PHASE 1: WHAT TO WEAR

PHASE 2: MAKEUP

 “Hello. I have a package for Kim Soo Min.”

While she was signing the papers, the delivery man gaped at her. She was still dressed in her ridiculous, suffocating black dress, her wild hair accentuating her dark expression.

His hands trembled as he received the clipboard from her, afraid that she would yank him inside, never to be seen by society again. I’m not even married yet! I’m still young and virile!

Soo Min didn’t notice his rushed actions, how he practically ran back to his truck, not bothering to even put on his seatbelt before he floored it. She shut the door behind her with her foot and carried the giant box into the living room. She circled around it, scanning it for any signs of tampering.

It was a cube, each side measuring four feet by four feet. With a sinister grin, she plunged the scissors down, dragging it across the top. She lifted both flaps and dug through the packing peanuts to find…

…makeup.

She titled her head, staring at the foreign cases. “I never ordered these.”

Infinite slowly came down, still drowsy from their heavy slumber. It became a part of their daily routine; they slept through the morning while Soo Min went to school and woke up when she came home. The reason they stayed up so late?

To watch dramas. Sappy, romantic goodness. It was especially delicious when the female and male leads had a love-hate relationship. And when the expected car accident/cancer/coma finally made its appearance… hello, tissue box and in Sungyeol’s case, greetings, fellow bandmates’ shirts.

In their defense, they would also occasionally watch some variety shows or stray to movies of other genres but they always went back to those unrealistic, entertaining sixteen-episode series.

“Oh! Those are ours!” They ran down and immediately rummaged through the box, going through a mental checklist. Moisturizer, BB cream, concealer, eye shadows, eyeliners, bronzer, powder, blush, lip gloss, tools, nail polish… “That’s everything!”

“What are they for?” she was extremely curious. What could they do with all of these things? It’s not like they could use it on themselves. And they never mentioned anything about girlfriends. In fact, the only female they’ve had contact with was her and recently, they’ve been so busy trying to prepare her for—

.

She dashed up the stairs and into her room, locking it with a panic. Looking around, she quickly pushed her bed—ahem, coffin—and piano against the door, barricading it against the ghosts. The problem was that, well, they were ghosts.

Infinite glided through the walls effortlessly. She cursed not so quietly under her breath.

They advanced towards her. It would take too long to push the furniture away from the door and the room had no other exit.

There was another slightly more unconventional way.

She moved to her right. Infinite mirrored her actions but she suddenly changed directions and ran to her left towards the window. Before they could react, she jumped out.

“SOO MIN!” they all screamed in horror.

Woohyun slowly moved to the window. He wanted to just stay at his spot, next to the other rooted members. He wanted to stand there until his mind lost some of its pesky murkiness and he could think somewhat rationally. And then he would run—just turn around and run—away from the scene he was sure would be forever stained into his mind.

He wanted to remain ignorant. But he didn’t.

He gripped the ledge tightly, satiating his need for something—anything—steady and peered over.

There should’ve been a body but there was none. There should’ve been foot prints on the soil from the impact of such a high jump but nothing. But nothing also meant no blood.

She’s okay.

“Soo Min!” He paused, listening for a response.

“SOO MIN-AH!” Still no answer.

“At least take Freddy with you!”

----------

How could they forget? It was an insult, really. She had shown them on several occasions just how fitting she would be as a stuntwoman yet they still had the nerve to believe that she couldn’t withstand even that?! A simple jump?! And to add onto the mockery: did they think she had gotten—gasp—hurt?!

She sat down and pulled out Freddy’s hand from her pocket. At least part of him was there to keep her company.

Soo Min sighed and gazed out at the city in front of her. It had been awhile since she had gone on the roof. The last time had been when—

DIE, THOUGHTS, DIE! What in the world was she doing? Being sentimental like some tragic female lead in a drama?

She closed her eyes and lay down, her arms crossing her chest. It was in that morbid position that she fell asleep, clutching onto the comforting bony hand. 

How wonderfully silent.

----------

“Do you think she… became a ghost too?” Sunggyu asked, his expression like that of a father worrying about his daughter.

Woohyun shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed and his hand to his chin. “No. There should still be a body.”

“Maybe a psycho was driving by and he spotted her leaping out so he took a leap of faith himself and kidnapped her. Then, he’s going to sell her organs on the black market and to get rid of the evidence, he’ll burn the remains of her emptied body. I guess it wouldn’t be really called a ‘leap of faith’, huh? It would be more appropriate to call it a ‘leap of spontaneous combustible madness’.”  Myungsoo suggested.

Hoya just stared at him. “..You disturb me. Your theory on her disappearance disturbs me. And you disturb me.”

