Yuri blushed as she bit her lips in contemplation. She had gotten a text last night from the handsome man at the cafe. He had texted to her that she was beautiful and that he was sorry he didn't get her name.
Yuri slapped her forehead, wondering how she could have forgotten to ask for his name.
Placing her phone down, she ate her toast and turned on the TV, the news channel buzzing in the background. As she grabbed a sip of her coffee, she heard a familiar voice coming from the TV.
"I just climbed down."
Turning towards the TV, Yuri spit out her coffee when she saw the ridiculously handsome man on the screen.
"Are we done? Can I go now?"
Yuri watched the interview intently and then searched it up to watch it from the beginning. Finishing the video, she couldn't help but start laughing breathlessly at his words and expressions. He was so stiff and yet still somehow charming in his reactions. As she watched the video of him climbing down a blazing building, Yuri pursed her lips. She hadn't expected him to be a hero. Her research soon turned to stalking, and she discovered numerous threads and tweets that had captured him eating, interrogating a squirrel, and ever so slightly smiling.
"So his name is Jungsu." Yuri whispered.
Overwhelmed, and slightly embarrassed, Yuri stopped stalking him and read his text again without clicking on it. Staring at it intently, she got up and headed to work, figuring she would simply reply later.
~~
Jungsu sat calmly in front of Hyunwoo as he explained the details of the contract. Despite it being only one o'clock, he was mentally exhausted as he had been examined by multiple people in the building.
"The filming will start next week so we'll need you to arrive on set at around seven in the morning."
As Hyunwoo's eyes landed on Jungsu's hair and clothes, he jotted down a note.
"We will also be assigning a stylist to you. Are you available all day today?" Hyunwoo asked after looking up from his notepad.
"Yes, I suppose so-"
"Great. Today we'll have a colour analyst and a stylist determine what clothes and colours suit you best. Don't worry as that will be covered by us."
Pushing the contract towards Jungsu, he smiled widely and handed over a pen.
"Now all you need to do is sign."
"Could I consult with someone before I do so?"
"Yes absolutely! Though, I doubt anyone would find anything wrong with the contract. We are offering you ₩5,000,000 per episode." Hyunwoo smiled.
Jungsu looked up at the man in disbelief. There would be twenty episodes for the season. As far as he knew, he would be in every episode. That would mean he would walk away with a total of ₩100,000,000 by the end of it. That was more than double the national average income.
Texting Hyun-su, he sent, They've given me the contract to sign but it seems suspicious. They're offering ₩5,000,000 per episode.
Jungsu saw that Hyun-su had read the message yet remained silent for some time.
Just sign the damn contract. Hyun-su replied while cursing Jungsu.
Jungsu read the message and saw that he had no choice but to sign. Picking up the pen, he signed his name.
Grinning down at him as he stood up, Hyunwoo picked up the papers and placed them into a folder.
"Great! I hope you don't have any previous jobs."
"Why?" Jungsu tilted his head in question.
"Well, because the show will require you to stay at the filming site at all times."
"Even when we're not filming?" Jungsu asked.
"The only time we're not filming is when you're sleeping." Hyunsoo laughed as he led the astonished Jungsu outside the room.
Jungsu walked in a daze as he was introduced to the colour analyst and stylist and sat down on a chair. As they discussed the colours and clothes that would suit him best, they stared for an uncomfortably long period at his face.
After they had made him stand up, the stylist demanded he take his sweater off. Jungsu, still not wearing a shirt underneath, strictly refused.
Hyunwoo, having seen the interview raised his brows as he came to understand Jungsu's state of dress. The stylist too had seen the video and was holding back a smile.
"Okay Jungsu, how about you change into this plain shirt and pants. We need to see what we're working with." Hyunwoo reasoned.
Jungsu nodded his head and changed into the plain clothes. Though the clothes seemed plain, the fabric was soft and hugged his body perfectly. As Jungsu stepped out, he looked around to see that a couple more people had joined in, sitting on the sofa in front of the changing room he had just come from. They immediately stopped their chatter and scanned him with their eyes.
Approaching Jungsu, the stylist walked around him, making Jungsu stand alert, not liking the fact that he couldn't see her.
