<OST: Boom Boom - Hong Dae Kwang>
Jieun couldn't stop smiling.
"Stop smiling," Byulyi said as she glanced over from her computer, her lips smeared with ice cream. "Your mouth is gonna rip open."
"I can't stop smiling-" Jieun giggled as she hopped up from the couch and pranced over to where Byulyi was sitting. She held her phone in front of Byulyi's face, showing her what she had been looking at for the past two hours or so. "Look at this, unnie! Look at this!"
- - -
V @kim.tae.hyung
Make was so on point today I had to take a selca before I removed it... Thank you so much, makeup artist-nim! ☺️❤️ #뷔 #V #행복행복 #HappyDay
💬 724 🔄 5,617 ♥️ 20.5k
taetae 💜 @borataetae
I STAN TAETAE'S MAKEUP ARTIST THIS IS BEAUTIFUL BBY
maria loves jk! 💕 @mariajk97xx
MY KING I LOVE YOU I LOGE YU I LOVEBYIUUUUUUUUUUUU BABY
Tata's Big Ass Face @istantata615
PAPA STEP ON ME
Victoria @taewithluv
THE HAIR THE MAKEUP THE ANGLE EXCUSE ME SIR I CANNOT BREATHE
ZIMZALABIM SOTY @badboyreveluv
the way y'all are all screaming in CAPS HAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHA IF TAETAE SAYS SO THEN THANK U MAKEUP ARTIST NIM
- - -
"V?" Byulyi narrowed her eyes, taking the phone from Jieun. She narrowed her eyes, scrutinising Taehyung's selca before glancing up at Jieun. "Since when have you been into celebrities, Lee Jieun?"
"Since I did makeup for him today~" Jieun boasted, shoving Byulyi a piece of tissue to wipe her mouth, before holding her head up high. "Unnie, I-"
"Daebak, you did this?!" Byulyi exclaimed, almost dropping Jieun's phone with its already cracked phone screen into her tub of ice cream on her lap. "Ya! Lee Jieun, this is huge! 20.5k likes? These 20.5k people all saw your makeup, Jieun-ah!"
"Exactly..." Jieun grinned. "Now you know why I can't stop smiling?"
"I'm so proud of you, my baby-" Byulyi pouted as she hugged Jieun tight, before letting go and looking down at the selca once more. "Wah... daebak... see? I knew you still had it in you... Look at the eye shadow? Lee Jieun, you haven't practised for six whole years yet you managed to do this? You must be some makeup genius or something!"
"Mm, I think so-" Jieun giggled as she took the phone from Byulyi once more before she could destroy it in some way or another. Jieun smiled down at Taehyung's tweet once more, admiring her finished product. "He said that he has never been this satisfied with a makeup look before, and that he wanted me to do his makeup for him again some other time, you know? He also said it may not be the neatest or most refined, but he said I knew how to match his makeup to the purpose, which is not something that can be taught..."
"Wah, daebak-" Byulyi gasped. "You got lucky, Lee Jieun!"
"What do you mean lucky!" Jieun pouted. "I purposely matched it to his hairstyle, outfit and the set of the show... I matched his contact lens to his makeup look too..."
"Oh, you did that?" Byulyi let out an apologetic laugh. "Sorry, I didn't know, I thought you matched it by fluke or something."
"Unnie, you think so lowly of me..."
"That's not it-" Byulyi smiled sheepishly as she put her tub of ice cream one side and joined Jieun on the couch. "It's just that... you see? I don't know much about makeup... I take that back, you're talented, Lee Jieun."
"That's better-" Jieun giggled as she looked at Taehyung's selca once more. "The comments are so overwhelming too... I'm so happy..."
"I thought you were JK's makeup artist though..." Byulyi said with a confused frown after a while. "How did you end up doing makeup for V?"
"It's a long story-" Jieun sighed. "But basically, I made a bet with Jeon Jungkook - if I won, I could stay and if I lost, I'd leave. The bet was whether he was satisfied with Taehyung-ssi's makeup or not... and I won, I even got his recognition..."
"You sure are enjoying this way more than you should be, huh-" Byulyi chuckled as she punched Jieun in the shoulder. "So... when's your next schedule?"
"His comeback showcase is in two days time..." Jieun thought for a while. "I'll probably have to start doing his makeup soon, so knowing how much of a prick he is... I probably have to prepare myself even more. Taehyung-ssi was super kind to me, I've never seen someone as warm and friendly as him before... His makeup artists seem to adore him a lot too, only a rude jerk like Jeon Jungkook would not be able to get along with him-"
"Switch camps then!" Byulyi laughed. "If you like Taehyung-ssi so much, just drop out of JK's makeup team and jump to V's makeup team or something-"
"No way! I worked so hard to get his approval... I'm staying for sure-" Jieun sighed. "Besides, I haven't found out about what his relationship with Jennie Kim-ssi is yet... He also seems to have a lot of secrets that not many people are aware of..."
