Yuxi nodded in understanding. She usually “left” the practice rooms with everyone else but snuck back in late at night until the early morning. With their schedules, it really was no wonder that they kept missing each other.
“Do you know the first movement of Shostakovich’s first cello concerto?” she requested. Shostakovich had always been a composer she particularly admired. While many lamented of the could haves had he lived in a different political system, she always admired his uncompromising and experimental style despite everything. His rebelliousness in his compositions and the aggression hidden within were elements that spoke to her. “I know he’s more famous for his orchestral work but I have a soft spot for his string arrangements, especially the quartets,” she explained.
At Yuxi's request, Shiori visibly brightens up. Her smile is contained but clear for everyone to see despite not showing any teeth. She knows the piece very well. She had seen it maybe a handful of times, and Shiori even practised that piece before, even though she never performed it in front of an audience, and it never failed to impress her. Shiori didn't have the score anywhere in her hands, and after a few failed attempts to get the right chords from memory, she got the point, and from then, Shiori managed to get it going with no major issues. Here and there, she would forget what was next, but it went on and on as smoothly as one would expect.
Shiori has been playing the cello since she was six years old, which gives her sixteen years of experience, and she can surely say that the first movement is one of the most challenging pieces to play, especially without sheet music. When the last note resonates, Shiori remembers that this time around, she has Yuxi in the room. "It has been a while," she comments sheepishly, pushing back a strand of hair that fell off behind her ear again. "The next time you want to hear anything, tell me, and I'll be better prepared. I wouldn't want you to leave thinking I'm sloppy."
His heart twinges when she calls him Akio-chan. He forgot how ridiculously sweet and perfect it sounded coming from her. He remembers the exact moment he first saw her. How the air was knocked out of his lungs in front of such beauty and grace. He never quite figured out how one person could hold such power over him. Never before that moment had a girl ever made his heart race like this and even then… he never confessed or tried to pursue anything with her. She’s so high above him while he’s a mere mortal lucky to be blessed with her existence. That’s how he felt then, and the boyish feelings seem to be rushing back, though he’s more mature now.
“I’m surprised you recognize me, to be honest.” he says candidly in Japanese. It’s always such a joy to be able to converse in his native tongue. Last time they met, he was a lot shorter and looked very much like a teenager. While he’s still young, he’s grown a hell of a lot since then. “I’ve been good, great even. I auditioned at Legacy Entertainment not long after I graduated and ended up here. I’ve been training since then, to become an idol.” She might not remember that about him; he did mention his love for dancing, but he’s not sure if he ever talked about his interest for Kpop or anything of the sort. “How about you, though? What a coincidence, it’s almost unbelievable.” What's even more unbelievable is how he's able to talk to her without sweating profusely and sounding like he's on the verge of suffocating.
"You've grown a lot since the last time we saw each other, but it wasn't hard to recognize you." Even though Shiori has always had a bit of difficulty linking names and faces, as her job as a student council member back in high school, she always made an extra effort to recognize the people she met. She's by no means an expert, and most of the time, Shiori fails at remembering people at first glance, but Akio is a little different. "You still have kind eyes, and besides your height, you still got that same boyish look. It's nice to see you again." Shiori finds herself staring a little too hard before averting her gaze and fixing the bag strap on her shoulder. It's nice to see someone familiar again, and she had to admit to like having this moment with someone she thought she wouldn't see in person again.
"Not long after graduation? It hasn't been that long since then. Are you adapting well? Moving out so young could be scary." And there is no denying that Shiori might be projecting a little, having moved in recently and everything, but she worries for others nonetheless. Akio seems to have turned out just fine. "I do know that seeing me here is the biggest surprise. I had time to graduate university and everything," Shiori chuckles and moves her hands with her palms up as her existence in this space was already hard enough to believe. "Dropped everything and moved to Seoul."
Huh, it seemed like the cello appearances were much more frequent than she had noticed. “I must’ve missed you then, that was the only time I’ve ever seen it; it’s fairly difficult to not notice a cello given the size of it and all.”
Not caring at all whether or not it seemed like she was imposing on the other girl (maybe she was), Yuxi took a seat on the floor in front of her. “Thanks, it’s been a long time since I’ve last been able to hear a cello in person.” The last time she’s actually sat down for an actual cello performance — discounting the typical orchestra pieces where they play within a range of an octave in half and full notes for a maximum of half the time — was probably two and a half years ago, a bit before she came to Korea.
