Kiss & Make Up | Lee Jeno

6.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

"Makeup artists! Please wrap it up in five minutes! We need to start shooting soon!" a staff member called out before rushing off to finalize things.

"Did you hear that?" Jaemin asked, glancing up at Areum, who was concentrating on blending the contour on his face.

"Yes, I heard." Areum replied, her eyes still focused on her task. "He was practically yelling."

Jaemin chuckled softly. "Just making sure. You look very focused."

"I need to be," Areum said, her movements quick but precise. "I came in a little late, so I'm a bit behind."

"Ahh, right." Jaemin nodded, the motion causing Areum to frown slightly as his face shifted under her brush. "You walked in with Jeno, didn't you?"

"...Yeah." The question caught her off guard, and she hesitated for a second before replying.

"How'd that happen?" Jaemin asked, a curious glint in his eyes.

Areum gave a small shrug, trying to sound nonchalant. "I was in the back, grabbing some supplies, and, well, I dropped everything. He came out of nowhere and helped me."

Jaemin grinned, raising an eyebrow. "He just swooped in to save the day, huh?"

Areum smiled faintly but kept her eyes on her work, resisting the urge to let her thoughts run wild. "Something like that."

"Jeno, always playing the hero," Jaemin teased, his eyes twinkling as he watched her reaction.

Areum's fingers twitched slightly, but she kept her focus on finishing up, biting back a flustered laugh. "Yeah, something like that," she repeated, feeling her face warm under Jaemin's teasing gaze.

"Oii, Samoyed!" Jaemin called out, spotting Jeno who was lounging around after his makeup was finished.

Areum's heart sank as Jeno turned in their direction. She silently cursed Jaemin, as much as she loved him, she wanted to throw him out of the nearest window just to shut him up.

"Come here!" Jaemin continued to shout, completely unaware of Areum's growing anxiety.

Jeno, being obedient, got up and walked over to them, his presence immediately making Areum feel like the air in the room had shifted.

"What?" Jeno asked, his gaze briefly flickering to Areum before landing back on Jaemin.

"You ran into Areum earlier, right?" Jaemin asked, looking between the two with a grin.

Jeno nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, I did."

"She said she was in the back," Jaemin continued, clearly fishing for more details. "What were you doing back there?"

Jeno chuckled, shaking his head. "I went to the restroom, remember? Then I got lost. But I found, uh..." His eyes shifted to Areum, holding her gaze for a second longer than she expected. "Areum."

Areum felt the heat rising in her cheeks, but she desperately tried to keep her cool, focusing intently on the makeup brushes in her hands. The way Jeno said her name, soft and slow like it meant something, sent a wave of nervous energy through her.
She immediately shifted her eyes back to Jaemin's face, pretending to be deeply absorbed in perfecting his makeup.

"She looked like she needed help carrying things, so I figured I'd lend a hand," Jeno added casually, though his gaze lingered on Areum a moment longer. She didn't dare look back, not trusting herself to handle the situation with any more grace.