KQ Entertainment building. Seonghwa stood over the street, gaping up at the shining glass tower; his stomach churned with both eager and apprehensive excitement.
Nineteen years old with stars in his eyes and when aspirating of debuting as an idol, that was he last visited here .
Focus. You are not that person any more.
He had selected his drag carefully today elegant but not extreme. Makeup which improved rather than transformed.
Hair suggesting femininity but not screaming it. Most individuals saw what they expected to see, but if someone examined closely, they could discern male bone structure underlying the craft.
With a deep inhale, he pushed through the turning doors; his heels tapped solidly against the marble floor. With little difference, the lobby looked the same except for the pretentious contemporary art installation in the middle.
Consider not the past. Look ahead.
The receptionist raised her head with looked practiced politeness.
Steadying his voice despite his pounding heart, Seonghwa remarked, "I have an appointment with Kim Hongjoong. Mr ... Park, Park Seonghwa."
The receptionist nodded and gestured toward the elevators, made a fast call 15th floor.
" He has been expecting you." Seonghwa's breathing grew brief as the elevator ascended. Fifteenth floor. The trainee floor . Where he had spent innumerable hours perfecting choreography, recording vocals, dreaming of debut stages that would never materialise.
Calm down and breathe bish. You lived worse than this. You can handle just one meeting.
He walked out onto the known grounds that seemed like walking through a graveyard of his past when the elevator dinged softly.
The floor had been transformed into modern executive offices rather than the practice rooms he remembered.
At the end of the corridor, Kim Hongjoong's office was just where the former conference room used to be.
The same conference room where managers had informed him his career was over while he sought another opportunity.
Stop it and concentrate on now.
Hearing a subdued come in, Seonghwa knocked and came in. Seonghwa's breath stopped in his throat as the man beyond the desk raised his eyes from his laptop. With a sharper jawline, broad shoulders, and an air of command that came with success, Hongjoong had grown into his traits beautifully.
He was even more attractive than Seonghwa remembered. More crucially, though, those dark eyes showed no flutter of awareness.
"Thank God you're here, Mr. Park. please sit," Hongjoong gestured to the chair across from his desk.
"Thanks for showing up so quickly." Seonghwa crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap, then settled himself elegantly. Every movement was measured, female, nothing like the eager young trainee he had once been.
He said, somewhat raising his voice over his natural level." I see you need someone for a wedding?"
"Actually, it will be my cousin's wedding. Two weeks after Saturday. It's... a tough call. "
Seonghwa couldn't help but observe how the motion stretched Hongjoong's shirt across his chest as he leaned back in his chair.
Seven years, his body had only improved. Trying to maintain professionalism. Seonghwa said effortlessly," I specialize in complex circumstances. What exactly we are handling?"
"A bride with ridiculously high standards and a record of having event planners resign halfway through. About 300 guests on a list include many renowned people and corporate leaders. A gorgeous location yet difficult to handle. And a timetable most experts would run howling would call for."
Being in this structure complicated emotionally, Seonghwa nevertheless felt a true thrill of enthusiasm. This was precisely the kind of difficulty he lived for the type of high-stakes event that might make or break a career." That sounds like my kind of project," he added. " Tell me the budget."
Seonghwa struggled to maintain his face blank when Hongjoong identified the figure. It was more cash than he had encountered combined over seven years. More than enough to change everything.
"You're searching for event coordination as well as makeup artistry, correct?"
" Exactly!,and with comprehensive planning in service. The bride wants to be perfect, and the occasion should go like clockwork. No room for error. No space for mistake."
In this place where his own life had gone so badly, the words resonated eerily. For the next hour, they reviewed details on color schemes, timeline, vendor needs, and the bride's thorough demands list.
Seonghwa found his gaze wandering to Hongjoong's face, noting the alterations time had wrought, throughout the dialogue. His talking gestures, the new little scar near his left eyebrow, the pricey watch on his wrist probably worth more than Seonghwa's annual rent.
This was the child of the people who had ruined his life. Who had ensured he would never work in entertainment once more. Who had snatched his dreams and mercilessly crushed them.
But seeing Hongjoong now confident, accomplished, totally unaware of who he was conversing with Seonghwa more curious than angry.
This guy had not been responsible for his decline. Back then he would have been just another trainee, probably as fearful and desperate as the others.
Hongjoong said at last, extending his hand across the desk, "Deal. The Grand Hyatt, Peninsula Suite will host the wedding. I'll contact you for exact information and details."
Seonghwa shook his hand, remarking how warm and strong his grasp was. How different this felt from their last handshake seven years ago, when they had embarrassing teenagers congratulating each other after a particularly harsh dance evaluation
"Mr. Kim, you will not regret this choice." Hongjoong said with a faint smile, not hoped. My cousin can be... intense. But some part of me knows you can handle her."
