Lee Ji seo POV (Point Of View)
Walking into the building, I saw my mum organising some things with the staff. We walked up to her, "Hey, mum." I greeted her before bowing to the staff around her.
She turned to us with a smile on her face, "Hey, girls. How was school?" She asked. Ha-ri and I shared a knowing look before answering her, "School was alright, Aunt. Boring as always." Ha-ri said.
"Okay, girls. Ji-seo, get ready over there." She said, pointing to a room. "That's the styling room, come on," Ha-ri said before dragging me to the room.
We got in, then heard a knock outside the door. "Hey, girls, can I come in?" A voice said from outside.
"That must be the stylist," Ha-ri said before going to the door. She let the stylist in and came back to stand next to me. The stylist brought in a set of clothes on a clothing rack. "Okay, Ji seo, your shoot would be the first one we take, and your modelling partner isn't here yet, so we have to start with you." The stylist said, smiling at me.
"Modelling partner? Who's that?" I asked, turning to Ha-ri for an answer. "Oh, my mum probably got a model for the men's clothing, and you guys are going to have a shoot together after your shoots." She explained.
I nodded before giving the Stylists a nod, "Okay, let's get started then." I got my hair and makeup ready for my shoot, and we started with my first outfit: a pleated white skirt paired with a light pink, Korean-inspired hanbok blouse.
"You designed this?" I asked Ha-ri in shock. Ha-ri looked at the blouse with pride before nodding her head, "I was inspired by our traditional Korean hanbok and decided to blend that in with the current fashion trends." She said with pride.
"Wow, this is so beautiful. Is the male version also like this?" I asked. "Yes, but it has another style to it." She replied.
"Your modelling partner has arrived, Ji seo." My mum said, entering the room. "Okay, but we're having my shoot first, right?" I asked.
"Since he is also getting ready, you two would have to do your duo shoot first, then your solo shoot after." My mum said. "Okay," I said, getting up from my chair. I walked out with Ha-ri.
"Okay, so where is he?" Ha-ri said, looking around. A familiar-looking guy walked out of a room, also wearing a mint green Korean-inspired top with white trousers.
"Isn't that Taemin?" Ha-ri said in shock. My eyes met his. 'Is he going to avoid me again? I have to talk to him to know what's wrong.' I thought inwardly.
"Okay, Ji seo, it's time for the duo shoot." My mum said, pulling me to Taemin. I looked at him, but he avoided my eyes. I felt a sharp pang in my chest. 'Oh, he's still avoiding me.'
I saw Ha-ri's mum walk in, everyone bowing to her in respect. She saw me and smiled. "Ji seo, how are you doing today?" She said with a smile. "I'm good. How was your day?" I asked.
"Good. Okay, so, Ji seo, this is Taemin. He also goes to your school." She explained. "Yeah, we're friends," I said, but inwardly I was unsure. 'Does he still want to be friends with me?'
"Really? That's wonderful. You two being friends would create a more comfortable vibe." She said with a big smile on her face. I smiled, then looked at Ha-ri, who was standing nervously at the side.
"Okay, so can you two go into position? I want a pose screaming 'elegance'. Can you two give me that?" The photographer asked. I nodded, "Yeah, we can do that, but I want to discuss with Taemin before we begin. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." Ha-ri's mum said before walking over to her daughter. I looked at Taemin, "Let's go have a chat." I walked off, unsure if he was following me.
I got into my changing room, and surprisingly, he was following me. "Okay, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Why are you avoiding me?" I asked, "Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong to upset you? Is that it?"
He stayed silent, and it was annoying me so bad. I went to sit down on a couch to calm myself down to avoid crying. "You didn't do something wrong." He finally spoke up.
"So why were you avoiding me then?" I asked, sounding confused. "Well, it was because I felt guilty about my past and the way you saw me. Earlier in the library, after Arin brought my past up, I was worried about what you thought of me." He said nervously.
