Keep Your Head Up - Chapter 1
Title: Keep Your Head Up
Pairings: KyuWook, HaeMi
Characters: Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, in later chapters Donghae, Zhoumi and Kibum
Summary: The life and love of two models under pressure from the entertainment world
Genre: model!au, romance, angst, friendship
Rating: I’m not sure yet, but somewhere along it’ll be R or NC-17 rated.
Chapters: thus-far estimated 12 chapters
Ch. 1
The make-up artist stepped back, admiring her own work in the mirror.
“Okay, you’re ready to go.” She said, confidence in her voice, not at all reflecting Kyuhyun’s emotions.
Nervousness running through all of his body like electricity he stood up, finally daring to look at his reflection. What met him was a young boy with eyes smeared in black eyeliner, skin slightly paler than usual, covered in several layers of Etude House’s newest BB cream. His face hardly looked like his own though; the usually innocent eyes in his face suddenly seemed lusty, his face pointier and thinner, with every contour lined up in dark colors.
His clothes were branded with NOERGAARD, and even if it only said so on the brochure the guests were handed, Kyuhyun would have known just from a peek into the wardrobe. He usually didn’t brag with his knowledge of designer clothes, but it did come in handy in situations like these, where he had to find his way through the racks of clothes and tables of make-up to get to his assigned designer.
“Hyung?” he said in a too high-pitched voice upon seeing his manager coming towards him.
“No reason to be nervous. Come on, let’s go.”
And with just those words, Kyuhyun was pushed out on the runway.
His body adjusted itself automatically, after weeks of practice; mimicking the refined posture of his idols, walking with a confidence he had never before shown or even know he could posses.
Before he had time to think anything over, he was backstage again, coordinators leading the way to a new wardrobe, people he didn’t know undressing him and dressing him again in a different set of clothes, readjusting his hair where just a few strands of hair had loosened while he had been walking the runway.
He only had to walk twice, both going surprisingly smoothly.
When he was finally able to get back into his own clothes (which weren’t even that different from the clothes he had just sported at the runway,) he was greeted by the designer, thanking him for doing a good job.
This was all Kyuhyun had ever dreamt of. This was what he was destined to do for the rest of his life, what made him happy. He hardly even heard the managers warning of not gaining any weight, because he was too far away in his own happiness.
Being this far away in his own thoughts had its consequences, as he suddenly walks straight into a smaller guy, whose features reveals him as another model.
“I see you’ve already met each other!” Kyuhyun’s manager beamed with a bright smile from the side.
“Ryeowook-shi, this is another client of mine, Cho Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun-shi, this is Kim Ryeowook. You both have that runway in Tokyo next week, remember?”
©
Tokyo wasn't what Kyuhyun had imagined at all. The train from Haneda airport was slow and should have been updated at least 15 years ago.
It was also far more complicated than the subway in Seoul. Though the manager handed both him and Ryeowook a SUICA, a train card almost similar to the Korean T-money card, it was still troublesome getting around. The train lines were owned by different companies, so whenever you changed the train you had to pay again, even though you didn't even leave the station. It was all too confusing, especially with no or only few signs in Korean.
The few days they had been given in the huge city before the runway had only frustrated Kyuhyun. It didn’t help that his manager had asked him to share a room with Ryeowook. He had never been a very talkative person and apparently neither was Ryeowook.
So when the silence was getting too uncomfortable, Kyuhyun offered his not-so-exciting tales of adventure to his new coworker.
"Just don't go around alone anymore, then." Ryeowook offered, when they were both sitting comfortably in front of the mirror, noona's fussing over their hair and make-up.
Kyuhyun’s eyes squinted, obviously not quite sure what Ryeowook meant by that.
Ryeowook stared back at his coworker for a short while, before laughing out loud in a cute way that Kyuhyun immediately liked.
“Well, you could invite me to go with you, couldn’t you?” there was something sweet and innocent in his voice that made him irresistible, and Kyuhyun had no other choice but to nod before blushing a deep red, sending a fright into the noona applying his makeup.
“Had you heard of this designer before today?” the black-haired boy hurriedly asked, trying to get rid of the sudden feel of awkwardness.
“Yeah, Johnny Cupcakes.” Kyuhyun answered as if it were the most obvious question on earth. “Not really my type of clothing, maybe except for his Kill ‘Em With Kindness-line. But I guess Japanese people would love his T-shirts.”
“Oh.” Was all the smaller boy replied with, making Kyuhyun turn and give him a confused look.
“You didn’t know?”
The black-haired boy answered with a shrug, their conversation having to end as their manager strolled up to them; “time to enter the runway, boys.”
©
They returned to their hotel room one last time. Early next morning they would be boarding a plane to Incheon airport and Ryeowook immediately started packing the things he wouldn’t need, folding them neatly.
“It’s a beautiful city, actually.” He said, removing his eyes from the clothes in front of him to give Kyuhyun an innocent smile.
“I like Seoul more,” Kyuhyun grumbled before he grabbed the tidily folded towel from his the end of his bed and going in for a shower. Something about Ryeowook’s smile made him want to both run far away and hug the boy tightly at the same time. It confused him immensely and running was without a doubt the easier of the two.
[next>]
a/n: NOERGAARD is a Danish brand I absolutely adore.
I've lived in Tokyo for 9 months and in Seoul for just a few days more than one month. From those experiences, I'll try to make my describtions as close to reality, but I can't promise anything :x
also, check out Johnny Cupcakes. Seriously. Except for his Kill 'Em With Kindness, because that line is seriously boring, kekeke.
