─ practice booths 'chrysanthemum'

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ The confidence and security Yewon exuded was odd. Not bad, but after having interacted with the shy girl that had walked in earlier that day, this felt very out of character. Again, not in a way Byulyi minded, really. She enjoyed multifaceted people who were able to show more than just one side of themselves. And as a trainee she was sure Yewon had gotten plenty training on keeping up face and personality in front of the camera. Perhaps that was what was happening right now. Byul could not be fully sure.

What she was sure of though, was that it would definitely make working together a lot easier. It would be way less work to pick Yewon’s brain for information about her song and composition when she felt comfortable talking, even if it was a mask of sorts. Hopefully she would remain truthful at least, no matter how much she put on.

The joke was met with a momentary silence. Not long, yet probably long enough that Byul realized it could put some awkwardness back into the girl. Not wanting to make her hard work not worth while she let out a small chuckle, an amused and befuddled sound that kind of bubbled out of her. “Is that so? Guess I frequent it despite not knowing which room it is,” she joked back, jokingly posing while putting on a smug expression. It was rare she got compliments like this, and she didn’t fully know how to play them off yet.

“Eh, it was a bit half-assed. I’m sure you could twist it better somehow,” Byulyi waved off the amazed compliment, even if she was still smiling. “But with that said. You explained it as pining for a love you can’t have, yet not being angry, so… a bit melancholy? Feeling the endless turn of the earth just messin’ with your mind and heart when you look at the guy, right? Something like that?” She tilted her head a bit, genuinely curious as to how her new approach to the song had been. Hopefully closer than her first, really.

She watched as Yewon repeated the rhythm, trying the lines a few times before looking a bit more comfortable with it. Byul jammed along beside her, giving a little adlib here and there to help emphasise the lines and hype her up. And as she turned to her the coach was beaming, nodding her head with approval. “See? You got that flow down pat real quick. Told ya you got a rap star in there somewhere, kiddo.”

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ The trainer's words would have made Yewon stop in her tracks had they been voiced a couple minutes earlier. But now, oh now Yewon was in the zone. It would be difficult to break her mask now, she was focused, as focused as she could possibly be. Was she secretly freaking out on the inside, a mini her running around flailing her arms as she screamed into the void? ...yes, but on the outside she was as calm as a sloth. Actually, she was even beyond that point right now, returning to her sassy and bold self (well, the sassy and bold alter ego she had created, but for simpleness sake, let's just keep it at that).

"Hmm weird that you're asking me, seeing as to how you've definitely been there yourself... although only for a second for sure, as you're both those things" It came out a bit more flirty than she had intended, she was purely trying to lift the mood by making a corny joke but well, even with her mask she was still extremely nervous so this would have to do for now.

A short (nervous) giggle escaped as she realized how dumb she had sounded, but it was surely best to act the part than to return to her previous nervous state and so Yewon focused on the lesson itself now, listening to Byul's criticism and taking it in as if it was God's word (not that she believed in him but we get it). "Play with the last line hm... I see" she acknowledged the criticism and tried to imagine it in her head, but alas there was no need. Byul was, of course, a step ahead of her and promptly demonstrated what she meant.

"Whoa... you're amazing.." well, she couldn't really help it this time, the tinniest bit of her soul managed to escape with those words as the admiration overwhelmed her. Every word was like a cloud, floating in the air and painting shades of purples and oranges, much like a sunset. That was 100% what Yewon felt, and she wasn't embarrassed by it. It was what she felt sure, but aside from that, it was still the truth, and there was nothing embarrassing about speaking the truth, specially when it came to Byul.

Tapping her pen on the table for a rhythm, Yewon did her best to follow the trainer, repeating the flow in her head as she tried the lines a couple times before feeling somewhat happy with it. With eyes full of expectation she glanced at Byul, ready for either more criticism of perhaps even a word of recognition. "How was that..?"

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ “Hm?”
Yewon’s voice had been so tiny, Byul had barely noticed it to begin with. But as she stood to her feet, it sank in on her what she had said just now. “Y-yeah, yeah, of course. We’re here for your sakes, so take the time you need,” Byul reassured her, trying her best to mask her own worry with a smile. It really had been a step too far. Showed that sometimes a gut feeling really was more correct than one would originally think.

Her gaze followed Yewon towards the door, ready to turn back and give her song another look before she spotted the younger stopping. All the attention in the room was hers to command as she spoke, and Byul listened carefully. It was a small apology, just like that one she had received in her text not but a few days earlier. Deep down it seemed Yewon truly was a noble kid, taking on responsibilities even when she did not have to. In many ways that was admirable.

Their eyes did not meet before the younger had disappeared out of the practice booth, leaving Byul to sit there alone in the awkward tension she had created. It took a moment to snap out of the overthinking; to chase away the voice of her father far at the back of her mind. It was rarer for it to show up, but in moments like these the seals she had put up cracked a little.
But she had better things to do than wallow in uncertainty. Surely, Yewon would be back soon and they could get back to it. And in the meantime she could look over the lyrics again, try to better empathise with what the writer had said they were about instead of the viewpoint she had sat with to begin with.

She began reading over the lyrics again, trying to her best to put herself in the mind frame Yewon had detailed.

It felt like she hadn’t gotten further than the first chorus when the door opened back up behind her, and in strode… Yewon?
Something about her air was entirely different, as if she had swapped places with a person more confident and proud. She seemed determined in a way Byul had not seen her earlier. So when the hand was offered in greeting, she couldn’t help but arch a brow as she took it, glancing to the door and asking: “So is there a room outside that turns cuties into badasses, or am I just supposed to not acknowledge that?”
Like Yewon had said herself. She wasn’t good at talking to people. But this girl… She was entirely different.

The shock of it all still sat in her, making her brain lag behind as Yewon grabbed the notepad, flipping some pages before presenting it to her again. Another second passed as her mind reeled, slowly catching on and reading the lines presented before her.

“Okay, I… Aight, let’s just look at this,” she mumbled, tapping away underneath the written words in a rhythm just playing out in her head. “I like the Deja vu bit. Can hit hard with it. And the switch-up in rhythm with the first line is definitely solid. Makes me want to play with the last line to see if we can’t spice it up to round up the... Chorus, I guess?"

Byul cleared her mind and handed the book back. "Do ignore if this sounds too dumb, but to work it together with the rest of the song, we could do something like..." She laid into it with the rhythm in her head, flipping up the words a bit in hopes of keeping the intention in place:
"Chasing you, just don't know what to do.
My mind tells me to leave,
But I can't. Leave. You.
You're in my mind, erry' day is deja vu.
I said these words so many times
but I can't break through."

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ A deep breath and a very very slow exhale. "Can I just... Can you give me a minute?".

'I have to do something about this.' There was just no way Yewon was going to be like this for the next couple hours, this was absolutely ridiculous. She was not only wasting Byul's time, but she was also making her feel bad. The trainer was in no way to blame for everything that had unfolded in the last minutes, but Yewon's actions had definitely made it seem like it.

With a decided mind, Yewon stood up, shortly bowing her head one last time before turning for the hallway. Just as she was about to pass the door, her hand held onto the doorframe briefly, a short sigh following it as she turned back one last time before taking herself outside to cooldown. "I am.. truly sorry. You have done nothing wrong, I'm just- I'll be back in a second, I'm really sorry." And so she did.

'It's time to stop." Stop with the shakiness, stop with- whatever this was. She had stopped just outside the booth, closing the door behind her and walking just enough so she was not within sight from within said booth. It truly did feel like she stared at the ground for at least an hour (which she obviously didn't, but we'll let her think so, for the dramatic effect), all kinds of thoughts going through her head, just anything she could find to distract herself. Her hands quickly raised to slap both her cheeks softly, another sigh escaping her lips just before she rightened herself, standing straight and with her confident mask somewhat on.

Yewon made it back to the booth, no more than 5 minutes had passed but hopefully it had been enough to break her from whatever was happening. Offering the trainer a sheepish smile while doing her best to keep eye contact with her, Yewon closed the door behind her and headed straight to her previous seat. Now making an effort to face Byul, she took a quick glance at the notepad she was just previously handed her, analyzing it in a split second to make sure it was indeed the right one and feeling some sense of relieve as she managed to confirm so.

"I'm sorry. Let's start over please. I'm Yewon" and so she reached out her hand to Byul, this was how people often greeted eachother, right?
"I'm a trainee who is extremely interested in composing and choreographing and I wanted to take this amazing opportunity to learn something I'm still lacking on from the best person in the field that I know. I look forward to working with you, and thank you for the opportunity!" There it was, and all while maintaining eye contact, 'good job.'.

Patting herself on the back for being able to keep the façade, Yewon reached for her notepad, going through the pages until she found something. "Here" she said as she leaned over slightly, turning the page to face Byul. "I had this one thing written down but I didn't know if it was good, or where to put it. But it remained on the back of my mind"

"Chasing you, don't know what to do. My mind tells me to leave, but I can't lose you. Everytime you cross my mind is like a deja vu, but in the end you're the only one who can get me through."

