sehun likes to think he can balance school life and trainee life fairly well, but there are times where he slips and lets his grades come with it; papers with a grade lower than a high distinction crumbled into a ball and left somewhere in the corner of his space. never with his time in the agency, does sehun let it go to waste, priorities clear. contrary to sori, sehun doesn’t have much of a… plan b. it was become an idol, or nothing. he knew that the moment he left home that his choices would be limited and frankly, he’d rather fail at his primary goal than have to live under the scorn of his father and be caged in the business world much less crawl back to the kim family—twice the pride he has.
“hopefully not. or maybe the coach will have mercy on us.” with a light-hearted snort, sehun takes the little space of time between sori lifting her head to putting it back on his shoulder to reposition himself, back slouched more comfortably that he lets out an exhale. “okay. i can try to not talk you into falling asleep this time.” which, by far, hasn’t been very useful. in fact, it might have the opposite effect again. he hums in agreement, eyes gazing downward onto sori. “i don’t think i ever get enough. my sleep schedule is everywhere.”
sori would’ve despised her life had she never become an idol, perhaps she had a plan b, but she would’ve hated to live out her life with her plan b. sometimes she wonders if she should’ve done like her brother, no more school once high school ended, and all focus simply on becoming an idol. sori was not like her brother though, they were quite different actually, even though they were siblings. sori hated thinking about using her life on plan b, luckily she was using her life on plan a.
“the coaches are so different here, some of them are so nice, others… not at much, if any coach does catch us here, let’s hope it’ll be one of the nice ones”. “tell me something interest about your life, that i can’t fall asleep to” she probably could “oh? how come? are you busy? or can you simply not fall asleep when the night comes?”. sori had always prioritized sleep, making sure to get enough, lately she just hadn’t prioritized it as much, which was why she fell asleep on sehun’s shoulder.
a fleeting laugh escapes from sehun at the remark, wholeheartedly agreeing with what sori said. “the nice ones that’ll let us sleep a bit more, yeah.” some coaches take their job too seriously, and others, are more understanding of what it’s like to be on all ends of the spectrum. it’s better than nothing, though.
“pretty busy.” sehun responds easily, “but that too. night is kind of the only time i can get peace and quiet, so i often pick not to sleep.” he lightly kicks at the ground, “there’s nothing interesting about my life, sori.” another laugh, but this time — it’s somewhat forced out of himself. he has enough fingers to count the events of his life, and enough to know that it’s going to put his friend to sleep. but he’ll try to come up with something, anyway. keyword: try. “uh, i have a brother back home.”
sehun isn’t sure how he’d do with living alone. as independent as he is, having to decide what to eat everyday while residing in the legacy dorms is already more than enough work as it is to him. if anything, he’s sure he’d be in the same boat as cherry is, if he were alone under a roof all to himself; the entire apartment would be cold, lonely lest he had a pet like the hamster which rolls in its ball around sehun with curiosity.
the moment cherry grabs ahold on him, sehun heaves her upwards with ease, “someone?” he teases, a breathy exhale following as a low-toned laugh. a gentle reminder to cherry of the fact she’d forgotten. he hums in acknowledgment, glancing over at the animal with tenderness in contrast to cherry’s irritated eyes, kneeling down to prod around at the ball with his finger. “you didn’t at all, i had nothing else to do anyway.” curiosity rises in him like it did the first time sehun stepped foot into the apartment. “sure. what d’ya have?”
there’s honestly so many reasons for why cherry should live with her girlfriend. she’d be much safer, someone to save her from the dumb situations she puts herself in, and she’d be much happier. she also deeply misses seeing her girlfriend, but they’re both busy, even though cherry isn’t really a proper actress yet. but the possibility of living together is slim and will most likely be far out in the future, her girlfriend is an idol and lives with her members, for now cherry must sadly continue to miss the other.
“oh yeah” the blonde sighs “that someone will probably have to be me” cherry knows she’ll never clean under her bed though, nobody can see how dirty it is, so who cares? (unless of course someone is as stupid as cherry and gets themselves trapped under there). “good, i was bored, berry didn’t seem to want to entertain me” she pouts, but berry is a great distraction, cherry sometimes looks at the hamster doing basically nothing and finds herself entertained. “well… for food i have uh” she scratches her head “bananas, apples, cherries, blueberries and raspberries and i think i have some cheese too” there wasn’t much diversity in cherry’s fridge. “for drinks i basically have everything, you name it and i got it”.
