Idols Never Break! (4)
“Heh-heh… N-nice to meet you, General Manager Jeon Hogu. The president already filled us in.”
He stuck out his hand, so I shook it. A slick film of sweat smeared across my palm.
Damn it.
Even I wanted to swear out loud.
These filthy bastards were about to take Eunchae’s photos…
“Kh-heh-heh… L-Lee Eunchae? From Sepia… She’s even better in person than in the pictures. Ohh… Kh-heh…”
Director Baek Pan-su kept glancing between the tablet and the real Eunchae, comparing them.
I snuck a look at the screen.
…Fuck.
Those were Eunchae’s hidden-camera shots.
Had she seen them? From her expression, not yet.
If I said anything now, her eyes would roll back into her head, so I kept my mouth shut.
Besides… today Eunchae was going to have to take pictures worse than those.
She swallowed hard again, then carefully stepped forward.
“Hello☆ I’m Lee Eunchae from Sepia! Looking forward to working with you today☆”
Idol Mode.
“Heh… You really are Sepia’s visual, aren’t you.”
“Kh-heh… About today’s shoot. The General Manager already explained it to you, right?”
“Yes☆ It’s a li~ttle embarrassing, but Eunchae will do her best☆”
She was a damn good actress.
“Heh. Still, we should go over the concept and the outfits… Why don’t you have a seat for a moment. Heh…”
Following Executive Director Bu Ra-jang’s lead, we moved to a table behind the cameras.
It was a shoot, but with only four people present the atmosphere felt a little eerie.
Normally a production like this would have at least ten people swarming around… Today it was just those two.
And they weren’t even working staff—just a pair of aging executives.
Why? …It was painfully obvious.
“Heh… As I’m sure the General Manager already told you, for today’s profile shoot we’d like Eunchae to wear our company’s garments.”
“Kh-heh… Well, we are a lingerie company, so… Ah, an idol might feel a little reluctant about wearing them. But it’s fine. J-just in case, we kept the crew to a bare minimum. Kh-heh-heh.”
Even so, not having a single stylist was a bit much…
Of course, she’d already gotten her makeup and basic prep done at our company, so it wasn’t a total disaster.
But shoots usually needed mid-session touch-ups. Could those two even handle that?
…No.
Thinking about it, the worry was pointless.
The real “main event” today wasn’t the photography.
“So the two of you will be handling the shoot yourselves?”
“Heh… That’s right. We’ve both spent our fair share of time behind a camera. We’ll be fine.”
“Kh-heh… We’re professionals. Professionals.”
I didn’t buy it for a second.
Beside me, Eunchae kept performing in that nasal little voice.
“Eunchae’s~. A tiny bit☆ embarrassed. It’s my first time standing in front of men in just my underwear☆”
“…Heh-hoooh… F-first time… Excellent. Excellent.”
“Kh-heh-heh-heh… It’s all right. You can relax.”
Filthy bastards.
The way they were practically drooling, “relax” was the last thing anyone could do.
Watching them, Eunchae’s expression started to harden.
“Aha…ha…☆ It’s fine… right☆”
“Heh-heh… We look at women’s panties every single day for a living. To us it’s just work, so d-don’t worry too much about being seen. Heh…”
“Kh-heh-heh… We’ve photographed women’s lingerie more times than we can count…”
They worked in the industry, so the words should have been ordinary…
So why did they sound so goddamn perverted?
I glanced at Eunchae’s face.
Shadows had settled from her forehead down under her eyes, and she was forcing a clumsy idol smile.
Under the table, her leg kept bumping mine.
“…Manager? …I’ll deal with you later. You’re not getting off easy.”
“You’re doing great.”
“I’m going to kill you… Ah☆ Are we starting right away?”
“Heh-heh… We are. First, this way…”
We followed Executive Director Bu Ra-jang to where the lingerie was laid out.
Whoa.
It looked like every kind of panty on earth had gathered in one place.
“Kh-heh-heh… Since this is a profile shoot, Eunchae can pick whatever lingerie she likes. Anything is fine. It’s all ours.”
“Wow☆ What incredible panties☆ ……Fuck.”
The last word was whispered so only I could hear it.
Her Idol Mode was starting to crack.
“Heh… If you’d like, we could choose something that suits you. Hmm… Eunchae is…”
Bu Ra-jang and Baek Pan-su circled her, scanning her from head to toe.
Tracing her bust line, her waist, her hips.
Standing behind her and staring straight at her ass.
“Ahaha…☆”
Eunchae wore an awkward smile, but if I so much as opened my mouth she looked ready to punch me.
“Kh-heh… For Eunchae… black would suit her.”
“Heh… No, no. White or something in the red family would look wonderful too.”
They were just stating their own preferences.
If you asked me, sky blue suited Eunchae best.
“Aha…☆ C-could I… just pick something myself☆”
“Heh… We’ll be shooting several looks anyway. Let’s start with whatever Eunchae chooses, and check the camera while we’re at it…”
“Kh-heh-heh… After a few takes, we’ll recommend pieces that really suit you… I’m sure you’ll love them.”
“Ah…haha…☆ Thank… you…”
“Heh… Once you’ve chosen, you can change in that booth over there.”
