[fic] How to dress well: Start walking and adjust your tempo

[indiesnopp]

Title: How to dress well: Start walking and adjust your tempo
Pairing: Sungyeol/Myungsoo and pretty much every other ship imaginable in the K-Pop ocean.
Rating: R
Warnings: Kim Myungsoo being himself, Yoo Ah In’s insolence, Sunggyu’s embarrassing underwear, Narsha(yes that’s a warning), Sungyeol’s questionable life choices. Also, ladies being badass(NOT a warning).
A/N: Make sure to read the londer note at the end. Name of the series shamelessly stolen from the producer under the same moniker.

Summary: (Part I in the Supermodel!AU series)
“Kim Myungsoo is many things, Sungyeol-darling, but he’s not even close to being a secret superhero like you”

There’s a pin sticking into Sungyeol’s back by the time he’s finally pushed into hair & makeup. He tries to shift the best he can so sharp tip will end up closer to the crease of his armpit than making him a victim of bad acupuncture.

“It’s really hard to shade in someone’s brows when there isn’t any hair for the shade to stick to.”

Sungyeol really tries not to roll his eyes, but after hearing the same muttered complaint from every make-up girl fresh off the Sephora counter, it gets really hard not to.

“Well, Ranya Mordanova seems to be doing fine without hers.” Sungyeol retorts, making the make-up artist jump a little. “So does the Mona Lisa.”

“Are you actually comparing yourself to a Russian chick with a bowl cut and an old painting?”

Sungjoon’s face appears behind him in the mirror, his smile painted like a terrifying clown wraith, hands clutching Sungyeol’s shoulders and yep, there goes at least four pins right into the flesh of his shoulderblade.  Normally he would have yelped, or maybe even twitched and ruined his make-up, but he’s lucky enough to still be feeling the numbing buzz that Changmin’s painkillers provided after a bad dislocation last night.

The bastard grins and and turns to the girl, her grip on the powder brush falters a bit and Sungyeol can’t really blame her, Sungjoon’s face is kinda special. “It’s a conspiracy” his obnoxious nicotine breath stage whispers, “Models all over the world, doing it on purpose for the sole reason of making your life a little harder”.

Sungyeol snorts and shifts again, “Yeah. We don’t get paid nearly enough for this, gotta get our kicks somehow.” The poor girls seems to have caught on that they’re messing with her by now, so she responds by huffing and moving on to her next client. Sungjoon winks at her before sitting himself down in Sungyeol’s lap.

“Try to lay low today, okay? The brat brought camera crews with him and we wouldn’t want your sucky attitude showcased all over Mnet and OnStyle, would we? Just think of how much big sis would disapprove.” He tuts while carefully straightening Sungyeol’s collar, noticing some pins peeking out and picking them out quickly and effortlessly for minimum amount of pain. Sungyeol really hopes the pricks aren’t bleeding and staining the clothes.

“Cameras? That important is he?” Sungyeol scoffs.

“Yeollie, are we being jealous of the little brat?”

The brat in question is named Kim Myungsoo, Actor slash Idol of semi-indie fame slash up-and-coming Amateur Photographer, who now has apparently decided to add yet another slash to his resumé by smacking on the title of ‘Model’. Sungyeol himself doesn’t get where someone would even get the energy or where all the hype is coming from. How can so much attention be directed at someone like that? Especially since that someone looks about as enthusiastic over the whole thing as one would do over a dentist appointment.

The PR-ladies running around the venue call that look ‘charismatic’. To Sungyeol it just makes him want to punch himself, or rather punch Kim Myungsoo, square in the face.

“He’s many things, Sungyeol-darling, but he’s not even close to being a secret superhero like you” Sungjoon says reassuringly. This snaps Sungyeol out of his little daze, “I’m not jealous of that company puppet. Why would I be?”.

Sungyeol ignores thinking about the box of old scripts he left behind under Woohyun’s bed when he moved out and presses down the bitterness creeping up in his belly. Definitely not jealous.

“Whatever, tonight’s just for getting our hands on some info. You just have to focus on getting away during the after party, me and Min Kyu will back you up if you need it. Now let’s go make nice with the people tying our shoes.”

