Yona lowered her head, headphones on and ignoring the rest of the world as she walked onto the bus that would shortly arrive at the LME Talent Agency. The bus was mostly empty, but she took a seat in the very back, knowing that she'd want to go over the contents within her envelope again.
For a moment, she simply looked out the window at the spot she had sat for five minutes after having unbelievably not missed the bus. As soon as she felt the vehicle begin moving, she emptied the packet onto the seat beside her.
The first thing she grabbed was a letter. It had many tear stains on it, but it was still readable. She looked over it briefly, making one last check that she had all the details right before putting it back into the envelope. Next, she grabbed a thick packet. She flipped through each page as to make sure that she had filled absolutely everything out... including body measurements, which she found strange, but she had also heard briefly before that the president was a bit... eccentric, to say the least.
As she was checking through and filling out missing questions, her mind wandered. It went to Hak, who had left his clear cut future for her. It went to her father who passed away recently. It may have been over a month ago for all she knows, but it still felt like just yesterday she was celebrating her sixteenth birthday. Between that and her nervousness of today, she wasn't able to sleep very well, now that she...
KISS KISS FALL IN LO-
"Excuse me, ma'am."
She opened her eyes just in time to see that her stop was next. She also saw that the time was 16:52 and the bus was filled. There was man looking down at her. Wait, he just-
"Hey, can I sit here?"
"Eh?" She looked down at the seat next to her, which had the papers and such scattered on it in a mess. She started cleaning it up hurriedly. "Ah, I'm sorry, I-"
He laughed as he watched her. As soon as everything was within the packet in her hands, he sat down. "It's fine, it's fine! I'm in no hurry. My car's at the shop, so I'm not used to this. Cabs are busy around this time, too."
He looked over to the girl next to him. She was pretty, with pink hair that waved ever so slightly as it cascaded down to her shoulders, a slightly hidden bag, and a loosely fitting dress on. He wasn't super interested, but he wondered.
Yona looked at the time with a renewed sense of anxiety. It was already 16:55. Her meeting is supposed to take place at 17:00. The bus should've reached there by now. LME was no where in view. She turned down her music within her purse so that she'd be able to hear him better.
She turned her attention back to this new stranger.
"Ah. Well.. I'm not from around here. All of this is a bit overwhelming for me."
He laughed once again.
"That makes sense. A cutie like you shouldn't be riding this old thing."
Her cheeks burned with the comment. She grabbed the envelope tightly to her chest.
"Eh..ah.. well, I.."
What an amazing response to receive. He could almost laugh again. This was proving to be pretty easy.
She looked at the time, cheeks burning even more. 16:56.
"Where's your stop? I'm heading to LME." Her head snapped back to him. He smirked to himself, thinking that he was getting somewhere. He held his head higher with that confidence boost. "Yeah, I'm an actor there. Maybe you saw me in Dark Moon? Aha, what am I saying. Of course you did. Everyone did."
Her eyes were looking at him with wonder. Well all girls did, except the one, but this was different. This was a very strange curiosity. A bad one probably, if her fading blush is any note to it.
"I'm heading to LME, too. What's it like there!?"
Oooh another actress? Not to say anything, but she wasn't good enough to be a model. Maybe a singer, but her voice had little strength in it. It's as if she never even spoke above this volume before in her life. Gentle.
He folded his arms behind his head and looked forward, a smirk still placed on his face. She didn't say anything about Dark Moon, which should have completely captured her attention. Maybe he just needed to wait a second. She definitely seemed like one of those girls who doesn't take stuff in completely for a few minutes. It would kick in eventually.
For whatever reason, after not receiving an answer for so long, she checked the time again. 16:58! LME was barely in view, but maybe she could make it.
"So as to be a mento-" Before he could say his full thought, she ran from her seat - with the packet gripped tightly in her left hand - and to the front where she asked the driver if he could open the door where he was as they reached a stop at a red light. He seemed to be reluctant, but he opened the door.
She rushed out as fast as she could, calling out a weak apology. It might have been rude to leave like that, but she really didn't want to be late. She ran a few buildings down with her heart racing and lungs aching, barely avoiding crashing into anyone. By the time she was able to noisily open the front doors of LME she was drenched in sweat and gasping for air.
"I'm...!" A deep breath and a few steps closer to the receptionists. "Here...!" A deep breath and a few steps. "To see...!" Another breath and a few steps before finally reaching the desk. "The president of LME!"
They simply offered her a concerned look.
"We're sorry, he has a scheduled meeting now..."
...With her, though. The meeting is with her.
