to say that nam dawon was furious would be one big understatement. it wasn’t an unusual sight— a couple of assholes so full of themselves that they feel the need to belittle others on a daily basis. on any other day, she wouldn’t have had the self-control to stand still. no, she wanted nothing more than to march over and find her own ways to make the girls feel just as inadequate— but she refrained. now wasn’t the time for picking fights, it was the time for comforting her friend in what may be her time of need.
offering a warm smile towards chanmi, dawon does her best to remain composed. her tone is pleasant and gentle as she speaks, hoping to ease the slightly younger girl’s worries. “no, you don’t. don’t mind them, they’re just… stupid.” it wasn’t the greatest form of a comforting, though at least it was genuine. placing her hands on the other girl’s shoulders, dawon takes a moment to examine her from head to toe. aside from the stain, she comes to the conclusion that there’s absolutely nothing amiss.
“you look great,” she assures her. it’s the truth, as far as dawon is concerned. “trust me. they’re probably just jealous! i could always go, i don’t know… punch them or something? i don’t punch a lot of people, but…” her voice trails off as the corners of her lips rise into a determined grin. “i’d be willing to make an exception this time around.”
honestly chanmi probably isn’t as insulted as dawon was. their society made appearances one of the--if not the number one--most important requirements. however she didn’t practice what the media preached and put comfort before everything else. of course she was still influenced, still pulled into by words from strangers that she should be able to roll off her back with ease but finding some fragile inability to do so, and while she’s certain it will be something she’ll forget by next week it’s stuck in her mind now.
“yeah,” she answers with warmth in her tone, finding comfort in her friends encouraging words, “no punching, though! i don’t need you getting into a fight because, well.. if you ended up getting hit i’d have to jump in too.” which is a promise that’s made in the spark of her eyes, glistening with an utmost amount of truth and honesty. “but i haven’t gone shopping in awhile. i guess it’s because my schedule is so hectic most times that i don’t bother, though i think it’s time for some things in my closet to finally be put into retirement.”
“oh!” the gasp escapes her lips before seoyoung can stop herself. she puts a hand over her mouth. “kim chanmi? oh my gosh! how long has it been?”
looking at that face now, it all falls into place. they hadn’t seen each other since they were children, so of course it was harder to make the connection. but even taking into account the way people’s faces change as they get older, chanmi looks really different. she doesn’t look anything like the chubby child seoyoung remembers. “i’m sorry i didn’t recognize you,” she admits, taking in the sight of the other girl again. “you look so different… you really lost weight! and i, um, like your hair.”
pointing out how chanmi’s changed makes seoyoung aware of how much she hasn’t. she laughs to herself and tugs on the end of one of her twin braids. i guess i still have my baby fat, too… no wonder she was so easily recognizable after all these years. but what were the chances of running into an old friend in a totally different city? “so what’s going on? how have you been? oh man, there’s so much to catch up on, isn’t there…”
seoyoung glances back through the tea shop window. “why don’t you come inside? it’s not too busy right now, let’s talk!” she beams. how is it such a small world? honestly, she never thought she’d run into kim chanmi again, but the universe works in mysterious ways.
chanmi nods her head with the same energy she does with anything--far too much for something so minimal--before her lips curl into a bright smile, “yeah.. my mom was really dead set on me losing weight,” said sheepishly, “but its been so long, i honestly can’t believe it; you still look the same! like a baby.”
she speaks with honesty, not a single drop of malice coming from her words as she gives her childhood friend the whole up-and-down. rocking back on her heels she places her weight onto one foot before placing a hand to her hip. she glances over to the shop mentioned, again nodding her head, “sure thing, can i order something while i’m here? i haven’t eaten anything in awhile.”
there’s stars in her eyes, evidence of cheerfulness and delight as she and seungcheol walk through the relatively large shopping mart. they’re killing time and going from department to department with no real interest on buying anything until they happen to stumble into the toys area. now normally--this is normal, chanmi allowing herself to dive into childish tendencies and find herself being seven years old again.
“yo,” while the male has attention elsewhere chanmi is grabbing the first lightsaber she sees and pulling it out from the box, smiling with glee when their gaze meet, “these are those light sword things from that movie, right? let’s have a fight.” out in public. where people can walk over and see them being complete idiots. honestly it just seems like any other day that ends with a ‘y’ when the two of them were together.
