Ha Na looked up at the man who was shaking her hand. 'This must be one of the band members,' she thought, 'He's a lot taller and bigger than I expected.'
"Hi, nice to meet you too. I'm Chen Ha Na from Protégé Ltd, you can call me Ha Na. I was just on the way to your waiting room to talk to you about the shoot. Director Toh is just setting up all the equipment at the moment, I'll take you to him," she replied with what she called her 'professional face' on.
'She's the company representative? Smaller and younger than I was expecting,' Hao Jie thought as he followed her.
Ha Na brought him to the director and let them both do their introductions and greetings before they headed back to the waiting room. She could feel Jia Jia buzzing with excitement at her side the entire way.
"Jia Jia, why don't you head to the waiting room first and ask if anyone has dietary requirements so we can get lunch sorted?"
Jia Jia practically sprinted off ahead of them, her little fangirl heart beating faster than a hummingbird's wings.
Hao Jie glanced down at Ha Na with a half-smile, "You don't have to give her a reason to talk to them, we'd be happy to take photos and sign stuff for her later on."
"Don't tell her that yet, she might have a heart attack and I still need her help to get through the shoot today," Ha Na smiled back at him.
'She's really pretty when she smiles,' Hao Jie thought. He particularly liked the little lone dimple that appeared on her left cheek, it made him want to rub his thumb against it. Surprised at the thought, he shook his head lightly, 'Get it together. It's not like it's the first time you're seeing a pretty girl. You've been around girl group members and actresses before.'
Oblivious to his train of thought, Ha Na continued talking about the details of the shoot. He nodded, opening the door of the waiting room and indicated for her to enter ahead of him. She smiled in thanks and had to blink a few times at the chaos in the room. The room definitely did not look like this this morning.
It wasn't a very big room but there were now five of them, her and Jia Jia plus the five stylists, make-up artists and hairstylists. There were coffee cups and food boxes all over and suitcases of clothes had been fully unpacked onto the clothes hangers and strewn all over the couches.
"Guys, this is Chen Ha Na who is the representative for the shoot we're doing today," Hao Jie introduced her and started introducing her to the members in his team.
'They each fit a particular look but still look great together, no wonder they're doing so well,' Ha Na thought.
Hao Jie had that hot guy next door thing going for him, Su Yang was all buff and muscly, Wen Yi had the leaner build of an athlete, Jia Wei was definitely the prince with his blond hair accentuating his pretty features and Xiao Bao's dimples must drive the girls crazy.
Ha Na got them to sit together to get a better look at their outfits and style both as a group and individually. Glancing between Hao Jie and the other four, she turned to one of the stylists and asked, "Do you think you could put him in something lighter? I think it would look more consistent with the others who look like they're dressed for summer. The colour looks great on him, maybe if you have a similar coloured T-shirt?"
Hao Jie moved towards the stylist who had begin to pull out a few T-shirts to choose from and picked the one that was closest in colour to what he was currently wearing. His brain on autopilot, he pulled his sweater over his head, being careful not to stain it with makeup or hair gel.
Ha Na's eyes widened in surprise and she could feel Jia Jia's fingers gripping her arm as they watched him expose his back to them. 'Mm, those muscles...,' she bit her lip gently. It wasn't her fault that she thought a guy's nape and back were the most attractive parts of their bodies.
A sly smile came on Xiao Bao's face as he watched their reactions, "Hao-ge, we all know you have a great body. Did you really need to show it off in front of people we've only met for the first time?"
Hao Jie tugged his T-shirt down and turned around. Catching sight of Ha Na and Jia Jia, he felt the tips of his ears turn red. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and mumbled out a quick apology. It wasn't like he was doing it on purpose, he honestly just wasn't thinking.
Ha Na shook her hands, insisting that it was fine, "It's fine, it's fine. I have a brother and it's not like it's the first time I've seen a guy without his shirt on." Clapping her hands lightly to dispel the lingering awkwardness, "Okay, I think we're good to go. Director Toh should be done setting up, let's head down to the studio."
Director Toh took charge quickly, filming the test shots first before moving to the first cut. Ha Na watched the monitor like a hawk, trying to make sure she didn't miss any of the details. Ting-jie made the right choice; they definitely were the right people to endorse the company's new protein drink.
She had initially been worried when she was told that Ting-jie had chosen an idol boy group. Idol boy groups tended to have female fans which would have defeated the purpose since they were looking to target the male market. These guys were pretty buff and exuded masculinity in a way that contrasted against the idol groups out in the market currently.
'Maybe that's the concept they're going for to differentiate themselves,' she thought to herself. She could see guys wanting to look like them though which was perfect since that was exactly what the ads are aiming for. 'Not complaining, this look definitely suits my tastes better.'
They had worked with an idol group member in the past who had a waist that was smaller than hers and eyes that were more doe-like than her tilted ones. She went to the gym religiously everyday for two weeks straight after that shoot to make herself feel better about herself.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the director gesturing for her to come over to the set.
"I was thinking of adding an additional scene, it just came to me while I was talking to them. Apparently these guys are known for their huge appetites so why don't we leverage off that?"
Ha Na nodded, "What do you have in mind?"
Wen Yi piped in," You should do a morning scene. Just film one of us half-asleep but needing to run out the door. We never have time for a proper breakfast when we're working so it's either something instant or something we can eat on the go like buns."
Tilting her head, she considered the idea. It did make sense and it fit into the brand's proposition. Plus if these guys really did have a huge appetite, it could indirectly convey the message that the drink was enough to fill them up so it would definitely be enough for the average person.
"Okay, I think that sounds good," she agreed, indicating to the director to proceed.
The director decided that having just one of them do the scene would be more effective and chose Hao Jie for it. Ha Na watched as the stylists swept in to redo his hair and makeup so that he had that tousled just woke up look. She couldn't help the little smile on her face. He had the type of physique that she was attracted to with his wide shoulders and great arms. Now with this little makeover, he looked so very cuddly.
'I guess this is that duality that Jia Jia was referring to,' she mused. 'Speaking of which... where is she?'
Looking around she finally spotted her in the corner, not very subtly trying to take a subtle photo. Walking up to her, Ha Na poked her in the side. "Stop trying to sneak photos of them. It's rude, just ask them for a proper photo later."
Jia Jia pouted, "But he looks so adorable like that. So soft and fluffy and precious. I'm officially bias wrecked Ha Na. That height, that body, that face. How can a man be both sexy and cute at the same time? How do I stay loyal to my baby when Hao-ge is out here looking like that?"
Ha Na just patted her on the back, consoling her while she continued to watch the shoot.