Letters I never sent | Englot AU

VII

Euna

Sunlight streams through the trailer window, casting long shadows across the makeup mirror. Euna, clad in a silk robe, stares at her reflection with bleary eyes. Dark circles rim her eyes, and her skin looks pale and drawn.

She sighs, reaching for a glass of water. Her hand trembles slightly, the remnants of a sleepless night spent on the phone with Cicely. The call had ended hours ago, but the echo of their conversation still thrummed in her veins.

"Maybe we can talk again soon," she said. God, I hope we do.

A sharp rap on the door jolts Euna from her reverie.

"Euna, you ready? We're burning daylight here!"

Euna throws on a robe and opens the door to reveal her frazzled manager, Bella. Bella's eyes widen at the sight of Euna.

"Jesus, Euna! What happened to you? You look like you haven't slept in a week!"

Euna shrugs innocently. "Just a bit of a late night. Nothing to worry about."

Bella narrows her eyes. "Spill it, Euna. Girls? Boys? Booze? Bad Botox? Whatever it is, fix it. Fast. This is a Vogue cover shoot, not a student film. You need to be glowing, not gaunt."

Bella throws open the trailer door, revealing a bustling team of stylists and makeup artists waiting impatiently. Euna takes a deep breath, steeling herself.

"Don't worry, Bella. I'm a professional. I can handle it."

As the stylists swarm around her, Euna allows herself to be swept away in the whirlwind of hairspray and mascara wands. But beneath the carefully applied makeup and designer clothes, her mind drifts back to Cicely.

She sits in the chair, wincing as the makeup artist applies concealer under her eyes.

"Rough night?"

Euna forces a smile.

"More like a rough year." She mumbles back.

"Sorry what was that?" The makeup artist replies.

"Just catching up on some scripts. Late nights, you know."

The makeup artist raises an eyebrow, unconvinced. Euna's eyes are bloodshot, her skin pale, and dark circles hang under her lashes like heavy drapes.

"Uh-huh. Scripts that make you cry until your eyes are bloodshot, I presume?"

Euna's cheeks flush. She reaches up to touch her face, self-consciously.

"It's just... allergies. Really bad allergies." She replies.

The makeup artist snorts.

"Sure, honey. Whatever you say. Just remember, the camera doesn't lie. You need to pull it together for this shoot. It's Vogue, for God's sake."

Euna nods, her gaze drifting to the reflection in the mirror. She barely recognizes the woman staring back at her. This isn't the radiant, confident Euna who graces magazine covers and lights up movie screens. This is a shell, haunted by the ghost of a love that's long gone.

Her mind drifts back to the late-night phone call with Cicely. The raw honesty, the shared pain, the whispered promises of a future they might still have.

A pang of longing twists in her gut. Euna reaches for her phone, hidden in her purse, but stops herself. Not now. Not here.

Then Bella swoops in, clipboard in hand, her perfectly arched eyebrows shooting up at the sight of Euna.

"Euna, the photographer for this Vogue cover is notoriously ruthless. He won't hesitate to scrap the whole shoot if the face isn't right."

She claps her hands, her gaze snapping to the makeup artist.

"So work your magic, Maria. And Euna, chug that green juice I left on the counter. You need a miracle, not matcha."

Euna stares at her reflection in the mirror. She grits her teeth, the anger simmering beneath her exhaustion threatening to boil over. She forces a tight smile.

"Don't worry, Bella. I'll be ready. Just like always."

Bella gives her a skeptical look, then turns to leave. As the door closes, Euna lets out a frustrated sigh, her gaze falling back on the phone.

She picks up the phone, her thumb hovering over the screen. For a moment, she hesitates, then types out a message.

"Meet me for dinner after my shoot. We need to talk."

She hits send, a flicker of hope sparking in her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, this is the start of their new beginning.