✩ lounge

a phone case pink as cherry blossoms with equally pink and sparkly charms dangling from it is carefully held between her (also pink) manicured hands, mindlessly scrolling through as she saunters in with a light skip in her step.

|| oh my gosh. these thongs* are so darn cute! no way, and they're buy one get one? ||

// *disclaimer please note that the 'thongs' june is referring to are flip flops/sandals, not y undergarments

Jongee wasn’t sure what had just happened. One moment a fight was threatening to break out, the next one of the fighters was dragged away by the ear (an exaggeration and bare-faced lie—he just followed the newcomer lady like an obedient puppy). There was an awkward tension as the boy was led out of the room by the older woman, and Jongee looked around at those who are present.

Jongee had half the mind to break the silence, though they felt that they might as well light a match in a gas-filled room. So they kept quiet, treating themselves to more of Lena’s popcorns (already growing comfortable around the quirky idol).

/walks into the room, heels clicking along the room, and sighs while looking through my tablet/

“these boys will be the death of me.” lani relayed with a soft, partially defeated sigh as she sank back into a lounge chair for comfort. her mind going over a million things at once, but forcibly concentrating on one issue alone. the issue of unity that was evidently rampant in a group that’s been under her care for years. with her eyes going over a couple of past video recordings of dance practice through her phone, at some point, lani started to wonder where had she gone wrong. and if this.. had truly been any of her fault.

kion's knuckles were as white as porcelain. a second later, and win's visage could've potentially been reduced to minced meat, tenderized by the dancer's fists of fury. and yet, the oldest of the team— all the better, the leader had miraculously stepped in to devoid the two of further turmoil. he hadn't wanted things to get this bad, to get the chance to unleash such a side to him out in the open, but one could only ever be pushed enough until they would explode like an active volcano brimming with piping hot magmite. "are you kidding me? i'll show you what i'm made of." kion shot back, feeling the adrenaline rush through his veins.

but what was this genuinely all for, if not.. for show? he remembers sitting in a circle amongst the other members of the unit earlier on during dance practice, listening, and essentially chiming in on what would be the prank of the century for their beloved leader, caspian. this was nothing short of risky, especially as one of the newest additions to the group. although, it would've also made for a story to look back to, especially on just how far their team has actually come in terms of sharing quite the bond. there was nothing more that kion wanted, if not to be included and to contribute to such a legacy. so here he was, guilty as charged for having to act out (and genuinely).

however, just before he could take the chance to come clean, his reign of fury is abruptly cut short as an unexpected presence emerges at the scene of the crime. his gaze once laced with fury shifted into momentary confusion when he took a quick gander at, "wonyoung, what- wait. let me finish. i." he was no match for the girl. the expression on her face that he almost immediately registered as actual concern, convincing him to leave with her silently. at once, he thought that maybe things had escalated a lot more than they should have. at least one thing was certainly for sure, they must've gotten everyone good. and now? things were only up to win to clear the air lest they all be left in a pulsatingly awkward airing of no closure.

Wanting to grab a drink from the lounge after a long tiring day, what Yiyeon didn't expect was to see her annoying, bantering, happy go lucky reincarnate having a scowl on his face, then grabbing his older member by the collar, fingers digging in firm into the fabric. She'd thought that Kion wasn't capable of doing such a thing, and the scene that unfolded right before her had her rooted to the spot at the doorway. She was afraid, no, not afraid of him being violent, but afraid of what could have gotten him so mad, to the point where it ended up the way she was seeing it, somewhat thankful for the fact that their leader stepped in between them, pulling them both apart.

Fingers absentmindedly playing with the straps on her bag, plenty of thoughts went through her head: should she stop them? or should she let this scene play out in front of her? It was a public area too, and there were eyes focused on the center of the room right now, one whom she recognized as Lena, a person she trained with briefly when she was added in to Pandora temporarily, and another bright-eyed, unknown male. It was Caspian's words which finally had her set on a decision, taking a deep breath and forcing up a facade of courage within her, stepping forth to yell out to the youngest one among them three. "Maekawa Isekai!"