@☼ jeon jungkook ʳᵒᵐᵉᵒ Hyunjin lets his speak for him, feeling it throb in his too-tight jeans as Jungkook edged them on. God, the things he wanted to do to this man and have done to him. He's a mess under the other's taunts and he forgot why he'd even started this to begin with.

"No," Hyunjin immediately whines when Jungkook pulls away. His lips chase after Jungkook's like a child following their confiscated candy. "We can be fast... Lix shouldn't be here for a bit anyway," Hyunjin tries, but it's no use. His boyfriend is already pulling away with a tented problem of his own. "You owe me," he says as he leaves. Though once they had to make introductions with Felix he was going to regret ever saying that.

With a sigh, he turns to the wall that Jungkook had him pressed on only moments earlier. His forehead presses into the textured paint and glaring at his . He didn't deserve this hardon. What was he going to tell Jungkook? What would Felix say when they met again? Hyunjin hadn't exactly been the friendliest to him. He was a bigger for instigating it all. Ach. He bumps his head into the wall with a groan. "."

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ It was clear from her every actions and word (for as few as she spoke) that Yewon was nervous. Byul couldn’t blame her, not really. Even if she did not see herself as a star in any way, she knew people did and meeting someone you admired was always a difficult tightrope to walk. Or perhaps that was too bold of her to think. She had once been like Yewon herself, back in her days of poetry jams and rap battles. She had met men and women whom she admired and adored, and had stumbled her way through interactions with them as if she herself wasn’t worthy. It was first upon meeting Tiff that things had changed for her. Through her boss she had learnt more of her own worth and value, being able to assert herself more and stand toe to toe with giants.

She couldn’t blame Yewon if she was feeling any of those feelings, if that truly was what this was. She had seemed so confident over text that it simply could have been as straight forward as her just being less extroverted than she had seemed. That was the reasoning she had given and Byul was not one to so soon call a trainee a lier, especially not over something rather small.

Perhaps she had been too quick to jump to her conclusions about the lyrics as well. Having only had the one chance to listen to it so far, she had mostly gone off of gut feeling when giving Yewon her view on it. That said, Byul could not help but appreciate that Yewon was asserting herself at least a little as she spoke back. This was her song after all, and no one would know better what it meant than her.
“Aight, that’s fair. Guess the anger part was more personal interpolation from my part. To express the frustrations and all,” Byul added with a chuckle. “Hmmm….” There was no doubt they could figure out the right words together, but even with Byul assistance it would eventually be up to Yewon what felt right.

“Eh, don’t worry too much. You’ll get the hang of it with time. Rap just… writes different than usual lyrics. You get to speak more from the heart, or at least I do. Can’t say what goes for everyone else, but I feel I get my meaning out more when I can use the emphasis more readily as a tools, you feel me?” Then again, a lot of her lyrics had been about anger. It was only in more recent years that she had pivoted to write about… well, anything.

The sudden jolt from the trainee took her by surprise, her hand yanking back towards her chest as confusion crossed her face. Had she done something wrong? Was the original suspicion of being too forward physically right? It had seemed so far that Byul had misread a lot about Yewon, so she had just assumed that her initial thought had been wrong too. At least until she saw the way Yewon had reacted.
She was so baffled by the suddenness of it all, she couldn’t even offer to help her gather her things, seeing as Yewon was done picking it all up before the shock had left Byul’s system. One of the many notepads landed before her, open with the lyrics the girl had written, yet Byul could only focus on one thing.

She put the notebook aside on the table, tilting her head a little but otherwise keeping her distance to not create another reaction like that. “Hey, kiddo… You don’t have to apologize, really,” she cooed gently, hands lifted to show she meant no ill intent. “If anything it seems I overstepped a boundary, and I’m sorry about that. Shouldn’ have been so cavalier about just putting my hand on you without asking first, that’s my bad.” Byul folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head. “I’m sorry.” One step forward… Two steps back…

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Yewon could only offer a short and almost mute chuckle in reply, unconsciouly bowing her head once more. 'What has even gotten over me.' She was usually one to be super sure of herself (not necessarily on the inside, but there was this self-assured, confident girl façade she had created, and she made sure to never break in front of anyone), but it would seem as though, for some reason, Byul managed to complete break her out of it. This wasn't exactly Yewon's "true" self, but it was undoubtedly something different for her, for her nervousness to show this much, and she wasn't the greatest fan of this.

There goes Yewon's plan of causing the best first impression. One is always automatically attracted to confident people, and that's exactly what Yewon had in mind, being confident (or pretending to be so) was already something she did everyday, so nothing more to add to it there. Easy. Halfway to Byul's heart. In her head at least.

The trainer's feedback was the most important thing in the world to her. However 'anger? that.. doesn't seem quite right?'. Yewon certainly didn't feel any anger, at least not towards Byul. She definitely wasn't angry about the high probability of the trainer never returning her feelings... it didn't feel right.
"Anger? Hm.. I don't think I fe- I mean, I don't think that's what I had in mind for this track? Sure the person is frustrated about their unrequited love but.. it's not the other person's fault so.. why would she be angry?"

It wasn't that Yewon couldn't understand what the other was telling her, but never having been in a relationship herself, the only time she ever felt any type of way towards anyone was exactly when she discovered Byul, and it would never make sense in her head to be angry at her for not liking her back.. but perhaps that was because deep down Yewon knew this 'relationship' was purely a fan-idol one, and so the feelings would definitely be different from a normal relationship. Yewon just couldn't exactly comprehend.

As Byul leaned closer, Yewon had almost reached breaking point. How many times had she flinched ever since she sat down? How many times was she to clear from how dry it was, to swallow dry and feel tiny little dropplets of sweat forming on the back of her neck? There had to be a limit to all this anxiety and all this tension, so when would that limit be reached? Because so far it has just kept growing and growing, leaving Yewon on the very edge.

"I-I guess so.. I'm not used to writing lyrics, let alone about this.. topic, so maybe I can just adapt it.."

The breaking point was reached. Yewon was still processing said trainer's words, all the way up until her very very last one, a compliment she had so very surely been waiting for, and hoping to get (she wasn't great and she knew it, but in her mind she wasn't all that bad, and Byul confirmed it, she had the talent for it), but the very last drop fell to the floor, almost like a nuclear bomb really. That one single touch, that squeeze in her shoulder was much like electricity, and well, Yewon was already a ticking bomb, we can very much say that squeeze was what ignited the fuse at last.

Yewon stood up from her chair (more like jumped, but let's keep it at that for her sake. What's to follow is embarrassing enough), basically dropping everything she held in her lap and hiting the table with her elbow in the process. The adrenaline was too much for her to feel any pain, but it surely wasn't enough for her to overlook the way her heart was beating now, her ears ringing uncomfortably as she bent down to pick her things back up, setting them on the table this time to ensure this didn't happen again (if we're being fair, she would probably just run fom the room if this happened again, we're not even sure how she managed to remain for so long giving her current state).

"S-sorry. I- uhm, thank you. Here" she placed her notepad in front of Byul. The trainee had anticipated this scenario, which is why she created a second notepad with no incriminatory notes or drawings of her late night creations and imaginations. Sitting back down, she remained silent, keeping her head and eyes low as her bottom lip was thoroughly abused in exchange for her newly formed tears of frustration to not fall victim to gravity. 'Way to go Yewon. Idiot.'

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ “Hey, what did I say about all the formality?” Byul chuckled when the girl bowed her head in thanks, waving a hand in the air to signal that she could relax. The smile and a small thanks had been all Byul needed, and not until they were actually done. There was so much more for the two of them to go through before their session was over that if Yewon was to thank for each step she’d be like a drinking bird by the end of it. “We’re all friends at DSF anyways, ain’t we?” she added with a gummy smile.

As Yewon began delving deeper into the origin of her lyrics, explaining the intention she had when writing, Byul began making some mental notes on ways to help improve the composition of the text overall. Much of it was mainly focused on delivery. Lyrics about frustration and impossible unanswered love could be conveyed through frustration. “Anger,” Byul spoke quietly, nodding her head to Yewon’s description. “So far the lyrics seem almost hopeful. But if it is as impossible as you say, shouldn’t the singer be angry? Frustrated?” She leaned a little closer. “You got the lyrics written down somewhere? We can go over a few of the lines. Make ‘em go from ‘this is sad’ to ‘ the heavens’, if you know what I’m saying?”

Rap was always like that. Delivery on its own could not help corny lyrics, nor could lyrics themselves make a good rap with no flow. The two always worked together in tandem, hand in hand to make a good song. So to get it all right they would have to start from the basics. “Trust me, given some time we’ll make this frustrating love story hit the hearts of those who listen. They can be angry alongside you, rally to your side in support.” The hand that had hovered near Yewon earlier finally landed on the girl’s shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze. “You’ve got the makings of a good rap star in there. I can tell.”

