Author's Note: I'll probably include a photo of how each outfit should look. :) And I'm working on a banner as I type, hahaha. 

The next morning, everyone arrived at the studio in a timely manner, ready for the day’s activities. JYP was absent, since he was busy with some other talent though he promised to stop by after lunch to check on progress. This put manager-hyung in charge until then. He looked tired, having spent up all night crying to the boys to come home lest their fans saw them. They really did not need any more bad press. Korean netizens were unforgiving of any infraction.

            Manager-hyung gathered everyone around him to announce the schedule for the first half of the day.

            “The theme of this video is ‘history.’ Each girl will be representing a famous of some sort and you boys will be I guess the human male counterpart?”

            “I feel like I’m on America’s Next Top Model,” mumbled Leila to Ha Neul, who nodded in agreement.

            “Oh please, as if either of you would know how it really was. I got near to the final rounds and was regretfully cut,” Anna cut in, flipping her long braid over her shoulder. She crossed her arms across her chest and stared dead at the manager. Then proceeded to ask in heavily-accented Korean what the pairings were. She used an informal tone with him, her voice carrying to a few of the other workers. They shot her disproving looks and the manager smiled weakly at Anna.

            “Well, my dear, we’ll get to that after I tell you girls what each of you will be.” He pulled out some note cards from his pocket and cleared his throat. “First up is Maria, you will be Juliet of Romeo and Juliet fame. Next, we have Laura who gets the role of adulterous Guinevere. Then, is uhhhh, Madeleine as southern belle, Scarlet O’Hara. Anna, you get to play the infamous Helen of Troy whose face launched a thousand ships.”

            “What a fitting tribute to my beauty,” she said with an accomplished smile.

            “Ehh, right. Leila, will be Queen Cleopatra. And then Ha Neul, you will be Anarkali, a courtesan that an emperor’s son falls in love with.”

            Well-read Ha Neul had no idea whom he was talking about. But could pretty much surmise the ending of the story: death or separation, like the rest of tragic couples. How on earth did that fit into “All Night Long” though?

            “Oh goodness, we’re filming the night before the tragedy aren’t we?” she asked suddenly. Manager-hyung grinned at her shocked face.

            “Why yes. You’re quite an intelligent one. This video will be a bit longer than our normal ones since there will be a story. Now, there will be an introduction of each love story and then thenight and then the death or whatnot. Does this not sound like fun?”

            “But what are the pairs?” repeated Anna. All she needed was verbal assurance that Taecyeon would play Paris to her Helen, then everything would be good. If not, well…she had not thought to that extent yet. It would be silly to not pair the most beautiful girl with the handsomest male, right?

            “Oh yes…that, well. JYP, not and I repeat not me, paired you all up. If there are any issues, which there really should not be since you can be easily replaced.” He looked pointedly at Anna, who had the nerve to scoff indignantly at his blatant assumption. “But if you cannot work with one another, we will see what we can do.” Manager-hyung looked at the cards in his hands and decided the best course was to make a game out of it. “Girls go back towards the wall and stand facing it!” They hesitantly complied and lined up beside one another, waiting for the next instruction. “Cover your eyes with your hands and lean your head against the wall.” They complied while the boys looked at their hyung in confusion. “You will be hugged by your partner for this video and then I want to hear no arguments.” He explained as he handed out the appropriate card to each male.

            As each male received his card, manager-hyung watched their reactions, waiting to hear some protest. But he heard none, so he knew they accepted JYP’s wisdom since there was nothing they could do about it.

            He ushered them to their partners, a few of which were grumbling at the awkward position they were in. Each member located himself behind whichever girl he was assigned to.

   Maria                  Madeleine                    Laura                  Ha Neul                            Leila                     Anna

Wooyoung                Junsu                       Junho                       Taec                        Chansung             Nichkhun

            Then they hugged the girl before them. Taecyeon wrapped his arms around Ha Neul tightly, unable to contain his excitement. At the force of his hug, Ha Neul gasped in surprise, having a better idea of with who she was partnered. Nichkhun half-heartedly hugged Anna, not because of dislike but he knew he would now be in this one-sided war that his partner had declared on Ha Neul. Wooyoung sighed in relief at the distance he was now away from the crazy. Maria was friendly and he was sure this would go smoothly with no drama. Junho had, for once, been miraculously paired with the girl he wanted after so many episodes of Idol Army being stuck with a boy. Junsu was open to all the ladies so he was not too worried about Madeleine. He had no idea who Scarlett O’Hara was though he was bound to find out. Chansung was happy as a clam. Normally he didn’t dislike people so easily, but there was something about the girl on his right that annoyed him to tears.

