𝖌𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖘𝖔𝖑𝖔.

“i’ve been good,” he lies through his teeth, but there’s a genuine enough smile on his face that he’s sure she won’t see through. he has been decently okay recently, and nothing has really bothered him too much as of late, so he’s sure he’s not fully lying. only a little bit, because of course, his mental state has been acting up a lot but he’s trying really hard not to think about that at all. “how have you been, nuna?” 

she’s one of his favorite makeup artists, even if he probably shouldn’t have too much of a bias when it comes to people that he works with. but not many makeup artists actually talk to him when they’re making his face look pretty, so a lot of times he can’t help but doze off in his chair as they’re putting products onto his face. 

fashion look book photoshoots are always hectic though, with the different models and makeup artists and stylists all there, working on different things and all the photographers and assistants running about, so dongmin is mostly glad he has another familiar face there aside from his manager to fall back on a bit. “i haven’t seen you in a while!”

"that’s good to hear,” kyungri says sweetly, eyes turning to crescent shapes. dongmin had always been a blast to work with; some people were no fun to sit and do make-up on, sitting in absolute silence with no conversation, it definitely didn’t make time pass any quicker. kyungri had gotten along with dongmin the moment they had met, he was always good in the chair which made kyungri’s job a whole lot easier. so nonetheless, she’s happy to have him here again.

“ah, i’ve been okay.” she says honestly with a shrug. nothing overly excited, nor terrible had gone on. she’s still in the process of recovering from her stint on the mgas. she’s still irked out over the response her parents gave her, their disapproving words haven’t gotten any better these past years, even after she went into the beauty industry. “disappeared for a little after the mgas, but i’m slowly getting back into the groove of things.” and by slowly, she meant almost immediately. she had gone on a small girls trip to jeju island to get away from things for a week but after her return, she almost immediately dived back into her work; recording new videos and getting in touch with her clients. kyungri was very efficient when it came to work. 

Oh God. Oh God. He’s totally misread the situation, hasn’t he?! Surely he wasn’t the friend that Kyrungri had been intending to hang out with, was he?! Turning even redder if possible, Moonbok just about restrains himself from hiding behind the sling bag resting across his chest.

But the fact that he was the one she wanted to hang out with… Moonbok could feel a warmth spreading through him and knew there was a stupid smile on his face, despite his embarrassment and efforts to keep his expression neutral. 

‘You heard her, didn’t you?’ a voice snarks in his head. ‘You’re her friend, that’s all. Don’t get any big ideas.’

That doesn’t keep him from hoping, though.

Realizing Kyungri is waiting for an answer, he hurriedly clears his throat and nods, and grabs the handle of his case. Pushing his hair behind his ear, he smiles at the older girl.

“R-right. That’s…. this is really kind of you, noona. So at least let me be the one to buy lunch, ok?” he says with a laugh, gesturing that they should probably get moving and not block up the area any more than necessary. Plus, if they start walking and trying to find their hotel, it means he has less of a chance to start making a fool of himself. Theoretically, at least.

kyungri is puzzled, moonbok is coming across as rather flustered. maybe this was just a lot to take in, so going and grabbing something to eat was probably a good way to diffuse any tension between the two of them. not that kyungri felt as though there was tension between them, none at all. moonbok just seemed a little off, that’s all. maybe it was just the travelling or the nerves about what the festival was going to be like. maybe food and a good nights rest would put him at ease. kyungri can’t help but smile. she nods. “alright, if you want to buy lunch, then i’ll let you do that.” kyungri says. she had planned on buying, since moonbok had gone out of his way to get ahold of a ticket for their flight over here, but if it meant that much to him, then leave it be.

“i forgot to mention i hired a car.” kyungri says suddenly. she hadn’t planned to go to jeju and just do the festival, she was going to do a little bit of sight-seeing if she could help herself. “so we can throw our bags in the car and go grab some food.” kyungri keeps ahold of her case handle, holding her handbag with her other hand. “and then check in, sound alright? lets go find this car.” she follows moonbok’s gesture, having organised to meet with someone about this car within the area of the airport. shouldn’t be too hard to find. 

though when it comes to animals, donghyuck’s allegiance is to his two cats, lady and burger, deep down he’s still a dog person and the only reason he forgets that is for jaemin. besides, he can’t really take care of himself, how can he expect himself to take care of a dog for longer than a month? still, he misses being around dogs and still wonders where his long lost childhood friend ran away too ( though now that he’s older, he doesn’t really believe his father’s words ). 

he makes his way from the bus, following the address that was given and finally texts kyungri to let her know that he’s here. donghyuck’s nervous but he needs to find ways to make money, even though he’s happy with his job at the daycare. it’s anything to help he and jaemin in getting their own apartment, another step into helping jaemin detach from thinking he needs to take care of everyone – especially his father. 

when the door opens, donghyuck greets kyungri happily. “hi, i’m donghyuck,” he says with a smile. “i’m here to meet siro?”

the doorbell rings and both kyungri and siro glance towards the door. siro being well behaved, stays behind while kyungri goes to the door, opening it without hesitation. and it’s there that she’s greeted by the kid. he was more or less what she was expecting, he fitted the description or the image she had in her head. the boy introduces himself to kyungri as donghyuck. now she could put a name to the face at least, rather than calling him the kid constantly. kyungri smiles upon greeting donghyuck, waving. siro gets to her feet and is waltzing over to the doorway, curious as to who her mom is talking to. she had to be good, considering the fact that kyungri more or less ran her business from home. having new people come in and out of her home had left the dog being rather well disciplined.

