CHAPTER 1; EXPECTATIONS

Picking up his Canon EOS 60D DSLR, Sehun fumbled around with his camera. The studio is set. The lights were dimmed and the reflectors were all set up. Everyone was ready for shooting to begin, except one certain lady. Being late was definitely not acceptable, at all.

Suddenly, quick footsteps were heard from outside of the studio. The doorknobs turned slowly. It revealed a girl, about 1.65m and she had long, black hair. As black as ebony. She lifted her head up and a apologetic expression could be seen on her white, pale face.

“Soojung, get ready. You’re already 10 minutes late and we have no time to lose,” whispered a stylist, grabbing her hands and dragging her to the dressing room.

The make-up artist swiftly applied foundation as well as setting powder on her face. She applied two thick coats of mascara and winged her eyeliner out, giving Soojung a cat-eye look.  After applying blusher and a dark red lipstick, Soojung was finally transformed from a plain jane to supermodel.

The coordi-noona then brought Soojung to change into her clothes for the photoshoot. Most of the clothes fit her perfectly, which accentuated her curves at all the right places. She was indeed a goddess.

Soojung walked over to the shoot itself and started posing, she was a natural. Sehun could not keep his eyes off her, and was instantly mesmerized by her beauty. Never had he seen such a gorgeous woman, much less take photos of her.

“1, 2, 3, Change poses!” He ordered.

She was like a gazelle, graceful and swift. After all, with over 10 years of modelling experience in her portfolio, there was nothing that could go wrong. Soojung was so well-liked and many companies wanted her to model for their brand, she made everything look flawless.

Halfway into the shoot, Soojung started coughing violently, and coughed up blood. The shoot had to be stopped and her entourage all rushed over to check on her. Her face became exceptionally pale and her lips turned blue. That was when she out.

“Soojung, Soojung! Are you okay? Stay with us!” Her assistants screamed.

“Someone call the ambulance, please!!”

Sehun pushed his way through and lifted her up as if she was as light as a feather. He immediately brought her to his car and laid her on the backseat. He entered the car and drove as fast as he could to the nearest hospital. The only thing that was on his mind was Soojung.

Upon reaching the hospital, Soojung got admitted to the A&E ward and the doctor quickly examined her. She had already lost consciousness for about 20 minutes. It was obvious that something was wrong. After another 30 minutes, the curtains were drawn and the doctor stepped out.

“What’s wrong with her, doctor?” Sehun enquired.

“I’m afraid there is something really wrong with her, sir. She seems to be having stage 1 lung cancer. That is why she coughed up blood and fainted. Do not worry too much, she is very lucky that she has only stage 1 lung cancer. If it was stage 4, it would’ve been too late to cure her. For now, she just needs to go for about 20 weeks of chemotherapy.”

“What are the side effects?”

“I think you should be familiar with them. Hair loss, loss of appetite, weight loss, frequent vomiting, and frequent body aches. I heard that she’s a very famous model in Seoul, right? She would just have to accept the reality and fight this battle. Hopefully she has family members or close friends that will support and encourage her throughout this ordeal.”

Sehun nodded without a reply and walked into the ward. Soojung is seen lying on the hospital bed, looking so weak. Sehun sits by her side and holds her hands tightly. A tear is seen falling down his cheek.

He knows that Soojung does not have any family members or close friends. She is extremely mysterious and often is seen alone when photographed by the paparazzi. Sehun felt so bad for her, and he decided to go through this terrible time with her.

“Sehun…..I’m so sorry for troubling you. You can leave, I can take care of myself,” She muttered.

He put a finger to her cold lips and asked her to close her eyes and sleep. Sehun stayed by her side the whole night and fell asleep next to her.

The next morning, Sehun felt someone’s hands running through his hair, and was awaken by it.

“Oh you’re awake….I didn’t expect you to stay the night with me. Anyway, you don’t have to do this anymore, I’m better off taking care of myself, I don’t need anyone.” Soojung said.

“No. I’m going to continue to take care of you, until you get better. I’m not going to throw you aside. Just trust me, okay? I’m going to stay with you.”

Soojung held Sehun’s hands tightly and let out a soft smile. She felt so grateful towards Sehun, no one had ever said that to her. No one had taken care of her before.

“Thank you, Sehun. Thank you.”