Sungyeol lets himself be pushed around inside the tent, he seems shit out of luck though. Because standing by the shoe rack is none other than Kim Myungsoo, microphone pressed close to his face as he nods along with whatever the short bespectacled interviewer is saying. His luck is on a roll obviously, because the man notices Sungyeol and brightly turns toward him. ‘So much for minimal contact’, he thinks.

“You’re one of the Walrus boys, right? What’s been your impression of Kim Myungsooo’s efforts in entering the model industry?”

For all the attention-grabber that Sungyeol is and wants to be normally, having Myungsoo’s full attention directed at him when the question is asked makes it very hard for him not to grimace uncomfortably. He’s nothing if not a performer though, knowing shit all about how Myungsoo’s “efforts” were, he plasters on a polite smile and moves closer to the shorter boy.

“He’s doing good so far. I caught a glimpse of him during the run-through this morning and he looked very chic.” The interviewer looks pleased enough with that answer and turns back to Myungsoo, leaving Sungyeol to re-focus his attention on finding the shoes with his name on them.

“You seem to have left an imprint on your fellow colleagues.” Sungyeol’s lucky his back is turned so that nobody witnesses his eye roll. “What are your comments on the rumours going around that you’re undergoing a management change?” He can hear Myungsoo chuckle self consciously before answering, “No comments on the matter at the moment” he says finally.

Sungyeol’s given up waiting for the coordi to show up and tie his shoes, so he bends down as carefully as his outfit allows to do it himself.

“Did my walk really look good?”

Who the fuck even asks that? Sungyeol is starting to understand Kim Myungsoo less and less by the minute, so he just snorts.

“How the fuck should I know? Do you really think I care enough to waste my attention on you?” He hears a small oh from behind him and the sound is almost pitiful. Sungyeol worries that he’s hurt the guy’s feelings before remembering who both of them are, instead he just sighs and stands to his full height and looks down on the other boy.

“Look, it’s one thing to book the BB-cream CF’s for the sake of the pre-teens, get called up for a walk once or twice a year and it’s another thing to actually have this as a day job. You could walk out there bowlegged and nobody would give a shit, you’re professional fangirl killer Kim Myungsoo. The truth is, that tonight this tent will be packed front to back row not because of us, but because of you. This is a rookie designer and you’re famous, you’re only here for publicity and nothing else.”

Something nags at Sungyeol again when he sees the other boy’s eyes dim slightly and the muscles in his jaw flexing. It’s a good look on Myungsoo, a stray thought supplies, maybe this look of anger is what brings girls to their knees because if Sungyeol was anyone else, he would probably be planning on getting his number after this.

Before Sungyeol has a chance to feel like he’s being too mean again, they’re both being ushered to the front of the tent to line up.

Time for work.

∞

This is not good, not good at all, Ah In thinks as he makes his way into Min Ah’s office. He finds her sitting by the coffee table with Fei, teaching the Chinese girl how to skillfully enunciate the harder words of the Korean language.

“Fei Fei, go play somewhere else for a moment, I need to talk to your boss.” This gets him a sigh from said boss, but Min Ah nods and gestures Fei toward the door so they’ll be left alone.

“You forget Ah In, I’m your boss too. No matter how much you like to pretend it isn’t so.”  Ah In just rolls his eyes. He can get scolded some other day.

“Do you want to hear the bad news or the worse news first?” He supplies instead.

“Bad?” Min Ah says and steels herself at her desk. Ah In just nods and approaches her, setting down the first batch of information he’s found on her desk.

“We were right, it’s him. She’ll probably be making the announcement before the end of the week, she works fast remember?” Min Ah’s grip tightens on her pen as she reads the statements in front of her.

“Why him though? I don’t understand, isn’t that going a little too high profile?” Ah In hesitates for a while, he usually loves being the bringer of bad news, but this is gonna affect all of them.

“Well that would be the ’worse’ news.” He carefully smoothes out the rest of the papers he’s holding and sets them down.

There’s a silence that fills the office as Min Ah reads the sentence that Ah In has highlighted.

“Well shit.”