Pairings: KyuWook, HaeMi
Characters: Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, in later chapters Donghae, Zhoumi and Kibum
Summary: The life and love of two models under pressure from the entertainment world
Genre: model!au, romance, angst, friendship
Rating: I’m not sure yet, but somewhere along it’ll be R or NC-17 rated.
Chapters: thus-far estimated 12 chapters
Ch. 1
The make-up artist stepped back, admiring her own work in the mirror.
“Okay, you’re ready to go.” She said, confidence in her voice, not at all reflecting Kyuhyun’s emotions.
Nervousness running through all of his body like electricity he stood up, finally daring to look at his reflection. What met him was a young boy with eyes smeared in black eyeliner, skin slightly paler than usual, covered in several layers of Etude House’s newest BB cream. His face hardly looked like his own though; the usually innocent eyes in his face suddenly seemed lusty, his face pointier and thinner, with every contour lined up in dark colors.
His clothes were branded with NOERGAARD, and even if it only said so on the brochure the guests were handed, Kyuhyun would have known just from a peek into the wardrobe. He usually didn’t brag with his knowledge of designer clothes, but it did come in handy in situations like these, where he had to find his way through the racks of clothes and tables of make-up to get to his assigned designer.
“Hyung?” he said in a too high-pitched voice upon seeing his manager coming towards him.
“No reason to be nervous. Come on, let’s go.”
And with just those words, Kyuhyun was pushed out on the runway.
His body adjusted itself automatically, after weeks of practice; mimicking the refined posture of his idols, walking with a confidence he had never before shown or even know he could posses.
Before he had time to think anything over, he was backstage again, coordinators leading the way to a new wardrobe, people he didn’t know undressing him and dressing him again in a different set of clothes, readjusting his hair where just a few strands of hair had loosened while he had been walking the runway.
He only had to walk twice, both going surprisingly smoothly.
When he was finally able to get back into his own clothes (which weren’t even that different from the clothes he had just sported at the runway,) he was greeted by the designer, thanking him for doing a good job.
This was all Kyuhyun had ever dreamt of. This was what he was destined to do for the rest of his life, what made him happy. He hardly even heard the managers warning of not gaining any weight, because he was too far away in his own happiness.
Being this far away in his own thoughts had its consequences, as he suddenly walks straight into a smaller guy, whose features reveals him as another model.
“I see you’ve already met each other!” Kyuhyun’s manager beamed with a bright smile from the side.
“Ryeowook-shi, this is another client of mine, Cho Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun-shi, this is Kim Ryeowook. You both have that runway in Tokyo next week, remember?”
©
Tokyo wasn't what Kyuhyun had imagined at all. The train from Haneda airport was slow and should have been updated at least 15 years ago.
It was also far more complicated than the subway in Seoul. Though the manager handed both him and Ryeowook a SUICA, a train card almost similar to the Korean T-money card, it was still troublesome getting around. The train lines were owned by different companies, so whenever you changed the train you had to pay again, even though you didn't even leave the station. It was all too confusing, especially with no or only few signs in Korean.
The few days they had been given in the huge city before the runway had only frustrated Kyuhyun. It didn’t help that his manager had asked him to share a room with Ryeowook. He had never been a very talkative person and apparently neither was Ryeowook.
So when the silence was getting too uncomfortable, Kyuhyun offered his not-so-exciting tales of adventure to his new coworker.
"Just don't go around alone anymore, then." Ryeowook offered, when they were both sitting comfortably in front of the mirror, noona's fussing over their hair and make-up.
Kyuhyun’s eyes squinted, obviously not quite sure what Ryeowook meant by that.
Ryeowook stared back at his coworker for a short while, before laughing out loud in a cute way that Kyuhyun immediately liked.
“Well, you could invite me to go with you, couldn’t you?” there was something sweet and innocent in his voice that made him irresistible, and Kyuhyun had no other choice but to nod before blushing a deep red, sending a fright into the noona applying his makeup.
“Had you heard of this designer before today?” the black-haired boy hurriedly asked, trying to get rid of the sudden feel of awkwardness.
“Yeah, Johnny Cupcakes.” Kyuhyun answered as if it were the most obvious question on earth. “Not really my type of clothing, maybe except for his Kill ‘Em With Kindness-line. But I guess Japanese people would love his T-shirts.”
“Oh.” Was all the smaller boy replied with, making Kyuhyun turn and give him a confused look.
“You didn’t know?”
The black-haired boy answered with a shrug, their conversation having to end as their manager strolled up to them; “time to enter the runway, boys.”
©
They returned to their hotel room one last time. Early next morning they would be boarding a plane to Incheon airport and Ryeowook immediately started packing the things he wouldn’t need, folding them neatly.
“It’s a beautiful city, actually.” He said, removing his eyes from the clothes in front of him to give Kyuhyun an innocent smile.
“I like Seoul more,” Kyuhyun grumbled before he grabbed the tidily folded towel from his the end of his bed and going in for a shower. Something about Ryeowook’s smile made him want to both run far away and hug the boy tightly at the same time. It confused him immensely and running was without a doubt the easier of the two.
[next>]
a/n: NOERGAARD is a Danish brand I absolutely adore.
I've lived in Tokyo for 9 months and in Seoul for just a few days more than one month. From those experiences, I'll try to make my describtions as close to reality, but I can't promise anything :x
also, check out Johnny Cupcakes. Seriously. Except for his Kill 'Em With Kindness, because that line is seriously boring, kekeke.