Jieun zoned out, as she thought about the events that had occurred earlier on in the day. The pills, his beef with Taehyung, the fact that the two of them probably used to train together in the same company... And it had only been one day. How much more was she going to uncover about him over the next few days, weeks, or even months?
"Ya-" Byulyi waved a hand in front of Jieun's face, snapping her back to reality. "You okay?"
"Ah- I'm okay-" Jieun chuckled a little as she finally put away her phone. "I'm just tired, but it has been such a fulfilling day, unnie... I feel like makeup might really be my thing."
"So, you gonna give up on appearing on TV then?"
"No!" Jieun exclaimed without any hesitation. "Ah... today I realised how much I missed doing makeup, but at the same time, I'm still not willing to give up on my reporting dream."
"Aigoo-" Byulyi shook her head as she leaned her head against Jieun's shoulder. "I don't like seeing you having such a tough time deciding what you really like, but I can't really help either..."
"It's okay..." Jieun chuckled softly as she patted Byulyi's head. "I'll have to make a decision to focus on one eventually... but at the moment, I cannot be deluded by my own dreams and fantasies. I need to focus on what's at hand - and that is exposing Jeon Jungkook's deep dark secrets to the world."
Byulyi laughed as she sat up straight and glanced at Jieun. "You say that with so much hatred... is working with him really that bad...?"
"I mean..." Jieun thought for a while. "Everyone in his team is nice and friendly... except for him. The makeup artists, Seokjin-oppa..."
Byulyi spluttered. "Seokjin... oppa?!"
Jieun chuckled. "Yeah, he asked me to call him that today."
"Excuse me?" Byulyi's jaw dropped. "And you just agreed so coolly? Does he like you or something?"
"What?!" Jieun burst into laughter. "Him? Me? No way!"
"Why no way!" Byulyi grinned. "You said he was really nice to you, didn't you? The way he put his coat around you when you were drenched in coffee, picked out a nice black dress for you to wear, apparently he also kept complimenting you? How does he not like you!"
"I mean... he is handsome and really nice-" Jieun thought for a while. "But he does that to everyone around him... I think."
"You think?"
"I'm sure!" Jieun laughed. "Everyone on the team calls him Seokjin-oppa too."
"Ew... he must be a flirt then-" Byulyi shuddered. "I can't stand guys like him the most."
"Wait, come to think of it-" Jieun's face lit up all of a sudden. "I think he might be your type-"
"Stop it!" Byulyi laughed, shoved a cushion in Jieun's direction to stop her from continuing. "I'm still too embarrassed about the first time I spoke to him on the phone."
"You mean... yelled?"
Byulyi glared at Jieun and she stopped laughing at once.
"But that doesn't change the fact that he's your ideal type look-wise, unnie-" Jieun said with a cheeky grin. "If you see him, you might change your mind-"
"No, I will not-" Byulyi said, shaking her head firmly. "I told you I don't plan on dating any time soon, okay? I was trying to think of a plot for my new novel all day and failed and ended up stress-eating like what you saw earlier-"
"That's why, maybe some real life experience will help?" Jieun continued teasing her. "Shall I set the two of you up...?"
"Lee Jieun!"
"Okay, I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Jieun poked Byulyi in her side jokingly. "Unless...?"
Byulyi kicked Jieun in her thigh. "Lee Jieun!"
"Okay, okay! No need to get violent..." Jieun chuckled as she scooted further away from Byulyi. "I'll drop it."
"How did we even get to this topic?" Byulyi sulked. "Weren't we talking about you and JK?"
"Oh, right-" Jieun shuddered, recalling the day's events once more. "You have no idea how much he pissed me off today, unnie- He looked at my face and judged my makeup skills based on that, can you believe it? And he also refused to let me work on his face, saying that he didn't wanna be my guinea pig. And that's how I ended up working on V-ssi's face instead. He's so annoying, I can't believe I'm gonna have to see his face really often from now-"
"Ya- Ya-" Byulyi nudged Jieun in the stomach. "You kept on teasing me earlier, but you should watch out too. If you keep on complaining about him, he might eventually grow on you one day."
"Excuse me?" Jieun spluttered. "What?!"
Byulyi sniggered, fending off Jieun's flailing arms. "I'm kidding! Calm down, Lee Jieun, calm down..."
Jieun glared at Byulyi, looking absolutely offended.
"I'm just kidding!..." Byulyi laughed, then she stopped laughing all of a sudden, wanting to give Jieun a taste of her own medicine. "Unless...?"
It was Jieun's turn to shove a cushion at Byulyi. "Unnie!"
"Wait-" Byulyi's smile disappeared all of a sudden as she jumped up from the couch abruptly. "I have an amazing idea, Lee Jieun."
"What?"
"I am going to write about you and JK."
Jieun's jaws dropped as she got to her feet. "Oh, no - you are not."
"Yes, I am."
"Moon Byulyi," Jieun said, shaking her head in disapproval. "I'm warning you - you had better not."
