Chapter Text
The flashing of cameras burst against Sunoo’s face in rapid pulses, each one catching a different angle of him, the soft curve of his cheekbone, the glint in his eyes, the faint shimmer of gloss on his lips. The repetitive clicking filled the room steady and relentless, syncing with the rhythm of his steps.
Each movement of his was deliberate but effortless, as though the camera were an old friend he was greeting again.
Kim Sunoo is one of South Koreas rising top models. With his porcelain like visuals and delicate frame, his pure beauty and uniqueness had captured the hearts of everyone in the industry.
“Kim Sunoo-ssi, turn your chin slightly.’ The photographer commanded, to which Sunoo nodded and gracefully obeyed.
“You look perfect, Sunoo- ssi! I think we have got everything we need from you. Thank you for your cooperation on this.’
“Thank you, Director Yoon, this opportunity has been wonderful. I hope I get the pleasure of working with you again.” Sunoo beamed, in delight.
“I will surely be in touch with you again.” Director Yoon said before walking off to analyse the pictures again.
Sunoo got himself ready to leave the studio with his management but before doing so, he finally had the chance to admire the display of pictures that hung around the building of various, previous top models that Sunoo so highly aspired to be like.
He stared in awe of Choi Minho’s 2016 Cosmopolitan Korea shoot and carefully analysed the way he posed, how his hair was styled and the way his eyes effortlessly sparkled.
Sunoo knew he had something special, but he also knew he still had a long way to go.
As he made his way out of the building, he noticed a massive billboard and wondered how he had not seen it on the way in. Before him was the most mesmerising person he had ever seen, modelling for the new Prada cologne.
His skin was so white it was almost ghostly, his hair a dark shade of black, his eyes were sharp and hypnotising and his perfect face featured little beauty marks beside his nose and eyes.
“Pretty.” Sunoo said to himself as he trailed on behind his team.
His manager, Jaeyun, who also was a close and loyal friend to Sunoo, turned around and noticed the younger model was seemingly in a daze.
“Are you okay there, Sunoo? You seem lost in thought?”
“Ah, yes, I am great, Jaeyun hyung. Sorry, just a little tired. Who is this guy on the billboard? He looks great, but I have never seen him before?” Sunoo asked.
“Oh! You haven’t heard of him? This is Park Sunghoon! He got scouted fairly recently and, just like you, he has had quite a lot of brand deals and opportunities. I am quite surprised you didn’t know who he was.” Jaeyun replied, laughing as he noticed Sunoo get more bashful.
Sunoo puffed, defensively. “I try and refrain myself from looking too much into model social media before any big shoot, to focus on being myself! If he is new, well, I guess I may see him around!”
“It’s okay, Sun. That’s a good way of doing things. No one has the unique flair that you have. Let’s get you home and I will inform you of your next projects after you have a break.”
Sunoo agreed and the pair headed to the car. Whilst doing so, they got caught up with paparazzi and the dedicated but crazy fan boys and girls, all wanting to interact with Sunoo.
Sunoo simply waved politely as he made his way in the car, before breathing heavily once out of sight.
Despite the fact he always wanted this path of fame for himself, Sunoo found the attention never got easier. Being in the public eye had become increasingly overwhelming for him since he started getting noticed. It didn’t help that people only knew Sunoo for his looks and nothing else and therefore, had to keep up with the pressure of always looking put together.
Still, despite the anxieties that come with this new life of his, he loves what he does and the opportunities he has gained.
“Sunoo-yah, we are nearly at your place. You’ve been awfully quiet, is everything alright?” Jaeyun asked gently.
“Yes hyung, don’t worry about me! I am just so ready for this break.” Sunoo said, excited over what he has planned for the next week before working again.
Jaeyun patted Sunoo’s head, much to the younger boy’s dismay, and the two quietly conversed until Sunoo finally arrived home.
“Thank you everyone for your work and help! Please also have some time off yourselves. See you soon.” Sunoo said as he left the car, waving to his team and giving Jaeyun a hug.
As Sunoo entered his home, he smiled thinking about how lucky he was to be so close and have such a strong relationship with Jaeyun. It is rare for many people to be so comfortable around their manager, however, Jaeyun was always so gentle with Sunoo, he really was the dream.
Sunoo immediately stripped off his suit and put on a simple lounge set, before washing his face to reveal his bare, still perfect skin. He then proceeded to microwave some leftover rice for a snack and watch some TV.
