Work Text:
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I am seeing the Kids right in front of me instead of through a cellphone or computer screen and this seems more like a dream than real life. They're beautiful.
I am experiencing this highly unusual event of having all of the boys, in close vicinity to me, at touching distance. They've swapped out of their first ensemble and now are donning dark outfits that have a diamond-laced spiderweb necklace at the top. Definitely for their VENOM performance. This concept is for sure my favorite, they look fantastic. I can also see the crew a couple of meters away setting up huge spider legs, assembling a spider animatronic. They're apparently going all out for this performance.
Felix, though....that man looks like a fairy come to life. Or an angel. A fallen one. With all of the darkness, and intensity his outfit has, that seems to fit his image more. I see him from afar, and he looks ethereal. Majestic. His recently dyed black hair? I thought the blonde suited him best, but I was so wrong. I am absolutely in love with the look.
I'm still starstruck by his presence if I'm being deeply honest. And even more honestly, I'm sort of a fangirl. Okay, I'm a complete and total Stay. I think I hide it well enough.
Long story short, I hit the jackpot. I saw the announcement from the SKZ website that they were looking for someone short-term, and on the fly, I decided to apply, not thinking anything would come of it. But lo and behold, here I am. Never would I think that I was remotely qualified to be a professional make-up artist for THE Stray Kids themselves, and yet, they apparently think so!
It's temporary, of course, I'm only there for their Sunday Maniac concert in Anaheim. I dolled myself up for this event because when the boys are prettier than you on their bad day, then the pressure is incredibly overwhelming to look good. I really had to step my game up.
I am wearing a fierce sharp eyeliner wing with a glossy red lip. I also wore one of my favorite outfits, a pretty neon green fitted crop top, paired with baggy black cargo pants, chains on the belt loops, and chunky tall spike boots to finish it off. I really envisioned an outfit that screamed MANIAC and I think I pulled it off.
Of course, I wasn't just Felix's make up artist, I was doing all of the Kids' make up. All of the previously scheduled MUAs (four in total!) fell through at the last minute. So unprofessional. Imagining cancelling last minute for Stray Kids. No respect at all.
But I guess I can't curse them out too much since that is why I am here now, thanking my lucky stars. I'm not going to lie, it is a heavy workload because that meant I was the only one in charge of all of their makeup, all EIGHT of them. And it wasn't like their appearances were predetermined.
To my horror, I was given absolute free reign on deciding every boy's concert makeup. Honestly, I would've preferred them to give me explicit instructions of what they wanted step by step, because holy shit, should I be even allowed in making these decisions? Worst of all, I wasn't warned beforehand that I should come with ideas of how I want each boy to look like.
I came here looking my best, but I might as well came in sweats and sneakers, since I'm running around like a fucking lunatic, a sweaty chicken with its head cut off, my brain going on overdrive into coming up with a good concept for each of them.
Stress aside, however, I feel proud in my work and effort so far. Thank God I almost finished with all of them. I've just completed I.N's concept with a few last strokes of dark blue eyeliner, and he looks wonderful. He gives me a big smile, and I'm absolutely melting. These boys are so gorgeous.
"You're all done." I say brightly, clicking the eyeliner cap closed with a flick of my finger.
"Thank you." I.N responds with an adorable accent, and I melt even further because I legitimately cannot deal with this young man's cuteness.
I smile back at him. He gets out of the makeup chair, heading towards the other Kids who are chatting amongst each other, probably hashing out some last minute things before they start the concert. And now, one last member...
The only one left for me to see in my makeup chair is Felix Lee himself, my ultimate bias.
I'm already starting to sweat again and I will look even messier than normal. If my hand also gets shaky because of my anxiety, I will ruin his makeup and I cannot abide by that. I have to chill out.
Shit, he is already on his way, I can see him walking to my direction and I didn't even have to look for him like I did with the other Kids and seriously, why am I here? What am I even DOING here? I am meeting this beautiful superstar while doing his makeup.