Fingers grasping his wrist, she tugged him apart, glaring daggers at the male, voice cutting through the air between them both, though in it was with a hint of concern, praying that he would catch on and play along. "Do you not want your ty gift from Busan? How long were you planning on making me wait, huh? Be glad I managed to catch you out here because I was thirsty. Come on now, before the gift starts to rot and you'll have nothing but pieces left." Another tug, this time her gaze softening, a tiny shift of her head towards the doorway, before apologetically acknowledging the other two members in the incident with a sheepish smile. "Gotta borrow him for a moment, sorry!"

jongee perks up at the sight of popcorn, only to promptly hesitate. they are torn between going close to a literal goddess to grab a piece of caramel goodness or staying right where they were behind the wall of the entrance

the war in their mind lasts for exactly one second before they scoot close (not unlike a wary rabbit). they take a few pieces of popcorn from the offered bucket and smile gratefully

“cheers” they raise their hand as if they are holding a wine glass, before popping one of the treat into his mouth

"Woah. Woah. Woah!." Everything moved too quickly for his liking. In mere seconds, the latest maknae of X.MPIRE had Win by the collar, face visibly scrunched in anger. It irked Caspian, as the eldest, to see his question go unanswered by the two who seemed intent on their little quarrel. For once, Caspian wondered if he should just let them hash out whatever their issues were, but...realistically he knew as leader he couldn't allow that. If news spread of the members fighting, he didn't want to imagine the news headlines for he knew it would only cause a headache.

In his internal debate, the debacle only seemed to grow worse and more intense, spurred on by Win's response, and Caspian knew if he didn't intervene now it would be too late. He quickly approached the two and pulled them apart, thanking the heavens for his size being able to aid him in keeping s apart. "Are you both insane? What are you doing fighting? In public no less??" He was tried his best to keep his composure. The last thing they needed was /him/ losing his cool too. "Now I'll ask again. What is the problem??"

Upon seeing the newest entrance a familiar moody and kinda scary face, win discreetly pinched a very sensitive spot on his neck. He got teary eyed from the sting "H-hyung... my ankle hurts so bad." Win mumbled in a meek and soft voice, doing a 180 from how he acted before.

"I'm sorry..." he hiccuped pitifully before continuing "for dragging you down all the time." With a small sniffle he finally looks at the hands folded on his lap, only then did he let the smug grin slip when he couldn't hold it back.

If it were someone who knows him better they wouldn't take it seriously, seeing that he never cried in public. This was probably way over the top and everything would get busted

Suddenly he got pulled up with force by the taller. Win grabbed the hands which held his collar but he was no match at all. The only thing he could was... nothing. Heck Win never even stepped a toe into the gym maybe if he did... who was he kidding he would still continue to avoid that hellhole like the plaque. Thus everything he could do was trying to not look that stupid.

"Well... is that everything you got?" Win whispers boldly so only Kion could hear. Where he got that courage from he didn't even know. On the other hand maybe he was just stupid. Plain and simple.

all it took was one look at win’s facade wearing off— and immediately, all he saw was nothing and nobody else but red.

without a moment’s worth of hesitance, the pulsating rage was enough for kion to get on his feet, gathering more than enough stability that has him grab win by his collar, easily hoisting him up and off the couch with all his might as if he were some lifeless ragdoll. the resemblance was uncanny. although one other thing was clear to the main dancer, and it was that win deserved absolutely no ounce of respect.. not after all the stunts he’d pulled so far.

kion hadn’t said much as a newcomer to the group at first, but the more he remained perceptive of the latter much like he did with everyone else, then the easier it got to see through the elder’s crap. let alone when it came to his most respected craft of dance. but there was truly no stopping the younger male from applying his two cents now that he had had enough, even if it meant using harsh force. “let /me/ be the one to knock some sense into you— hyung.”

