by L. Marcelo
"Hey guys." She called their attention.
"Yeah?" Everyone said in unison.
"This is your season greetings for you fans, right?" She asked and all of them nodded.
"Do you trust me?" She smiled as she watched them have different expressions. She expected them to protest. After all, they just met.
How can you actually trust someone you just met? But as professionals, the boys had to trust her so they didn’t have a choice but to nod.
"I'm pretty sure everyone is feeling sleepy. Even I feel the same way too so let's do this instead." She started to give instructions to the staff.
The strict reminder of Hugo was for it to be a season greeting. All he wanted was for them to give that Christmas vibe. Since everyone felt sleepy and it was so obvious on everyone’s faces, she thought why not take advantage of it?
She wasn't simply being a photographer right now. The fangirl in her was also present and that was exactly why she knew that what she had in mind would definitely work.
From a simple White Christmas concept, she gave it a little twist. She wanted the boys to look like they just woke up on Christmas Day. When their fans see them in that state, it would make them feel that as if they woke up beside the man of their dreams. It was a scene that every fangirl, maybe even every girl, would love to wake up to.
And so the shoot was resumed and it turned out way better than she expected. The photos turned out great and their expressions are just priceless. Even the boys, their manager and Therry thought so too. They didn't even have to act. They just woke up and she only used it to their advantage.
There was nothing more effective than using the current situation to act instead of acting for a situation.
When the group photos were done, they started to work on the individual shots. Meahri was happy that when they were doing their solo shots, she could see that they started to feel comfortable, that they're finally them.
She didn’t know how to explain the difference but she just knew. She didn't know whether it was her instincts talking to her or it was the fangirl inside her that was talking. Whichever it was, she was confident with her judgment.
It was Jin's turn. His concept was having coffee. He was doing great. She loved his expressions. He knew his angles. He knew what the people want and what his charms were but there was one thing that she wanted.
Ever since she had the concept decided for Jin, there was this one specific look she wanted him to have. She wanted him to look at the camera like he was having his first coffee with his girl. Meahri being someone who always made sure she get what she had in mind especially when it comes to her works, she started to work her magic.
"Jin, look at the camera as if it's the girl of your dreams." She said as she continued taking photos of him.
"After spending an awesome night together, the two of you just woke up and had a nice cup of coffee." She smiled as she saw the changed on his expression. She took a few steps closer towards him wanting to get a closer shot.
"It was the very first time you had coffee with her and you can't stop yourself from showing how happy you are. You were so happy that she was sitting right in front of you."
And just like that, the pose she wanted was right in front of her.
He had the cup in his hand, his elbow on the table. He was looking at her. When he was about to take a sip of his coffee, he found himself stopping just a few inches away from the cup because he can't stop himself from smiling while staring at her.
It was perfect. He got the exact image Meahri had in mind that she found herself speechless when she took the photo.
There was a smile on her face and Jin saw it. He may not know what was the reason behind it but his guts told him that he was partly the reason for it. Whether he was or he wasn't, it made him happy. Meahri's full attention was on his and no one else. It was like they were in their own world.
Therry who was watching the shoot found himself smiling as well. He just saw his little sister’s magic once again. She always knew how to relate to people. It was as if she had gone through a lot that she always found a way to connect with other people and he knew it was true... his little sis had gone through a lot.
He only knew her for more than a year now because of Thiara but he’d seen a lot especially when Vhynce was involved. He was proud of her and he’d always be.
When they were done with the first shoot, they took a break and let the boys changed to their other clothes. This time it was for their group's official calendar for the upcoming year. The shoot went on until night.
When the shoot ended, CORS gave their thanks and bid goodbye. It was a long night for Meahri’s first day with CORS.
It was past midnight when she finished packing up with the staff. They went to grab some late night snacks with everyone before heading back to the hotel.
When Therry was just a step away from Meahri's door, he stopped.
"Hey, you can get more rest tonight. We can just meet Hugo tomorrow to show him the photos." He smiled at her who was busy removing her coat.
"It's totally fine. We can meet him later, just tell me what time." She assured.
"You sure? I mean -" She cut him off as she head towards him to send him off despite the fact that their rooms are just next to each other.
"Therry..." The look on her face told him to stop it. That he didn't need to do it and that she was fine. She continued, "I know what you mean. I just don't like the idea of Hugo thinking I'm taking advantage of your friendship with him. This means a lot to me and I really want to see if I'm good enough..."
He didn't say a word. He may not be 100% sure about the meaning behind her last words but he was sure it wasn't simply about working with Hugo. There was something else.
"You were never good enough because you've always been more than that sis. Don't ever forget that." He patted her head and smiled. "Okay, we leave around 10. You good?"
"Yeah. I'm fine with that. We can just have breakfast here before meeting Hugo since I'm pretty sure it might be a long meeting." She commented.
"Okay. Go ahead and get some rest." He said and left Meahri's room.