            “Well, well, open your eyes girls and see who your tragic partner is!” With that, manager-hyung quickly stepped back towards the exit, shouting over his shoulder, “Go straight to wardrobe after this.”

            Twenty minutes later, Ha Neul was once again avoiding the death glares Anna was sending her way. The girl was too intense for Ha Neul. She had probably though up a thousand ways to maim and murder Ha Neul just while putting on her pale lavender pleated robe. Even as they placed a silver girdle around her slender hips, Anna’s stormy blue gaze was locked on Ha Neul. The latter was hoping the former would realize how laughable she was being, but felt she would get beheaded if she told her that.

            Ha Neul herself was getting dressed in a teal anarkali dress, the style that was worn by courtesans/dancers in the Mughal Empire. It consisted of a tight-fitting bodice with a wide band of gold beading across the waist with a full skirt that ended mid-calf. The skirt was patterned with golden suns upon it and edged with a wide golden hem. The neck of the bodice was a low v-neck, also edged in gold beading. The sleeves of the bodice were tight and long, made of a sheer material. Beneath the dress was a pair of tight teal pants, unadorned. And on her feet were a pair of matching jeweled slippers. Once she was dressed and given a few bangles, the wardrobe people sent her to make-up so they could finish the job. Ha Neul found breathing to be a little difficult in the tight clothing and she was well-aware that everyone she passed could see more of her endowments than she so wished.

            Madeleine was seated in the make-up room in a long, bright red velvet dressing gown with the ruffly neck of her white nightgown sticking through. The hair stylists were braiding her auburn hair into a thick braid, letting some wisps escape to frame her face.

            Beside her, Junsu’s hair was getting a Rhett Butler overhaul as they meticulously gelled it into a side-part worthy of a Southern gentleman. He was already dressed as well in a pair of long black pants, a grey vest with a black jacket and neatly tied cravat. As they did his hair, Junsu was clicking the heels of his shiny black boots together, mumbling lines of “All Night Long.”

            Ha Neul entered into the make-up room, her skirt swishing around her ankles and the bangles on her wrists and ankles jingling as she stopped inside. Madeleine managed to turn her head and gasped in delight at Ha Neul.

            “Oh my stars and bars, Miss Ha Neul! You are looking mighty pretty all done up like some Bollywood star.” She was already affecting her best Southern belle accent, much to the confusion of the staff. Junsu turned his head too, his eyes running over Ha Neul’s outfit.

            “Very nice, though you’d look prettier in a hanbok.” Madeleine reached over and slapped him on the knee.

            “This suits her better,” she insisted, smiling warmly at Ha Neul.

            “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” replied Junsu in his best Rhett Butler impression though it was accented.

            “Oooh, Rhett Butler,” Madeleine replied with a sigh, clasping her hands to her heart. Rolling her eyes at them, Ha Neul walked to an empty chair where a smiling hair stylist was waiting for her. She was around Ha Neul’s age and looked very familiar. Ha Neul looked directly into her face and felt her own break into a smile.

            “Ahhh, Min Jee-sshi!”

            “Ha Neul-sshi!!! I never thought I’d see you again! How have you been? Well, very well obviously if you’re here, right?” She giggled and put a long cape around Ha Neul’s shoulders to stop any damage to the costume.

            “I had no idea you were a hair stylist for JYP.”

            “I’ve been one for three years now. It’s a fun job for the most part, but I work at my dad’s café sometimes to help out.”

            “For three years? How old are you then? You look my age…”

            “I’m 25,” she replied with a smile. “Thank god I have my youthful looks though.”

            “Oh, mianhae, I’ve been calling you sshi this whole time, unni.”

            “Aniyo, it’s fine.” She whipped out a brush and stared critically at Ha Neul’s hair. The owner of said hair had not touched it this morning and instead came in with quite a bit of bed hair. “Aish, this should be fun.” Switching the brush for a comb, she went to work.

            Ha Neul shut her eyes as a comb was raked through her curls. The door swung open and Taec bounded in, his only costume was a pair of ivory harem pants, a few bracelets and a pair of gold slippers.

            Min Jee laughed as he strode in, looking very proud of himself. “Taecyeon, they never give you a shirt, do they?”

            “Why cover up this beauty, nuna?” he laughed and plopped into a chair next to Ha Neul.

            “I’m guessing Chansung and Nichkhun are sans shirt as well, right?”

            “You’d be correct. Our ert fans love us shirtless and so we comply,” he answered, smiling.