Ah In worries a little about the pen she’s keeping a death grip on, ink stains are a bitch to get out of anything, but Ah In decides to bring forward his idea anyway.

“You know...this would be a good time to call her back.” He suggests. Min Ah bites her lip and shakes her head, fixing Ah In with what he thinks, is an undeserved glare.

“Absolutely not. She’s too young for this.”

“He’s younger. She’s just as old as Sungyeol and Nana, plus she’s had more training than them. She’s ready, you’re just stalling at this point.”

Min Ah still looks doubtful so he tries a different tactic.

“Look. She knew about her remember? This is her not only stealing your idea, but trying to show her hand. And now she’s made sure to go public with it before you even had a chance to consider it. I’m sure that even if we got Jae Wook on the phone, he’d be telling you the exact same thing.Call her.”

Min Ah hasn’t been looking forward to this day, but now that it’s here she guesses she has no other choice.

She takes out her phone and presses number 2 on her speed dial.

∞

Sungyeol barely stays through all the “good job everyone” and the “thank you”’s before slipping away to get out of the stiff clothes. The spotlights tonight had been extra bright and he can feel the layers of foundation melting and making it’s way down his neck.

The strange shirt/vest/medieval armour thing he’d been wearing is finally off and he’s trying to work out how to get out of the equally bizarre pants when a sharp pain shoots through his spine. When he turns around, he finds Kim Myungsoo with a pin between his fingers, staring at the thing like he’s waiting for it to state it’s motives for attaching itself to Sungyeol.

“It’s a pin.” Is all Sungyeol can manage to get out. Myungsoo finally meets his eye after his silent interrogation of the shiny needle.

“Didn’t it hurt?” Myungsoo asks him instead.

“No, not really.”

The atmosphere gets a little weird, Myungsoo’s looking at him like he’s trying to clue him out and all Sungyeol wanted was to take off his pants in peace.

“Do you mind?” Sungyeol tries to gesture toward his general state of undress and his desire to continue with it. He feels a little smug when the tips of Myungsoo’s ears turn red and he starts stammering. There’s something oddly pleasing in undressing Myungsoo out of his idol persona, especially when it’s him who’s managed to do it.

“I, eh, I...yeah” is all Myungsoo says before turning his back and beginning to strip for himself.

Sungyeol manages to sneak a glance that he tells himself is totally accidental before returning to his own task.

∞

∞

“Hyung! Hyung, you need to come see this!”

“Yeah, just wait a second!” Sunggyu yells back from the kitchen. He really really hates when they haven’t made a proper cut in the ramen flavour packets and for some reason him and Woohyun always manage to misplace their kitchen scissors somehow.

“Hyung, I’m gonna start without you!”

He tries opening it with his teeth. Some flavouring gets in his mouth and he chokes a little because, fuck that’s spicy. Carefully making sure not to spill anything, he takes a hold of both bowls and makes his way into his and Woohyun’s makeshift office.

The “office” is actually just them setting up all their equipment in what used to be Sungyeol’s matchbox of a room. It’s also the only room in the house that they’ve bothered installing locks on the door for. It’s all to protect their little “hobby”.

“She really outdid herself this time, hyung”

“Why do you keep on insisting that it’s a ‘she’?” Sunggyu says between slurps “I mean, J.A is a pretty non-gender specific name. Not to mention, how many female coders do we know exactly?”

Woohyun just shakes his head like Sunggyu just said something extremely stupid.

“Trust my instincts on this. The pure elegance and beauty composed on this screen alone could have never been constructed by the crude and simple minds of men. ‘She’ is a genius, the queen of my everything.”

Woohyun, when he does fanboy, fanboys with the dreamy adoration of a tweeny school boy who just encountered his first Maxim spread with Lee Hyori.

“There’s a rumour going around that she works close with or inside Oasis.”

“Oasis?” Sunggyu reacts at the name, “Isn’t that a little...hardcore?” he gets lost a little in his own thoughts after that. Oasis is a big name in the underground, if they had a coder like this on their side, there would be no knowing how much damage they could really do.

“Do you hear knocking?” Sunggyu suddenly interrupts. Woohyun’s face doesn’t leave the screen, Sunggyu suspects the noodle on his shirt most likely fell out of the slack jaw accompanying the besotted look on his face. “Probably? Sungyeol accidentally broke the doorbell two days ago.” Woohyun explains.

