The Wedding Day had come, and finally; you’d woken up early, extra early to get the boys to the salon. Even if it wasn’t official business, the company couldn’t have Exo-K looking a mess for a wedding. Baekhyun got permission to stay with his parents for the night so they could arrive at the hall together, which saved you having to see him and get infected by the magnitude of stress he would be feeling at this point.

Manager Kim kindly offered to take the boys to the salon so you could get ready yourself. But having an extra hour to spare meant nothing if you had no idea how to do wedding glam, or dress yourself appropriately for the occasion.

‘This’ll do, right?’ You asked India down the phone. Your best friend tilted her head, scrutinising the piece; ‘I think I liked the pink one better.’ She muttered while sat on her bed back in England.

‘The pink?’ You lifted it up and held in an exasperated sigh while India let out a loose-one.

‘You said you liked the pink!?’ You dropped your head back and both dresses on the floor, feeling stupid for not preparing this sooner; ‘It’s fine, I like the brighter colour on you, it suits you ____!’ India exclaimed through the phone; ‘I’m sorry, I’m just stressed. Thank you for helping me with this.’ Readjusting the phone that stood vertically up on your bed, you bent closer to India and sighed.

‘I know, I know, but don’t worry; I’ll be here as long as you need me.’ She smiled encouragingly; ‘Besides, you’re not even the main event so it really doesn’t matter how you look.’ It was an encouraging statement which you accepted with a nod; ‘It’s not me I care about, it’s just Baekhyun I don’t want to show up in front of his whole family-‘

-‘I thought you didn’t care what Baekhyun thought?’ She asked almost knowingly while picking at her nails.

‘I don’t.’ You shook your head; ‘But his family’s nice so…besides I’m sure he’ll give me an earache if I show up in pyjamas.’ You winced at the thought of his angry face or Baekbeom’s angry face at that too.

‘Look, put on the pink dress-‘

-The Door bell rang.

‘Wait, are they back yet?’

‘I thought you said you had an hour?’

‘I thought I did too? Let me see-‘ You checked your phone screen; there were no new notifications except one; ‘Taemin sent me something-‘

-The Bell rang again.

‘Oh shoot, I have to go. Thank you by the way.’

‘Don’t worry, you’ve got this. Tell Sehun I say hi by the way.’ 

No packages. No deliveries – you thought while heading to the door, getting a quick glance at the security cam which showed a man or a woman in a mask and a hat.

A fan? No a delivery person?  - The boys always told you to call them if there were any stalkers or trouble but, you didn’t have time to check. Without a second glance at the security cam, you opened in the door hastily-

-‘Hi, I’m Nami, Taemin sent me.’ Without another word; she, this woman with chestnut-dyed hair and pink highlights, stepped into the landing carrying two big bags she’d lugged from God-knew where.

‘Uh- sorry, what?’ You stuttered, head buzzing with confusion. The woman- Nami, dropped her kit on the floor and stretched, trying to unhook something off the back of her shirt-

-‘And here’s the dress, I tried not to crinkle it getting out the car.’ She held up the plastic-wrapped dress, her bright eyes and false lashes and twinkled at you while you guffawed at the thing, at the whole thing; ‘Sorry, Nami-shi, Taemin sent you?’ Nami paused for a moment, processing whether you were joking or not before surmising with a tut; ‘Call me Nami, I told Taemin to let you know I was coming; that boy is so forgetful.’

Continuing to stand there and slightly perplexed, you couldn’t tell whether Nami was smiling or grimacing underneath her blue mask until she took it off; ‘Yah that boy. I bet he thought this would be a nice surprise, but now I look like a crazy person who busted in here. Anyway, I’m Nami-‘ She her hand out and you could do nothing but shake it. The woman blew her bangs out from her face, ripping her mask off entirely and shoving it in her pocket; ‘I’m Taemin’s, well- Shinee’s makeup artist mainly. So don’t worry, I won’t be spilling the beans of anything I see here.’ She gestured to all around the open-floor landing, taking the scene in while also fully ignoring it; ‘If you don’t believe me, you can call Taemin but; these are very heavy bags I’ve brought in and I would like to get you done up before I leave-‘

She gently lay the dress over one arm and picked up one of her bags. You moved, quickly picking up the other, and almost toppled over by the sheer weight of it; ‘I know what you’re thinking; either there’s a dead body in there or lots of makeup. Trust me, it’s makeup.’

You didn’t really have a choice but to trust this woman. But something about her felt warm enough to believe her. ‘And you’re probably also wondering what I’m here to do if Taemin hasn’t told you already; I’m going to do get you ready for this wedding. You’re welcome. Where should we get you ready?’