Where Bu Ra-jang pointed stood a portable booth-style changing stall.
A flimsy little cubicle—peel back one sheet of fabric and the whole interior was exposed. The bottom was even open by about twenty centimeters.
Just tilt your head and you’d see everything. A completely shoddy booth.
“Kh-heh… As soon as you’re changed, we’ll start shooting…”
I heard Eunchae’s teeth grind.
“Then~☆ I’ll hurry and pick something… Hoo… and go change~☆ Ah, you absolutely☆ must not look☆ ………Ah…… shit.”
Idol Mode was one breath from collapsing.
Naturally I wondered if they’d planted a hidden camera in the booth, or if one of them would sneak over for a peek—but surprisingly, Bu Ra-jang and Baek Pan-su focused entirely on setting up the set.
They prepped the lights, adjusted the camera position and angle. They’d already measured Eunchae’s height somehow, and dialed everything in to match. For all their creepiness, they moved like professionals.
I sat in a chair far from the cameras and waited for the setup to finish and for Eunchae to come out in her new clothes.
Because they were adjusting the lights for the shoot, everything outside the set had been switched off. From where I sat I could see the set clearly, but my own hands were nearly invisible in the dark.
“I-I’m… all changed……☆”
Eunchae poked her head out toward the set.
What had she put on…
Ah.
She’d draped a huge blanket over herself.
Her bare legs looked long and clean underneath, but above that… just blanket.
Well. It was a shoot. That much was only natural.
“Heh… Shall we start right away, then. Eunchae, this way…”
Bu Ra-jang guided her into the pool of light and cameras. A wide white floor. The backdrop was a CG image.
“Kh-heh… Just strike the poses as directed. Camera’s over here. Now then, the blanket…”
Whoosh.
Slip.
Baek Pan-su snatched the blanket clean off her.
“Kya!”
In an instant Eunchae stood there in nothing but lingerie.
An impossibly slim waist. Long, straight legs.
A body that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a real model.
Even I had never properly seen Eunchae in her underwear—yet Bu Ra-jang and Baek Pan-su were studying her up close from every angle.
“Heh, heh-heh! Excellent… You chose well…!”
“Kh-heh-heh-heh… Picking this panty—our company’s finest piece…! Outstanding taste.”
“Ah…haha…☆ Is… that so.”
Eunchae didn’t look the least bit pleased by the praise, but to my frustration I had to agree with them.
Even from a distance, the panties were aggressively revealing.
The side lines fully exposed, the back so skimpy you had to wonder if it covered anything at all—pure white.
What on earth had Eunchae been thinking when she chose those…
“Th-that… About the Manager… Where is the Manager?”
“Heh… If you mean General Manager Jeon Hogu, he’s been sleeping over there for a while…”
“Kh-heh… The shoot will run long, so he must be tired… Don’t worry about him. Just focus on the photography.”
Of course I wasn’t actually asleep.
I was lying under a blanket on the chair, pretending.
More precisely, the “setting” was that I was asleep.
“Augh… Manager, honestly……☆ …….”
Sounded like she’d cursed me again.
I couldn’t quite catch it from here.
“Heh… Shall we begin, then?”
With Bu Ra-jang’s words, the shoot started.
Click. Click.
It wasn’t full-on shooting right away. First came a tedious stretch of constant position adjustments.
On that front alone, they almost seemed like real pros…
Only after about ten minutes did the actual photography begin.
“Kh-heh…! That pose is excellent. Keep your hand on your chest just like that… No. Only one hand.”
“L-like… this?”
“Heh, heh-heh-heh! Perfect, absolutely perfect! This is almost…!”
I cracked an eye open.
…A presence worthy of the group’s visual.
Especially the line running from her waist down her thighs. With almost nothing covering it, the curve was impossible to ignore.
The rotten expression she’d been wearing earlier had even shifted into a cool, haughty performance for the camera.
Once the shoot was underway, Eunchae seemed to be taking it seriously in her own way.
“Kh-heh, let’s try a different pose. This time…”
During the shoot, Baek Pan-su walked right up to Eunchae and corrected her posture with his hands.
Every time, of course, his fingers brushed her hands or her body.
Eunchae’s face looked thoroughly unhappy, but she couldn’t refuse.
“Kh-heh. Put your hand this way… Yes. And it would be better if you opened your legs a little.”
“Ugh… Like… this?”
“Kh-heh-heh! Good, excellent! The best shot we’ve taken so far.”
“Ah…ahaha…☆”
The awkward acting continued.
Click. Click.
Uh-oh.
The longer the shoot went on, the bolder Baek Pan-su’s hands became.
From adjusting her arm position, to openly grabbing her shoulder and pulling her.
Gripping her waist to shift her stance.
Telling her to spread her legs while taking hold of her thigh himself and tugging.
“Th-that… If you just tell me, I’ll move myself, so maybe a little less touching……☆”
I could see Eunchae’s face as she desperately swallowed the curses rising in her throat.
“Kh-heh-heh. We need to keep things moving. It’s necessary. It’s fine. We’re professionals. Now, for the pose…”
“…Ugh…!”
And then, at last, he crossed the line.
“Kh-heh-heh. Turn your hips this way.”
His hand finally reached for Eunchae’s ass.