It was that day, the day of the showcase of brands.

Jongdae entered the building through the back with his team full of high top designers, including Mari who was merely anything to top designer quality. Mari stuck closely to Jongdae’s side as she held his coffee and sketchbook.

“Let’s get everything on our models and hurry to the standby stage.” Jongdae effortlessly ordered.

They all rushed inside except for two who were currently watching the setup of the stage begin. Mari watched in amazement. It’d be the first time seeing this, but with her boss, it seemed a bit more special. He who looked around with an expression that spilled I-don’t-want-to-be-here. He crossed his arms and turned around. Mari noticed as she stumbled over a wire, but luckily she caught herself. She quickly ran to Jongdae’s side with a smile on her face.

“Mari, you can look around if you want. Just don’t get lost.” Jongdae waved her off.

“Really?!” Mari exclaimed. “You’d let me do that?”

“Yes, and that’s an order.” Jongdae replied without looking her way.

“Thank you, Mister Kim.” Mari bowed and ran off to who knows where.

Jongdae rounded the corner when she had gone. He took a few steps to his left and appeared in front of an empty dressing room. He opened it and he saw a couch off to the side, untouched. Jongdae smiled happily as he walked over and laid down. He propped the cushion between his arms, hugging it like it was a stuffed animal.

“Do you know where Mister Kim is?” Mari asked, when she’d not seen him anywhere around.

The designers shook their head as they proceeded to fix up the models. Jongdae and Kris were supposed to be models for the showcase and Jongdae was nowhere to be—

“C’mon ladies! We gotta speed up the process,” Jongdae walked in with Kris behind him. “Mari, please prepare the clothing.”

Jongdae and Kris quickly took off their jackets and white v-necks, down to their pants, shoes and socks too. Mari tried her best to look away as she noticed the other designers attempting to busy themselves too. She definitely caught a glimpse of their toned bodies though. Inside she let out a squeal that only she would be able to contain.

“Miss Jang, I expect you not to stand around, but help us by giving us our clothes.” Jongdae ordered.

Mari nodded quickly while looking down. She went to the clothes rack and picked out the bags that had Jongdae and Kris’ name on it. She handed them to Jongdae and Kris as if she was throwing them. Kris noticed the way she was acting around them; it was a familiar feeling to his last secretary. Jongdae was busy getting dressed to even take a look at Mari’s expression for he was definitely not in the mood for any games.

“Showcaseee~” a bunch of manly voices echoed each other once they had entered the room.

The designers and Mari were surprised to see them, but Kris and Jongdae smiled brightly at the sight of them. Jongdae kind of cringed, but a smile managed to appear on his wonderful face.

“Chenchen, we’re here.” Suho chirped.

“And we brought bubble tea.” Sehun added in as he nudged and prodded Kris and Jongdae.

“Oh, you guys,” he blinked. “Are you guys participating with us?”

“Of course!” Chanyeol jumped towards him.

Everyone laughed together at the jumpy and excited Chanyeol. They all gathered in a circle with their hands in the middle. It looked a bit funny, seeing twelve guys squished together and saying a chant.

“1, 2, 3..”

“We are one!” they yelled as their hands shot up in the air.

They cheered and hugged each other. It was a pleasant sight to see of course. Everyone was hugging each other in admiration and happiness had overcame them.

“Machen, up in 5.”

“Get dressed you pricks!” Jongdae yelled unexpectedly.

“Wow, so mean.” Minseok hissed as he grabbed a pair of jeans that were his size.

They all managed to make it to the stage during that time. The female models were to pair up with Kai, Kris, Luhan, and Tao. Tao had the advantage to having two models by his side. That incompetent prick. Jongdae was the ending with himself to create a bigger effect that said, “Kim Jongdae knows how to model.”

“Welcome, Machen! The long awaited showing!” the MC yelled as he directed his arms to Kris who had walked out with his model.

