hai... it's velvet (beyuwol & bejaeyoung) again. LMAO. who would've thought! today i'm here with asakura touma, a rather impulsive app... even though he's been in my head for weeks... so as you can tell i'm woefully underprepared but i'm happy to introduce you to him!
under the cut is a short rundown of his background and some plot/connection ideas! here is his profile (the only presentable page lmao). please LIKE THIS POST if you'd like me to slide into your ims. i also have discord/twitter upon request (and i'm definitely better at responding there... for the most part).
background
born in osaka, japan
has a messy family, grew up listening to a lot of fighting between his parents so he learned to take care of himself so he doesn't bother his already busy & stressed parents
eventually his parents divorced when he was in middle school, and he moved with his mother. his mother remarried, and touma now has a step brother who is significantly younger
unfortunately, his mother and his step-father also fight. but this time, not wanting his brother to go through what he did, ended up being the peacekeeper and the mediator. he learned how to analyze/observe his parents behaviours and traits and tries to get ahead before things blow up out of proportion (they start yelling at him too, it gets really bad every month, and he learns to tune it out somehow)
was always an artistic kid, he started graffiti art as a way to vent his frustrations because he has nowhere else to dump then. he ended up connecting with music for that same reason too
he can play the bass and the drums, was in a band in school for a while just for fun
loves dancing, fell in love with choreographing in general. he thinks it's a beautiful way to express yourself, he would make up random dances to trending songs that he can do with his brother
his mother and step-father started relying too much on him to communicate and the stress is becoming a lot to bear. graduation rolls around and they were too busy arguing with each other to come to the ceremony
he finally wants out, and he enrolls in a university in korea. his mother is hesitant at first because he'd be staying with his biological father who moved to korea, but she relents when he mentions that he got a scholarship
it still kills him to leave his brother though, and he doesn't want to but he feels like he'll start losing himself the longer he stays
ironically, he decides to major in psychology
also became a freelance dog walker bc to him that's his free therapy
plots/connections
friends from japan! he'd be happy to see people from back home. he's always welcoming and it's easy to talk to him, so he'd also approach anyone simply because of this one thing they share
someone for him to take care of that reminds him of his younger brother
maybe he... walks your dog sometimes! touma thinks he does a good job at it, but maybe your dog got scared of something that's out of his control and now it won't leave his house
inevitable... exes. someone that came from japan, or a summer roamnce when your muse was in japan, that he ended up meeting here too. he's also been here since at least 2-3 years ago, so a more recent ex can work too! he can be dense and 'too friendly', might've acted more like a friend than a partner. would've coddled instead of treating his partner like a proper equal because he's not used to being taken care of instead lol
dancing friends! someone he would dance with, share choreos with, film tiktoks with... things like that
someone who scared him when he was doing graffiti art somewhere and in reflex he sprayed you with his paint... woops
uni friends, fellow artistic friends, friends who can teach him how to sing, composing friends that he thinks are inspirational
an almost fwb situation except he thought he was genuinely going to your home to see your pet and to eat actual ramyeon. he did not get the hint!
someone who noticed that he gets a little too involved when there's an argument happening around him which is... a bit! worrying! maybe!
someone that can use a 'therapist friend' except he's actually a psych major and it kind of just happens
anything and everything! i love talking about dynamics and whatnot B)
"it's my dad's dog, technically," siwoo says, walking beside his friend. despite his less than stellar relationship with his father, siwoo had never actually been able to turn him down when he'd ask for help to dog sit.
still, siwoo hasn't been with the dog much – what with next gen and training now occupying his time. so when his father had texted him, asking him for a favour, siwoo had been more than happy to say yes ( though of course, he would never let his father know that ).
today though, he's decided to call up touma for a little bit of help. siwoo isn't too familiar with dog parks, and where exactly he can let his dad's dog roam around freely. "he's fucking cute, isn't he?" he says, leaning down to gently kiss the top of the dog's head and pat it. his gaze softens – siwoo's always had a soft spot for cute things, and this dog is undeniably cute. and surprisingly, unlike it's owner mild mannered.
"thanks for today, by the way. i didn't want to keep him cooped up in my apartment – he looked like he wanted to get out," he turns to touma, genuine. "and i didn't know where would be a good spot to bring him around here."
honestly, touma hadn't exactly expected siwoo to become a trainee. not because he didn't think siwoo wasn't capable of becoming one—he'd always been an optimist to see the better sides of people, after all—he just didn't think siwoo was interested in the idea. not until now, that is. touma supposes people change, perhaps siwoo for the better? he thought siwoo joined next gen out of spite, or something. maybe there was more to it than touma had thought.
"so you have a soft spot for cute things, huh?" touma questions, leaning down next to siwoo to properly greet the dog he'd be accompanying today. "what's his name?" he asks, running his fingers through the dog's hair, whispering a hello to the animal with a smile. he can hear one of his friends call this interaction dog-to-dog communication in the back of his head. unfortunately, they're probably not wrong. touma always had dog-like characteristics. maybe that's why he gets along well with them.
"there's a bunch of parks around here!" of course there are, siwoo lives in a pretty... privileged neighborhood, not that touma is going to judge him for it. if touma could, he'd want to live here too. but the expenses would surely run his wallet dry. oh well!
