The next day, Sienna woke up and checked her phone, still half asleep. She growled as she saw the time : 6am. Ugh, that time difference was going to be difficult! She threw her phone on the pillow next to her and turned around to try and fall asleep again, but it was no use. She gave up, and decided to do some work-out. She put on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, did her hair into a ponytail, put on her trainers, and went in the kitchen to get a bottle of water. She was about to leave when she realised she had forgotten her phone and earplugs. She turned back and went to fetch them. Earplugs in her ears, music playing, she was ready. When she walked past the receptionist, she slightly bowed and smiled.
"Annyeonghaseyo," she said.
She went outside, and was happy to realise that because it was still so early in the morning, the temperature was fresh. She took a deep breath and started running with small strides, controlling her breathing. After an hour, she was sweaty and breathing a little hard, but she knew she could continue. So she decided to go and check where that Fantagio company was. She arrived in front of the building, and stopped, admiring it.
"So, this is where I'll be working for the next year," she whispered, not impressed. "Nice place," she nodded.
She opened her bottle of water and started drinking. She suddenly choked and spit water when she saw a tall handsome man with pink hair coming out of a car, and coming towards the entry. Moonbin.
"Shit!" she whispered.
She glanced around, looking for a way to escape, and ended up just running away as fast as possible, hoping he wouldn't have seen her or recognised her. Fortunately for Sienna, Moonbin hadn't seen her. She stopped running after a kilometer to catch her breath.
"Well, that was a close one!" she exclaimed. "I really have to be more careful, what was I thinking?! But honestly, who in their right mind goes to work at 7am in the morning!"
Sienna quickly glanced around her and walked back to her hotel, went up to the Penthouse and hit the shower. After a nice breakfast, she opened her computer and started working, until lunch time. Thinking it wasn't safe for her anymore to go out around Seoul, Sienna decided to have lunch in her Penthouse. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that she received a text from Simon, telling her he had arrived. Ah! Finally! Now the fun would begin! Sienna threw her phone on her bed, kicked her shoes off of her feet, making them fly across the room, and jumped high before landing on her bed. She connected her phone to the speaker and played a song, putting it as loud as the device allowed it. Then she got up, grabbed her hair-brush, using it as a microphone and started singing while dancing, all around the huge apartment.
That evening, Sienna felt like her mission really was beginning, like this time it was for real, and she was thrilled. Although, she had to be extra careful now... She couldn't make the mistake to run into him again, and ruin the reason why she was here. And running away was just too risky : what if he spotted her and ran after her? She had to think of something better. A disguise. So she could go out without the fear of meeting him. First of all, she had to wear sunglasses at all times. But that wouldn't be enough... Sienna was pacing around the living room, arms crossed on her chest, one hand stroking her chin. She suddenly stopped and slapped her forehead. Stupid that she was! It was easy! She should have thought about it earlier... Dying her hair seemed to be the best option. She grabbed her coat, shoes and handbag and left her Penthouse again, praying she wouldn't come across Moonbin.
She entered a shop and went straight to the beauty range to find the right product for her hair. It took her half an hour. When she saw the time, she scoffed. "Good thing Simon isn't here, or he would have killed me!" After paying, she went straight back to the hotel, head down, quickly glancing from time to time in front of her, in case there was a signpost or something... Back to her room, she went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror for a long time, still wondering if this was the right decision. She finally sighed and rolled her eyes. "Make a freaking decision!" She grabbed the box, took the products out and started reading the instructions.
Two hours later, she was done. "Oh my God!" she screamed. She then looked closer. "I look horrible! Blond definitely doesn't suit me," she frowned.
She threw everything in the bin, made a face at her mirror, and left. It was 8pm, and she felt exhausted. Well, to be honest, she had had a long day... But going to bed now was not an option, for that would mean that the next day she would wake up even earlier. So, she decided to have a nice evening, making herself a nice dinner and watching a nice film. Afterall, she deserved it. Today had been full of emotions. Just before that, she went out on the balcony and lit a cigarette, while looking over the city full of people and noises.
The week that followed her arrival to Seoul, went by very fast for Sienna who had fun playing the tourist around Gangnam-Gu, and Seoul itself. While playing the dummy, and asking her way to literally anyone that crossed her path, she memorised every street name, restaurants, cafés, shops, anything. At the end of the second week, she had memorised everything around Fantagio office, the way to go there from the hotel and back, how to go from her hotel to Seoul itself, and basically her way around, up to Itaewon. She had only seen Moonbin from afar, for she was spying on the group, checking where they went, and had managed to stay unseen, and that was a relief. Well, if they had met each other again, he probably wouldn't have recognised her, for she was now blond, was wearing sunglasses and a black cap on her head. Sienna really felt proud.
