“let’s go get you a coca cola, then. and if anyone tries to offer you anything you don’t want on the way there, i’ll play bad cop and scare them away,” pansy said dotingly, giving him a soft smile. though she was by no means the mom of the company, pansaya definitely felt protective of the younger artists at solar, and felt a need to advocate for them should it be needed.
“ pansy, you goddess, ” yunjae said with a slow and lazy smile. “ what kind of tea did you have there ? ” he asked, gesturing to her cup.
rosie giggled– she could relate to that. she was kind of shy when it came to big events like this, so she could absolutely see how that would get tiresome after a while. “you need to bring a giant empty booze bottle and fill it with soda or something and carry that around! that would get people to shut up– plus you’d have the added bonus of people giving you weird looks,” she pointed out with a snort. “i’d love to come with you! i want another shirley temple!” a virgin shirley temple, of course. rosie had driven here.
“ be careful --- or i might actually try that, ” he replied playfully. yunjae could already picture the horrified looks from staff members. “ come on, let’s go get those drinks. ”
haena bit back a smile at the sight, sighing. she could relate– people were incessant when they were trying to force you to have a good time. taking his hand firmly to lead him (but loose enough that he could break away if he wanted to), she walked him over to the bar area, taking a champagne flute and filling it with sparkling water before handing it to him. she then took out her ipad, typing up a reply for him and holding it up for him to read
[ pretend to drink that. it might keep people off your back ]
yunjae beamed. “ you’re brilliant, ” he said. he took the glass from her and then looked around the other bottles on the table. not finding what he was looking, he let out a put-upon sigh. “ --- if only they had martinelli’s here. have you ever had it ? it’s like a sparkling apple cider, that is to say, apple juice but sparkly. ” he wiggled his fingers in the air, like he was playing a floating piano with one hand. “ we used to have it at thanksgiving dinners back when i used to live in the states. ”
suzy sighed dramatically, giving him a little shake of the head, as if she were about to scold him. “come now– why waste perfectly good champagne when i’m right here to drink it for you,” she told him with a playful smile. “didn’t your mother ever tell you not to waste things? especially when other people are in need? like me– i’m in need of a better buzz, and you chose to give it to a fake ficus instead. what a shame…”
without missing a beat, yunjae replied in a voice just as dramatic as suzy’s, “ and where were you when i was being besieged by all these staff members trying to make me a drunken fool out of myself ? don’t tell me that you only hang around me for the free drinks --- ” he trailed off before playfully pretending to come to a realization. “ no, would you be that cruel ? ”
junxi offered him a wry smile, eyeing the plant. “you’re probably lucky that thing isn’t real,” the trainee pointed out with a little laugh. “i’m pretty sure pouring alcohol into a real plant would probably kill it…”
with a wry look, yunjae replied, “ don’t worry, i made sure to check before i poured it. but even if it were real, who’s to say that it was me who killed it, and not the chill and lack of sunlight from the changing of the seasons ? ”
pansaya smiled sympathetically at him, offering naeil her nearly-full glass. “you can finish off mine, if you’d like? it’s just an iced tea– nothing in it but sweetener, i promise. no alcohol or anything to spike it.” while she herself had no issues drinking, she could see how an event like this could be harder for her coworkers who couldn’t. or didn’t.
“ it’s not that i don’t believe you, but i’ve just been really craving a coca cola, ” he said apologetically, but his own returning smile was warm. “ and i’m not too keen on stealing your drink from you. would you mind walking with me to the bar ? wouldn’t mind some company. ”
rosamie was content. as much as she would have preferred her own stash of snacks in her dorm, the bar and caterers had a pretty good selection of soda, and whenever she asked for a drink, they still served her her pop in a fancy glass, which she thought was fun. she’d never been one for alcohol (she didn’t like the way her head felt when she drank), but that wasn’t going to put a damper on her evening! she could have plenty of fun without getting drunk.
locking eyes with naeil, her own eyes widened. “you know…” she began meekly, “if you ask nicely, i’m sure they could get you a water or juice or something. they have a big selection at the bar, and not everything is booze.”
there’s a wry twist to his lips. " while that’s true, it’s not a conversation i’m eager to have repeatedly, ” he said politely. “ and while most of the people giving the drinks to me wouldn’t be offended, there are a few who’d act like i just told them that their dog had died. ” despite his words, he still sounds appreciative for the help and not at all dismissive. “ would you like to walk with me to the bar ? maybe if i hold a drink in each hand, they’d realize that i can’t carry anymore and keep them from offering more. ”
as a wallflower who very much didn’t want to be there, sikyung had been doing a lot of people-watching at the event. she just wanted to leave, but she couldn’t, so she watched her coworkers make fools of themselves. and that was fun for a while, but after a bit of that, naeil caught her eye. taking drinks and getting rid of them moments later. as much as she understood why, it was still funny. it looked like a scene from a sticom or something.
all of that came to a head when he threw another one in a plant, finally catching on that she’d been watching. “sure,” she replied with a snort, rolling her eyes. “i know this is a wild concept, but how about you just say no to the alcoholoic drinks, einstein? it might be awkward, but like………..you can’t fucking drink them??”
