Wooyoung and San, aspiring models in different agencies, are teamed up for a joint campaign. Both are confident in their looks and no one wants to give in or do worse.
Weeks of collaboration bring the competitors closer together.
When the collaborat...
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⟡ POV San ⟡
I was on my way to meet with the campaign head. The sun was slowly setting. The tires of the car squealed softly as we stopped at a traffic light. Next to me in the car sat my little brother and manager Jongho. He looked intently at his cell phone, holding it tightly in his hands. I took a look at it and leaned a little bit closer.
He was playing one of his favorite cell phone games again. He quickly tapped his fingers on the screen, trying hardly to win.
I leaned back again, looked out the window and saw the street lights passing by. On my lap was my application folder, which I had brought with me, just to be on the safe side in case the campaign head wanted to see it again. I was prepared for everything, I was serious about this assignment. In general, I put a lot of effort into the work, I gave it my best. Conscientiously and satisfactorily, I made my agency - Gentleman - proud as their aspiring model. I opened the folder, flipped through the pages, made sure that everything in it was good and correct. This order was the most important and biggest one of my entire career so far, even though I hadn't been so long into the business. If I did this well, I could make a lot of money and that was my top priority.
On the pages in front of me, I saw many pictures of myself from different photoshoots. Every now and then there were a few comments or descriptions about me. I smiled, my dimples appeared. I was proud of my work and what I had achieved so far. At the young age of 23, I had already come a long way, step by step closer to my goal.
I ran my hand through my currently dyed red hair, loosening it up a bit so that it didn't look too stiff.
The journey to London had been long and bumpy. The flight, which was longer than planned, had me upset and my nerves frayed. Since we had only arrived a few hours ago, had settled in and freshened up in our new apartments and were now on our way to meeting with the campaign head, we unfortunately didn't find the time to get to know my new stylist. We postponed getting to know each other until tomorrow morning, before my first appointment. The busy schedule was already stressing me out, but after all I wasn't here for fun. I was here for a reason.
"Jongho, can you go through tomorrow's routine with me again?", I turned to my brother. Jongho, the neatly dressed, brown-haired, bear-like young man clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Wait... Just one more level!"
His fingers moved even faster across the screen. I rolled my eyes with a sigh, couldn't help but smile.
Choi Jongho. My little brother. 21 years old. He ate wisdom and intelligence with a spoon. Even though he always tried to act grown up, I always saw him as my playful little brother. Our bond was close, I loved him deeply. My family was important to me.
It began to rain outside and the occasional raindrops pattered on the window panes.
Was I a little nervous? Yes.
Actually, very much. On the outside, I seemed rather domineering and intimidating, but my true personality was as different as day and night. But it didn't bother me. This image suited me well, the customers and fans liked it, so I left it at that.
The driver pointed out to us that we would arrive soon. The most important task of my entire career was about to begin. But I wasn't alone. A small detail popped into my mind again. I bit my bottom lip in annoyance. My eyes were serious and my body tensed.
Jung Wooyoung. Another model from another agency that I would be working with for the next four weeks. Jongho and my team had already told me everything about this joint campaign. It annoyed me. It bothered me. A burdensome factor in my plan to glory. This blue-haired smurf wasn't allowed to steal my success.
Of course, I was worried whether the customer would find him better than me. I wasn't stupid, I had done my research about Wooyoung. Like me, he hadn't been working as a model for too long. He was pretty, there was no denying it. Something about him was special. But he wasn't the first pretty face in the fashion world. I wouldn't give in, I wouldn't be weak, I wouldn't lose. I believed in myself. Jongho noticed my tense posture, had successfully completed his last round of the game and put his phone back into his jacket pocket. He nudged me encouragingly with his shoulder, "Hyung, what's wrong?".
I pulled myself out of my thoughts, relaxed my muscles, looked into my brother's beady eyes. A reminder why I did all this. "Nothing, it's all good. I was just thinking about that Jung Wooyoung," I replied with a smile, my eyes forming to half moons.
Jongho let out a full deep laugh, patting me roughly on the shoulder.
"Oh Hyung, you don't have to worry about that. You'll be the star of this campaign, believe me. They'll be blown away by you. This little boy has no chance at all."
"You know you're the same age, right?", I rubbed my shoulder, giggling.
"Age is just a number, mentally I'm superior to all of you," he answered proudly. I just shook my head, letting my brother have his moment. The driver parked smoothly in front of a large building and turned to us with a friendly smile. He politely raised his hat, nodded and said we had arrived.
With a thank you we got out, each with an umbrella in our hands. The huge building towered high in front of us, it looked luxurious. At the entrance you could read the big title - Umbrella - . My feet were just about to start moving when Jongho's cell phone rang. He took it out of his jacket pocket and held it in his hand. I wondered who called him. My curiosity took over.
Our mother's name was large on the screen. I looked from the cell phone to Jongho again. His facial expression was monotonous, his hands still. He stared at the screen, letting it ring, the vibration in his hands, a constant call for urgency.
I didn't say anything, just gave him a worried and sad look. The ringing stopped and the screen went black again. He quickly pocketed his phone again as if nothing had happened, avoiding eye contact with me.
I took a few steps closer, the dripping of the rain clearly audible above me. "Jongho... didn't you want to... well... you s-should have...", I stuttered, not finding the right words for this moment.
Jongho didn't let me continue, started moving and mumbled, "Not now San".
It was quiet, no more than a whisper. The rain almost made me miss it. It was intended for my ears only.
I just nodded and followed my little brother into the big building. Now wasn't the right time for it, maybe later. At least I hoped so.
