Forbidden (Chapter 5)

Thank you my lovely commenters!! I am very glad you are liking the story!! NOW LET'S GET TO THE GOOD PART SHALL WE?! (though....the REALLY good part(s) come laaaterrr.....)


ps- because of the Goddamn Macs at my school, some of this chapter had to be rewritten from my memory....which is really bad, so i ended up rewriting the entire scene with Mi-Young and Kimi at the airport. -dies- all i have to say is....FUCK YOU MACS!! -sticks up middle fingers-



pps- In episode....i think 6 of H.I.T. the three guys who pick up Kimi, are really in the drama, they just don't have names....so, i'mma make them up. but i don't feel like making up names for all 3 of them, so i'm just gonna make up a name for one of them. cuz i'm a lazy ass like that.


ppps- this chapter was a BITCH to write, so I apologize if it gets boring at some points. On most of it my brain was, like running on empty, so I just typed whatever came into my head so I'm sorry if I put you to sleep. ^^;;

Chapter 5

I had been meeting Mr. Park and Su-Jung frequently to discuss more about the job and Hong Kong in general. During the time we took to prepare everything we needed, I noticed Mi-Young's family had been treating me somewhat different. No...I shouldn't say that; they had been treating me with the same love and respect as they had when I'd first shown up on their doorstep with my many bags and saying in broken Korean, "Thank you for inviting me into your home!" but I couldn't help but notice that the air between her family and I had changed.


For one thing, whenever they spoke to me it wasn't in the same way they had been talking to me before I had told them what was going on. It seemed like they were now treading on eggshells and always choosing their words carefully around me. Another would be the fact that they don't question my whereabouts anymore as they did before. Like this one time I planned to go meet with Su-Jung and Mr. Park in one of our many meetings about Hong Kong, and I had stayed out a little past curfew (about 15 minutes). I walked inside, apologizing for my tardiness and was expecting an "OMG, WHERE WERE YOU! WE WERE SO WORRIED!!" but what I got was an "At least you're home," from Mi-Young's father and an added, "Safely" from her mother.


So, yeah. I was feeling pretty down and ostracized. Just a little bit. (Note the sarcasm.) In order for me to not think about how differently I was treated now, I kept telling myself that the reason for their actions was because they were mentally preparing themselves for when I left them permanently for Hong Kong. At least....I hope they were....


Finally--after weeks and weeks of planning and preparing--the day came when I had to leave South Korea for Hong Kong. Mr. Park had gotten me a plane ticket for 10am Tuesday morning. Mi-Young had persuaded her parents to let her go to school late so she would be able to say good-bye and wish me luck, as her parents were willing to drive me to the airport. I was flying alone (again) and once I reached the Hong Kong International airport, I was to meet three representatives from the agency who would take me to the studio. There, I would meet Mr. Park, informing me on what to do and where I will be able to find a place to stay for the duration of my employment.


I have to say, driving with Mi-Young's family to the airport was very.....awkward. For one thing, her father didn't even say two words to me, and her mother attempted to try and make conversation with me, but it always failed one way or another. She would ask me questions that can be answered with one word and then we wouldn't speak for another 10 or 15 minutes. Mi-Young wasn't any well off either. She was very quiet on the car-ride and just stared out the window and didn't look at me. Well that just made me feel even more like a big pile of dog shit for my actions!! So, to pass the remainder of the very awkward car-ride, I dug out my iPod from my carry-on bag, stuck the earbuds in my ear, and pressed play. But even the sounds of my newly downloaded Super Junior mp3s did not make the empty feeling in my chest go away. (Damn you Super Junior! You're supposed to make everything better!! -uber sad face!-)


We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so I checked in my bag and went through the standard airport procedure (really annoying) and then hung out at my gate for a bit with Mi-Young and her family. They were still really quiet. So quiet, I couldn't stand it, so I told them I was going to go for a walk around the airport. It was, like, 9 so I had boatloads of time to kill....even if it was only an hour. I seriously wasn't expecting company, but Mi-Young decided to walk with me, and although I was hesitant at first because she seemed to be taking my leaving the hardest, I eventually let her keep me company.


We walked around and got some Airport!Starbucks (because every airport has a Starbucks) and then to a small Airport!convenience store and bought some gum. (What else is there to buy at an airport?) We walked around for a while, neither of us saying anything. I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say, and I'm guessing Mi-Young didn't say anything because she was still pretty hurt by my leaving....and my lying to her. (Well, that makes me feel even more like dog shit!)


