Rei
The church was everything Alice had said it would be.
Abandoned. Dirty. Tragic. And cold. There was a security perimeter of men walking the area.
Cameras were focused on the entrances and external lines of sight.
Rei pretended he wasn’t scanning them, but it was habit now.
He always did that. Sevastyan had drilled details like that into him early on when he had started taking Rei out.
The building itself looked like something from a video game, not that he’d played very many.
Bak had said playing video games made him relatable to fans, so he’d learned to navigate a few.
It wasn’t something he’d done in a long time, but it was the only experience he could relate it to as he stepped through the weathered doors into the lobby, and onward towards the wide expanse of gray light and dust that made up the sanctuary.
It was early, the sun not truly over the horizon yet.
Bits of weak illumination streaked in through the broken arched dome of the ceiling above.
There were already people inside. Rei kept close behind Ellisandre, carrying a lightweight bag of props.
Before getting out of the van, Ellisandre had gone over his cover, even applying tape to the sides of his temples to pull at the skin around his eyes and change their shape.
Then they’d adjusted his mask and hoodie, making sure they would stay in place for a long time.
His ankle was wrapped and feeling strong, but Ellisandre had brought crutches in case he needed them later and promised to check the swelling in three hours, whether or not he felt good.
They were thorough and obviously experienced.
With each choice and point of awareness they demonstrated, Rei felt more secure with them.
A man as tall as Sevastyan with dark hair and an air of authority moved through the haze.
“Ellisandre. Ash, Alice.”
“Hi, Richard!” Alice ran forward, dropping her box and giving the older man a hug around the waist. “Where’s Collin?”
“With Jun at the Parsonage.” Richard waved towards his left and hugged her with his right. “We’re filming there first. But we could use some hands here to finish part of the set.”
“I’m on costuming, so I can’t,” Ellisandre said. “But maybe Ash and Alice can.”
“We can,” Alice said.
Richard grinned. “Go check in with Damian.” He pointed them at someone Rei couldn’t make out in the distance, and they ran off.
“And who’s this?” Richard asked Ellisandre, nodding towards Rei.
“A friend,” Ellisandre said, bending the word with intention. “You can call him Andres.”
Richard bent his head towards Rei. “Any friend of Ellisandre is welcome.” He turned back to Ellisandre. “Is he helping with costuming?”
“Maybe,” Ellisandre said. “Going to go check in.”
“Damian says he brought his part of the outfits, but they need you on makeup for the first round.”
And that was that. Richard turned to follow Alice and Ash and Ellisandre headed for the side exit of the sanctuary. Rei blinked to himself behind his glasses. He’d met Richard, one of the Residency men, and he was fine. Nothing had blown up. It didn’t feel real.
The Parsonage stood on the other side of an overgrown outdoor space that had once probably been a prayer garden and play area for the church.
It was old, made of brick, and four stories tall with basement windows on the ground level and the main entrance up a flight of ten steps.
Beside it was a parking lot, but the front steps rose up from the cracked sidewalk running through the grounds of the church complex.
Ellisandre kept their stride short and slow, offering Rei their hand over some of the broken pavers. When they reached the house, Rei grimaced at the ten wooden steps up to the front door.
Ellisandre took the bag from his hand and hefted their own box.
“Wait here.” They jogged to the top of the steps and put down their burdens, then came back down.
“Hang on.” They took his hand, put it on their shoulder and bent down, sweeping Rei’s legs out from under him with their opposite arm, hoisting him up in a bridal carry.
Rei’s breath stuttered, but Ellisandre was looking at him with so much smug dominance that his throat wouldn’t even work for a pitiful attempt at remonstrance.
They were up the stairs before he remembered to breathe.
Ellisandre lowered his feet to the wood planking of the porch and picked up the box. “Let’s go get some boys made up.”
Inside was organized chaos. There were camera stands against walls.
White sheets hung between rooms. Renovation tools stood side by side with light stands.
And there was Jun, standing in the middle of it with a bunch of white printouts in his hands, directing Yoihei and Geun as they moved a large wooden box into place.
“Is it steady?” Jun asked.
Yoihei reached out and pushed on it. Geun jumped up on top and crouched, moving his weight around. “Not going anywhere.”
“Good. We can shoot this section, then, as soon as we’re dressed and émeric checks the lighting.”
“Which means you have time for me,” Ellisandre interjected.
Jun spun around. “Yes.” He glanced at Rei. “Is that Alice?”
“Alice and Ash are with Richard for the moment. Andres is helping me today,” Ellisandre said. “He’s been vetted, and he understands Korean.”