She never saw dancing as an activity you could do alone. You do not need a partner, but you need energy - people’s energy. It could be from a couple of eyes in the living room whenever she broke out into a random dance routine, though it could also be from thousands of fans screaming from the stands and giving her the strength to keep dancing even if she was exhausted. Her most recent example was a dance class in a crowed room. They all did the same movements (some better than others), and they all released the same energy.
So when she was sitting outside after the class was done, Bona couldn’t stop her legs from swinging back and fort because of all that energy she had left. Her hand held the water bottle against her neck, letting the cold water cool down her heated skin. “Like what?” She asked back while slowly turning her attention to the one beside her. “Parkour?” The older added with a bright smile on her face. If she was asking it honestly stayed as a mystery.
“you’re such a clown,” she says in jest, chuckling lightly, “yeah let’s skip out on using the bus and just hop over cars. it’ll be totally brilliant and we won’t be handcuffed by the end of the night.”
of course parkour doesn’t work that way but does chanmi know that? clearly not. she smiles despite this, clearing her throat as she notices the girls never ending swinging legs. she takes it as boredom and desire to do something, desire to move, and with that she finds more encouragement to ask, “that class wasn’t enough, right?”
she eyes the older questionably, features softening as she offers the girl a smile. her lips perch for a brief moment, “do you wanna dance with me?”
it can be stressful to work a part-time teaching job on top of an already-rigorous training schedule. kibum has to design choreographies to teach his classes, and adjust the difficulty of them for the different levels of the classes. then, after a long week of training, he spends a lot of his weekend free time in the dance studio, helping others learn the choreographies and improve their dancing.
all the same, even with the extra work and even more limited free time, kibum enjoys it. he enjoys staying busy, even if he has to sacrifice sleep for it. he’s never been much of a good sleeper, anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal for him. and dancing is what he loves the most, so he has no problem spending his free time dancing – especially since these dance classes actually spread his love for dancing to other people and maybe even help them find a passion for it. or maybe it’ll just help them get some exercise. either way, kibum’s happy to share his knowledge and experience with others.
the extra money is really just an added bonus.
today, though, he’s exhausted. training was somehow more tiring than usual this week – he thinks the coaches upped their game since they got new trainees sort of recently. he still enjoyed teaching, but by the time the class ends he’s just ready to pack up his bag and go home so he can take a shower and pass out for a few hours.
when one of his students approaches him, he pauses in packing up his bag, wanting to show her the respect of giving her his full attention while she talks. somehow, he feels her words replenish his energy, encouraging him and ridding his chest of the pesky tightness that’s been settled within it all day. she enjoyed the class, and was excited to learn new moves from him. he can see the honesty in her eyes and hear the muted enthusiasm in her voice, and he feels his chest swell with pride and happiness, his mood immediately doing a complete 180 at the simple acknowledgement from one of his students.
“of course!” he says with a bit of a chuckle. “you’re chanmi, right? it’s fine, feel free to ask me anything,” he adds with a smile, gesturing for her to sit with him as he kneels back down to resume his packing up, though much slower this time.
her fingers are curled into fists behind her back, concealing her nervousness and excitement all wrapped into one. she feels her nails dig into skin and albeit it’s not enough to bring pain it keeps her rooted to the reality that she was talking to someone whom she admired. it had always been from afar and through random moments she’d peek through her reflection and spot him somewhere in front of the crowd.
when he turns to her with a smile she hears the weeks worth of questions she’s been piling up all at once. it’s not a rare occurrence but she’s nervous and for people familiar with chanmi they know that’s not entirely in character.
“y-yes! i’m chanmi!” she voices with bright eyes, taking his suggestion and sitting down. she tries to busy her eyes so she can calm her senses, to piece together the words she’s been wanting to ask.
it’s a second later that she realizes that she’s taking too long to start and is just staring.
