to my strength without you knowing, for somehow helping me through it all, happy birthday. please never stop shining. you will always be my starboy. horanghae 🐯
✎ synopsis: a mysterious disease has spread across the globe where unrequited love was never something someone wanted to experience. you and soonyoung find yourselves in a very, very unfortunate situation.
✎ warnings: none! except maybe my ignorance when describing how makeup works oh no
✎ wc: 2.06 k words
✎ notes: this au is a fluffier take on the hanahaki and star tears disease! the image i had in mind for the starry freckles was a piece of art made by @/qinniart. she passed away last year and may she rest in peace. the way i described the idol industry is probably really inaccurate, but i hope that you enjoy!
The world is a cruel place. Which is something you should have realized, an hour prior to your current situation.
6 months ago, a mysterious disease started spreading across South Korea. Star shaped freckles were appearing on the faces and bodies of people who were around those who they loved unrequitedly. The sparkly splatter of constellations were pretty to look at, and they were harmless, physically. But you have heard countless stories on the news about the relationships they have damaged and the pain they have inflicted upon those who fell victim.
Now, it has resulted in a global pandemic.
The disease wasn’t something that you were too worried about being on the receiving end of. You had a rising career as a makeup artist in South Korea’s entertainment industry, which meant that you were far too busy to be concerned with matters of love.
A multitude of gigs with small actors and your countless efforts in promoting your YouTube channel has finally landed you what you hope would be your big break into the industry. Today, you will be heading off to work with the clients of your first major gig: idol group Seventeen.
They had just released yet another record-breaking album and you were going to be one of the makeup artists for their first comeback of the year. Besides a few faces here and there, you weren’t too familiar with all the members and their names. Your friend however, was a huge fan, and upon hearing the group you would be working with for your next appointment, they immediately gave a rundown of everyone and their positions.
Thirteen members was a lot to memorize, but you figured that it would be beneficial to actually know the clients you would be serving in order to address them properly and correctly. Your friend also managed to sneakily ask that you get one of their autographs, but you knew that was highly unlikely.
A few weeks prior, you were briefed on the protocol that must be followed when working there. One of the rules being that you weren’t allowed to speak to the members unless they spoke to you first. That wouldn’t be a problem of course, since you were simply there to do your job. Your professionalism was something you took pride in.
Nevertheless, you took the photocard of- Hoshi was it? From your friend and promised to get it signed if there was ever an opportunity. You were grateful that your friend went through the trouble of preparing thirteen slides of information (that you weren’t totally sure was necessary) in order to prepare you for this job.
There was an hour to go before you needed to head over to the subway station, so you decided to film a quick livestream before travelling to the venue.
“Welcome everyone! Today we are going to be doing a quick tutorial for a starry-freckles inspired look!”
While the chat was buzzing with a lot of confused comments at the idea, you carefully explained your reasoning for today’s lesson.
“Look, I know that this disease has taken its toll on a lot of people, but I wanted to do this today to show that loving someone is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s beautiful and I hope I can express that to everyone watching.”
You laid out all your supplies and began applying a light concealer before using a medium-sized brush to dab a glittery powder over your cheeks and nose. As more people joined the livestream, the chat started to fill with comments about the charming simplicity of the design. You continued to chat about your new gig while giving instructions for the next step of the look every so often.
After completing the intricate detailing of the stars with a glowy fine-tipped eyeliner, you turned to the camera to give a full view of the makeup. You glanced down to read the chat and thanked the commenters praising the final outcome. However you began to internally panic when you read a comment reminding you about the gig you had this afternoon.
You were so invested in the tutorial that you completely forgot about the life-changing event that was about to take place. Opportunities like this don’t come very often and it would crush you if you blew your chances.
You quickly bid goodbye to the viewers, shut your laptop, and checked your watch. You could definitely still make it if you ran to the station, but there was no time to wash off the makeup. As a last-ditch attempt in appearing professional, you grabbed a face mask, tucked your friend’s photocard into your pocket, before grabbing your bag of supplies and absolutely booking it to the station.