‘Uh, that way?’ You gestured towards your room down the corridor on the left, utterly perplexed; ‘I only have an hour, is that ok?’ You asked, unsure if that was the most important question to ask right now. ‘We can just make it if you start now. Oh by the way you speak Korean well, that boy wasn’t lying.’ She grinned, lugging her bag while you trailed after her until you both entered your small dorm room.

Boy. You’d save that for later.

Momentarily distracted by your phone buzzing, you quickly pulled it out, scanning Nami while she unpacked. The two belated text messages from Taemin confirmed it all;

I’m sending my Makeup artist to help you out. She’s brought a dress with her, I hope you like it xx

You lifted your head, nodding energetically, tucking your phone away before the message could inspire any more emotion from you; ‘Taemin did this?’

‘Mhm. He is forgetful and scatter-brained but, he knew this was an important day for you I guess.’ She grinned, pulling out some straighteners. ‘He has a good friend, if you were willing to do this for him.’ You said honestly, peering at the dress that now lay on your single bed. ‘I wanted to meet you to be honest, the girl who’s stolen his heart.’ She said it so casually, so nonchalantly as you turned three shades darker, no words could form in your head, not one. ‘Oh, these are cute.’ Your pinboard of pictures hung overhead the charging dock under your table. ‘Th-thank you.’ You stuttered, tucking hair behind your ears to give yourself something to do.

‘There he is.’ She pointed at the most recent addition to the board; A selca taken on the SM roof; you and Taemin holding your coffees and smiling gleefully up at the phone. ‘You two do look cute together.’ She mused merrily; ‘And don’t worry by the way, I’m practically engaged at this point; I like ‘em big and bearded.’ She grinned in a feline way while you spluttered-

‘Tamein’s like my silly little brother who looks to me for advice when he’s in the chair, and I give it to him. But that’s the thing, he feels like a brother, and so…I want him to be happy, and-‘ She surveyed the selca, spotting another one; one of Taemin at his piano. It was a picture that seemed so right at the time; the light hit him so beautifully, it made him look angelic. There was something, an urge- a need to capture that moment in all his beauty-

-‘He looks it these days.’ She smiled at you more honestly; ‘And I think that’s thanks to you.’ She slapped you on the back before ping her other bag and plugging in some more devices like her charger. ‘And probably that solo of his coming up, wont that be exciting?’

What?

‘Wh-‘

-‘So, I’m going to be doing your makeup, hair and we’re going to see how this dress goes.’ She pointed at the plastic-wrapped dress now lying on your bed. You couldn’t ask her about it further, not when time was ticking away at you both. Swallowing hard, you nodded and let her orchestrate your movements. Either way, Nami was going to get you ready with or without your consent, so there was nothing to do, but roll with it.

-

‘What do you think?’ Nami asked almost rhetorically, grinning to herself the moment you leaned in closer to the mirror, examining this new face with awe; ‘Is that me?’ You whispered, enjoying the way your lashes looked with the glue-ins, the way your eyes sparkled from each and every angle. You almost, almost looked like an idol; perhaps, if you turned your head sideways-

-‘Of course that’s you.’ Nami smack-grabbed your shoulders and squeezed enthusiastically which made you jump, but smile.  

‘Now for the hair!’ She said, fishing for her cans of spray and utensils.

-

‘So, do you like working with Taemin?’ You asked, trying to fill Nami’s concentrated silence with conversation. Nami took the bait while she worked; ‘He’s a handful. With every comeback he grows bolder and bolder with what vision he wants for his makeup. It was a pain at first but…well, it’s a collaborative relationship now.’ She sighed, clipping and parting your hair while she worked. ‘And what about you? How’s working with these handsome guys?’ She asked mischievously. Your gaze flittered between your hands on your lap and her face through the mirror; ‘It’s like you said; they’re a handful.’ It earned a chuckle from her, but she pressed on; ‘It’s funny cuz…Taemin.’ You looked at her reflection, perplexed, but she continued; ‘You see, SM tried to find someone who might look like him…someone who could be somewhat of a successor….’ Something wriggled inside while you turned in your chair, but Nami continued; ‘…do you know who that person is?’ Your hands clenched to fists, gripping onto your dress as you looked her in the eye and shook your head. Half your hair had been done up and the other half was still left hanging while Nami observed you in feigned amusement; ‘You didn’t know? Why, his successor landed right here, in this very group you get to work with.’ You gulped hard as Nami turned to your pinboard filled with a photo spread. Her finger whirled and swirled around the pictures, eyes scanning until she found him-

-‘They do look similar, don’t they?’ Her tone changed from lightly curious…to something more serious. You didn’t like it; didn’t like the insinuation, what it meant if she was right. What