"Ah, yes..! Hehh. I have a meeting with him...hehh... at this time.. Y-Yona..?"
They both looked as if she had discovered the answers to all of life's secrets.
"Ohhh, yes. He told us specifically about you."
Yona couldn't help but feel grateful for that. A small smile made its way to her face, despite the still present pain in her lungs and the slightly slowed beating of her heart. It was kind of sad for her to feel so out of shape.
"Oh? Ah, what should I...?"
"He said to tell you to take a seat right there. He'll be here soon."
"Ah..hahh. Okay, thank you." She bowed her head to them slightly before making her way to the seating area.
A minute or two passed by and her breathing and heart rate had finally once again stabilized. She felt a man tap her shoulder. She looked behind her to watch as the stranger from before stepped around the couch to in front of her.
"Excuse me, ma'am." Her eyes were wide. There was no way she didn't recognize him from Dark Moon, yet. "Hey, can I sit here?"
Her packet was still in hand. He was just being cheesy. She removed her headphones finally and placed them in her purse.
"Sure."
He almost rolled his eyes at how well she had recreated the previous scene. Nonetheless, he sat next to her and cut straight to the point.
"Want to exchange numbers?"
Yep. Don't want to miss this opportunity. Straight cut and to the point.
"Ah, um.. I-"
"Yona-chan!"
She searched to find who called out of her. A tall man with a full head of hair and a mustache was looking at her and walking in her direction. This must be the infamous Lory Takarada. Maybe it was just instinct, because he didn't seem eccentric at all, but maybe she was wrong.
"Yona-chan!" No, it was definitely him who just called.
"President-san!" She called back, sending him a wave
She stood up, ready for the meeting, before looking down at the stranger and apologizing whilst bowing.
"I'm so very sorry! I have a meeting to attend to with President-san! Also, I'm sorry about leaving you on the bus! I was in a hurry and thought I was going to be late!" She looked back up. "I hope we can meet again."
She looked back over to the president and began walking towards him. He stopped where he was and waited until she was beside him before escorting her to an elevator where they traveled up many floors before they walked out into chilly hall. He led her through many more hallways before entering a very large room - possibly as large as the initial waiting room.
"This!" He spread his arms out wide. "Is my office!"
She felt her eyes widen. This... an office!? This was way too big to be an office!
"Th..eh? B-b.. no. Really?"
Her incoherent words didn't throw him off at all. What a strange man. He simply smiled even brighter.
"Yes! Please, please! Take a seat."
She walked over to the couch and did as told. Despite its beauty, the cough was immensely comfortable. She hasn't been able to enjoy such luxuries in a long time. In front of her was a coffee table, on top of which was a steaming tea pot and two cups. He sat across from her, poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. He poured himself a cup and leaned back into his seat.
For what felt like eternity, he just stared at her. She was sipping at her tea somewhat, and he was just staring, as if looking for words, ready to speak at any moment.
He cleared his throat.
"Yona-chan, let's cut to the chase. Your father just died, am I correct?"
She nodded. She didn't know how this was relevant, but it brought back everything that she didn't want to think about.
"And the police are calling it a suicide?" He nodded solemnly, as if answering himself. He blew into his cup slightly before taking a sip of it.
He looked down at the yellow, slightly ripped packet in her left hand.
"You finished all the paperwork?"
"Yes." She handed him the entire envelope.
He opened it cautiously before calling on a butler, who immediately took the envelope's contents.
"You want your agency back, right? You want to make it big? You want a chance?"
She nodded many times.
His gaze became sharp.
"That settles it!"
He stood up, pumping his fist up once into the air. Then, silence. A pure silence. She's pretty sure there was a fan or something in here before making noise, but now there was nothing.
This was it. He was going to tell her that she was crazy and that this was just a test of her craziness or something. Pointless. She's useless. He was going to shout at her to go home.
He sat back down and took a deep gulp of his tea.
"I will not tell anyone that you are Il-kun's daughter, Yona-chan. He was a dear friend of mine. I will respect your wishes to be unknown. I will allow you to join this agency, but only as a..."
She doesn't know when or how it happened, but in a split second she was surrounded by maids and suddenly wearing an.. overwhelming... pink suit.
"LOVE ME MEMBER!"
Each of the maids clapped for whatever reason, seemingly extremely happy with this decision. Admittedly, the outfit was comfortable, despite its ill looks.
"Eh...is this why you needed measurements, President-san?"
He smiled widely, nodding.
"Yes! You see, none of the other members had quite liked the outfit," Images of fits of rage over the outfit by the first three members flashed through his mind. "So I figured I'd try to make one that fit you perfectly. How does it feel?"