[post deleted by owner]

"h-hey...?" lena weakly calls after the guy, blinking slowly in confusion. she showered before entering the lounge. . . she can't possibly be reeking of sweat right now. "i don't bite, here why don't you have some of my popcorn, hm?" she smiles as amicably as she can, holding out the bucket she'd previously been hugging to her smaller frame.

first, they stumbled into a relatively pissed guy who became even more pissed. then in came carefree guy number two who jongee should’ve clocked as a troublemaker. from outside the lounge appeared the third guy, who decided to just chill and watch the commotion. then appeared guy number four, equally as pissed as guy number one.

jongee floated to the vending machine and tried to discreetly grab a drink. a loud “THUNK” awkwardly resounded and they quickly grabbed the drink before speed-walking to the entrance. at least staying near the exit should allow them a quick run when things go down, right?

then they ran into lena and fumbled, not expecting to find a pandora member in the wild. they managed a “hey” (totally not slight panicked) before quickly hiding behind the entrance’s wall like it’s a shield from whatever would go down in the lounge

all things considered, lena truly wasn't expecting to enter the lounge at the most inopportune timing; all she wanted was to eat her damned popcorn in peace, damn it.

"," she mutters to herself, nearly stopping short at the sight in front of her: on one hand there's an ominous entity, all thunderous expression and rigid demeanor, simply standing by the vending machine—if they could just kindly scoot over so she could get a soda, it would be much appreciated, thank you—and another... suspicious presence just staring at said ominous entity from a corner (seriously, do people not talk to each other anymore? what's with all the tension, for crying out loud?). on another hand, however... she remembers the young man as a member of x.chaos—as for what his name was, she can't remember for the life of her, whoops—trying hard to feign an ankle injury. "gotta try harder than than, buddy," she calls out softly, failing to hide the decidedly-unladylike snort she emits.

her warning goes unnoticed though, for the sinister being—which she now recognizes as kion, what the hell?—shoots a baleful look at the fraudulent member and outwardly calls him out for his less-than-stellar performance as a casualty. lena quietly scampers down to a nearby lounge seat and plants herself onto it, tossing another popcorn into whilst staring at the interactions. "keeping up with x.mpire, live before my very eyes," she says to herself in english and grins gleefully, her interest visibly piqued.

Caspian knew his good mood was doomed from the first moment he felt it. Things had been too good lately. The object of his subconscious affections had engaged him with interactions only to leave him high and dry...again. His lips twisted into a small scowl as he checked his messages for the nth time, delusionally expecting to see a change in status of his last message. Nothing. It remained in delivered, not even read, and his mood only soured more. With an annoyed sigh, he shoved his phone into his leather jacket pocket and looked around the lounge.

Only a fool couldn't notice the tension hanging in the air, and frankly Caspian didn't have the patience for it. He watched the two of s in annoyance and let out a frustrated sigh. "You're ing kidding me." He mumbled to himself in English, his deep timbre only lending to showcase his annoyance. A little louder, he decided to make his presence known. "And what do you two think you're doing?"

Win simply leaned back getting cozy on the sofa, he didn't even try to stop Kion from how the younger was acting he know that he had been found out. When Kion even went as far to Touch his ankle Win dropped the act altogether and grinned shamelessly, still not an once of guilt showing on his face. He just shrugged "busted."

The older crossed one leg over the other picking at his freshly manicured nails. "You should know by now that I can't dance. What's the use to try and disturb the others who can do it better?" His whole act Showdown that he never really had to be responsible for his actions. Even if he did serious mistakes he was never hold responsible for them. We'll other than those two times he rather not think about.

“what a joke.” he mumbled beneath his breath in japanese. and if that alone hadn’t been enough to express his distrust in the elder, then certainly it would be relayed a lot clearer as he practically levels himself with win. going as far as to curling his digits around the latter’s slender ankle, his grasp visibly tightening. “it’s not even wrapped right. who are you trying to fool? if you don’t care enough to put in any effort, wouldn’t it make more sense to let all of us know instead of lying to our faces like that?”

kion was in no place to be talking the way that he did. not through any case of seniority in age or even career. but he had definitely been around long enough to witness, let alone, experience all sorts of injuries for the craft. something much like the one win had? been there, done that. but the way the other male carried himself with it, almost resembled sheer mockery. something kion could not tolerate. “is all of this really just a joke to you?”