Woohyun cleared his throat and straightened himself up from where he had been leaning against the wall. “She’s hiding. I’m 95% sure.”

Sungyeol raised his hand. Woohyun nodded. “What’s the other 5%?”

“You’re got to be kidding me.”

Sunggyu raised up both his hands to silence s. “In that case, let’s find her. What are some places that—“

“I’m going to find her first!” Sungjong yelled as he ran out.

“Not under my watch!” Sungyeol shouted as he followed.

Sunggyu groaned. “Guys! We need to work together on this one!”

Myungsoo took a look around before leisurely walking out.

“Okay, so it’s just the four of us but that’s okay. Anyways, her level of thinking is different from the average person’s so if we’re going to—“

Before he could finish his sentence, Hoya and Dongwoo raced each other out.

Woohyun and Sunggyu turned to stare at each other. Their gently calmness slowly turned into a competitive fierceness. Woohyun’s fists clenched, veins popping out of his arm. Sunggyu’s eyes narrowed, disappearing into fine lines.

Woohyun spoke first. “Now it’s just you and me.”

“Technically, it’s you, me and five other people. But who’s counting.”

“We’re like Gu Jun Pyo and Yoon Ji Hoo of Boys Over Flowers.”

“The Kim Joo Won and Choi Woo Young of Secret Garden.”

“The Hwang Tae Kyung and Ma Hoon Yi of You’re Beautiful.”

“Why do I have to be sweaty manager?”

Woohyun smirked. “Have you seen yourself during practice?”

“Then, fine, you’re no longer Joo Won. Hello, Secretary Kim.” Sunggyu sneered. “That’s right, you’re my .”

“Doesn’t matter; I get Yoo In Na. We’re the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader of Star Wars.”

“I would never sacrifice myself for you nor would I ever come close to harboring a desire to be your father.”

“I don’t care.” Woohyun spat. He took a step closer. “I’m going to find Soo Min and annihilate you and the rest of the members before the dawn.”

Sunggyu stepped forward also. “That’s going to be a bit hard with your face to the ground.”

He started to walk away but Woohyun grabbed his arm and pulled him back, growling, “Nothing’s over until I say it’s over.”

Their faces were only an inch apart now. “You just pushed my competitive button and it is ON.”

They could feel the other’s breaths on their face.

Just then, Sungjong walked in. “Do you know where—AHHH! MY EYES!”

He ran downstairs, tumbling down a couple of steps because he had forgotten to take his hands off of his face.

They heard Sungyeol running to help him. “Are you okay?”

“Woohyun and Sunggyu were… EWWW!! They’re weird!”

----------

Meanwhile, Soo Min was peacefully dreaming about marriage.

Her mom was sitting nearby, her face glowing with happiness. She was—to Soo Min’s content—the only there from her side but it was quite different for the groom. All of Freddy’s friends laughed and clanked their chainsaws, swords, guns, and claws in happiness. Zombies stood at the side, acting as waiters. Chandeliers, hanging in a row from the high ceiling, casted dark shadows on the black walls. It was all so dreamy.

Freddy smiled at her, her hair. He leaned in closer and closer. His lips were so close.

All of a sudden, he started to breathe heavily. She heard loud broken pants and she became aware of an abrupt darkness. She was awake.

Peeking out through one eye, Soo Min saw a large object move closer. The object in question slowly merged into a dinosaur.

He was hunched over, his hands resting on his knees as he stopped to catch his breath.

“You’re… amazing… you know that?” He said in between gasps for cool air. “It was… harder… that I thought… to get up here. Whoa!” He stood up. “What a workout!”

She nodded and looked away, trying return to her interrupted dream. Dongwoo lay down next to her and shut his eyes, earning an intense glare from her.

He sensed her eyes on him and looked at her. “What? Are you finally noticing how handsome I am?”

She ignored his greasy question. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I am not Sungyeol. Your childish mind games will not work on me. Now leave.”

“No.” He furiously shook his head and closed his eyes again.

“Stop being such a nuisance.”

“Why do you like Woohyun more than us?” he suddenly asked.

She blinked. “What?”

“You listen to him more often, you argue with him more often, you get mad at him more often.”

“He nags too much.“

“Want to hear something funny? I miss my nagging sisters. I really do. And my mom and my dad. I miss them so much.”

His voice grew soft. “I haven’t seen them in awhile. I wonder what they’re doing now. Mom usually takes a mini nap around this time. She calls it her ‘thinking time’ but she can’t fool me. Dad’s probably at work. My sisters are either working or hanging out with their friends. I don’t know. I wonder what they had for breakfast today. My mom always makes a whole bunch of different foods so everyone’s happy. They’re not like Infinite where they’ll eat just about anything that’s in a bowl. Aish! My second oldest sister was always the pickiest. But when it came to dessert, she would eat just about anything.” He chuckled but used that pause to control the drop of water that wanted so badly to escape from his strained eyes.