Her composition was already great. It was evident enough there that Yewon had studied a lot of hip hop for her influence on the beat. It wasn’t complex, but sometimes there was artistry in simplicity. The deliberate choice to know when not to add more. To let what she had created already shine. All she needed was to do the same with her voice and Byul had no doubt this would be a banger track.

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Yewon was all too observant and extremely aware of her surroundings, specially when she was in *her* presence, which is exactly why there was no way the other's movements would go by unnoticed. Quite the opposite actually. Caughting the motion in the corner of her eye made her extremely nervous. It pretty much felt as if in slow motion and Yewon shivered in antecipation of the other's touch which-

Never came.

Was she disappointed? Well.. of course, yes. But was she also somewhat relieved because she definitely would've jumped out of her chair making a fool of herself? '.... also yes.'
What was Byul thinking though, why was she thinking of initiating contact all of a sudden? Needless to say Yewon took this in polar opposite way; was she going to make a move on her? Just like this, out of nowhere? But they'd just met, this was way too fas-
'Stop it. Do you really think SHE would do this, let alone with you? Just focus and move on Yewon.'

The song played through the speakers quite loudly (and way too fast), Yewon had only time to peek at the trainer sneakily a couple times so as to not seem to obvious, mentally patting herself in the back as said trainer seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her composition. A content expression now covered her face at the sight of it, but the song was over way too quickly, and now was the part she feared all along. She was extremely confident in her track, it was just the rap itself that she had no idea how Byul would take it. Even leaving the words which made up the lyrics aside, the rap flow was extremely simple and made the backtrack no justice.

With all of this said and even with her being oh so confident, Byul's compliments echoed in her head causing her to blush for nth time since she had entered the room just a couple minutes ago. It was one thing being recognized, but by her muse? Her heart surely wasn't taking it lightly as it danced around just as if the music had never really stopped. A small "Thank you" accompanied by a short and polite bow of her head was all she had managed to present back, even if she couldn't help the silly smile that was plastered on her face.

'Flow and pronunciation.. got it.' That's what she must improve today to impress Byul. No matter how hard it is, she'd have to adapt to it and cause a good impression. Gulping at the mention of the meaning of her lyrics, Yewon tried to explain it while also making it sound less... stalker-ish? "Ah yes it's- I wanted to portray the feeling and frustrations of being infatuated with someone even though it was impossible for them to be together-" (for reasons that to us sound obvious, but that she couldn't really explain without exposing herself and her intentions) "but I- I think I messed it up a little. I'm more used to creating the tracks themselves so writing the topline and the lyrics is a bit hard.. plus I had never tried rapping so.. this is what came out of that" and with this she looked up at the trainer tentively, awaiting for whatever feedback she was still going to offer her, all the while nervously fidgeting with her left sleeve.

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ She smiled when Yewon nodding, happy that at least they had established some point of communication, even if it was nearly non-verbal. It could prove to make things a bit more difficult, but it just meant she would have to give it her best to just ask yes or no questions. And to not make it too overwhelming. If it was true that Yewon wasn’t great at talking it probably also meant she was not great with people talking too much at her either. It explained why she had chosen to contact her about the session over text though, leaving out the awkward pauses that would come along with phonecalls. Even Byul herself hated those, and she did not mind talking to anyone; stranger or friend.

As much as it appeared that Yewon was calm, Byul could not help but notice the occasional shakiness in her hands as she began setting up her laptop. Part of her wanted to reach out with a comforting touch. She knew it was just her instinct to always ensure someone was okay, but was always way too aware of how even a genuine act of concern could be perceived as a slight or attack in the wrong situation.

Unknowingly, she had already began moving her hand up towards Yewon’s back, hovering just a bit away from the younger. Byul hurriedly pulled back, instead settling her hand on the back of Yewon’s chair, holding the back tightly to keep herself from accidentally doing something stupid that could mess up the day. All she had to do was just sit back and wait. Yewon was a big girl and could fix all this herself. Even if she was nervous there was no need for Byul to be overbearing.

When all seemed to be prepared, she withdrew her hand, placing it beneath her chin instead as she rested her elbow on her knee. Her gaze was on the wall, not any particular spot as she was trying to zone out all senses but her hearing.
The bass was the first thing to hit. It was dirty. The kind of bass she herself had preferred back in her underground days. It tickled just right, making the rapper furrow her brows and smirk. For a first time thing and saying she wasn’t good, she wasn’t half bad. There were certainly things that could be dine about the flow and the lyrics were a bit… strange. It was hard to really put her finger on it, but she was certain she would find out more once she asked questions after.

By the end of the she was slowly nodding her head along to the rhythm, her foot tapping the beat out into thing air. It did not feel like it had been that long, meaning the composition so far was already good. “You said you weren’t very good, but I’ve heard way worse from first-timers, trust me,” Byul chuckled as she leaned back in her chair. “We need to work a bit on your flow and pronunciation; ensure you put the emphasis on the right spots of the lines to bring out the rhyming scheme. Could potentially put in some unorthodox rhyme patterns too. You already went unorthodox with the lyrics. Is it a love song kinda? Like… a confession or something?” Her attention finally turned to Yewon, leaving her with the simple yes or no in case she didn’t want to go into detail.

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ It wasn't that Yewon wasn't talkative, it was quite the opposite actually. This was the first time she had ever been at a loss for words and so the only thing she could do was nod back as Byul suggested, opening up her laptop in the progress and scooching just a tad closer to her (in order to be able to also connect her computer to the equipment.. obviously). She had managed to calm down just a bit when compared to earlier, but now she faced another challenge: actually showing Byul her work. There was never a time when Yewon had been shy or scared to show something she'd made, she was confident in herself just enough to either know just how good it actually was or to proudly receive and apply constructive criticism.

This time was different however. Not only was the most important person in her life the judge, but also one: the whole thing was about said person in the first place (sure, you wouldn't get that from just the melody, but the lyrics she had managed to write showed a clear declaration of love from its composer) and two: she had spent an enormous amount of time working on this. Anyone would be nervous to show something that took this much work, something this close to one's heart.

Nevertheless, Yewon focused her attention on connecting everything where she needed to, opening up the track still on her editor and politely sitting back on her seat. Yewon was prepared to examine every and all change of her muse's expression (although she had to try extremely hard to focus on doing so, instead of simply losing herself in Byul's features and admiring her for the whole 3 minutes or so), and so she pushed the button that started it all.

A deep hiphop sound began to creep from the speakers, a powerful and loud bass following the melody and changing its rhythm every once in a while. The rap flow was not the best, and probably neither were the lyrics, but Yewon had gotten so used to them by now that she was unkowingly mouthing the lyrics along to her own recorded voice, small gestures flowing from her as the muscle memory kicked in from the long nights she had spent in the practice room creating a choreography for this same track. After all, her idea was to present this as a full and complete hiphop track, song and choreo created from scratch by her, for *her*.

The only thing left... was Byul's reaction and review.

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Finally seeing the woman look up made Byulyi’s smile brighten, feeling like perhaps she was stepping one spot closer to success. “Good, good,” she cooed, giving a small nod. “Not being talkative we can get by, so long as you don’t mind listening. And a nod or shake of your head is always an answer too, right? Can’t go wrong with that.” She folded her arms over her chest, leaning back a little in her seat with a satisfied expression. ‘Baby steps,’ she thought to herself, catching the way the girl fumbled with her bag.

“Sure, I don’t mind that.” Her hand came up to tap the tabletop next to her own computer, the needed connections and cables already lying presented so she could show off her work. No matter how much Yewon said she wasn’t good at this or that Byulyi knew better than to trust her. It was the insecurities talking, no doubt. After all, if Tiff and Seohyun believed in her then there was no doubt she held some considerable talent behind the shy facade. “Hook it up and give it a whirl, then we can discuss your ideas for where you’re taking it and all after that. How’d that sound?”

Honestly, that was a weight of her chest somewhat too. Being able to somewhat break the ice with her before showing her what she herself had worked on would hopefully make Yewon’s reactions more genuine when the time came. That and hopefully lessened the shock she’d feel if she listened to the lyrics. Though Byulyi had made no attempt to make the message subtle, she had put in just enough plausible deniability to explain it away when the press would eventually ask. But in here there was no need to hide. Or at least she hoped so. DSF had always seemed a sort of safe haven amongst all the rest of society’s judgement.

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ () I'm probably also keeping the next ones relatively short(er)!

