The alarm wakes me really early, it's still dark outside. I climb sleepily out of Jungkook's bed and stumble to the door. I need to pee and walk blindly to the bathroom yawning big. Ugh the MV shoot is far away from here. That's why I'm up already. I hate to miss sleep, so I'll continue in the car, the drive will take a couple of hours.
After peeing I take a quick shower to wake up. I dress in comfy clothes, I'll have to change later anyway. Eating a bowl of fruit with yogurt I grab my phone and get sad when I don't have any texts back yet. I know they are busy, but I miss them so much I want to hear from them every day. How am I going to get through the next 4 months?
I clean the bowl, knife and glass I used and put my shoes on in the hallway. I grab my coat and open the door. It's a nameless bodyguard that greets me when I step through the door. I believe he's the oldest of the eight, his silver hair looks beautiful, and the dark penetrating eyes look wise. He has a hooked nose and full sensual lips, which are smiling at me. He holds his hand out to me and I grab it. He pumps enthusiastically up and down.
"Good morning Aqua. My name is Lee Won-Shik." And I'm curious why he introduced himself, the others didn't. And then I realize that nothing about this is normal, so I dismiss the thought. He still holds my hand and pulls me closer, leaning closer to my ear. "Dae-Hyun is my little brother. Welcome to the family. I'm the head bodyguard, but we decided to let Chunhee try. He's my son you see." He whispers. My eyes are big as I stare at him and he chuckles.
So he's my uncle and Chunhee is my cousin? Dad never mentioned them. Granted we didn't really talk about family. "We just moved back here and we needed a job so Dae-hyun was so kind and offered us this. I hope you don't mind us working for you. I promise we'll keep you safe." He laughs. He leads me by the hand to the car and just before I climb in, "good morning. Thank you and it's nice to meet you." I wink and he lets go of my hand.
I make myself comfortable and rest my head so I can take a long nap as we drive to the venue. Because I'm sleeping, time flies and to me it feels like I just rested my head back but when I check my phone after waking up I see it's almost 4 hours later. So we're almost there. Sitting up straighter I look at the bodyguards around me and I see that two have dozed off as well. Should I tell dad? No I won't, it's only human to fall asleep in a silent car.
I read a little on my phone for the remainder of the drive. And climb out when the car is finally parked. I see Won-Shik and Chunhee talking to each other and after a couple of moments the eight bodyguards disperse and protect me somehow. Now I can't see any of them. What? Where did they go? I can get used to this. It's like I don't have any bodyguards.
But my confusion gets pushed away by the wave of disgust his voice brings forth. "This way Baby Cakes. How was the drive?" Da yells a little, catching my focus. I take a deep breath and count to ten as I walk towards him. He beams big and bright at me, and I do like he's this positive, but the name calling needs to go.
I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I owe it to dad. He picked him, so he's not on my list just yet, but should he ever do something worse than the name calling then he is on the list in a microsecond. He opens the door for me but I stop before him. Not too close but in hearing distance. He looks quizzically at me, "Could you please just call me by my name? The one you're using suggests we're closer than we are." I insist.
His mouth opens and closes as his eyes almost pop out of his head. I suppress my laugh, he looks funny this way, almost like a catfish. "If that is what you want." He finally answers me coldly and the cheery mood he was in has frosted over. I don't care, as long as he won't use that stupid nickname anymore. I walk past him through the door he's still holding open and he follows me.
He falls into step next to me and when I need to go to the right I feel his hand on my waist again. I bite through it, because we're surrounded by all unfamiliar faces to me. I don't want to cause a scene. Da introduces me to the new people and they are my new staff. Hairdresser, Stylist, make-up artist. All selected by Da to help me get beautiful.
"What happened to my old stylist and hairdresser?" I inquire of Da.
"I fired them, can't risk them kidnapping you." He declares with conviction. My mouth drops open and I close it immediately I'll ask dad. I don't want them to be jobless because of Da not trusting them. They are so nice and did a great job when I was still a Gemstone. Why shouldn't they do a great job now? It's no use now to complain, besides I don't like to complain, so I bite my tongue and let myself get ushered to a dressing room, gladly. This way Da isn't anywhere close to me. The hairdresser is male this time around, as a matter of fact they are all males. What is he playing at? Shouldn't at least my stylist be female as I need to undress?