“yeah, you.” sehun parrots, jesting in manner. “but if you need a hand in doing so, you know where to find me. even if it’s to make sure you don’t end up stuck under there again.” despite how annoying sehun may be towards cherry, for fun, he’s sincere to an extent; always the helping hand—always offering to be there for those who might need it. cleaning under the bed would be no exception, mostly.
“berry, huh? is berry always so curious with new people?” gaze fond as it lingers upon the animal, evident of a forming soft spot for the hamster, even if he’s only met it today. maybe he should actually get one of his own, rather than the typical option of a dog or cat. who knows. “so … fruit.” tone deadpanned, raising a brow at cherry. before lips curl into a grin. scheming, to say the least. “how about iced matcha latte?”
the space surrounding them is empty save for himself, and the coach opposite of sehun’s seat, spinning a pen between fingers as he studies the sheet of paper laid out before him. sehun can’t make out the upside down words on it from where he is, but he’s aware that it’ll be very interview-esque questions that he’ll be asked—perhaps a few he wouldn’t have prepared for; or delves into his personal sentiments. such to expect from something catered to the interviews given to the already debuted. sehun just has to treat this as real.
“we’re ready then?” — questions the coach’s voice to a half—present sehun who zoned out in the middle of waiting at some point, snapped back into reality by the voice. “huh? oh… yeah. yeah, we’re ready. i’m ready.” an offer of a crooked curl of brims as the coach eyes him with a scrutinizing squint—one that sehun tends to avoid in meeting the same eye level by looking anywhere else; fidgeting with the cuffs of his blazer. he’s radiating too much nervousness for someone who should not, and it proves evident when the coach stares him down like this; silently urging him to be more confident.
01. when someone wrongs you, do you respond with revenge or forgiveness?
⠀⠀straight to the point, sehun thinks. “it depends, on the situation and the person. i’d like to think i’m quite forgiving most of the times. but admittedly, i can also hold a grudge like it’s a hand. although, even if i were to go with revenge, i’m unsure how i’d carry it out. i’m not too keen on ruining someone’s life, you know? it’s easier to forgive, yet even then, i might never forget. i could forgive but secretly resent the person for doing me wrong.”
02. what are you most afraid of?
⠀⠀“ghosts.” sehun puffs out a short exhale; a laugh. “ironic coming from me who went ghost hunting… twice. but i’d say more than ghosts, i’m afraid of letting people down. it’s the same as disappointing them but it’s worse. because then i get lost on where to go after it happens with someone i’m close with. and i don’t know how to get back up, or fix it.”
03. which do you find more appealing: to be loved, to be admired, or to be feared?
⠀⠀“um.” sehun’s shoulders lax, rolling into a shrug. “to be loved. someone who really loves you will automatically admire you. it’s a package deal, sort of. but if i happened to be solely admired, there’s a chance i’m not truly loved by those who admire me and i’m prone to losing that pedestal i’m put on. as for being feared… i’m not into that. sorry.”
04. how much do you care what people think about you?
⠀⠀“half of i care, and half of i don’t care. sometimes what people think of me help open my eyes to areas of improvement, but on another hand, i’m not the type of person to take someone’s negative thoughts about me and just run with it. that type of thing wouldn’t affect me as much as the ones that will shape me in the long term.”
if anyone were to ask sehun about how he feels about his day to day life, he’d say there’ll never be enough rest for those who’ve chosen this type of lifestyle. trainee, idol, actor, model. the amount of days in the week isn’t enough to accommodate the amount of shut-eye that hits them, much less hours in a day. and he isn’t far off, given this scenario; both sori and sehun finding themselves nodding off in the most random of places and times, particularly considering that sehun isn’t much of a fan of sleeping in public either — an avid fan of his bed and blankets.
sehun jolts awake, his heart having skipped a beat too fast in panic, before his body slumps down in a wave of calmness, shifting slightly in his spot uncomfortably. see. he wouldn’t be able to survive outside for too long at evening to late hours, because now it hurts from the hardness of the place he’s sat in. wrist lifts to check the time — fifteen minutes. they dozed off for fifteen minutes. more a power nap than it is proper sleep. “a bit.” sehun eyes the pout, returning the sentiment with a tiny tug of lips into a smile. “don’t worry about it. you can sleep some more, if you want. i won’t disturb you.”
