FLASHES. |Hwang Hyunjin

Five.

Reine found her words lost. She couldn't talk back and that was opposite to what she always does, especially, with Hyunjin. She just blinked a few times, making her artificial lashes pat repeatedly.

"Guys!" their makeup artist called. "You two are good to go and get dressed. Your tattoos should be dry by now."

Hyunjin nodded and turned to walk away, followed by Reine that was still at a loss of words. They walked up the corridor to their rooms where their outfits were waiting for them. Reaching the rooms, Hyunjin was about to walk in his room when he noticed how Reine was hesitantly looking at her door.

"What?" He stepped back and asked the confused girl.

"The door is open." She said and her voice was merely above a whisper.

"So? Maybe your stylist or manager was in the room." Hyunjin shrugged. He didn't think it was a big deal until he saw the fear crawling up the girl's face.

Reine cautiously pushed the door open and peeked inside. No one was inside but still she had a bad feeling about this. She walked in the room but didn't close the door. Straight to her duffel bag that she had her personal stuff in, she opened it and her eyes widened.

"What? What happened?" Hyunjin who was watching stormed into the room.

"S-Someone opened my bag. It's not how I left it. Someone went through my undergarments!"

Hyunjin was about to dismiss it but remembered what his dad told him earlier that morning. Some pervert broke into her hotel room before. She wasn't safe. Hyunjin looked around the room. If the pervert was that sick, he might have placed some hidden cameras or something. Without thinking twice, he pulled the bag and grabbed Reine's hand, and dragged her out of the room. Hyunjin opened the door of his room and let her in. Reine was still processing what was happening when she noticed Hyunjin getting in again with the holder that had her outfits for the shooting.

"Here." He said pushing it inside and pulling his own holder and his backpack. "Use this room. I'll inform the managers to check the security and all. But for now, I'll be at the doorstep till you are done with changing. Call me if you need anything. I'm not moving an inch until you walk to the set."

Before Reine could ever comprehend, he stepped out and pulled the door close behind him. Again, Reine was left alone to question him and his actions. It was simple for him to act on time. It was very simple. He's very simple.

Reine tried to calm herself down and focus on getting ready for work. She got dressed and soon opened the door to find Hyunjin standing there, guarding the door as he promised. Without uttering a word, she headed to the set with her heart that was still beating fast. Her manager met her at the set and assured her that they were checking the security and whoever was the one who sneaked in, will be caught.

Reine went to the middle of the set and positioned herself after discussing the poses and the angles with the photoshoot director. With the first photo being taken, Reine flinched.

No!

It's not the right time for her to panic.

Reine would get panic attacks at some times. And the flashes, always made them worse. It started with her first runway ever, ten years ago. She was still a teenager who was taking the first step in her career. She was stressed because of how hard she worked. She was stressed because she was afraid of failure.

Reine was the happiest when she was accepted on a runway for spring collection for teens. She was the happiest yet, the most nervous. And she totally fucked it up. She messed. She slipped on the runway and fell. The flashes caught her, which made her panic even more.

It wasn't one of the funny scenes when a professional model trip but catches herself and smiles before going on. No. It was a disaster. She slipped, fell face down, and panicked from the flashes which made her start crying out loud like a kid, making a scene that made the company hiring her get criticized for the unprofessional models it was contracting.

She was immediately cut off and her career ended before it started. That's what would've happened if it wasn't for Hyunjin's dad.

Reine's panic attacks improved after that. The flashes won't bother her unless she's in an already bad mental state. When she has her guards down and when she's vulnerable and weak, those flashes would trigger her panic attacks. Either than that, she was perfectly fine.

The thing is, she was currently in one of those bad states. She was scared. Some creep was lurking around her lately and she didn't feel safe even in her own home. Someone went through her stuff. Although nothing was absent, she still felt weird.

Reine was lost in her thoughts while the camera flashes started to attack her eyes. She knew it was about time and she makes a scene. Her breathing started to get uneven and her heartbeat sped up. She squeezed her eyes close, feeling her head starting to spin. Her name was being called. She guessed it was the director giving her the instructions for posing that she wasn't following. The voices and sounds around her were going distant as if she was in some sort of a dream.

Suddenly, Reine felt a hand placed over her closed eyes, shielding them from the flashes that were still hitting her face. Another hand was placed on her arm softly. A sound of stable yet forced breathing started to make itself clear in her ears as if someone was giving her a pattern to follow. Reine gulped as she started to follow that pattern, making her lungs go back to normal while her heart began to slow down again. The hand placed on her arm was removed and a few seconds later, the one on her eyes followed.