Yewon's head was spinning. She just now realised she hadn't really gotten much to eat today and all the stress and anxiousness had only made everything worse since she arrived at the studio. Her body was the one paying for it. Nevertheless, Yewon did her best to stay alert, even when the loudness of her heart beat somewhat muffled what Byul was saying. However, there was one thing she was definitely able to make out, and that was that, as opposed to what she was expecting, the trainer was actually going to allow her to listen to the unreleased track. It's not that Yewon doubted Byul, but due to its importance, it was highly unlikely a mere trainee like her would be allow to hear it before it was released. Yewon figured she had just accepted it to shush the trainee. She was prepared to have Byul try and either get out of it somehow or just not mention it at all in the hopes the trainee would forget (Yewon would never, obviously, but she was more than ready to pretend for Byul).

Before she could even reply (what exactly was she to reply, not even she knew. She wasn't expecting to actually be given this opportunity and so thinking about whether it would happen before or after never really crossed her mind), there was a soft "Hey" dancing around her ears, ears which had now turned fully red at the sudden and unexpected approach of said trainer. There had been an unintentional push back of her back against the chair, hands now fully bending the material of her jeans as she swallowed dry, the butterflies in her stomach flying around even more vigorously. 'What is she thinking..'.

"I'm sorry, it's not that! I don't think that at all! I'm just not uh, very good at talking to people" That was sort of a lie, but a lie that made her finally look Byul in the eyes, her own pair slightly widened in worries she had offended her. A lie in the sense she had no problems talking to others, but partially true because well, she didn't enjoy talking to people, so most just thought she was rude when in reality she simply didn't care for their troubles. She was only this nervous... because it was her. Her, right in front of Yewon. "Maybe we can get my song over with before? I'm a bit nervous about it.." This wasn't what she actually wanted, but it felt like the best thing to say.

@☼ hwang hyunjin he hums into another kiss, tongue finding itself in hyunjins mouth. he could taste the mixture of coffee concentrate and mint; jungkook grips at hyunjins hips firmly pressing him down onto his thigh. there was something so... exhilarating in the way neither of the two could keep their hands off one another for more than five seconds. they have practically defiled every space in which they occupied.

"want you bad, wanna see you leaking for me" he breathes out , gently bumping noses with hyunjins. he wanted nothing more than to rip their clothes off and give hyunjin exactly what he was begging so beautifully for, but he knew they were pushing their luck especially since they were here for practice with another person who could walk in any second.

"baby, we have to stop," he manages to bring himself out of the lustful haze. reluctantly, he pulls away albeit with a bit of a struggle because hyunjin is much stronger than he looks. "someone could walk in and if they see us mid - well that's self explanatory."
Jungkook look down and of course there was a tent forming in his black jeans causing a sigh to leave him. "you're unsustainable hwang hyunjin. I'm going to go get rid of this and when I get back no more demons time," he gives his boyfriend a pointed look as if he wasn't just grinding his thigh into hyunjins crotch. "don't miss me too much," the singer taunts while heading out the door quickly.

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ [ going to probably be a bit shorter replies during their conversation, just to get snappier responses ]

“For as many times as you say it’s fine, I am going to reiterate that I want to make up for it,” Byulyi commented with a slight chuckle. Even if Yewon was doing it to be kind or even if it was to up to her, Byul was the kind of stubbornly determined woman to want to make things right. It was a sense of fair justice she had always carried with her ever since her days of couchsurfing. If she broke something, that was for her to fix, even if she was forgiven. “Speaking of making up for things. I did promise you to show you what I’m working on. I-“ She took a deep breath, glancing towards the door before nodding. “I don’t normally do this, but I owe you. So you can choose if you want to listen to that first or not.”

“Cause you did mention your trio project song.”
Byulyi sat back in her seat, her right leg crossed over her left knee and her hands folded in her lap. It was not hard to see that the girl was nervous, from the light hint of pink in her cheeks to the way she would keep looking down instead of facing her as they spoke. It was a cute reminder that for s bold as the trainee had been, she too was still human.

“Hey.”
Perhaps all she needed was a bold approach too. Byulyi leaned closer, trying to catch Yewon’s gaze with a soft smile. “You don’t have to be nervous. I may be a coach, but I’m not like the ones you see in movies. I’m not going to yell at you if you mess up. Think of me more as a… helpful buddy.” It sounded so stupid, but she wanted to ease Yewon’s mind one way or another. So despite how goofy it might have come off, Byul sat there smiling.

“As for your project so far, can’t know until I’ve heard it, now can I? I’m sure it’s all fine,” she continued on, turning to the stand her laptop was on and rummaging for the cables to hook up Yewon’s laptop so she could show off what she had so far. “And even if there are stumbles, then we will just get past those together.”

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ It was all as if in slowmotion. She could just about make out the figure inside the booth slowly approaching the door, each step causing her heart to jump a beat as she fumbled with her hands, the blurriness of the other subsiding by the second. She could make out her hair now, had she cut it? It's true she hadn't really seen her for a while, she was in the middle of the preparations for her mini so there weren't that many events happening, but she could definitely swear something about her hair felt different.

'It's no too late to run.' Luckily or unluckily for Yewon however, said figure had just now pushed the door open, greeting her with the sweetest of smiles. It was happening.

This all felt like a dream, and not like the multiple dreams she'd had before no, this was not only well, not a dream, but also a hundred times more surreal. Byul was otherworldly.. purely mesmerizing. The way her simple yet modish shirt fell over her delicate skin, jeans just the right shade to complement said t-shirt and to only further emphasize her pale skin; she was glowing. There was this aura around her, and Yewon was much like a deer in headlights. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined herself frozen in spot at this godly sight, but she did her best to shake it off, politely shaking her head as she stepped inside, the cold air from the booth sending shivers down her spine (this was, obviously, partially because of the air, partially because of the person standing right in front of her, but as one can guess, mostly due to the latter). "Ah no- it's okay really!" Byul's next words, much like the ones she'd sent in that text a couple days ago, pierced her heart like an arrow, imagination running wild for just a split second as a faint blush crept to her cheeks.

This short interaction went by in a flash and before she could even notice it, Byul had already taken a sit and was most likely waiting for her to do the same. Yewon rushed to a random chair not too close not too far from her, tripping on herself and almost dropping her things. She steadied herself as a not so subtle thud from her foot hitting the ground in order to regain her balance echoed in the small booth. Fortunately Byul appeared to be finishing up something on her computer and didn't seem to notice, or if she did she chose not to react so as not to embarrass the girl. Yewon took a deep breath as she reached for the chosen chair. 'Get yourself together.'

With her bag on her lap, she took hold of both her computer and her notepad, making sure to also grab a random pen to make it look like she was actually there to get some tips, which she was of course to jot down in said notepad. Setting both those things on the table and her bag on the floor next to her, Yewon timidly cleared , facing the muse of her latest creation with a heart that didn't seem to be calming down anytime soon, damp hands gripping the fabric of her jeans over her knees.

"I-I'm working on a song for the trio project. I wanted to to do something different and write a rap song, but I've never rapped before and so far I have only been able to finish the instrumental and some parts here and there but... it doesn't sound too great." This was all said with her eyes fixed on the booth's carpet. It wasn't at all a lie by any means, she had never truly ventured through this type of music, so it was definitely something new for her. The reason as to why exactly she had chosen to do so... well, one can guess wasn't just because she wanted to do something different.

The few seconds before Byul's response were spent going through all the things Yewon had wanted to say to her, mental notes flying about as if waiting for the right opportunity to be crossed off. There was just so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to know. These next few hours were her one and only chance to get to know Byul (and hopefully cause a good impression). Yewon bit her bottom lip quite roughly before taking the final breath before the conversation started, gathering her thoughts and planning out everything she wanted to say, and do.

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Though she knew she didn’t have a lot of time before Yewon would show up, Byulyi had been certain that if she just focused she could get in a few notes or edits. It would be quick. A single listen through the song while taking notes, then a quick check through of a few spots she had written down. With the time codes and everything at hand this would be a cakewalk, and all in just a few minutes.

Of course, in the process of thinking all this and putting her earphones in, she had already spent half the allotted time before Yewon showed up. In fact, she was so lost in listening to the song she had just barely made out a knock over the sound of her music. It wasn’t until the second knock she plucked on earphone out and turned to face the door. Through the door she could see her, standing there expectantly and waiting. Byulyi’s face went through shock, surprise and bewilderment all in the span of half a second before a bright gummy smile spread in its place.

Putting her earphones by the side of her pen, she hurried over towards the door, hands fumbling at her tucked dark t-shirt to ensure it stayed properly in place. One would always have to look at least a little presentable when one took on a student. No one could learn anything if they were more distracted by a teacher’s looks or clothing that the topic and material they were teaching. The very same went for music. It was the ears that were most important, so any visual stimuli that could distract from that would be horrid.

Byulyi gave herself a short glance in the mirror on the opposite wall. Yeah, this should do fine. Just a black t-shirt tucked into her dark jeans. Nothing too eyecatching. Her attention turned back to the woman behind the door as she hurriedly opened it. “Why are you just waiting outside, huh? Come on,” she happily greeted the younger and nodded towards the room. “Again, sorry about two days ago. But I’ve cleared up my schedule to give you the time you need for… whatever it is you need.”

