Island Girls: Heart and Seoul Part Two
By the time the wheels touched down in Korea, Nikita didn’t recognize Jasmine or any of the girls, she didn’t even recognize herself. Her dark hair was styled in a complicated braid that was then pinned to the sides of her head with ornate clips. Everyone - in her opinion - looked younger than when they stepped on the plane. There were no skimpy bikinis in sight, even though they were heading directly from the plane to a club. There was an extensive crash course of what to say, what not to say, and how to act which was completely different than the eye candy they were meant to be back on the island.
All the girls were in sky high heels, and slinky dresses that had to be strategically taped in place because without it the wrong move there would be a different type of show going on. They all had micro purses with everything they would need for touch ups and emergencies including a modest blanket they were required to have by law because of how short their dresses were. If they say down? Modestly blanket. It was bizarre but it was a legit law. Not something mentioned in the Korean drama that was for sure.
The rules were simple; they were allowed to drink but not get drunk. They were there to make Ari look good, it was about him. So no dancing with anyone, unless it was with another Island girl and unless he offered them to dance with someone, otherwise their 'attention' was to be on him. Drugs were going to happen and because of the nature of the event they were expressly not to indulge unless directly invited by Ari. Otherwise they were taught lines to show their graciousness but coquettishly decline.
Some of the makeup artists trail after them spritzing them lightly with perfume as they get into a stretch limo, just for them.
The club was on the top floor of a tall building with multiple layers of security. Just getting into the lower floor there was alone that stretched and curled around the block and out of sight. There were even paparazzi snapping shouted at people who just walked right up to the voice and where ushered in.
When they finally made it to the club itself on the top floor it looked more like a movie set. The music was pumping club remixes of popular k pop singles. There were professional dancers on the floor … it was the pure definition of over the top.
“Holy shit,” Nikita said, mostly to herself. And she thought the Skye’s raves were something! This… she’d never tell them, but the raves had nothing on this. Still, she was there to work, to pretend to dote on Ari without actually interacting with him unless he needed something, in which case he would point to a girl, and somehow she’d figure out what he needed - usually a drink. Nikita, who wasn’t even sure what he liked to drink at that point stayed well out of his line of sight, being in the middle of girls squeezed into a half circle to showcase him as the focal point.
There were lots of photo ops, by professional photographers. But that didn't mean there wasn't fun to be had. There was lots of dancing and Nikita got hit on more times than she could count and each she was obligated to giggle and turn them down. Plenty of men asked Ari for a dance with one of his girls but he turned them all down as he had promised the birthday boy an exclusive chance to dance with one of his girl's. There were all kinds of games, Nikita won herself a string of jade to be worn around the waist. Ari made a big show helping her put it on talking about how talented she was.
The birthday guest of honor chose Jasmine to dance with, and Nikita couldn’t blame him. Jasmine glided over the floor in high heels as easily as Nikita walked barefoot on the beach. There were no phones permitted at all, which was a shame, because Nikka would have loved to see everything too. She looked proudly at the string of jade around her waist, and had, despite herself, reveled in the attention from Ari.
Nikita took a shot of soju when prompted, and though there were plenty of high end designer drugs, none of the girls touched a thing. They group danced with Ari in the epicenter, the mogul only paying attention if someone were watching, then he’d make a display of how much he cared for ‘his girls’. That embarrassing bit aside, it was everything Nikita wanted for a memory about the city.
The rest of the night was a rush of cake, celebrations, confetti and fireworks. There was an exclusive after party they had to go to and the after than a 'wind down party' at the birthday boy's estate. By the time they got on the plane the sun was already rising.
Nikita was exhausted when they got back onto the plane. She had her phone back, but chose to sleep rather than message the family. There was always tomorrow for that.
It seemed only a few minutes passed until Jasmine was nudging her awake. "Wakie wakie, we're back." She said with a yawn. "We gotta get cleaned up at the spa."
Nikita opened a sleepy eye, and followed. Back to the spa, right. Who knew it would be this exhausting just to be an accessory?
The whole process was a sleepy blur and she was scrubbed, cleaned and lotioned before being stuffed in yet another fluffy robe and escorted to her room. Not one would bother her all day and the mini fridge was stocked with some easy food and drinks. There was also a single serve bottle of champagne for her to enjoy as she pleased. Her jade bead belt was put in a protective box with silk lining and placed on her dresser; Nikita hadn’t even remembered taking it off!
GROUP CHAT FAM >Went to Seoul last night. Yes. Korea. So jet lagged. Miss you all< Nikita messaged before passing out.