“so, yeah,” the young teen starts off small, fingers loosening as she finally decides to let go of whatever was making her so nervous to speak, “how are you?” --that’s not it.-- “the choreography was pretty tough today--i mean, for me, it was tough for me. you looked great though. yeah. so.” --stop thinking so much.-- “i was wonder, i mean if you noticed, do you think i’ve.. improved?”
halloween or christmas
autumn mornings or winter nights
building snowmen or carving pumpkins
hot chocolate or pumpkin spice
trick / treating or naughty / nice
candy stomach aches or snowball fights
fresh pine or spicy cinnamon
thriller or all i want for christmas is you
pun-y halloween costumes or ugly christmas sweaters
cotton candy or popcorn
snowflakes or falling leaves
black / orange or red / green
ghosts or aliens or myths
space or the ocean
ghostbusters or elf™
in her defense she was running late (as per usual) when the weather channel was on. then the next minute it’s raining, headed into a straight downpour, and soon enough the busy city streets were flooded with rain water.
someone has told her before that running through the rain would only cause her to get more drenched, and unfortunately she wasn’t taking those words to heart when she runs for the bus shelter. the only thing fortunate is that she’s not wearing anything white, hissing out a sound of displeasure however with the reality of being caught in the rain. it’s an unfortunate series of events that followed shortly after she managed to drop half of her food, an omen to a bad day overall in her perspective, but chanmi attempts to roll off the thoughts of impending embarrassment while combing her fingers through her hair.
at least she can say it’s not the absolute worse thing that’s happened in her life with confidence.
it’s why she’s not the least bit embarrassed or hesitant when she acknowledges the presence of the girl in the bus shelter with her. “hey, sorry,” she starts the conversation off with a small smile, “you wouldn’t have like a.. hand cloth or anything, would you? i forgot mine at home.”
in order to become an expert in something one most practice, chanmi both recognizes and acknowledges that. she herself wasn’t born with the natural talent to dance but she grew to enjoy it, love it, and be complimented on her skills. or lack there of, considering she’s always aiming higher.
it seems like a far away dream but somewhere in her irises sparks hope and determination. it’s something that she’s absolutely confident in and sees in the reflection of herself in the large glass mirror that’s presented for the entire dance class. she’s focused on herself and the thought that others, besides their teacher, were stuck in their own world of concentration kept her fears and insecurities at bay.
she groans when class is over, not out of joy but in disappointment knowing that it was over. time seemed to always go faster the moment her heart skipped a beat in the rhythm of the music and chanmi hates the idea of going home with adrenaline still pumping through her veins.
“ah, excuse me!”
approaching key she pauses, thinking over her words before she says anything in fear that her enthusiasm may show through. “i just.. wanted to thank you for another great class, i was really pumped the entire time and learned something new again.” her words, however, are said with honesty and her smile shows that, “and i was wondering if i could ask you a few questions? maybe? nothing personal! i’m not weird.”
she’s as familiar with makeup as she is the russian language--meaning not at all.
her sister is more aware and keeps up with the trends of the makeup world, often times having chanmi run around the city in circles trying to find different items to send home to her. it’s only a matter of time before she gets curious and is fully aware that sooner or later she’d have to learn that there’s more then just bb cream and eyeliners.
again she’s running around for her sister’s benefit but she allows her curiosity to wander. it’s surprising what time you can lose in a cosmetic store, slowly pacing from one counter to the next and soon enough she has a few lines of swatches along the back of her hand.
she hardly notices the girl that’s beside her at first, apologies leaving her mouth faster then she gets a good glimpse of her face. “sorry, am in the wa--..” her words come to a subtle halt, eyes staring at the other’s lips and noticing the color to them struck her interest, “ah, your lips are really pretty. what color are you using?”
the best thing about dance is that it can’t be contained, if your feet can touch the ground everything is a stage. unfortunately the thought of a stage, an audience, brings chanmi’s heart to race for all the negative reason. anxiety builds and her throat goes dry, so she finds relief and comfort in dance class knowing everyone is paying far too much attention on themselves to pay attention to her. (excluding the teacher, of course.)
the sky darkens and the city lights blind the stars above. for a girl that’s so used to seeing constellations it does nothing but bring a sigh of disappointment, the exhaustion of her last dance class rolling off her shoulders as she brings another gulp of water down her throat. she doesn’t leave her company alone in silence, a smile gracing her lips as she turns her head towards the girl beside her, “before we get something to eat do you wanna do something?”
trying to pretend that she didn’t overhear whispers passing by she presses her lips together, hand tightening around the strap of the duffel bag hanging from her shoulder. her gaze soon follows to what the giggling girls had commented on, however, sizing up her own attire from head to toe. old jean shirts that deserved retirement and an over-sized shirt, the corner stained with.. something--in her defense she was running late early in the morning.
