You’re awoken the next day by a call from Eun. 

“Oi, do you really have to call this early?” You groggily say, noticing that it’s half past 7 in the morning.

“Sorry, agasshi, but I have to tell you that the director is visiting?” Eun replies in a hushed tone.

“Hm? Choi-sajangnim’s? Why?”

“No, not her, the Samsung director,”

Well, that woke you up. 

Tumbling from your bed, you bathe and change into your tan colored suit pants, using a loose, white blouse on top which you layer again with a red blazer, taking the heels that would go with the red.  You tie your hair tidily into a ponytail and slip your arm into the strap of your yellow shoulder bag and checking your appearance in the mirror for the last time, speed out of your house towards Eunbok.

Composing yourself, you walk out of the car as you arrive and flash a bright smile at the person beside Woonha, the one with an air authority among all the photography crew members.

“Hello,” You bow deeply, and rise, taking her offered hand and shaking it.  “We meet again, Hyosung-ssi,”

“Indeed we do,” She smiles back at you.  “Only with a different title, on me, that is,”

You lightly laugh at this and gesture for everybody to come into the shop, setting the chairs so that everyone has a place to sit.  

“You know her?!” Eun frantically whispers at your ear as you make coffee for everyone. 

“Well, long story short, I thought she was the company’s rep and here she is, actually being the director herself,” You grimace and spun at your heel, bringing the tray of mugs onto the table.  “Please, help yourself,”

“You go through too much trouble, Jaemi-ssi,” Hyosung smiles and takes the mug, inhaling the scent of coffee and sipping it.  “But, this is exquisite,”

You dip your head in a thank you bow and set yourself on a chair.  You’ve got to thank Jongdae for making you coffee all this time.  “So, what is the matter? It is much of an honor to be graced with your visit,”

“Nothing much, I just  want to observe how you do, really,” Hyosung shrugs, grinning at you.

“Exactly what Woonha-ssi did yesterday though, but alright,” You need not think twice over her choice to observe you.

“Oh and,” Hyosung snapped her fingers and one of the crew members came into the shop bringing a large paper bag, blue, Samsung’s logo printed on it.  “These are our newest products.  Everything is taken care of, and all you have to do is transfer your card into this and your contacts.  Wont take more than a minute,” She winks.

“Oi agassh—whoa,”

Jihoo bursts into the shop and was about to backtrack his steps when he thought it over, and took your eye contact with him as a signal for him to sit down. 

“The other 2 part timers will be on their way, Hyosung-ssi,” You say and just about time, Yoojoon and Kyoungmi knocks on the shop’s door.  Well, they were more aware of the situation than Jihoo was.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get on with it!” Hyosung says towards one of the crew, who dipped his head in a polite bow before offering his hand for you to put your phone on. 

Folowing your example, the rest of the Eunbok team places their phones on the crew’s hands and let them do whatever it is they are doing to it.

When they were done, it was like having your old phone with you but with a new look.  It was fancy, alright.

“When’s the opening time?” Hyosung asks, glancing at the watch.

“In 15 minutes,” You smile, as it was 15 minutes to nine.

“Then do work comfortably.  I’ll be wandering  around, if you don’t mind,”

“Not at all, Hyosung-ssi,”

Inhaling and exhaling once, you gather the team around for work, sending the kids away for college.  “Careful on your way and back,” You pat their shoulders and grin. 

Yoojoon and Kyoungmi sent you a silent good luck wish through their gazes as they smiled back and you nod, following their backs until they disappeared around a corner.

“So, Jihoo, Eun, it’ll be tougher without the two around.  So I want you, Jihoo, to work fully inside rather than multi-tasking.  Leave the gardens today because I already set the sprinklers on last night and just water them when the kids come.  Plus, good outfit,” You eye him up and down.  He was looking charming alright, with his manly hair cut and excellent body posture and figure, wearing a red shirt under a light brown cardigan, its sleeves pulled up to his elbow, showing his strong arms.  “And Eun, wow we kinda match today,” You frown, noticing that Eun had a soft pink suit on with a red brooch.  “Never mind, you’ve seen how I work yesterday, right? This time, only call me when the customer specifically requests for my help.  Jihoo, be prepared to be called out of the shop to model and Eun too, for that and to work one and a half times harder without Jihoo when he’s modelling.  You too, Jihoo,”

“Whoa, whoa, agasshi,” Jihoo places his hand on your shoulder.  “Calm down.  We can go through this, just like how we used to,” He grins, shrugging.

“Hope so,” You calm down a little bit and whisper.  “Eunbok, hwaiting!”

And, to work it is.

Eunbok has never been quiet during work hours, because it’s always, always full of customers.  Mostly are closely related to you because of their regular visit but some are newcomers who come to look at things and either buy or leave, talking about the shop’s unique products. 

The requests flowed as usual, Eun occassionally filling up for you when you’re really quite busy.  The female customers in your shop swooned over Jihoo very oftenly, as he is rarely inside the shop.  That was a good distraction because instead of requesting for your help, they would ask Jihoo about his opinions on the clothes.  And not surprisingly, he picks the perfect-fitting ones for them, although without additional accessories, still, he had a thing for his pickings.  You smile and give him a thumb up as he glanced in your direction and with grins, the two of you return to your own customers. 

Feeling blessed, you wish you could work like this forever, with Eunbok, until your life ends and hand the business over to your children and your grandchildren and so on.

The kids came in at exactly 3, never late as usual so you gestured for them to quickly get to work. 

“Kyoungmi-ssi?” Woonha approaches the college girl.

“Yes?”

“We need you for the photoshoot,” He offers her his hand with a smile.

“Okay,” She smiles and takes his hand, letting him guide her into your studio.

You follow their backs and nibble on your lip. 