When the third week started, it was time for Sienna to apply for a job for the Fantagio company. She had her resumé that Mr Kong had made and printed out for her, with all the contacts and information needed. It was a Thursday, a sunny day, and the young girl had gone for a run that morning like every other day. When she arrived in front of the office, she felt nervous : what if they discovered the truth? What if they imprisoned her? What if... "Ah, get it together!" she thought, "You lied to Moonbin easily, this is no different." Sienna took a deep breath and entered. It was luminous inside, everything was white and shiny, and she was welcomed by a woman dressed in black : a tight black knee-long skirt, a white shirt and a black blazer, where a golden name tag was pinned on. She walked over to the receptionist and started talking in Korean.
"Annyeonghaseyo," she smiled, confidently. "I'm here to apply for a job in your company."
"ID, name and CV, please," the woman responded dryly.
Sienna didn't flinch, and kept smiling. "Sure, here you go," she said as she took the documents out of her handbag. "My name is Brooke Hamilton."
The woman took everything and started typing on her computer. "So, to resume, you are from England, your name is Brooke, surname Hamilton, you're twenty-years old, and you've been studying advertising and management."
"Yes, that is correct!" Sienna grinned.
The woman looked at Sienna and frowned at the young woman's excitement. "Do you have any contacts for us, to verify that information?"
"Yes, ma'am. Everything you need is on my resumé." Sienna answered, giving the papers a quick glance, then looking back at the woman.
"Good." The woman said, typing on her computer. She then gave Sienna her ID back. "Thank you for your application, we will call you back soon. You can go now. Good day, miss."
"Thank you! Have a nice day!" Sienna smiled brightly. She picked her handbag up from the floor and left the building.
Outside, a car had just parked in front of the office, and three young men got out. Sienna immediately recognised Moonbin. The others' names were a little blurry, but given that she had such a good memory it annoyed her to not remember. She stared at the two other guys, trying to remember the photographs and names, and put them together. "Ah yes!" she thought, "that's Park Min Hyuk with that purple hair of his... But the other one... Of course! Cha Eun Woo, isn't it? Yeah, I'm sure it is..." She didn't realise she had been staring until Park Min Hyuk turned his gaze towards her. His eyes shaped like cat ones seemed to pierce right through her, and it was enough for her to shake her head, give him a small smile and turn around. However, she couldn't help but look back. Would Moonbin recognise her? Would he remember her? Somewhere, deep in her heart, she wished he would. The first time she had met him, she would have been happy to have him as her friend, if he hadn't been part of that stupid company she had to investigate! Well, she couldn't exactly do anything about it, now could she? She started walking away, and once she was out of sight, she took her phone out, and called Mr Kong.
"I have applied for the job. What's next?"
"You wait for their call. They will take you, don't worry, but it will take them two weeks for that. While you wait, find a club or bar where Astro's members go to often. You've learned how to dance, it would be a perfect way to seduce one of them, if not all of them." Sienne contained herself, as she was about to scream a 'WHAT?!' thinking about how inappropriate her chief's suggestion was. She certainly was NOT going to do such a thing. She was a spy and had to do anything in her power to fulfill this mission, but she was not going to whore herself like that... She still had some self respect. Playing the idiot while visiting the town was humiliating enough! She snapped out of her angry thoughts when Mr Kong continued speaking. " Make sure your partner does well, I haven't had news from him, and he should have called me by now."
"I will. Thank you, sir. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, and don't do anything stupid."
Sienna scoffed as she hung up the phone. "As if I, of all people, would do anything stupid..." she mumbled. "Yeah, but he's got a point, there..."
Without even realising it, Sienna had arrived in front of her hotel. And there, she spotted Simon. She suppressed the urge to run up to him and hug him, and just casually walked past him. As she arrived close enough for him to hear her, she whispered. "Let's meet, tomorrow for lunch. At the Paris Baguette coffee shop." Daniel looked surprised but nodded, and Sienna went back up in her hotel. She was about to throw her shoes across the room but stopped.
"Oh, wait, I have to go out again," she realised, as she hit her face with her hand. She growled and left, again, for the third time that day. She walked to the metro, took the train there, and 20 minutes later, she had arrived at Itaewon Station. When she got out, she knew exactly what kind of bar she was looking for. She actually had a specific one in mind. It was a bar/club, where there were two dancers entertaining the clients who came for a drink. After a ten minute walk, she arrived in front of that bar, and entered. It was dark inside, colourful lights were playing, giving the place a festive yet cosy look. At the bar, different bottles of different alcohols were exposed in an esthetic way, and a soft orange light, placed in front of each bottle, illuminated them. The seats were made of black leather and shiny dark brown wood. The tables were low and made of the same wood. At the center of the place was a huge stage. She spotted the barman, and walked up to him.
"Annyeong," Sienna called.
