Chapter Six

Damn, I need to restudy the streets of Seoul. I can barely recall my left from my right. 

    When we got to the bus stop, an old woman and two salarymen dressed in slightly bigger suits were the only people waiting for the bus.

I take a seat beside the old woman while Jayden chooses to stand with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Is he that bad, the principal I mean?”  

  He turns to me with a grimace. “He’s terrible.”

    “Great,” I mutter sarcastically and change the subject. “What about K-STAR Highschool, what’s it like?”

 While I take great interest in modelling, I decided to join my brother in his newly formed art high school as a dancer.

When I returned I was a little surprised to learn he found a deep passion for music, he always preferred to spend his time in dad’s restaurant we thought he’d like to take over the business, but I guess he’s found something else he prefers now. 

  He gives me a reassuring smile when he senses the slight nervousness in my voice.

“You don’t have to worry; the school is not that bad. It’s like every other high school, with only a bit of eccentricity. Oh, and this is just a little warning for you. Stay far away a girl named Kim Ae-Cha, her father is a major sponsor for the school so she acts like she’s entitled to everything.”

“Great, a drama queen to fit into this story nicely.” 

   A blue transport bus rolls to a stop in front of us and we get up to the board. Jayden pays for our transport with a few coins before pulling on my hand.

Spotting the last two free seats in the back my brother quickly settles the both of us down before anyone else could take the seats.

“If anything happens, come to me.” He instructs me as he gives me the overprotective “big brother” look.

    I roll my eyes at his behaviour and he growls in a warning. “Lana.” 

“Alright teen wolf, I’ll tell you,” I say and cross my fingers as discreetly as I could behind my back while giving him an innocent smile, he shoots me a suspicious glare but takes my word for it. 

  Thankfully his phone diverts his attention and I turn, looking out of the window. I stare at the streets with a blank expression before leaning forward a bit to see down the road, and further ahead I spot a billboard.

I gasp in surprise when two familiar pairs of emeralds stare back at me. Technically, my eyes are closed in this picture but that’s not the point.

    The point... is that on this billboard is a commercial picture of me as the Masked Queen. I didn’t know the last advertisement I did in New York was for a Korean company! 

   My hair had been dyed dark brown up until a month ago and curled up into a low bun.

A white and gold Venetian masquerade mask is perched on my nose and held by my right hand to cover the top half of my face.

My skin tone has a bronze tint to it thanks to the foundation. My closed lids are showing off the glittering gold coloured eye shadow that blends perfectly with my skin, and dark waterproof liner emphasized the contours of my eyes. 

  My eyelashes have never looked so long and dark before, and the light blush on my cheeks gave it a rosy glow as my full lips lift in a half-smile, showing off the bright red lipstick painted on my lips.

The advert only views the top half of my body, showing off the gold necklace around my neck as I wrap my left hand across my chest to hold onto the biceps of my right hand.

The advertisement was meant for a cosmetic company so I know there’s a lot of emphasis on beauty but, I feel struck by the way they made me look innocent yet... alluring. 

     “You sold a lot of cosmetics for that company.” Jayden whispers in my ear.

     “What?” I turn in surprise and he nods towards the advert we just passed by.

     “Didn’t you know, the company sales sky-rocketed after you advertised their product. I think it’s because you announced the fact that you have a…”

    He looks around to see if anyone is listening before leaning closer to whisper in my ear.

     “Thirty million-dollar brand with you, you’re a worldwide star is. Sam told us everyone and I mean everyone has been clamouring to get a contract signed with you. How come he never told you?” 

    I shrug, a little baffled by what he just said. Sam has been out scouting in private for an agency that will sign me on with the “right” conditions ever since we got back to Korea.

    “That’s probably why he phoned me to meet up with him next week, on Monday after school.” I reason out loud, then turn to Jay.

      “And he sounded so excited on the phone. I can deal with being America and maybe a few other countries famous Jayden because hardly anyone knows it’s me, but how the hell am I going to deal with being world star famous when I'm in high school. How the hell am I supposed to hide my identity now?” 

    When I left Golden Horse Modelling Agency I wanted a way out of my problems with my former agency before I run out of options, but this is way more than I expected.

   My brother wraps a hand around my shoulder, giving it a sympathetic squeeze when he replies.

    “I don’t know if this might give you much comfort but dad and I talked about it and we’ve agreed to support you if you decided you want to quit modelling. It’s like you said, no one knows who you are, so your identity is safe. Besides, our debts have been paid years ago, which means you don’t need to sacrifice yourself any longer.”

Smiling, I lean into his warmth. 

     “If you or dad had said this when I first started struggling in New York I would have jumped at the chance to quit, but now...” I trail off with a sigh.

     “Now I love modelling. It’s weird, but I do like being in front of a camera or walking down the runway. I guess the only thing that annoys me is the added attention from people and the press.” 

      Lifting my head to stare up at him he meets my eyes with a smile and softly placed a kiss on my forehead. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy about something other than dancing before. But I’m glad, and am sure dad will be too.” 

      He glances out the window over my head and quickly hits the red button above the head of the person sitting in front of us, we straighten up when the bus slowly rolls to a stop and Jayden grabs hold of my hand so we can make our way out and onto the sidewalk of the school bus stop.