My hairdresser introduces himself as Suck-Chin. The makeup artist is called Changmin. And my stylist is named Kyu. And it's his turn first, he pulls me to the clothes rack and pulls items of it, holding them in front of me and then shaking his head. He hangs them on another rack and in the end there are two racks. One with the approved wardrobe and one with the clothes not suited for today, and that rack is overflowing with clothes.
I do like what he selects for the MV and it's a soft blue ruffled dress with darker blue, white and purple ruffles. And the second dress is a white off the shoulder little thing. Again I agree. And so far so good. Apparently my stylist knows what comes first as he thrusts the blue dress at me. I pull my shirt over my head, and when my face is blocked by the shirt, I hear the door open.
"Baby Ca-," Da stutters, I can't look at him because of my shirt and in a reflex I step behind the rack with clothes as I lower my shirt again. I fix Da with a death glare and Da covers his eyes and turns around, "I'm so sorry. I should have knocked. Please forgive me Baby Ca-," he mumbles but when I hear the name again I cut him off.
"Lose the name and leave. Now." I hiss at him and I see him flinch. He rushes away and when the door slams close I feel my shoulders sag. Looking at Kyu, "how long did he stare?" I question him. Kyu is obviously gay, so I don't care if he sees me naked. But Da? That's a definite no no. "He stared till your face became visible then he covered his eyes and turned around." Kyu relates in a serious manner.
Oh fuck. Please let Da forget everything he saw. I don't want another Luke. I shake it off me and continue dressing. Once the dress falls how Kyu wants it I take my seat in the chair and Changmin proceeds to do my makeup. Next I feel hands in my hair, so Suck-Chin is here as well.
Next I hear a distinct snip and I look up through the mirror at Suck-Chin. He is about to cut my hair again so I bolt up out of the chair. "What are you doing?" I demand, and he flinches. It came out harsher than I wanted. He looks puzzled at Changmin and then back at me. "I'm doing your hair for the shoot." He answers me in a small voice. I bite my tongue, that much is already clear to me. "Why are you cutting it? I never said anything about cutting my hair. Who told you?" I demand and he gulps audibly at my tone.
And I do feel guilty, not the first impression I want to leave. But my hair is sacred to me. And as already so much has been cut I don't want to lose another inch. "Da...... Da told me to cut the color off. I said we could dye it, but he didn't want to listen. So I ......I.....," he stammers but I cut him off by storming out of the room, leaving all three looking after me. I don't care what Da will think of me, but he can't decide everything alone. It takes me a while but then I hear his nasally high voice, but just before I round the corner and run into him I hear my name. I freeze up and hold my breath waiting for the next thing he'll say. It doesn't make any sense to me.
"You need to wait. She needs to trust me first," Da whispers into the receiver. And I almost make a sound. I'll never trust him, and especially not now. Knowing he has a hidden agenda I need to talk to dad as soon as possible. "I know you're a big fan of her, but I can't bring you with me to work. You know this, just be patient. When she trust me I can ask her okay?" he murmurs into the phone. Hmm, maybe I misjudged him? Or maybe not? I don't know. I walk back in the direction of the dressing room and then I turn around again and call out for him loudly, he needs to explain my hair. And the walking in without knocking.
He comes rushing around the corner and I see him put his phone away. I stop and cross my arms as I tap my foot in annoyance. "Bab-..... Aqua? What is the matter?" He queries me as he sees my annoyed face. I don't speak and point at my hair. He looks quizzical and I sigh, I had hoped he would understand right away.
"My hair. Who said you could cut it?" My tone isn't friendly or polite and I don't care. I still don't like him. His mouth opens and closes multiple times as he stares at me with big eyes. "Well?" I prompt him again when he fails to answer me. And he's either incapable, or he doesn't care but I don't get an answer.
"Only I decide about my hair. Is that understood?" I demand and he slowly nods. I'm not satisfied but I don't think I'll get a better answer. It's no use to ask him about the walking in on me. I leave him standing there and get back to the dressing room and take my seat again. I fix Suck-Chin with an intense stare and I see him swallow in fear. Oh great now he's scared of me and I don't want that.
"I'm not angry with you. But next time ask me first. It's my hair and I will decide whether it will be cut or not, Okay?" I sigh. I see his shoulders slump and he takes a deep breath in relief. "I will, don't worry." He mumbles looking down in shame.
"Please fix it." I insist and he takes his tools in hand and I see them shake. It must have scared him more than he let on. "Wait, wait first calm down. If you fix it with those shaking hands you might as well just shave my head." I quip and Changmin and Kyu double over in laughter and a small smile can be seen on Suck-Chin's face.