I lick my lips involuntary, and fuck, I hope he didn't notice that because that's weird, isn't it? I will be highly embarrassed if he did. I am already incredibly embarrassed because I'm freaking out like I'm a 16 year old girl with a huge parasocial crush when I'm 28 goddamn years old. Way too fucking old for this shit.
And he's here now. Felix Lee is in front of me, smiling like the absolute sunshine he is, taking a seat in my chair, waiting for me to get started. "Hello!" He greets me warmly, because of course, he is a gentleman and an actual cinnamon roll. All of them are.
"Hi!" I attempt my absolute best to be as casual and cool as possible, giving him a big smile. "I know you don't have too much time left, so I'm going to get started, okay?"
He nodded, a relaxed aura to him, and leaned back on the chair, getting comfortable.
Before I started with the Kids' makeup, with Lee Know as my guinea pig (which was a doozy as well since he's my second bias), I was practically chewing my nails off in anticipation as to how I would interact with them. I was wondering if I should introduce myself, but I quickly realized that they shouldn't care who I am. I'm a random makeup artist who got chosen by pure luck to be here, and they've probably had hundreds of make-up artists before.
Doing something like introducing myself would be so unnecessary. So I just went ahead and greeted them, energetic and happy and that was enough. The boys were all quite nice and chatted sometimes here and there, but nobody asked for my name and thus I didn't see the need for it.
I start picking out a few foundations that I will mix for Felix's skin tone and also eyeing some sparkly glitter eyeshadow that I know will look amazing on him. I tend to gravitate towards sparkly shades, almost naturally, but I withheld myself for the other boys. This time around, I am sure I'm making the right choice. This color will make his blue-green contacts pop and-
"So, what's your name?" Felix asks casually, interrupting my train of thought, making me falter in the foundation bottle I was already holding in my hand. He just asked for my name. My name.
"Sorry, did I startle you?" He says good-naturedly, laughing slightly. He must have noticed I was caught completely off-guard.
"Uhhh-, ha. A little." I finally remember to speak, admitting it instead of pathetically pretending that I'm this cool and collected lady who talks to famous people on the regular. I thank God that my voice isn't shaking. Small miracles.
"Oh and my name is 💕." I say in a sudden panic, almost forgetting to answer his question.
"❤️? Never heard of that name before." He ponders for a bit, looking at me mixing the NARS swatches so it can match his skin tone perfectly. I don't like how whitewashed the Korean MUAs make them, because in reality, most of them have a healthy tan glow (except Chris, the dude's paleness is blinding). So that is what I'm determined to do here, to use foundation tones that are a true reflection of their skin color. I wonder if the boys might not like it. I hear them, speaking in Korean, obviously, so I have no idea what they're saying.
Shit, I'm derailing myself again and Felix commented something about my name. What was it?
"Yeah, hah. It's not a very common name. The pronunciation is a little different though. 💕💖💕." I can't help correcting him. Meanwhile, I'm loading up my stipple brush and I start layering swift broad strokes on his nose, cheeks and forehead. I picked the sheerest shade so his freckles can come through beautifully.
"Ahh. Got it." Felix smiles again, but doesn't try to pronounce it. Crap. Should I have not done that? Maybe I sounded upset? I open my mouth to do damage control, (how I would've done that? I have no idea) but he beats me to it.
"By any chance, are you new?"
I feel like ice cold water drenches me in that instant, and my stomach is plunging down to the abyss in Hell or something because I fucked up. He thinks I'm a total stuck up bitch that corrects people snootily and he's saying that because he can't believe someone so haughty and disrespectful is doing his makeup and-
"Sorry. That sounded sorta rude, I didn't mean it like that." Felix looks at me, sheepish. I'm still sort of taken aback, I'm sure it's noticeable since I stopped blending in his foundation and my brush is frozen, hovering right above his cheekbones.
