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The first time they met — personally — was when Seonghwa walked in to do the fitting for her outfit. She has heard about Hongjoong a million times before. The famous stylist that’s always behind magazine covers and maintaining big brands’ visual identities has been gaining more and more attention in the fashion industry and she’s known between models to have a piercing gaze that will leave you thinking about it for the rest of your life.
Seonghwa tries her best to not squirm under Hongjoong’s beautiful eyes. She’s been in silence for just a few seconds but the model feels like they’ve been in this room for days while they wait for a tailor to come inside and fix some parts of her outfit. The stylist doesn’t move nor say anything, like she is meticulously studying Seonghwa’s figure or trying to find any flaw in the beautiful clothes (maybe also in the model’s composure).
“I choose you for this collection,” Hongjoong finally says. “Especially because of this outfit. Don’t you think you fit perfectly in it?”
Seonghwa looks at her reflection. The tuxedo mini dress would hug her body perfectly if that wasn’t for the way too long sleeves, which definitely caught Hongjoong’s attention, making her walk towards the model and fold the sleeves in a way that suit her liking, her touch lingering a little longer in Seonghwa’s arm.
“Almost perfectly,” she corrects herself with a smirk that quickly disappears after the tailor and the makeup artist enters the room. “The other outfits were perfect, this one just needs a little fixing in the cuffs.”
Seonghwa opens a nice smile to the tailor, hearing Hongjoong talk about the makeup and the way the model’s hair should be styled with the other girl in the room. She leaves the room to change her clothes, coming back to only the stylist, who’s carefully looking at the outfits again, like imagining when and how the model will pose for it.
“Would you like to grab a coffee?” Hongjoong asks first, the model opens a tiny smile. “Professionally.”
Seonghwa lets out a laugh, quickly stopping it from going further. “Professionally?”
“Yeah. With no second intentions or whatsoever,” she answers in a shrug.
The model chuckles. “I can grab a coffee. Not just professionally.”
Hongjoong nods, her ears incredibly red making the taller woman smile even more. The stylist waits for the other to gather her things and answer a couple of texts before driving to a cafe.
“You know, I was afraid you’d deny it,” Hongjoong starts while taking a sip of her coffee. They’ve been quiet for the last few minutes after placing their orders and getting them. “You didn’t say a thing to me after saying a polite ‘hello’ this morning.”
“You were staring at me like you’d shoot flames through your eyes,” Seonghwa answers in a chuckle. “When people said that you had an intense gaze, I was expecting something to happen only on the first meeting, not something that lingers.”
Hongjoong chuckles. “Sorry, I… I’m bad at… Shit… I’m bad at flirting.”
“I’ve noticed,” she smiles. “I’m enjoying our ‘professionally taken with no second intentions’ coffee.”
The stylist hides half of her face with one of her hands, looking away from the older woman. Seonghwa smiles, waiting for the embarrassment to end before starting another talk — this time sharing their visions of fashion trends and collections.
“So… Do you want to take it to my apartment or yours?” Seonghwa asks and she’s taken by surprise to see the way Hongjoong clearly disapproves of her suggestion. “Well, I thought—I mean, I assumed you’d take this as a one time thing? Since I’m very busy for the next few weeks… Being the face of a collection is nice but troublesome.”
“I can wait. I still have a lot of bad ways of flirting with you,” she smiles when Seonghwa laughs.
“I bet you have.”
“I’ll drive you to your place,” Hongjoong offers, noticing that Seonghwa will deny just by her expression. She adds before it happens, “I insist. And I can be quite stubborn about that.”
Seonghwa giggles. “Okay. I accept it.”
The ride starts quietly, only the low music playing breaking their comfortable silence. Seonghwa watches Hongjoong driving, noticing the smirk growing in the stylist’s lips, making her look away and curl herself into the passenger’s seat after hearing the other chuckle.
“I’ll keep an eye on you tomorrow,” Hongjoong says after she stops the car.
