hyeyeon

[sakuraxah]

Already three comebacks and the girls were rather popular. It was a relief, after all the hard work they’d put in, fading into obscurity would be the most painful of all. Sakura never thought about what she would do if being an idol didn’t work out. There was no plan B for her. Something about these girls told her that this may be the case of them too. They were all running from something. Sakura didn’t care about their issues any further than using them to manipulate her members more. And she would never be the one to pry. Good things take time.

It was a guest appearance. A rising YouTube channel that played fun games with idols had invited them to participate. The girls were to take a friendship quiz about each other in pairs. Kitty was excluded due to sickness from not eating properly. Already. The company would claim it was for meeting for a collaboration after they let some buzz start for attention. Sakura found it ironic they were taking friendship quizzes since none of them really new anything about each other or even liked each other much. Sometimes she felt the less she knew about them, the better. Too much about certain ones and she was sure she’d equate them to her high school bullies, making it much harder to get along (or at least pretend too).

The girls stood in a straight line to film their intro. Sakura got to begin after their greeting. “Hello, welcome to Channel 52. Today we are going to test our friendship levels by guessing facts about each other. It’s going to be lots of fun so please stay tuned!” Sakura grinned, determined to stay charming. 

[hyeyeonxah]

“What’s going to happen is we will get in pairs and have to answer questions about each other. Members outside of the pairs can submit answers too but they don’t count for points.” Hyeyeon spoke on her cue. They had already rehearsed this introduction a few times. She wasn’t nervous about the game, she knew she could sell the moment even if she didn’t know the answer. However, they had been pre-paired and she was lucky enough to be with Rina, the only member she felt a genuine connection with other than a means to control and assert her power over. Knowing lots about her would make Hyeyeon seem like a good friend. It still bothered her that most of her members seemed to see right through her attempts to keep them in line. Why couldn’t they just realize she was worth bowing down too? Rina was in her own world, focused on stardom alone. While she didn’t submit to Hyeyeon, she also didn’t call her out and was a legitimate friend as well as someone with status and connections. Win win. 

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

“Hyeyeon, don’t give them any ideas.” Taesun stood up and put an arm around Hyeyeon’s shoulder. She had a cool image to uphold after all. Due to the amount of conflict she always tried to start, Taesun had negative feelings about Hyeyeon. Rina always seemed to round up the older girls as some sort of friend group that included herself, Hyeyeon, Qinqin, Sakura, and Taesun. However, most the them didn’t enjoy Hyeyeon’s company despite the fact that she seemed to be RIna’s best friend. Too many girls disliked each other to make a solid friend group. Besides, such a thing wouldn’t be healthy. 

“Maybe if we practiced really hard then we could do a special like that for the Mused.” Taesun grinned at the camera and gave a wink. She knew they were planning a similar special soon enough anyways.

“Oh that’s a good idea, unnie! I have to brush up my skills then so I can be as good a dancer as Qinqin.” Hyeyeon wrapped her arms around Taesun’s waist and gave her a squish before releasing her. God, these girls were good, annoying, but good.

[hyeyeonxah]

qinqinxah‌:

“Ah, Hyeyeon-unnie, you’re still so sunny after such a fast-paced dance. You don’t even need the relaxing time. If it weren’t for Sakura, you’d be our energy pill for sure.” Qinqin sighed, turning her attention to the camera man. He had never worked with them before, he didn’t know the truth yet.

Hyeyeon could tell that it was a backhanded compliment. She and Sakura did not get along despite both having high energies. Hyeyeon could tell Sakura was just as fake as she was, maybe even more so and with an edge. Hyeyeon was more transparent to her members by now, she knew this. It didn’t matter, as long as her public appearance stayed in tact. Qinqin was pointing out that Hyeyeon shouldn’t try so hard. 

“We can always have two, Qinqin. The more energy the better, especially with our new dance. It’s very hard and took us a long time to get perfect but now we could do it with our eyes closed I am certain.”

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

“I was pretty damn perfect before that. I knew how to be good, I just didn’t want to be. But if need be I can always talk, alright?” Taesun starting untying her shoes. The girls look as though they weren’t even talking to each other through their body language. She looked up at the sound of her members’ voices. A company representative was standing in the room with a man who held a camera to Hyeyeon and Rina’s faces in the distance. Their company had been pushing video diaries from the members to try and show a behind the scenes friendship. Too bad most of them didn’t have one. Taesun nudged Qinqin in the arm.