"What I meant to say is I've never seen you around in our usual crew. I'm not saying anything bad about you or your work, no shot, all of the guys look great-"
Oh wow. He is rambling. What a cutie!
I laugh a little, relieved that he didn't hate me or take it the wrong way. My body starts feeling normal again, lowering in temperature and sweat production by a massive amount. Felix realizes he is rambling and does a half-smile, with his tongue poking his cheek. That expression he does when he's a little embarrassed. I put down the foundation brush and pick up some concealer.
"Don't worry about it! You were right, I am new. I don't think you would believe me if I were to tell you that I applied on a whim, without having any hope of getting the gig, and ended up being accepted."
He hums in acknowledgement, like he is conveying he totally believes me being accepted because I am competent in my work. I feel a lot more comfortable now. Felix doesn't have an intimidating aura in the slightest. I feel confident enough to get closer to his face and use my fingers to blend in some foundation patches I found while inspecting my work.
"Alright, so I'm going to have to get real up-close and personal, don't mind me-" I hum out, moving from my location facing him to the left side of the makeup chair. I softly begin rubbing alongside his nose, the nostrils and the edges of his sharp jaw. These are the areas that always need the most blending.
"I actually prefer using my fingers to apply makeup, the skin warms the product and makes it look much more natural." I explain, for no particular reason, even though he didn't ask and actually might be pissed off that I'm touching his face with my bare fingers without asking beforehand if he was okay with that.
That realization jolts me and I pull my hands away quickly, which startles him slightly too.
"I'm very sorry, I didn't ask if you were comfortable with me using my hands to-"
Felix laughs again, feathery light, as if finding my panicked outburst amusing. "It's totally fine. You know what you're doing, I sure as shit don't know enough about what makeup technique works better."
What a relief. "Glad to hear that. Okay, I'm going to need you to look up but don't raise your brows." I instruct him, which he does. I apply a few dots of concealer on his undereye area and a little bit to the sides of the eye crease.
He doesn't have prominent eye circles but there is some bluish tint that could be reduced. This type of blue always comes from not sleeping well. He must be tired. I was about to voice something about this, maybe ask if he's sleeping enough, but I clamp my mouth shut instead. It's none of my business.
I blend over the base color and concealer, alongside some shimmery highlighter on the bridge of his nose and temples, cheekbones, finishing with subtle contour I pick up the sparkly eyeshadow palette that I've been eyeing since the beginning. I most definitely will be using at least two colors of this palette.
"Your hair is really cool." Felix says out of nowhere, offhandedly. Even though it also catches me off guard, I'm a little more seasoned of his random little quips and I don't visibly show my surprise anymore, at least not with expressions. My face feels like it's warming up though, and I hope I'm not as red as I feel. I automatically touch a lock of curled hair, looking at it like I've never seen my own fucking hair before.
"Thank you." This time, my voice does shake ever so slightly.
"The half-updo with buns always look awesome on girls. I wish I could pull something like that off. It's a fun hairstyle. Also, blue is one my favorite colors! I liked having the neon blue hair even if I only had it for a hot minute." Felix laughs, and I smile.
"Right, for your Domino performance! I loved how it looked on you, honestly." I say without thinking, the excitement overtaking my sane and rational mind, but immediately my brain catches up and...
Shit. He knows now that I'm a Stay, no doubt about it. And I KNOW he knows because he gives me a huge grin, an expression of pure mirth.
"Really?" Felix says in a light tone. "So you're a Stay, then? You watch our dance performances?" I swear his questions sound teasing.
"Okay, yeah you caught me. I'm a big Stay." I confess. For a second, I was going to try convincing him that I did some research into the group before working with them just so I had an idea of who they were, but who am I kidding? There's no way in hell he'd believe that.
Felix looks genuinely happy to hear I'm a fan of their music, and I'm a little surprised about it. I assumed that everyone in their crew would automatically be fans, why else would they work with the Kids?