“I’m counting on it,” Seonghwa answers in a smile. “Just don’t shoot flames through your eyes… Although I’d be happy to be your Jean Grey and kiss you to stop the flames.”
They stare at each other, Hongjoong turning her head slightly to the side, showing that she’s clearly confused about what Seonghwa just referenced. The model fights the urge to leave the car without clarifying it.
“Like in X-Men? Jean Grey and Cyclops?” She asks, Hongjoong frowning her eyebrows makes the model want to disappear into thin air. “No? You don’t know the movies?”
“I’m afraid not…”
“Sorry…” She chuckles to get her embarrassment out. “It’s like… Cyclops emits optic blasts from his eyes, it’s like lasers but more powerful with a lot of energy. He contains it by using sunglasses. Jean Grey—God, sorry, forget I ever said that.”
“No, keep talking,” Hongjoong answers in the most soft voice Seonghwa has ever heard. “I might watch the movies to understand it better, though.”
Seonghwa takes a deep breath, feeling the way her cheeks heat up. Maybe from embarrassment. Maybe from the way Hongjoong keeps waiting for her to talk. Who knows.
“Jean Grey… I’ll try not to give you too many spoilers… But Jean Grey gains some powers and she can contain his powers. They share a kiss after it. Not that the kiss contains the blasts, it’s just a kiss. But… I tried. I guess.”
Hongjoong smiles. “Well, everything I caught from it is that you want to kiss me.”
“Good. That was my intention,” she answers in another embarrassed chuckle. “I guess you’re not the only one with bad skills.”
“We’re even now,” she answers in a laugh, getting closer to hug the model and place a kiss on her cheek. “See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Seonghwa leaves the car, fighting the urge to hide her face after remembering the X-Men reference. It’s the kind of thing that she’ll remember for the rest of her life, making that embarrassment feeling come back like she’s experiencing that interaction again.
She can’t stop from feeling shy whenever her eyes finds Hongjoong on set in the next day. She doesn’t know if it’s because of the intense gaze or because her memory keeps betraying her. Maybe she should’ve just stayed quiet and let Hongjoong to shoot her shot alone.
“This one is a little more complex, it’s okay if you don’t really get it,” Hongjoong starts while waiting for the model to change her clothes for the next shot.
“I managed to dress it like yesterday, but I got really lost in what’s the back and what’s the front of this shirt,” Seonghwa answers after she leaves the small changing room.
Hongjoong stares at her — and now she can see it. The intensity behind the stylist’s eyes is not just analyzing an outfit or how the model is wearing it. It shows how her mind wanders far from it, like she’s seeing right through the layers of fabric. She’s taking off those clothes from Seonghwa’s body. The pair of brown eyes are burning deep — full of desire.
Seonghwa, once again, is trying her best to not show how much those eyes make her feel shivers go down through her spine. She lets Hongjoong fix the clothes in silence, sometimes holding her breath when the touch stays just a little longer in her waist or in her wrist. Hongjoong bends down to adjust the strap of the heel and the model feels how hot the tip of the stylist’s fingers are now.
“Let go of your breath, I don’t want anyone to pass out from holding their breath,” Hongjoong says in a teasing smile and gets up. “The designer is coming, by the way. He was busy yesterday but now he wants to watch how our model is looking.”
“Yeah, so you should keep it professional,” she says and the stylist chuckles.
“I don’t need to do that, it’s quite normal for the stylist to be touching the model. You on the other hand… You need to keep breathing,” Hongjoong adds in a smirk. “You’re ready to go, baby.”
Seonghwa stares at her, not saying a word — it’s a warning to keep Hongjoong in place. But the stylist only smiles while watching her leave to the next shoot. And the model should expect to be watched closely by the stylist, the dark lighting couldn’t hide the intentional tiny smile the woman held in her lips. Seonghwa wants to wrap her hands around Hongjoong’s neck and—
“Walk towards the camera, please,” the photographer’s voice gets her attention. “Thank you.”