Walked past by and saw all the commotion that was happening, and stopped to look at both Win and Kion while crossing his arms, eyes never leaving the two members even from the distance.

Dramatically slow Win walks over to the nearest sofa and let's himself fall onto the cushions. "It hur-" He starts in an especially whiny voice when he gets interrupted.

"What? I'm really hurt. Look" Win pointed at his bandaged ankle making a point and to show that he was really 'hurt'. "Also I missed only one practice this week. I'll make it up in the Vocal practice. Don't worry." The older smiled brightly at Kion showing no sign of feeling guilty nor did he mention an apology.

jongee is alarmed by the suddenly deadly aura surrounding the person in front of the vending machine. looking between him and the newcomer, they felt a tension that they wanted no part of

so, as if they’re a ghost, they slid to a corner where they hopefully wouldn’t be detected (especially by the guy who looked like he’s ready to use a human as a stress ball)

slipping a couple of coins into the machine, and pressing a button allowed him to wait further in silence as his gaze followed the dreadfully low uncoiling of his drink— and one that froze in place, ultimately eating not just his money, but what very little ounce of patience he still had left. he pressed a firm hand against the machine, shoving it once with the combined weight of his almost towering, then twice before moving aside. fists clenched, much like his jaw until his eyes are making it to the underlying main root of all his issues. “hyung, how long were you planning on working like that? with little to no effort.” he added, his deep voice laced with a little more venom than one could ever imagine was possible of the younger male.

jongee turns around at the sound of footsteps, a bit more relieved seeing someone in a good mood
they’re about to say hi—
—only for the newcomer to dramatically deflate like they’ve been wounded
jongee is puzzled and can’t help but ask aloud “are you alright?”

Win skipped into the room humming softly. He was beyond happy to evade another stressful dance practice and got his healt back miraculously after 'feigning' to have an injured ankle. He thought the other members would be back at the dorm. Upon seeing one of their group dancers he abruptly stopped and put on a pitiful demeanor as if he were in great pain.

they hop into the room, relieved to finally have a break from work
they notice the lone male at the vending machine and hesitated, contemplating whether to bid (they could practically see the ominous aura radiating from him)
they decide to just stand behind the male (a good distance away) for now, waiting for the other to grab his drink so they could get one too

a sigh of exasperation escapes his lips as he’s trudging into the room. ominous tension permeating among the fairly uncharacteristic silence from the male while he occupies the vending machine, visibly needing a drink or two just to calm his nerves.

ah...
/purses my lips for a bit, trying to gather the words to somebody who has pride in what he does, pausing for a moment before i continue/
but if you were in his shoes, would you have done it. i get that, the art, the training, the dedication... but then there comes along an offer you can't refuse. the huge payout, able to feed his family for generations, knowing you could give them a better life. it's a dilemma, isn't it. i think that if he was alone and not injured, there'll be a different outcome. but it is what it is..

it’s not that i’m disappointed in tyson, but it’s the whole principle of it all. (idly crosses his arms, his gaze lowered as he attempts to recollect himself; the situation hitting a little too close to home somewhere along the lines) it’s inevitable in matches here and there, but i just never liked when it all seems so.. fake. so clearly scripted. something that takes away from the actual art and dedication that goes into the sport— but after all he’s gone through in his career, i hope the pay out was worth it.

( ) LMAO WHERE DID Y O U COME FROM HAHAHAHA

( ) LMAO THAT WAS ME

right? even as someone who has zero knowledge like me tuned it, but i was expecting so much more.
/takes the cup and fills it, slowly sipping the drink, brown orbs gaze upon you/
what made you so disappointed in tyson, though? i thought he was pretty brave; i just didn't like seeing the elderly abuse.