It seems like he read my mind and explained that it might not be the case that the fashion and makeup people are part of their fanbase since they can be recruited from third party groups and sometimes, they don't even know Stray Kids at all! This happens much more often when they are outside of Korea.
"Well, they don't know what they're missing out on." I shrug slightly, and he shrugs too, in agreement. I begin filling in his eyebrows. They're a little too light and wispy for my liking, at least for the look I'm going for. And just a little more...done. Now his eyes.
I load up the glittery eyeshadow on my index fingertips. "Close your eyes, please."
I begin packing the eyeshadow into the inner corners first and begin working my way out, until the entire lid is coated in a gorgeous orange glitter. I finish the other eye and instruct him to look up one more time so I can load up the same glitter on his waterline with a stiff narrow eyeliner brush.
I am super close to his face, hovering over him by like an inch, much more than when I was blending the foundation and I fight the inhumanely strong urge to scamper away right then and there. Because God, what if my breath smells bad? I've been popping a million mints between each Kid because of this fear.
What if my makeup close-up looks like absolute shit? I was running around a while back, sweating and out of breath, and I'm sure my makeup probably does not look as pretty as when I barely started my shift. Or what if he thinks I'm ugly? I truly need to shake off this insecurity, I know I'm stronger than that.
But it doesn't even seem like Felix is paying attention. Probably off in LaLa land, daydreaming. He is almost melting into the makeup chair, like he is seconds away from nodding off. However, I need to make sure that the makeup concept I am striving for is working out. I need to get his attention.
"Look at me," I instruct, grasping his chin lightly with my thumb and index finger, and pushing it down ever so slightly, chin pointed down straight to the floor. The haze over his eyes dissipates and he sits up, back flushed completely against the spine of the chair, looking almost through me, gaze strong and intense. I'm satisfied with the result because that is what I was aiming for: intense eyes.
"Looks good?" He asks.
"Oh, for sure. Looks amazing. But it would be hard to mess up with a beautiful model. I mean, all of you. Stray Kids, as a collective, all beautiful models." I add in the last sentence, internally facepalming, because I sound like a dumb, prepubescent girl trying to flirt with an idol.
"You're too kind." Felix flashes a full toothy grin. He doesn't look shy in the slightest. Without a doubt, the man knows he's hot. He obviously gets told he is beautiful probably every single day. Multiple times a day, even.
But now that I'm inspecting everything, it seems like something is missing. He still looks sort of pale. Hm. What did I miss?
And then I realize, with a "Oh shit, the blush!" coming out of my mouth. He didn't expect it so he jumped a tiny bit, but I'm already all over him with a big fluffy blush brush to add some color to his cheeks and over his nose.
Felix doesn't seem to be used to the blush, he's looking at himself in the mirror curiously. He probably doesn't typically wear it. He doesn't say he dislikes it though, so I think it works.
"Now for your lips..." I put a finger to my lip, pensive, not sure what color would go best with his dark, heavily made-up eyes. Felix does the exact same thing, the little fucker, putting his hand on his chin, like he's thinking real hard alongside with me.
He's totally making fun of me, isn't he?
And before I can even connect my brain to my mouth, I'm hearing myself say, "You better stop that young man before I give you a bright red lip like mine." His brows raise but he's full-on cackling.
"Young man?" He chuckles, and I nod slowly with determination. "Hell yes. I am much older than you! I have the right to call you a young man."
"Alright, if you say so." Felix shrugs. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Youth these days...so sassy.
For his lips, I decide to go for a nude gloss with a hot pink tint, and I motion for him to put his face directly on my palm so I can maneuver it when necessary. He does so and I steadily apply the shiny color on his top and bottom lip.
I look at the end result. Hmmm... I give him a small blot of gloss right in the middle of his cupid's bow.
"Perfect. You're ready to go!"
He bows again slightly, with his palms together. "Thank you, 💕❤️." The pronunciation is a little better now.
"You're welcome. Have a great show."
