being of these shows was always somewhat of a challenge for our young heroine. with half a decade of experience under her belt and twenty four long years of being in her mother’s spotlight and another few odd years within those of her own upbringing, made her more firm and aware of the criticisms that came her way. she wasn’t as forgiving as her mother, nor as tight lipped as her father. being raised outside of the confines of south korea and its expectations allowed her to venture outside the borders of conservatism.
so, when the criticism came at a fellow colleague beside her, about how quiet he was, struck her the wrong way. words that were way too blunt and brutal, were thrown towards the other male. seokhwa, she thinks it was. he was a part of nexus, that one boy band that she had heard moved into hwang geum not too long ago. she’s met him a few times backstage from various other shows and things of the sort, but not much was exchanged other than the cordial glances and smiles.
again, the same rudeness continued, and she glances over at the two hosts that were going in on seokhwa, she clears her throat and voice raises, just enough to appear threatening, “what is your problem? why do you have to put him on the spot like that?” she moves to swiftly push her hair behind her shoulder, stepping forward slightly to get a better view of them, “not everyone has a loud mouth like you guys.” the people standing between them covering their mouths, giggling.
and before she knew it, the topic turned into her, questions about her engagement and how she should be ashamed took over the episode. her features morph in disbelief of the stupidity that this had turned into, “are you joking?” she moves to roll up her sleeves, expression loosening, as her tone smooths over, “whilst we’re on the topic of engagements, isn’t your son engaged to someone with a criminal record?” her brow raises, knowing it was a sore spot.
After seven years as an idol, one would assume Seokhwa had a better grasp over variety shows. However, the sad fact was he still shied away from the spotlight, especially when he was sent on shows alone. If another member were present, he could count on their easy support and relationship to bring out something nice to showcase for the cameras, but he hardly knew anyone on set.
He knew, deep down, it was all for humor. Post-production would edit fun captions and a laughing track to add to the hosts’ jokes about Seokhwa’s shy silence. Viewers at home would probably find it funny, but Seokhwa couldn’t help but feel himself cringe back with the jabs. He tried to smile and laugh at the hosts’ jokes, but it was hard. He startled slightly when he heard a throat clear next to him. Celeste. A pretty, talented solo singer whose songs Seokhwa have enjoyed before. She was going to be in a drama with Taehwan. An idol who was engaged, which was a feat in of itself.
He had expected her to join in, get some spotlight and laughs for herself, and was pleasantly surprised to find her standing up for him. It was a bold move, one that could either shape her a heroine or a brat, depending on how viewers wanted to take the action. Seokhwa felt himself staring at her with bright eyes afterwards, smiling shyly as she continued to stand up for herself.
As the host sputtered at her attack and swiftly changed the subject to something else, the cameras focusing on another guest, Seokhwa, tugged lightly on Celeste’s sleeve. “Thank you. Y-you didn’t have to, but I really appreciate it.”