“Oh god, Soo Min, I miss them so much. And it hurts. It hurts like and I don’t know what to do.”

Soo Min was frozen. What should I do? How do I comfort someone? Should I stab him somewhere not too serious to distract him from his misery?

“I don’t even know if they’re okay. When people die, don’t they get to watch over the living like in the movies? So why am I not in heaven, looking down from above right now? Why am I not feeling that bittersweet happiness that I’m supposed to feel as I watch them cry and then eventually smile again? Anything would be better than... this. I can’t stand not knowing. I haven’t told the other members yet but I—I can’t even find my way back home. The home that I’ve lived in for years, the home that I grew up in. For some reason, I just can’t seem to remember.”

He clutched onto his shirt. “I just want to see them again. I never thought that I would ever be without them. When you’re an idol, you’re always practicing or performing and so I saw them maybe two or three times a year. But now that I no longer have those obligations, I can’t even visit them. I can’t even do that one simple thing! What kind of son am I?”

He couldn’t take it anymore. His shoulders relaxed as he finally released his tears. He ran his hands through his hair, occasionally wiping away the masses of tears as they streamed down his face.

“Sometimes, as a kid, I would be a bit of brat. When I was six, my parents left me alone with my sisters while they took a walk in the park on their anniversary. I was so mad that they didn’t take me with them that I threw a tantrum and made them come home. When I saw how disappointed they were, I felt so guilty that the next morning, I gave them a card. It was in the shape of a heart. Haha, it ended up looking more like bladder since I decided to freestyle it.  I wrote in there, ‘Dear Mom and Dad. I love you. I will always be here so don’t ever leave me for a very long time.’ That night, when they tucked me into bed, they gave me a card too. They had written on it, ‘Wonderful Dongwoo-ah, we will always be here for you too. We love you. Loving you forever, Your Parents.’”

He pulled out his wallet from his pocket and opened it. Hidden behind his I.D. was a folded up, worn down piece of paper. It represented one thing: his parent’s love for him.

“I look at this before every performance. It reminds me that no matter what I do, they’re always going to support me no matter what and it gets rid of my nervous feelings. Now, I look at it to tell myself that even if I’m gone, I’m still their child and they’re still my parents. I just wish… well, I just wish that I could see how they’re doing.”

“Dongwoo.”

He took a deep breath and looked at her. He suddenly became embarrassed of his crying and looked away.

“Freddy won’t hurt them.”

It took awhile for him to understand but slowly, his infamous wide grin made its appearance. “They’re okay?”

She nodded. “No one’s going to hurt them. I’ll make sure that Freddy even protects them.”

His mouth looked like it was going to tear at the sides from his ever-growing smile. “Tell him ‘thank you’ for me.”

She nodded again. “Now let’s take a nap.”

----------

Dongwoo woke up awhile later in the afternoon. He looked at the girl lying next to him and smiled. If only I could somehow adopt you into my family.

As if on cue, she woke up then and looked at Dongwoo. Her face was having a struggle: it wanted to return the smile that he gave her but it didn’t know how. I need to study some more pictures.

Dongwoo repositioned himself and stared up at the sky. “You know, Infinite is my family too. They’re my second family.” He found her hand and gently squeezed it. “Will you be part of that family? Will you be… my sister?”

He was practically giddy with the thought. Please say yes.

When he heard nothing, he glanced at her. What he saw next practically made him jump off of the roof.

She was nodding up and down so fast that even her eyes were bobbing but more importantly, she was smiling. Well, it was more like a hybrid between a normal smile and her normal smile but that was good enough.

He didn’t want to jump off out of anger, grief or any of those negative irrelevant emotions. He wanted to jump because he was just so damn happy. He wanted to jump so that he could brag to the whole universe—humans, ghosts, aliens, angels, devils, parakeets, sloths, fungi, and all other organisms—about his new sister.

“Alright, as your older brother, I order you to listen to me.”

“No.”

“Uh,” he scratched his head. What do older brothers usually say to insolent younger sisters? “I won’t forgive you!”

“Thank you.”

“I said I won’t forgive you.”

“I heard you the first time.”

Cheeky… she could practically be Sungjong’s evil twin.

“I’m going to speak anyways. Come down with me and learn to put on some makeup. All idols need to know how.”

“No.”

Dongwoo grabbed her legs and started to drag her. She whipped Freddy’s detached limb from her pocket and pointed his bony fingers right at Dongwoo, making him cross-eyed.