Sunggyu sighs. Sungyeol moved out two years ago, but still manages to somehow act as the major player in most of their problems.

“Don’t touch my food!” Sunggyu warns as he gets up. Even though Woohyun can’t even look interested in his own food.

The knocking isn’t quite as obnoxious and insistent as if it were Sungyeol at the door. Sunggyu starts to expect it might be Dongwoon or someone else of Woohyun’s annoying friends from downstairs.

He’s ready to tell them to fuck off though.

“What do you wan-- oh, Hyojin-noona, eh- hi.”

Sunggyu feels the heat of shame that he almost chewed out the landlady leaning against the doorway, but the grin on her face tells him that she’s more amused than offended. He’s relieved, although very friendly, the older woman has built up a reputation of getting very scary if angered.

“Were we, were me and Woohyun being too loud?” He knows the walls in this building are thin.Way to thin, Sunggyu’s mind provides and tries to block out memories of the things he’s heard coming from the apartment of their next-door neighbour Park Hyojin, but now is not a good time to think about such things.

“Not at all. It’s just that I was doing laundry and, do these happen to belong to you?” There’s amusement shading her voice as she lifts her hand, forefinger hooked in the waistband of a pair of childishly colourful underwear that she’s waving in front of his face.

And Sunggyu does recognize that particular pair, they are indeed his. Even though he had hoped that this particular pair would never be shown to any member of the female population.

Sunggyu really wishes that he wasn’t so lazy to buy his own underwear so his mother always took up the task for him and sent some every birthday and Christmas. It wouldn’t have put him in situations like this, at least.

Sunggyu clears his throat before gingerly accepting the offending garment “Ye-yeah, I must have forgotten to check the dryer.”

Hyojin-noona smirks and Sunggyu disapproves of himself for being such stammering idiot.

“That reminds me,” she starts “I’ve finally gotten a guy to fix the locks down there to keep out the squatters, so come by later to pick up your key okay?”

He doesn’t trust himself to not say anything stupid so he just dumbly nods instead.

The older woman looks pleased as his response, there’s something lurking in her eyes as she pushes herself away from the doorframe “Good, I’ll be home around ten.”

Sunggyu doesn’t answer with “Isn’t that a little late?” or with “can’t I just pick it up now or tomorrow morning? It’s only a key”.

There’s a sneaking feeling making it’s way up his spine and Sunggyu is way too weak to reject his own curiosity.

“I-I’ll come around then.”

He watches her until she makes it to her door and she meets his eye before entering her own apartment.

It’s only when she’s out of sight that he lets out the long shuddering breath he’s been holding in and closes the door with unsteady, clumsy fingers.

“What did they want?” Woohyun asks him when he’s joined him again.

Sunggyu balls up the underwear he’s holding and shoves it in his backpocket before sitting down next to his roommate. “Nothing,” he answers “nothing at all.”

∞

[2]

Comments

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Kim Myungsoo being himself, Yoo Ah In’s insolence, Sunggyu’s embarrassing underwear, Narsha(yes that’s a warning), Sungyeol’s questionable life choices. Also, ladies being badass(NOT a warning).

Your warnings and not-warnings are so beautiful to me.

“It’s really hard to shade in someone’s brows when there isn’t any hair for the shade to stick to.”
Sungyeol really tries not to roll his eyes, but after hearing the same muttered complaint from every make-up girl fresh off the Sephora counter, it gets really hard not to.
“Well, Ranya Mordanova seems to be doing fine without hers.” Sungyeol retorts, making the make-up artist jump a little. “So does the Mona Lisa.”
“Are you actually comparing yourself to a Russian chick with a bowl cut and an old painting?”
Sungjoon’s face appears behind him in the mirror, his smile painted like a terrifying clown wraith, hands clutching Sungyeol’s shoulders and yep, there goes at least four pins right into the flesh of his shoulderblade. Normally he would have yelped, or maybe even twitched and ruined his make-up, but he’s lucky enough to still be feeling the numbing buzz that Changmin’s painkillers provided after a bad dislocation last night.