We walked around for another 10 minutes not saying anything to each other. We were about to turn around and go back to the gate when Mi-Young finally spoke up.


"I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said, not looking at me. I stopped sipping my Frappuccino, and stared at her for a long time. When she still refused to look at me, I opened my mouth to say something, but she suddenly cut me off.


"I'm also sorry about what my father said to you. If it were my decision, I would without question welcome you back home if things didn't work out for you in Hong Kong! You know I would!" she then looked up at me, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. I watched her, not knowing what to say. Then she started to cry, bringing me out of my momentary stupor, and I pulled her into a tight hug.


"Don't worry! It's not your fault, don't beat yourself up over it. And--God forbid--if I do fail, I know--had it been your decision--you would totally let me come back," I said as I hugged her. She cried even harder after I said that, which made me feel really awkward because I thought I was trying to make her feel better. Turns out my words had zero effect, though I continued to do everything in my power to try and make her feel better. I promised I would send her emails everyday, and call and let her know how I would be doing so she wouldn't have to worry too much about me. I released her and wiped tears from her eyes.


"Don't cry, I'll be fine. I promise," I told her, smiling, "I promise." I dug inside my pocket and handed some napkins to her so she could wipe her face, and she blew her nose. I made a joke about the sound her nose makes, and that made her laugh. God, it was good to see her perfect smile again!! Then out of nowhere she pulled me into a big hug!


"I'm going to miss you soo much!" she wailed. She hugged me tighter, as I awkwardly patted her back. I would have embraced her too....but she was sort of crushing me.


"Mi-Young...." I choked, "...you're crushing my lungs."


She immediately let go and I smiled at her. "I'll be all right," I repeated, "I swear."


"You'd better be. If not, I'll come get you and drag you back here," she threatened, grinning. I laughed and checked my watch; it was about 9:30 so we decided to head back to my gate, though we thought it would be fun to skip the rest of the way. That is...until airport security stopped us and told us to walk.


We made it back to the gate just as my plane was boarding. I gathered my carry-on bag and looked at my best friend and her family, and thanked them for everything they had done for me until now. I hugged Mi-Young's mother and father and told them that I would be safe and I will do my best with everything. I hugged my friend one last time and was surprised when she wiped tears from my eyes.


"Don't cry," she said, though I could already see tears welling up in her eyes again and her nose started to turn red. "I have absolute faith in you. Fighting!"


"Fighting!" I said and we hugged again. When the last boarding call came, I showed my ticket to the lady at the desk where she validated it. As I went through the tunnel I took one last look back at them all and waved.

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I arrived in Hong Kong, a really long 5 hours later, feeling extremely tired, groggy, and just *dead*. I descended the plane, went to the bathroom to wash my face and freshen up to the best of my ability, then proceeded to gather my belongings from customs. Once that was all cleared out of the way, I checked my passport and was about to sit down and rest for a while, when I saw 3 guys holding up a sign with my name on it. I raised a questionable eyebrow, but I went up to them anyway....ever so cautiously. They all looked like they were in their early 20's-ish; one was bald, the other had a buzz cut, and one was really cute with wavy hair cut neatly so it rested on his neck, and a very fine looking face. The all wore black suits....

"Um...excuse me," I said, timidly. They looked at me, then the cute one said in English, "Are you Kimi Holmes?" I nodded. He smiled, making my stomach perform loop-de-loops, and introduced himself and his colleagues to me and we bowed respectfully in greeting.

"Our employer, Mr. Park sent us. We are to bring you back to the studio where you can begin your work, and there you will be able to chat with him about housing accommodations," he continued and smiled again. He was no Mr. Sexy (God, that man's hot!) but he was cute so I smiled back and said thanks. They helped me with my bags, and I followed them out to their Studio Van, as they called it. I was expecting it to be shiny and black, but it was gray and boring. I climbed in and sat between the bald guy and the guy with the buzz cut (I forgot their names). The cute one, Chen, was driving.

We drove around the city, Chen occasionally making small talk with me, and I answered trying not to sound nervous. The other two just sat on either side of me, staring out the window and not saying anything at all and that kinda made me nervous anyway, so....either way, I still tried to sound like myself while Chen spoke to me.