“Inoue Shiori,” Yuxi repeated, “nice to meet you too. Name’s Lucy, Liu Yuxi,” she nodded to the other girl, offering a firm handshake, “Lucy, Yuxi, Eunha, I’m fine with them all so call me as you like.”
Shiori purses her lips in a pout and tilts her head to the side, "I usually practice after we're done with our regular training schedules, so that might be why. Nowadays, nothing is unchanging like it used to be, so I can't say why we've missed each other."
Now that she had an audience of one, Shiori had the decency to at least look like the professional she once was. It's not as if she wasn't taking her practice seriously before, but now that she had someone else other than herself to impress, the stakes felt a little higher. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yuxi," she says as she grabs the other's hand and gives it a shake. Yuxi looks and feels decided and sure, and in contrast to Shiori's usual shy disposition, she's very cool.
"Do you have anything you want to listen in specific? It looked like you know your way around concerts," Shiori struggles a little to find her words, but eventually, the sentence comes out as a whole. "I can promise to know the pieces on the spot, but I've played my fair share to know a few if you have a request."
When she first saw a figure walking into the Legacy building with a massive cello case on their back a few weeks ago, Yuxi simply brushed it off as part of her ever growing list of Things You Just See In Legacy (there was a lot actually) and filed it away in her memory, letting it sink somewhere in her mental archive. After all, she had better and more important things (read: learning that choreo) to do that were more important than some irrelevant investigative work. Besides, it’s not like she never saw or heard a cello before — concerts and other live music events at the opera house were always her favourite social function.
She was in a good mood tonight: she had managed to learn and polish eight more bars than expected with an hour to spare. A really nice break considering the standstill in progress she had been facing for a few months already. It was ironic actually; it was only in times where she actually wanted something that she would face difficulties in obtaining them. Everything else she was ambivalent about or just did not care about all came too easily to her whether it came from her academics or family peer pressure. And so here she was tonight, expecting lower than the bare minimum based on previous patterns only to heavily over perform.
Deciding to not push the limits of this break, Yuxi happily left the practice rooms ahead of schedule to catch up on sleep. And talk about luck, there she heard the sound of a cello drifting in from a room on the opposite end of the hall. It had to be a live instrument. The way the sound echoed matched that of the Legacy practice rooms and the cello was an oft forgotten solo instrument: no one, or at least very few people, would spend the effort in listening to cello recordings, especially considering the cello’s limited classical solo repertoire. The math was mathing, the source of that music had to be the figure she saw weeks ago.
Yuxi marched across the hall and into the room. Pointing at the other girl, she declared, “You, you’re the cello,” with little to no explanation, “that entered the Legacy building at around 6 four weeks ago.” Quickly realizing her mistake, she amended, “No it’s fine actually, I was just curious since I’m a really big fan of the arts. Mind if I stay around for your practice?”
As someone who doesn't have many skills to show off, especially when she's surrounded by very talented people who can dance, sing, rap and perform (among many other things), Haesol feels proud of being able to play something that isn't that common. She might not be better than most people in the company right now, but she has a differential, so Shiori would be lying if she said that being referred to as the cello girl didn't spark a good feeling in her.
Shiori couldn't help but stay silent for a few seconds, though. She blinked a few rapid times, trying to make sense of the other girl's words until everything clicked, and she nodded her head in agreement. "I believe both numbers must be correct. I bring my cello with me more times than one would expect," she says slowly but confidently because if there is something she learned, confidence means a lot more than one would expect. Shiori smiles softly at the person standing at the doorstep and nods allowing her in the room. "It has been a while since I last had an audience, so it'll be lovely to have you," Shiori says honestly, her heart feeling full for having someone show genuine interest. "I'm Inoue Shiori, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
The thick scent of impending rain hung in the air. Seoul showers had a different feeling than the ones she remembered from her childhood in Jeju. The tall buildings and busy streets with honking horns often made it stifling, as if each droplet was its own entity pushing past her. She much preferred watching it from within her dormitory window or listening to the pelting of it on the rooftops. Luck decided not to go on a walk with Chorong that day. Instead, it brought down a heavy rain on her head. Little flicks to the crown of her scalp. Coupled with the cool weather, she shivered to the bone.
Instinct brought her swiftly underneath the narrow outcropping of a cafe’s veranda, but she knew remaining there would only lead to more inconvenience.
Her eyes met briefly with a person she didn’t even notice was striding alongside her. Not until they opened the door for her. She bowed her head and muttered a quick “thank you” before shuffling inside and grabbing a seat at a table. Multiple people had the same idea; they poured in after her, abandoning their makeshift umbrellas as they entered.