The crowd clapped after each and every model and they definitely weren’t expecting the last one. Jongdae was rocking the jeans so casually with his toned arms sticking out of the v-neck that screamed summer. Like it had the words “SUMMER!” on it. No joke.

Afterwards, the MC had announced that there would be a final with the top contestants. This was a big deal— a very big deal. It was hard to get to the finals and Machen had always won them. This year would have probably been a setback, but they still won otherwise.

It was officially time for the big finale, Jongdae had spent the past year trying to get this outfit right and looking top notch just for this event. He straightened up his suit, it glowed incandesently in the bright light of the backstage lamps. The suit was his masterpiece. It's smooth almost suede like material had been encrusted with tiny diamonds all over the rich surface. It had taken half a year to finish and complete the suit to his liking. It screamed "Be jealous you peasants".

Jongdae flexed slightly in the full length mirror before him, not bashful at all, as he shamelessly admired the ethereal glowing effect that diamonds gave off.

Of course he'd never tell anyone that the only reason he had came up with this idea was because of the mountains of twilight merchandise Tao had left over at his house.

There was a red glint in the corner of the room that caught his eye as his eyes landed on the red dress that was meant for Sari. His stupid dongsaeng just had to get married on the same day as his show. She was the co-founder that no one knew about. It was a shame because although the suit was something that he was extremely proud of, he still wanted someone to wear it.

The clash of falling hangers caught his attention as Mari came running in with bundles of assessories ready to tidy up after the show. The thought clicked in his head, and before he could actually proccess what he was doing he had flung the gorgeous satin material over the head of his clumsy assistant and commanded her to get dressed.

"We're on stage in five minutes. Any shoes here will match. Hurry up"

His heart was palpitating, and he directed his gaze away from the girl that had captured his attention ever since the first time she had came to the company.

"M-Mister Kim—" she was cut off short, but her boss' hand appeared in front of her face.

"This is important. Just wear the dress, Mari."

Mari was perplexed. It was a rare occurrence for a high-top handsome CEO to ask his clumsy and average assistant to put on a dazzling creation of his. The dress was now in Mari's hands as Jongdae exited to standby. He was nervous of course— she was also. She wasn't any kind of model. Yet alone that she has never even modelled before. She didn't want to screw it up. She convinced herself by saying a few words of encouragement.

"You're beautiful, you can do this. He wants you to do this for him. Do it for him." 

The crowd erupted into applause at seeing Machen; the worlds famous brand of all. Mari felt insecure and wanted to climb off the stage into a corner, so no one could see her. Jongdae could feel the anxiety coming from Mari. Her arm was hooked with his as they strutted down the catwalk. They looked like a couple. She was in a bright red dress that fitted her curves perfectly. As for Jongdae, he was in a fitted suit that he had created himself. It was a delight to show the suit off. It was of course an unlimited edition of Machens best suits. It was the only one left of those that shined among the rest.

"Smile and do not stop smiling." Jongdae ordered with his teeth gritted.

From his peripheral vision, he could see Mari's head slightly nod to his command. She looked much more calmed than before. Her back was straight and she looked elegant— magnificent and like a real woman. Someone that could catch Kim Jongdae's heart within a second. The girl who caught his heart within a second was Jang Mari; his assistant and his special person.

There was an after party to celebrate the success of Machen's triple win in the showcase. Everyone was there, dressed in their best clothing; whether it was from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, or Machen.

Kim Jongdae smiled as he walked past a few with his favorite red wine in his dominant hand. He had Mari right by his side, in the dress his dongsaeng was supposed to wear. To be completely honest, it seemed that the dress was a perfect fit for Mari. It was like destiny had found it's owner. A mere half year masterpiece has found it's artist. Who would have known that Sari and Mari were going to have the same sizes?

It was a miracle.

"How is it?" Jongdae questioned as he pulled out a chair for Mari to sit.

She sat down and eyed him for a bit before responding.

"What do you mean, Mister Kim?" she responded with an adorable yet confused expression on her face.