We drove for about and hour and a half or so, when we finally made it to the studio, someplace near the docks; I heard steamboats and foghorns everywhere....and it smelled strongly of fish. Chen parked the car in the parking lot and they led me to the studio, already buzzing with the flashing of cameras and really bright, blinding, umbrella lights, and stage settings and whatnot. I looked around at the girls getting their pictures taken. They all wore expensive looking clothes and their hair was all done elaborately and they had makeup on, and they just looked AMAZING!

I supressed a sigh, and looked down at my jeans, sneakers, dark purple hoodie, and my bag. Glad I was working in the background, where no camera would ever capture me. I looked up and couldn't help but admire the girls....and also feel a tad bit jealous. Or maybe that was just the jetlag talking. Anyway, as the girls posed and the photographer shot, Chen and the other two guys told me to wait in the studio while they went to get Mr. Park. I nodded and continued my observing of the models and my surroundings, trying to take everything in. While in the middle of shooting one of the models, a girl came up to me and I recognized her as Su-Jung. When we saw each other we hugged and started talking.

"What are you doing in Hong Kong? I thought you were still in Korea," I said in Korean, glad to see a face I recognized.

"Oh no, I came back to shoot more of my portfolio! My plane left a few days before yours," she answered. "But hey, you made it! You're going to love working here, everyone's so nice. Come! I'll introduce you!" She took my arm and led me to a corner of the studio where a whole bunch of girls were clustered, either hanging out or waiting for their turn to be photographed.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kimi," Su-Jung introduced me. She spoke in Korean, so I assumed most of them were from Korea. "She'll be working here from now on. She'll be helping the photographers with the equipment."

"Anyunghaseyo," I said sheepishly, bowing. They smiled and gave little bows in return and Su-Jung started ticking off their names. I got Hae-won, a girl with long hair wearing skinny jeans, gold metalic flats, an off-the-shoulder long-sleeved shirt and a black tank over it, Eun-Jung, another girl with long hair wearing a mini-skirt, heels, and a beaded halter, and some others whom I don't remember their names (bad, I know...) and finally to a girl named Hee-Jin. She had short hair cut to her ears, thigh length stockings and black heels, shorts, and a black and white shirt.

"It's such a shame you'd be working with the equipment," said Hae-won, "you have such a nice face!"

"And I like your hair," added Eun-Jung. My hair was in a ponytail, as usual, so I don't know what there was to like about it.....maybe she was just being nice. As for Hae-won...I think she needs glasses. She's prettier than I am!! But the others nodded in agreement anyway at what the two of them said. Uh-oh....

"Oh! Um...thank you, but....really, I'd much rather work behind the scenes. I'm not one for the spotlight, y'know? I tend to keep to myself..." I explained, feeling more than a little embarassed. They "aww"d and started telling me awhole bunch of other nice things, but I cut them off and told them I was quite happy with the job I had gotten and had no intention of changing it no matter what they told me. Su-Jung backed me up on my statement, then led me away.

"That's the girl I was telling you about back in Korea," she whispered when we were out of earshot of the girls. "Hee-Jin. She's the girl that doesn't like to talk about her parents."

Oh yeah...that girl; the one with the divorced parents and alcoholic dad who left her and her mother knee-deep in debt. I nodded and told her I remembered, but didn't want to pursue the subject as it was none of my business in the first place. She agreed and was about to introduce me to more people (omfg! there's MORE?!) when Chen and.....his people, I guess.....came back with Mr. Park. When he saw me, he shook my hand and smiled.

"Glad to see you made it in one piece," he said in English. "I trust you had a nice flight?"

"Yes. It was long, but enjoyable," I answered, also smiling.

"I'm glad. You must be exhausted, so I will discuss with you your hours and pay in my office, then Chen will drive you to a small hotel where you will be able to stay. It's cheap, but very nice, so I hope you will enjoy it there."

"Oh! Thank you, Mr. Park," I said, smiling. He nodded and gestured me to follow him to his office while Chen and the other two guys kinda chilled in the background. It took about 10-15 minutes for Mr. Park and I to discuss my hours and pay, which was good considering I was really getting tired and cranky because of my long-ass flight. By the 10 minute mark, I couldn't really care less about the words that were coming out of his mouth, and I just nodded my head, not hearing a thing. He must've noticed, because he cut the meeting short, and led me to where Chen and his dudes were, and the next thing I knew I was in Chen's car driving to this hotel that Mr. Park told them to take me to.