"And how are you gonna stop me?" Byulyi stuck out a tongue at Jieun as she skipped over to her table once more, pushing her countless number of chocolate wrappers, empty ice cream tubs and coffee cans out the way. "The prompt sounds amazing already - a reporter goes undercover on a k-pop star and they fall in love... written by Moon Byulyi. Lee Jieun, this is gonna be a freaking hit!"
"A whole month's worth of Flamin' Hot Cheetos-" Jieun offered. "In exchange, don't write that story."
Byulyi turned around, her eyebrows raised. "Go on."
"A year!" Jieun raised her stakes. "A whole year's worth of Flamin' Hot Cheetos - take it or leave it."
Byulyi thought for a while, before quickly turning back to her computer. "Leave it."
"Wait, wait, wait-" Jieun spun Byulyi's chair around again, racking her brain for an offer that Byulyi was sure to agree on. "Okay! Fine! A year's worth of Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Starbucks - final offer."
"Damn... I really love Cheetos and Starbucks-" Byulyi bit her lower lip, considering Jieun's offer carefully. "But... no."
"Wait, why!" Jieun pouted. "Why do you have to write about me, unnie!"
"I'm not writing about you! Well... technically not," Byulyi folded her arms and looking up at Jieun. "Unless you plan to fall in love with Jeon Jungkook...?"
"No, I don't! But still-" Jieun let out a frustrated groan as she took a seat on the couch once more, hugging a cushion in her arms. "Urgh- I can't stand you."
"I can't understand you!" Byulyi furrowed her eyebrows as she turned around to look at Jieun. "Why are you so against it?"
"I... I don't know."
-•-•-
"I'm so sorry you have to do this, Jennie-ya."
Jennie looked up from her tiny mirror after applying a new coat of bright red lip tint to her lips. "Why are you apologising? It's not your fault, it's what the company wants, isn't it? To create buzz once in a while. You're just doing your job."
"I just don't understand why you're always the one sacrificing your time and effort for him-" Jimin clucked his tongue agitatedly as he tried to focus on the road. "It's not like that guy has ever come down to visit you on set before!"
"I guess they're trying to portray me as a supportive girlfriend or something-" Jennie shrugged. "It sucks, but I'll just have to deal with it. In the meantime, I'm sorry that you have to suffer with me too, oppa. Thanks for getting the bento sets prepared."
Jimin sighed. "You know I'm completely fine doing such things, I just feel like the company's being very unfair towards you."
"Next time, speak up for me then-" Jennie sniggered. "Let's see if Yang sajang will fire you or not-"
"When I've had it to my limits one day... I'll really do it-" Jimin glanced at Jennie through the rear-view mirror. "Just you wait."
Ring! Ring!
Jennie peeked into her phone and chuckled. "Speaking of the devil. Give me a moment, oppa."
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me-" Jungkook's gruff voice filled her ears. "You free to talk?"
"Yeah, I'm in the car right now. What's up?"
"Nothing much-" There was a long pause. "I heard that you collapsed in front of my door yesterday."
Jennie stole a furtive glance at Jimin, who was keeping a close eye on her. "Um... yeah. Who told you?"
"The security guards, they said Unit 802 was at my door and asked me if I knew you-" There was yet another pregnant pause. "What happened? You... okay?"
"Oh, it's nothing-" Jennie laughed it off, conscious that Jimin was listening in and would jump at the slightest mention of her being unwell. "Just something really minor. Yeah, I'm good."
"But why were you at my door?"
"Um..." Jennie swallowed hard, trying to come up with a good excuse. "I just wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Oh! It's nothing now!" Jennie let out a nervous laugh, twirling at her hair and hoping with all her might that Jimin hadn't caught on by now. "Just... wondering if we should wear some couple item to make the media go crazy."
Jungkook let out a soft scoff on the opposite end of the line. "Well, okay then-"
"But it's a little odd..." Jennie smirked. "Why are you so nice towards me all of a sudden?"
Silence.
"Well-" Jungkook said after a long, long time. "We didn't end off on the best note-"
Jennie grinned. "So... you're feeling a little apologetic towards me?"
A long pause.
"A little."
Jennie decided to take her teasing one step furrher. "Say sorry then."
There was a long pause.
"Forget it," Jennie said with a small chuckle. "I know you don't like apologising. It's alright, that's good enough - I know what you mean, anyway."
"Thanks."
Jennie smiled. "See you later then."
"You coming?"
"Of course-" Jennie scoffed. "It's your comeback showcase, of course your girlfriend has to be there."
"Company orders?"
"Smart."
An awkward silence.
"Alright, see you later then."
"Mm."
Jennie finally put down the phone, smiling widely. It was the first time in this entire 5-6 month fake relationship that Jungkook had shown her this much concern. It felt nice.
"What did he say?"
Jennie looked up at Jimin and shrugged. "Oh, nothing much."
Jimin narrowed his eyes. "He didn't bully you, did he?"
Jennie shook her head, letting out a small chuckle. "Nope, he didn't, for once."
"Good."
Jennie glanced out of the window, watching the trees and flowers pass by the car at a rapid speed. Then it hit her again - if Jungkook wasn't the one who gave her the blanket... perhaps-
105?