The Misunderstanding

“Ew. Look at her. So gross. I wonder why she’s back…” 

“Not everyone can even recognize her anymore. Surprised you can.”

“I heard that if you become friends with her, you’ll be hated too…” 

 Asuki could hear what everyone said as she walked into the company but she tried to hold her head high. She had been missing the fact that her schedule was always packed. She missed working with others and the environment and life of being a model. 

Two years ago, Asuki had taken a hiatus. Her mom had died years ago but her father was dying only that year. She had no siblings that she could run to for help either. After the preparations and the funeral, she was supposed to get back to work but she wanted to take a break. She wanted to rest for a while and be able to have some quiet in her life. Although she was on the news, many didn’t understand why she still took a break after the funeral. No one wanted to try to understand why she took a break and why she wanted to continue. No one really truly knew what she was going through except her manager. She never really told anyone what was going on. 

Asuki briskly walked past the office and knocked on her boss, Mr. Skavinski’s door. 

“Come in.” 

Asuki walked in and was surprised to see a female sitting on the other side. The female sitting in the armchair raised an eyebrow.

“Who are you? How come I wasn’t aware that a guest was visiting today?”

Flustered, Auski hesitated and said, “I… I’m so sorry.. Maybe I have come to the wrong office… I’m pretty sure that this was Mr. Skavinski’s office…” 

“Ah. I see, are you new here? Mr. Skavinski retired a few months ago… was it not on the news?” The female chuckled, “He sure was a nice guy!”

There was a pause before Auski spoke again.

“I’m new here - I mean I’m not new here - actually I’m not sure anymore.. You can say I’m both?...” 

Another pause.

“I’m Asuki Watanabe. I used to work here as a model…” Asuki said and lowered her head, slightly ashamed. She was worried that no one would be able to recognize her and would look at her in a disgraceful way. True to her thoughts, Asuki found the female’s gaze change unconsciously, looking at her like she was a stray cat that was dying on the street. 

There was silence for a while before anyone said anything.

“I’m terribly sorry… I’ll go ahead and leave then…” Asuki said in a low voice.

Asuki knew that at this point, no one was going to take her for who she was anymore and so she thought right there and then, that she should just give up and find another job that would fit her most. Asuki reached for the door before the female looked up and spoke again. 

“Wait. Come here and take a seat, I would like to hear you out… I’m Mrs. Lori. ” 

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“Okay, go ahead and tell me why you came back.” Mrs. Lori said.

“Well, I came back because I wanted to come back to work as a model... To be honest, I’m pretty sure you have heard about me from 2 years ago on the news, but back then, my situation wasn’t the best, and as the only child in my family, there was no one I could ask for help from except my other relatives, but they were overseas and also didn’t care much. They pretty much gave up on our family. But then again, I never said that I quit being a model on the news… That’s what everyone just assumed…” Asuki sighed, “No one really wants to understand anyone these days.” 

There was silence for a while. 

“You want to be a model again?” Mrs. Lori raised an eyebrow and glanced at Asuki, “I can definitely make it happen, but it will also affect our company greatly… I mean if we don’t have anything to back you up… Could you tell me a bit more about your situation back then? We only really know that your parents both died and a bit on your background of your family…”

“Alright,” Asuki took a sip of her water, “At that time when my father had died, I was devastated. As most know, years before, he got into a car accident that made his body weaker. Although he was weak as he was, he kept on smoking no matter what everyone told him. A few years later, he was diagnosed with cancer. My mother had already passed away and now my father? I quickly rushed to the hospital but he was barely alive. He died right in front of my eyes...” Asuki tried to stay strong and try to hold back her sadness despite the fact that it had already been 3 years. 

Asuki continued, “I prepared for the funeral and all and after the funeral, I tried to get back to work but I was often distracted and absorbed in my own thoughts. My manager told me that I should take a break before getting back to work. I decided that it was a good idea and so I took a break. But the break lasted longer than I thought.” Auski took a breath.

“Yeah… 2 years huh… were there other situations going on in your life at that time that made you take a longer break?” Mrs. Lori started taking notes in her notebook. Asuki glanced at her writing.

“What? Just taking some notes so that if you do become a model, there's info that can back you up to why you took a hiatus.” Mrs. Lori shrugged.