            “Why am I wearing a skirt?” groaned Chansung, striding into the room. The stylists had put him in a knee-length white Roman toga though they had altered the top so more of his chest was exposed and a pair of leather gladiator sandals were on his feet.

            “I’m wearing the same thing,” Nichkhun pointed out. Though his robe was a deep purple and a wreath of leaves was set on his hair. Both were finished with hair and make-up and had come to check up on the others. Neither had seen Junho or Wooyoung yet as they were still being dressed.

            “Where’s your Helen?” Madeleine asked Nichkhun. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, adjusting the laurel on his head.

            “Nichkhun! There you are!” called Anna, strolling into the room. She had been in the other make-up room getting done up. Her long brown hair was curled into ringlets and then styled into a Grecian bun with curling tendrils hanging down her back.

            She latched onto his arm and smiled up at him. Anna decided that she might as well make the best of this situation, which could be worse. Being paired with the Thai Prince was not so bad. In actuality, most would think she got a better partner than Ha Neul. In her mind, this was all that mattered. Anna had no idea where her irrational need to be better than that blasted girl had come from. There was no time for rationalizing at this point. Anna was now determined to make the best fake video ever that would leave everyone in Korea wondering who she was, not that Ha Neul character.

            Speaking of Ha Neul, she was currently looking at the scene behind her through the mirror, thankful no one else had acknowledged her. Her hair was in its frizzy, post-brushing state and she would prefer attention kept elsewhere until she was decent again. Perhaps she was wishing too hard, for as soon as the thought ran through her head Taec himself laid eyes on her.

            “Hanna, I didn’t even notice you there. Your, erm, hair was blocking your face.”

            Ha Neul smiled weakly at him and moved a section of her hair to peer at him.

            “This is my hair in its most natural state,” she explained, drawing the focus of the room.

            “It looks like So Nyeo Shi Dae’s hair when they performed ‘Oh’,” Junsu admitted, only seeing the back of her head through the mirror.

            “Aishhh, hyung, you’re right,” Chansung answered with a laugh. He walked to her chair and reached a hand out to poke her hair. “Wow, it’s like a sheep.”

            “Please do not touch!” barked Ha Neul, jerking her head away from her fellow maknae’s touch. Chansung gulped and put his hand at his side.

            “Well, well, it seems we have found dear Ha Neul’s Achilles heel,” announced Anna, her tone full of the self-satisfaction only she could affect.

            “Don’t you have wars to start over your inability to be faithful?” The bushy-headed girl queried, her own tone surprisingly even given the scowl she was sporting.

            “Now, now, do not be jealous that men fight over my beauty. But you’re right. Come along, dear Paris. Our time has come!” With a happy laugh and a merry wave to all, Anna sauntered out of the room. Nichkhun bowed politely before he followed her.

            Min Jee looked down sympathetically at Ha Neul and patted her arm. “Never fear, I have worked with ethnic hair before, you are in capable hands. We will have you down the path to smoothness in no time!” Ha Neul shot her a thankful look and then lowered her gaze to her hands. There weren’t many things that Ha Neul was self-conscious about, but nearly every girl in the world was preoccupied with their hair. Ha Neul was more so than the average girl. As any brown person knows, moisture can destroy a good hair day. As

            Ha Neul shook her head sadly, her long afro gently moving with her. Oh my life, she bemoaned internally. Most people never got to see this side of her and 2/3 of 2PM plus a thoroughly hateful model and ginger from the South had seen her in her worst state. She made a silent rant at the Fates for disrupting the fantastic work they were doing. Perhaps she was being overdramatic, but that was totally allowed.

            Her hair stylist was talking about something to her, but she had not been paying attention and innocently asked her to repeat because she was speaking too quickly.

            “Oh, mianhae, I’ll speak more slowly. I was just asking if you had any luck finding an apartment yet. Someone told me that you were currently at a hotel and wouldn’t you know that my roommate is getting married, damn her. So I need a roommate. Is that offer sounding nice or what?” Min Jee had started straightening Ha Neul’s hair and was actually getting to the root to her surprise. She let the stylist’s words sink in. That situation did sound promising, but she really did not know how long she planned on staying.

            “That it does. But, unni, I’m not sure how long I’m staying here, so I’d hate to move in with you and then leave you with the trouble of finding a new roommate.”

            “That’s not a problem at all! I’ll deal with that when the time comes. Hotels are so lonely and it’d be nice for me to have company in my apartment. I promise it’s not tiny.”

            “Can I take a look at it first before I decide and talk to my mother too?”

            “Of course, my lovely dongseng, not a problem at all.” She began humming a tune as she proceeded to work on Ha Neul’s hair.

