Meet the Band: Song For You

"Stop!" the photographer called for what seemed like he umpteenth time. "Song, you're too nervous." She propped her camera on her hip and gave him a perturbed look. "What's up?"
Of course Song was nervous. Why wouldn't he be? Anyone would feel like they had eaten a whole flock of butterflies if Merideth was only a few feet away.
It had been three days since Merideth had signed the contract, and Fan E. had made an official statement claiming she was a new model in their next photoshoot. the news had taken off like a shot and Merideth's name had exploded, creating an anticipated hum among the fans. The company, too, had been eager to meet her. The only person who had seemed unaffected had been the manager. Of course, Terry seemed unaffected by most everything.
When it had finally come to the day of the photoshoot, Maerideth had been sneaked into the studio Fan E. had rented out and tehn taken over by a ton of people. They official theme of the shoot was to promote a clothing line Korea was expanding to the states, so Song hadn't expected much.
He should have.
Merideth was a walking bombshell. After the stylists had finally let her go, she'd walked onto the set and turned all heads. They had given her the rocker look in tight, black jeans, spiky heels, a grey, low-cut shirt that was draped and a leather jacket with silver studs. Her eyes had been done up dark and smoky and they had messed with her hair so that it looked windblown and was spiked up and to the left. They had paled out her skin a bit aby pitting a nude tone of lipstick with no shine on her that was light and the effect had nearly knocked them all off their feet. It had been amazing.
However, he had to ignore the way she as smiling and laughing with Juil and focus.
"Sorry," he told the photographer. He struck a new pose. "Okay. Go."
Right now he was shooting with Jin beside him and, though they were always able to joke and concentrate on work, today it just seemed impossible.
"What's wrong with you, Song?" Jin asked, leaning on him and throwing his arm around his shoulder. "You keep looking over at Merideth." He elbowed Song in the side, making him wince. "Finally accepting your feelings for her?"
Song grinned. "You're crazy. There aren't any feelings at all."
"And if there were?" Jin teased.
Song's smile faded. If there were feelings, then what? It was a good question. What if there were feelings? What could he do about them? What could he hope to do? They had ruined her life. it was never going to be the same for her. That in itself was enough to make it so that he didn't do anything even if he did have special feelings. Besides, what hope did he have? With Snow, Jonho and Shin around, he wasn't likely to stand out. There was just no way.
"I wouldn't do anything," Song answered him.
Jin pulled away from his friend, worry and confusion crossing his features as he frowned. "You're giving up? But you haven't done anything yet. How can you give up already?"
Song sighed. "There's no point, Jin. After what we've done to her, how can I make up for that?"
"Who says that it matters?" Jin sighed, rolling his eyes. "You're thinking too much. Just go with it for now, have fun. It's not like you're going to marry her. You're only nineteen." He smirked. "You're not even in love. Just have a good time."
Song gave him a dry look. "Sounds easy."
Jin grinned. "It is."
The photographer sighed loudly, interrupting them. "That's it. I give up. Song, go take a break. You're giving me a headache. Go tell Merideth and Juil to come over. I'd like to get started with them."
"What about me?" Jin asked, pointing at himself.
The photographer frowned at him. "You're a nuisciance." She smiled at Jinho's shocked expression. "Go see if you can find Shin. He's been missing for a while now and I want him, too."
Song laughed and walked towards Merideth and juil, trying to stay calm. Of course, that was nearly impossible, but he did try. With the way she was laughing with his dongseng, he was hard-pressed not ot kill Juil. It really bothered him the way she let the boy hang all over her without a second thought. Sure, Juil didn't mean too much by it, but he was a boy first and foremost, and a teenage one. There was no way his actions were just platonic.
"Juil," Song said in English rather sharply. He cleared his throat, trying to get the jealousy out of it. "The photographer is want you."
Juil's brows rose, his eyes windening as he obviously took in Song's anger. "O-Okay," he said with confusion, rising from his seat. He glanced at Merideth quickly before deciding against somehting and heading towards the set.
Merideth watched him go. "Everything all right, Song?"
Song blinked. "Everything is okay." he shuffled his feet. "Photographer is want you, too."