He salutes me, and goes on his merry way to the rest of the Kids. And just like I wished, it was a fantastic show. The energy was amazing and immaculate, the Kids were bursting with excitement and heart. Every time they had to come back to me for their makeup retouch, they had the biggest smiles I've ever seen!
They were also drenched in sweat however, so I had to clean them up before I could apply any product at all. Hyunjin particularly, went through like five or six hand-towels, because Jesus Christ, this young man can sweat! He is always dying of thirst every time too, so I decided to keep a couple of water bottles with me for each touch-up round. I can tell it's appreciated, with the way Hyunjin is gulping a huge bottle of water while I'm blotting his face and neck.
It's a very difficult job, because I only have a little less than 15 minutes to clean them up and reapply their makeup, for all members, all on my own. It's worth it, however, when all of them smile at me and thank me after I finish.
And now, the final song! The concert went by so fast. Before I know it, they're done with their show and saying goodbye to their fans. I almost tear up because they have such a huge and strong fanbase, they've become true stars.
I'm so proud of them.
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What should I wear? I have no fucking idea what outfit I can pull off in less than 1 hour. It's not my fault I'm unprepared though. They should've told me they needed someone for the next day, too!
Apparently, Stray Kids is filming a music video here in LA, but secretly. No one can know about this, and when they called me early morning to request me for the Kids' makeup today, I was absolutely shocked. First, because they apparently liked my work enough to contact me again. And second, because they are having another COMEBACK! And I know it's a comeback, because they had me sign an NDA form for it.
So once again, I need to be figuring it out as I go, thinking about what the hell I'm going to do for their makeup.
I ended up choosing an all-black ensemble, baggy streetwear because that tends to be my default. My makeup is much more muted this time, as I didn’t have nearly enough time to get ready this time around. I still went with the red lipstick again because it's such a quick way to look immediately glamorous.
As I arrive to the set, I look at the group of boys, and...wow. I see pink. Lots of pink. The concept for this comeback is SUPER different. Very Valentine's Day themed.
When it's time for their makeup, the boys recognize me, and greet me graciously. This time, they do ask for my name, which I am glad to provide. They also talk to me a little more, or at least as much as they can in the English they know. Chris is obviously the one who conversed more.
And once again, Mr. Felix Lee is the last member on my makeup chair.
He obviously recognizes me immediately, eyes lighting up. "Hey, you're back!"
"I know, I'm just as surprised as you are." I laugh but Felix shakes his head. "Oh, no, I'm not surprised. It was obvious you would come back. Everybody loved your work." His words are genuine, I can tell and I feel an explosion of warmth from his kind demeanor.
"You're too kind." I parrot back his own words, with a smile. "Does that mean I can do red lipstick then?" I joke.
Felix gives a loud laugh and shakes his head. "I don't know, you think I can pull it off?"
"No doubt about it." I instantly reply, because this man can probably make anything look great.
I do his makeup with no issue, just like all of the other boys. His eyes are glittery again, but blue and purple tones instead, and a ton of stars under his eyes, like if he's crying starry glitter. Such a fabulous dreamy look, if I say so myself. I apply eyeliner this time, but smokey and dark.
The M/V is apparently a love song combined with homicide? I don't know the details all that well. But I'm basing the makeup concept of that one single piece of information I know. I become stuck on the dilemma of what color of lips I want for him for this romantic concept. On a whim, I decide on a simple clear glossy lip, which is maybe a little bland, but it has shimmery gold flecks in it that I really like and I think it works well with what the theme is.
"Let's wrap makeup up!" One of the M/V directors, gesturing to the Kids that they need to start soon if they want to be on schedule.
"Thanks again," Felix says, looking at himself in the mirror. He looks satisfied with his appearance.
"You should stick around and tell us what you think of the MV! You are a Stay, after all. Just keep your makeup stuff here instead of your trailer, that way you can say that you're here for our touch ups and that you don't want us to 'waste time' by walking all the way over there." He does the bunny ears, smiling.