“If you don’t let go, I give you my word that tonight, while everyone else is sleeping, I shall cut you in a manner that will equal the pain of a thousand burning stabs. However, since you are now my brother, I’ll choose a location that will reduce your recovery time to maybe a few days.”

“But I’m a ghost.”

“I’ve got all sorts of knives.”

He immediately let go and she stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes. Soo Min walked over to the side. “Let’s go.”

“What?”

“Makeup. Let’s go… oppa.”

Dongwoo beamed while Soo Min groaned. I can’t stand looking at these many overt displays of happiness in a day.

She jumped down from the roof and landed softly on her feet. Dongwoo peered over the edge and gulped. “Uh… do I have any other options?”

Soo Min facepalmed, an action that she seriously needed to stop doing. Damn you, Woohyun. “Can’t you just float down or something?”

Dongwoo gave a flustered smile. Within less than a second, he was next to her. His whole body was electrified with excitement. Without even trying to suppress his eagerness, he pulled her into the house and ran upstairs, shouting for the rest of the members. Everyone gathered into the room quickly. Woohyun, in particular, had an eyebrow raised suspiciously at the hand that was still holding onto Soo Min.

“DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!” Dongwoo barked with glee as he jumped up and down.

“Do what?” Sunggyu asked.

“PUT MAKEUP ON HER! DO IT! DO IT NOW! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!”

“Alright!” Woohyun said.

“DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!”

“I said, ‘alright’! Now you go over there in the corner while we work on her.” He moved Soo Min towards Sungjong, forcing Dongwoo to let go.

But Dongwoo had learned a thing or two from Myungsoo and was immediately right back next to Soo Min, as stubborn as ever.

“Dongwoo, what were you two doing this whole time?” Hoya asked.

“Nothing.”

“I think you’re hiding something.”

“Maybe I just have that kind of face.”

“Touchy.”

“TOUCHÉ!”

After Sungyeol’s mistake, the boys had agreed to say “touchy” instead, just to unnerve a particular Kenyan. Oh, the simple pleasures of naughty Infinite.

Sunggyu flicked Dongwoo to quiet him. “I agree. You’re being very fishy. What happened?”

When Dongwoo didn’t answer, he tried again in a more subtle approach. “DID YOU KISS HER?” Subtle is very loosely defined in the leader’s mind.

Without even looking at Dongwoo’s face, Soo Min could tell that he looked horrified.

“Never! She—she’s my sister now, okay? I didn’t want to tell you because then you guys are going to copy me. I just wanted one day to myself.”

You don’t have to worry about me, Woohyun thought as he chuckled.

Soo Min patted his elbow. “You can be the only one for the next few days.” Dongwoo smiled again.

Someone save me from this all this cheerfulness!

“Now that the giant awkward turtle has left the room, let’s get started.” Sungyeol grabbed the lotion and started to slather it on Soo Min’s face.

Sungjong slapped his hand reprimandingly. “Control yourself!”

Myungsoo dragged Sungyeol away. “We’re going to have a lesson today on impulse controllogy, which is the study of controlling one’s impulses. Take the almighty Myungsoo for example. I look at you and I tell myself, ‘don’t eat Sungyeol’ and I don’t eat you.”

Sungyeol just glared at him. “Do I need to slap you?”

Sungjong just sighed and pushed everyone out of the room, except for Dongwoo for two reasons: one, Dongwoo was not going to leave Soo Min’s side any time soon and two, he looked good in drag and any male idol who looked good like that definitely knows how to put on makeup.

After an hour of being kicked out and just moping around, bored beyond death, in the hallway, Infinite finally saw the door open.

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Sungyeol: Finally! The author should be fired! Do you know how long we waited for our comebacks in this chapter? She's so incompetent!

Myungsoo: You’re incompetent.

Sungyeol: But at least I’m productively incompetent.

Hoya: I want more parts in the story!

Woohyun: Pie charts?

Hoya: Parts.

Woohyun: Pantyhose?

Dongwoo:  Pies wearing pantyhose?

Sungjong: Even I think you guys are sad.

Sunggyu: Readers! Be sure to listen to our song, “Paradise”!

Sungyeol: Yeah! Play our song! PLAY IT! We will, in turn, give you… paradise.

Sunggyu: How many times are we going to use our song titles in a lame way? This is too much for one chapter.

Hoya: Check out our performances too!

Dongwoo: Watch us dance. Our hips don’t lie. ;)

Myungsoo: …Really, Dongwoo, really?

Dongwoo: Too much?

Myungsoo: Yeah.

Sunggyu: Before this gets any worse… good bye!

Woohyun: Wait! We must give them our love first! Bye, my pretty girlfriends!

Infinite: What he said.

Woohyun: Please stop hanging out with Soo Min.