Merideth's brows drew together. "Why didn't you tell me when you told Juil?" Her lips drew down in a frown as she pushed off the table she had been leaning against and started walking towards the set.
Song's heart pounded against his chest as he wracked his brain for some way to stop her. He didn't understand why he wanted to keep her here, but he didnt' like seeing her walk towards Juil looking like that. He also didn't like how he saw her square her shoulders as if she was gearing up to do something extremely painful and unenjoyable.
Song sighed, unable to watch. He just couldn't do it. He really couldn't. He felt so awful, so guilty. Merideth's brother had really laid the blame on thick. He hadn't bothered with manners or propriety at all. Instead, he had nearly eaten them all alive. Song had almost felt like crying. Especially when he had threatened to make life hell for them if anything happened to her.
Like he would let that happen. There was no way he would allow that to happen. He was responsible for her circumstances, responsible for her physical and emotional well-being. he never should have taken that picture of her. Never. He just wanted to--
Wait. What had he wanted? He hadn't been thinking about anything but capturing Merideth in that moment. Song had wanted it to last forever, because he really, really liked her. Hell, he was sure that if his feelings kept growing like this, then he would wake up one morning and realize that he loved her.
On some level, though, he hoped that it never got that far.



Terry had taught me the basics of modeling when we had met not even four hours ago, but it was more than just standing there and looking pretty. Poses were expected, expression was key, and timing was nearly everything, but it seemed that it was more about posture and atmosphere than anything else. However, Juil was making it easier. Shin, too.
After finally finding Shin and shocing him onto the set, the two boys had loosened me up quickly and had almost made me forget about the cameras. Almost. The constant flashing of the lights and the clicking of the shutters was hard to ignore.
"Okay," the photograper called. I still had yet to catch her name, but she was packed full of volatile energy and demanding skill. "Now, get closer and lean on each other, but not all in the same way . . . Good. Okay, hold that. Someone turn on the fan!"
A breeze turned on via a fan and I felt Shin press against my shoulder more. He had his arms crossed and his head back as he looked towards the camera. I leaned against him firmly, my head on his shoulder and grasping the wrist of my other hand since it would be awkward to just let them hang there. Juil was slightly behind me, his hands on my right shoulder with his chin atop them as he stared into the camera. their ease and comfort made the whole thing more bareable, but it raelly was weird just staring into a camera like it was an every day occurance.
So my eyes searched out Song. His back was to us and he was leaning against the rickety table set up with drinks and snacks. He seemed upset, but he had seemed upset earlier, too. In fact, he didn't look like he was focussing at all. I didn't want to be too conceited and say it was might fault, but I had a feeling it might be. After all, a photoshoot for them was like a stroll in the park, so he really shouldn't be having such a hard time.
"Okay," the photographer called, straightening. "That's good for the three of you. Now I want to do double-shots of each boy with Merideth. Juil, we'll start with you, then Shin." She nodded. "Youre outfits sync up nicely, but you're gonna change a lot, okay? For now, though, I want to get you looking this way with each of the boys before we switch out for a softer effect."
I nodded, not really sure I understood, but knowing someone would explain it to me if I asked.
Shin joined the others at the table and they watched as Juil and I stood, rather awkwardly, waiting as the photographer chose a different camera from the multitude of ones she had her assistants holding. When she finally made her chouse, she motioned for the other boys and their translator to come closer.
"All right," she started, ignoring the translator as he spoke over her. "This is what we're going to do: I will take pictures of each of you with Merideth and when you're done, you'll change into your secondary outfits and wait until the next set.
"The first set," she continued, "will be edgy and hard, but the over all theme here is to bring out the difference in the style of the brand for both boys and girls. I want the mood to be one of love. People respond to couples, they want ot be them, so show them a passionate love first, then a sweet one in the second set. Got it?"
I nodded and waited as the translator (where Laurel had gone I wasn't sure) finished and then went back to waiting again, Juil leading me to center stage.