The model hums, trying to avoid the side where Hongjoong is standing. And she does that whenever she’s taking the pictures, because it’s hard to avoid the stylist when she’s fixing the clothes to look pretty for the camera, even though sharing some words with the designer might help her to distract from the slight press of fingers in her waist.
The runway is just a week after Seonghwa takes the promotional pictures and videos. Now, she’s talking with other models while waiting for the directions to start walking, she can feel the eyes watching her, but she doesn’t look at their direction — she knows who’s looking at her so strongly to the point of making her blush without even noticing.
Seonghwa is used to have eyes on her, but now none of them carry the same warmth to make her whole body feel hot like Hongjoong’s eyes does. And she feels it during every minute inside the place where the runway took place. She only has some hours to get ready to go to the afterparty and she takes her moment to enjoy it, because she knows it’s marking the end of the promotions and where it’s taking her and Hongjoong. Not that she’s complaining about it.
Her eyes scans the place before accepting the glass of champagne that’s held in her direction. She sees the blonde layered hair in one of the corners, Hongjoong smiling while talking with some people. Her sunglasses are at the tip of her nose, probably to make it better for her to see — the place is already dark enough. Her eyes meet briefly with the model standing at the entrance before Seonghwa gets dragged to another corner by the designer, where they engage in a talk about interviews or something like that with a creative director.
They keep orbiting each other for long hours, until they finally meet by the DJ stage, Hongjoong’s left hand automatically sliding to Seonghwa’s back. She places a kiss on the model’s cheek, her lips brushing the taller woman’s ear when she says, “Looking pretty tonight, Star.”
The nickname makes Seonghwa feel butterflies in her stomach. “You’re looking quite wonderful tonight too.”
A photographer approaches them, Hongjoong sliding her hand just a little lower on the model’s body, now stopping at the side of her hip. Hongjoong accepts the champagne glass that’s brought for them, smiling at the waiter while Seonghwa takes the other. They took some pictures and Hongjoong shared some words with the man before letting him go.
“If I knew you’d look so good in gold I’d have chosen another color for you to walk,” Hongjoong says while eyeing the model from head to toe and coming back.
“You’d ruin my look for the party,” Seonghwa answers in a smile. “Would you like to dance?”
“I don’t know how to.”
“Me too, let’s just swing our bodies to the sides.”
Hongjoong nods, following to where more people are standing together, hugging Seonghwa’s waist once more. The model only smiles at her, singing close to her ears whatever is the song playing right now. They stay at the party until the first fireworks, the alcohol already making their minds hazy.
When they arrive at Hongjoong’s apartment, the model immediately takes the stylist’s glasses off, throwing it on the couch before starting a kiss and letting herself be pulled towards one of the rooms. They fall on the bed, the kiss breaking for half a second for them to take a breath before continuing it again.
“I have more champagne here. I got this as a gift for my hard work these past months and thought I’d keep it for a special occasion,” Hongjoong says while Seonghwa unbuttons her jacket.
“And why is this moment a special occasion?” She asks while smiling, sighing when the other places some kisses on her neck.
“You are the special occasion, baby,” she adds in a deeper voice, leaving the room for a few seconds before coming back with the bottle and the two glasses. “The night is long, Star, they still have one more fireworks to shoot.”
Seonghwa smiles, accepting the champagne and closing her eyes as she feels Hongjoong’s free hand slide inside her mini golden dress while she kisses her neck again. It’s easy for them to get lost in the moment, the heat of their bodies mixing up with all the tension between them, the alcohol and the pleasure making their minds go blank. Hongjoong’s body gets more and more lipstick marks as Seonghwa kisses her, while the taller woman’s body gets more and more bites and marks.
The headache is what wakes Seonghwa up, making her blink a few times before getting used to the light in the room. She immediately feels Hongjoong’s arm in her waist, making her open a satisfied smile before she turns to the stylist, noticing the lip marks around her face and neck, some being more strong than others — not to mention the mess on her lips too.
“Enjoying your artwork?” Hongjoong’s voice startles her. “I woke up some minutes ago.”
“Good morning.”