Jun looked good. Too good. He was taller than before.
Taller than Rei was now. Of course he would be.
He’d had eleven more years to finish growing.
And even under the double layer of sweaters he was wearing, he’d filled out.
It was one thing to see it on a screen, another to be standing in the same room with the changes.
“Helpful,” Jun said. He gave Rei a long look.
Rei held himself perfectly still. There was nothing Jun could see that would identify him.
Not even his eyes were showing. And it was cold enough no one would question if he kept bundled up and masked.
Masking for health reasons was way more acceptable in South Korea than the United States. Jun wouldn’t find it odd.
Jun shook his head. “We need all the help we can get, but we can’t pay. I’m sorry, but this is a volunteer gig only.” He looked straight at Rei.
Rei nodded.
“Verbal response, please,” Jun said, authority slipping into his tone. “I’m sorry, but we’ve gotten burned a few times now.”
“Andres had a speech problem,” Ellisandre said. “Sometimes he can talk, sometimes he can’t. He’s not here for pay. He’s under my protection for the moment. Until he can testify.”
Understanding seeped into Jun’s eyes. “Understood. There’re cameras everywhere, so make sure he keeps his face covered. Apologies.” He nodded at Rei and gave Ellisandre another inscrutable look.
Rei blinked behind his glasses. His skin was tingling and he wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
“Makeup, now,” Ellisandre said.
Why had he agreed to do this again? This was stupid.
They were going to discover him. Rei followed Ellisandre blindly up the narrow stairs, Ellisandre stabilizing him with one hand and the railing providing additional support.
They entered a large room where there was a workbench and some overturned crates.
Ellisandre switched on a table light attached to an extension cord. “Let’s get started.”
Started meant setting up workstations for all the makeup and going over the example sheets that Ellisandre had printed out for each member of 5N.
Makeup was something that Rei knew well.
He’d learned it during his training as an idol, and he’d doubly learned it as a slave.
He’d even done makeup on Jun and the others before. Except for Su-jin.
Su-jin came in the door first, followed by Geun. Rei dropped his eyes and held still, waiting for someone to take the lead. Ellisandre pointed Geun to the overturned crate in front of them and gestured for Su-jin to sit by Rei.
“This is Andres,” Ellisandre said, using clips to hold back the edges of Geun’s hair. “Andres, Su-jin.”
“Heya!” Su-jin said. He smiled up at Rei.
Rei’s hands froze. Su-jin was beautiful.
Like a doll brought to life. His chin was heart shaped.
His eyes were expressive and large. He had a kind of innocent look that appeared fragile but was anything but.
He gave a tiny bow with his head and addressed Rei in Korean.
“Jun says you understand Korean. I’m glad. My English isn’t that good yet.”
Rei nodded. The only thing keeping him from passing out were all the years of training, of never giving in when he was out of his mind with fear.
Rei cleared his throat and gestured for Su-jin to turn so the light would hit his face.
At least Ellisandre had paired him up with the one member of 5N he hadn’t personally known.
Su-jin had freckles. Rei checked the reference sheet.
They were going with a mostly natural look for the first round of filming, then they’d change it up with the next set.
Rei laid a base on Su-jin’s skin, darkened his brows, highlighted his lips, applied contour in nudes and natural skin tones, then blended.
At each point he abstained from a full face that covered Su-jin’s freckles and natural appearance.
He was actually touching Su-jin. No. He couldn’t think about that. This was a mission. He was completing a mission. He took Su-jin’s chin in his hand, turning the other man’s face this way and that so he could check his shading. This was just a mission. And he could disappear into missions.
“Close your eyes.” He hadn’t realized he’d spoken until he had. Su-jin obediently lowered his lids.
But then Su-jin started talking. “What happened to your finger?”
“Fire,” Rei whispered. He focused on the nude powder palette in his hand.
“I’m sorry,” Su-jin said. “I thought maybe it was a birth mark or something.”
When the look was finished, Rei stepped back and looked to Ellisandre. Ellisandre looked up, “Question?”
Rei shook his head and motioned at Su-jin. Su-jin grinned and held his palms up to his face. “Finished.”
Ellisandre raised both eyebrows. “That’s . . . professionally fast. Okay. Su-jin, send Yoihei up. Andres can get him done too, and tell Jun we’ll be ready ahead of schedule.”
Rei’s heart thudded in his chest. He knew Yoihei. Su-jin wouldn’t recognize him, but Yoihei might. Except Yoihei would never expect him. Wasn’t looking for him.