How Did We Get Here?

Chapter 4: Comfortable Strangers

A few days later, I went in to work with full knowledge of who the people I would be working with were. It did take me a few days to get to know everyone's face but with the help of Gean, Sabiana and the fact that I literally saw them at every corner. These guys must really be a big deal because I saw their photos in shop windows, their smiling faces on TV and their cardboard cut outs in front of stores.

I wasn't the kind of person to be nervous around celebrities, especially ones that I just heard about. But the more I learned about the group, the more I learned about their fans. If I ever made one of those boys look bad, they would turn them into a meme and that would be on me. My job Is to make them look good. But since people already have this idea of perfection for them, it was up to me to help them maintain that image.

I walked into the JYP building and greeted the woman that I saw everyday since my first day. I went to the elevators and pressed the button that would take me to the floor I needed to be on. A short ride later, I was on my way to the room at the furthest end of the hall. I took a deep breath before I turned the handle. When the door opened, all I saw was a room full of...boys.

They were throwing things, being loud, being typical boys. All of their eyes stuck to me and I began to feel uncomfortable. They looked at me like I was one of the toys they could toss around.

"Hi, um, I'm Allie. I'm your new makeup artist." All of their mouths released "Ah's" and "Oh's."

"We thought you were a fan or something." JB said as he approached me to take my bag and guide me to a seat.

"Why would I be a fan? Security is so tight here."

"Well, we aren't used to people like you being in the building." I instantly took offence to his words.

"People, like me?" I asked with a tone that I thought was stern but came out as anger. The one that I came to know as Junior came to his rescue.

"Big companies hardly ever hire foreigners, so, it's surprising and refreshing to see someone who isn't Korean or of asian decent for a change." He smiled at me and he had the cutest wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. "It'll be a pleasure working with you and being your canvas, Allie." He knew his way around words. He held out his hand and I took it and we both slightly bowed.

"I feel the same way, Junior?"

"Ah, I used to go by Junior but now I just use my real name, Jinyoung. To many people were calling me J.R and I was getting fed up."

"How do you get that mixed up? Jr. and J.R are totally different."

"I know right? I-"

"Okay Jinyoung, don't hog the new makeup noona." The one named Jackson pushed Jinyoung and the still awkward JB aside.

"Hi, my name is Jackson. Nice to meet you." He spoke to me in english. I knew he could speak english because he was the one that I saw on television the most and he always spoke in english.

"I'm not your noona," I responded.

"Huh, You aren't? But all of our Makeup artist are older than us."

"I'm not. I'm twenty. A '96 liner." They all looked at me, shocked.

"Hold on, You're a foreigner and you lack experience?" JB exclaimed.

"Why do you think I lack experience? Just because I'm young doesn't mean I lack exp-"

"Are you at least talented?" I didn't like JB. I didn't like being challenged, especially by assholes like him.

"Are you?" Everyone's mouth created an "o" shape with their lips. They were clearly not used to people being bold to this one. "You worry about your job and I worry about mine, good with you?" His mouth hung open for a while before he said anything.

"I like you." Bambam nodded with approval. "We need people like you in this world." He wrapped his arms around me and I awkwardly accepted it. When he let me go, I introduced myself to the other younger ones in the room.

"Hi, Allie."

The tall of with red hair bowed to me and gave me a very quiet hello.

"Yugyeom, right?"

"Yes." He seemed happy and excited because I knew his name. I smiled at him and his face became just as red as his hair. I laughed at his bashfulness that hadn't matched his strong outward appearance.

"You think I'm cute or something?" I asked playfully. But his reaction showed me that the answer to my question must have been yes. He let out a scream and went to the couch and shoved his face in the cushion.

"Cute kid."

"He's weird sometimes." Youngjae said.

"I can see." I held out my hand to him and he took it. His hand was soft and delicate. I could tell he was a lover and not a fighter.

"You are much more good looking in person, Youngjae." He got so excited when I complimented him.

"Oh! Thank you so much, noona! Ah!" I could feel my heart nearly explode when he smiled. He was so cute that I was dangerous.

I walked away from him and went through the members I had met and realized that I was missing one. Mark, the one that caught my eye on my first day. It didn't take long for me to find him. He was sitting in a chair with his feet propped up on the makeup counter. I stepped next to his chair and held my hand out

"Allie."

"Mark." He smiled at me and I'm sure he could see how red my cheeks were getting because he started laughing.

"Shut up."