Volcano | Bangchan

Let's pretend

Sunday passed by quickly. Nomi and I did what we always do on hungover days : bring the mattresses in the living room, do our skincare, order ramen, and watch K-dramas. Perfect day to recover from an eventful night. In a blink of an eye, it was Monday. The boys had an important event next week in Paris, and we were running some tests today on the looks. All the staff was reunited : the make-up team, the hairstyle team, and the stylists, which means that we will have to confront everyone.

As we exited from our bedrooms, I noticed there were two strategies over there. Nomi came out all dolled up. At first look, she dressed simply : blue jeans, a white t-shirt with something written on the front, a pair of white Air Force. She had her hair down and a pretty simple make-up on. But I knew her better than this. Nothing was done innocently. The T-shirt ? It was Bin's shirt, she stole it when she slept with him last night. She never wore makeup when she went to work, and she always styled her hair in a ponytail to be unbothered while working. Poor Changbin didn't know what would come after him.

I, on the other hand, had adopted the invisible strategy. I was wearing black cargo pants, an oversized black hoodie, and a cap, black, of course. I had the hood on, and I did a really light make-up. Nomi eyed me from head to toe, obviously judging me. I gave her an advanced warning : "I am so not changing, so quit the judging look.". She rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse to drive us to the building. To say I was nervous was an understatement.

As we arrived at JYP, we immediately headed to the changing room to get our equipment ready. After that, the 3 teams reunited to discuss the theme. We agreed to make a red and black style. For the make-up, as French stays were not used to boys wearing much make-up, we decided to do simple make-up for the stages. As the stylists went to the costume room to pick the accessories, we went to our room to test the make-up and the hairstyles on the members.

Nomi and I were the last ones going into the room. We stood in front of the door, building up enough courage to deal with what was waiting for us inside. I looked at Nomi, putting my hand on the knob. "Here goes nothing, huh ?". She exhaled, and we went in. Han was the first one to notice me. He jumped on his feet and went for a hug. "Hiiiii Sookiiiiiiiiiii".
Of course, he had to yell my name, drawing all the attention on us. Everyone's head turned to us. Most of the boys went to hug me hello, except for Hyun, who pretended to be too concentrated in his drawing to notice my presence. He must have felt a bit embarrassed about yesterday.

But he wasn't the only one avoiding me. I glanced at Chan. The man was on the other side of the room, working on his laptop with his earphones. He gave me a quick look, with a stern face, before going back to his work. I gulped and fought the urge to exit the room. Even though I wasn't surprised by his decision to ignore the past events, I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. I brushed off the thought and put back my mask, smiling at Han who was telling me about his Sunday.

I checked the list of the guys I had to work on for today : Seungmin, Hyun and Chan. Kill me now. I had a 40% chance, and I had to do Chan's make-up. As I called them, Seungmin was the first one to volunteer. I was thankful to him. Doing my best friend's make-up first will help me relax for sure.

Third POV

Seungmin eyed you as you were doing his foundation. He felt that something was bothering you, but he also noticed you did your best not to show it. He was convinced that this had to do with how weird you and Chan acted in the kitchen Saturday. So, instead of pressuring you to talk, he cheered you up. He joked around and roasted everyone about their behavior during the party. You laughed at each one of his jokes.

He smiled, happy that he succeeded in making you think about something else. He knew there would be no point in forcing the truth out of you. He wasn't good at it anyway, it was Han's job. But he wanted you to know that he noticed, that he cared. When you were done, looking at him one last time to check your work, he surprised you by taking your hand. He simply said : "I know something is bothering you, I'll be there whenever you're ready to talk about it.". He squeezed your hand before going to the others. You gave him a thankful look, and he winked at you. Words couldn't express how much you love this boy.

Sooki's POV

Before I could even process it, Chan came and took place in front of the mirror. I stood still for a few seconds, looking at him. He eyed me as if I was acting weird. "You good ?". I blinked and put on my best fake smile : "Yep, all good. Let's go.". I started doing his make-up, not saying a word. He noticed that I was acting all professional with him, and he seemed to hate that. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something but not sure of what to say. I noticed how he struggled to do the conversation, and I couldn't refrain myself from laughing. Chan eyed me, confused : "What ?". "Stop imitating a fish and talk, Channie. Everything is ok.".

He smiled widely at my comment, visibly relieved. I couldn't stay mad at him. After all, I was prepared for this reaction. Let's remain friends and forget about the late-night stupidity, yeah ? "Wanna listen to my new creation before anyone else ?" he asked, handing me one of his earpieces. I nodded, teasing him in the process : "Always up ! Don't do that too often, I'm gonna think I'm special.". He smirked and whispered, only for him to hear before pressing play on his phone : "Maybe you are.".

And just like that, we were back to normal, teasing each other without thinking about the incident. Well, I'm almost not thinking about it. I might have blushed a little while applying the lipstick. But hey, who can blame me ? I mean, have you seen those lips ?

Last but not least, Hyunjin. He came to me dancing goofily after messing with I.N and Bin for the past 30 minutes. I laughed already, forcing him onto the chair. "Okaaaaay pretty boy, let's calm down so I can do your make-up". He raised an eyebrow: "Did I hear that right ? Did you say I was pretty ?". He asked, putting a hand under his chin. I rolled my eyes : "Like you don't know it already.". "No, but I'm dying to know how pretty you think I am, Soo.". He grinned, being playful. Oh, wanna play Jinnie ? I took his chin in my hand, looking him in the eyes : "I think you have the prettiest face out of the group, Jinnie.".

He stood frozen for a few seconds before quickly looking away. I giggled as I saw blush creeping on his beautiful face. Now that he was all flustered, I was able to peacefully do his make-up. But he took me by surprise, suddenly looking at me : "You know, you really are beautiful too.". I shyly smiled, lowering my head : "Oh come on, I almost have a bare face today Jinnie". He gave me a serious look and replied : "I love your bare face. I think it's when you're the most beautiful. Like a blank canvas. So much possibility...". I was completely taken aback. We gazed at each other's eyes, and this time, I was the one looking away, blushing. What was that ? That was the second time he made me feel like this. Why did I feel different with him lately ?

I was lost in my thoughts when his voice snapped me back to reality : "Hellooooo, Sooki to earth ?". "Hm ? Sorry, what did you say ?". He sighed in frustration. "I was asking if you wanted to come practicing with me tonight ? It's been a while since we didn't dance together. And there is this choreo I really wanna do, but can't be done solo.". "Say no more, I'm in !" I exclaimed. He was right. With both our schedules, I didn't get to dance with him for a while, and I really missed it. He bounced up and down, happy that I said yes. I smiled to myself, looking at him going to Changbin. Cute.