@rkkyungri

“You’re going to Jeju?! Moonbok, you just moved to Seoul a few days ago!” “I know, Mom! But there’s…. I have to do something out there, ok? I’ll be back within a week, promise.”

It’s pretty much official. His parents think he’s completely nuts. Forget the MGAs, busking and the whole ‘going to be an idol’ thing, this is what makes them question their son’s sanity.

No wonder Moonbok had been told to fund his little vacation by himself.

But when Kyungri of all people asked him if he was free, he couldn’t have said no. Not when it gave them a further opportunity to hang out. …Or for him to fall for his senior even harder.

——————– [Jeju Island]

The flight over had been interesting, to say the least. In a way, Moonbok was glad he bought his ticket at the last minute, meaning he and Kyungri were seated in different parts of the plane. At least that way, she couldn’t see how nervous and shy he was getting, though of course, that had ended once they were on the ground and collecting their bags.

Moonbok really hopes his face isn’t as red as it feels when Kyungri smiles over at him.

“Um… I guess you want to go see your friend, right noona? Or are you…? ” he begins awkwardly, twirling a strand of hair around his finger unconsciously. That said, he assumes that will happen after they find the place they’re staying at.

(In separate rooms, of course.)

“I mean, I don’t want to butt in on your time together!” he babbles, shoving his hair behind his ear, now knowing his face was the same colour as his jacket and cursing himself internally.

“But when you’re free, and no pressure or anything! But, do you want to hang out…. and go… get something to eat… together..?” His voice trailing into a whisper and suddenly Moonbok thinks his parents are right.

He’s crazy. Crazy in love.

kyungri had only been here recently, having come to jeju after everything that happened on the mgas. well, that and her parents ambushing her in her apartment one afternoon. she just packed her things and left, after seeing that siro was in good hands, of course. but she really does love being in jeju, the air is fresh and crisp, unlike seoul. it reminds her a bit of home. even if it’s an island rather than a populous city on the south east coast of the country.

inviting moonbok to come with her was somewhat done on whim, but she feels okay about it. and besides, she’s still feeling somewhat guilty for putting him through so much these past months, with the mgas and all. she thought he might like it, and it might motivate the both of them to go ahead and pursue their careers and dreams even more. they sit in different parts of the plane and regroup when they touch down on the island, having collected their things. 

( shoot day w. @rkkyungri ) 

whenever he has a photoshoot, the people that he works with are a coin toss – he never knows who the stylist is, or the makeup artist, or the hair stylist – unless he’s working with a specific company. so when he shows up with his manager to the photoshoot he’s having today, dongmin doesn’t know what he should expect. the clothes he’s given aren’t the usual street fashion that he had been used to wearing. it seems that he’s being weaned off of those and into different styles and, honestly, he’s really happy about it. 

it’s much easier for him to smile or look stylish and whatnot, over acting like he was cool. he still doesn’t really know how he ever did that. (and still does sometimes.) 

so he lets himself be guided around, from the clothes to hair and then finally to makeup and his entire expression brightens when he recognizes who his makeup artist is going to be, his eyes curving into crescents – his signature smile. “nuna,” he greets happily, waving at her as he makes his way over to the makeup chair, plopping himself down carefully. “it’s been a while~”

most of her work is on a smaller scale; doing make-up for brides and parties, nothing excessive or weird. and this has never really bothered her, she never really wanted to go big or commercial with her make-up skills. she more or less only got into the industry to pay the bills. the looks she posts to her youtube channel are for fun, and although they are tutorials, she doesn’t take herself too seriously. however, once in a blue moon, an opportunity will come about that is much bigger than she is used to. sometimes it’s make-up on set for something, like a music video or a drama, other times it’s like today; she’s making a collective of models pretty.

she’s minding her own business, sorting through her collection of products that she’s sorted out and placed on the bench beside the large chair her guinea pig will be seated in. kyungri notices someone approaching and she doesn’t think much of it until she hears a rather familiar voice. it’s endearing. she looks upwards only to be greeted by dongmin, a model whom she’s been able to work with in the past. kyungri’s eyes widen, before then forming crescents as she smiles.

HAPPY RKFIFTH, ROOKIES!