When he got to his room, he can't help but think about Meahri's words. He knew that what she meant was, if she was ever good enough for Vhynce. He knew that it wasn't just about her work with Hugo.
She never doubted her work before but ever since that day, she seemed to have lost that confidence she always had. It seemed like she was trying to prove to herself that she deserved to be with him. But no matter what she does, she won't be good enough.
Who knows, maybe she was never good enough in the first place.
He wanted to talk to her about it but it would totally ruin his purpose for giving her this project. He wanted her to forget everything, forget everything that happened in New York.
He wanted her to start anew and enjoy the beauty of Seoul. With that in mind, he would make sure she wouldn't simply work but he would make damn sure that she’d have a vacation too.
Back at Meahri's room, as much as she wanted to do what Therry said, she can't rest either. Not just yet. She took the offer hastily that she didn't had enough time to notify her clients ahead of time that she’d be on leave for 3 weeks.
Now that it happened, there was no way she can back out now. Besides, it wasn’t like her to back out especially when her work was involved.
She took a rest for about 15 minutes before she took a shower.
After she finished cleaning up, she went straight to her phone to check her email. As expected, there were tons. She checked all emails to see if she had to finish anything urgent and there was one. Instead of going straight to sleep after a nice bath, she took out her laptop and started working.
It was past 6 in the morning when she was able to get some sleep.
Chapter Seven
Meahri’s stay in Seoul was mostly spent working with Hugo, CORS and a few other HKE artists. Since she was mostly working, she spent most of her times at HKE bui
lding.
Therry on the other hand was with her whenever he could but things are different now. This time, Anna was with them and Meahri didn’t want to bore her to death. She was in Seoul for work and there was no way she’d ruin Anna’s vacation. She wanted her to enjoy and see how beautiful Seoul was. Besides, Therry had done enough for her so she didn’t want to bother him any longer. She wanted him to spend time with his wife and Therry was very happy about it. He had been waiting for her to arrive and take her to a lot of places.
For the past few days, Meahri was working while Therry and Anna was enjoying Seoul. The only time they’ll meet was whenever they have the time to eat dinner together.
Meahri knew Anna through Therry but she hasn’t spent a lot of time with her. She was happy that she decided to come with them to Seoul. She was able to hang out with her and after she knew more about Anna, the more she adored the couple. They were so in love that she started to feel envious of what they have.
She knew she shouldn’t feel that way but seeing how happy the two were, she can’t help but wish to have something like it too. Sadly, she knew it wouldn’t happen to her. Not when the man who has her heart hated her.
********
One day at Meahri's temporary workplace at HKE building, they were having another meeting for CORS's album entitled ‘Coded Stars’.
It was time to pick the photos to be used for different versions of the album. She never knew there could be so much different versions for an album until now. Coded Stars didn’t only have one version but there were four.
While everyone was busy going through their own photos, Park was talking to Meahri about his choice.
"I love this one." Park smiled as he gave her the photo he wanted her to use for the special version of Coded Stars.
Park changed a lot compared to the first time she met him.
The first time they met, he was cold. He was someone who was in his own world and no one was allowed to come in. It wasn’t that he wasn’t cold anymore. He was more approachable now compared to before.
He had that cold aura around him that Meahri started to find cool instead of annoying. She realized that it was Park's charm. It wasn’t something that he forced to do but it was something he was born with. He really was the ice prince of the group and no one else could take his place.
"This is great but let me show you my favorite shot."
She browsed through the photos on Park's hand and took her favorite shot. It was almost the same as the shot that he chose but the only difference was, the way his eyes looked.
In his choice, he was the ice prince that everyone knew. The one who looked like he didn’t care about anything in the world. But with Meahri's choice, it was the Park she started to know. The ice prince who wasn’t a cold man but actually a warm-hearted man who loved his family and his CORS brothers a lot.
"I love how you expressed yourself here. It shows more the real you than the ice prince that everyone knows." A smile formed on her face as she saw him smiled because of her words. She wasn't trying to flatter him. She was simply telling him what she saw.
"You can take your time choosing. You can just go back to me once you made your decision." She said.
"Thank you."
Park bowed his head and went to the other members.
"Jin, have you chosen yours?" She called out.
"Yeah. I think I have my final choice." He headed towards her holding his photos.
"Hey Therry, you sure you're fine just staying here? I mean it's not like you have anything else to do here... Besides, shouldn’t you be with Anna?" She turned to her left to look at Therry who was busy on his phone.
“Anna’s getting a full body massage, which won’t be done until an hour or so. Besides, I am part of this too, you know?" He said in a as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"What do you mean?" She sounded confused.
"Noona, you didn't know?" He was right again. She did end up getting used to being called noona that she didn’t bother complaining anymore. She was surprised when she heard Jin speak.
"Know what?" She was obviously clueless.
"Tell her Jin." He gave the kid the permission to tell her the news that everyone was aware of except her.
