Pose For Me | K.TH

6

AILA

The inside of my mouth is dry.

Carefully, I shift myself closer to his figure on the couch. He's watching me with a flickering smile, eyes sparkling underneath dark, silky bangs.

After a while, I end up sitting upright and tense next to him, the side of my thigh touching his. It almost feels like sitting in an overcrowded bus and being forced to squeeze in with a stranger.

It feels wrong.

"Better." The photographer calls. "Mr. Jeon. Can you take her on your lap?"

My mouth turns even drier.

What?

"May I?" He whispers under his breath. And it feels like I have no choice but to say yes. What else could I do— I was supposed to be a model, and models were professional.

"...yeah."

But I wasn't a professional, cold-faced model. I was a shy, introverted girl who worried about starting conversations.

So when he lifts me onto his lap, I tense like I've never tensed before. He shifts me onto one of his thighs, a hand wrapping around my waist.

"Alright, perfect." The photographer says, when I can barely hear what he's saying.

"Miss Choi. Can you look at Mr. Jeon? And try to relax as best as you can."

Relax?

But when I stiffly turn my head to face my partner like the man had told me to do, my anxiety just gets a million times worse.

He looks so used to this, like he's done it since he was young.

I'm wasting time.

"Relax, Miss Choi."

But when I continue to stay an icy statue, the photographer sighs quietly. I'm sure he hadn't meant for me to hear, but I hear it so clearly it's almost like he'd sighed right into my ear.

I'm ruining the shoot.

My body starts to tremble the slightest bit.

I—

"Mademoiselle." Jungkook calls lowly under his breath. And I force myself to stop shaking when I realize that he could feel even the smallest tremble I gave.

"Are you alright?"

I don't answer. I can't.

All I want is to escape from this place.

The deep violet lighting suddenly feels thick and suffocating as I slightly look up from Jungkook. My gaze slowly travel to all the people waiting on me— the photographer, the countless staff all watching me.

Please.

Look somewhere else. Anywhere else.

I can't do this.

"S-Sorry." I stutter, quickly climbing off of Jungkook's lap. And I know Taehyung's there, his eyes probably widened with surprise. I don't even want to imagine how he might be looking at me right now.

I was a huge disappointment.

"Sorry." I whisper out again as I hurry out the exit. And only when I'm out in the empty hallway can I breathe again, chest falling in harsh gasps.

What am I doing.

I didn't belong here. These people were way out of my league— they were considered the best in what they did, and I was just a broke university student.