He said a few things in Korean, muttering to himself and then smiled at me devilishly. he certainly looked devilish in his outfit. Though the shining leather pants and shin-high boots made his legs look a little too long and skinny, the long-sleeved, knitted black shirt draped past his butt in the back and just reached his thigh in front, clinging to his still-changing figure and showing off his shoulders and parts of his collarbone. A very wide, black leather belt graced his waist at an angle, and he had a ring on his pinky. His reddish curls had been straightened and pulled back at the sides to make a sort of makeshift mohawk, the front falling across his forehead and into his outlined eyes. Eyes that were currently twinkling with mischief.
"I know perfect idea!" he exclaimed. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me towards the camera, standing behind me. Surprising me, he put his arms around my shoulders, crossing them under my neck and grabbing my upper arms possessively. His chin he rested on my shoulder, but I couldn't turn to see his expression.
"That's good," the photographer nodded, rasing her camera. "I like that look, Juil. Merideth, grab his arms, widen your stance a bit and look up at the camera as if it's another girl and you're telling her Juil is yours and only yours." I did what she asked and she smiled. "Yes, perfect. Now hold that." She switched her camera out for another one, took a few more photos, then straightened.
"Good stuff," she said. "Juil, you're done." She looked back at the rest of the band, obviously debating. "Hmm. Changed my mind. Min, you're up. Juil, go change."
Min pushed off the table, grinning. Someone had spiked his hair in a thick, punkish mohawk, completely rocker compared to Juil's. His eyes were heavy with black eyeliner and his outfit was sleek, but layered. His jeans were black and so were his shoes, but he wore a simple white tee, a vest that reached almost to his knees in a draping flow of material, two glittering necklaces--one long and one short--a thick leather band on one wrist and an assortment of other braceletso nthe other. A few rings decorated his fingers and a multitude of noisy chains hung off the left side of his hip. He looked scrumptious and he knew it.
It was also obvious that he knew what he was doing, too, because he grabbed my arm, pulled me against his chest, making me have to catch myself with my face one. He placed my hand on his waist, then put his own arm around mine, his other hand coming up to cup the back of my head. He placed his mouth on my hair and didn't move.
"You're good at this," the photographer said. "Keep looking like that. Merideth, relax."
Relax? How could I relax? But even as I asked myself this, Min's slow heartbeat against my war let the tension leave my shoulders and made me close my eyes. He was such a safe boy for all his teasing.
"Merideth," the photographer sighed. I opened my eyes. "When you're with the boys, in front of the camera, I want you to think of them as your lover. They're someone you will never let go of. They're everything to you, okay? Try to keep that in mind."
My lover? Min as my lover? What would that be like? It would be different from Juil, that was for sure. Juil I would want to coddle and protect and not let anyone near so he wouldn't be corrupted, but Min . . . With Min I would have to stand tall and make sure he never looked at anyone but me. I would have to make him look at me. Once I accomplished that, I was sure that he would never want to let me go, but it would be a constant battle. Almost as if it were toxic. Like some sort of drug that I could never get eno--
"Awesome," the photographer interrupted my thoughts. "Min, you're done, so go get changed. Shin, you next."
Min let me go and the illusion shattered, startling me when I felt real loss for a moment.
He smiled. "Falling for me?"
I smirked, coming back to reality. "You wish."
He laughed and walked away and I turned my attention to Shin. He was in black slacks and dress shoes and a black belt, his shirt a vertically-striped, semi-transparent knit underneath a silverish-blue blazer with the sleeves pushed up. His hair was parted in the middle and feathered at the sides away from his face. The corner of his eyes were enhanced with a dark liner to make them appear sharper in a subtle way. The overall effect made him look less like the boy next door and more like a playboy.
"Now," she told us as Shin reached me. "Show me what a love with Shine would be like."
I turned back to Shine and watched him. I hadn't known him very long, but I knew he was kind of caring, respectful, humble and responsible. If I wanted more than friendship, I would have to get past all of that. Hell, I would want to. There had to be something in him that wasn't prim and proper. If there wasn't, then I would be the man in the relationship. Something told me it would end up that way, but there was only one way to find out.
I pointed to the white-canvasses floor. "Kneel."
His brows rose, but he didn't hesitate to kneel in front of me. He stayed quiet and watched me, waiting for what I would say next.
I bent and unzipped the booted, spiky heel on my right foot and tehn placed it square against his chest. I crossed my arms and raised my chin. "Zip it up," I ordered.