Chorong was once again too caught up in her own little world to notice the same individual from before planting herself across from her. There were few spots to choose from now. She busied herself with rifling through her bag to make sure the items were still in tact. ( Though, this process involved placing each and every one of the contents on the table. ) Miffy mini notebook: check. Phone: check. Colored pen set: check. Fortunately, nothing seemed soaked through aside from her hair.
“Oh.” She squinted at the young woman across from her. Too familiar. Her features were distinct, it would be difficult to forget. “Oh! Hey, aren’t you…” It was on the tip of her tongue. Only because she wanted them to continue for her just in case she furthered her own embarrassment. “You’re from Legacy, too, right?”
Shiori used to check the weather forecast every day before leaving her house when she still lived in Japan. She would rarely be caught by surprise, and she was always very proud of that fact. Coming to Korea, however, changed a lot of things in her daily life, and she still has to get used to the weather. Shiori arrived during peak summer, and now she's dealing with the cold she wasn't used to in Japan. She'll eventually learn.
She had just left the company and was returning to the dorms when she felt the little droplets hit her. Shiori didn't expect it to turn into a downpour so quickly, and while she didn't mind getting her clothes ruined by the rain, Shiori couldn't afford to get sick right by the end of the semester. Luckily, she was around a commercial area, and thankfully she had the money to spend on a café while waiting for the rain to pass. Shiori walked in mindlessly, just wanting to avoid the humidity and chilly breeze outside.
In the five months since she joined the company, Shiori still had a lot of places to go. She didn't remember ever stopping in a business like this before to have a cup of tea or a piece of cake. She didn't have the time for it. She rarely has the time for anything. So, this is nice. She takes in her surroundings and enjoys the low murmur of people talking in the background. It's almost like the ambience videos she puts on at night to help her sleep.
To be honest, Shiori doesn't notice that there is someone across from her until the said person starts speaking. Shiori sits straighter when she notices that the pretty girl in front of her is talking to her, and she even leans in case she misses any words. That's when she notices that she has seen this girl before. "Yes, that's right," she says with a smile. "I'm Shiori. I joined Legacy in July," she recites the little introduction she has practised multiple times after moving in. "You're Han Chorong, right? I remember seeing you around. You're the girl who always looks cool when performing. It's nice to finally meet you."
It has been a while since Shiori last had the time and disposition to practice. Maybe she didn’t need the energy for it since Shiori knows better than anyone else that there were days she didn’t want to touch the cello, much less play it. But it is her first love, and Shiori is an excellent cellist. She wouldn't play it in the dorms, though. She didn't plan to bother her roommates with a very loud instrument when they should rest, so she planned to get a room after practice to tune her cello and finally get a sound out of it again.
Shiori could be there for five minutes or five hours, and she wouldn't have noticed it. As clichê as it may sound, her appreciation for it was genuine. People don't spend their entire lives perfecting their skills only to abruptly drop them. Shiori wouldn't let her efforts disappear just because becoming a professional player wasn't her A plan anymore.
She only snapped out of her reverie when she heard a loud bang from the door opening. Shiori turned in that direction only to find someone she might have seen around the company sometimes, but she wouldn't bet on it too hard. Last she checked, no one had booked the room, and she was almost sure she couldn't bother people outside. "Hi. Can I help you?" Shiori asks with her still heavily accented Korean, and despite her limited vocabulary, this is a sentence she has repeated a lot in the last five months. "Am I being too loud? I can tone it down."
Growing up, Shiori was never alone. She was surrounded by people all the time, and she sought out situations to include her presence. From cello classes to seeking leadership positions during her school years, Shiori rarely faced a challenge and felt she could rely on other people to help her get on her feet again.
Shiori was never alone, but right now, she felt lonely.
It's not fair to the instructors. It's not like they aren't making their best to help someone with a dancer's background that happened almost twenty years ago. Despite everyone's efforts, Shiori has noticed how difficult it is to jump into a new set of skills now that she's older, and that realization is almost too discouraging.
'You're too stiff' or, 'You're not sharp enough' or, 'Your isolations could be better', and, 'You need more power and more coordination'.
All of those are always followed by the classical, "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it." And as someone who has been in a coaching position before, she has said that before and fully believes in the potential of overcoming challenges. It's a little more difficult to believe in that when you're on the receiving side.