Okay, like, I started highlighting to copy AND THEN I JUST COULDN'T STOP BECAUSE EYEBROWS AND SUNGJOON AND PINS AND CHANGMIN'S PAINKILLERS.

Sungjoon winks at her before sitting himself down in Sungyeol’s lap.

This brings me great delight.


“Cameras? That important is he?” Sungyeol scoffs.
“Yeollie, are we being jealous of the little brat?”

BRAT. BRAT WITH THE SLASHES IN HIS TITLE. AND SUNGYEOL LEFT SCRIPTS UNDER NAMU'S BED CAN I CRY NOW?


For all the attention-grabber that Sungyeol is and wants to be normally, having Myungsoo’s full attention directed at him when the question is asked makes it very hard for him not to grimace uncomfortably.

I'm just impressed he doesn't run away screaming.


“How the fuck should I know? Do you really think I care enough to waste my attention on you?” He hears a small oh from behind him and the sound is almost pitiful. Sungyeol worries that he’s hurt the guy’s feelings before remembering who both of them are, instead he just sighs and stands to his full height and looks down on the other boy.
“Look, it’s one thing to book the BB-cream CF’s for the sake of the pre-teens, get called up for a walk once or twice a year and it’s another thing to actually have this as a day job. You could walk out there bowlegged and nobody would give a shit, you’re professional fangirl killer Kim Myungsoo. The truth is, that tonight this tent will be packed front to back row not because of us, but because of you. This is a rookie designer and you’re famous, you’re only here for publicity and nothing else.”

SUNGYEOL I LOVE YOU YOU MEAN LITTLE BOY.

Something nags at Sungyeol again when he sees the other boy’s eyes dim slightly and the muscles in his jaw flexing. It’s a good look on Myungsoo, a stray thought supplies, maybe this look of anger is what brings girls to their knees because if Sungyeol was anyone else, he would probably be planning on getting his number after this.

HAHAHAHA.

“You know...this would be a good time to call her back.” He suggests. Min Ah bites her lip and shakes her head, fixing Ah In with what he thinks, is an undeserved glare.
“Absolutely not. She’s too young for this.”
“He’s younger. She’s just as old as Sungyeol and Nana, plus she’s had more training than them. She’s ready, you’re just stalling at this point.”


MINHA!!!!

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

This is her not only stealing your idea, but trying to show her hand. And now she’s made sure to go public with it before you even had a chance to consider it. I’m sure that even if we got Jae Wook on the phone, he’d be telling you the exact same thing.Call her.”


LOVE!

staring at the thing like he’s waiting for it to state it’s motives for attaching itself to Sungyeol.
“It’s a pin.” Is all Sungyeol can manage to get out. Myungsoo finally meets his eye after his silent interrogation of the shiny needle.

Myungsoo staring-at-random-objects-like-they-hold-the-secrets-of-the-universe is my FAVORITE THING.

He really really hates when they haven’t made a proper cut in the ramen flavour packets and for some reason him and Woohyun always manage to misplace their kitchen scissors somehow.

I would mock him, but I know the feeling.

“She really outdid herself this time, hyung”
“Why do you keep on insisting that it’s a ‘she’?” Sunggyu says between slurps “I mean, J.A is a pretty non-gender specific name. Not to mention, how many female coders do we know exactly?”
Woohyun just shakes his head like Sunggyu just said something extremely stupid.
“Trust my instincts on this. The pure elegance and beauty composed on this screen alone could have never been constructed by the crude and simple minds of men. ‘She’ is a genius, the queen of my everything.”
Woohyun, when he does fanboy, fanboys with the dreamy adoration of a tweeny school boy who just encountered his first Maxim spread with Lee Hyori.


I AM SO DELIGHTED!!!!!

Sungyeol accidentally broke the doorbell two days ago.” Woohyun explains.
Sunggyu sighs. Sungyeol moved out two years ago, but still manages to somehow act as the major player in most of their problems.

Perfect.

Sunggyu starts to expect it might be Dongwoon or someone else of Woohyun’s annoying friends from downstairs.