"is he the type to socialize and play around with other dogs, or is he more of the shy type?" it's important to gauge the personality of each individual dog. "if he likes playing around, we can take him to the more popular park so he can play with other dogs! if he isn't, we can take him to the quieter one, so he can run around and explore in peace."
it's been a while since touma got the chance to hang out and let loose, honestly. he thinks he needs it—something about releasing all that tension in his body that he refuses to address. until now, that is. until there's enough stress accumulating that he feels like relaxing completely in an event like waterbomb of all things. he kind feels like an excited dog, running around with a watergun in hand spraying at whoever seems willing to be his victim.
the next person in line is @arabe, another unsuspecting victim who was caught off guard. touma laughs as he aims for ara's back. "sorry!" he exclaims with another laugh, despite not being sorry at all—besides, ara should've been prepared! a lot of people here have a watergun! "this reminds me of the thief concept we had last time during next gen, except now i feel like the criminal instead of the detective."
oh, that's a good sign isn't it? that he can talk about next gen without feeling a dead weight on his shoulders. "how have you been? glad you're not too busy to make it today!"
“i don’t make promises easily. besides, the last time i broke a promise was when i was a kid,” luciel sits on the chair and makes himself comfortable, wrapping a long scarf around himself. “well, that’s up to you to believe though~” he likes making fun of touma. it’s fun teasing him, watching his cheeks turn rosy, and then act as if nothing happened. it’s too easy to sprinkle bits of affection and acquire the reaction he wished to see. yet, whenever touma glows with happiness, it takes luciel’s breath away. how could a person look this beautiful in the face of joy? how does it feel, to have such passion? why does it hurt when he’s sad?
luciel takes a small sip of the sake, gazing into the cup as he swirls it around. he expected such a reaction. asakura touma, always turning away when it comes to himself. he gets it, but tonight, he doesn't wants to hear it.
“my older brother came to congratulate me. i was surprised. but he never said anything about our parents.” that night, as if clinging onto the tiniest shred of hope that his existence could be acknowledged, he waited without a sound. “you know my parents weren’t good to me, right? i don’t think they’d want to know what happened anyway. i was never their child after all. to them, blood is thicker than water.” he lifts his face up to smile an empty smile at the other. “the promise i broke when i was younger… i didn’t sent letters to the other kids when i left the orphanage. but they didn’t send me any either, i guess it’s fair.”
as he thought, it feels strange talking about these things. luciel never found a reason to. he was supposed to be grateful to god for the life he was blessed with after all. besides, his parents told him it wasn’t necessary to bring it up — so he did as he was told, living his life without telling anyone.
“you’ve always been weird to me,” luciel drinks half of the cup before settling it down. it’s delicious, yet it also tasted so bland at the same time. “from that time in the alley, to now. it’s weird because you’re nice. you’re a good person. if a little puppy was looking sad and wounded, who wouldn’t feel like helping it out? why wouldn’t i want to know why there’s sorrow in your heart? is it bad, that i care and worry about a friend?”
this time, luciel looks right into the eyes of touma’s. he could be a hypocrite, but so what? he speaks softly, almost pleading, “won’t you open your heart to me?”
touma's a little confused, but he sits down obediently ( like a dog ), listening to luciel as he rambles on. it's not the first time luciel goes on a strange tangent that touma is left to dissect, which takes quite a toll on his brain despite what he studies for his major. but, he does pride himself in being a good listener. he does wonder whether the advice he gives are useful though.
maybe luciel doesn't need any advice, or any verbal response that constitues a solution to the problem. simply a listening ear. touma thinks he's good at taking on that role, so he does—takes the cup that luciel had provided him, and stays quiet for a moment, listening; not just hearing.
luciel goes on for a while—revealing bits and pieces of his story, something that touma hadn't known about, of course. he figured most of it out on his own, not exactly from luciel's mouth though; from observations and the way luciel carries himself. he never exactly met luciel's parents, but that's the tragedy of parents. they don't choose you, nor can you choose them. it should be all about responsibilities, but not all parents should have children.
he kind of knows what luciel is doing, sharing bits and pieces of himself in an effort to get touma to open up. touma takes another sip of his cup, before looking down to hide himself away from luciel's piercing gaze—is that concern laced in luciel's eyes? touma thinks so, but he thinks it's unwarranted. fake it till you make it; that's how he always acts when it comes to dealing with negative feelings.
"that's not fair! you're supposed to open up because you want to, not because you want me to open up too." touma does take another gulp of the sake though, probably because he can't exactly do this sober after all. being vulnerable, and all that. "it's not bad, caring and worrying about a friend. i should be glad that you're able to feel those things, actually. you kind of lack any sense of morals. and you're being hypocritical."
eventually, he does look back up at luciel with a smile—it's kind of sad, more genuine than the one he tried to put on several times since he stepped foot into luciel's penthouse. "i'm not sure what to say... i mean, everything was already documented for the nation to see." he lets out a sigh, shrugging his shoulders; trying to shrug off whatever he's feeling.