perhaps sori quite looked forward to being done with school. she continued her studying after high school (unlike her brother) so she had a plan b in case the idol dream didn’t work out. she became an idol with one year left of school, and sori quite considered dropping out of school, but dropping out meant losing her plan b. perhaps she was an idol now, but there was still the chance that she would eventually need a plan b. so sori had forced herself to stay in school even though she had debuted, but she truly couldn’t wait to be done with school. school was taking time away from practice and sleeping, and sori very obviously looked forward to getting some more sleep and not sleeping random places.
“did i surprise you?” sori looks up at the other with a pout on her lips. “i could use some more sleep” sori looks away from the other “but i don’t think this is the ideal place to sleep” she looks back at sehun “how do you think a coach would feel if he saw us sleeping and being unproductive” she shrugs. “still, it was nice to get a little sleep”. sori leans her head back on the other’s shoulders, her eyes closing once again “don’t let me fall asleep sehun” she opens up her eyes, attempts looking up at the other. “how come you fell asleep as well? not getting enough sleep?”.
sehun likes to think he can balance school life and trainee life fairly well, but there are times where he slips and lets his grades come with it; papers with a grade lower than a high distinction crumbled into a ball and left somewhere in the corner of his space. never with his time in the agency, does sehun let it go to waste, priorities clear. contrary to sori, sehun doesn’t have much of a… plan b. it was become an idol, or nothing. he knew that the moment he left home that his choices would be limited and frankly, he’d rather fail at his primary goal than have to live under the scorn of his father and be caged in the business world much less crawl back to the kim family—twice the pride he has.
“hopefully not. or maybe the coach will have mercy on us.” with a light-hearted snort, sehun takes the little space of time between sori lifting her head to putting it back on his shoulder to reposition himself, back slouched more comfortably that he lets out an exhale. “okay. i can try to not talk you into falling asleep this time.” which, by far, hasn’t been very useful. in fact, it might have the opposite effect again. he hums in agreement, eyes gazing downward onto sori. “i don’t think i ever get enough. my sleep schedule is everywhere.”
it’s almost instant that sehun takes out his phone from the pocket of his pants, held-out in position; not wanting to waste another second to capture the clumsy moment that cherry caught herself in; camera clicking one too many times to count, before he’s satisfied. there’s a fond smile that curves across features when he does — to be able to laugh freely with a friend is a nice thing to have, sehun thinks. “you really take me for that kind of person?” akin to a kicked puppy, voice drops; lips shaped into a pout to accompany the tone.
despite, sehun lets the hamster go to roll off elsewhere, and places his phone on the bedside table. shuffling closer, hands take ahold of the box on either side of it, and lifts the weight off of cherry—gently settling it to the side, on the floor wherever there’s space available. sehun lingers an open palm amidst the other’s view, “c’mon. i’ll help you get up too.”
cherry was doomed to get herself into dumb situations once she moved to live alone. how she managed to live alone for a couple of years prior to legacy was still a mystery, how had she survived? with all the fires she’d made, all the dumb situations she had gotten herself into. so far cherry hasn’t started a fire in her current apartment, but she also hasn’t really dared to cook. now she’s stuck under her bed, cherry simply sucks at living alone. she wishes she lived with her girlfriend, that would make life more enjoyable and easier.
and the box at last gets removed and cherry is close to tasting her freedom. “thank you” cherry grabs the other’s hand and finally gets to stand up. “man was there dirty under my bed, someone should clean up in there” she places her hands on her hips, forgetting that since she lives alone it’s her job to clean the apartment. “and my hamster is doing fine i see” cherry looks annoyedly at her hamster rolling around in its ball. “hope i didn’t get you at a busy time…” she looks at sehun “want anything to drink or eat my savior?”.
sehun isn’t sure how he’d do with living alone. as independent as he is, having to decide what to eat everyday while residing in the legacy dorms is already more than enough work as it is to him. if anything, he’s sure he’d be in the same boat as cherry is, if he were alone under a roof all to himself; the entire apartment would be cold, lonely lest he had a pet like the hamster which rolls in its ball around sehun with curiosity.