She didn’t stand there long, leaving the door open as she hurried back to her laptop. Even if she had promised to show Yewon her current project, it did not mean she had to give her full access to everything. And even though it still needed a bit of omph to be completed, it was getting closer to where she had wanted it to be all along. A quick note on her little notebook and a few keystrokes later, Byulyi closed the laptop and spun around, clapping her hands once in excitement.

“Okay. I’m all yours for the next… 2 or so hours, at least. So whatever project you’re working on or skill you need to brush up on, lay it on me and we’ll see where we can get from there, yeah?”

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ One can only imagine how someone with an obsession as big as Yewon's would sleep the very night before meeting the subject of said obsession. And let it be clear that by this we mean... she didn't. At all. She had tried to, granted, but her mind was way too alert and thought-filled to be able to properly shut down for the night, not even those trustworthy flips of the pillow to keep it cool had managed to sent her off into dreamland. Well, if we're being honest this dreamland of hers and her actual imagination weren't all that different. Byul here, Byul there. Random thoughts about Byul, random ideas of things to say to her, random not so sfw ideas which we won't discuss here, for both parties' sake. More like, for Yewon's sake, but we get it.

With all the tossing and turning, her bed sheets had been pushed to the floor in a matter of hours, but not even the cold of the night air managed to tear her away from her musings. However, as the shy rays of light peered through the tiny tiny spaces of her blinds, Yewon basically jumped from her bed. What had she been doing all this time? She didn't know what to wear, what to do with her hair, with her makeup. She didn't even have her things ready, only piles of crumpled paper by her desk, notebooks everywhere, laptop completely dead due to her connecting it to her pods as she listened to the softest of voices all night in hopes it would help her sleep. Reality was stronger however, and hence the sleepless night.

If her room wasn't a mess by the time she got up (which it was), it surely was after a long hour. Clothes and shoes everywhere. Yewon had undoubtedly tried on every piece of clothing she owned, trying to match anything to anything. 'What does Byul even like?' (We'll have to excuse her, let us pretend this behavior stemmed only and purely from her lack of sleep).

A couple more minutes went by and she was still not satisfied with anything, but time was closing in on her and she just had to accept this was the final look. She'd have to make it up with her hair and makeup. Yewon paired some loose mid-wash jeans with a simple pastel blue shirt, a tiny bag and some accessories here and there. She spent roughly the same amount of time doing her hair, settling for a somewhat natural look but still noticeably cared for, as well as her makeup (which she had also kept quite simple, some darker brown shadow under her outer corner and a burnt-orange lip).

There were still lessons she had to attend (she wasn't allowed to skip any anymore) but luckily she'd managed to finish what she hopped she would (lyrics aside, that part is a big big issue), so that at least gave her some peace of mind. The morning passed by so so slowly, the antecipation of what was to happen in a couple hours distracting her every chance it could. Nonetheless, all did eventually go by, and there were only around 30 minutes left until the scheduled time.

Except she couldn't bring herself to move. Her feet were fully stuck to the ground, butterflies in her stomach making her feel like she'd need to find the nearest bathroom asap. No amount of mental slaps managed to free her, but time was ticking away and there was no way she'd be late. Pulling out her phone, the trainee confirmed that she was headed the right away, arriving and the rented booth in just a few minutes. She was so nervous that even the door seemed extremely intimidating, but a quick peek to her phone alerted her she had just under 2 minutes before she was late.

She had rehearsed this in her mind all night, but to no one's surprise the words got caught in , and the only thing she could physically muster the courage to do was to lightly knock on the somewhat translucent glass door she had been standing in front of.

"Hm hi, it's Yewon!"

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ When the day of the one on one came Byulyi had been sure to get up extra early, practically rising with the sun itself. She had wanted to ensure everything was done ahead of time so she would be able to get to the session without interruptions. It was the least she could do for a trainee brave enough to ask, then kind enough to forgive when the first session went down the drain. So with a travel mug of steaming hot tea in hand she greeted the sun’s first rays between the nearby buildings of the neighbourhood, smiling just as brightly back at them as she unlocked her car.

The drive in had been peaceful. It was almost comforting how few cars had been out there that early, mostly seeing taxis in either direction on her way to the office. Even in the usually filled parking lot there was plenty of free spots, though she had her usual one that she eased her car into. No need to break routine just because she was early.

Every step she took was followed by another automatic light firing up as she made her way to her workstation. There was certainly tasks she’d have to get to immediately, but with so much time on her hand Byulyi felt ready to take on anything. And for quite a large chunk of the day, she was taking on everything and anything. Even things that would normally annoy her was met with can do attitude. She was on such a high of right choices that she barely noticed time passing.

Until the notification finally popped up on her phone:
2PM - Yewon 1on1
Fifteen minutes left.

Byulyi downed the rest of her tea, now tepid from having been out for so long, before grabbing her laptop and bag to head off. She had reserved one of the practice booths for the next three hours and cleared her schedule, meaning the time was exclusively available for the trainee to ask her questions, fire off her ideas and for the two to work together on- Well, whatever work Yewon was currently occupied with. Few asked for private tutelage, meaning Yewon must either have been very confident or extremely desperate for more guidance.

That and the promise of her showing off her current project. She doubted that it would get signed off on by the higher ups, but what harm could there be in showing off one B-side from a mini? So long as she made sure Yewon wasn’t recording, they could talk about it openly. Because she would certainly not share that kind of information on… Would she?

She placed her laptop down on the standing desk in the corner, ready to be hooked up when the conversation eventually would arise. It felt a lot more real now that she was waiting for the minutes to tick by. Had it been a foolish promise to give up information like this so easily to a trainee? Perhaps. Perhaps she could get a first impression though, seeing how the song would impact someone who did not know that much about her. Like an informal testing group, except with only one member.

A quick glance at her phone told her it was still another 10 minutes until Yewon would be there. That gave her a little time to further tweak her files. Perfect. With her face towards the screen and back to the door, Byulyi began listening to the new edits of the song, looking over what info the mixers had sent over.

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ The cold morning breeze was exactly what was keeping Yewon awake at the moment. She was never fully able to withstand a proper all-nighter, and today, although it wasn't that much of an exception, she had at least managed to remain conscious all the way until the entrance of the company. It was still quite early in the morning, not even the sun was fully out yet. There was only the slightest hint of light lighting up the sky, not nearly enough to illuminate the road she was walking on, but she really liked this time of the day. It was, in fact, her favorite part of the day. It was still early to the point there wasn't anyone around, but the pastel colors that filled the sky while everything else was still dark gave her a sense of serenity and peace. One would often find Yewon lost, staring at the sky for a couple minutes too long on her daily commute to the company, simply thinking of nothing and enjoying all the different colors that painted the sky.

The morning was going by in a breeze however; all her lessons had been cut short due to preparations for the trio project submissions and- oh, that reminded her. She had to make some serious progress on her track if she wanted to show it to Byul tomorrow. It was still in its early stages, not even a topline had been written yet, only the base with the instruments and all the other effects she had added in this morning.
'I guess I could just skip a few lessons and go work on this earlier.' The other trainers had been pretty lenient with this, some trainees had even taken the opportunity to stay at home and sleep for a while longer, using said project as pretext.
Yewon didn't feel bad skipping only because she was, in contrast to those in that situation, actually working on it, not because she was actually excited about it but... well, because.

Wondering around the hallways she passed through everyday, she wasn't too sure if trainees were allowed to use the recording booths by themselves, but as she'd barely seen anyone around during this time of the day, she sneakily infiltrated into one and connected her things to the equipment in the blink of an eye. Reaching for her bag, Yewon made way on the small table for her notebook (which was by now filled with random lyrics, some of them roughly crossed out in what one could certainly recognize as frustration. She wasn't exactly lying when she said she needed those lessons), grabbing her phone in the progress and setting it on top of the stack of paper. It was only then that she realized there was a fresh text awaiting her on said device, and she once again opened it at the speed of light (fumbling with it in the progress, but at this point there's nothing new about that).

Reading through the trainer's reply, a smile involuntarily crept into her expression as she reclined back onto her chair and brought her hand to her face, shyly bitting her nails in excitment (and well, giggling like a little girl, but perhaps it's best one leaves this type of information out).

'There is without a doubt no one kinder than you in this world... How are you so.. gentle and empathetic towards someone you know nothing about..' It wasn't the first time she'd contemplated over these thoughts, but it always amazed her lonely brain just how one could be this way.

As much as thinking about Byul was her favorite thing to do, time wouldn't stop for her as she did so, and so she made sure to reply to the trainer before getting back to her things, jotting down thoughts and ideas in the hopes some type of flow would come out of them.