"it's just.. sad? it's expected, but it's sad. i wasn't exactly good enough, there are others with better skill level than me right now. and... that's just something i have to accept for now, that's all. not everyone is idol material. maybe i'll be a back-up dancer for you, in the future!" he lifts up his cup, clinking it against luciel's. perhaps his cheeks have gotten slightly redder, now.
it was always nice to at least have a friend from back home, one that you could easily talk with about pretty much everything that was going on in your life. touma was that one for kaito in this case. so, when he returns back to their shared apartment, he can't help but feel a sense of relaxation just from seeing the other male sitting there. this was one of the reasons why he had even suggested to the other the idea of moving in with him, knowing that the two of them would get along quite well without any major issues, if any at all.
kaito gives a small chuckle at what touma says to him, playfully rolling his eyes at the joke while gently nudging the other male with his elbow in a playful manner. "you're lucky i like you. if not i would have been like my previous roommate and left you to handle the rent all on your own." he's obviously joking about this, never once even entertaining the idea of leaving touma to take care of rent while he had gone back home.
nodding in response to what is asked, kaito gives a smile to the other. "i'm fine. i promise. i just needed some time away to see my family and clear my mind after.... well being kicked off of the show. yeah, it sucked at first with not being able to continue on, but after thinking about it and spending some time away i've realized that i was still lucky regardless that i could even experience the show in the first place." he pauses momentarily before looking at the other apologetically. "i'm just sorry that i wasn't here for you... i saw what happened, and in my opinion, well you deserved to win. they really did you wrong." he states honestly as he lets out a small sigh, shaking his head slowly in a disapproving manner towards the producers for their choices.
"home was great though. i didn't realize how much i missed my family until i saw them again, plus i got a little 'beating' from my mom because i didn't tell them about my participation in the show in the first place...." he laughs a little at the memory of his mom chasing him around the house a couple weeks prior. "anyway, how have you been holding up?"
touma knows kaito has been through a lot. in fact, even here kaito is pulling so much weight by juggling several jobs just to remain afloat. as one of kaito's closest friends, touma wants to make it easier on the other—after the horrible roommate that kaito had to suffer through, it was an easy decision for touma to make when kaito asked touma to be his roommate. why would touma ever say no? after all, he also needs to cut down on expenses and living alone can be pretty expensive. touma's a little luckier too, because of his scholarship—he can focus most of his savings on just living, sometimes.
"thanks for liking me!" touma goes along with the joke. he knows kaito—he never doubted for a second that kaito wouldn't leave him to deal with the aftermath of the expenses at home. if anything, kaito would be fretting even back in japan about touma being alone, maybe. it's nice, having friends who care even when they're miles apart. "your roommate totally deserved that though, since he was basically doing nothing but making your life worse. roommates are supposed to at least be decent enough people to live with!"
he understands why kaito had to go—it's a lot, next gen was not easy. nothing about it is, and despite knowing what they signed up for, that doesn't make it any easier. this season in particular seemed to be seasoned with so much tension that eventually culminated in the last episode. honestly, touma's glad that he wasn't part of all that on-screen drama. "yeah, that's a good mindset to have!" touma agrees, hoping he can start thinking that way too. "i keep telling myself that i should be glad that i was able to make it past the audition at all, even more so since i made it to the last episode. eventually the disappointment in myself will go away, but... who knows, really."
touma can't help but smile at the other, glad to have a friend who understands—someone that he can be open to. "thank you for supporting me! i think you should've stuck around until the last episode too... i don't know. my abilities were just not there yet, and i definitely didn't have the personality for good tv, i think. it's okay, though. it was an experience i'll never forget." that's one way to summarize next gen.
"i'm sure your family are proud of you, regardless!" he reaches out to pat kaito's head a little, thinking it may bring some sort of comfort. almost like kaito is a sulking dog. "i'm... okay, i promise. i know how you feel... i feel the same way you do, almost. making it to the end only to... drop out of the race? it was kinda hard."
people have water guns, and luciel has an umbrella. he’s always liked to stand at the edge of the ocean waves that comes and go, but that’s provided if the sun isn’t scorching its rays on him as he’s soaked in water. it’s a terrible feeling, he almost wants to strip his shirt completely but he knows he’ll also start sneezing if the wind starts blowing.
and then he gets shot with water by touma. of course he would do this, luciel expected it. so he smiles widely at the other, almost eerily even (that touma would definitely notice). “oh? happy with that shot?” he pulls his shirt out a little to shake off the water. “how can i get revenge when i’m already dead? you took advantage of my obliviousness then killed the pitiful fragile me, touma-kun,” he laments with a sigh.
obviously, it’s all sarcastic.
why would luciel get revenge for being killed by touma? rather, he wishes— desires, to know how this stupid puppy would look when luciel takes his last breath before him and… oh, this is not good. he almost got distracted by his loathsome thoughts again.
he blinks at the question touma asked then scoffs. “not at all, actually. i would have never known until you told me about it, even though it’s such a biigg festival. no one at my university was talking about it, you know?” then he flashes the usual, innocent smile to top it off.
luciel is a very strange individual, it's a thought that passes through touma's mind more often than it is appropriate. but he can't help it, luciel hadn't exactly done anything to make touma think otherwise, even now, luciel had only given touma more proof to solidify that statement in his head. because who brings an umbrella to the waterbomb festival? it's like luciel was dragged here completely against his will. maybe that is the case. touma hadn't been that forceful though, he thinks.
touma isn't scared when luciel smiles at him in that slightly creepy way that would normally make someone shiver. all touma does is smile back, eager and excited, like usual. he's not entirely oblivious, it's just slightly amusing, the expression that luciel is wearing on his face. "you're being so dramatic, you're not actually dead after all! see, you're still living and breathing. nothing to worry about!"
sometimes, luciel can be sort of silly.
touma makes the executive decision to shoot one more time, this time to luciel's foot. just because, maybe he shouldn't have bought a watergun after all. is this how it felt to hold so much power? it's more fun than he thought it would be, although he feels bad when he shoots at an unsuspecting bystander.