the moment cherry grabs ahold on him, sehun heaves her upwards with ease, “someone?” he teases, a breathy exhale following as a low-toned laugh. a gentle reminder to cherry of the fact she’d forgotten. he hums in acknowledgment, glancing over at the animal with tenderness in contrast to cherry’s irritated eyes, kneeling down to prod around at the ball with his finger. “you didn’t at all, i had nothing else to do anyway.” curiosity rises in him like it did the first time sehun stepped foot into the apartment. “sure. what d’ya have?”
some were saying that goes around, that women are always right, no matter what they have done. maylin lives by this rule: if things eventually go wrong, she can blame it on a guy, and all her problems will feel more justified. oh, how stupid she can truly be sometimes. this way of thinking was ignorant. maylin has made many mistakes, said some terrible things to the people who care, and always puffed out her chest with some sort of pride for being so open and honest. but no, she was being too harsh and tried not to feel so bad about it after fucking up. her friendship with sehun was always too good for her in some moments, he was a loyal friend who never judged her and simply wanted that same kind of energy back.
but all the dancer could offer her way of what she thinks a good friend is supposed to be.
the brunette got it right most of the time, even more so after she learned hard lessons and ruined such a good relationship on the way to self-discovery. that's what the dancer likes to call it as she approaches her old friend, letting out a long exhale through her nose and taking a seat next to him. the back halls of legacy, where the better snacks were stored in vending machines and where most trainees sat to get a bit of silence in plush seats. there was silence that consumed her, the only other sounds around them were the soft music playing from the TV's music videos played on repeat.
this was going to be harder than she thought.
"i won't take up much of your time or sugarcoat much of what I will say… but they won't be my usual choice of words." she kept her eyes avoidant from his, not wanting to get distracted. "I wanted to apologize… for all the harm I've created between us, for not treating you better, and for taking out all my frustrations when all you were trying to do was help me."
a good friend. sehun would consider himself one … to an extent. as far as that goes, he knows even he has limits to what he can provide in a friendship and he can’t satisfy everyone. but he’d never go out of his way to say hurtful things to someone he cares about. not like others would him, not like maylin did to sehun. it’s the worst part — having to suffer some form of betrayal that forces a rift between two.
waves of cold, prickling worriment ease underneath lungs when maylin takes it upon herself to sit next to him. there’s still the flickering of guardedness and distance between them, obviously-so when sehun’s body freezes on his spot, hardly makes a move to position himself in a way that is more comfortable on the plush chair. he wants to be ready to run at the slightest hint of withdrawal and abandonment. even if it is from maylin, who is trying to make amends. sehun is aware that the person beside him has come a long way for her to bother with an apology, or take responsibility for what she caused. it’s why he listens attentively, to the exterior noise that surrounds them. it’s why he waits. he is fluent in silence as much as he is fluent in his mother tongue. if maylin and he were to simply sit in quietness like this — sehun would accept it, in spite of all that’s happened between them.
sugarcoat. it’s not as though sehun would ever hope for maylin, as blunt as she is, to beat around the bush with what she wants to say. a light hum of acknowledgment and nothing more. not until sehun’s heard what she has to say, not until another few — agonizing moments of silence pass. from beside, sehun exhales. sharply, deeply. like all the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders and he could finally breathe. “… i forgive you.” eyes wander — onto his surroundings, onto his hands that’ve been picking mindlessly at the skin around the nails, onto his white sneakers that’ve long been dirtied, everywhere but his — friend? a short-lived burst of chuckles echo, half-hearted; empty and strained, “it’s not entirely your fault for whatever this is. i guess, i’m sorry too.” ( for what, sehun? ) “… for not giving you space.”
sehun knows the difficulties that come with being an idol — a workload that is heavier than that of a trainee’s, more-so with studies piled on top. he feels bad, really, to have stolen a friend’s time on a break when it could have well been used for rest. but sori’s someone that sehun’s come to find it easy to converse and get along with, in the aftermath of their supposedly-haunted adventures.
the speed of which jaw snaps shut, mouth closed mid-sentence is only something that is processed when the echoes of slumber fill the air in place of words and silence. “sori?” a whisper, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get an answer with how quiet his tone had attuned itself. a gentle motion of palm, maneuvering other’s head to rest onto lone shoulder, stilling in position; allowing the girl to rest, even if it’s for a short moment. and instead of being one to disturb, sehun closes his eyes, too — neck drooping downward in sleepiness.