The man looked up and his eyes met hers, and he flashed her a smile. That young woman was gorgeous, and he wondered what a beautiful foreigner like her wanted here, so early in the evening.
"Annyeonghaseyo," he replied, "how can I help?"
"I would like to apply for a job here. I'm not sure about being a barmaid though, but I can dance."
The barman stared at her, impressed by her on-point Korean. "What kind of dance?"
"Slow," Sienna started. The barman frowned and made a face. "Waltz?" Sienna tried again. The barman laughed. "How about... Tango?" Sienna finally said. The barman's eyes lightened up.
"That would be perfect. The late tango dancer we had, had to leave a week ago. Since then, we've been entertaining our clients with music only, and our tango guy has been feeling lonely. Everynight he picks a girl among the clients, but it's not the same you know?" Sienna nodded. "So, this is perfect! Can I have your name, and ID please? And how good are you at this type of dance?"
"Sure," Sienna smiled as she handed him her ID. "My name is Brooke, by the way. Brooke Hamilton. I'm 22. And I'm very good. I've had lessons for two years, two hours everyday."
"Wow... Well nice to meet you, Brooke. And welcome! Could you start tonight? We have a lot of reservations tonight. Your partner will be waiting for you. You have two hours of training with him before the bar opens. Is that okay?"
"It's more than enough time," Sienna winked. She took her bag and started following the barman to the dressing room. "I didn't catch your name, what is it?"
"I'm Kwang-min. This way, please."
They arrived in a big room where she found everything she needed for the make-up and for doing her hair. With that, many outfits, and pairs of shoes with very high heels. A man then entered. He was probably 30, and was dressed all in black, his shirt slightly open, revealing the beginning of his chest. Very spanish like.
"This is your partner, Chul. Get ready and get used to each other. We open in two hours."
Sienna nodded at Chul who gave her a tight smile and left her to get changed. Being used to what kind of make-up and hair style you have to do and have for this, Sienna was very quick. She put dark eyeshadow, black mascara, drew a thick line of eyeliner on her eyelid, just above the beginning of the eyelashes, drew a thin black line with a crayon at the base of her eye, and finally, put bright red lipstick on her lips. When she was done, she did her hair into a tight high hair bun, decorated it with a red flower. After that, she quickly chose her dress : it had straps and had a revealing neckline; the back was bare, crossed by the two straps only. The dress was black, the top was tight and it became fluid from the top of the thighs to the middle of the thighs. For the shoes, she wore red ballroom shoes with heels that were ten centimeters high. Sienna looked at herself in the mirror and, satisfied, she went to join Chul. They trained for an hour and a half, and felt ready when Kwang-min told them he was opening the place. When the bar was full, Kwang-min climbed on the stage, took the microphone and started speaking.
"Annyeonghaseyo, and welcome, everyone!" he exclaimed happily. "Tonight, we have a special surprise for you all! Last week, as you all remember, one of our dancers had to quit, and we were without anyone for way too long, and our poor Chul was left alone! But earlier this afternoon, a miracle! A beautiful foreigner, an angel! arrived into my bar and asked if she could start working as a dancer here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Chul and Brooke!"
People started applauding and whistling, and the music started. Chul and Sienna got on stage, and a bright spotlight hit them, blinding the both of them. They started dancing, twirling, sliding, suddenly close to each other, suddenly far... The show went on for another half hour before Kwang-min announced a break. A jazzy music was played in the background, and the two dancers went to have a drink to get refreshed.
"That was truly amazing! You were absolutely amazing up there, Brooke!" Kwang-min exclaimed. "Tonight is going to be great! Thanks to you, I will have more and more clients!"
"You're welcome, Kwang-min," Sienna smiled. "I'm just going to smoke a cigarette and I'll be back."
Sienna went to fetch a cigarette and her lighter and went outside. Ah! The fresh air felt so good right now! The night was nearly there. It was probably 11pm now. Sienna exhaled the smoke and looked into the dark of the night. She was loving this mission. Maybe it wasn't so hard after all. She smiled, and went back in. She had ten minutes left. When that time was up, Chul and Sienna went back on stage. Sienna smiled at the audience, and looked around. At that moment, the door of the bar opened. Sienna glanced at it, and froze. Entering the bar were Moonbin, followed by Cha Eun Woo, Park Min-Hyuk and the others... No! How was that possible? It couldn't! Not tonight, not right now! This was not supposed to happen. And now, despite her blond hair, she didn't have her sunglasses or cap to hide her. He would recognise for sure... Sienna thought fast. But what, yes what exactly would she do? She was on a secret mission and had things planned for sure, but she had to always be prepared for anything. She straightened up and smiled, as the music started. Whatever happens, it was part of the mission anyway. She didn't think it would happen so fast, but it did. And now she had to deal with it. She glanced at the door, and saw Moonbin still standing, looking at the dancers. No. Looking at her. He had recognised her...