ardeur

the photoshoot

"i'm not doing this for free. it's an investment."

—c to y

❦

y hated her room. the ceiling would leak when it rained, the thin walls didn't stop the cold air from getting in, and the floorboards creaked when the slightest amount of pressure was put on them. her room was furnished with nothing but her bed on one side and a dresser on the other. it was all that was needed.

y's room was separate from the rest of the bedrooms. the other rooms in the house were on the newly renovated side while hers still had its original, shoddy foundation. it was a shitty place to live, but she couldn't complain. after all, she was staying there for free.

after moving by herself from another country, y struggled to adapt. she never finished high school and couldn't find herself a job anywhere in the city. she was desperate for lodging until one day, she found a posting at the bus stop for a single room in a large boarding house. 

y went to the boarding house, hoping to learn more about the room. however, when she arrived she discovered that the room had been taken and that there were no more spaces available. so she went searching in other places but had no luck. no one was interested in leasing out a room to someone with no job or education. with no hope left, y went back to the boarding house and begged the owner for a space to stay. they refused, but y was persistent. she noticed the old wing of the boarding house and brought up how it seemed empty. the owner said that it was that because it was dangerous as the building's state had deteriorated with age. regardless, y still begged to live there and the owner agreed as long as she took care of it and did some additional gardening work. y eagerly agreed. she thought she wouldn't be there for long.

but months passed and she still stayed in the same rickety room. she had a job at a fast-food place, but the money she made there was nowhere near enough to afford a nicer place to stay. y considered moving, but with no car, there were little options for her. so she kept working at her almost minimum wage job and continued to live her dreary life.

y had moved to this new place hoping for more opportunities, but it seemed like luck wasn't on her side. or at least, it wasn't for a while.

the girl's luck began to change when she was working her regular shift and a man wearing a nice suit and shiny watch walked in. his hair was meticulously styled and his tie was pin straight. y had seen plenty of businessmen walk into the restaurant before, but something about this man was different. he made her uneasy. 

she took his order and tried not to eavesdrop as he had a particularly loud conversation over the phone. after the order was placed he angrily hung up and cursed. y asked for him to swipe his card since the chip machine wasn't working. the man was annoyed and was about to tell her off to release some of his anger, but when he looked at y's face, an idea came to mind.

"how old are you?" he questioned. y had been asked this by other customers before and she knew better than to give out her personal information.

"you can wait at the side of the counter for your order, sir," she said. the man didn't like being ignored and asked her the same question again. y pretended she didn't hear him.

"look i'm not some creep trying to hit on you, alright? i'm a scout for a modeling agency. my name's c," he introduced himself before handing the girl his business card. y's eyes widened at the information. it must be a scam. she held it back out, trying to return it to him, but he shook his head. "i'm not some kind of conman. if i was i wouldn't be eating here. just do some research, ask a friend, or do whatever and call me when you realize what a great opportunity you've just been handed, okay?"