“Camera alert.”

“After a performance full of energy, we like to use backstage to relax for a moment. This is when we get to celebrate the hard work and just enjoy ourselves and meet other amazing groups too!” Hyeyeon mused as she walked the camera over to where Taesun and Qinqin were sitting nearby. She hoped they were ready for yet another acting challenge.

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

“Hyeyeon, what is the colour you feel best describes your personality and why?”

“Oh, that’s easy. My favourite colour is pink for a reason. I feel it’s a happy colour that’s sweet and reminds you of being young and having fun. I feel like I want to have fun in my youth and give other people a feeling of happiness. If it matched our concept more, I feel like AriaHex’s colour should be pink for that reason.”

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

“Hyeyeon, as the next oldest when not including me. You can pick the next question.” Taesun noted the signal to move on. They had other games too after all. 

“I’ll pick the first one. Because we’ve always got to strive for number one, right?”

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

Taesun pulled the top off of the board and showed it to the camera. “Rina-unnie. Who are some artists that you look up to and that inspire you?”

“Oh, it must be your sister, right, unnie?” Hyeyeon took the opportunity to talk and shook the arm of Rina that she held onto tightly.

[hyeyeonxah]

kittyxah‌:

They were to start on the right and move left, like the way the Japanese read. That meant Kitty was the first to introduce herself besides Taesun. She was wearing pink felt cat ears and white sweater with blue pyjama shorts. She felt like this, along with being assigned a lying down position, was all in effort to hide her ugly body. At least going early meant it was over soon.

“I’m Kitty! Mew, mew, meow! I hope to have fun together!” Kitty winked at the camera and did the introduction as she’d been asked to. Cute and stupid, that was her brand now. She poked her cat ears, a fake s mile still on her round little face. She hoped her appearance hadn’t deterred anyone. 

“Moon Hyeyeon here! Ready to make your eyes only for me?” Hyeyeon introduced herself over-dramatically so it sounded like she was kidding. Her members probably knew she was not. “I hope that AriaHex enchants you all!”

[taesunxah]

All nine members of AriaHex sat in a fake set emulating what a living room might actually be like if they lived in a house. The walls were a rosy white, light wood furniture with actual photos of the girls on their table tops and shelves were spread across the room. A careful assortment of colourful blankets and pillows were sprawled in the center of the floor were the girls now sat. It was a predebut Vlive, meant to help the audience get to know the girls better through a fake sleepover. Taesun wore a black t-shirt and purple striped pyjama shorts. Although they didn’t actually belong to her, they were similar to something she might wear, plus they matched her role in the group as a more edgy person. The strong and silent type with a soft side. She was told those words exactly once. 

The Vlive was minutes away from beginning and the girls sat in their fake living room in their fake clothes awkwardly. After all this time, none of them truly liked each other. Maybe a few pairs of friendships had been formed, but as a whole, their dynamic was tense. At most, a great portion of the girls only tolerated each other. Only Hyeyeon and Rina were speaking to each other at the moment. Taesun shuffled over behind them to join the conversation.

“Hey, you guys excited or…?”

[hyeyeonxah]

“Yeah, duh. It’s our first interaction with an audience. I’m practically bursting. I just hope we don’t fuck it up.” Hyeyeon crossed her arms, looking directly over her shoulder at Gajeong. In the few times all nine of them had gotten together, it was always a fight in the end. They all saw each other as means to an end at best, not real friends. Hopefully this wouldn’t shine through on camera. They were already restraining themselves in the presence of a crew who was not used to the dynamic. 

The girls had been positioned carefully into their spots. Remi lay on the far right followed by Qinqin and Gajeong sitting next to them. Taesun was center as she was the leader and would introduce the show. Rina was on her left, then it was Hyeyeon, and finally Kitty lying down to mirror Remi. Faye and Sakura sat on the couch above them all. It was a slight nod to age, visual power, and predebut popularity. Hyeyeon had to admit that is was artful. She was put in a large hot pink t-shirt and little white shorts with a pastel pink robe that was silky against her skin. She felt like it kind of hid her well maintained figure but at least she looked cute. It also hid how tall she was compared to the other girls. 

