigh, returning the look on Haejin's face with a devious little smile of his own. “She was just helping me touch up the tattoos, noona.”

Haejin threw you a skeptical glance, the determined turn of telling you she wasn't buying any of it. Especially when she said, “Uh-huh. But I thought you didn't need to do another take?”

Minhyuk shrugged one shoulder casually. “I don't.”

“Y-you don't?” You gaped at the two of them for an exorbitant amount of time, back and forth between the two grinning mischief-makers. “B-but then why...?”

Minhyuk turned to you with a dimpled smile, sending you an obvious wink. “You'll be back to help Haejin-noona next time, right?”

Haejin erupted into snickers as you made fish-like expressions at him. “Yes, she'll be back, Minhyuk-ah.”

“Alright then, good. Because I really like you, ___.” He held up a hand for a wave and stepped out of the changing area. “You can help me with the make-up next time, okay?” When you made no move to respond, he caught the edge of one makeshift siding and narrowed his eyes at you. “You will, right?”

“Y-yeah,” you stammered, nodding quickly.

His smile was brilliant. “Alright, see you later, ___.”

Haejin scowled when Minhyuk disappeared. “Oh, so you're not gonna say bye to me now, huh,” she muttered. When she turned to you, however, the smirk that lit up her face was unmistakable. “He loves you, by the way. I've never seen him do anything like that since I started working with him.”

“H-huh?”

“I said he loves you.”

“O-oh...”

Yep, you were pretty sure you loved him, too.

---

end note: :3 Second one I wrote in one day. I had a kick. xD So you get the two updates because I love you guys and your wonderful, generous comments. C: ♥ Jaehyo is next, if anyone's curious.