"you don't know, really?" touma hums, but isn't entirely surprised. he used to wonder whether luciel lives under a rock. "no one was talking about it, or do you just not talk to anyone yourself?" he questions, humming. "does that mean you know nothing about the dance challenge either?"
touma’s glad to turn off his brain for a change and actually focus on having fun. honestly, he doesn’t think he has the classical ‘summer bod’ with how much he had been ( internally ) moping around lately, but who says there’s only one type of summer bod? he’s not going to let that get in the way of enjoying himself! this time, he’s going to effectively ignore the logical part of his mind and let loose… whatever that means.
in an effort to do exactly that, touma buys himself a water gun. whether he’ll find any use for it after the waterbomb festival itself is hard to say… but he’ll ponder over the consequences of his impulsive purchases later. for now, he’s gathering up some water into his newly acquired toy, then pointing it towards @lucielxbe without a single warning.
and then—pew pew! he shoots! straight into luciel’s chest.
“one shot, one kill!” touma exclaims, smiling proudly like he’s a dog who just learned a new trick. “you should get a water gun too, it’ll be fun! and then you can get your revenge on me.” touma smiles, already allowing his worries to melt away in this moment. he’s also excited for the upcoming performances later.
what he’s surprised about is the fact that luciel is actually here. this doesn’t seem like his type of scene.
“did you even know this festival exists before i told you about it?” touma questions, curious.
touma can be foolish at times. he’s been a fool since the moment he crashed into luciel’s life in that alleyway, never noticing how much light he’s brought him. a fool will always remain a fool. for now though, luciel allows that foolishness to slip past. he does want to bring it up, but the latter came here for a joyous celebration. he isn’t going to point it out so quickly.
“i know that, that’s why i didn’t ask if you wanted it. you’re going to be drinking some at least, but not the entire thing i promise,” luciel laughs as he starts to prepare the sake. he makes it hot since that’s what he likes. the sake has rather strong taste especially when its hot, so he wonders what kind of face the other boy would make when he takes a sip of it. “that’s quite a dangerous thing to say, touma-kun. especially to me. who knows what i’ll ask from you?” luciel knows that touma isn’t being serious, which is for the better of course. he means what he say too.
anything from touma, luciel will like it. besides, they know each other for a long while now, of course the boy will know what kinds of cake he likes. that and luciel knowing that touma can’t bake.
“then bring over your supplies another day and paint the scenery, just make sure not to stain the floor~” he pours the sake he boiled into the sake flask. “you can even stay the nights if it takes more than a day to complete it, i have an extra room.” i’ll like to see you paint again, the thought runs through his mind. the last time he saw touma painting, he looked beautiful happy. it was nice seeing that.
luciel settles down the tray of sake on the table, raising an eyebrow. “hmm~? now i have to get used to you calling me that… that’s a shame. i liked it when you struggled pronouncing my name.” because it felt special. he crosses his arms, smile thinning into a line, pretending to look unimpressed. “let’s see… not too good. my dear friend is being really weird right now. i’m so sad that he isn’t confiding in me, and he’s saying my name properly. what should i do, tou-ma-kun~? could sake help with that?”
luciel is such a weird person, point blank. touma always knew that about his friend, their first meeting hasn't actually been very conventional. still, it's a funny story looking back. he hadn't exactly expected the two of them to end up being good friends—best friends, in a way, if touma were to really be honest with himself. but just like with any other friendship, touma cherishes luciel dearly; even if he has a hard time admitting that about the other.
"you promise? are you sure?" he thinks luciel isn't the type of person to shove a drink down touma's throat forcefullly, but luciel had always been quite the unpredictable person. that being said, he won't assume the worst of the other, despite his own reservations—still, he decides to just go along with luciel's whims today. after all, it's luciel's special day ( even though it isn't his birthday ), and he's not very good at saying no when there's a special occasion like that.
"i guess i don't know what you'll ask of me! you can surprise me, knowing you, you'd ask for something really strange. and i have no choice but to go along with it." he shrugs, simply relinquishing his fate into luciel's hands. okay, that sounds rather dramatic—it's not like luciel's gonna tell him to jump off the building or something crazy like that. besides, he trusts luciel quite a bit. he wonders if that's mutual though.
touma seems to light up at the idea of bringing over his supplies—but wait, is luciel being serious about that? "okay, i'll do that next time! and a blank canvas too, since i know i'm not supposed to ruin your ridiculously expensive minimalistic walls. i definitely don't have the money to make up for that." he smiles at the other, almost beaming. "i'll pass on the extra room though, wouldn't want to impose...!"
he looks down at the cups of sake—well, looks like he's really gonna have to drink it. he lifts up one cup, swirling the drink around for a while. and then, luciel does ask the question; and touma is wholly unprepared. he should've expected it, but he pauses all the same. "i'm not being weird... why do you think i'm being weird?" he insists, but he's under luciel's watchful gaze and he doesn't think he can escape them. "i just don't think it's anything to bring up when we're celebrating your win right now!" which is true, he doesn't want to discuss his own shortcomings when they should be celebrating luciel.