           “Yo, Hanna, do you want to get dinner tomorrow?” Taecyeon asked, moving some of her hair from her face. Min Jee raised her eyebrows at Ha Neul in the mirror. The girl in question meanwhile was doing a fantastic job of staring at a can of hairspray. She remained silent, fully aware that while Junsu and Madeleine and their stylists were pretending not to pay attention, she knew that they certainly were.

            Ha Neul cleared and asked softly, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “Well, I mean…I think that…”

            “Taecyeon-hyung, do I look fat in this?” A petulant Wooyoung, a.k.a. Romeo, garbed in a dashing tunic and tight set in a dark green had rushed into the room. He grabbed onto the feathered cap on his head so it wouldn’t fall off. Ha Neul strained her neck to get a look at the lesser half of the Shakespeare’s tragic duo and bit back a laugh at his akimbo stance. Juliet herself was behind him in a deep pink empire waist gown with trailing sleeves. Her long curly hair was caught up in a silver hairnet and a silver cross adorned her neck.  Once Taec’s eyes were on him, he spun and placed his hands on his hips. “Ah, hyung, my doesn’t look big, does it?” His lips drawn in a pout he waited for the sultan’s response.

            “Ya, Wooyoung, you don’t ask a fellow man questions like that!”

            “Fine, Min Jee-nuna, how do I look?” he pleaded, leaping to Min Jee. She waved the hair straightener in front of his face and closed it menacingly.

            “Don’t ask me silly questions, boy. You’re an idol; you look good no matter what. Even in a pair of silly tights and an even sillier hat.”

            Wooyung had been smiling when she said he looked good, but then he frowned and touched his hat self-consciously.

            “Yikes, why does part of Ha Neul’s head look like she got struck by lightning?” He asked, ignoring the look that his Juliet was giving him. It was one of those looks that clearly meant “shut the hell up.”

            “Oppa,” came the victim’s voice. “You have five seconds to run. If not, I’ll murder you before you get a chance to kiss your beloved’s sweet lips and die.”

            “No need for violence, Ha Neul.”

            “Five.”

            “I was merely asking a question…”

            “Four.”

            “And now that I’ve finished with that…I’m going to go…do something else.” Wooyoung removed his cap and bowed to Maria. “Fare thee well, my sweet Juliet. Time will drag ever so slowly until we meet again.”

            “Just stop,” Maria pleaded, hiding a laugh behind her hand. “I still have to get date by a priest, so I’ll go with you.”

            “Are people filming already?” Ha Neul asked.

            “Probably just practicing. It’s only eight o’clock. And I think that Anna-nuna and Khun-hyung were the first to go,” Taecyeon replied, shifting in his chair. Ha Neul nodded and sighed as Min Jee spun her chair to straighten the last section of hair. The torture was slowly ending. Ha Neul’s nerves were beginning to calm as she saw her hair regaining its normal look.

            “Halfway done,” said Min Jee joyfully. At Ha Neul’s face, she clarified. “Make-up, of course. You’ll need a lot of eye make-up.”

            “Oh, okay…” Ha Neul waved her hand in front of Taec’s face as he had been staring off into the distance. He jumped in his seat and looked back at her, flashing a smile. He looked expectantly for her words. “What do you mean practicing? Like are they rehearsing how they’ll pretend to get it on or what?”

            Taecyeon chuckled and shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. Sometimes stuff like that is choreographed or they tell us to go for it.” He winked at the last part. Min Jee shuddered at that and mumbled about greasiness.

            “Ahhh, really?” Ha Neul let out a breath and Min Jee continued her job. As Min Jee was finishing her hair, Madeleine and Junsu decided they should go to their set and see what awaited them there. Taec leaned back against his chair and leaned his head back. Ha Neul thought he looked bored.

            “If you’re tired of waiting, oppa, you can go watch the others,” she said in lieu of an apology. “I shouldn’t take much longer, so I’ll catch up with you.”

            “Why would I do that? I don’t care if I get tired of waiting for you. I’ll wait however long it takes,” he told her simply. Ha Neul had a feeling he was referring to something else entirely, but it was before ten o’clock, so her brain was not ready for any deep thinking at the moment. That was why she froze up when he asked her about dinner. Couldn’t he text her like he said. That would be so much easier for her. Face-to-face talking, unless she was a little drunk, unnerved her to the max. She was a bit of an awkward kid when dealing with that. The fact that her supposed suitor was Taec did not help her awkwardness at all.

            So she did not reply and the rest of the time lapsed into uncomfortable silence.