Taste | Changbin

Chapter Four

"I'm sorry for touching it, but your hair is so soft. It's the softest hair I've ever touched. Leave-in conditioner, you said?" 

"Uh-huh." Lennon took another sip of her coffee. "You leave it in until you wash your hair again. My hair has always been a little longer and soft. Leave-in conditioner has made it so healthy. I dye and bleach my hair a lot, so I'm always trying to find ways to keep it healthy." 

"It's fascinating. I'll have to meet back up with you after the interview and write down the brand you use." Hyunjin ran his fingers through the back of Lennon's ponytail again. "I want my hair to feel like this. I'd never stop touching it." He dropped his hand and sat back in the chair. "I'll let you go back to finishing my makeup now." 

Lennon glanced at herself in the mirror. The top half of her hair was black, but the moment it was lifted, the bottom was platinum white. While it was in the ponytail, the two colors blended together. While she was grabbing a different brush, Hyunjin had asked if he could touch it. 

She hesitated, at first, but ultimately agreed. He had spent the last two minutes running his fingers through it and asking her questions about it. No matter what she did, he couldn't take his eyes off it. Without meaning to, she had hypnotized him. 

"Luckily for you, there's only one step left." 

"You're finished already?" 

"Technically, you're going to be doing the final step. Which chapstick do you want?" She held out her hand full of small white tubes. 

He narrowed his eyes before reaching into the pile and grabbing one. His eyes scanned the label quickly. He pulled off the lid, applied the pale pink stick to his lips, and rubbed them together. "Mm, it's cherry." 

"Hyunjin, you're not supposed to eat it!" 

His eyes went back to the label. He pointed to a small section on the back of the tube. "To be fair, it says non-toxic. That means I can eat it without worrying that I'll die." 

"You're going to remove the chapstick and get saliva on your lips. It'll dry them out and then you'll be complaining because they're chapped. I wanted to make your lips look hydrated, not the opposite. Before you take a bite out of the tube, please give it back." 

A scowl fell across his face. "Who do you think I am? I might be a little weird, but I'm not a monster!" He dropped the tube in her hand. "What are you going to do with it?" 

"I always carry a stash of chapstick around with me. Usually, I would give them to my clients to hold on to. I know you and your bandmates are constantly busy and I'll be doing your makeup for a while. I have small labels with me that have your names on them. I'll label them and keep them in my makeup kit. You guys can use them if you need to or I can use them on days like today." 

"That's a smart idea. It's better that you have it, so I don't eat it. I'll send in Changbin, so we can finish up." 

"I thought you said you weren-" 

"Sometimes I can't control my impulses." 

She shook her head and let out a small laugh. Hyunjin flashed her a peace sign before he exited through the door. She took out a thin white label that had Hyunjin's name printed on it in tiny black bubble letters. She placed it on the chapstick tube and put the tube in a small bag. 

So far, everything was better than she expected. She had gone through the members one by one. Chan had caught her up to speed on their last makeup artist. Seungmin had been quiet, at first, but after Lennon's phone had barked at her, he perked up. 

She had forgotten to turn off the notifications. She was mortified until Seungmin let out a laugh. The two of them started talking about their favorite dogs. Meanwhile, I.N kept asking questions about the makeup and Lee Know was interested about her life back in America.