Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"So.. for you." Johnny, despite the pinkness over his cheeks, was still clearly interested in the two stylists sat in front of him. He was pointing in between Miya and Aera, and shaking his head as if he was getting rid of the bitter taste of a shot, Jaehyun adjusted the direction to Miya.
"Me." The Japanese girl nodded. "For me.. what is the question?" She reached up, brushing back the dark mullet of hair, letting it fall down over her forehead.
"Where did it all start." Jaehyun asked the question for Johnny, who nodded. "Like how you asked us."
"Oh, yes." Miya nodded, adjusting her positioning in her chair. "So I'm not from here - neither of us are.. I was born in Osaka and well... home life wasn't the greatest. My parents worked all the time and I was the middle child in a lot of siblings so I ended up looking after them a lot."
Aera smiled at her, head balanced on her shoulder as she continued the tale. It wasn't particularly nice to hear, but Miya had always been open about it because it made her such a strong woman .
"In highschool I got more involved with fashion.. one of my friends was rather rich and attended a lot of events." Miya smiled, almost bittersweet towards the memories. It was clear that she was in almost the opposite financial situation. "I chose her outfit for her once and then we moved to Tokyo together after graduation. I was working at a magazine and she.. well wasn't working."
She took another sip of her soju during a pause. "It didn't take me long to get out of the magazine industry - it was just.. different to what I expected. Then I got into styling for some of the bigger shows, I was involved with a Japanese idol group and from there I moved here to help with another idol group."
"From that.. I guess I just made my way over to the agency." Miya shrugged, patting Aera's cheeks and smiling. "I'm the oldest there, and after looking after all my siblings it's actually quite nice to be able to have some control."
"I'm the youngest." Aera grinned. "And - and.. don't tell Arinya or Hyewon.. but Miya is my favourite."
Miya smiled at this as well. She seemed to have sobered up considerably during the telling of her childhood tale. "Now it's your go." She said softly, turning to Jaehyun. "She's always been involved with fashion."
"I wasn't born here either. My mom was though.. but then she married my dad when they met in New Zealand so thats where I grew up.. In Queenstown. It's incredible, I love it there." Aera was a pretty shade of pink as she began her backstory, an evident love for the place she grew up on her face.
"How were you involved in fashion?" Jaehyun asked. He knew he should probably wait until she was sober to hear it properly, but he just felt the incessant need to know more.
"My mom is a fashion designer.. worked for some big brands." Aera swallowed. "I liked the same things as her, and I was enrolled in an Arts school specifically for it. Only trouble came when my mom died and my dad.. he didn't take it well."
Jaehyun's heart thudded in his chest. Horrific scenes ran through his head, trying to figure out what exactly she meant by that.
"He wanted me to be a doctor.. so he took my out of my school and put me in a new one. And whilst that was going on he turned to alcohol." Almost as if she wasn't talking about a sad part in her life, Aera reached for her soju and took a sip from the green bottle. "He's somewhere in a psychiatric hospital now.. but whilst I was making costumes for the school play he almost died.."
"You're making it all sad!" Miya turned to Aera with a frown, reaching over with her hands and attempting to make her smile by pinching her cheeks. "Come on - out with the next bit."
"Well I moved here not long after I graduated to find a job in fashion and I bumped into Miya and Hyewon at a club.. so then I started to work with them." Aera finished.
"And thank god she did!" The Japanese girl chimed, turning to high-five her best friend. Johnny was nodding a bit doppily, none of the three seeming to have any idea of what was just said.
But Jaehyun could process all of it, and it made his stomach ache. They were two of the nicest people in the entire industry and they had gone through such things. Aera had been so kind to him from the start, only for him to find out that life hadn't been so kind to her.
At least now he could try and help repay her for that, just a little bit. He stood up from his chair. "I think I should walk her home." He swallowed, tapping Johnny on the shoulder. "Don't go anywhere. I'm coming back for the both of you."
Johnny just nodded as Jaehyun began to help Aera out of her chair to walk the familiar way back to her home. A small part of him was glad that he had the guts to ask them out like this, but another part wished he had let her get her rest.
The story was heartbreaking, but it was things like that which could make the very best people.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