The world showed you some mercy, but not too much, as you still made it to the venue on time in a heaving, sweaty mess. Stylists were running around with racks of clothing while production staff were doing last minute checks on sound and lighting equipment.
You met up with the head makeup artist who thankfully paid no mind to your current disheveled state. You would later understand the reason why after they explained to you that one of the makeup artists had some emergency, and that the makeup team will be busy covering their work.
A fast-paced environment was something you were accustomed to, and after being directed to the first member you would be working with, you quickly began performing your duties with a comfortable ease.
You believed that his name was Dokyeom, recognizing him from your friend’s detailed presentation. Aside from a few interruptions from his laughter at the other members who were also still getting ready, you finished his makeup and took a small step backwards to admire your work.
After handing Dokeyom a mirror and doing some touch ups, he thanked you for your work and started walking over to one of the stylists. You bowed in gratitude, and began to feel the adrenaline taking its toll on you as you almost stumbled over when you stood up. Taking deep breaths to calm yourself down from today’s unexpected marathon, you began to make your way over to the the next member—
Crash!
Your mind went blank as a cold liquid dripped from your features and the smell of coffee filled your senses.
“Oh my god I’m so sorry! You’re the new one right? It’s your first day and you’re— I’m so sorry!”
You were met face to face with one of the members frantically trying to calm you down when in reality, you felt like he was the one that needed to stay calm. The contents of the cup of what would have been iced coffee in his hand was no longer where it should be, and instead was soaking the mask and clothes you were wearing.
He’s kind of cute, you think. On instinct you feel the photocard sitting in your pocket and recognize him as Hoshi, leader of the performance team. Maybe you can tell him that in exchange for an apology, he can sign the photocard for your friend.
You glanced around and was relieved that in the midst of the bustling atmosphere, no one was noticing the panicking idol and the mess of a newbie makeup artist. Your silent prayers of gratitude were interrupted by Hoshi taking your shoulders and pushing you in an unknown direction.
“I’m fine! Don’t worry about it and just go to one of the other stylist noonas for now,” you tried to reassure him, but you weren’t even sure how you were going to deal with your current state.
“There’s a small sink over there that some of the makeup artists use to wash their supplies. Just clean yourself up and I’ll make sure that no one sees you,” Hoshi explained.
You weren’t actually sure how he was going to hide you from plain sight but followed his instructions anyway and took off your mask. Once you saw the powder on the inside material, you panicked and began rubbing the makeup off your face while frantically splashing the water. Any kind of misunderstanding right now could cost you your job, but the stinging red on your cheeks from the intense rubbing wasn’t compensating for the stubbornness of the products.
Hoshi was doing his best attempt at- covering for you? He held his jacket in front the sink area but you weren't so sure how effective that was going to be. You hoped that the atmosphere would stay busy since whatever Hoshi was trying to do was capable of drawing more attention than needed...
“I’m Soonyoung by the way,” he started, as if he was not the cause of your current, very unfortunate situation. You weren’t sure if staff were allowed to call idols by their real names. “You know I’ve seen your YouTube videos before, yn right? and just found out yesterday that you were going to be the replacement for the staff that retired. I don’t know why would you decide to come to work in a mask since you’re really-”
When you lifted your head to get a better listen of what Soonyoung was saying, you were met with his wide eyes and mouth in the shape of an ‘o’. The makeup probably didn’t wash off at all, and you silently cursed yourself for investing in such good products.
Soonyoung notices the photocard that you have sticking out of your pocket and immediately understands why you decided to wear a mask to work today. Even the red flush on your cheeks upon meeting his eyes confirmed his suspicions. Oh man, he really wished you guys weren’t in this situation. Not that he disliked the fact that you had a crush on him of course, you seemed really sweet in your videos. It’s just that he was hopeless when it came to feelings.