91 LINE!

Way to thin, Sunggyu’s mind provides and tries to block out memories of the things he’s heard coming from the apartment of their next-door neighbour Park Hyojin, but now is not a good time to think about such things.

*snort*

” There’s amusement shading her voice as she lifts her hand, forefinger hooked in the waistband of a pair of childishly colourful underwear that she’s waving in front of his face.
And Sunggyu does recognize that particular pair, they are indeed his. Even though he had hoped that this particular pair would never be shown to any member of the female population.

SUNGGYU/UNDERWEAR OTP. Or...like...anti-otp actually.

There’s a sneaking feeling making it’s way up his spine and Sunggyu is way too weak to reject his own curiosity.

YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU'RE IN FOR, GYU.

[indiesnopp.livejournal.com]

Your warnings and not-warnings are so beautiful to me.

I din't include the vagina warning...

Okay, like, I started highlighting to copy AND THEN I JUST COULDN'T STOP BECAUSE EYEBROWS AND SUNGJOON AND PINS AND CHANGMIN'S PAINKILLERS.

RAINDROPS ON ROSES AND WHISKERS ON KITTENS!

BRAT. BRAT WITH THE SLASHES IN HIS TITLE. AND SUNGYEOL LEFT SCRIPTS UNDER NAMU'S BED CAN I CRY NOW?

OH SUNGYEOL AND HIS PAIN AND HIS PAST AND HIS ANGER FOR THE WORLD. MYUNGSOO IS KILLING THIS INDUSTRY THOUGH.

MINHA!!!!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

The vagina needs no warning. It's too good for warnings.

RAINDROPS ON ROSES AND WHISKERS ON KITTENS!

I have a feeling that as this universe progresses, I will compose many, many new verses of my favorite things.

[indiesnopp.livejournal.com]

Myungsoo staring-at-random-objects-like-they-hold-the-secrets-of-the-universe is my FAVORITE THING.

creepy and intense Kim Myungsoo. I wonder what the pin told him "Boy was just too fine to let go of! You'd do the same! i see you checking out that flat ass."


SUNGGYU/UNDERWEAR OTP. Or...like...anti-otp actually.

ALL FOR YOU! AAAALLL FOR YOU~

YEAH SUNGGYU WON'T BE WALKING PROPERLY TOMORROW. EVERYONE IN THIS UNIVERSE GETTING LUCKY EXCEPT WOOHYUN!
(which will make my dear friend Ellen happy since she complains 99% of infinite fics all have Woohyun pairings in them.)

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

"Boy was just too fine to let go of! You'd do the same! i see you checking out that flat ass."

I am completely positive that's what it said.

Someone at Woollim seriously needs to sit Gyu down and make it very clear that he's never allowed to talk about underwear again.


YEAH SUNGGYU WON'T BE WALKING PROPERLY TOMORROW. EVERYONE IN THIS UNIVERSE GETTING LUCKY EXCEPT WOOHYUN!

HAHAHA YES.

I do have a ~thing for sexually-frustrated Woohyun/Woohyun getting cockblocked, so I approve of this.

[infinitewish.livejournal.com]

Just...everything about yeol myungsoo sungjoon omg. Love! YOU ACTUALLY WROTE THIS OMG ILY teehee!

[aerintine.livejournal.com]

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS HAPPENING OR WHO HALF OF THESE PEOPLE ARE AND YET THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING START TO A FIC I HAVE READ IN AWHILE.

I have read all of L's comments, which is helpful in figuring out who's who. Sungjong's Minha is the mystery girl they're going to call, then? SCORE!!!

Whatever, I'm just going to go with it. I am excited for Gyu's further interactions with Narsha - didn't you write a story about her making him her pet or something? This should be good.

Everything Sungyeol and Myungsoo is so perfect omg. Yeollie is so nasty and Pudding is so perfectly derpy. And Sung Joooooon!!!!


And, and - Namu fangirling a mystery woman from afar - SO APROPOS. He can throw hearts at her imaginary form and wistfully dream of worshipping at her altar.



I have used an embarrassingly large number of exclamation points in this comment. My apologies. But this is awesome and you should get a sense of my bouncing excitement.


ON TO PART 2.