I checked in, they helped me drag my bags to my room, and told me that they'll pick me up at 9am tomorrow morning and to be ready. I nodded, thanked them and proceeded to place my bags haphazardly near my bed and then I just collapsed and went into a deep, deep, really welcoming sleep.

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Overall, my first day on the job went quite well and I started to get the hang of things by the second week. I had managed to stay well into the sidelines but every now and then I would stand and admire the girls getting their photos taken and gawk at how beautiful they looked. That happened one day while I was supposed to be moving some of the props into the back room. Hee-Jin was getting photographed today, wearing an elegant flowing red dress, the bright lights eluminating her and made her look almost angelic. I frowned and looked at my own attire, consisting of my denim mini skirt, black leggings with lace trim, sneakers, and orange hoodie. My hair, as usual, was placed in a ponytail. How boring.

I admired and envied Hee-Jin as I watched her pose one after another. I stood there, watching and was knocked out of my trance when Su-Jung stood next to me and said, "Ya~h, she looks beautiful doesn't she?"

"Huh?!" I stammered, just now noticing her. She grinned. "You've been staring at Hee-Jin for quite some time; you almost look envious."

"Me?! Psh. I'm not jealous," I stammered. She continued to grin, while I continued to get defensive. When she got tired of teasing me, both of us stared at Hee-Jin for another minute each not saying anything. "She really does look pretty; makes me feel plain," I ended up saying out loud. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Su-Jung nod and grin slyly. Then out of nowhere, she grabbed my arm and dragged me through the studio calling some of the other girls to follow her. Which they did. Oh crap...

"Hey! Where are we going?! Where are you taking me?! What are you going to do to me?" I yelled as she placed me in a chair and called some more people and the girls clustered around me.

"You'll see," replied Su-Jung. She called the hairdresser, and makeup artist and started barking orders at the other girls who started to look more and more excited and began helping too. They took out my ponytail and just told me to relax and not freak. That's when the scissors came out.

"Hey! Are you gonna cut my hair!! No way!!" I shrieked starting to panic and squirm in the chair. The girls pinned me down and assured me that everything's going be fine and they're only going cut my hair a little bit. 'A little bit?!' I haven't had a haircut since...ever!! I squirmed more in the chair trying to escape, but they held on and Su-Jung told me fiercely, "Kimi, if you keep moving, we're gonna cut your ear off!!!" That made me shut up and sit still. All right....fine. I'll give in. They win. I sat down and finally began to relax and tried not to cringe with each snip of hair that was cut.

I don't know how long they had me sit in that chair or what it was they were putting on my face or how well it was all going to come out. All I knew was that when that whole ordeal was over, I could not WAIT to get out of there and I immediately tried to escape, but they nailed me down in the chair again and spun me around to the mirror. I almost didn't recognize myself.

They had cut and layered my hair; it was now shoulder length, and they had put mascara and eyeliner on me. Light blush colored my cheeks and pink lipstick and gloss shined on my lips. I blinked and tousled my hair a bit and shook it out. It always managed to come back to somewhat of the same position. Su-Jung came up beside me and placed her face against mine smiling cheekily.

"See? You can look beautiful too," she told me. I smiled and said nothing. Then one of the girls said something and the others started squealing and then the next thing I knew I was being dragged onto the stage while Su-Jung asked Ken to take some snapshots of me. I started to decline, telling him that if he did, I would quit right then and there.

"Nonsense!" he said, grinning. "I'll just take a few shapshots of you, you look great! Did you girls do this?" They nodded and snickered at me while I stood awkwardly on stage, messing with my now cut hair. Ken started telling me how to pose and I did the best I could do, and he ended up taking probably 4 or 10.....or 20 (omfg!) photos.

"Are we done yet?" I asked, starting to feel even more awkward. "One more," said Su-Jung as Ken snapped the last photo. Then it was strictly business as Ken started telling the girls to get ready for the outdoor photoshoot that was scheduled for today. I quickly got off stage, more than a little relieved and started gathering equipment to be hauled to the photoshoot. Ken explained that we will be taking two vans, and I was to ride with the other equipment people and some girls in one, and the other models in another. I nodded and packed some things and a tripod and a whole lot of other photo-stuffs and went with the others to the parking lot.