Shin's lips quirked but his head bent over my shoe, his hands rising. One cupped upnder my calve and I stifled a shudder. The other hand he dragged up the black suede, over the spikes and to the zipper, which he pulled up slowly and intimately. His eyes never left mine. Those eyes let me know that, though he was respectful, safe even, love with him woudln't be lacking in excitement.
"Well, that was a little intense," the photographer grinned as Shin stood. "Shin, I didn't think you had that in you."
Shin dusted off his knees, smilling like normal. "It is all baout person you shooting with, Sarah."
Sarah? The photographer's name was Sarah? She looked more like an Isabelle.
"You continue to surprise me," Sarah smiled. "Go change, you fox. Jin! Beat that."
Jinho hopped off the table where Juil had joined him and I saw Min come out just as Shine went back to the dressing rooms. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Challenge accepted."
If I had thought Min looked devilish, then Jin was certainly no angel Though he was in white from head to tow with a splash of silver-blue, he looked like a badass in the feathered-collared blaze, white jeans and silver-blue vest. He didn't have any real shirt on, but that didn't matter. He just looked good with his hair spiked that way, the skin of his chest showing and just a touch of makeup.
He bounced over to me and I tried not to smile as I imagined an affair with Jin. It would be a disaster. Out emotions would swing up and down, we'd always be chasing after one another, and there was no doubt there would be a lot of misunderstandings and hurt. It would a wild, short-lived love, but was something worth holding on to, something worth remembering because the moments that counted would be unforgettable.
Instinctively, I knew he would reach for my hand, so I met him halfway and we laced our fingers together. His expression turned serious and his eyes watched mine for a moment before he smile a little sadly and then spun me, placing his back against mine. He was only an ince or two taller than I was, so his shoulders easily rested against mine.
"Lean your head back on mine," he told me. I did and his hand tightened on mine. "Now think only of me."
It wasn't hard, I already was thinking of him. The fantasy of a reationship with Jinho was playing through my mind. Eventually it would end, but the love I would have with Jin would be something neither of us would want to let go of.
I looked at the camera, searching for something real. I heard the shutter and saw the flash and I was snapped back to reality again.
"Those two shots were all I need," Sarah told us. "Jin, you can go. Song," she called. "Come on."
I shook myself as Jin left and wondered if this is what all photoshoots would be like. If so, then it would be hell on my emotions. Would I ever get used to it? Somehow, I hoped not.
"Meri."
My head jerked up and I came face to face with Song, decked out from head to toe in crazy, awesome clothes. He was wearing buckled shitkickers over legginsgs that were black and silver in varying patches, a large, cream-colored, oversized shirt with those batwing-like sleeves and the nose, eyes and mouth of a skull in black on it. Bangles and leather bands coated his wrists, rings on his fingers and his ears sparkled with odd earrings. His hair was sexily messed and his eyes were heavily shadowed and lined with black and silver.
I swallowed.
"You okay?" he asked, his expression worried.
"Do you need a break?" Sarah asked.
"Uh, no," I told them. "No, I'm okay."
"Good," she said. She lifted her camera. "Show me how you love Song."
I swung back to Song. To love Song . . . That would be . . . . . Well, that would be amazing. Wonderful. He would be sincere and kind, but it was obvious that he would stand up for himself. If he knew more English, I knew it would be easy for he and I to become close. In fact, we might get too close. That was tempting--to be loved by Song--but it was more frightening than anything. Frightening enough to where it didn't matter if the way he was looking at me was just an act. There was no way I wanted to feel that way again. Not ever. Not even as a shadow of the real thing. I wouldn't let myself. Song's love was a love I wasn't ready to face.
I turned to run, unable to help myself, but Song grabbed my hand. I had no choice but to stop and look back.
Click, flash, and then Sarah shouted, "Okie dokie. Break time. Merideth, costume change, then hydrate. Everyone else, fifteen minutes then we're back to work. Someone change the film in my cameras!"
I sucked in a breath and refused to look at Song. My chest hurt and the sudden urge to run was overtaking me. If this was what the "passionate" set was going to be like, then the "sweet" set was going to kill me. I was a sucker for sweetness, and with the way Song was looking at me, I wasn't sure I could run away the next time.