"is this what the sake is for? to leave me a little vulnerable that you can properly interrogate me about my feelings?" he questions, squinting at luciel now.
next gen is over, and kou, unlike in the previous season had watched it with great interest. which quite honestly, is a little odd – especially since kou had been an actual contestant in the first season ( a fact that he's forgotten a lot more often than he'd like to admit, if he even remembers to admit it in the first place ).
but there had been a lot of people on next gen that he knew of, both judges and contestants. in particular, yuwol and touma. yuwol – the love of his life, and touma – his best friend. both, had sadly not made the top nine. a fact that haunts kou, that upsets him to his core.
for some reason, kou finds himself more upset about this fact than touma though. which he thinks is pretty evident in the way he's seated across touma in this japanese restaurant the both of them have decided to meet up at, with his hands cupping a side of his own cheek and a pout.
"you did really good touma," he says, before taking a sip of his drink. he can't drink too much though, he's got training tomorrow. something that touma, sadly doesn't have. or well, thankfully doesn't. "and so did yuwol..." he mumbles the last part, but he's pretty sure that touma's able to hear him.
"so? what's your plan after this?" he asks his best friend, "are you going to be a full time fortune teller? you know, i think you could make a lot of money with your..." he glances around, just to make sure no one can hear them, before leaning close to touma, whispering in his ear, "... supernatural powers..."
the events of next gen had been… a rather eye-opening experience. honestly, touma’s questioning his own skills lately more often and not. he used to be more confident, more sure of himself—but there must be a reason why each episode came with criticism. this means he has a lot to work on, he wants to be optimistic towards the future. setbacks like these don’t mean the end of the world, after all.
it takes time, though. touma knows that much. after grueling and demanding weeks, he wants to take a breather. ease back into his regular schedule. he has a scholarship to uphold, he doesn’t want to lose another major opportunity.
funnily enough, despite not being a participant, kou seems more disappointed in the results of the show than touma is ( not that touma has ever outwardly expressed any sort of negative emotion ). even though they’re in a more familiar environment, kou seems depressed—and as kou’s good friend, touma doesn’t want to let kou mope around for too long.
he can guess why kou is feeling this way, too. he wasn’t the only participant of next gen season two with a close tie to kou.
“thanks, kou.” he says, despite having an inkling that kou used a majority of his votes—if not all—on someone else. “it’s okay, though. there will be other chances.” he’s answering not only for himself, but also for yuwol. as a reminder to kou, too.
“you’re acting as if i have no other job prospects!” touma lets out a sigh. “did you forget i’m also studying right now? either way, i’ll focus on my degree first… i don’t want my gpa to slip just because i’m feeling rather uninspired on the creative side.”
still, kou’s silly thoughts made touma smile. “you still believe i’m supernaturally gifted, huh?” kou continues to surprise him with his way of thinking—but, this is honestly a bit predictable. “okay, well, my fortune teller powers are telling me you’re really sad. so? are you gonna tell me why? or do i have to pull it out of you?”
ever since next gen, touma had gotten used to interviews. before, he'd probably be somewhat camera shy, even though he's used to posting dance covers on youtube it's different than being interviewed. his answers could be grilled by netizens, dissected piece by piece in order to find something that's wrong or too much. touma's probably overthinking this honestly—has been, for a while, but because of next gen he's no longer that afraid of a camera being shoved to his face and being bombarded by questions.
actually, he's decent at it now. at least, he'd like to think he is.
he didn't expect to be dragged into an interview when in hongdae, but it's not as bad as he thought it would be. the questions, though, are something else. touma shouldn't be asked these questions when he's never dated anyone. he's always the single friend giving advice to those who aren't single. that's been his duty for a while now.
do you think it’s possible to have physical affection before you date someone?
"well, i don't think it's that big of a deal?" he answers honestly. "it's more of a... to each their own, you know? for me, personally, i'm not the best with physical affection in the first place." which is true, fairly speaking he doesn't do well with it either. "everyone's entitled to do whatever they want as long as it's consensual."
what do you consider ‘dating’?
"when... you really like someone, and want to be exclusive." then again, not everyone's like that, but it's a broad description that he can give to a larger audience. he doesn't forget that they live in a conservative country. "the first steps towards marriage, and spending the rest of your life with that person."
how would you ask someone that you’re seeing to be your girlfriend?
