Part 10

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A few months later
"Hayoon ssi, we've known each other for quite some time now, so can I have your number?" The guy asks me.
My perfunctory smile freezes.
Shit, I don't even remember his name. Mingyu? Minhyuk? Damn, why am I so bad at this?
"Sorry, but don't you have a girl friend? I mean, you've been coming here to get products for your girl friend, right?" I hesitantly ask.
"Well.. It was actually an excuse, I just wanted to get to know you better." He leans closer to me with a confident smirk on his lips.
"I- err.. uhm.. Sorry, but I have a boy friend." I don't know what else to say so the lie just slips out of my mouth.
"You do?" His lips curve down instantly into a scowl.
"Y-Yeah.. I'm sorry. Haha." I awkwardly say as I scan my surroundings for help, but unfortunately there's no other customer in sight.
"That's disappointing. It would be good to know that before I spent so much money on make up products that I don't even need." His frown deepens.
"S-sorry. I-" I just want to disappear into thin air. I can't handle situation like this.
"Excuse me? I have a question about your new blush on." My regular customer, Youngji eonni who's a makeup artist, suddenly appears beside the guy & asks.
"Oh, alright. I'll be right with you." I smile widely in relief.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go." I apologetically bow at him & step away, but he snatches my arm scaring me shitless.
He's not going to make a scene, is he?
"Here's my card. If you ever change your mind about that boy friend of yours, give me a call. I work in the entertainment industry. A pretty girl like you will get a lot of opportunities if you know the right people & I'm one of those 'right people'. You know what I mean?" He says as he raises his brow & hands me an expensive-looking name card.
"Yes. Thank you. I really have to go now. Have a nice day." I quickly slip his card into my pocket & rush to Youngji eonni.
"Another customer asking for your number?" She smiles at me as she sees me coming closer to her.
"Yes, thank you so much for saving me from the awkward situation earlier eonni. What can I help you with today?"
"I need to get some nude palettes & lipsticks for a new project I'm working on. Can you recommend me some products? Your last recommendation was great." She says as she picks through the products on display.
I proceed to show her some samples when suddenly her phone rings.
"Wait a second. I need to take this." She steps slightly away & takes the call.
When she comes back after a while, her brows are knitted into a deep furrow.
"Eonni, is there something wrong?" I hesitantly ask.
"That new project I told you about, they move up the schedule to tomorrow out of nowhere. I've tried calling every junior makeup artist I know, but no one is available tomorrow to be my assistant. What should I do now?" She seems to be in serious distress.
"Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear that." And I genuinely mean it, because she's the nicest customer that frequent the makeup counter I'm working at.
"Hey, I have an idea. Are you free tomorrow? Do you want to be my assistant?" Her eyes light up.
"M-Me? I don't think I'm qualified to help you."
"You've been taking professional make up courses, right? I know that place you go to, it's legit, so you must be good at it. Plus, you're very knowledgable about make up products. I'm sure you'll do fine." She tries to persuade me.
"I- I don't know.." This is a huge opportunity. I know that she's one of the best makeup artists in the industry right now, so her project must be something massive & that scares me.
I've only been taking the professional courses for four months. Although I've been praised for my work in class by my instructors, I'm still not confident enough to work in the real world.
"Hayoon ah, you've got to help me. The hours will be long but I promise you the pay will be good. This project is very important, I'm sure it'll help you a lot in the future if you put this down in your resume. So, please?" She clasps her hands together & begs with puppy eyes.
"But just so you know, I've never worked on a set before, so I'm completely clueless."
"Don't worry, I'll guide you through it. So, it's a yes?" She grabs my hands excitedly.
"I- Well, I guess, yes."
"Yeay! Thank you so much Hayoon ah, you really are the best. I'll text you the details later, I need to go now to prepare for tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot, please pack all of these up for me." She points at the products I recommended earlier.
"All of these? Are you sure?" That's a huge purchase, even for her.
"I've told you, this is a big project. Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow Y/n ah!" She grabs the paper bag & rushes towards the exit.
My heart is pounding with excitement, still not believing what I just said yes to.
My first job as a makeup artist! I need to do well on this. Please God, don't let me do anything stupid.

The following day
I look at my reflection in the mirror, at my new black pants & black shirt.
This looks professional enough, right?
I've lost quite a lot of weight after that incident with Jimin, although I'm not model skinny & I don't intend to be. My skin has gotten much better too thanks to the clean eating regime I follow. As my appearance improves, my confidence level increases as well but my insecurities still lurk out from time to time.
"Woah, daebak. Is this the right address?" I gape at the impressive studio building in front of me.
"Hayoon ah, you're early!" A tap on my shoulder makes me turn around.
"Ah good morning eonni. I don't know what to bring so I just bring the makeup tools for my classes."
"That should be enough. Come on let's go, you need to sign a few papers first before we start." She signals me to follow her.
"Eonni, you haven't told me what we're going to work on today. Don't you need to brief me or something?"
"You'll see after you sign the papers & I'm sure you'll be shocked." She smiles secretively at me.
An advertisement? Magazine photoshoot? What exactly am I getting myself into?
As soon as I enter the studio, a staff brings me to a meeting room & hands me a stack of papers.
"Please read it thoroughly & sign on the designated lines. I'll be right outside if you need anything." The man says before he closes the door behind him.
"This is a lot to read. Huh.. I'll just sign everything."
I don't even bother to read the lines, I just write down my name at the bottom of the pages.
Then, suddenly, something catches my eyes.
Wait.. This is not what I think it is, right?
I read the phrase carefully & gasp in shock.
It says "BTS music video shoot".

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