sori isn’t used to sleeping random places, she always sleeps in a bed, whether that’s her bed in her dorm or in her old room at her dad’s place (that’s basically the only places she sleeps). sori isn’t the tired type that just randomly falls asleep places, but she also used to value her sleep more. sleep is important, but so is studying and practice, and sori has trouble figuring out what to prioritize highest. it kind of just feels like, lately, there hasn’t been enough hours in a day. being busy with school, idol life and her sleep also means she doesn’t get to see her friends as much as she used to.
sori opens her eyes, unsure how much time has passed by, is it minutes or hours? sori figures it wouldn’t make sense for her to sleep four hours, but she’s still unsure how long she closed her eyes for. she gently places a hand on the other’s thigh, “did you sleep too?” she questions. a yawn escapes her lips “i uh, sorry about falling asleep on your shoulder” she pouts as she looks at the other.
if anyone were to ask sehun about how he feels about his day to day life, he’d say there’ll never be enough rest for those who’ve chosen this type of lifestyle. trainee, idol, actor, model. the amount of days in the week isn’t enough to accommodate the amount of shut-eye that hits them, much less hours in a day. and he isn’t far off, given this scenario; both sori and sehun finding themselves nodding off in the most random of places and times, particularly considering that sehun isn’t much of a fan of sleeping in public either — an avid fan of his bed and blankets.
sehun jolts awake, his heart having skipped a beat too fast in panic, before his body slumps down in a wave of calmness, shifting slightly in his spot uncomfortably. see. he wouldn’t be able to survive outside for too long at evening to late hours, because now it hurts from the hardness of the place he’s sat in. wrist lifts to check the time — fifteen minutes. they dozed off for fifteen minutes. more a power nap than it is proper sleep. “a bit.” sehun eyes the pout, returning the sentiment with a tiny tug of lips into a smile. “don’t worry about it. you can sleep some more, if you want. i won’t disturb you.”
sehun remembers that detail last minute too, the fact that he’s unaware where everything is inside of cherry’s house. though, it’s enough that he hears her loud enough to do as she says, stalling towards one’s voice. the first person — or rather, thing he meets is not cherry, but the little animal that she warned him of, rolling towards where sehun’s paused in his path, the ball that encases the hamster bumping up against ankle. “oh,” it’s … cute. and sehun can’t help but pick it up into arms, comfortable against figure before he pushes past the bedroom door.
there cherry lies, squashed under a box, which is most definitely a rare sight as much as it is a hilarious one. a thread of silence stands between them, where sehun just stands — hamster in hand and staring right at cherry’s state. then a cough sounds, broken like it was meant to stay hidden in the depths of his chest; bursting into a bubble of laughter. “sorry—” cut off by another snort, patting at his own chest to calm himself down from the comedy, taking a deep breath in. “god. okay. wait, can i take a picture first?”
it’s not that uncomfortable to be laying here at least, she could be stuck worse places, right? at least she’s not stuck in a tree (again). though being stuck in public might make it quicker for her to get help, here, in her apartment, under her bed, she had to call over a friend and wait for them to arrive. she feels incredibly stupid, above stupid, and laying here she wonders how she managed to get herself into this situation.
she hears sehun enter her room, and there’s a relieved breath of air escaping her lips. “you’ve found me at last”, finally, she’ll be free. “you’re free to take a picture, then you can show me and i can laugh at myself” she couldn’t exactly see herself, but she could imagine it, and in her head she looked very stupid. “better not blackmail me with that picture though” she adds. “now when you’re done taking pictures, please do help me, i’ve been laying here stuck for too long”.
it’s almost instant that sehun takes out his phone from the pocket of his pants, held-out in position; not wanting to waste another second to capture the clumsy moment that cherry caught herself in; camera clicking one too many times to count, before he’s satisfied. there’s a fond smile that curves across features when he does — to be able to laugh freely with a friend is a nice thing to have, sehun thinks. “you really take me for that kind of person?” akin to a kicked puppy, voice drops; lips shaped into a pout to accompany the tone.
despite, sehun lets the hamster go to roll off elsewhere, and places his phone on the bedside table. shuffling closer, hands take ahold of the box on either side of it, and lifts the weight off of cherry—gently settling it to the side, on the floor wherever there’s space available. sehun lingers an open palm amidst the other’s view, “c’mon. i’ll help you get up too.”