Meanwhile, the stylist felt as though she was in heaven. She fervently believed that Jungsu had the same proportions as what angels must have, that was how close to a fantasy he seemed.
Pulling out her measuring tape, she went in eagerly to measure him but was stopped by Hyunwoo. Taking the measuring tape from her, he handed it to a male intern sitting on the sofa.
"Cho Joon, you measure him."
Joon stood up with an excited look on his face and nodded his head, "Yes!"
As he started measuring him, Jungsu stiffly stood in place, extending his arms out to the sides and even having his neck and head measured for some reason.
Once Cho Joon was done measuring and the stylist had finished jotting down his measurements, Jungsu went back to change but was stopped by the stylist.
"No. Just wear these clothes. They are yours anyways."
Jungsu reluctantly nodded his head, sensing the determination in the stylist's eyes.
As they started dragging him away, Jungsu looked back into the changing room where his sweatpants and hoodie lay.
"My-" Jungsu said.
"We have to hurry now. We have a lot of things to do." Hyunwoo interrupted.
Jungsu glanced back at his clothes in farewell, not knowing if he would see them again.
Hyunwoo and Jungsu got on the elevator and headed towards the basement. As they walked towards Hyunwoo's car, he opened the backdoor for Jungsu, causing Jungsu to glance at Hyunwoo as if he had lost his mind. Walking around towards the front passenger seat, Jungsu got inside, glancing outside the window as the car moved onto the street.
"We're going to the best hairdresser in Seoul. She will make you even shinier than you already are. I'm serious! But then you will probably need to walk around with a mask on. Even now..." Hyunwoo trailed off.
"Seriously, after this, do not step outside your house without a mask."
"Why?" Jungsu asked, not wanting to wear such constricting material over his face.
"You're much more famous than you know, Jungsu. And even without that, you would be getting too much... unwanted attention."
Jungsu nodded his head and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text to Mr. Kim that he would have to quit his job. Since he hadn't signed a contract with him yet, Jungsu figured it wouldn't be a problem.
As he exited the chat, his eyes wandered to the name Yuri highlighted on his phone. Though she hadn't given her name, he had heard a male customer call her by that name. He must have been a regular, yet Jungsu had felt strange while looking at the two.
She had not yet replied to his text message, so Jungsu figured she found someone more interesting to talk to. Perhaps more funny.
Jungsu was not funny.
The car came to a stop and Hyunwoo and Jungsu stepped out. Jungsu glanced at the expensive looking building, wondering why a company would be willing to spend so much money on his hair. As they stepped inside the building, he appreciated the clean interior of the salon. There were no chairs or people in sight, rather, there were separate rooms dedicated to each customer.
"Hello! What can I help you..." The receptionist trailed off as she looked at Jungsu who was still looking around the salon. Feeling eyes on him, he quickly turned towards her, causing the woman to dart her eyes towards Hyunwoo.
"Would you call Jennie for us and tell her that we are here from Kangsoo Entertainment." Hyunwoo asked.
The receptionist left quickly, coming back with the stylist known as Jennie. As she walked into the room, her eyes landed on Jungsu and floated away before quickly landing back on him.
"Hyunwoo! Nice seeing you here again! I see you've brought another celebrity. What will he be? An idol?"
"We're aiming for an actor actually." Hyunwoo smiled in greeting.
Jungsu once again looked at Hyunwoo as if he were mad.
An actor?
"Alright. I'm sure I can give him something that will suit him."
"Great. We want to keep his hair black, but the rest we will leave up to you."
Jennie ushered Jungsu inside one of the rooms, putting an apron around his neck and motioning towards the chair. Sitting down on it, he heard the door shut close as the woman approached him. Pulling out a pair of scissors, she held them against his vital points and glared at him in the mirror.
"Nice seeing you as well, Jennie." Jungsu drawed out the name, mocking her.
"Why are you here Jungsu? Did somebody send you for me?" She said with a shaking voice.
Jungsu remained relaxed as she pressed harder into his neck with the scissors, his half-opened eyes glancing at her in the mirror, daring her to try.