The stylist smiles, opening her eyes before closing again to place a small peck in Seonghwa’s lips. “Good morning, Star.”
Seonghwa smiles at the nickname again, hugging Hongjoong while groaning, feeling the kisses on her neck and shoulder. They stay in that hug for a few minutes, until the headache becomes almost unbearable, making the model groan again before getting up and following the stylist to take some medicine. They barely care that Seonghwa is wearing the younger woman’s jacket and that Hongjoong is only wearing her bra and sweatpants.
“Now I hope you have some free time for me to take you on dates,” Hongjoong says while hugging Seonghwa again. “Or I’ll feel obligated to call you for more shoots organized by me and call you to grab our ‘professionally taken’ coffee.”
Seonghwa laughs. “My schedule will be more flexible now. But I’d love to take that coffee again. Maybe at your apartment, who knows.”
“And then we’ll watch those X-Men movies so I can understand your Jean Grey reference. Maybe we’ll recreate that kiss.”
Seonghwa smiles, holding Hongjoong’s face in her hands. “Let’s just not drink a champagne bottle again. I’m a lightweight.”
“I’ll think about it.”
They share some kisses before Seonghwa goes back to her place, letting Hongjoong know that she arrived safely. The shared texts never stop for the next weeks and months, they only take a break when the model is doing some shoots and the stylist is working on moodboards and new ideas. They also go on more dates than they can count, some of them being just breakfasts before a long day and others being a dinner with wine on Friday nights.
After six months of going out, they started to get one week day to watch movies and spend the night cuddling together — the two days on weekends started to feel too fast for how much time they wanted to spend hugging each other on the bed. Seonghwa knew how to name that feeling and Hongjoong doesn’t seem afraid to recognize it too.
Hongjoong’s eyes start going from that intense, hot, stare to a more warm and loving one. Seonghwa feels like she’s discovering a new star on them everyday. Stars that only shine for her, especially at their moments alone, where nothing can stop the caresses and giggles between them.
“Here, take this,” Hongjoong says while giving Seonghwa a couple of keys. “It’s for my apartment. You’ve been sleeping there for the past month anyway.”
Seonghwa freezes. Yes, she knows she’s too into it. And she knows Hongjoong is too. But they didn’t name it, not out loud. She lets go a long sigh before taking the keys and saying, “Damn…”
“Damn?” Hongjoong asks in a smile. “What does that reaction mean?”
“Just… Damn,” she laughs. “I guess the gears in my mind have put everything together.”
Hongjoong laughs, interlacing her fingers with Seonghwa’s, bringing her hand to her mouth and placing a kiss there. “It doesn’t have to be that heavy in your heart, we’re taking it slow, so it’s alright if you don’t want to go invading my apartment like that.”
“I know. It’s not heavy. It’s just… Good. I’m happy to be with you.”
“You are?”
“Of course I am,” she answers in a smile so big it reaches her eyes. “I couldn’t be happier.”
It takes Seonghwa a month before using the key. She arrives late after drinking with a team for this week-long shoot and she doesn’t want to bother Hongjoong, so she walks inside the apartment only using her phone flashlight on the floor, to make sure she won’t hit her feet anywhere.
She takes off her accessories, brushes her teeth and changes her shirt before entering Hongjoong’s room silently, trying to not wake the younger woman as she organizes herself under the covers — she knows she failed in that when an arm hugs her around the waist.
“I didn’t know you were awake,” she whispers and Hongjoong chuckles.
“It’s 10 p.m. When did you see me sleep this early?” She asks in the same tone. “I was just making sure the keys weren’t rusting in your bag.”
“I hate you so much,” she answers and the stylist laughs.
“I bet you do.”
Seonghwa feels her cheeks heat up, making her snuzzle closer to Hongjoong. “I love you.”
“I bet you do.” She slaps the other’s arm, hearing the soft laugh that comes out of her mouth. Hongjoong hugs her even closer, kissing her shoulder and cheek, taking a deep breath and, even though Seonghwa can’t see, she can hear the smile on the stylist’s lips when she adds, “I love you too.”