Struggling to Stand | jhs ff

Chapter 5: Danger Pt.1

June 3, 2014

"Mr. Choi, it's an honor to meet you," I say, bowing deeply before shaking hands with the director.

"I expect everything is ready?"

"Everything is getting ready, sir. It's all running on schedule. Mr. Lee, nice to meet you in person."

"Where are the boys?"

"They are on their way here, maybe 20 more minutes. Makeup and wardrobe are setting up in the room and will be ready when they all get here." Hopefully.

Mr. Choi looks over at me. "What is your name? I don't recognize you."

He hates me, doesn't he? "Yes, sir, my name is Kenna, I'm a new hire at Big Hit."

Why would they send a new hire, he's probably wondering. I'm wondering the same thing.

Mr. Choi looks me over again, and nods. I take that as a dismissal and escape to wardrobe to make sure they are almost ready. My phone goes off.

"Hello?"

"Fifteen minutes out. How's everything looking?"

"Good, Mrs. Yeong. The director is here checking things over."

"What do you think?"

"What?"

"What do you think of the director?"

"Oh, he seems, um," be nice "professional and organized."

"He seems mean. Kenna, listen to me, Yongseok acts mean, but he's a pussycat deep down. Don't let him upset you, yeah? Like we talked about?"

"Yes, ma'am." I knock on the door to wardrobe and have a chorus of women yelling at me to come in. "I need to go, but I will see you soon."

Never one to waste words, Mrs. Yeong hangs up.

"Hello," I greet the women inside. They have a stressed look in their eyes, but seem relieved when they find out I'm alone. "The boys will be here in 15 minutes. Can I help you get anything ready?"

"We're just finishing up," the lead tells me.

I bow out of the room and go next door to makeup.

"Yah! I need Jimin here. Jimin, not Jin!" one of the makeup artists exclaims. "Where's Jimin?"

"Here," a younger girl says, holding out a tub of cosmetics.

"The boys will be here in 15 minutes," I tell everyone. "Can I help with anything?"

The lead comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder, her other hand on her hip. Her head drops down as she lets out a sigh. "How about five more weeks? I get a call a week ago, 'Jiyun, we need you for makeup in a week.' How am I supposed to get everything ready in such a short amount of time?"

"That's why they asked you, Miss Jiyun. Because they know you can do it. You're the best."

"Aish!" Jiyun swats her hand in front of her face. "Leave me before I become too distracted with your compliments."

Bowing out of the room again, I head to set.

The grips. The gaffers. The sound team. Everyone is running around, and it's an absolute mess. But a chaotically organized mess. A grip struggles with a rail of camera track, and I jog over to help hold up one end.

"Tha-" he smiles at me, and when he sees me, he tries again in English, "Tenk yoo."

"You're welcome," I reply in Korean. I learned my lesson about keeping that a secret. "Where are we taking this?"