"Okay. Thank you." And he sits down and takes deep breaths. I check in the mirror and get sad when I see he really cut the color off in the back. Now I need to wait longer again. After 5 minutes he gets up, shakes his arms and looks at his handy work. "I'll cut it asymmetrical so I won't have to cut too much off. I'm sorry, I hope you don't hate me now?" He whispers behind me.
"I don't hate you. But things regarding my hair are none of Da's business so just ignore him if he tells you something." I assure him and when our eyes connect through the mirror I see the first big smile since we met. He begins and I close my eyes. I don't want to see what he's doing as I hear the scissor snip and snip. Again I lose hair and on the back again. The only positive it has, I think, is that the short hair on the back now doesn't look so weird.
The snipping sound disappears and next I feel hands style my hair and I smell the product he uses and it smells nice. Fruity. When his hand leaves my hair I open my eyes and smile at him through the mirror. He smiles back and then looks down again. Changmin approaches and I look at him. I have to as he transforms my face and he gouges my reactions to what he does.
When he's finished I'm very happy. He didn't use a lot and it looks fresh. I get out of the chair and Kyu comes over with a white lace choker and a silver bracelet. He helps me put them on and I leave the dressing room.
An assistant is waiting for me and I follow him to the set. The director explains to me want he wants me to do. For most of the MV I will be playing the piano as I sing. But the set around the piano will be different multiple times.
The day is long as I play and sing the song on every set they have. After the last one there is a break and food arrived while I was shooting and I get some food and find a place to sit, right between all the staff. I don't want to give Da an excuse to find me alone somewhere.
It's better to be cautious than stupid. I listen to the various smalltalk around me as I eat and finally can relax a little. I felt Da's stare the entire time I was singing. I've decided to talk to dad. I can't work like this. He creeps me out.
We continue with the next shoots and now I'm lounging on the couch and sing. Next set I'm looking up at the sky. One is in a desert, another in a forest. And then, finally after a very long day I hear the last cut and I sit where I am. Someone holds a bottle of water in front of my face and I grab it and say thank you without looking up.
I drink half in one go and then close it. And groan loudly as I get up. I find my way back to the dressing room. Changing into my own clothes, leaving the building after. Not running into Da lifts my mood and reaching the car I run into Won-Shik. He opens the door for me and I climb in. He follows me in and then closes the door. The car drives slowly off the parking lot and I look at him expectantly. It's just us, so I'm curious why?
"I want to thank you. You've made my little brother very happy. They always wanted children and were devastated when it didn't happen for them." And a deep sadness settles over him. After a few heartbeats he shakes it off and smiles at me.
"And I know I don't know you as well just yet, but I like you. So welcome to the family," and he grabs me and pulls me in a side hug I didn't expect and my face gets squished. I pull back when the need to breathe becomes too much.
"I'm happy as well. I finally have a family that want me." I giggle. And the entire drive back he interrogates me about everything. He wants to know all. I don't mind. I like him. He's a little less serious, cracking jokes in-between the questions and answers. And I interrogate him about dad and his childhood. And later on in life.
Won-Shik married young because his then girlfriend got pregnant. And his parents were strict. She left him for another and then he found his soulmate. And he couldn't be happier. I'm glad he's happy. Chunhee is his first born and 27 years old. And he's got a sister who is 22. And a huge ARMY. And he tells me she was very disappointed when the guys didn't flirt back. And he laughs loudly at his daughter's expanse. She got over it and is happily dating an aspiring doctor.
"I want to visit dad. Can we go?" And I wait for his answer. He nods and makes a phone call. After disconnecting the call he talks to his wrist. Not knowing where dad is I let myself be driven to him.
I climb out of the car after 30 minutes of listening to childhood stories about dad. And he was a mischievous little boy and Won-Shik even showed me some photos. And I can picture it clearly. Running naked around the house not wanting to have a bath.
When I look up it's a very modern house. All straight lines and a lot of wooden accents. One wall is a deep dark wine red. The other walls are a deep grey. The garden surrounding the driveway is immaculate. Not an element out of place. Won-Shik precedes me to the front door and I step after him. He gets a key and opens the door.
Entering the house I feel at home right away. I don't understand what it is but the aura of the house feels very pleasant. Full of love and acceptance. Taking a deep breath I yell through the house, happy to be here.
"Dad!! I've come to visit."