"hmm. i mean, i'd just ask?" touma concludes. "i guess that means you'd need to confess. i watch a lot of shows, and it's always a romantic scene under cherry blossom trees. that isn't very realistic though."
something is happening in the streets of hongdae. touma hadn't expected the growing crowd when he came over with @beseira for their own pity party post next gen. his throat is a little sore, from all the singing he had done in an attempt to let out his frustrations into the world instead of letting them bubble up inside him. that being said, he did notice how his voice is a lot more stable now—he's a lot more in-tune than he thought. that's all thanks to next gen, of course.
that's over and done with now though, and now he's back outside with his friend, wondering whether there's an event happening right now. apparently, there is an array of stalls selling items at a discounted price. touma's ears—recalling his budget of a broke college student—perks up the moment he hears the word discount.
"we should stick around!" he tells seira, speaking in their native tongue still. "we deserve to splurge a little, after what we went through." touma insists, a smile on his face. "everything is on discount, who knows how lucky we'll get today?" touma doesn't exactly know seira's financial situation, but he has an inkling that they aren't too far off from one another.
"let me know if you find something interesting, today we're hunting together." he makes it sound so serious—but considering his thinning wallet, honestly, touma is 100% serious about this. he doesn't even know what all these discounts are for—he just wants in on it.
seira is happy and thankful she got into the finale for next gen, but she’s still a bit hurt she didn’t get a contract. she’d been an idol before, yet she was stuck in the bottom, and she still couldn’t quite figure out why. the judges said she hadn’t improved enough, but she felt like she’d improved a great deal throughout the show. what she had done wrong she was still unsure about. on the positive side though, now seira was a 100% sure she wanted to become an idol again. prior to next gen she was unsure if she should try her luck at becoming an idol again or not, now she was finally sure.
next gen wasn’t all bad, she’d made friends throughout the show too. seira was happy, she’d struggled making friends after her group disbanded, but now she had a tons of new friends, friends who were interested in the same as her, who too wanted to be an idol.
she finds herself with touma, happy to be speaking her native language again, and not over the phone. “i usually don’t shop much due to not having too much money but… everything is on discount! i’d say we deserve to spoil ourselves” she shows a smile to touma. “ah look! there’s some sanrio stuff over there, can we please go over there?”.
"i understand how that feels." funnily enough, touma's closest friends in particular are usually more wealthy than him. it doesn't spark any sort of envy from touma, not in particular. it's just—well, a little strange, when they'd buy something luxurious without batting an eye, whereas touma doesn't even keep track of the high-end brands on the market right now. "but today, it's our turn to shop a lot! not until our wallets bleed though, clearly we still need to set up some boundaries. we shouldn't be overtaken by the shopping demons..." and that's true, they might end up getting carried away by the discounts.
he approaches one of the stalls, with seira in tow. "is there anything in particular that you are looking for?" he asks, scanning through what's being offered. "now that there's an opportunity to shop, it's like my entire list of things i need disappeared in my head. i'll probably remember the more we walk around though."
"these are cute," touma says, looking over at the sanrio items that seira had pointed out. "which mascot do you like? there's a huge selection here!" he smiles, thinking about how his brother back home would like these too. but he's pretty sure his brother would have even better luck looking for sanrio merch where they live instead of here.
after failing the show, kaito took some time to fly back to japan and visit his family ( while also questioning if he was even good enough to be an idol to begin with ). of course, he made sure to pay his rent ahead of time in order to not leave it all up to his new roommate touma, the other having agreed to move in with him at the time after his previous roommate had been kicked out.
this time he spent back in japan was time needed away from any thoughts about becoming an idol, or at least trying to, so the moment that he finally makes it to the door of the apartment he inhales deeply, exhaling softly, before entering the code in and opening up the door. after rolling his luggage into the shared apartment, kaito toes off his shoes before stepping further into the place while looking around, his gaze eventually landing on @betouma which causes him to finally smile (for what seems like the first time in days since he had heard those words of being eliminated from the show ).
"missed me?" he asks the other while slowly making his way over towards the couch where touma was seated at, flopping down beside the other and allowing his head to fall over on the other's shoulder before he lets out a long and heavy sigh. "sorry i left so suddenly... i just needed some.... time." as much as he hated admitting that he actually let his elimination get to him, kaito definitely couldn't hide it from his best friend.
actually, even if kaito did try to hide his true emotions and feelings from touma, he's pretty sure the other would be able to pick up on how he was really feeling so there was no point in trying to hide it all from the other male. "by the way, i brought you back some of your favorite snacks and drinks. oh and some new manga as well..."
next gen had been a taxing experience. of course, it's nothing he regrets joining—after some time away from the show and everything related to it, touma finds himself more at peace with the circumstances ( he has to be anyway, it's not like he has a choice in the matter in the first place ). he's happy that he was a participant, and although his results weren't exactly the most favourable, it's still an experience that he appreciated and a learning curve he would remember for a very long time.
other people probably had it harder than him anyway. touma thinks it's conceited of him to thinnk this way at times, but he knows kaito had gone through a lot more than him. at the very least, touma had made it to the finale—whereas, kaito hasn't. touma knows how hard kaito works, especially because they're living together and touma has seen kaito's day-to-day activity. if anything, kaito should be the one who made it to the finale instead of touma. when kaito decided to return to japan for a while, touma couldn't say a lot—he only hoped that kaito would cheer up, eventually.
he's seated on the couch when kaito finally returns home, and he smiles—it's been a while since he saw his roommate, after all. "you have nothing to apologize for. it's been tough." he doesn't know whether his words would help the other boy, but he'd like to try. he knows that what kaito needs now is understanding, of course. "you're still on time with your rent!" he jokes, allowing kaito to lean on him. he leans his head against kaito's too.
