BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 13: the scapegoat

<OST: Start - Gaho>

"Busan... elder brother... SOPA... flour-based food, Taekwondo... Gold Entertainment... living without passion..." Jieun chanted over and over under her breath. "Foundation, contouring, smokey eyes, blush, brows, lip tint-"

"Jieun-ssi!"

Jieun felt a hand tap on her shoulder and swirled around. "Hi! Oh-"

"Hi! You're Jieun-ssi, aren't you?" One of the three ladies standing in front of her reached out a hand and shook Jieun's hand. She had long black hair and straight-cut bangs. "I'm Minnie, she's Miyeon and she's Soyeon. I heard that you're a '93 liner, so feel free to call us just by our names! In turn, we'll call you Jieun-unnie as well. Is that okay?"

"Sure!" Jieun said with a confused smile. Minnie spoke so fast that Jieun could barely recall the names of the other two girls, but she knew she'd get the hang of it after some time. "I think we've met before..."

"Yeah, we have! You were in the dressing room with Seokjin-oppa a couple of days ago, weren't you?" Minnie grinned cheekily at Jieun. "Tell me the truth, unnie, what is your relationship with him...?"

Jieun thought that Yuqi was the only one of the group that was nosy, but it seemed like Minnie was, too. Jieun let out an awkward chuckle. "Nothing, really, Minnie-ssi."

Minnie folded her arms. "Jieun-unnie...?"

Jieun realised her mistake at once and corrected herself with a shy smile. "Minnie... ya."

"That's better," Minnie said with a smile. "Miyeon-ah, Soyeon-ah, why are y'all being so quiet?"

"Hi, Jieun-unnie..." A tiny blonde girl waved at Jieun. "I'm Soyeon-ie."

The last of the three, a really gorgeous girl with extra long hair and really nice makeup, smiled and waved. "I'm Miyeon-ie. We're a bit shy, so we hope you understand."

"No worries, of course I understand-" Jieun smiled and bowed a little at the three. "Please take good care of me."

"They're quite shy, I gotta admit-" Minnie smiled as she held the door open for Jieun. "But don't worry, on Jungkook-ssi's makeup team, you have six of us - the three of us, Yuqi, Shuhua and Soojin-ie. Yuqi, Shuhua and I are more outgoing, while the three of them are rather... reserved. Regardless, you don't have to worry too much, Jieun-unnie! We'll guide you through this and make sure you pass your probation and join us on the team!"

Jieun smiled gratefully as she entered the door Minnie held open. "Thank you, Minnie-ya."

The room was filled with plenty of staff, all getting ready to prepare Jungkook for the variety show he was about to attend.

"The people here are all part of the HMS team, representing hair, makeup and stylists... which are all rather self-explanatory." Minnie explained. "Usually, the six of us makeup artists are put on shifts and three of us are on shift to do Jungkook-ssi's makeup today. Miyeon-unnie is the biggest sunbae here since she's been with Jungkook-ssi since he debuted. She also does his hair as well since she's good at that. Shuhua is another hair stylist-cum-makeup artist, you'll probably see her and the rest some other time."

Jieun nodded slowly. "Ah, I see."

"Please tell me if I'm speaking too fast," Minnie said with a little chuckle as she showed Jieun around the room, while Miyeon and Soyeon began getting ready. "Anyway, today you can just hang around and watch us for a bit, Jieun-ssi. The next time, we'll probably let you try it out or something, if you're confident."