Oh Min-Ji ran her sharp gaze over Yoojin from head to toe. Then she spotted the one thing that was still missing.
"Can someone grab the makeup bag and a hair dryer?"
The junior designer with the round glasses darted to the middle of the office and came back just as quickly, arms full. In her hands were a big makeup pouch and a curling iron.
Because it was an all-female office, they kept a communal hair iron on hand for emergencies and took turns using it. All seven members of the design team were women, so the room was dotted with various "essentials" everywhere you looked.
Oh Min-Ji sat Yoojin down in a chair and began filling in the space between her brows with a pencil, then added eyeliner and mascara.
"Yoojin, your skin is so clear and pretty, but you're warm-toned, so a lot of color will just sit on top. You don't really wear makeup, do you?"
"No. I kind of feel like makeup doesn't suit me."
"You're right. On someone like you, eyeshadow can just make your eyes look puffy, and blush can look a bit tacky. I'll just tweak things a little so your features look sharper."
Oh Min-Ji's hands moved quickly, then she checked the time. One hour over lunch—short if you thought about it.
"What about Dongha's outfit?"
"He's gone to change."
"Okay. Give her hair some volume, would you? Put a bit of wave in it. Think you can handle it?"
"Yes, I can."
The Junior Designer had brutally straight hair, so she curled it with an iron every morning; she was more than used to it. As she wrapped Yoojin's hair neatly around the iron, Yoojin's impression softened even more.
Dongha stepped out of the meeting room in his outfit. The sample look, designed as a summer vacation style, was a white linen shirt paired with trousers made from a textured hemp fabric.
He kept on the brown leather shoes he'd worn to work, but the hand-finished details drew the eye and somehow matched the clothes perfectly.
He'd left the top two buttons of his shirt undone, revealing a glimpse of his firm chest. The overall effect was lazy and alluring, like a man on holiday on a southern Italian beach.
Sitting in front of Oh Min-Ji, Yoojin couldn't help shifting her gaze to Dongha as he came out in his new clothes.
Sensing her eyes on him, Dongha pulled the corners of his lips up in a slow smile. The hidden dimple in his cheek appeared for a brief moment.
The instant Yoojin saw that seductive smile, her heart started pounding. Until now he'd just been her middle-school classmate, Yoon Dongha—but now he was starting to look like a man. At this rate, she really was going to fall for him.
The designers watching from the sidelines let out little groans of delight at Dongha's sultry look. Who knew you could get this much dopamine in the middle of the workday?
It felt like sneaking in a healing session during office hours.
Impatient, Oh Min-Ji waved Dongha over.
"Dongha, come stand next to Yoojin. Side by side."
Yoojin and Dongha stood shoulder to shoulder, the white partition wall behind them.
The Junior Designer gripping the DSLR with both hands, positioned herself in front of them and started firing away, capturing their figures in the frame.
Before long, Development Manager Kim Jung-ho came to stand beside Oh, reviewing the shots as they popped up on the screen.
"These are a work of art. Guess I really am good at what I do, huh?"
"My design has a share in this too, you know. Right?"
But looking through the lens, the only thing on the Junior Designer's mind was how flawless Yoojin and Dongha looked together.
"it's such a shame we don't have any lights. We should really buy some studio lights as office equipment. Please?"
When the Junior Designer voiced her regret, Oh Min-Ji winked and said she'd think about it.
As long as Yoojin and Dongha were interning at Samho Apparel, she intended to make full use of them.
Wanting an even better result, the Junior Designer started giving them posing directions.
"Relax your faces a little. You both look too stiff. Yes, like that. Great. Now could you stand a bit closer together? Dongha, why don't you wrap an arm lightly around Yoojin's waist? Perfect, just like that."
She kept pressing the shutter. On weekends she moonlighted as a hobby photographer, but she'd never imagined getting to use her beloved camera like this at work—especially not with the two best subjects imaginable right in front of her.
The original plan in the design room had been simple: put the clothes on two employees, take a few shots, and send them to the buyer. Somewhere along the way, it had turned into a full-on lookbook shoot.
Facing the camera, Yoojin and Dongha smiled brightly. Their expressions were open and natural.
"If you could hold hands or maybe have her rest her head on his shoulder, that would be perfect… but I guess that's pushing it in a company setting, right?"
"Hey now, no way. We can't make employees do that,"
Manager Kim waved his hands in protest. Oh Min-Ji agreed with him, though she couldn't help smacking her lips in disappointment. Such a waste.
"All right, next sample."
Yoojin changed into the black knit dress. It was the very fabric she and Dongha had hunted for in the basement on their first day as interns. Seeing it again now as a finished garment felt strangely emotional.
Up close, you could see metallic thread woven into the fabric. It felt a bit scratchy to the touch, but the subtle shimmer gave it a luxurious edge.
The skirt was cut on a diagonal and ended mid-thigh. Her long, slender legs extended cleanly from the hem. For shoes, she wore a pair of combat boots prepared by the design room.
Dongha wore a lilac-printed knit top with black cotton trousers.
Standing side by side, the two of them gave off a completely different vibe from the previous look—something decadent and slightly erotic.
No one had asked them to change their expressions, but they naturally adjusted to the outfits, sending bold, challenging gazes into the camera lens.
The Junior Designer kept clicking away. Flushed from the shoot, she lowered the camera for a moment, glanced at Manager Kim and Oh Min-Ji, then, as if making up her mind, addressed Yoojin and Dongha.
"Um, would it be okay if Dongha sat in the chair for a moment, and Yoojin leaned against it while he puts his arm around her? I'm sorry, I know it's a bit much to ask for that kind of pose at work. If you're uncomfortable, we don't have to do it."
Dongha looked at Yoojin, and Yoojin gave a small nod. Now that she was dressed up and standing in front of the camera, she felt a little greedy too—she wanted to get a really good shot out of this.
With Yoojin's consent, Manager Kim and Oh Min-Ji silently watched them.
Dongha pulled a chair over, sat down with his legs stretched out in front of him, and Yoojin stepped in close at his side. He leaned into her slightly and wrapped his right arm around her body.
When Yoojin arched her back just a little to rest against him, they suddenly looked like a man flaunting ownership over a woman, and a woman reigning over the man beneath her.
It was a simple pose, really. But the heady atmosphere that poured off them was overwhelming; everyone in the design room felt swallowed up by it. It was like the air had filled with a thick, purple cloud of lavender.
The only sound in the room was the camera's shutter firing again and again.
Before long, the Junior Designer called out loudly,
"That's a wrap. Thank you, everyone!"
The shoot had been short, but the designers broke into applause, and Yoojin and Dongha bowed to the gathered crowd, returning the thanks.