"are you okay, though? really?" he has to ask, because that's the most important part of this entire conversation. "thank you for the souvenir, but i'm just glad to see that my friend is back." touma says, smiling even if the other can't see. "we can surf through your new collection later! do you want water? i can get that for you. but we can also stay like this for a few hours," touma suggests, laughing all the while. "how was home?"
a contract is a win, luciel supposes. his older brother had wanted to properly celebrate for his younger sibling, but he had to return to tokyo shortly after. so all luciel did was to send him off while they exchanged simple pleasantries. there’s always been an odd distance between them; neither too close nor too far.
there’s no mentions of their parents in the short conversations they had. luciel had already expected this. there hasn’t been a single message from them throughout the weeks, nor a sound of disappointment. it’s as if ryeo jihyun didn’t exist.
maybe it’s for the better.
he lets his thoughts wander to a friend instead, who’s arriving soon to celebrate luciel getting a contract. the simple thought of it lightened his mood, yet he can’t help but to worry about touma. the boy hasn’t been shining. even when he opens the door for him, luciel thought he resembles the rays of the sun trying to peek through the rainy gloomy clouds, almost desperately.
nevertheless, he greets him with the usual smile while letting him in to his overly simple place. ‘simple’ could be an understatement, the only bits of life hanging around is that conspicuous coffee machine that filled the air with a delicate nutty fragrance and… a very nicely framed painting, the artist being touma himself. luciel had gotten the painting from him a while ago when touma was still in japan as his birthday, he thought it’ll be a shame to let it sit somewhere in his room so he ended up framing it in the living room.
“what’s this? my favourite cake?” he chuckles as he settles the box down on the table. it’s late, and it really shouldn’t be a time for touma to drink coffee. so he ends up pulling out some nice sake and utensils for the cake. “make yourself comfortable, you can turn on the television or whatever… and how about some sake? do you prefer it cold or hot?” he asks as he raises the bottle.
the moment luciel opens the door, touma stretches his lips into a smile—it's a little forced, and if there's anyone who can tell it would be luciel, but he's foolishly hoping that luciel would not say a word about it. it's stupid, because the other boy probably already knows, but if touma keeps going with the act maybe luciel will grace him with ignorance. or luciel would be too busy celebrating himself ( touma knows luciel isn't that kind of person though ).
"i don't really drink!" touma replies, shaking his head. "unless you want me to? i'll do whatever you want me to, as a treat." touma winks, to signify how unserious it is—but he does mean it, somewhat. if luciel wants him to drink a bit of sake, then how can he say no? touma came barging into luciel's humble ( not so humble, honestly ) abode. touma is a guest in luciel's home, he can't exactly refuse any of luciel's request if he's making them.
"we're celebrating you tonight, and i figured a celebration needs cake," touma explains simply. "i didn't make them though. obviously. because i don't know how to bake." luciel's probably already aware of that fact, but touma is repeating it anyway, just in case luciel had any expectations beforehand.
he walks around ( since luciel already told him to make himself comfortable ). touma acts like a puppy exploring a new space, pressing his face to the glass panes covering the living room, looking out into the streets of the city. "this is so high up! i can't believe this is the first time i'm visiting your place for real. i bet the view from here later into the night would be really pretty. i kinda want to paint it." but that's not what touma is here for, so he steps back from the window, hovering back towards luciel.
"congratulations, luciel." he'd gotten better at saying luciel's preferred name without his accent. "how do you feel?" he asks first, so that luciel doesn't get the chance to ask him back.
contrary to how many others feel, mondays have become one of shouta's favorite days of the week. it's the day that his mom closes the bakery for deep-cleaning and to prep for the week to come, but before she and her team arrive to work, she allows him full access to her space. full-sized ovens are hard to come by in seoul, and the fact that his own mom has a commercial kitchen for him to use is honestly like a dream come true for shouta.
creating his own delicious treats has always brought him peace; it reminds him of his days-gone-by in japan. that, and well, the bakery always smells scrumptious, the ingredients are fully stocked and beautifully organized, and the environment itself fuels him with endless inspiration. it's a near-flawless situation.
today, he's invited touma to join him. he knows that his good pal needs some perking up after his stint on next gen, and in his opinion, there's no better way to do that than to focus on baking a perfect cake, one made with heaps upon heaps of love, and dressing it up to the nines. shouta has a hunch that touma will love decorating, so he can't wait for that, but until then, they're waiting for their cakes to finish baking.
turning to his friend, shouta offers a toothy grin, then scrunches his nose playfully; leporine features only accentuated by his expression. "while they're in the oven, we can work on our icing!" he exclaims, knowing that this step doesn't take long. "do you have any visions for what you want your cake to look like? that'll help me guide you with what type of frosting to whip up! we can also use dyes to color things how we need to, and there's lots of other things we can use to decorate, too!"
with that, shouta leans his head on touma's bicep; their 13cm height difference making this rather easy. "you feeling okay? having fun?"