It’s Christmas, so of course Kyoka is up at an absurdly early hour, dropping off her gifts for everyone. She leaves Sehun’s gift at his dorms, a small box with 25 wishing stars and a small bundle of accessories along with a richly decorated (read: brimming with stickers and bows) handmade card.
Merry xmas and hny!! 🍀🍓🎀
it’s a rare occurrence for sehun to be up so early in itself. but the holidays always have him waking up at weird times, early enough to catch the sun still rising — or, in this case, early enough to promptly receive the gift delivered to his dorm on christmas day by kyoka. sehun catches her from the corner of his eye when she departs, the words ‘thank you’ dying in the throat from where he stands behind, blinking away the vanishing silhouette of girl.
sehun closes the door behind him, treading to the table tucked into the corner of his space and places the small box atop its surface, fingers latched onto the card to set it neatly beside a framed picture of what he has back home, should visit — but doesn’t. the decoration is a stark contrast to the dull, monotone shade of his dorm; such realization making lips helplessly curl into a light smile dancing across visage. from the depths of pockets, sehun pulls out his phone, flicking his way onto kyoka’s contact.
⠀SEHUN⠀⠀›⠀⠀hey. i got your gift. thank you. : )
⠀SEHUN⠀⠀›⠀⠀do you have free time soon? i’ll treat you to lunch. or dinner. your pick.
seeing sehun’s reaction gave eunhye the quick reminder that sometimes her love of asking people questions could cause people to react differently. while it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, eunhye’s excitement sometimes gets the best of her. shaking her head several times, eunhye thought of apologizing but rather than doing that, she remains quiet as she listened to his response.
“yeah, i got some free time for a few hours as well.” eunhye responded, thinking instantly of her schedules and how her taking on less solo gigs gave her a chance for moments like this when she could interact with other people in the company or do activities that she hadn’t done since…well, she debuted as a fabula member. looking down momentarily, her eyes widened slightly and she searched through her jacket’s pocket for some napkins. the second her fingers came into contact with a napkin, she took it out of her pocket and saw that it was still unused. placing the napkin on the floor and letting it absorb the water, eunhye returned back to what she was saying earlier. “we can definitely catch up, especially that this may take a bit of time cleaning up. i don’t think it would be a good idea to add more work for the janitor.” she let out a soft laugh, trying to add some humor to the situation.
“it’s been a while since i’ve talked to some of the trainees so i don’t know if anything has been going on lately. maybe you might know of any interesting news?” eunhye asked innocently, well aware that if he couldn’t share anything, she would understand it completely and move on to a different topic.
embarrassment would catch onto sehun faster if eunhye had chose to say anything at all, none of the clumsiness is hers to carry — to apologize for. there’s a twinkle behind sehun’s eyes now, one that is almost reminiscent of the same that graced eunhye prior, shines upon the acceptance to be of company to one another during the hours they have for rest. sehun likes his alone time, per se. but he’s the type that doesn’t shy away from being around those of whom he finds comfortable to be around should the chance arise. and really, sighting a friend who happens to be an idol like eunhye is hard to come by nowadays.
they both seem to be coherent in thought processes, the way sehun finds spare wipes in the depths of his pockets that’ve been shoved in there for god knows how long — using it for the better, wiping the floor where the water had been spilled. sehun prods at the napkins with the tip of his shoe, wiping it around the spot to catch any droplets of liquid that might pose a risk of being slipped over by any passersby. he nods, before attention returns to the other, “yeah … yeah.” then, sehun’s tone lowers into a whisper, “sorry, mr. janitor.” light bubble of laughter pops; rids the air of whatever awkwardness might have found itself in the midst of two.
a hum, arms cross over chest even with the bottle in hand that sits underneath now, deep in thought. “interesting news.” parroted, yet in the end — shoulders roll into a shrug of sorts, slumping to side. “haven’t had a lot going on, actually.” ( neither is sehun good at keeping up in general outside of what he has for his schedules and such ... ) but, it does make him wonder something else. “how’s idol life treating you?”