"You really think that will work?" I say, hopefully. It would be absolutely amazing if I could be present and experience their next title track in the flesh. "Of course! No one will give a shit, or at least none of the guys will. The crew shouldn't be too much of a hard-ass either, just say what I said and you're golden."
"God, I really hope it works." I blurt out, because honestly, I couldn't hold in my inner fangirl for one more second. Felix laughs.
"We live to make Stay happy. Now I really gotta get going." He jogs over to the main set and things become a blur of motion. The boys get into their position, the camara crew is bustling around and I'm trying to not get in anyone's way but fuck, it's a little hard with the different sets going on and a lot of movement by the staff.
The recording starts, and I'm just...in heaven. The song is fantastic, which I never doubted of course, and they do have this romance crime theme! They're cops but at the same time they're lovers. And also criminals? It's a very interesting concept, a little confusing, but interesting. Their videos are always so interactive, dynamic. They're driving around the police car, and now they're running down to apparently 'tag' this warehouse box. The Kids will need a touch up soon.
"CUT! Let's get hair and makeup here!" Hair gets there first, and I wait my turn to start my work. It was much easier than the first time since the boys aren't that sweaty, thus I can apply makeup more quickly.
I'm giving some quick brushes of translucent powder to Chris's nose, which looks a little shiny and as I finish, he smiles and says "So Felix says you're a Stay, huh?"
"Aah? Oh! Yeah. I totally am. Guilty." I say sheepishly.
"And let me guess. Felix is your bias too?" Chris looks playful and I don't know if I like the sound of that. Did...did he notice something? "W...why do you ask?"
"Just curious." He shrugs and nope, not good. If Christopher Bang asks something like that, it's because he knows something. Did someone...or Felix tell him something about me????
"Am I that obvious?" I squeak out.
"Oh no, I don't want to freak you out!" He laughs, eyes crinkled with warmth. "Felix just has that affect on people, nobody's said anything."
I look at him suspiciously. I love Chris so much, he's my bias wrecker but he's also a massive liar to us Stay. "I don't know if I believe you." I say, distrustful and he laughs hard, doubling over even.
"Okay, I deserve that. But, just between us, it's hard to not notice something when you have permanent heart eyes every time you do his makeup."
OH.
MY.
GOD.
I hear Christopher fucking Bang laughing in the background, and I think I might shrivel up and die. This is so embarrassing.
"Yo, it happens to all of us, you're good!" He says, still laughing. Teasingly. But, wait, I have yet to be handed to the wolves!
So now, to my great horror, it's Felix's turn for his touch-up. I begin feeling nervous, similarly to when I first felt when I barely met him yesterday. But I take a deep breath. Chill out. Relax. Just be yourself. You're okay.
I try my best to be as normal as possible, and to not do "heart-eyes" (whatever the hell that means). Felix doesn't seem like he notices a difference in my behavior. I just have to focus on what I came here to do, it's why they're paying me.
After finishing the second coat of eyeliner and cleaning up some dark smudges under his eyes, I look at Felix's mouth, not fully on board with the decision I initially made. I'm second guessing my choice for the shimmery lip gloss. I want to do a darker, less shiny color. I have one lipstick in mind, a nude burnt rose orange color. I fish out the lipliner and lipstick of my makeup bag but before I apply, I have to ask.
"Do you think I can get away with changing your lip color mid-video?"
Felix smiles. Mischief in his eyes. "Go for it."
"Awesome." I begin by lining his lips with the same burnt rose color, very carefully shading slightly inward, not too dark just yet so I can decide whether I want to keep it or not. I step back and look at him, just to see if I am liking the result.
For the touch ups, none of the boys bother to take a seat in the makeup chair because it's a waste of time. Instead, what they do is either spread their legs wide to get lower so that I can reach them, or just bend their knees. I know they are considered "short" by many people, but as a 5'1 woman, they're still incredibly tall for me. Felix ended up doing the first option, with his feet spread apart. He has his hands in his pant pockets.