He flicked through the channels, having no idea what to watch. As he kept changing, he caught a glimpse of an advert, featuring a familiar face. Sunoo switched back to the channel to watch the rest of the advert.
There he was again. Park Sunghoon, advertising the new men’s Prada cologne.
Sunoo watched as the video flashed different shots of Sunghoon using the perfume, holding the perfume, smelling the perfume. He gulped as the camera panned down on Sunghoon’s neck, to show the fresh spray dripping off him.
He watched as Sunghoon’s, bony, perfect hand, held the perfume tightly and pushed the nozzle gently.
Then Sunoo, still completely mesmerized, sniffed the smell of burning.
“AH SHIT!” Sunoo yelled, wiping the unplanned drool from his mouth as he went to retrieve the now inedible, burnt rice.
Sunoo sighed, throwing away his only food option and sighed more knowing he would have to actually go out and buy something else.
He sighed a third time when he caught a glimpse of another advert, this time on his phone of Park Sunghoon and almost drooled again.
“Great. I literally never knew of this man and now he is haunting me with his devastatingly, drop dead gorgeous face.” Sunoo sighs to himself.
Sunoo swiped off his socials and went straight to call the only person he could in a time like this, his best friend Yang Jungwon.
“Jungwonieee hello~” Sunoo said, excited as his friend picked up straight away.
“Hello, hyung! What’s up? I’m coming over, tomorrow remember?”
“I know, I know! Can’t a guy just call his best friend when he is bored?” Sunoo asks.
“Well of course, but you’re Kim Sunoo. You never just call cause you’re bored. I’m with Ni-Ki right now so make it quick hyunggg”.
Sunoo rolled his eyes but giggled at the cuteness of his best friend. “Ah okay, well I was making myself some rice, and I burnt it.”
“Right… and you needed to call me because?”
“Well, I’ll just get straight to the point, have you heard of Park Sunghoon?”
“Have I heard of Park Sunghoon? As in THE Park Sunghoon? Of course I have! He is really handsome hyung, ouch! Ni-Ki, you’re the only one for me.” Jungwon said that last part away from the phone, but Sunoo still laughed at their cute behaviour.
“So, I really have been living under a rock them, damn.” Sunoo sighed.
“What did that have to do with burning your rice?”
“Ah, well, I got sidetracked by his gorgeous advert, okay.”
“Oooo Okay. Sounds like you fancy him!”
“No I don-“ Sunoo began before stopping because the younger boy had hung up. “Rude.”
Sunoo decided to stop thinking about Sunghoon and go to the grocery store. He was in desperate need of a trip but with work taking up all of his time, and the pressure to stay a certain way for the brand shoot he only just finished, eating becomes difficult.
Upon arriving, Sunoo headed straight to get all his favorites, from noodles to tteokbokki. He was so hungry he could have eaten everything there and then, but he finished up his food shop and made his way to checkout. On the way, he decided to have a look at the magazines, which was not unordinary for Sunoo at all. He often liked to find his own pictures and covers or look at other models, for inspiration whenever he had finished his own big projects. He skimmed through, spotting a friend he had worked with in the past, Jang Wonyoung on the cover of Vogue Korea, making Sunoo smile.
He finally spotted himself, but before picking up the magazine, he noticed it had been placed right beside Park Sunghoon. Sunoo groaned as he was reminded of that beautiful face that hadn’t stopped playing in his mind since four hours ago, when he first became aware of Sunghoon’s existence.
Sunoo decided to pick up both his and Sunghoon’s magazines and purchase them.
As he got home, he immediately put the contents of his grocery shop away and then whipped out the magazines. He displayed his own, with the other magazines he had. Then he grabbed Sunghoon’s and stared. It was the exact same picture that was on the billboard. The cover said it had an exclusive interview with Sunghoon in it which seemed to peak Sunoo’s interest.
Sunoo skipped to the interview section and sat down to read through.
The questions were quite trivial, similar to what Sunoo had dealt with in the past. Sunghoon’s answers were clearly constructed and careful, revealing just enough for a reader to be satisfied but not enough to truly know him.
Sunoo concluded that Sunghoon was quite an introverted person, just getting used to being in the limelight. Most importantly, Sunoo concluded, Sunghoon seemed like a truly kind and genuine person.