sori has been so busy lately, handling school and being an idol. luckily she’s in her last year of school, so soon she can put all of her focus into practice. but she’s stayed a little later than usual at practice lately, which means she’s studied a little later lately, which means she hasn’t gotten as much sleep lately. she can feel it, she needs her sleep, she can’t continue on like this.
she sits on a bench with sehun, the two bumping into each other on sori’s break and falling into a conversation, this time no ghost hunting though. sori listens as the other speaks, until she doesn’t, she doesn’t even realize it, she’s snoring.
sehun knows the difficulties that come with being an idol — a workload that is heavier than that of a trainee’s, more-so with studies piled on top. he feels bad, really, to have stolen a friend’s time on a break when it could have well been used for rest. but sori’s someone that sehun’s come to find it easy to converse and get along with, in the aftermath of their supposedly-haunted adventures.
the speed of which jaw snaps shut, mouth closed mid-sentence is only something that is processed when the echoes of slumber fill the air in place of words and silence. “sori?” a whisper, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get an answer with how quiet his tone had attuned itself. a gentle motion of palm, maneuvering other’s head to rest onto lone shoulder, stilling in position; allowing the girl to rest, even if it’s for a short moment. and instead of being one to disturb, sehun closes his eyes, too — neck drooping downward in sleepiness.
“self-proclaimed, yes, but i know it’s a fact! and you,” she boops his nose, “know it too! you’ll stop being in denial *eventually*, i’m sure. i’m loads of fun! you’re telling me that there’s someone else you have more fun with? you’re cheating on me with another fun person?” she pouts at him, but the smile on her lips can’t help but show.
feifei always gets happier when she’s around sehun, which she constantly gets irritated at. she wants to come off as cool, unbothered, standoffish to any degree, but that little bubbly side of hers seems to slip up every single time she’s around sehun, which is a punishment from the universe—she is always around sehun. it’s a wonder as to why she gets like this as well, but the boy always puts a smile on her face. she feels… safe around him, one could say, which is rare for her. she can’t think of anyone else she feels completely at peace with like she does with sehun.
feifei bursts out laughing at the look of pure fear appearing on sehun’s face, and she squishes the boy’s cheeks. “breathe, hunnie. you look like you had war flashbacks or something!” she spoke in the midst of giggles. “going inside places doesn’t necessarily mean *buying* things… typically.”
she grabs his hand, then begins to walk while quite literally dragging him against his will. “it means that we will walk around, try on every piece of clothing that looks good, possibly buy things that look *spectacular*, buy food and drinks, and maybe some cute things from a sanrio store. i don’t see the issue, personally.”
as light as it is — the prod to nose, sehun happens to be almost shy of feifei’s touch, instinctively drawing back as if she burned him. fingers chase after the feeling upon face, pad of index running along the spot, blinking in a daze. denial? him? sounds like it. “h’ah?” jaw drops open in a wave of disbelief, “cheating on you?” a myriad of questions swarm inside his head, all that draw to the final point: they aren’t dating. but it’s with feifei that sehun catches himself being more playful with his words, similar to the way she views him as a safe space; peace in the shape of a person. “i’d never, you know me.”
he did have war flashbacks — specifically back to the time he spent more than he intended, at least ten thousands worth of money on clothes and things he did not need. he can’t part with those things, even now. “ah, well, just for a bit.” mumbled response, cheeks squished. unfamiliar hands hold onto his own, yet he doesn’t pull away, instead — curls grip around opposing palm, tight. so he does not lose her. in the crowd, or ever.
“y’sure? ‘cause i just saw something i want.” only spotted for a split-second, a golden flicker under the sunlight; star necklace on a mannequin on display. and it’s not as though sehun completely disagrees with the idea of them window shopping, not having to buy anything lest it looked good, but he knows that he’ll end up treating feifei to everything without room for objection; much like the gentlemanly way he’s been brought up from his mother’s side. “but i don’t need it. i think. are you hungry? thirsty?”