[hyeyeonxah]

gajeongxah‌:

She never liked Hyeyeon, not one bit. She was the exact image of those who would pick on anyone different from them. Gajeong could sense that she was always trying to manipulate the social sphere so that they all abided to Hyeyeon’s every whim. Gajeong refused to take part in it.

“Don’t try that fake shit with me, Hyeyeon. Just talk normally without all the sugary BS. Of course, it went well, I’m done, aren’t I?”

“Geez, fine, don’t need to spaz out on me. I’m just trying to talk to you nicely. I’m just in a good mood since we finally have songs to be singing. And we sound good.” Hyeyeon sighed, already regretting talking to the younger girl.

[hyeyeonxah]

It was July, debut was once again within the reach of the girls with the company only wanting one more member. They’d just been shoving in any trainee that they could into the group and Lee Gajeong was one of them. She was a rapper and she was pretty but her attitude was nothing like that of an idol. She had no clue how to conduct herself. Hyeyeon disliked her almost immediately after Gajeong saw right through her fake-nice act and pegged her as she was, a mean girl. However, Hyeyeon knew the sponsor scene. From mid 2015 to the beginning of 2017, it was not uncommon for her to meet with a few regular men. They were all at least ten years older than her. She’d been highly desired for a while so it wasn’t a surprise. The company only expected her to spend time with them, like having dinner with a star, but she knew there would be more to it than that. The men gave a lot of money to the company, towards her future, and they frequently would use it to encourage more affection from her. Knowing it would complicate her career too much to fight them, she never said no. Hyeyeon liked to think that made her in control when, really, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a coward, and a dirty one at that. But, that summer night, when Gajeong returned from a meeting with a sponsor, of which Rina assured it could just be a casual and fun night, Hyeyeon could see signs of someone who did fight and had lost. Gajeong seemed unsure and uncomfortable when she returned home and, somehow, Hyeyeon could sense every emotion within her as she had felt the exact same herself. Gajeong seemed like the type to put up a fuss, maybe that was the problem. Still, this heavy suspicion prevented Hyeyeon from hating Gajeong despite the abrasiveness she continuously receives from her. 

“Gajeong-ah,” Hyeyeon was painting her finger nails a vibrant red in the living room as she watched a comedy show on the television. She was the first excused from the recording session as they found her parts to be in little need of work. Gajeong was next to return just half an hour after. Hyeyeon would try and use this moment to get closer to her, or at the very least, pry enough to have something to use against her if anything went wrong. “How did it go? You impressed them fast enough I guess?”

[remixah]

sakuraxah‌:

God, is that what she sounded like? How annoyingly desperate. Then again, that was kind of the character description of Remi. Still, she managed a soft smile.

“Really? Remi-ah, you are like a little sister to me, you know I want nothing but the best for you.” Sakura pounced on the moment like a tiger on its prey. 

“You’re serious?” Remi felt a hundred pounds lighter. Finally being accepted by one of the girls in an explicit manner. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly, unnie.”

[hyeyeonxah]

Yeah, she was back. Hyeyeon was the type to listen to conversations after leaving the room. The lovefest was too much for her to bear. She didn’t believe Sakura’s words, she had light suspicion of her at all times. The fact that Gajeong had just expressed her own only furthered confirmation for Hyeyeon. Now she was buttering up Hyeyeon’s prime target. No way she’d let Sakura take her little minion if that was really the game being played.

“Remi-ah!” Hyeyeon appeared at the doorway of her room. “Come here. I want to show you something. It’s important.”

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

Taesun felt bad that her members were this way. Although harsh words were exchanged, she knew it was just them all trying to express themselves while protecting themselves. She had issues of her own and couldn’t really be there for them. Kitty didn’t deserve to be pointed out but they were really concerned for her, at least Taesun was. Gajeong was right, if only any of the members had the courage to act on her plan. Still, her words were harsh and didn’t help the mood. Hyeyeon was cruel for picking at Kitty but she wasn’t necessarily wrong either. Sakura agreed with both of them and probably said the most reasonable words, Taesun noted her disappointed expression.

“Sakura, it’s alright. They’re just stubborn. Thank you for trying to help.” Taesun turned to Sakura who sat next to her.

“Another successful bonding experience for AriaHex. At least everyone is thanking each other. So, yeah, thanks everyone. Goodnight.” Hyeyeon got up too, a smile on her face, with pride instead of with anger or sheepishness and left for her room.