"If there's even the tiniest bit of your soul in that song.. there's no reason for it not to blow up." She meant this with her whole heart. You know what they say, if Byul has 1000 fans, she's one of them. If she has 10 fans, she's one of them. If she has 1 fan, it's undoubtedly her. If she has no fans.... then Yewon is no longer in this world.
"As for the sesh :quinting_face_with_tongue:, don't worry about it, I trust you! ^^"
"I'll see you tomorrow!"

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Her gaze had remained on the message she had sent for a while longer. It felt silly to think a reply would pop in at this hour of the night, but one could never know with trainees and creative folks. Some would sit up to the most ungodly hours of the night to write or compose, forgetting their need for sleep in the midst of their muse, pushed on by pure unadulterated creative passion. Yewon could certainly be one of them. The fact that she had built up the courage to ask for a one on one session itself was proof of that. If she had to build up courage at all. Byulyi had seen plenty trainees acting with a confidence of a full fledged star from the get go, as if they believed they could take on any challenge needed and come out the other end smiling still.

The thoughts were enough to make her grin, her eyes already half closed as sleepy started weaseling its way back in. Though she was reserved about her own private life, Byulyi was very invested in that of the trainees and idols of the company. She wanted to help inspire each of them for the future, to give them a path to walk on that she herself had struggled to pave. To ensure that her own hardship could silently fuel the idols of tomorrow without them having to experience the same. Yewon was one such girl. She wanted to grant her the time for a one on one so she could improve on the skills she felt needed work, and that they could do so together at Yewon's own pace outside of a bigger class.

Byulyi reached for the remote, hoping that she could somehow wake herself enough to see if Yewon replied if she put on something loud. Though it was far from her typical taste in entertainment she had selected some random action movie, instantly casting her living room with orange hues from the loud explosions of the opening scene. Couldn't fault them for getting to the 'good stuff' fast. But even then, with the noise and lights and her eyes on the screen she could not for the life of her stave off the exhaustion of the long day that had passed. Despite her best efforts her eyes were slowly fluttering shut, leaving the rappers body slumped out on her couch, still clutching her phone in her hand.

______________________________________________________________

Morning came with a jolt when the phone in her hand rang its usual morning alarms. Byulyi let out a pained groan as she tried to gather her senses to chase away the remnants of her less than stellar sleep. When had she even fallen asleep? She vaguely remembered a movie, though no details of what actually happened was fuzzy at best.

Her legs swung off the couch, followed by a large stretch and yawn. The couch was no great substitute for her bed, but it had served its valuable duty last night nonetheless. She glanced over to the teacup, the little liquid remaining surely as cold as water from the fridge at this point. “Well… Good morning me,” she grumbled a little to herself, not really wanting to get up, but knowing she still had a packed schedule inn front of her. And there was no way she’d let things push back a day and ruin for the one on one session with Yewon again.
Yewon!

Byulyi’s hand fumbled for her phone. There was a potential it would still be blank, and yet she had a feeling that it would not be. And sure enough, there was a message from the trainee. A small smile snuck its way onto her face as she read through the message, the voice in her head sounding way more chipper after a night of sleep. Then again, that could also just be how Yewon was. She did seem optimistic in her texts.

“I certainly hope it will be. Poured my heart and soul into this piece. And even if it wouldn’t turn out to blow up, perhaps it can help someone that was in my position at one point :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes: That’d be enough for me really. As for the sesh, don’t worry. Triple marked it in my calendar. No forgetting it this time.”

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ (slight warning: some curse words and a not too happy walk home! please only read if comfortable with a little bit of a dark mood and all of that :3 I can re-write into something softer if you'd prefer!)

It was now way past 2 in the morning. Yewon had finally finished her dance practice (and by finished one means she created the choreography, sat down for a small rest, had a not so short existential crisis, went back to the choreography, gathered her things and left), and was on her way home. The dim-lit street was pin-drop quiet, only the faint sounds of faraway crickets could be heard, as well as Yewon's heavy but content steps. Well, content to an extend.

She was usually on the brighter side, and seeing as to how things were going her way for once, one would think she'd be radiant, even if extremely tired. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Remember that not so short existential crisis I mentioned earlier? Well... that, unlike other days, had not been completely buried in the back of her mind. It had been bothering her quite a bit, actually. 'What am I doing? What am I going to do?' ... 'Just shut up. Shut up.'

It was all so frustrating. Why did life have to have a purpose? Why did she have to think about what was coming after? Why was she alone. 'Huh?'. Alone? Since when did she care about being alone? She'd been alone for as long as she could remember, and up until well, apparently now, she was more than happy with that. This train of thoughts accompanied her all the way home, and for some reason the heaviness of the night was weighing on her, more than it usually does. 'All I'm doing is... for nothing. All this work, all these thinks I don't give a about.. for nothing. Wake the up.' was just one of the things running through her mind in that exact second, and she was so glad it was this late into the night and there was no one else around. It wasn't exactly a pretty sight to see someone silently (or at least that's what she would like to believe) sobbing, frustration written all over her face as she angrily wipped some of the tears away. That did nothing though, as a couple more would replace them until she was so tired that she just accepted the wet stream, now dry from the cold night, on her pale cheeks.

It was exactly then, when she was just about 5 minutes away from her dorm, that her phone screen lit up, a short notification sound echoing through the dark and empty street. Everything was blurry as not only was she extremely tired but also because of the thick wall of salt-water covering her eyes (as she likes to call it; afterall, there's no way she'd admit to crying). She stopped on her tracks for a few seconds, contemplating whether this was or wasn't the right time to read the text, and even reply to it. Ultimately, she just couldn't ignore it in the end, and quickly read through it.

'Tomorrow'. That definitely brought a smile to her face. Whether it was a happy smile or a bittersweet smile, one could only wonder. But it was most likely better than the state she had been in for the last few minutes, I think. 'Not the first.. but one of the first.' This for sure brought her mood up, even if just a little. At least for a few seconds. Her arm, in which hand was holding her phone, was left to fall, pulled down by the force of gravity. Yewon's eyes stared into the ground as a couple more salt-water droplets formed on her eyes, eventually even falling right on the concrete in front of her. 'Only you can light me up like this... what am I going to do?'.

We'll leave her alone for the time being, she can surely use some time to sort herself and get home.

As she did so, she didn't really care about the noise it'd make, she was way too disheartened for that, but she simply threw aside all the things she was carrying and dropped to her bed, face first into her cold pillow. We won't touch much on the rest of this night, it was without a doubt something she wouldn't like to think about, or even remember. She did need a couple hours more to calm down, and since by then it was already late (or early, depending on how you looked at it) and she had to be in class in less than 3 hours, an all-nighter was the easiest decision. It's not like she could sleep even if she wanted to.

At this moment she thought she must reply to Byul. Her brain couldn't exactly think about how late it actually was and how inappropriate it was to be texting someone, let alone Byul, and this time. But once again, in her eyes, her brain wasn't being the most logical today. She typed something out before going back to her computer to work on the project.

"Sounds good to me :squinting_face_with_tongue: I'll meet you at 2pm sharp. I have a feeling it'll be one of your best yet!"

And the phone was dropped mindlessly to the floor next to her. She spent the next hours working on her project (but not necessarily getting much done, which one can probably understand why) before finally hopping in the shower, heading for the first class of the day as she put on another happy mask.

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ “Shutdown, shutdown baby… Shutdown… Shutdown.”
The congratulatory words spoken in her headphone fell on deaf ears, her mind already ringing. There was no doubt her fire for the song burned as brightly as it had from the very first moment her pen touched paper to write the lyrics. But the amount of times she had heard the backing track to the song today, she was starting to go tired. Certainly it would fade with some rest, as she was sure this all stemmed from not being used to singing as much as she had on this track, using her voice in ways that were anything but usual for her. That and just the endless repeats. She would do a take she felt was great. They’d find the smallest mistake they could not correct from the mix and she would go again. Sometimes id had just been a run through of the same two lines several times over, to the point where Byulyi could nearly make sense of the words anymore.

Her head kicked back to down the rest of the bottled water by her side, having long since gone tepid, giving some relief as it washed down but not anywhere near what she needed. For a moment she just stood there, head tilted back and eyes closed, letting her mind focus only on her heartbeat to centre herself again. She had done good. They had all done good today.

The lights above felt a bit blinding as she reopened her eyes, turning her gaze to the window with the smiling techs and lifting a hand with an overly animated thumbs up. She was as excited as them, at least deep down, but struggled to get that energy forth. Yet the least she could do was smile and congratulate and thank them for their hard work. There was no doubt they had all spent a few hours in here by now.

She did not fully realize that she had grabbed her phone again before she looked down, spotting her own reflection in its inky black surface. A second passed with her just staring at herself before her finger pressed the lock screen button, seeing the screen light up before her with-
Nothing.
No new texts. No calls.