“Oh,” Asuki said and continued, “Other than the death of my father, I was mourning for both my parents, and I felt like I needed some time for myself at that point. I wanted some peace and quiet in my life at that time I guess. I didn’t really have many friends at that time either due to my packed schedule so I took that time to make new friends and enjoy what I had at the moment. I slept in late often since I was told by my therapist and doctors that I had lack of sleep and I was told that I wasn’t physically and mentally healthy. I didn’t eat as much and I exercised in the little time I had when I was a model…,” Asuki took a breath, “My doctors told me it would be healthier and better for me to take a break when I can and I thought that using that time would be a good time to take a hiatus. But when I saw the news of myself and my hiatus, it never mentioned why I did so. The next day when I checked the articles, many hate comments were left. Some people tried to figure out why I took a break, others didn’t care, I lost a lot of my fan base as well but many still were with me. They understood while many others didn’t… I came here also wanting to be able to explain myself… I sometimes wonder why I didn’t clearly state and say why I took a break back then when the news was out… I regret not doing so and many thought I was selfish. I want to clear things up and come back to my job as it is what I love to do and makes me happy.” Asuki said, her eyes pointed to the floor, a somber mood filling the room.

Over the next hour, without any interruptions, Asuki and Mrs. Lori continued to converse. Mrs. Lori had enough notes to support Auski if she ever was a model again. Mrs. Lori told Auski to go home so that she would think if Auski was model worthy. She asked for Asuki’s phone number. The following week, Mrs. Lori had Auski’s body proportions checked, rewatched her modeling videos and other past works of hers. She checked the contract that she made with the last CEO, and checked her background a bit more. She had Asuki try modeling in front of her and try to walk the run-way. 

“Next,” Mrs. Lori stated blankly, “Next!” this time louder, “No no no! Not this outfit!” She had exclaimed in an angrier tone. But that was just the beginning for the test she had prepared for the staff and Auski. 

Although it had been the busiest Auski had been in years, she was happy just to be able to work in the company again and it felt like the first time when she had auditioned years ago. Not only that, Asuki was surprised that she was able to even fit in the packed schedule of the CEO’s. 

Other than the busy schedule and week, many of the co-workers were surprised and wondered why in the world their boss would bring in Auski back to the company. They even thought Mrs. Lori herself was insane. Many gossiped about them, but Auski pretended to not hear. 

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“I have decided that you can come back.” Mrs. Lori said with a smile after almost two weeks. 

“R-really?! You’re not kidding right?” Asuki’s smile grew wider and wider. She felt so happy, in fact she was so happy that she felt like she could do anything, and that the world was hers. Mrs. Lori smiled and was surprised when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Asuki exclaimed, jumping up and down and letting go of Mrs. Lori. Flustered and happy, Mrs. Lori chuckled knowing that it wouldn’t be a mistake letting Asuki join the company, or so she thought. 

When the news had announced that Asuki was back and working, many had mixed feelings. The articles wrote - Asuki’s Comeback, Asuki’s Back?!, Asuki the Model is Back to Attack, etc. Some were surprised, unhappy, shocked and more. Others, like her fans, were happy but just as worried as they were overjoyed. Haters sprung up like they were waiting for her all the years, ready to pounce on her. There was war online through articles and comments but as a model she had to try to smile always and have her head held high. 

Despite everything that was going on in her life at the current moment, she found it a touching and blissful moment. Being accepted into the company that easily was more than she could have asked for. 

Day one, she was on the news clearing everything up. Day two, she took a day to exercise and to get closer to her co-workers. Day three, she was assigned to model for “GlitterFace.co”.

“Yes! That’s it! Smile a little wider for me please - lower your chin a slight bit for me,” The camera man exclaimed, “Okay, can you do the next pose?”

 Day four, she continued to help the company and was also helping trainees. 

“Okay first things first, that's not how you walk,” Asuki snapped, “You keep shifting your hips to the left too much. Make sure you walk without swaying too much. No. Try again - Yes that’s better.” 

Day five, she was modeling for Chanel. Day six, she was helping a designer with the clothes proportions. Day seven, she was signed up for a fashion show next month. The next week on and on, her schedule went. There weren’t a lot of breaks that she took but she could say it was better than her past where she barely had time for herself. With the new system and schedule, she could wake up a little bit later depending on the less packed schedule, and had at least two hours a day for herself. There was also training she could take that would help her physically, and therapists to check in on her just in case. She couldn’t have been happier. 

After a few months, working in the industry, most of the co-workers finally accepted her, others still weren’t sure about getting closer to her. She stayed healthy and happy and was one of the best models of that year. She went to 4 fashion shows in those few months and was highly requested to help model for other brands like Dior, Gucci, Nike, Adidas, Louis Vuitton, and more. Her fan base grew larger and larger, and she was better accepted into society.

But being happy wasn’t going to last long for Asuki, or her company. The world of modeling wasn’t just going to shatter, but was about to be gone for good. 

Thanks for reading! I hope u enjoyed :))