“dawon,” the desire to defend herself overwhelms her, but rather than run back to the ones gossiping she turns to her friend with urgency. her brows are curved, eyes immediately searching for answers as her mouth moves to ask, “do i look weird? like, do i look ugly?”
it’s definitely not her top ten looks but in her own opinion she doesn’t look terrible.
the sound of something hitting the window in front of seoyoung startles her a bit, and a few drops of water slosh out of her pitcher. she glances back up and sees the same girl pressed against the glass, mouthing something. her voice comes faintly through. s… ng… j… gal…
oh! is that… my name?
seoyoung has to take a second look at the girl’s features. her eyes are drawn to her colorful hair and slender body. now that she’s really looking, it’s more than just a faint similarity. she really does recognize that face from somewhere. but where? oh, this is embarrassing. just like those family gatherings when she was younger, when she couldn’t recognize the people who were pinching her cheeks.
she glances over her shoulder, then sets the pitcher of water down on the windowsill and hurries toward the door. the chimes jingle as seoyoung steps outside. she greets the girl, brushing her apron flat and biting her lip. “uh… hello!” she says, with the usual smile that she wears while at work. “i’m sorry, were you asking for me?”
the girl’s surprise is met with a smile, a spark in her irises encouraging her to answer in some type of way or form. it would have been much more simple for her to step inside but common sense has left her train of thought as she waits, ignoring the odd glances she receives from the people passing by. but once she had a question in mind chanmi was the type of person to persistently search for an answer, and with that being right in front of her she has no plans on moving unless she’s shooed away.
admittedly she does feel like it’s a shot in the dark. the number of people were increasing by the day and some held similar features due to family, but she’s certain the girl on the other side was a friend from home.
fortunately one of the two of them knows that answers wouldn’t be met through a glass window, practically hopping in place and meeting the girl halfway when she steps outside. “yes!” chanmi chimes, energy evident in her voice as smiles widely, “you’re seoyoung, right? seoyoung from daegu? it’s me, kim chanmi!”
omg this is going to be the last ooc post y’all will see from me for awhile okay i promise. but!! since i’m such a loser and suck at plotting + i’m lowkey lost in all my messages and such i’ve decided that for those i’m not too deep in plotville with atm (i.e. we’re just abt to wrap things up and start a thread) i’ll be willing to write up a random starter! just like this post and i’ll get something up for the two of us, i’ll stop if/when this post hits five likes!
she is not the least bit concerned when returning home for the holidays, the strap of her bag pressing against her shoulder uncomfortably the entire bus ride back to daegu. it’s filled with gifts so she technically can’t complain, but she makes the mental note of not bringing so much next holiday.
(she won’t follow it.)
chanmi is filled with childlike desires of eating a home cooked meal and spending time with her family, bobbing her head left and right to the tune of delightful pop songs. headphones serve as a disconnection from reality and fortunately her neighbor isn’t trying to pull them off to strike up a conversation. instead the dark haired girl leans closer towards the window and watches the passing cars and trees, the smile on her lips slowly reverting into a small frown. her brows curve as she hears her mother’s voice somewhere between the beat of the song as she’s quickly reminded of the things she hasn’t been able to accomplish since leaving home.
don’t think of that now.
she is part of her family’s glory built on a sacrificial altar that she made herself, however. since she can’t score perfectly and attend well-known and pretentious universities like her older sister, chanmi opts to set the bar of what her mother expects from her as a dancer. the entertainment industry was a constant opening and closing for individuals and without talent she would be heading no where fast.
she swallows this pressure that is attempting to settle onto her shoulder once the bus makes a full stop, realizing that she would have to step off. she could always think of the endless list of concerns later, but for now she’s going to enjoy being home.
“you walked all the way here after taking the bus? no wonder it took you so long,” hyemi chimes as chanmi carries her belongings back to her room. she swings open the door and is delighted in the sight of what she left a year ago had remained untouched, as if time had frozen itself inside her bedroom and she finds comfort in flopping down onto her mattress.
