…❝ league one.

@✸ › s. jake。 @✸ › p. sunghoon。 minjeong's smile is still apologetic as she raises a hand to form half a prayer gesture, an expression of an apology still. "thank you! i swear i didn't want to make this kind of a first impression, but..." she says, shrugging lightly, and she's dragging soobin to the couch, sitting down beside the other—only for the man's head to fall down to her lap, and all she can do at this point is sigh, really (albeit with a fond gaze in her eyes). her attention soon moves to the newcomer, and it's almost comical the way she immediately straightens up. park sunghoon, the ice prince that everyone's adored, and naturally, minjeong is one of his fans too.

she raises a hand to her lips, willing herself to calm down, and she sends a shy bow toward sunghoon's way. she can't make an even more embarrassing first impression than this. her fingers are lightly caressing soobin's head, when she considers jake's question this time. "well, i wake up pretty early in the mornings to train, and i often cook quick meals after i come back," she says, wondering a little to herself if that was information that the others needed to learn too. but she's saying them anyway. "and i tend to come home pretty late too."

@✸ › p. sunghoon。 @✸ › k. minjeong。 the end of the night coming to a close doesn't mean he is going to allow himself to rest just yet. he still has a job to do, things to uncover, an image to uphold, so he straightens his posture, puts on his best face, and turns toward the newcomer - or newcomers, eyes flicking over to the male that is definitely-not-sunghoon minjeong has in tow. a small chuckle leave his lips once she explains her predicament, shaking his head as a smile pulls at his lips in an attempt to ease her worries. "it's okay! i totally get it. you're a good friend for helping him out like this." he means it. soobin (if he remembers the gala correctly) looks like he could pass out on the floor right then and there if not for minjeong's presence.

jake doesn't miss their other leaguemate joining them in the room, as quiet as he tried to be. he greets sunghoon with the same smile he gave minjeong, warm with just enough brightness that it doesn't feel like he's faking it. "hey sunghoon! i'm glad we're all here now because truthfully, i am beat and ready to reture for the night, but i didn't want to start anything in our home for the next two years without your guys' inputs. that would just be unfair." he pauses for a moment, looking between the two before continuing. "so, is there anything important we should know about each other, like 'don't touch this!' or 'i have to absolutely do this because it's a part of my routine'?"

maybe this is not a conversation to have at this time of night now that jake thinks about it, but he's already asked the question so they might as well get it out of the way. it'll save them the trouble later too.

@✸ › s. jake。 @✸ › k. minjeong。 sunghoon is as quiet as ever. the only change of emotion, any indication that he was present at all during the night, was when someone (he didn't know who) shoved a glass of champagne into his hand. he couldn't drink, he wouldnt drink, but all through the night he politely held the glass until he found a nice way to escape. other than that, his eyes had just barely widened when he heard who was in his league. he didn't /know/ minjeong, but he knew her mother, idolized her, looked up to her. impressions were important, his parents always said. impressions were important, sunghoon reminds himself, after taking a wrong turn and doubling back and very much getting lost before finally finding his league. composing himself just outside the door, he schools his expression and adjusts his hair, chic and charming as he opens the door and steps in, only to pause at the scene before him. he doesn't say anything at first, just steps inside and skirts along the outside of the living room, glancing to his bags. he knows he has a few packaged goodies tucked away, maybe he could offer them? that's how you make friends, right? "hi. im sunghoon." idiot, he chides himself. they probably already know that. he figures he sounds so prideful, introducing himself like no one would know him. he's overthinking is what it is, but regardless, it causes him to freeze up on the spot.

@✸ › s. jake。 @✸ › p. sunghoon。 minjeong definitely thinks that she isn't making the best impression right now—she just had an impromptu spar at the gala, and now she's bringing a boy back to her villa with other people. she hasn't even met both of her leaguemates (though she /has/ in fact, heard of park sunghoon before—but then again, who wouldn't have heard of his name if they were in the figure skating field?), but she supposes she'll just have to apologize. that's what she said, but when she opens the door to the villa with soobin's arm still over her shoulders, she sees a stranger at one side of the living room, and her hand is automatically up on soobin's mouth to stop him from saying anything questionable—and she /knows/ that he will say something that'll embarrass them both. she sends an apologetic smile toward the stranger's way (who she now faintly remembers to be jake, because really, her mind had only focused on the fact that sunghoon is her leaguemate). "hi! i'm—well, i'm sorry for bringing him, but i hope you don't mind. he's my friend, drunk and about to pass out, and i didn't know where his league is so..." she laughs awkwardly, "... this'll only be for tonight, i swear!"

@✸ › p. sunghoon。 @✸ › k. minjeong。 the adrenaline of officially being welcomed into stellavenace has finally begun to wear off once jake retires to his assigned league house. just as the host had explained at the beginning of the gala, he sees his belongings neatly gathered off on one side of the room, as well as two other similarly organized groups of suitcases, bags, and the like. the sheer size of the place begs him to take a look around, but he figures it's better to wait for his two other leaguemates to arrive first. as he shifts through his own items, ensuring everything he brought is accounted for, there's a little thrum of excitement that rushes through him, just like when he first set foot on the island. he's really here at the academy his parents have always talked about, ready for whatever may come his way. while he's here to "expand his horizons" and "add to his resumé," he doesn't forget the promise he made to his parents, and with how far he has gotten, there is no way he'll let them down now.