Sunoo screamed into a cushion, in need of this sudden crash out as his sudden infatuation and crush on Sunghoon reminded him of his highschooler self again.
The boy walked up and down his house, shoving some strawberries he just bought down his throat. He was contemplating giving in and going onto his socials to check out this man’s online presence.
Sunoo did not have to think for very long before he was unlocking his phone again and opening Instagram.
He searched up Park Sunghoon, and sure enough, Sunghoon’s account popped up along with a few suggested fan pages. Sunoo clicked on his profile and was stunned at how aesthetically pleasing the account was to the eye. Sunghoon was professional and only had a few posts up, all relating to Prada and events he had attended. He was following only brands and had, himself, almost 3 million followers.
Sunoo flicked through each post, admiring Sunghoon in each photo. There was one picture in particular that really had caught Sunoo’s attention. Sunghoon seemed to have attended an event abroad and had posted the most boyfriend material dump Sunoo had ever seen. A picture of Sunghoon smiling so cheesily at a dinner had Sunoo feeling completely lovesick. Sunoo swiped off the post immediately. He took one more look at Sunghoons profile, before pressing down and leaving the account.
He decided to put his phone away, and put on Netflix, to be safe from any adverts of Sunghoon popping up on the TV. He settled on watching some horror movie, because the idea of any romance movie whilst dealing with a crush, made him insane.
It wasn’t until halfway through the film, Sunoo checked his phone. To his absolute dismay, he’d rather be the character that just got mauled by a zombie in the film than live his own life after noticing he had countless missed calls from Jake, Jungwon and his agency and a spam of texts coming through.
“What the fuck.” Sunoo said as he accepted the first call that came through.
“Jaeyun hyung, what is going on?” Sunoo asked, tiredly, his voice shaking.
“Sunoo! Why did you follow Park Sunghoon, on your professional account? Everyone is going crazy right now and thinks you two are collaborating! Where have you been this whole time?”
“AH SHIT!? I DIDN’T MEAN TO. SHOULD I JUST UNFOLLOW HIM?” Sunoo asked, his voice caught in a panic.
“Yes, unfollow him now. It has been nearly an hour since it happened, Sunoo-yah, so it won’t lessen the impact, people will still think it was just a mistake, which it was, right?”
“Yes, it was a mistake.”
“You might deal with fake rumours going around, just do your best to ignore it. We’ll sort the rest of this out. Don’t worry too much, Sunoo.”
“I’ll try not to, hyung. I am so sorry again.”
Jaeyun said goodbye before hanging up and left Sunoo now completely embarrassed. He immediately went online, with his latest post blowing up in comments about him and Sunghoon, along with many more message requests coming through. Sunoo unfollowed Sunghoon and closed the app again.
If he had to choose the top 10 worst days of his life, this today most definitely would be in the top 5.
Sunoo had another call come through, this time from Jungwon, who still hadn’t had a response from Sunoo yet.
Sunoo sighed and picked up the call, full of humiliation.
“Jungwon, I am so embarrassed.”
“Hyung, it’s not that bad, trust me.”
“It is though! People are probably expecting some kind of collaboration between us, or worst, they might actually think I was stalking Sunghoon like he is my crush, which, between you and me, is what I was doing.”
“Oh, Sunoo hyung, it’ll be okay. It’s quite sweet really. This will all pass over soon, okay? Riki and I will see you tomorrow, I hope you have at least started packing because we will be in Japan for a week!”
“Yes, yes, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, bring everything and don’t forget your passport!” Sunoo replied hanging up before Jungwon could bring up the last holiday they had, where Sunoo in fact was the one to forget his passport.
Sunoo decided to start his packing to get his mind off of everything. He ended up walking all around his house trying to find all the bits he had not packed because, Sunoo was a chronic procrastinator and last-minute person.
After an hour or so, he finished packing all his essentials, only leaving out small things he’d need in the morning.
Sunoo yawned and got himself ready to sleep, the weeks of working nonstop finally catching up to him. Before finally letting himself sleep, he checked his phone one last time, which was still, unfortunately, full of speculations. However, one thing did catch Sunoo’s interest. At the very top of his message requests, the verified account of Park Sunghoon.
Sunoo took one big breath in and out before checking out what Sunghoon could have possibly said.
It simply read, ‘Nosy, aren’t we?’
Sunoo was completely red in the face.