So that's how she finds herself after long hours trying not to be the ultimate menace. Her feet feel sore, and she's slightly out of breath. Shiori is sweating more than when they had sports day during high school, and it's winter. She feels like crying, but there are no tears or pent-up frustration left in her body to do so anymore.
Her coach is not her friend. They don't know each other long enough to be that to each other, but after gathering their stuff, they still crouch down near Shiori. With a backpack hanging on their shoulder, a head cap and a mask covering their face, Shiori could still feel the sympathy irradiating from their presence.
"Think about it like this." They say in Japanese, which is a surprise because the whole time they were here, they only talked to her in Korean. "Is this the best you can do, or are you just so caught up with what you can't do, and that's getting in the way of letting you learn?" Shiori bites the inside of her cheek because she doesn't trust her throat to talk back without her voice breaking. The teacher taps Shiori's shoulder before getting up to leave. "Slowly but surely we'll get results. I'll see you tomorrow."
hayoung was a firm believer that nothing has changed despite her debut earlier this year. maybe she became a senior and gained more responsibility and attention but other than that, everything felt the same. however, these same changes that felt so small were also obvious because it was harder and harder to know the new faces joining the company or keep up with what was going on that didn’t involve herself or fabula. lately, hayoung even had trouble recognizing people she passed by in the hallways.
holding her tumbler on the way to the practice room, hayoung stops in her tracks with a mix of confusion and surprise plastered on her face. the person walking in her direction felt new and familiar at the same time but after a second look at the face, hayoung’s jaw dropped. “shiori-chan?” she furrows her brows, astonished. “oh my god! is it really you? you remember me, right?” she mouths as she walks up to the older girl. it’s been years since she last saw or talked to shiori and she would never expect they would run into each other in seoul, at the company of all places.
Shiori's life was never not chaotic. She has been all over the place with projects and new activities since she was young, so, in some ways, she could say she was used to it. The last six months have proved to be the most topsy-turvy time, though. Shiori quit cello professionally, auditioned for an entertainment company, passed all stages and moved to South Korea. There was a lot to take in and a lot to learn in a very short time, and she's still catching up.
So it's fair to say that Shiori didn't have the time to memorize faces and people yet. Besides her roommates, who she sees every day since they live under the same roof, Shiori is still getting used to others. There is no reason for Shiori to think she'll find familiar faces walking around the hallways of a very competitive entertainment agency. Upon passing this girl, though, she had to take a double take, and gladly, she wasn't the only one. "You! I believe we went to school together, no? A lifetime ago. I never thought I would see you again," Shiori says in Japanese because that's how she remembers connecting with this girl when both were pre-teens. What was her name again? "Haromi-chan, right? I remember you clearly now. I'm so glad to see you again."
having grown up in sapporo makes akio especially fond of winter. back when they were a happy family and his mom was alive, they would make frequent trips to a ski resort not far from home, where he learned how to snowboard. after her death, his father stopped taking them but akio never cherishes these memories to this day. despite the bittersweet feelings the holidays bring along, it’s easily his favorite time of the year where nothing can seemingly ruin his mood. the past two years, he went home to visit his family but this year his sister is making the trip to Seoul on her own so they can enjoy christmas just the two of them. he loves his half-siblings, but he hates the way his father and stepmother deny his mother’s existence. the less time he spends with them, the better his mental health.
it’s quite early in the evening when he decides to take a short walk outside. the weather is agreeable; not too cold, with a peaceful snowfall making the streets of seoul even more gorgeous this time of year. all in all, it feels like the perfect time to grab a coffee and admire the christmas lights decorating the streets. he usually prefers hanging out with friends, but tonight he doesn’t mind being alone with his thoughts. he stops a few times to take pictures with his phone and watches couples holding hands, school-aged students going in an out of shops, elderly people walking slowly. then he sees her through his camera. “inoue-senpai…?” akio first thinks he must be having some sort of hallucination. either that, or ghosts from his past are resurfacing and neither options seem very appealing.
“Inoue-senpai?” he calls out, loudly enough this time for her to hear if she’s even real. and it appears that she is, because she suddenly turns in his direction and looks at him, which immediately sends akio into panic mode. the last time he saw her he was a highschool boy with an innocent crush and despite being an adult now, she brings him back years in the past. he can feel his heart pounding in his chest. no one should have the right to be this beautiful. “ah, so it’s really you…” he says in japanese. how is this even possible? in seoul of all places? he knows she used to travel a lot but the coincidence feels unreal.