even though it’ll take a lot of touma to say it out loud, he’s been feeling a little down in the dumps lately after the events of next gen ( in his own head he’s downplaying it too ). it’s kind of telling of his current abilities, that he’s constantly stuck in the bottom ranks with no signs of moving upwards. the finale, too, he remained significantly out of bounds. he wasn’t surprised when he found himself walking away from the show without a contract, and with a hit to his confidence.
there’s a silver lining to everything, that’s touma’s constant outlook in life; it’s what keeps him sane, most days. after a karaoke session with another next gen contestant that suffered the same fate he did, he noticed how much more stable his voice is now, and how he can carry a note a lot better than before he had partaken in next gen. he clearly picked up a collection of skills, there’s no doubt about that.
surely, this mood of his and his loss is only a part of a more positive outcome that will come a bit later in his life. eventually, the hurt and everything in between will become motivation for the future. but for now, he’ll have to figure out how to get out of this rut. for touma, the best way to remind himself of all the good in life is to spend them with the people he cares deeply about—and those that care about him, too.
shouta fits that criteria, although he feels a sense of guilt that the younger boy will bear witness to touma’s more miserable state. he’s trying to hide it as much as he can, smiling comes easy to him even when his goal is to convince someone he’s okay when he isn’t, but shouta can probably tell. it’s no use trying to conceal how he’s feeling, but touma can’t help it. it’s hard being fully vulnerable.
he’s glad that they’re doing something, though. baking, to be specific, so touma isn’t left with just his brain being mean to him. touma would be busy figuring out the intricacies of baking instead, and shouta would be busy teaching touma about baking. hopefully, anyway.
the cupcakes are in the oven now, but that doesn’t mean they’re done. far from it. “how many colors can we have?” touma hums, serious when it comes to the decor. he has been lowkey messing up the entire time here and there, so it’s only fair that he kills the decoration. “i know that we should probably limit ourselves, since we aren’t baking that much.” and he’d feel bad, using a lot of shouta’s family’s resources for this project instead of for the family business itself.
“i did have a small vision, of a garden theme.” he says, pulling up his phone to show shouta some of his inspiration from pinterest. “so… green first, and then several other colors for the flowers. maybe we can mold some chocolates into ladybugs or tools like rakes. but, that’s probably way too ambitious.” he laughs, shrugging. “i don’t think my abilities in baking can make this a reality just yet!” touma still has to be realistic, after all. he reaches out to pat shouta’s head, grateful for the other’s company throughout everything.
riha loves walking miso. it's like going for a run, but with a friend! sure, she can run with people friends too, but she prefers to run by herself. she feels like walking on your own is a bit weirder, so miso saves her from any potential judgment and also helps her feel less lonely pretty much all the time.
sometimes she wonders if miso is lonely and would like another furry friend, but then she thinks so many people live in their apartment already, and much more excitement might just stress the little chihuahua out.
it's a little chilly outside, wind blowing at riha's back. "miso, buckle down so you don't blow away!" riha laughs. "should i pick you up?" she's actually a little concerned about it suddenly. miso is so small...she seems to be doing okay, though - until she starts barking madly.
riha turns around only to see a big dog hurtling toward them. riha's eyes widen. he has a collar, so she knows he's not a stray, and judging by how fast he's running, riha has a feeling he doesn't get out to run much - and that he probably shouldn't be out running by himself.
she can hear someone yelling in the distance, presumably for the dog, so riha tries to prepare herself to catch him. for a moment, she thinks he'll run right into her arms, but he veers sideways last minute, right into the street.
"oh no!" riha exclaims, and she rushes into the street without a second thought, poor miso at the mercy of her owner tugging her along as fast as possible.
this dog walking side gig is going well, for the most part. honestly, it isn't something he thought about too hard—at first, it was his neighbour asking for help, so touma decided why not; he loves his neighbour's puppy! it had been smooth sailing, maybe touma went the extra mile a little bit throughout the weekend. taking the little guy on daily walks, getting all that bundle of energy out. his neighbour had been thankful, even paid him—and then, suddenly, his neighbour had referred touma's number to other dog owners.
so, that's how he got in this position. freelance dogwalker, mostly through word of mouth. he hadn't really promoted himself or his services, but people somehow found him anyway. was his neighbour an influencer or something? how did touma's one-time business started booming suddenly?
that being said, touma had been lucky to be handed over mostly trained dogs. easier to work with, and he can walk some of them all at once. there's one dog in particular that wouldn't fall in line, so touma made the executive decision to walk this one alone, in his own time.
but, that dog is not really walking right now. no, he's running full speed ahead, tugging at touma's arms—he feels like they're gonna come off, but they don't. that's not a good thing though, because this means this dog is off his leash!
"JANGGUN!" touma yells, running after the dog—as fast as his feet would let him, but it's not enough. he's short of breath, but he doesn't let up, it'd be dangerous leaving the dog to his own devices, especially if he's heading straight for the streets. he doesn't even notice the poor bystander that janggun almost ran into, too focused on getting the dog back.
touma does manage to catch the leash again at the very least, and starts pulling as janggun is teetering the edge of the road. "come on, big boy, help me out a bit here!" damn, maybe touma should really hit the gyms.