Had she been wrong about what she wrote in the last text? Perhaps it had been a bit too forceful to underline that she still wanted to make up for her blundering of her schedule, no matter how much Yewon had insisted it was fine. Or perhaps it was something else. Byulyi gave the screen a quick flick of her finger, eyes scanning long the messages as they passed by. Somewhere in there she was sure there was an answer. Even if she wasn’t sure she wanted one.
Promises had always been sacred to her. Ever since she was a kid, she had seen them as the strongest form of trust. A reassurance to underline your intentions. And breaking one hurt more than she was letting on. They were a cornerstone to her very beliefs, and the pain of breaking with that sat with her even as she exited the room.

Her body went through the motions without much thought. A bow here, a few mumbled words of thanks, another bow there, rinse and repeat. It carried on until she was fully out of the studio, left by herself in the hallways outside. The hell was she supposed to do with herself now? It was already late, her plans for the day had been fumbled (by herself) and now she had nothing but a trip back home to a cup of warm lemon tea and honey. Perhaps she’d watch a movie on the couch until she fell asleep. Or just bring the teacup to the loft and watch a movie in bed. It would at least fill the little time left of the day with something that didn’t require a lot of thought. It felt like she needed just that about now.

The elevator dinged as she got to the parking carage, eyes still glued to the blank screen as she walked out towards her car. Minutes ticked by on the display as she sat in the front seat, knowing she should drive and yet not fully managing to get herself to. Not until her tired throat let out a small cough did she fire up the engine, wrestling her eyes away from her phone as she started the trek home.

______________________________________________________________

Hours must have passed, Byulyi wasn’t quite sure. But the TV screen was showing a “keep watching?” message, and the sun had long since set outside the windows. She raised her head slowly, ignoring her own building headache as she sat up slowly. One hand reached for the teacup still standing on the table, raising it towards while grabbing for her phone with the other. The tea was bitter and cold, meaning she had been passed out for at least an hour.
There was momentary trepidation before she clicked the button on the side of her phone, the light flooding to life and filling the room enough to make her instantly squint against it. And right there on the display was a notification. Byulyi rubbed her eyes, trying her best to focus enough to make out the words. A small chuckle escaped her at the complimentary tone in the text. It seemed this Yewon truly was one of those optimistic glass half full kind of people. And as she read the last sentence, she could not help but let out an audible laugh. “Oh, you’re cheeky,” she spoke out loud to herself, shifting to get her blanket better around herself.

“Glad to hear you still think of it as a blessing even after today. I’ll do my best to live up to it-“ Byulyi checked the time. Past midnight already. “-tomorrow when we meet up. As for your request. Can’t promise you’ll be the very first, but you’ll be among the first. Hope that works. And no recording it. Wouldn’t want it leaking out there.”

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Yewon had now managed to drag herself back to the computer, where her unfinished work in progress awaited her. One could say she was feeling a bit calmer now (that is, if you weren't able to take a peek through her mind, which well, you probably can't), she'd picked up her headphones once more, only this time making it so they were fully covering both her ears; working with just half of the sound was giving her a headache and she'd made a couple mistakes by not being fully immersed in it, not to mention the annoying ticking of the clock was most definitely not waiting for her. It was already quite late, at least later than what she'd hoped arriving at this early phase of her project, so she closed herself off for the next hour or so. Byul is way too busy to reply, and so there was (surely) no way she would reply anytime soon.

In reality, she didn't really have to participate in this weird trio project thingy. She just thought it would give her an excuse to plan this lesson out with Byul. Yewon had been forced to take dance lessons from a very young age, and even some singing lessons were forced uppon her in between the multiple instrument practices she was made to attend. This had given her all the basics she needed to get into the line of work. She wasn't one to boast, she truly hated conceited people, but if she were to be honest, her dancing skills were somewhat above average, and although she would never admit to this (she had one passion and one passion only!), there were times she got so absorbed in her practice she ended up going home past 3 in the morning. This of course, led to her arriving late to her commitments the next morning (falling asleep and all), but that's not important to what we're currently trying to get to.

Where even where we? Ah, yes the project. Not only did Yewon excell in dancing, but she could also confidently say her voice was not too bad. She didn't focus much on her lessons back then, she actually hated them so much she'd skip them most of the times, without her parents knowing of course, but she had gotten enough out of them, or at least that's what the recruters thought. All of this to say, rap was nowhere near her mind when auditioning for this company, or ever for what's worth. it was only a while later, receiving that one notification about the trio project, that she'd come up with this absolutely brilliant idea (this of course, in her words). She was already quite good and quite used to composing some pieces here and there. What if she used this is as an excuse to schedule a lesson with Byul, pretending she needed to learn rap for the song she was producing (well, she would need to learn rap for it, that wasn't a lie, but it's not like the song is what made her need to get the lessons, it was more like she made it so the song would be the perfect excuse for it, but Byul didn't need to know that, did she?).

With all the monologue in her head and working on said project, a couple hours ended up passing by, and by now she was completely exhausted. Tossing her headphones aside for the day, Yewon made sure to save her work before turning off her computer. She allowed her head to hang back as she slided down slowly in her chair, closing her eyes for a few seconds as the buzzing from the long hours was slowly but surely fadding off.

'Well, it should be around the time for me to get to dance practice'. It was actually past that time, but who cares. 'Dancing can also be about breaking rules sometimes... right?' she thought to herself, a smile appearing on her lips as she was reminded of Byul's text earlier that day. 'Speaking of which, she probably hasn't replied yet, but I'll check just in ca-' there it was. Not only was the reply from Byul right there, but it also had been sent a few minutes after she had replied herself. Panic. Absolute panic. She had left the Moon Byulyi waiting. Yewon ran to her bed, almost dropping her phone in the process, but she'd managed to stop the fall with her foot (we'll also skip how she spent half a minute on the floor swearing about the pain her pinky was left in after the phone had landed precisely on said toe).

Taking one more deep breath, Yewon (and her shaky hands) finally got to the message. Her eyes skimmed through the next faster than her brain could process the words, and she noticed how the trainer kept sending in long texts and assuring her. 'She's so nice..'.
Going through the whole thing once more, now actually reading it at an acceptable speed (her brain definitely thanks her for it), her eyes landed on (what wasn't supposed to be) a rather suggestive part of the reply.

'If you can think of any way for me to make it up to you, let me know' this was ready in the slowest of motions, an almost cartoonish blush covering Yewon's face right before she slapped her also quite red forehead 'What hell are you thinking Yewon. You're not a teenager anymore, get yourself together'

We'd be naive to believe she didn't spend the next minutes thinking of that (and god knows what more), but once again, for the sake of her image, let's pretend it was just... a split-second thought.
Another deep breath (she sure was taking quite a lot of those today) and she was somehow able to type out her next reply.

"Please, there's really no time to be wasted, I'm just practicing and practicing all day. Being blessed with your teaching will be more than worth it!" This definitely sounds desperate now that she's reading it again, but at the time, it just felt right. We've all been there, unfortunately.
"If you really must make it up to me... show me what you're working on before anyone else ^-^"

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Byul’s mind was trying to keep itself driven to record the track. There was nothing on the mini she cared more for than this track, and she wanted to poor her whole heart into it with every attempt. But that was hard to do with the worries of disappointing a trainee hanging over her. She should have planned better with the stuff already in her calendar when the chance had shown up, yet her mind had been like a tunnel when they had asked her to come in to record that day. Her excitement had simply made her say yes immediately without even checking if it overlapped with anything.

And now Yewon was suffering the consequences. It was unfair, truly.

The door behind her cracked open, making Byul flinch as it coincided a little too close with the vibration of the phone in her hand. One of the assistants had peeked his head in, searching the all clear before stepping in to place two new water bottles on the side table next to the note rack. She flashed him a polite smile and bowed her head in thanks before he disappeared again, leaving her alone with the phone in her hand. It felt somewhat heavy, as if the expectations of the young trainee was lying there in her hand, compressed into a tiny black square.

She sighed, steeling herself for what would be in the message as she unlocked the screen. The blue light flashed up, reflecting off her eyes as she began reading. Even before she had gotten through the first sentence she had already glanced over to see how short the message was in its entirety. That was worrisome. With the disappointment, she had expected to receive at least a few more sentences to explain some of it. But there was none. Yewon had simply restated that it was fine, that the new time was okay and to not think of food.
Byul wasn’t sure if that meant the woman felt good or bad. She had not spoken to her before, at least not directly. All it had been had been a few messages back and forth when they had made the plan originally. For all she knew this was a person that collected things up, letting them build over time until it bubbled over. And yet there was also the chance that she truly was just a jovial and forgiving person that truly did think it was all okay.

Despite it all she could not rid herself of the feeling weighing down on her.
Of course she didn’t want to push anything on the woman. They didn’t really know each other, but it felt like it was too kind of Yewon to forgive her so easily when she had potentially wasted her day, or at least a large chunk of hours of her time. No matter how packed Byulyi’s own schedule was she knew well to respect others’ time as well.

