PART-2-9fx7-2026-03-01_13_48_15-girl-rules.pdf
PART-2-9fx7-2026-03-01_13_48_15-girl-rules.pdf
"We select based on experience, past work, and skill," Prim answered honestly. "Is there something ... you'd like to ask?" Her tone softened, as if she'd forgotten the other was a client.
"No, I was just wondering. Like Gorya, is her skill not good?"
"No, of course not."
"Or was she chosen because she's your type?"
"Hey," Prim made a disapproving sound. "That's not related at all. Even if I liked someone, if their skills weren't truly up to par, I wouldn't hire them."
"I see. So, do you like her or not?" Bambi asked with genuine curiosity.
Prim frowned. "Whether I like her or not, I don't see how that's relevant to this project," she said, carefully avoiding the word 'you'.
Bambi crossed her arms and looked away. Just then, Gorya came out of the dressing room and whispered something to Prim. Their closeness made Bambi turn to look with a mix of curiosity and mild displeasure.
"I'll handle the directing myself," Prim said softly, placing a hand on Gorya's shoulder before walking straight to the set.
When Prim arrived, Min was talking intensely with Praew. Prim told the other crew members to leave, then stopped in front of Praew. "Let's talk in private."
The three of them stopped at the empty stairwell landing outside the studio.
"Praew, are you hungover?" Prim asked.
Praew fell silent before swallowing.
"Shasha said she could smell alcohol strongly from you. We agreed not to drink before a shoot day, no exceptions."
Praew lowered her gaze, a faint red tinge in her eyes. "Last night at the bar ... the owner treated us. And then a large group of customers came, so I had to drink with them." She bowed her head in guilt. "I really tried not to drink too much ... but we started early today, so I'm not at full capacity."
Prim rolled her eyes. Min quickly tried to fix the situation. "Alright, the lighting team is fixing the light. It should get better."
"No. Shasha already reported to Bambi. It's already a big issue," Prim said, her voice calm and steady. "And what will Bambi say?"
"What will she say? If I take over the shoot, she might feel more at ease. Don't worry, I'll handle the rest myself."
Prim walked back to the set, just as Shasha had changed into a new outfit. Gorya was fixing her hair. "Shasha, pose please."
Bambi, sitting in front of the monitor, leaned forward, wondering why Prim was now taking the photos. But once it was Prim, everything sped up. The crew knew her style, and the work flowed smoothly. Bambi, who normally walked around checking details, sat still, watching each image Prim sent over.
On set, Prim took off her high heels and climbed onto a chair in front of Shasha, lowering the camera to shoot from a bird's-eye view. "That's it, Shasha. Lower your head a bit more. Yes. Smile slightly."
She didn't notice that the chair she was standing on was wobbling dangerously as she leaned forward. She looked down just as she realized she was about to fall.
In the moment when everyone could only stare in shock, Gorya rushed in.
"Ah!"
"P'Prim!" Gorya grabbed her arm just in time, preventing her from falling.
Prim looked at the smaller woman, seeing they were only inches apart. "Thank you, Gorya." "You're welcome," the stylist smiled, letting go of her arm once she saw Prim was safe.
Shasha watched the scene with displeasure. Seeing Gorya's caring attitude and Prim's grateful gaze made the model even more irritated.
Behind the monitor, Bambi gritted her teeth, watching the scene between Prim and Gorya on the screen. A thin, displeased smile crossed her lips.
Chapter fifteen - The Hard Question
Chapter fifteen - The Hard Question
It seemed to have become a tradition. Every time a shoot wrapped, they had to end up at the same bar. Honestly, Prim didn't want this to become a company culture, partly because she was concerned about the team's health, and partly because she didn't want to drink that much herself. But she couldn't really resist the team's desires.
Wait, that's not right. To be precise, it was the 'client's' desire.
"The client isn't leaving yet. Do you want to head back first?" Min whispered in her ear, seeing that Prim refused to take off her jacket, as if ready to leave at any moment. Min's gaze drifted towards Bambi, who was clinking glasses with the team.
"Looks like a blatant money-burning project to me," Prim grumbled, shaking her head.
Min shot her best friend a scolding look. "You're exaggerating. Bambi means well."
"I'm just saying, she's finding excuses to spend her mom's money on alcohol without getting caught."
"You were the one who told her to do something properly. Now she's doing it. What's there to complain about, you idiot," Min said, laughing, before excusing herself and walking away.
Prim picked up her glass and drank it all in one go. Meanwhile, Bambi, who was dancing with the team, kept glancing over at her. From her unsteady swaying, it seemed she was quite drunk. Prim didn't pay much attention. She turned to get another beer, but then a full glass was placed right in front of her.
Prim turned and found a sweet-faced young woman smiling widely at her. "P'Prim, do you remember me?"
"Christy, right?" Prim wasn't entirely sure, but she was confident this must be a model she had worked with before.
"Yes! I'm so glad you still remember me." Christy sat down beside her, crossing her long, slender legs and intentionally letting her foot brush against Prim's. She was a few years younger than Prim, a model she had shot with the previous year.
"You can get into bars now?" Prim teased.
"I've been allowed in for a long time. I've graduated."
"Just kidding," Prim laughed.
Christy leaned in close, locking eyes with her. "What a coincidence, running into you here, P'Prim. Let me buy you a beer."
Prim was about to refuse, but when she turned and saw the gaze of someone else watching from the team's table, she changed her mind. "Alright then, but let me buy you a drink too."
