निखार?
Title: निखार?
[translate]
Glow?
Genre: Fluff without plot, yes. It's freaking stupid.
Pairing: Jongin/Luhan
Length: 1k
Summary: Jongin always knew fairness cream commercials were a load of frog's shit. Until he saw Luhan, that is.
DISCLAIMER: I have nothing against any person. But I DO have something against big corporations fooling the common man, trying to sell 'fairness', 'whiteness' and 'inner glow'. For Catherine, hope she understands what a load of bullcrap she is smothering herself with.
BUT OTHERWISE, this drabble is just a fun idea i got. ha.
This work is crossposted on AFF and AO3.
Jongin was lazily munching on potato chips that night.
Crunch. Crunch.
Crunch. Crunch.
And the monotonous voices of dubbing artists filled his living room. It must be the 654th time he's rewatching The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin. It's a stressbuster sometimes, what with all his crazy photoshoots, schedules and crazy designers always riling up his zen mood with their dramatic posturing. If it wasn't for the glamour and rush he felt while walking on the ramp, he might have quit his job at EXO Modelling Agency and burnt the building down on his way out.
Millions of dead skin cells hide the beauty within you, tarnishing your sheen, and making pimples return. Yves Clear Gel Fairplus, which contains concentrated Jojoba extracts and our patented LIVESERUMplus gently exfoliate the dead skin cells, and reveal hidden new skin cells within you. With Yves Clear Gel Fairplus, every daily wash lets you walk out looking fairer, brighter and newer than ever. Yves Beauty-line. To the beautiful you!
The commercial ended with a bright outro and the 'fair' actress smiling into the camera in front a baby blue background.
Ha! Jongin mused sadistically. What a load of frog shit. That Yves thing won't make you 'fair'! Try Louis Berger Paints, Ultra-white Classic, shade E54! Maybe some whitewash will help you too!
He knew about the existing bias against darker skinned models in the agency, but that didn't stop him from becoming the most coveted model for every designer and the showstopper at every event he graced. Yeah, sure, they did put on a shit ton of makeup on him first. He rebelled. And explicitly told every stylist in the Agency that he will not wear any shade of foundation lighter than Hazel. And to be honest, he wasn't even that dark, like all the stupid makeup stylists constantly[and wrongly] pointed out. He doubted if they've actually seen the shades on this earth.
He just munched on some more chips as a ramen commercial took over.
Crunch, Crunch. Crunch.
Is pollution hiding your inner brightness?
What the flowering fuck? Was that a man's voice?
Try Yves' ALL NEW Men's Blaze Glowplus. Its Fuller's earth base and charcoal formulation clear away the pollution on your skin and keeps your fairness BLAZING for more than 12 hours! Yves Handsome-line. Make an impact.
Jongin spit the chip crumbs out of his mouth, coughing. That was the prettiest boy he had seen in his godforsaken life. Phew. It literally looked like the boy was made of vanilla icecream, maybe it's just the lighting, but his big brown doe eyes looked into him fondly and caressed him with their glow. His face, in all honesty, did not suit the machismo of the advertisement. It was too beautiful.
The channel played The 36th Chamber again and his mind went empty. He switched off the TV and curled up into his couch.
*
Jongin woke up next morning feeling like shit, as usual. His hair stood up in all directions and his mouth felt musty. His legs were dribbly and his stomach was gassy. Must be the potato in the chips. Bloat. Bloat.
He managed to brush his teeth and wash his face. Looking in the mirror always helped, as he admired his sharp jawline and piercing eyes. He stepped into the shower, lazily scrubbing down his body with a soapy loofah until he felt warm and clean enough. He scrubbed himself off and smiled at his clean, tanned visage. Golden Boy, you look fine!
He put on a black tank and jeans and walked out of his humble apartment, into the drafty corridor and out into the morning cold. He took the metro-line and reached his destination, EXO Modelling Agency, a tall imposing building, fitting its reputation as Korea's largest Modelling Agency.
He entered, only to be tackled by someone to the ground. "Jonginnieeeeee!!! Happy anniversary!!!!" Only that cheeky Sehun would have had the balls to do this.
"What the fuck, Sehun? What anniversary?"
Sehun naughtily smiled at him, pinning him down in rather a compromising position. Why has Sehun made it his life's ambition to make everyone look as gay as possible. "It's been one year since you joined the agency!"
"Ha", Jongin lifelessly laughed. "Wish they'd also given me an year's salary while I worked here." It was no new news that male models were paid much less than what they actually deserved.
They got up and readied themselves for the mess, sorry, job, that they had got themselves into. The morning whipped past, with shoots and fitters and posing around. Jongin groaned.
"What's this?" Jongin asked the fitter, who'd come to see him before tomorrow's fashion show. Jongin looked like he'd rather be choked by a data cable, than be caught wearing this thing.
"It's a Lederhosen. It's for the antique theme we're going for." The fitter said, matter-of-factly.
"Can't you just give me a, a tux, or something?" Jongin grimaced some more.
"A tux - you see, a tux, isn't exotic enough. You have to look exotic, Austrian."
Exotic? Was he some kind of bikini? Ew.
Another man walked in. "Can I try the piece, sir?" What the- isn't it Yves' Glowplus boy? Whoa. It took all of Jongin's will to not explode like apiñata.
Glowplus boy looked at him. Jongin swallowed. Glowplus's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, Aren't you Kim Jongin? Showstopper of Van Heusen Seoul Edition?"
"Um...yes." Jongin felt flustered. I'm a fucking celebrityyyyy~
"I'm a big fan! Actually, I'm new to this agency....when my contract with La Mode Corée ended. Nice to meet you!" Glowplus boy was positively tearing his mouth apart with the amount of smiling he was doing.
"And....aren't you Yves' model? For their fairness cream?" Jongin asked, tentatively, trying to hide the contempt he had for the company.
"Well...I was the model of Yves. I, Luhan, solemnly promise that I will never do such an embarrassing ad ever again. Totally goes against my zen." They both laughed softly.
"See you around?" Jongin held out his hand for a handshake. Luhan took it, firmly. He whispered into the other's ear, conspiratorially: "Only if you wear this leder-something and get us a coffee!"
Fin.
Series this work belongs to:
- Part 1 of the my drabbles series