[hyeyeonxah]

gajeongxah‌:

Gajeong scoffed, the insincerity in Sakura was always laughable but the girl pulled it off so well. It was almost impossible to call her out without looking like the jerk. Instead, she simply expressed an obvious apathy to Sakura’s words. She only assumed it was fake because nobody could really truly be thinking AND saying the perfect thing at all times. If, somehow, Sakura were the perfectly kind and amazing person she presented, then she would have vulnerability. And yet, no one knew anything about her, she never talked about her past or her interests and she always agreed with others. A truly perfect person would have a mind of their own. Gajeong couldn’t help but believe that there was something under the surface. Whether Sakura was so insecure and unsure of herself that she didn’t want to be subject to criticism or if she was simply manipulating them all was a mystery. Either way, Gajeong didn’t trust her.

“My God, can we just have a normal ‘family’ meal, ladies? Without picking at each other’s flaws or something? Straight up, we’re gonna debut and have the most awkward dynamic and fail after one year if we act even sort of like this.” Gajeong popped a piece of food in her mouth, chewing with a grumpy expression. She didn’t care if what she said was too straightforwards and harsh. Everyone here always tip toed around stuff. She was right, why shouldn’t she say it?

“We’re good at faking smiles, Jeong-ah. I think you can tell that by now.” Hyeyeon raised an eyebrow. If Gajeong was going to keep it real, then she’d offer the same attitude back. “I think the one think we all have in common is that we want to do well. We won’t act like this.”

[hyeyeonxah]

kittyxah‌:

Kitty whirled her head to the girl next to her. Why did Hyeyeon always have to be such a bitch? Did she need attention that badly? She always seemed to think she could get away with anything because she was pretty. As much as Kitty was jealous of her beauty, she hated her attitude. The real waste was a pretty face paired with a mouth full of shit. Usually she let her comments slide but Kitty’s ears burned with embarrassment as the girls glanced at each other with varying levels of awkwardness. 

“Hey, no one asked you. Can’t you mind your own business?” Kitty shook her head. “I said I’m not hungry.”

“Wow, don’t be so touchy. I was kidding. But, seriously, we were all thinking it.” She knew she was being mean, she almost couldn’t help it. It was a thrill. Besides, she’d talk her way out of it like always, that was part of the thrill too. She shook off the smile on her face, still tempted to laugh. “I’m agreeing with you anyways. You shouldn’t eat it.”

[hyeyeonxah]

taesunxah‌:

“Kitty-ah.” Taesun spoke up, probably only increasing the awkwardness. She didn’t care what these girls thought of her, she knew what was best for them. “Faye worked hard to make us food, Don’t be rude by not eating it. It’s one dumpling, it won’t kill you.”

“Who cares what she does? I mean, we all know she’ll just be chucking it up at 2am anyways. What a waste that’ll be. Give it to someone who will actually use it.” Someone had to say it. It was the truth after all. Kitty had a problem, it did not use to walk around it. Hyeyeon was the type to speak her mind after all. And she didn’t want all the attention to be on the pitiful wisp of a thing in her group rather than herself. 

[hyeyeonxah]

sakuraxah‌:

Duh. What a fucking condescending airhead. Sakura wished she just crack her head open. The red hair made the image more available in Sakura’s mind. She knew why Hyeyeon wanted to bring Remi, the baby would do anything Hyeyeon asked of her. It didn’t take much to realize that Remi was victim to some sort of abuse in the past, her backstory was full of so many holes that she’d refuse to fill. Hyeyeon was a bitch for manipulating the kid like that. Sakura manipulated her too of course, but it was because her true personality would be of no interest to any of these girls. She had to fake it to be liked. She wouldn’t use it to get Remi to follow her around like a puppy dog. 

“They say trainees are busiest just before debut but that seems to be us all the time. Not that I mind, at least we’re well trained. We’ll be like professionals upon debut for sure.”

“Remi-ah!” Hyeyeon didn’t respond to Sakura, not really caring for generic small talk any longer. The words were empty anyways between them both. She turned away from Sakura on the couch and made her way down the hall to the 3 person room at the end. Besides the two of them, only Remi and Gajeong were home this evening. She knocked on the door repeatedly. 

“I need you, girl. We’re squading up tomorrow for dress shopping.”