"You've already had a lot. But if you want to repay me, it doesn't have to be alcohol," Christy whispered softly near her ear, her hand coming to rest on Prim's thigh. "It can be something else."
Normally, Prim avoided getting involved with models she worked with, afraid of personal complications. She didn't want to give anyone the opportunity to think she misused her professional power. She had held firmly to that intention ... until she saw Bambi's glare directed at her.
"So, what exactly do you want it to be?" Prim deliberately turned to meet Christy's eyes.
"How about your room tonight, P'Prim?" Christy didn't back down, moving closer.
Prim laughed instead of answering. Abruptly, she saw Bambi stomp her foot and walk off towards the restroom. Prim watched her go but didn't intend to follow. Christy leaned her face in for a kiss, but Prim dodged, picking up her beer glass instead. "Let me drink first," she replied vaguely, turning to look towards the restroom, wondering what the little one was sulking about.
"Look at me, not over there," Christy's slender hand turned Prim's face back.
Prim hesitated, asking herself if this might be the way to finally end things with Bambi. She decided to place a hand on the other's neck to pull her in for a kiss.
Suddenly, all the lights in the bar went out.
Prim pulled away. The stage lights were off too; this wasn't a gimmick. Everyone in the bar let out a sound of surprise as the music went completely silent.
"This is exciting, isn't it?" Christy whispered in her ear.
Prim turned towards the younger model, about to kiss her again, when a voice rang out. "Ouch!"
The loud cry came from the direction of the restrooms. Prim froze. A gut feeling made her stand up quickly, ignoring Christy's startled expression, before striding purposefully towards the sound. The emergency lights in the hallway provided just enough light to see.
A few people were already gathered outside the restroom. Prim grew more anxious, quickly squeezing inside. "Excuse me."
Bambi was sitting on the floor, hands covering her face. Prim's heart sank. She immediately knelt beside her. "The lights went out while I was walking, so I didn't see the door was closed," Bambi said, her voice slurred with drunkenness.
A cut on her forehead was seeping blood.
"Sorry, I didn't think anyone was inside," said another young woman, the one who had closed the door.
"It's okay, I was just too drunk," Bambi replied, trying to stand up, but then lost her balance and fell back to the floor. Prim quickly grabbed her arm and helped her up. "Let's just go back. We need to get this wound treated."
"No, I'll go back myself later."
"You're this drunk?" Prim sounded exasperated. "You can barely walk."
"I can make it. I'm not a child," she said, trying to pull her arm free, but stumbled towards the sink instead. Prim sighed and gripped her hand even tighter.
Bambi looked up to meet her eyes, but Prim ignored her resistance, holding her hand and walking straight back to the table in the bar. The main lights had come back on, and the music started playing again. Christy watched as Prim led Bambi back to the table. Prim picked up her own bag, then Bambi's clutch, before turning to Christy.
"I have to head back early today, Christy. My friend here is really drunk."
"Sure," Christy stood up, then picked up her half-finished glass of beer and threw it directly into Prim's face.
The people around them cried out, "Hey!" as Christy made a face and stomped away.
Prim was stunned, the bitter smell of malt stinging her nose. She turned to look at the person beside her. Bambi stared at her wide-eyed in shock before bursting out laughing, as if forgetting she was the cause of all this.
Gorya wasn't in the bar when the lights went out. She had just arrived after returning the clothes to the brand. The young stylist took out her favorite lipstick, applied it, fixed her hair,
then pushed the bar door open. She took out her phone to call Prim, but before the other party could answer, she saw Prim from behind, walking out into the hallway.
Gorya was about to call out, but her eyes slid away and saw first that Prim was holding Bambi's hand. Bambi was laughing beside her. She couldn't see the director's face, but Prim was definitely holding Bambi's hand. She was sure of it.
Prim was leading Bambi by the hand towards the back exit, while Bambi, who seemed a bit drunk, kept smiling nonstop.
The scene made Gorya feel a tightness in her chest. Her heart beat fast but faintly, as if she couldn't breathe. Prim's call disconnected by itself. Gorya finally came to her senses, taking another breath as if trying to calm her body down. She had only two choices: go home and cry, or walk into the bar and have fun as if nothing happened.
"Oh, Gorya! The table's over there." Min pointed it out to her before gently guiding her inside.
Gorya smiled faintly and walked to the table. Everyone was dancing, but she wasn't in the mood to drink. She felt it was a mistake to come here. Perhaps she should just go home.
Just as she was about to turn back, she found a third option.
Shasha was drinking beer and laughing with one of the team members. Gorya walked over to the tall model, looking up at her. Shasha looked down, questioningly. Before she could ask anything, Gorya stood on her toes and pressed her lips against the other's without hesitation.
She could feel the smell of alcohol blended with the sweet yet solid scent of Vetiver, the perfume Shasha was wearing. The soft lips were more thrilling than imagined. In just the few seconds their lips touched, she felt heat spreading all over her body. Gorya broke the kiss first, startled.
Startled that it was better than she thought.
Shasha smiled back, her eyes holding both surprise and satisfaction. The model bit her lip before moving her hand to Gorya's neck and pulling her up for another kiss. This time, their lips pressed together more fiercely. Gorya couldn't deny that the other was a good kisser. Very good. Better than she thought. And possibly the best she had ever kissed.
Gorya's eyes fluttered open, and the moment their eyes met, she had the answer, even though no one had asked.
"My place or yours?"
This might be the only question she would permit to be asked. Right now.