"Lillian, how are you? How was your first day?" a voice said through her phone.
"Yes, Auntie. I'm doing fine. My first day was good. You don't have to worry," Lillian said as she recently entered her small apartment.
"What do you mean! Of course, I have to worry about you. Who else will I worry about then? Also, you wouldn't let me help you," her aunt pouted.
"I know, but don't worry, Auntie. You have helped me enough. I don't want to burden you anymore. I have to stand on my own two feet," Lillian said.
"Yes. Yes. I know." her aunt said, giving up as if she heard that a lot, but all she wanted to do was spoil her niece.
"Don't worry too much, Auntie. Also, take care of yourself," Lillian said.
"Aww, you worried about me," her aunt said with her heart filled with love. Lillian smiled before saying her goodbyes to her aunt. Lillian set her phone down before grabbing clothes to take a shower. She didn't want to burden her single aunt since her aunt took her in when she was 10 years old after her parents died in a car accident by a drunk driver. Her aunt wasn't bothered by her and continued to shower her with love and spoiled her, but Lillian didn't feel right taking her aunt's hardworking money, so she told her aunt that she will start from the bottom on her own once she reached adulthood. Her aunt refused at first because she didn't want her lovely niece to suffer, but Lillian continued to plead and persuaded her until her aunt finally gave in. So now Lillian is finally working on her passion as a makeup artist from her own two feet with the help of her best friend since she did have a rough start at first. She did apply for a makeup artist position right off the bat, but once she got into the job, they noticed how easy she was and made her an errand girl instead. She didn't say anything to her aunt, or her aunt would flip out and sue them since she was the most well-known owner of the famous makeup company and wasn't afraid of using her money and getting some attention. However, Lillian was lucky that her friend found her a job, even though it was pure luck that her friend was passing by that day and saw how horrible they were treating her.
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"I-It seems like you didn't get a good night's rest... I can see the bags under your eyes worsening. I-I didn't mean to offend you but don't worry, I can make it look like you have a good night's rest," Lillian said, applying makeup on Lake's face. She then thought about what she saw yesterday. She said in her head, "He must like her."
"No. I'm not offended but thank you. I don't want my fans to worry. I just have a lot on my mind lately," Lake said with his eyes closed and lifting his face up to her. "I really like how you do my makeup. It feels like I can't tell if you are applying makeup on," Lake with a smile.
"T-thank you," Lillian said with a small smile.
"I'm hurt," Emily teased as she popped behind them before Emily and Lake laughed.
"Look at her being sly," Claire whispered to another staff member. All three of them heard it before Emily said, "Do you have a problem with my friend? She is the person I referred to work here. Do you have a problem with my decision?"
"I-I," Claire tried to say, and her face got red in embarrassment.
"You all saw how good she did yesterday. Do you have any complaints, then please do tell me," Lake said, opening his eyes.
"No... I just felt that the way she dresses doesn't seem professional...," Claire barely said.
"Why do you care how she dresses? What should matter is how she makes Lake look," Emily said before staff members started to agree with her, causing Claire to be more embarrassed.
"I will not tolerate any bullying here, or I will talk to James," Lake said seriously before getting up from the seat, causing everyone to be quiet.
"Um, i-it's fine...," Lillian said, grabbing his sleeves to stop him. "Lillian," Emily said, still upset.
"No, it's not fine," Lake said, "Claire apologizes to Lillian."
"No, it's fine," Lillian said quickly. Both Lake and Emily looked at Lillian in disbelief before taking a deep sigh at how forgiving Lillian was. Claire saw how both Lake and Emily sighed and felt everyone staring at her.
"Fine, I'm sorry," she said.
"It's fine but thank you," Lillian said, causing Claire to be surprised at how nice Lillian was as she felt more embarrassed of herself before leaving the room.
"Lillian, you are too nice," Emily sighed before patting Lillian's head.
"Yes, don't be too kind-hearted," Lake said before ruffling her head and sitting back down. Lillian's face turned pink before continuing to apply makeup on his face. Emily noticed her friend's face before smiling.
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After Lake finished his performance, he headed back to the room. Once he finished changing, he was about to leave for his next event. "Lake?" someone called out to him, stopping him from leaving the room. "Here. I wanted to thank you for standing up for me. Also, it looked like you didn't eat so...," Lillian said, handing him a bottle of water and a small bread roll.
"Oh, thank you very much," Lake said brightly and accepted the gift. "Also, you don't have to thank me. I can't stand people bullying others. I am happy to help," Lake said.
"But still... thank you," she said with her cheeks red and looked at the floor again. "You are looking at the floor again," Lake said, causing her to look up again. "There you go," Lake said with a smile. Lillian's ears started to burn and redden.
"Lake, are you ready?" Lake's manager said, opening the door. "Yes," Lake said, leaving with his manager.
Emily then touched her friend's shoulder and said, "What are you thinking about?" as a teasing smile appeared on her face.
"What nonsense you are talking about," Lillian said, pushing her friend's hand off her shoulder.