“Go on, we’ll handle it.  Just not for too long,” Eun nudges your arm.  “Just like a mother,” She chuckles as she shook her head, walking away.

You trot over to the studio and catch Kyoungmi at the clothes rack, pondering over her choice of clothes.  “Let me see your phone,”

She takes it out of her pocket and hands it to you.  The casing itself was bright yellow, and she had attached her old accessory to it, a red cherry.  You glance at the rack of clothes and pick out a short, rimple-sleeved, multi print dress, belted with a bright red, slightly orange ribbon at the hips.  “Go with this,” You grin.  And as for the shoes,” Rummaging around the shoe shelves, you pull out a simple pair pale yellow kitten heels.  While Kyoungmi put them on, you pull the sides of her hair to the back of her head and pin it to a little bun, leaving her bangs flow. 

“Pretty as ever,” You pat her cheeks.  “Get out there and do your thing, kiddo,”

She grins and thanks you, and hops into the photoshoot spot.  The studio fell silent during her entry.  “Yes?” She glanced around nervously. 

“No, nothing,” Woonha chuckles as he shakes his head.  “It’s a very different side of you, Kyoungmi-ssi,”

Relaxed, Kyoungmi does her thing.  Brightly, she looked at the camera and around, positioning the phone wherever she thinks would be attractive enough, the yellow casing giving both her outfit a pop of color, the phone itself pulling the spectators’ attention.  In only 15 minutes, she was done.

“Why don’t we have you for a try, sajangnim?” Woonha gestures for you to take Kyoungmi’s spot.

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, and shrugging, you hop into the camera’s line of view. 

“Make-up kids, you know what I’m thinking?” Woonha smirks at the team behind a rack of make-up, who nods and goes over to you.

“Sorry, sajangnim,” One of them asks permission to change your appearance.

“Go on,” You smile.

The hairband that lifted your hair into a ponytail lifts away and you feel your hair tumble down your bag.  Your bangs flow to frame your small, oval face, the hairdressers curling them a bit futher to accent the wavy flow.  Someone puts lipstick over your lips and eyelines your eyelids, dabbing it with eyeshadow before doing so.  Blush on was spread on your cheeks and finally they step away from you, surveying their own work.

“Perfect,” Woonha claps, and they scatter away, the camera immediatly angled towards you.

You glance at the full-body mirror beside you and see that your normal work look turns to a seductive, smoky-eyed look, with strikingly red lips that flashes together with your red blazer.  Your hair tumbles down slightly messily, the hairdresser messing it up on purpose.

 “Ready?” Woonha grins.

“ ‘Course,” You don’t bother looking at the mirror to see how you look like.   

“The concept, is y,” He announces.

Trying a new concept out, you throw a heavy-lidded gaze at the camera and it snaps with a flash, urging you to do more.  You position the phone under your lips, at your neck and wherever else.  It was exhilarating to be in front of the camera and as Woonha shouts the end, you’re just eager for more.

“Wanna take a look?” One of the photography crews gestures at the screen and you nod, taking Kyoungmi with you.

“Wow,” Was the only word you hear, from the whole crew and Kyoungmi.  You squint at the screen and all you could say was; “Huh?”

“Unnie, it’s you!” Kyoungmi points at the screen.

“That’s you,” You frown, looking at the bright, sparkling kid in the picture, so bright it’s blinding you.  Not literally.

“No, not that one,” She groans.  “That one,”

You look at a woman with striking, red lips, looking straight at the camera with heavy-lidded eyes, the red in her lips and her blazer coloring the screen, while the dark, violet phone in her hand as if stopping the red from fulfilling the screen.  The backdrop was made red, so it looked more and more unique than ever.

You glance at the crew and then at the mirror and grimace.  “That’s me,”

The photography crew and everybody else applauds for you and Kyoungmi, the two of you bowing politely to thank them for the work.  You wash out the make-up from your face and swab lipgloss over your lips, returning your usual look to your face.  You sigh and walk out the studio, a bit tired but still shocked that it was you on the screen.

“Yoojoon, Jihoo and Eun, I think you guys are scheduled for tomorrow,” You sigh, but then remember that you still have work to do so you put on your bright smile and start helping the customers again.

Four hours passed and work ends, and you’re just completely exhausted. 

“Argh,” You drop yourself on a nearby chair.  “Eun, sorry, but can you,” You breathe in, “Make tea for me,”

Chuckling, Eun goes to the counter for some tea.

“Tired much?” Jihoo sits down beside you, smirking. 

You nod, shrugging, not knowing the cause for your tiredness.

As Eun sets down the mug for you, you lift it up, but, it quickly drops, falling onto the floor with a loud crash, its contents spilling everywhere.

“Agasshi!!” Jihoo and Eun rushes to you as you kneel, trying to pick up the shards. 

“Sorry, I—Ouch!” You start but immediately wince as a piece pierces your finger painfully.

“What’s wrong?” Yoojoon comes over and looks at your hand.  He goes back away and returns with a first-aid box, cleaning your wound with a cotton and antiseptic, binding it with a band-aid.

“You sure you’re okay?” Jihoo moves his hand towards your forehead to test you for a fever.

Before he could touch it, however, you look away, refusing his hand.  “I am,” You feel around for the chair as you try to get up, but fail as your eyes blurred.

You blink, trying to clear it, still trying to find a chair to help you stand up.

“Jaemi-ssi,” You hear Hyosung’s voice and feel her take your hand, strongly pulling you up.

“Ye—“ You were about to answer, but your head pained you, strongly that you tumbled down again onto the floor, clutching at it, trying to make the pain disappear.

Keeping your pace of blinking, you try to clear your vision, but it doesn’t clear.

Frightened to your limit, another wave of pain washes over your head and you lose consciousness.

OMO OMO OMOOOOO

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH AGASSHI

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