“It’s not what you think it is!’ You were quick to explain, “I was filming a tutorial before coming here and didn’t have the time to wash it all off.” You raise your hands to his face to show him the remnants of glitter coating your fingertips, and Soonyoung feels a wave of relief wash over him.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to wash everything off on time, and you still need to get ready, so let's just do your makeup first.” You said after watching Soonyoung relax at your explanation. “Right, let’s just do that first.”
You hurried over to an empty station and sat Soonyoung down. He let you work your magic and stayed silent as you applied various powders and created shadows around his creases. Even after that fiasco, you still worked diligently as if nothing had happened.
You’ve seen a few videos of Soonyoung thanks to your friend. The energetic Hoshi oozing with charisma on stage was nothing like the quiet Soonyoung sitting before you now. Your hands lightly caressed his face as you wiped off some excess blush. You wished you could cup his soft features for a little while longer but removed your hands before Soonyoung noticed something suspicious. You felt something warm starting to grow on your cheeks and quickly looked down to pretend that you were trying to find another brush.
While you searched for some more supplies, Soonyoung didn’t fail to catch the way you hid your face from him, and felt worry sinking into his chest. It couldn’t be possible that you were falling for him now right? Not after you just cleared up that misunderstanding.
You glanced up at the mirror and gasped at the sight before you. A growing collection of very real starry freckles were staring back and you could feel your whole world caving in. How could you possibly turn around and face Soonyoung if this was the new situation?
Soonyoung, now very concerned after hearing you gasp, takes your wrist and gently pulls you to face him. However, he is only met with your wide eyes and the hints of a blush spreading across your cheeks. “For a second you had me worried there yn,” Soonyoung laughed, “I almost thought that you—”
Soonyoung doesn’t have the time to finish his last sentence before you step aside and let him meet his own reflection—or rather, the galaxies forming across his face.
➝ angst // fluff on the first half :) // nonidol!au // fantasy!au (kinda, but not really, you’ll know)
➝ warning: major character death!!!!!!!!!!, mentions of accident, terminal illness? but i didnt go into details bc i dont wanna be misleading, an unbelievably coddling brother,…….cliche????, the seal idea is from the fate series’s command seal, if you know about it heheheh, this is a very fair warning but I SUCK SO MUCH AT ANGSTTT
➝ song: EXO - Baby Don’t Cry (please please please do listen to this and see the lyrics and you’ll know why the angst part is somewhat based on this song to certain point) ((plus its a really good song lol))
➝ A/N: this is for @noisytigercandy who asked for a hoshi/wonwoo/woozi heavy angst so i chose hoshi bc i havent written a long one for him! bc your request was simply “to make it as angsty as possible” i went down this route because i totally suck at angst and idk how to make it heavy T-T hopefully, this checks out with what you want. also, this is the first time i cry writing something and its such an experience lol im just too weak hearted for my own good, so it might not actually be as sad. also, sorry if there r a lot of grammatical mistakes bc I Can’t read this again without crying lol. anyway!!!!!! enjoy!! your feedback would be much appreciated mwah
When you smile, sun shines
언어란 틀엔 채 못 담을 찬란
The kind of brilliance that words can’t express
Everyone is born with a seal on their body, all with different images in the form of one single tattoo.
You’re still not sure what’s the image supposed to represent; some people have their seals related closely with what turns to be something they love most as they grow older. Your brother, Jihoon, has a string of bars with notes decorating them going around his lower arm, ending on his pinky. A very beautiful tattoo that fits someone who loves music with his entire life.
Some people are just entirely something else; a vine of grapes on one’s arm, a fancy cross on top of one’s hand despite their belief, a string of flower going around one shoulder to the other on someone who’s allergic to pollen. Maybe fate likes to play irony at times.
You have a string of stars that goes through both of your wrists, which is a bit weird; because you’ve heard no one should have their seal broken into two the way yours is. The seal should be on one place as a whole, not in pieces.
someone compared seungkwan to pooh bear earlier in the tags of one of my posts and that’s all i can think about now. seungkwan the pooh bear. he loves his friends, and is a little honey boy, and makes me feel warm and fuzzy when i think of him. he is fluffy and soft and is loved by so many people.