If only you knew what I had dealt with.
Seonghwa wondered as he grabbed his bag and stood to leave.
"By tomorrow I will be in touch with first ideas. I appreciate the chance."
Seonghwa experienced both happiness and anxiety as he headed back toward the elevators.
He had gotten the job the most significant break he had had in years. But he was also heading back into the world that had devoured him and spat him out, wearing a mask covering years of pain and survival in addition to his identity. Behind him the elevator doors shut, and he glimpsed his reflection in the polished metal.
For a moment he saw two versions of himself, the hardened survivor and the optimistic trainee. He was going to create this wedding to be so flawless. Not only for the urgently needed money, though. But to show something to himself and to the spirits still haunting these halls.
This time he was entering KQ Entertainment as an equal, not as someone begging for leftovers. The change felt like a revolution.
---
Seonghwa said, fell onto their thin couch next to Wooyoung," And he didn't even recognize but the pay is so fucking worth it."
Though his drag had changed, his hair was still loose waves and his makeup was still perfect.
Passing Wooyoung a cup of inexpensive wine, he added,"That's either the best news ever or we are fucked. I truly cannot tell which."
" Best news," Seonghwa replied firmly, sipped and grimaced at the flavor.
"It means I can carry out this task free without the baggage of my past interfering."
Wooyoung smiled,"we really have to start purchasing better booze."But sincerely tho, how did it feel to be back there?"
Seonghwa stared at the ceiling in silence for a time." Seven years ago, I entered that structure as a hopeless child without authority but also... empowered? And today I entered as a professional with necessary capabilities. The entire dynamic changed."
" Hell yes it did."Wooyoung replied vehemently. " You are not that broken trainee anymore. You are a goddamn artist ready to demonstrate to those corporate pricks what they lost when they tossed you away."
" You truly think I could pull this off?"
"Bish, you know you can. You intend to organize the most beautiful, perfect, talk-of-the-town wedding Seoul has ever seen. People will be lining up to hire you once it's over."
Seonghwa beamed, his shoulders relaxed a bit. "This is my opportunity to demonstrate how I returned stronger from everything they threw at me."
"True. Now, go to sleep. You have two weeks to produce a work of art."
Wooyoung got up and stretched noticeably. "Oh, and Hwa?"
"Yeah?"
"Hongjoong Kim. He is stunning, isn't he?"
Seonghwa's cheeks flushed just now." I am a trained professional. That's not what i was asked to do and morever, this is purely business so it hardly matters."
Wooyoung let out a snort. " Sure it is. Just... try not to complicate things by falling for someone whose family wrecked your life, okay?"Seonghwa wanted to reply, but even as the words left his mouth, he wasn't sure he believed them.
"Yeah,yeah. I know."
His phone buzzed with a message from an unidentified number.
HJ: Looking ahead to collaboration with you.
Seonghwa stared at the message; his heart doing something intricate in his chest. This would be more perilous than he had assumed.
But as he surveyed their small, claustrophobic apartment, the stack of overdue bills on the counter, Wooyoung's wornout dance shoes by the door, their empty refrigerator humming sorrowfully in the corner, he realized he had no option.
Whatever it cost him, he intended to make this work. Even if it meant collaborating with the son of those who had tried to destroy him. Even if it meant two weeks of acting like another person. Even if it meant risking his well-protected heart once more.
Once more his phone buzzed, this time an email marked URGENT WEDDING DETAILS. Seonghwa opened it and started laughing right away.
The email included one screenshot: Chaeyoung's contact information, 47 missed calls from today. Underneath that, her latest chat read:
Chaeyoung: Change of plans, the white doves are too basic. I want flamingos instead please.
Hongjoong: Flamingos doesn't existence in Korea.
Chaeyoung: Then have them imported, Joong, I am not strolling down an aisle without exotic birds.
Hongjoong: They will defecate all around.
Chaeyoung: That's exactly what the staff is for.
Hongjoong had included at the bottom: She also wanted edible flowers with champagne taste and a tenfoot ice sculpture of herself. Yesterday the ice sculptor angrily left after she commented on his 'artistic vision of her left nostril." Still want the job?"
Still laughing, Seonghwa wiped tears from his eyes.
Wooyoung said as he read over his shoulder.
"Jesus Christ, this bitch wants flamingos at her wedding?"
"I have gone worse than a bridezilla with grandiose delusions. "
He typed back: Flamingos ordered also by her. See you tomorrow and please tell me you are not actually getting flamingos?
Hwa:Yes i am, that's what I'm paid for. I have to honor the bride's wishes.
He grinned despite it all, the terrible past, the emotional complexity, and the sheer impossibility of the scenario. This should be exciting.