I like how the lip color works with the rest of his image. Now, a gloss is easy and doesn't need effort, whereas a lipliner and lipstick application needs to be more precise. I need to be much closer to do that well. Now, one centimeter away from Felix's face, I begin filling in his lips from outside within with the burnt-rose liner, concentrating and make sure the color is being deposited evenly and no patchy lips can happen.
Out of nowhere, I start to feel...oddly strange. I have the distinct, very prominent sensation that someone is staring at me.
I briefly look up from his lips, and Felix Lee is looking straight at me. Directly at me, not through me like yesterday. And it's in a super intense way, that I don't know what to even think of it.
I immediately go back to his lips, because the piercing eye contact unsettled me. It's hard to explain. Intimidating sounds too strong a word, but it's also sort of accurate.
I exhale slowly, maintaining my calm as much as I possibly can. I switch out the lipliner to begin applying the liquid lipstick, trying to keep a steady hand. I know I'm going a lot slower than I should, but I cannot mess this up.
I carefully fill in his lips with the lipstick, swiping the wand in a painstakingly slow fashion. The feeling of being watched is so strong, it doesn't go away in the slightest and look up once more, and again, shameless eye contact. I don't think he's even blinked once .
Then...his eyes briefly sweep down, barely noticeable. Almost like it didn't happen. What-
Felix brings his eyes back to mine. Full-on direct eye contact, and he's not shying away from it, either. My hand shakes right there. Did he just....? The realization hits me like a fucking meteorite.
Did he just look at my lips?????
Okay, I will mess up if I continue, I need to put away the lipstick wand now. But what the fuck? I know I did not imagine or hallucinate whatever that was. I throw the tube to the bottom of my bag, a little too aggressively, I think, and pull out the clear shimmery gloss. I dab some on the fullest part of his bottom lip, very lightly. The look is finished.
"Yes, this color works so much better on you." I say, and he nods, but continues to look at me, into my soul. The sides of his mouth are curling, like if he wants to smirk but is actively suppressing it.
"..."
Is he not going to walk away anytime soon? I wish he would stop ogling at me like that. I am incredibly, supremely uncomfortable.
"...Um. Do you want to see the end result?" I end up filling up the unexpected silence. He slides his legs back like normal, now back to his regular height.
He doesn't break his gaze with me for a millisecond, so now he's looking down at me, and I have to break the eye contact myself because...holy shit. This isn't normal.
Finally, Felix lets up on his torment and approaches the mirror close by to check on my work. He licks his thumb, brings it to the corner of his lip, and drags the skin as if cleaning up a mistake, which is complete bullshit, because I lined his lip perfectly. The little fucker.
"I think you made the right call." He looks at me from the mirror, an eyebrow slightly raised. He's enjoying this, I realize. This is an actual game for him, one he probably plays with each MUA who is a Stay like I am. Chris is such a goddamn liar.
"Thank you, 💕❤️✨️ ." Felix fucking Lee says, quite casually like if he did not just do what he did, and walks his way over to the set and it seems like I took much longer than I thought because EVERYBODY is looking our way.
The other boys are looking at Felix walk back to them, fixated on him. As soon as he steps back into their circle, I see a whole bunch of arms wrap around him and loud voices telling him (asking him? It sounds like there's inflection there) something in Korean.
They apparently say some very funny words because Felix throws his head back and laughs. It was a very happy laugh. Changbin is screeching now, shaking his arm back and forth, like in mock anger, maybe? I have a feeling that they're teasing him.
And Chris suddenly turns to my direction, and I see his eyes, twinkling. Oh no. That is NOT good. He looks back at Felix, and with a carefree tone, says loudly, half-laughing.
"Oi Felix, you shouldn't be flirting with the makeup artist or else you'll have red lips for the rest of the day and I don't think that's your color."
Yeah.
I don't think I'm cut out for working with idols.
I will, sooner rather than later, have a heart attack.
.
.