“Busy schedule does not excuse me fumbling the ball like a douche. I’ll try to rid my mind of it, but if you can think of any way for me to make it up to you, let me know.” She stared at the message. That wasn’t enough. That was a cop out. Perhaps she could send her a signed album when the time came. No, oh god, that would have been conceited, wouldn’t it? Byulyi lifted her hand to , chewing nervously on the tip of her thumb as she read through the little she had written so far yet again. Her foot tapped a slow beat against the floor, ignoring the sparking of her headphone on the table.

“A tit for tat, so to speak. I wasted your time, and though you are giving me plenty grace, I feel like I owe you something still.”
That would have to do, she thought to herself, finally picking up on the sound of her headphones. She pressed the send button absentmindedly as she reached for the headphones, knowing that if she hadn’t she would sit there pondering how to respond further for what time remained of her recording session. And god knows that would lead to subpar recordings.

“Ready for another go?”

Byulyi’s lips lifted in a halfhearted smile along with a thumbs up. “Yup, let’s do this!”

@☼ jeon jungkook ʳᵒᵐᵉᵒ They were overindulging in this second honeymoon phase since they'd rekindled their relationship and Hyunjin was here to eat every minute of it up. He let himself be shoved back into the wall, spreading his legs to let his boyfriend's knee rub into him. He leans his head back on the wall, watching him hungrily. A shiver rips up his spine at each of Jungkook's promises. "What are you gonna do about it?" he manages to whisper into the other's lips before they're sealed in a heated kiss.

Hyunjin pulls Jungkook in by his neck, quickly tangling a hand into his hair. He rotates his hips forward for some friction and groans. "Make me a mess," he pleads in a rare gesture while tracing his tongue up Kook's jaw. His distraction plan was backfiring on him, but he's remiss to pass on the opportunity with so little alone time at their disposal.

@☼ hwang hyunjin Jungkook quirks an eyebrow knowingly, the thing about being absolutely obsessed with your significant other and he knew exactly what hyunjin was doing. he was being avoidant , but surely his boyfriend will tell him about it when he's ready. he knows the consequences of pushing hyunjin when he's not ready to talk about something, maybe they had a friendship going south? regardless, Jungkook didn't swell on it , his attention being turned to the sudden sultry tone and suggestive kisses. reason infinite why he is so in love.

"you want me to you out right here in this practice room," he hums, a familiar feeling shooting straight to his crotch as he presses himself against hyunjin fully, slowly backing him up against the nearest wall. "not caring if anyone finds you face down up while I destroy that ," a leg finding itself between hyunjins thighs and jungkooks hands with a vice grip to his cheeks. "you're so bad." it comes in all but a whisper , nose brushing against his gently, almost teasingly before he catches hyunjins plush lips with his own.

@◈ moon byulyi ᴍᴏᴏɴʙʏᴜʟ⁻ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ It had been a while since Byul had last replied. Well, not really, but seeing as to how Yewon was doing nothing but sit by her phone, anxiously awaiting the next reply, it surely felt like it. Her mind racing back and forth at this point. Should she just tell the trainer to cancel the lesson? Or maybe even just say they can schedule it to another time, hoping she'll eventually forget about it and consequently use the time for her own work or maybe even for some personal time? She definitely looks like she could use it right now... But, Yewon had already gone through all the work of settings things up, wouldn't it be disrespectful to cancel it now? 'Aah what do I do'.

She was definitely more inclined towards the second option (let us pretend it wasn't because of... well we know why) and therefore she did her best to set her worries aside and allowed herself to be a bit selfish this one time. Grabbing her phone once more, hoping she'd somewhow missed the sound of another notification, Yewon softly pushed the turn on button to check the time. There it was, flat on the screen, not even 5 minutes after the last time she had followed these exact same steps.

Mixed emotions about there not being any notification aside (happy she hadn't missed it, sad there wasn't any), she really REALLY had to start working on her project. There had been an announcement some days prior, something about a trio project? She had no one to participate with, but if this was in any way to help her be successful (and therefore give her a bigger chance of becoming closer to her), she'd have to give it a try. Yewon didn't really know anyone in the company all that well (it's not like she needed to anyway, she was there for one reason and reason only, and that's person behind the text Yewon kept re-reading and re-reading all over again), but she was skilled enough to come up with something on her own. Maybe she could present it to some other random trainees and if they liked it, they could just record it with her and that would be it. She sighed, the though of doing it by herself was a lot more interesting and definitely a lot less time consuming, but "rules were rules" and unfortunately these ones offer little to no leverage for deviation. She went back to her desk and put the headphones over her righ ear, allowing the rest of the piece to lay behind her other ear in case she would miss the notification by having both ears covered. Yewon opened the editing program and sighed after loading in her last project, 'this is going to take a while'.

After what surely felt like an eternity for Yewon, the reply finally arrived and if someone says nothing's faster than the speed of light, they definitely have never met Yewon. Her eyes followed the stream of words, eventually skipping a few due to her enthusiasm, making her have to go back to read it properly again, until she reached the end of said text. The phone was dropped by her side. Her heart, well, it had never been too good to start with, she was an anxious person after all, but after this text... it might need a break. "A meal..? A meal. With her. Just the 2 of us." She most likely looked crazy, so it's a good thing she was by herself in her own bedroom. Her flushed cheeks hid absolutely nothing, and she was so past the shaking phase that she could only stare blankly at the wall in front of her, processing and processing.

"A DATE??? JUST LIKE TH- Okay calm down Yewon, surely she's just being nice, and even though she didn't have to it's just because she's her and- but it will be just the two of us, how can it not be a da- no no listen, she calls you rookie and trainee and whatever... she doesn't even see you as a woman there's just no wa-" It didn't make any sense to anyone listening (not that anyone was, but you get the point), but it made sense to her and that's what mattered.
'But what if this is just another thing that'll pack her schedule even more? There's a limit to being selfish...' This one thing she couldn't ignore, and as much as she wanted it, she was already feeling bad about wasting Byul's time with her sad excuse and now she was to go and waste even more of her time?"

"Teach-" delete delete delete. Just try not to use names or- yeah that should work. "As I said, it's completely okay! Please don't feel bad, I understand you have a busy schedule and it's already a blessing you managed to make some time for me. That being said, I'm not sure it's not pushing my luck to have you waste even more of your already limited time. I truly appreciate the gesture but I would feel bad knowing you're so busy and yeah.. I'll be free at 2pm for the lesson, thank you so much!"

It pained her to type these words out, but they were her true feelings and she had to understand that as much as Byul was important to her, she had her own life and there must be a barrier between fan and idol. Even more so when said idol doesn't even know they're being taken advantage of. 'Taken advantage of'. It's not a lie, but it definitely hurt to look at it this way. She had no ill intentions, but it is true she was deceiving Byul for her own personal reasons... But it's okay. She'll just have her lesson with her, spend a few minutes living her dream, and leave her alone for good.

@✵ choi yewon⁻ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Three further takes later and Byulyi was ironically enough ready to shut down. As much as this was a passion project of a song, she had already attempted to sing it close to sixty times already. And she knew she’d probably have to do a few more attempts before they tossed in the towel for the day. She reached for the bottled water sitting by her phone, gulping down a few cold gulps of freshness to ease her tired throat.

“5 min break and then a few more, is that okay?”
Byulyi raises a thumbs up as she finishes up the bottle in her hand. “Could you guys get another water while you’re at it? I’m not used to singing this long.”
“Kwon is fetching one,” sparked through her headphone, barely audible as they were already half off her head, her hand going for her phone.

And sure enough. Upon unlocking it she found a new message from Yewon. Her eyes skimmed through, her lips in a tight line as she let the words sound out in her mind. It could be that it was just the tone she attributed to the words in her head, but it made the message seem quite pitiful and sad. To think it had all stemmed from Byul’s poor planning too.
She sighed, opening the keyboard to give another response again. Hopefully she’d be able to ease the worries the woman had somewhat. A trainee should never feel like a bother to an instructor or coach. That just meant they were doing an insufficient job. Something Byulyi knew at this moment she kind of was.

“I mean it, Yewon. Teacher sounds all too formal. And you’re not just one more thing on my packed schedule. I love coaching you rookies through what is needed to rap, and I take pride in said work. Which is why I can do nothing but lay down and beg forgiveness for letting you down today. Not exactly setting a good first impression, am I? [tongue emoji] Know what? If you can clear out three hours, how about I treat you to a meal after. Call it my apology, sort of. How about around 2pm? I think I should be free by then.”

She hopped at least. The bubble popped over into the message window, already on its way to the recipient. One could hope.

@☼ jeon jungkook ʳᵒᵐᵉᵒ () this is me realizing they weren't in a dance sstudio so hyunjin was legit doing stretches in a ing recording booth smdh