"Why were you worried?" "I don't know. Your first impression of me wasn't good. At all." He chuckled before continuing, "And now that we're friends, I just got scared that you'll not see me in a good light. I'm trying to be good. When I apologised in the library earlier, I wanted to hear you say something, whether it was you criticising me or telling me that everything was going to be okay, but when you stayed silent, I became more paranoid. I kept thinking, What am I doing wrong?"
"I stayed silent because I was in deep thought. I kept thinking, 'What made him do this if he is quick to apologise like this?' That was going through my head. I don't hate you. Yes, I did at first, and honestly, I don't know how I became your friend. What spell did you cast on me?" I said with a smile.
He grinned, "It's my handsome face." My smile dropped, and a look of disgust replaced it. "But on a serious note, I don't hate you, but that still doesn't explain why you were ignoring me."
"After you sent me that text, saying you won't be available for karaoke, I thought you wanted nothing to do with me, but I guess I was mistaken." He said awkwardly. "So I thought it would be best if you stayed away from me. You're a good girl, and I don't want you hanging around someone with the likes of me."
"Are you stupid? Who's going to help me with my maths now?!" I yelled, standing up from the couch. I walked over to him, then flicked his forehead. "I knew you never liked me, but I never thought you would let me fail." I cried out.
Taemin laughed at my reaction, but turned serious, "I wasn't always like this Angry Bird. Villains are made, not born."
"Yeah, but no matter what you went through, an innocent boy who probably had no hand in your villain origin story didn't have to suffer," I explained. "Now I'm older, and my frontal lobe has developed fully, I now realise that." He agreed with a nod.
"Okay, so first of all, your frontal lobe hasn't fully developed, you're still a teenager," I said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Then it was probably that slap you gave me. Could you please slap Arin like that, too? She also needs to change." Taemin said with a mischievous grin.
I laughed, "And trust me, it's coming soon. She keeps stepping on my toes. If not for Ha-ri, I would have beaten the brattiness out of her." I said in an annoyed tone.
"You wanted to beat her? Why?" "Because of what she said to you. That girl is so annoying." I said, glaring at nothing. "That's so sweet of you, but I'll advise you not to get yourself in trouble because of me," Taemin said with a smile.
"But what made you become a villain?" I asked with a raised brow. "I don't want to talk about it." "Understandable. Okay, let's go. They are probably waiting for us." I said, walking to the door.
"But we haven't discussed the poses we want to do," Taemin called me back. I paused, "Oh, yeah, we haven't."
So we spent 2 minutes discussing the poses we wanted to do and went out. "Okay, we're here."
We got into our first pose, which was me and Taemin sitting on the floor, my legs folded to the left, while Taemin sat with his arms behind him, supporting his weight. I kept my right hand behind me and my left arm on my knee.
Our second pose was still us on the floor, but now, my head was resting on Taemin's lap. Then we got into our third pose, with us standing, I stood 5 cm away from Taemin, and had my hands folded while he had his in his pockets, while we looked away from the camera.
Then, after that, were our solo shoots, in Ha-ri's Korean-inspired streetwear. Then that was it.
"You guys were awesome. Thanks once again for agreeing to be our male model for this shoot, Taemin." Ha-ri's mum said. "No need to thank me, I was born for this. I even had fun. Maybe I should be your part-time model for your brand. What do you think, Ha-ri?" Taemin said, giving Ha-ri a grin.
Ha-ri rolled her eyes, then smiled, "Okay, since you begged for it." I laughed at her statement and gave her a high five. "So you are my daughter's friend?" My mum spoke up, giving Taemin a bright smile.
"Yes, I'm Taemin. It's a pleasure to meet you." Taemin bowed. Ha-ri looked at me in panic, and I understood that look, but I wasn't panicked. Honestly, I am tired of pretending.
My mum smiled at him and was about to continue the conversation with him, but Ha-ri's mum pulled her away. "Are you still up for karaoke?" Taemin asked.
"I'm tired. Let's do it after Midterms." I suggested, and he agreed. We all headed home after the shoot.