Her hands shook as she dropped the scissors from his neck, remembering that he was notorious among the group for a reason.
"I see you've settled well into your role. You even got a promotion, must be nice." Jungsu said, smiling half-heartedly.
She stared back at him, shivering in fear as she grabbed on tighter to the scissors in her hand.
"I knew you weren't dead the moment they'd told us. But you know, Minho seemed to believe it." Jungsu said as he looked into her teary eyes.
"They might have killed him, Eun-ji, but you killed him first." He said indifferently, brushing his hair back as he gestured for her to start cutting his hair.
Steadying her shaking hands, she combed his hair out, snipping away at his hair expertly.
"I'm not here for you." Jungsu said.
Eun-ji paused, looking down at Jungsu's face and finding no lies.
"I left on my own. The police even knows what I am." Eun-ji's eyes widened at that.
"Tell me, what do you have against Kang Haeun?" Jungsu said nonchalantly.
Eun-ji felt her heart thunder in her ears as Jungsu's sharp eyes held her hostage.
"Wh-what do you mean-"
"Please save your lies, we both know it won't get you anywhere with me."
Eun-ji closed her mouth slowly, swallowing hard in the silence.
"Why is he hiding you from the authorities, Eun-ji?" He asked louder, causing Eun-ji to flinch.
"I-I can't say." She said quietly.
Exhaling slowly, Jungsu looked silently at Eun-ji.
"You know I could have given your name to the officers? But I didn't. You know why? Because I didn't think they would be able to retrieve the information." Resting his arm on the back of the chair, he looked back at her.
"But I can. So now, either you give me the information, or I will take it." He threatened, his nails digging into his palm.
Eun-ji started crying, pleading with him to spare her. Jungsu watched on in silence, wondering what Minho had seen in her.
Eun-ji, upon realizing Jungsu was not about to budge, wiped her face with the back of her hands and went back to cutting his hair.
"Can you guarantee my safety afterwards?" She asked.
"Your safety won't be a problem, I can guarantee that."
As she continued cutting his hair in silence, Jungsu took that as an agreement.
Taking off the apron around his neck, Eun-ji moved him towards the sink, easing his head back. Jungsu closed his eyes as the cold water ran over him and her fingers lathered shampoo on his head. The sound of the running water filled the room as Eun-ji's fingers ran through his hair.
As Jungsu felt himself relax, he struck the side of Eun-ji's neck just as she was about to stab him, causing her to fall unconscious.
Turning up the tap himself, Jungsu leaned back and let the water run through his hair.
His hand slowly crept up his face as he covered his eyes and felt his chest shaking. His quiet laughter filling the silence in the room. He dropped his smile, opening his eyes once again as he stood up to turn the tap off.
Reaching for a towel, he rubbed it against his head, bending down to look at Eun-ji. Shaking his head slightly, he stood up and went to open the door, calling out for help.
They rushed in and shook Eun-ji, wondering what had caused her to faint when she appeared to be unharmed. As they shook her for a couple minutes, even spraying some water at her face, Eun-ji finally woke up.
Jungsu walked out of the room and found Hyunwoo waiting for him.
"Let's go." Jungsu said.
"Sir, your hair isn't finished yet!" The receptionist said after seeing Jungsu's wet hair.
Jungsu waved back at them, dragging Hyunwoo out and walking towards his car.
"Wow, Jungsu. I can call you that right?" Jungsu nodded.
"You're very strong." He said, feeling his arm after Jungsu practically carried him back.
"Sorry." Jungsu said.
"It's alright! You look good now, even better, though your hair is wet right now."
Jungsu glanced at his hair in the window of Hyunwoo's car, praising Eun-ji's skills in his head. She had left the hair at the base of his head a little longer, while the hair on the sides of his temples had been trimmed but still remained long enough to cover his eyes.
Opening the door, Jungsu sat down, wishing to be far from the salon.
As the car started, Hyunwoo began talking.
"Your clothes will be there for you when we arrive at the shooting location. In fact, I think it would be best if we..."
Hyunwoo droned on and Jungsu felt his thoughts drift away, finally opening his palm to see the indents that his nails had left behind.