Shiori has never been abroad before coming to South Korea. She travelled all around Japan to visit family members who lived far or to participate in festivals and competitions all around the country, but experiencing a new culture like this was the first time. Shiori felt overwhelmed, to be honest. Not so much now that it has been a few months since she moved in and started her trainee journey, but there is something about the holidays making her feel a lot more nostalgic.
She loved living in Tokyo and having all her friends and family a train trip away. She has many memories of celebrating the holidays with her parents and organizing events for her classmates in school. As someone who moved countries not only six months ago, remembering all of those things and knowing she won't be back there for a while is a little painful. Shiori always understood what becoming a trainee would mean for her, and she was also used to the idea of compromising. That didn't mean she couldn't be a little sad about it.
Five months is nothing in the great scheme of things, and it has proven to be a very short time to make any real friendships. So the moment someone calls out her name, she instantly responds. To be honest, it has been a while since she saw his face, and while familiar, Shiori had to take a moment to put a name in the person in front of her. "Akio-chan, right?" She's relieved to remember at least that much, and she smiles softly at the presence of someone familiar in a foreign country. "It has been a while since I last saw you. How have you been? Are you on holiday?"
inoue shiori : an in-depth take on how she reacts to the world around her.
(OPEN EVENT 005 - PERSONALITY TESTS)
MBTI : ISFJ ( the defender )
She's the personification of the Mom Friend. Or, if you want to make it more inclusive, she's the older sister figure that one might or might not want in their life. The point is: at some point, in a given circumstance, you might need her help with something, and she will willingly and promptly help you with it.
Shiori is very supportive of the people around her and also very reliable. She makes plans and executes them accordingly and might get a little stressed when things go out of what she had planned. She likes observing people (not in a creepy way) and noticing little likes and dislikes, and preferences. Shiori is also hardworking and takes pride in the projects she gets involved in. It is no coincidence that she became an overachiever in high school and university.
If talking about her more negative traits, Shiori takes things personally. She's very sensitive to others' opinions of her, and while she'll try to mask that and pretend to be unaffected, she's not that much of a good actress. She will encourage you to talk about your feelings and what troubles you but will not talk about herself and her struggles easily. She's excellent at deflecting. Shiori is also overcommitted and a perfectionist, going to her limits to achieve whatever she committed herself to make.
TEMPERAMENT : SANGUINE-PHLEGMATIC ( the relater )
Shiori is someone who's also very people-oriented, but she focuses a lot more on making long-lasting relationships than forming quick bonds. She's friendly and accommodating to others. She smiles a lot and tries to keep an optimistic view of people and situations. She's not big on conflicts and is often described as disarming with a warm, empathic, and understanding approach.
ENNEAGRAM : 2W3 ( the host )
One of her main faults is due to her very competitive nature. Yes, she's not keen on confrontation, but Shiori builds competitors in her mind and tries to beat them even if she won't outright say it to the person. She tends obsessiveness whenever she has a new challenge in front of her. She's an excellent leader when she needs to be since Shiori is very adaptable in stressful situations and is a clear communicator. She's not perfect, though, and can criticize herself and others if things don't turn out her way.
I usually write these things after I submit my app, but I completely forgot to do it this time. Hi, this is Iris! Haesol's mun with another muse the moment I was allowed to bring someone new.
Shiori came about because I noticed that having a muse on the younger side can be a little challenging to get more diverse plots. So, I came up with someone slightly older and way more responsible and down to Earth with whom we can, hopefully, have a plethora of new plots!
Down below, I came up with a quick get-to-know-Shiori, but check out her pages too if you like.
[ plots / profile / bio ]
Shiori is an Aries baby born in Tokyo, Japan, where she spent all her life.
She was always very responsible and involved with all sorts of school activities. She would make her goal to be the best one could be to become an example to be followed. (She was vice president of the student council during her last two years of high school and played the cello. Model student).
She went to university and was set to become a professional cellist. She participated in competitions all over the country and played in a wedding or two. Shiori had planned to either get a place in an orchestra in Japan or to move abroad.
Then she had a crisis and thought of when she was a kid wanting to become an idol. She always wanted to become famous and perform in front of people, but originally, she would do it like the people on TV.
On a whim, she auditioned in Japan, passed the auditions and moved to Seoul not knowing how to speak a word of Korean.
She's a mess internally and having many crises because it hasn't even been six months since she moved, but she won't show that part. Outside, she's a regal, classically trained musician who's now a trainee aiming to become an idol. What could go wrong?
gamechangershow
titsay
2087
snowghoul
stormborns
