[Amber]
"You'll just have to help me," Deok-Su nodded towards her as he gently placed the lanyard in her palm.
Her best friend's husband was tall and lanky, with a thick mess of curly black hair. He was rather good looking if you were into under-eye bags and a perpetual look of sleepiness.
They stuck out like a sore thumb on his pale face. Deep, purple and heavy on his skin. He looked tired 24/7 and no amount of sleep could reduce the colour or size of those bags. Dude was just born looking like a zombie or as Miri liked to call it...A sexy zombie.
Deok-Su turned to talk to the admin at the front desk. Amber took the time to look at the squared plastic of her lanyard, flipping it over to inspect the photograph.
Ambrosia Momo Pei
Internship/Temporary Assistant under RibidK
AirSound Entertainment
She grimaced at the saturated picture. Her smile did not reach her eyes and she looked kind of stupid. She looked horrible and the frontal shot brought out the irregularities in her features.
She swallowed back those self-deprecating thoughts. Poisonous thoughts of how ugly she looked compared to her vastly attractive soulmates. As Miri said, she should just appreciate what Fate had given her.
Amber sighed.
The world did not revolve around her like a stupid fanfiction. The school that Miri had applied for her wasn't exactly at the bottom of her list, but it was close enough to be.
Korea's University of the Arts (KUOA) was famous. It was one of the best in the country. But, it was way too expensive for Amber and the subsidies from the Soulmate International Facility could barely cover the tips of the sky-high fees.
She could have gone to other cheaper art schools in more rural areas in the country if it were not for the fact that her soulmates' dormitory was right smack in the middle of the neighbourhood for the rich and famous. The nearby schools like KUOA were thus schools for the wealthy.
Amber had not managed to obtain a soulmate scholarship. She did get some money from the facility, but without clear proof that her soulmate stayed in the area, she had to pay off at least half of the costs. She guessed she ought to be thankful that she got anything at all.
It didn't help that the school dormitory was at full capacity and the cheaper apartments nearby had long been rented by students.
It took a few days of constant searching to get any decent housing. She managed to get a studio shoebox apartment that sat in the poorer part of the neighbourhood, nestled just across a famous night club.
The noise was insane. The kind that made the floor shake whenever the DJ decided to drop the beat. The apartment also had a thin fuzzy layer of mildew that climbed up every possible surface.
The noise and the dilapidated state of the apartment dramatically lowered the rental price, which made it affordable for Amber.
Amber refused to leech off Miri for help. Amber was not a parasite, and with her birthday no longer a form of excuse, she was not keen on using her best friend's wallet any longer.
It was just bad taste to depend on your best friend or anyone, for that matter, at her age. Her parents sent her what they could, but it was only enough to cover for her basic expenses in school.
So she worked around with her school timetable, switching classes to fit her schedule. A schedule which consisted of a part-time job at the night club and her 'internship' with Deok-Su.
She didn't expect him to pay her an hourly wage since this 'job' was just a way for her to stay close to her soulmates. However, Deok-Su insisted on paying her. He said that he had to make her do work or else his bosses would question her existence. The fact that he had managed to get her in with her horrid track record with AirSound Entertainment was applaudable.
He must have been sneaky about it, probably fabricating information to get past security.
Amber wanted to resettle the effects of the soul suppressants. She also wanted to get to know her soulmates. Maybe even make them fall in love with her, if that was even remotely possible.
She was sure it wouldn't be easy and part of her believed that JieMi was not the only one attached. They were attractive single men, so she was sure that they had girlfriends. Hell, she would be thankful with just one available, single soulmate.
"What kind of errands?" Amber asked, meeting his gaze. She looped the lanyard over her neck, letting it dangle and rest at her midsection and her eyes drifted down to her clothes. They were simple enough. A huge white sweater, along with a pair of skinny jeans.
Deok-Su had urged her to dress comfortably.
The artists residing in the company didn't have a dress code and were allowed to wear whatever the hell they wanted. But the harsh judgemental glares from the surrounding staff made her feel severely underdressed. Her outfit was nothing compared to Deok-Su's hoodie with its neon prints. He looked like he was so ready to go for a fashion walk.
"You could help me with the lyrics? Buy coffee? Organize my files? I'll tell you what to do." He smiled at her kindly. "Don't worry about it," the guy told her, turning back to the admin. Amber inhaled slowly, pursing her lips as she glanced around at her surroundings.
The company, while modern and new in design, was severely lacking in windows. There were obvious measures to protect the idols from paparazzi and peeking fans.
However, considering the lack of windows, she did not expect to step into such an airy and well-lit lobby.
The building was naturally lit by the sun. It had metallic reflectors on the roof that adjusted according to the sun's position throughout the day. Each level was designed such that the linkages were made of thick clear glass, allowing for maximum light to perforate into every floor.
At the very centre of the building, there was a huge lightweight silver cloud that was made up of thousands of thin shards of stainless steel and the occasional silver ball. The various levels of the building encased this work of art like rose petals surrounding a closed bud. The light-coloured marbled flooring added to the perceived wideness of the company's interior.
Amber was pretty impressed with the architecture and interior design of the building.
"Let's go," Deok-Su said and Amber timidly followed him to the metal gantries that guarded the elevators.
She avoided eye contact with the two burly security guards that stood beside the gantries, scampering straight into the elevators. The door closed shut behind them, she turned to Deok-Su, lips pursed.
"Now what?" She squeaked, trying desperately to keep calm.
"Operation: Make them fall in love with you," Deok-Su said the words animatedly, imitating his fiancée's mannerisms. Amber snorted. This was probably another one of Miri's plans.
Deok-Su simmered back into his usual laidback mannerism, looking exhausted from that sudden burst of dramatic energy. He reminded her of a balloon that inflated for a moment and then deflated immediately because of a hole in its skin.
Deok-Su spoke with a low bored drawl. "I've worked with all of them once or at least we've been in the same room discussing the same song. We're kind of friends? I guess?" Deok-Su shrugged to himself. "But, I'm closer to Casper and Oliver." He nodded, perking up at the mention of his friends. "You might see them if you stick around."
"As long as we don't see JieMi or MinJae then I'm good," Amber replied quickly. "Especially MinJae." One look would be all it took for her to get kicked out of this building and sent to the police.