“i thought i’d take a look around~ things could have changed in a year,” chanmi finally responds as she sighs with relief, “and i’m glad to see it didn’t.”
hyemi smiles, taking a seat next to her younger sister, “and how is everything up in the city?”
at first chanmi has no idea how to respond. she pauses--she never hesitates--wide eyes looking to her older, much wiser sister who sees right through her translucent mask that she thinks protects her from the rest of the world. her throat rumbles with the familiar feeling of forced laughter, parted lips and pearly whites showing through her nervousness as she answers, “fine. it’s doing great. i’ve really made progress.” there’s truth behind her words, because though she may be weak kim chanmi is far from a liar. honesty drips from her tongue and there’s a moment of fear evident in her eyes as to what her sister may say next.
it’s always the worse that comes first.
“mom won’t be happy to hear that,” dark hair falls gracefully onto her mattress as her sister decides to lay beside her, “not specific enough. i’m guessing you’re not contracted under any company, hm?”
biting her bottom lip chanmi nods her head, “ye.. ah.”
the disappointment in her voice is obvious--disappointed in herself, in the fact that she can’t find pride in the little steps she’s taken towards independence and her dream, her throat tightens with the familiar feeling of failure. her eyes gloss over with the desire to cry and she attempts to repress the negative emotions that slowly begin to surface and cause her chest to shake with anxiety.
“but i’m proud of you.”
her sister brings her back, brings bright brown eyes to stare with surprise and relief all mixed together, her voice warm enough to break through the cold reality that was pressing against her shoulders. hyemi had such a natural, powerful way of words that could change chanmi’s entire demeanor in a split second and she can see how thankful she is in the reflection of her older sister’s eyes.
“dad’s proud of you, too.”
rooted, back on the ground and not losing her gravity to the negative possibilities. even with the bad news already out in the open chanmi finds comfort in the fact that she still had support--and she still had support from her mother as well, just not as gentle. there’s knowledge and years of experience behind her words that dig into the youngest in all directions but she takes it knowing that it was all to be beneficial towards her. and there was just something different in being praised and compliment by blood, it was something she would soon never get over because she strives to meet the day where she can stand in stage and wave to her family somewhere in the crowd.
“i’m really glad to be home,” chanmi finally breaks the silence, bringing the sleeves of her shirt up to her face and quickly wiping away what little tears managed to slip past the cracks of her eyes. “i can’t wait to eat whatever the hell i want and regret it when i get back.. because it’ll be another couple of months until i can do it again. i seriously plan on gaining 10 kg before i go back!”
“10 kg!?”
“no! not 10 kg! 20 kg!”
“chanmi!!”
the two of them erupt in a contagious laughter that has their father from the floor below them belt out too.
it’s an overcast day; seems that rain will be coming soon. there aren’t as many people as usual milling around on the street or wandering into sunset’s tea shop. and so seoyoung is inside, cleaning tables and watering the potted flowers in the shop windows. it’s a fairly relaxed job when she doesn’t have to stand outside and lure in customers. she pauses at the window to observe the outside for a moment.
there’s a bus stop and a strip of other stores on the other side of the street, and a few people pass by, focusing only on the sidewalk in front of themselves. some of them enter one of the buildings or sit down to wait for the bus. and then a girl walks by, moving a little more slowly, taking in her surroundings. of course, it’s a pretty street lined with trees and cute businesses, so there’s plenty to see.
the girl looks up and their eyes meet. somehow, there’s something kind of familiar about her face. it’s hard to place, but she reminds seoyoung of someone she once knew; maybe it was a long time ago. but that happens all the time, doesn’t it? many strangers share the same curve of the jaw or shape of the nose. seoyoung smiles to herself and looks back down as she resumes watering the plants.
with classes over chanmi decides to take a walk around the city and find a place to waste a few hours before she goes to practice. the weather leaves empty threats that she looks to with mild concern, she should have brought an umbrella. but if the worst comes there won’t be anyone she can be upset at except herself, considering she muted the news while preparing for school.
passing by stores she stares inside, taking slower steps and allowing the busy people to walk pass her with ease. they’re all unfamiliar faces and maybe that’s why she comes to a halt the moment her eyes meet those that caused her memories to shake.
with wide eyes she blinks. focusing in she reaches back inside her brain to find what was making her pull her in to the girl who was watering plants.
that’s when it clicks.
without hesitating her hands place themselves on the window separating the two, tapping the glass lightly chanmi attempts to grab the girl’s attention again. “seoyoung?” she asks, surprise evident in her eyes, “jegal seoyoung?” she drags each syllable of the girl’s name longer than necessary, and it doesn’t really hit her that it would be easier to just walk inside.
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dailybridgerton
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turnnoffyourmind
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