Here lies your book boyfriend…naked.

It’s Friday the 13th, and who cares? If you’re scared, here’s a picture of Cha Eun Woo to ease your fears about life lol. With his pretty self. There’s just something about those eyes, you know? When he smiles it’s like his whole face lights up. You can’t help but smile back.

Anyway, I’ve got another lil piece from my next book for ya. This is from the upcoming second installment of my Idol Love series. I hope you read the first book Saints and Sinnas. If you did, thank you! Please leave me a review on Amazon, ok?

In this snippet our heroine Vi is still settling into her new job in Seoul, but she’s already getting a lot of attention — it’s kind of hard not to when you’re little and cute with blue hair and you work on idols hair for a living — and she’s not sure she likes it. Now that everyone knows more about her, people in high places are starting to take notice, and their attention may put her in closer proximity to our hero Bik outside the studio…

Vi was frequently flustered from not being able to communicate fully in another language – the first week she had a headache every night from trying so hard to understand – and she was tired from working harder than she’d ever worked in her life. But three weeks in she realized she’d never been happier. 

Do your job too well, you may get more attention than you bargained for

There was a wonderful anonymity in being an American in Seoul. South Koreans weren’t as friendly as Americans tend to be to strangers, which suited her scaredy cat self down to the ground. She wasn’t invisible by any means – having brown skin meant sticking out like a sore thumb in this town. Add bright blue hair, well. She might as well have been wearing a flashing neon sign that said, “I’m new in town!”

She’d actually made one looky loo trip and fall the other day. Served his rude ass right, staring at her like he was crazy. Still, she’d helped him up and acknowledged his bow with a nod. Since then she’d learned to stay quiet behind the safety of a large pair of dark sunglasses.

Vi made no effort to draw attention to herself, but thanks to a hair color change for Cong that went viral – a lush, vibrant burgundy she’d put her foot in if she said so herself – she’d come onto the radar of the Dolls, 501K’s violently, ardent fan base.

Her Instagram following increased exponentially with frequent infusions of behind the scenes idol fare, and she was shocked that people also seemed to like her candids of Seoul and the lengthy captions she created for her digital diary.

Then one of the beauty girls filmed her dancing to a Twice song. She tagged Vi, it too went viral, and her fate was sealed. 

“Sinna! Two companies DM’d me about sponsorships!”

Her boss and friend just laughed. “Why do you sound so appalled? What did you think would happen when the world saw you do the Twice choreography better than they do?”

“I didn’t know that heffa was filming me! I told her off too, you can believe that.”

“No, you didn’t,” Saint laughed.  

“Well, I told her not to film me anymore without permission,” Vi huffed. 

Sinna clapped her on the back. “Let me see the contracts before you sign them. And think carefully about how each deal will or won’t enhance your brand. Being thoughtful now will help you make more money and secure more exposure later,” she advised, and Vi nodded, wide eyed and soaking up every word.

“Mr. Big Wig” — this was Sinna’s nickname for the head of the group’s management company — “called me into his office to express his pleasure with your work,” she revealed. 

Vi’s eyes got bigger. “He did?”

Sinna nodded. “He wants you to appear on a new segment of a popular variety show.”

Should a shy country girl capitalize on a viral video and appear on a variety show with her new Kpop idol bosses?

“You mean something more than you and Tan’s reality show?” The only reason Vi agreed to that was because it was her job, and she could remain firmly in the background, doing hair, where she belonged.

Sinna nodded. 

Vi shook her head hard. “No, thanks!”

“Why not?” Saint wanted to know. “You’re the first black person they’ve ever had on the show!”

“Then I definitely don’t want to do it.”

Sinna grinned. “Why?”

“I have no desire to be the token first. That’s so annoying.”

Now Sinna laughed. “Yeah, but somebody’s gotta do it.”

Vi just shook her head.

“Think of it like this: You’re opening the door for more Black people to work here in media.”

Large brown eyes blinked at her, interested, but not convinced

Sinna gently clapped her friend on the shoulder. “It may not feel like it, but we’re doing something important, Vi. With every microaggression we endure, every slight and stupid gesture or weird question that we deflect, we’re bringing diversity to South Korea in a way that no one else has. We’re normalizing Black people, removing the otherness so that more of us can come here to work and exist comfortably.”

“I’m too small for something that big, girl.”

“You are not. You’re just the right size, and you have just the right skills and temperament.”

She threw elegant hands in the air and grinned. “These big grown ass babies are going into the wild! They’re gonna cook their own food over an open fire, forage, and get this, they have to sleep outside in tents. They need a country girl like you to show them the way.”

Vi giggled. “Tan and Hyuk look half way capable, and Hua might surprise us, but I can’t really picture Bik and Cong in nature, can you?”…

So, whaddya think? Are you feeling Bik and Vi? Lemme know!