there’s an wave of calmness that washes over sehun’s entirety, adrenaline faintly pumping through him but at a rate that he can hardly feel it enough to make him nervous about everything, about performing, about being alone in the spotlight. almost unfamiliar. this is different from all the other times that he’s been up on stage with a crowd watching him — not because the audience is smaller, but simply because the point of holding the concert was for charity — for a good cause, and sehun is at ease knowing he’s playing a part of it, contributing to the best of his abilities; the awareness of it doesn’t take away the pressure of having to do well off of sehun’s shoulders, per se. such happens to be the default nature of an over—worker who pushes himself even in moments where no cameras would be flashing and what happens is out of sight from the general public.
when sehun is cued to perform the song “LOSER=LOVER” — one out of the setlist assigned to him amongst the rest of his team — the young boy that he had stayed with prior during the volunteer experience is seated somewhere towards the front of the area, close enough for kim sehun to spot him from where he’s positioned on stage with a mic in hand; wearing the widest smile that sehun might ever see on someone within this life, an A4 sheet of paper held above his head that spelt out sehun’s name, decorated with florals and sparkly star stickers of various sizes that gleam brightly under the dimming lights. it’s strange to admit, that something as small as being supported in a way like a drawing created for him in return for the company he offered, had given him a boost of confidence. it grounds him throughout the entire performance, helps him to enjoy himself along with the rest, even as the one performing. and even after kim sehun’s taken leave from the stage, shaken hands with those backstage, he can’t stop smiling — cheeks hurting from the big, wide dimpled—grin on his face.
there is, frankly, nothing that beats a message from one of his friends claiming they’re stuck. bad luck seems to have found cherry as much as good luck also has, except, it’s more—so in the form of the free time that sehun has to spare for today. when sehun receives the message, he gets up so fast that his sight of the world spins for a moment inside of his head, arms moving around in a clumsy search for the first pair of sneakers he finds to bolt out the door in.
SEHUN⠀›⠀i’m coming.
SEHUN⠀›⠀hold on a bit longer.
the way to cherry’s place isn’t all that far of a walk, but sehun had practically ran, and by the time he gets to the front door, he’s out of breath, pressing the numbers into the keypad with shaky, sweaty palms. good grief. the door rings, cracking open, and sehun slips through a small opening, making sure to take off his shoes and placing them neatly on the side before he treads carefully further in, eyes wandering around. he’s never been here before, obviously, which is why he’s fascinated with what he’s seeing. but first, it’s operation: save cherry before operation: be nosey. sehun takes a sharp breath in, before he exhales, voice calling out, “cherry! where are you?”
it’s been a while since cherry has felt this stupid, and she often feels stupid. cherry enjoys living alone, she enjoys the freedom of it, but right now she wouldn’t mind a roommate. to stay positive though, at least she had her phone on her, imagine the chaos if she didn’t. cherry can very much imagine it in her head, stuck under her bed until a friend or family member wondered where she had been. and she’s lucky that sehun was so quick to answer, she’s quite happy she chose to text him.
it’s not that boring waiting for him, she’s scrolling through various social medias on her phone as she waits, again, lucky she had her phone on her. “i’m in my bedroom!” she yells, then remembering sehun doesn’t know where her bedroom is “just uh, follow my voice” she then adds on. “and be careful, i have a hamster in a hamster ball running around somewhere” she warns him, as that little hamster has managed to trip cherry a few times. she hopes sehun won’t be too judgy of the situation, though she won’t be mad if he laughs, had it been the other way around cherry might’ve (hundred percent) laughed at sehun for ending up like this.
sehun remembers that detail last minute too, the fact that he’s unaware where everything is inside of cherry’s house. though, it’s enough that he hears her loud enough to do as she says, stalling towards one’s voice. the first person — or rather, thing he meets is not cherry, but the little animal that she warned him of, rolling towards where sehun’s paused in his path, the ball that encases the hamster bumping up against ankle. “oh,” it’s … cute. and sehun can’t help but pick it up into arms, comfortable against figure before he pushes past the bedroom door.
there cherry lies, squashed under a box, which is most definitely a rare sight as much as it is a hilarious one. a thread of silence stands between them, where sehun just stands — hamster in hand and staring right at cherry’s state. then a cough sounds, broken like it was meant to stay hidden in the depths of his chest; bursting into a bubble of laughter. “sorry—” cut off by another snort, patting at his own chest to calm himself down from the comedy, taking a deep breath in. “god. okay. wait, can i take a picture first?”
gummygunk
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
titsay
stormborns