"How is the wine?" he chuckled while diverting his attention to the display boxes that were around the studio where the party was being held at as of right now.

Mari followed her boss' gaze as she also admired the masterpieces around her. "It's good," she paused and took a sip of her wine "but I'm not really a wine kind of person." she ended with a smile playing on her lips.

"Are you more of an alcohol kind of person? Is beer your kind of thing?" Jongdae chuckled as he turned to face her.

"You could say that." she shrugged and laughed with her boss.

A handsome man came into view. He wasn't wearing a tie nor a bow. He was wearing a grey v-neck underneath a white suede blazer. He looked well off, but not well enough to put on the correct attire for the party. His smile was dazzling as he caught sight of Kim Jongdae with someone he thought of as his muse and maybe something more to that. A smirk appeared on his face once he had walked over in front of the table, interrupting the two's conversation full of laughs.

He bowed and smiled at Mari, then to Jongdae.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Jongdae." his voice was rather malicious to Jongdae's ears. Mari could have sworn she could hear the evil sound in his voice.

"It's also nice to meet you too." Jongdae replied.

The man's hand forcefully came towards Jongdae's face, not giving him a choice if he wanted to shake it or not. Jongdae shook it and gave his most famous smile that made ladies swoon over him. It surprised the man also, wondering if the smile was taking it's effect.

"Would you like to sit down with us? Maybe chat a little?" Jongdae suggested, confusing the man.

"First, let me introduce myself. I wouldn't want to intrude without a proper introduction." he faked a smile and winked at Mari, causing her to look away and cringe.

"Hi, my name is Kim Jongdeok."

K-Kim Jongdeok? That sounds awfully familiar. Mari thought to herself as she stopped herself to remember where she thought she heard that name.

"Miss Jang, this is my big brother," he introduced. "the only older sibling that I have." Jongdae finished, motioning for his brother to sit down.

Mari let out an awkward laugh and went back to her thoughts. No wonder... She thought she had gone crazy.

"Miss Jang, please introduce yourself."

"I'm Jang Mari; Mister Kim's new assistant." Mari bowed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I saw you on the runway. You're reaaaaally pretty. I can't believe my brother is play—"

He was stopped abruptly by his younger siblings cold hand that was now covering his mouth. Jongdeok struggled and had the urge to Jongdae's hand, but he resisted. It was Jongdae's first ever girl to like and his brother was bound to ruin it by saying that he's playing with her.

"Don't listen to him. He was just leaving." Jongdae uncovered his brothers mouth as he gave him a quick glare before facing Mari again with a smile.

She shyly nodded and giggled at seeing the siblings quarrel.

"So, I'll take my leave, you irritable little brother." Jongdeok menacingly spoke before leaving the table.

Jongdae awkwardly turned towards Mari and gave her a small smile while he leaned back in his chair. She rested her hands on top of each other, waiting for a conversation to spring up anytime. Luckily, a certain someone had broken the silence.

"Hey, I need to talk to Mister Kim." Kris spoke with a smirk upon his face.

"Uh, sure. Go ahead, Mister Kim." Mari gestured for him to go as Kris took a hold of his elbow to him to an empty room inside the building.

 AUTHOR'S NOTE :

Sorry for the really late chapter. Haha, I think I skipped two weekends to update and I swear that the next updates will come soon. Asterisk and I have been busy and we hardly communicate nowadays too. I hope you all understand! 

I'll be free around October 22-25 because I think that's when my conferences begin and end. Then, I have some other things to do after that. I know we have a few breaks, but I'll make sure to actually update from my phone if it's possible. 

The chapter is a bit boring, but I liked it. 

My word choice is horrible while Asterisk is just- 

i can't even -

it's gooooood o u o 

anyways, buoy c: 

- kyde ♥

Roleplay: Chingu Roleplay | Nutella Roleplay
Review Shop: Heaven's Network 
Graphic Shop: Heaven's Door

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