Chen was driving again, making me feel quite happy and I found myself fluffing up my newly cut hair, and hoping that he will notice. He did and that made my heart flutter like thousands of hummingbirds high on crack, coffee, and opium (um...wow). He opened the door for me and helped me put the photography equipment in the trunk.

"You look nice. New haircut?" he asked. I blushed and nodded.

"Yeah....the girls ambushed me and got the hairdresser in on it and then Ken took some pictures of me. It was really embarassing."

"Aah...well, I'm sure the photos will look lovely." He winked at me and got in the drivers seat, leaving me gawking and blushing like an idiot. GODDAMN!! I got a hold of myself and smacked my face somewhat, mentally scolding myself for allowing this guy to make me feel this way. WHAT THE HELL?! I growled loudly, causing him to look out the window at me.

"Everything all right?" he asked, grinning.

"Yes! Yes, yes! Everything's ok, I'm just...uh...umm...err...." I stuttered like an idiot as he continued to grin at me. I fidgeted a bit and finally said, "Uh....I'm...uh...I"m just gonna go and see if there's anything else that needs to be taken to the photoshoot....kthanxbye!" I was about to run back to the studio, but the other workers had already brought everything and placed them into the van. I froze then turned back to Chen, who had a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I'm going in the van now," I stated and climbed in, digging my iPod out of my pocket. As the other workers sat beside me, and the other models in the seats behind us, I placed the earbuds in my ears and blasted Epik High (it was the first song that was up) as Chen drove off to the location while I thought to myself how much of a big RETARD I acted. DEAR GOD, WHY MUST I ACT LIKE A HUGE IDIOT IN FRONT OF HIM?! I NEED TO DIE!

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We got to the location just fine, and I helped the workers unload the stuff as the models got ready. Chen helped me with some and, in my haste to unpack everything, I accidentally brushed his hand as he and I both tried to get the tripod.

"Sorry! I-I didn't mean that," I stuttered, blushing. I put a lock of hair behind my ear, grabbed some other belongings, and dashed away from the van and Chen towards the other equipment people and started setting up. I could feel his eyes watching me, but I ignored that fact and tried to focus on my work....however hard that would be.

It was a bright day so that would make the shoot go by smoothly, I guessed, as I finished setting up everything and took my place beside the rest of the workers and out of sight. As everyone was setting up, I couldn't help but notice that only one van (mine) made it to the photo shoot. I looked around hoping to see it, thinking that maybe the driver took an alternative route or something....no van. I started to get anxious; Su-Jung was in that van, as well as the other girls and Hee-Jin. I darted over to Ken who was setting up his camera.

"Ken...the other van isn't here," I said nervously. He looked at me, alarm flashing across his face, and then at the surroundings, probably hoping that it would come any minute.

"Shit," he muttered and called Chen and his goons to come over and they started speaking in hushed voices in Chinese. The three of them then walked away from us and I saw Chen take out his cell phone and dial a number. I turned to Ken wondering what was going on.

"Don't worry about it," he told me. "Just do your job and we'll shoot the other girls for now. I'm sure they just persuaded the driver to take them someplace fun, like for a day off. They're still young, you know." He tried to reassure me, but I saw beads of sweat form on his brow and he stared intently at Chen and the others talking in the distance. Something wasn't right. Doing this meant everything to these girls...why would they just "persuade" the driver to take them somewhere else?

Chen came back to us and he started up with the Chinese again while Ken listened intently. He then presumed to ask a couple questions to which Chen answered "5" and "2." The photographer swore loudly, making me jump. In a low whisper Ken gave them orders and stared at them directly in each of their eyes and all three nodded, their expressions deadly serious. I heard a squealing of tires, and I turned to see three black cars come screeching to a halt and Chen and his cronies climbing in each one and speeding off into the distance.


I turned back to Ken to try and ask some more questions, but he told me to shut up and do my job. More pissed than offended, I did what I was told and went back to my little area with the other workers whom Ken had just called to gather around him, no doubt he was going to fill them in on what just happened. I stayed where I was watching the photo-shoot commence, trying to reassure myself that my friends will be found eventually safe and sound. But there was a nagging voice inside my head that was telling me otherwise.