She let out a short laugh. Although this size had been instantly specially made for her, there was no doubt that it was more than that that had got on anyone else's nerves.
"Amazing. Thank you, President-san. And thank you for taking me in." She bowed deeply. Honestly, her gratitude reached far beyond a simple bow, but that would have to do.
She looked back up.
After a short discussion on how being a LOVE ME member works, finishing their tea and getting changed back into her dress, the butler from earlier led her out into a garage where a limousine was waiting. He opened the door for her. She thanked him and climbed in. She thought that it would just be her, but the president began climbing in after her until a voice seemed to catch his attention. She watched him get back out and yell over the hood.
"Ah! Ren! Would you like to join us? I'm going for a ride!"
She looked out the window to see two men walking towards them.
"Us? Who are you with now?" The taller, slightly younger looking one asked. He looked somewhat oddly familiar.
Although she couldn't see it, Yona could hear the smile in Lory's voice.
"The newest LOVE ME member! She will be a great addition to this agency!"
The two men stopped in their tracks. The blonde, slightly older looking one looked intrigued and happy. The brown haired one shook his head. This seemed to upset his friend.
"I'm sorry, we'll have to decline. Besides, don't we have a shoot soon, Yashiro?"
His friend laughed.
"Not for about an hour, Ren. We have time."
Yona accidentally made a squeak sound, although nobody seemed to have heard it. She had seen Ren Tsuruga before with Lory. She could actually recall seeing him in a movie before, she believes. Although she had never talked to him, they say that's he's extremely nice.
Ren shook his head again.
"We're very sorry." He shot his friend a bright, yet chilling smile. "We'll have to decline."
His friend made an awful face of fear and reluctantly nodded.
"I'm sorry. How about some time soon?"
The president sighed. "Okaayyy~. Let's chat another time!"
The president climbed back into the limousine and sat across from Yona. She watched until the two men walked out of view before turning her attention to Lory.
"Ah, uh.. I recognize Tsuruga-sama, but who was he with..?"
"He was with his manager." The president stated it simply.
She nodded and looked out the window. The limousine began moving. With that steady rhythm, she once again found herself woken up.
"-ona-chan? ...-er here... -ona-chan, we're here. Yona-chan."
"Ehhh?"
She scuttled away, unaware of herself falling asleep again. The president looked out the window with a pained expression.
"This is where you said you're living, right?"
She looked out the window to see the cheap, bargain hotel her and Hak had been staying at a few nights ago.
"Yes... thank you so much for the ride-"
"I'm sorry..."
It was small, but it was there. Another apology. Another thing that she didn't need.
She shook her head and made her way to the door.
"Don't be! We'll be fine!"
The president nearly spit out... something. Anything. There were two of them, staying there constantly?!
He wanted to say it. He wanted to say it so bad. 'Come stay with me.' He remembers Yona somewhat, and he's seen the small but steady growth she's been going through. There's no way she'd say yes.
The butler opened the door for her, a pained expression of his own placed on his face, only much more vague. She walked out, and waved goodbye as they drove away.
She lied.
It was a short walk, but she reached the park soon and laid next to Hak under the sunset.
"How was the meeting?"
"Good... I'm now a LOVE ME member at LME-"
"LOVE ME member!? You don't care? Have you never heard of them before?" The words just left his mouth on their own.
"..I- I have! I j-just don't care, is all."
Between the hesitation and stuttering.. sure. It was totally true.
Hak had the inability to not laugh a little at her cuteness. He didn't have to look at her face to know that it was a deep pink. Her arms were probably folded, too.
"That aside, you had a good day, right?"
"Yeah! I eve-" I even met this guy who wanted to exchange phone numbers.
She kept her sentence as it was and directed the conversation towards him.It's not like she had given him a phone number, but still. Hak was still being very protective of her.
Well, in any case, she didn't have a phone anyways.
"What about you? What's it like being a grocery store worker?"
Hak wasn't about to accept a cut sentence.
"Good, my day way good.. You even what?"
Hesitation. What was there to hide?
"I even, uh.. um, I..."
"Spill." He rolled onto his side and looked at her.
She barely remembered at this point! It was difficult to answer with Hak's eyes burning into her, nonetheless without.
"I.. I don't know."
"Tell me."
"I don't.. I.."
He rolled onto his opposite side.
"Fine. Don't tell me. Goodnight."
"Eh? Ah, Hak. N-"
"Goodnight." He repeated himself. She hated when he did that.
"Goodnight." She whispered back to him. "Sweet dreams."