The Art of Kissing

1 : smexy lips.

Narrator POV.

Lights flashed on the walls, blinding everyone as the cameraman continued to relay instructions to the model in the center of the room. Despite his very specific requirements and fussy nature, the model gracefully shifted, managing to pin every pose. As soon as the cameraman said, 'Okay, we're good!' the stylists rushed in to carry the model away in order to get her prepared for the next shoot. It could be a tedious routine at times, but it was one that she enjoyed nonetheless.

"Jungkook?" The model called as she settled down in her chair in the green room, her eyes glued to the phone in her hand. When she got no response, she looked up, a bit disgruntled to find that she was alone in the green room. Sighing, she grumbled under her breath as she stood up again, her feet groaning in discomfort stuck in the heels, and made her way out of the room her destination being the coffee stall a floor above, set up specifically for the models.

"Tell Jungkook I'm getting myself some coffee since everyone else is too incompetent," she muttered to her stylist as he came tagging along.

"Jieun are you sure you want to go to the stalls wearing your designer clothes? What if you get stains on it?" Worry was etched on the man's features as he followed her to the elevator, watching as she pressed the 'up' button. She slowly stopped on her steps and looked around to meet his eyes. "Speak for yourself Mr. Kim. Don't mistake me as yourself." She dead-panned as she lifted her hand and landed her index on the stylist's ironed shirt. With one last stare she entered the elevator with her clicking heels.

Taehyung finally exhaled the breath he was unconsciously holding in all this time as the doors closed, hiding the model's face. "Damn no matter how many times I confront her my esophagus seems to collapse every single time. The rumors were right, ice runs through her veins," Taehyung huffed out. The tingling sensation where Jieun had just touched his shirt made him look at it out of curiosity.

A faint coffee stain.

"Holy-I was walking around feeling like a professional stylist in the set all this time with this huge shit stain on display?"

▪︎

Click click

The sound of Jieun's heels resonated against the floor as she made her way to the coffee stall. The stall also played the role of a bar, where the models and staff alike would celebrate after a successful shoot, New Years or even for no reason at all. This entire floor consisted of different food stalls, but that particular coffee stall was where everyone would mill about the most.

The stall itself was an aesthetic mess. It was more of a small trendy café kind of place. The walls were dark grey with small fairy lights hung around them. The colorful neon lights were turned off, they were usually turned on during night time.

At the counter, there were countless sweets and desserts arranged behind the glass case. As she was full, she decided to order a simple latte. Jieun made her way to the cashier and was greeted by a barista who was taking the place of the original cashier staff.

"Hello there, I'll be taking your order today. What would you like?" His soft voice sounded in the sweet sugary smelling air.

Jieun's eyes, already having passed over the menu, settled on the barista. With his hair dyed peach, a black t-shirt (that fit him snugly) paired with ripped jeans, multiple earrings dangling from both his ears and a chain attached to his belt, Jieun grudgingly noted to herself that the man had a good fashion sense and was undeniably pulling off the grunge aesthetic without a sweat.

Jieun shifted on her feet - it had been a long time since someone had caught her unaware like this. "I will have a caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream on top," she answered, looking at the barista's tag that read Park Jimin and then finally at his face. God sure has favorites, she noted mentally.

His peach colored hair was styled, exposing his forehead and dazzling eyes to Jieun. His jawline could definitely cut through any material but his plump, glossy lips were his most distracting feature. 

He inclined his head in her direction, muttering a 'Coming right up!' before turning and walking away to make her order, making the woman blink before turning around. Jieun decided to pick a cozy place to sit and finally rest herself for a while as well as shake her out of her reverie.

Several clinking of glasses and soft chattering filled the space, people seem to have a lot of free time nowadays. As she sat on the wooden chair her eyes unconsciously wandered off towards the counter where she had just given her order. What am I even looking for? She finally broke out of her trance in confusion.

Jieun leaned back in the chair and watched as people smiled or waved at her while walking by in bore. The next shoot starts in about 20 minutes, I need to show them my best and leave an unforgettable first impression. After all it was her dream to work with MAC cosmetics. It had been ever since she had decided she wanted to be a model, her dream fueled but never quite achieved despite the number of projects she had done. 

That would be changing in less than an hour though. The thought sent Jieun spiraling into euphoria.  As she was absorbed in calculating poses where their makeup products will be highlighted and look flawless, a woman in her 20s approached her with a tray.

"Enjoy," she wished after placing the glass on the table. Jieun politely bowed with her head but as she looked down her forehead creased. Since when were macchiatos served in glass mugs? She thought to herself but then again without further questioning the entire stall management's taste and sanity she took a loud sip from her drink.

As the dark liquid filled her mouth her eyebrows knitted once again. She immediately looked at the glass and then quietly thought to herself, did I ask them to add sea salt? Why does this taste kind of bitter? But as she remembered that she didn't have any time to waste and needed to pull herself together in 10 minutes she continued to chug on the drink without any complains.

Just as she gulped the last drop of coffee, the peach-haired boy walked up and offered to take away the glass. She noticed that his expression changed slightly for a brief moment when his eyes fell on the glass she was holding. It was back to its normal expression the next moment.

Jieun started feeling slightly giddy, her thoughts sluggish. However, there was a warm feeling in her gut and a fuzzy sensation in her mind. As Jimin proceeded to take her glass, her eyes fell on one thing on his face.

His plump round heart shaped lips, to be exact.

Jieun couldn't control the words that came out of her mouth. "Damn honey." She said and stood up. Even though Jimin was shorter compared to other men, Jieun was slightly shorter than him even in her heels. She tilted her head up and looked at his lips.

Without knowing it, her finger started tracing his chin continuing up to his lower lip. He tensed up under her touch. She finally met his startled eyes and cooed,

"I'd like a taste of those smexy lips, darling."