“ i’ve tried, ” he admitted. “ they’ve either been too drunk to really understand what i’m saying, or they think they made some egregious error against me and start apologizing profusely, and then my manager gives me a look from across the room. ” yunjae glanced in his manager’s direction, and lo and behold, she was looking right at him. when their eyes met, he quickly averted his gaze. “ easier for me to just take the drinks. if you stick by me, i can just pass them onto you ... ? “ he offered hopefully.
“RIGHT …” the word slipping through, greeting the opposite idol with a stoic facial expression. moments before, he was in conversation with a member of the upper division within management, haneul fairly acquainted with those in charge due to his years with the company. however, a person can only take in so much dry language before needing to separate for more entertaining content. yunjae was not the first person he wanted to come across, but, nonetheless, there he was standing before the idol who is returning from a hiatus. an idol in which haneul was once well acquainted with in a more intimate manner, but their connection falling through only to turn sour with tease. “i heard you mentioned me yet again in another appearance. making fun of me again, huh? you must love tainting my image.”
yunjae looked at him then, making straight eye contact. there was no spark of resentment or even desire in his eyes --- just calm, honest acknowledgement. “ is that what you think of me ? ” he asked, not sounding offended, but almost curious. he didn’t bother denying what he had done, but he honestly hadn’t imagined that hanuel would have been that bothered by it. the comedic bit was a little old by now, though variety show hosts still tended to love yunjae’s impression of his label-mate. and judging by their laughter last week, jeong hyeong-don and defconn were no exception. part of why it was so effective was that yunjae didn’t actually make hanuel sound bad. the timbre of hanuel’s voice was already similar to naeil’s --- a sign of so!ar’s vocal training, by no doubt --- and all naeil did was make his own voice slightly less airy and slightly more sultry. the bird-like dancing on the other-hand --- well, that could just be attributed to yunjae’s own lack of choreography practice in comparison to hanuel’s years of it. “ our fans like it when we mention each other. it makes the company seem like a family. ”
“Sure it did.” Iris murmured, eyebrow raised as she sipped her half empty champagne flute. Frankly, Iris loved any excuse to get hammered but sadly, this was all they were serving . Maybe she and Hanuel could go out later for something stronger, maybe rekindle the rumor they’re together. “Having fun?”
he took a moment to survey the room. “ you know, i’m actually not having a terrible time, ” he finally said. sure, it was awkward in the way that company events tended to be, but there was something nice about the gesture of so!ar throwing an event for its staff and artists, and also getting to catch up with everyone he technically worked with but never saw due to busy schedules. “ how about you ? i’m assuming not so much given how you’re asking me ? ”
was she dreaming or had the naeil said something to her? while the future idol wanted to remain professional, meeting him was a lot for her. starstruck, miyeon stared at him for a moment before letting out a laugh. she had been a big fan of him, especially when she had started her second treatment; it was evident as she was unable to hide it. if she weren’t wearing so much make up, he would have been able to see her flushed cheeks. “i-” miyeon shrugged. “i didn’t see anything.” giving him a nod, a big grin encompassed her face. how on earth was this real? she admired him a lot, for obvious reasons and she wanted to be as successful as him one day. “this is my first time having champagne and i don’t really see what the fuss is about…”
he leaned in conspiratorially, as if he was just about to let her in on a secret. “ it’s the bubbles. they all can’t get enough of them, ” he whispered, before pulling away to raise his eyebrows and give her a pointed look. but to hell if he actually knew. alcohol had always been off-limits for him. it had adverse side-effects with the medication he was currently on, and he had never been one to be easily peer pressured --- even before he became ill. “ i’m sorry, but are you new to the company ? i don’t recognize your face. ”
jinah did find the whole premise of the event odd, to say the least. after management had hounded them for days on end, they were the ones who kept on passing the idols alcohol - the event was a free pass but it was rather dangerous to drink in their company. jinah was to humor them for a little longer before she called a taxi to go back to her apartment. catching sight of yunjae pour his champagne into the plastic plant, the woman chuckled. “are you not a fan of drinking large amounts of champagne at once.” she was pretty sure that she had two glasses on the go at an earlier point but she wasn’t about to admit it. “i’m so sure that the plastic craves champagne…” jinah couldn’t help but tease. “it’ll be on my level now, so thank you for that.”