"Therry hyung was one of the producers who worked with us on this album. He produced 3 of our songs." He sounded amused that Meahri seemed to have no idea at all.
The way Jin called Therry hyung showed how close they got. It was a term that Korean guys used to call a guy older than them. However, it was a term that couldn’t be easily used just by anyone. It was often used between guys who are close to each other.
"What?" She exclaimed.
"You really didn't know?" Jin looked like he can't believe that she was clueless about it. Therry laughed in amusement.
"Sis, I've been friends with Hugo for over a decade. We go way back and we've worked together a lot of times in the past. Whenever he finds a chance for us to work together, he always gives me a call. Sometimes, I visit Seoul but there are also times that we just work online especially when I'm busy." He explained. He was still trying to stop himself from laughing at Meahri.
"How come you never told me?" She asked.
"You were too busy." He made sure to emphasized the last two words.
"Hyung, is she always like this?" This came from Jin.
"Yeah. Whenever she's in New York all she do is work, work, and work. She rarely goes out of her house. I think the only time she goes out is when she have projects outside New York or whenever she's meeting with her clients." He was obviously enjoying it.
"I do not!" She said in defense. The two laughed at her reaction. She wasn’t very convincing at all.
"Noona, you're hard working but you should also go out. You need to meet people too especially boys." Jin had a smirk on his face then he realized what he just said.
"Hyung, I'm sorry... I didn't really mean to-" He stopped when he saw the older man burst into laughter.
"Jin, I'm a married man and I believe you’ve seen her. She was the beautiful woman I was with the other day when I came to pick Meahri up. She also happens to be the same girl Meahri and I was talking about just now. Meahri is definitely not my wife. She’s just a little sister to me." There was a hint of seriousness in his voice and Jin felt it.
Therry saw the relief on the kid's face the moment he said he wasn't dating Meahri. It was too obvious that he had to smile at him.
He was old enough to know what the kid was thinking and this time he won't make the same mistake. He'd let nature takes it course. He messed up with Meahri and Vhynce. This time he wouldn’t let the same thing happen and who knows, maybe the two kids might have a chance.
"Wait. So, you mean, you guys aren't dating?" Jin didn't want to sound too happy but he knew he failed. Despite that, he wished Meahri didn't realize it.
"We're so not!"
"Hey! Are you trying to say you'll never date me if I wasn't married?" He sounded like he was offended but he was only teasing her. She may not see it but Jin knew it.
"Therry, you're a great man but we,” She pointed between the two of them before she continued. “It won't happen. No offense, but you're just a brother and a father figure to me." She stuck her tongue out.
"None taken. And for the record, Jin, Meahri is young enough to be my daughter." He smiled as he pat her head.
"Noona, please don't tell me all these time, I shouldn't have been calling you noona."
It was now Jin's time to be confused. He thought that the two were together. It wasn't just him, all CORS members did. It was only Hugo who knew the real deal about the two and he didn't bother telling the kids about it. Besides, it wasn’t like it was something they needed to know.
"I'm young yes but I'm not that young to call you oppa. We're just a year apart." She confessed.
“We’re talking about our Korean age, right?” Jin had to ask.
He knew she was born in New York and despite being a half Korean, she might have forgotten
that her Korean age was a year older than her normal age. He just had to be sure.
“Yeah, Korean age.” She confirmed.
Jin sighed in relief. He was relieved that the two weren't dating and that they were just a year apart but after a second of relief, he realized something else. He didn't exactly found out whether she was single or not. It wasn’t like he could ask either. He didn't want to sound rude. He wanted to ask but he didn't know how.
"I'll have to go out for a bit. Anna’s calling." The attention of the two kids went to Therry.
"I'll be back later. Jin, I'll leave Meahri to you." He put his hand on Jin's shoulder and held it tightly for a second.
At first, Jin thought it was Therry warning him not to hit on his little sis but when he saw the older man’s smile, he immediately knew what he meant. Therry just answered the question that he didn't know how to ask.
"Okay, see you later Therry." She waved at him.
"See you later hyung." Jin smiled.
There were no words needed between the two. The gesture between them was more than enough for them to have a conversation, a conversation that only the two of them understood.
Therry left the room.
“So have you chosen what you want to use?” She went back to business.
“Yeah, I’m almost sure but I wanted to hear what you think since you know more about this than I do.” Truth was, I’m sure what to use but I want you to choose for me. He wanted to say it but decided not to.
Jin felt that it still wasn’t right to make a move on her despite what he just found out. He didn’t know why but there was this part of him that kept on telling him that it wasn’t the right time.
“Yeah sure. Let me see it.”
If it weren’t for her words, he wouldn’t even know he was spacing out. He handed her the photos. He hoped she didn’t see how startled he was. He gave her two of his photos.
While she was looking at them, a smile formed on her face. He didn’t know whether she was doing it on purpose or not. He didn’t know if she was just too focused on his photos that she was not aware about the smile that formed on her face.