friends close, enemies closer
STARTER ❦ — 11:00AM. KCB STUDIO. w/ @syfxjia
❝It’s just a formality, Rose. Show up, look the part, and the deal’s all yours.❞ It’s a promise that came with a pumpkin spice macchiato and an exhausted smile, a smile telling Naeun, “I don’t get paid enough for this, so please.” She accepts the audition for some newbie brand’s foundation out of pity for the staff and nothing more.
These days, commercial requests for Naeun—endless emails asking her to show off this lip tint or pretend to like that new, overpriced bubble tea flavor—stack up more than can be ignored. Although the idol thinks she, and any so.ar member for that matter, is beyond auditioning and in the realm of being cherry-picked for opportunities, she’ll do what she’s told. Give Chimera, the corporations, the people, the nation, the world, what they want. She lives and dies by the motto.
Still, Naeun is hardly the most ungrateful and avaricious talent in the network broadcasting studio’s small waiting room. Sure, she carries a professional air about her, and a certain impatience that only those who truly know her could suss out, but some of the other talents reek of overconfidence. There’s almost nowhere to avoid sitting next to a brat.
If you told Naeun that Jia, who she chose not to notice when she came in, would be her saving grace in the sea of amateur models, she’d scoff. And yet, Naeun hastily walks to claim the only seat next to the rapper, pretending to take interest in the nearby vending machine.
After a moment of staring down soft drinks and candy, Rose decides to break the ice. A little small talk can’t hurt.
“Jia? It’s been a while. I didn’t think you were into this kind of...thing. Are you really trying to become a model these days?”