“ well, no one should have to go through these events sober, ” he said in a faux serious voice. yunjae may have been subtly referring to himself as well, but you’d have had to twist his arm to get him to admit it. “how’ve you been, jinah ? i haven’t seen you around for a while. ” since coming back, he had heard whispers through the company halls about impulse’s hiatus that had happened nearly concurrently with his own hiatus last year, but his tone harbored no judgement.
his first official company event since his hiatus ended was filled with a lot of claps on the back, expressions of congratulations, and offers of free drinks that he physically could not take. by the third time he gave his drink away only to be handed yet another one, yunjae knew that he wasn’t being unreasonable to think that it was getting fucking ridiculous. he had checked to make sure the coast was clear before taking his flute of champagne and dumping into what he was pretty sure was an artificial plant. only, it was clear that the coast hadn’t actually been clear, since when he lifted his eyes, they met the gaze of another member from the company --- just as the last beads of alcohol rolled out of his glass and onto the plastic, waxy leaves. “ --- it looked thirsty, ” he said as he placed the empty glass on the tray of a server passing by.
˗ˏˋ ( jung jaewon. twenty-five. cis male. he/him. ) im “naeil” yunjae is a ‘94 liner + has been at so!ar entertainment for five years. they have been a soloist since july, 2015. they are known by their fans to be genuine, inspiring + magnetic but they can also be blunt, closed off + distrusting. i hope that they can make it in this industry. [ penned by bee, 20, est, she/her ] @hqidolextra
cancer / illness / surgery / scars tw ( but clearly marked where it happens. please take care of yourself ! )
paint me a picture of a nineteen year old ( though when it is revealed that he’s already nineteen the audience audibly gasps ) on a brightly-lit stage large enough to swallow him whole. his clothes hang off his slight frame, which — in combination with his shaggy, long hair — makes him seem younger than he actually is. now edit in a segment with his parents, flushed with pride with tears of happiness banked in their eyes. hear the introductory notes on the piano, and now listen to him sing …
cancer / illness tw for this bullet yunjae didn’t win the fourth iteration of kpop star, but that was okay since he had already won the hearts of the south korean public. and they all knew his story. a boy who had always dreamed of being a singer but had spent most of his life in hospital beds, his illness baffling south korean doctors to the point that his family had to leave behind everything they owned or knew so that yunjae could meet the best doctors in america. when he was finally cured, he decided to follow his dreams as a music artist instead of following his peers’ footsteps into higher education. and that was that. it was a kpop industry ceo’s pr wet dream to sign him. it would have been a mistake not to at least try.
of all the contracts he was offered, yunjae chose so!ar’s. in return, so!ar chose yunjae’s stage name, naeil (meaning “tomorrow” in korean, strong brand image is everything), gave him a year of vocal training and fine tuned his song-writing and production skills. they held his hand through handcrafting his own debut single. “don’t forget” performed beautifully on the charts and in sales. and so they let him run loose after that. his first few releases were pretty tame, but have become more and more eclectic and experimental.
cancer / illness tw for this bullet he’s been cancer-free since he was 16, but still needs to take medication daily for his migraines and has a weakened immune system. and after eight years in remission and five years after his appearance on kpop star, he was finally begin to shed his title of pretty-good-male-r&b-artist-who-once-had-cancer, and just became pretty-good-male-r&b-artist. but writing song after song was beginning to take a toll on him, and in late 2018, what he thought was the common cold developed into severe pneumonia, and he was bed-ridden again. after being kept watch in a glass cage for a year, so!ar agreed to give him a comeback before the end of the year.
other hc’s
is fluent in english and his korean has a bit of an accent to it from his time spent in america (he went by eugene). he avidly follows the american music industry, and it tends to influence his own music. has a pretty substantial international following, and wants to eventually write an album just for that market.
yunjae is pretty blunt. like other idols, he was forced to grow up quickly, but for him it was because of how he was around adults for a lot of his formative years, and now as an adult it puts him in a weird place bc it used to be that he used to be unable to relate with kids but now the kids are adults and ?? it comes off as mysterious and charismatic, and variety show hosts adore him for the sound bites they’re able to pull from him. the media chalks it up to his artistic charm and his time in america, but that’s not really all it.
he also has,, a really dry sense of humor. he’s found that a lot of people walk on eggshells around him, so he tries to break the ice before it happens. his humor is also a lil morbid.
doesn’t drink at all. sober legend. it’s for health reasons.
comes alive when he performs/talks about music. he loves his craft, dude. also crush vc. so boy has pipes.
also,, can’t relate to the whole idol experience/struggle. he’s used to being able to pretty much produce and sing whatever he likes, and so!ar doesn’t force him to learn tricky choreographies due to his health. until now, his experience at so!ar has been pretty positive.
surgery / scar tw for this bullet his hair has been,, tamed (though screenshots still exist from his days on kpop star he had a mullet but not the sexy kind) but he still keeps it long in the back because of a surgery scar at the base of his skull he hasn’t seen it in years, and doesn’t really want to.
surgery / scar / cancer / illness tw for this bullet speaking of scars, he has many criss-crossing his torso since, before doctors realized it was a brain tumor, they had believed it was a gastric issue. he doesn’t ever show his bare chest, though his fans don’t know why.
didn’t come out as pan,, but vagued about it on multiple occasions. bc #yolo, but he’s still not eager to bite the hand of the company that feeds him.
