ăăăăăăăăăăăăă next on stageă...ălee mijoo, nam woohyun
ăăăăăăăăăăăăă songă...ăwhite winter by kim bumsoo & park junghyunăâŹ
she's not entirely sure when she got to sing with woohyun last, but she decides it's been far too long when she's saying yes before woohyun's even done with the question of asking if she would like to sing with him for the evaluation. she's sang with him before, but never on stage; needless to say, she's all smiles as they go through different songs together to decide what they should sing.
the hardest part is choosing a song, mijoo realizes, because once they're past that portion, everything is a breeze. singing with woohyun is as comfortable as just sitting and hanging around with him like she always used to, and it feels like old times again where they would burst out into musical numbers while cleaning up to close the nam family's restaurant for the day. (all that's missing is boohyun playfully yelling at them to be quiet...)
she doesn't know where the time goes, practicing with woohyun, because when she comes to, it's already performance day. she's excited than she is nervous as she waits backstage with woohyun, wiggling in her spot in excitement with her mic wedged between her palms. she spends the remaining minutes to go over the lyrics in her head a few more times, just in case, before turning to look at woohyun.
"..." her smile fades slightly at the look on his face, and she grows a little worried. is he nervous? while she thinks he couldn't be (considering he's done this way more than she has herself), her hand acts on its own and reaches for his before she realizes.
he turns and she smiles, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
"oppa, it's okay," she tells him in a hushed voice, lips curling up into a bigger smile. "we can do this! just breathe... and relax!" she takes in a deep breath and lets it out to demonstrate, giving him a nod. "just tell yourself we're back at the practice room again. we've done this before, it'll be okay!" she brings up a fist to tell him hwaiting, finally smiling again when he replies with a nod. and with that, she walks on stage with him when it's their turn.
she takes a quick look around-- at the crowd and at the decorations that make the week of christmas really real-- then lets her eyelids fall shut as she takes in a calm breath. when she opens her eyes back up, she's ready, and she sways with the music as it plays.
she briefly wonders if woohyun's still nervous, though decides it doesn't matter as she makes sure to meet eyes with him as they start the song off with some humming. she's suddenly glad that she sings first; perhaps she can do well in helping woohyun calm his nerves during her part? she's about to find out.
the reason why i started feeling distant from you at some point in time,
is because after i saw you with someone else,
the image of you in the embrace of them on a snowy winter night
has been left deep within my heart
she keeps her gaze on his own the whole time, not forgetting to smile and nod at him to silently tell him it's okay-- that they're back at the practice room again, goofing off during breaks before getting serious during their singing.
when it's his turn, everything mijoo had been worried about washes away in an instant; he sings beautifully, without a hint of nervousness in his voice, and she can't help the bright smile that finds her lips. she quickly presses them together though, making sure she doesn't grin too toothily and ruin the overall feel of their performance, before bringing her mic back up to join woohyun and create their harmony that they had been slaving over for weeks.
please wait a little for me
because being able to love again
is still too overwhelming for me
please think of me--
of the days we spent together since sometime last winter--
until tears fall from the longing
they exchange light adlibs during the instrumental break, and mijoo's back to keeping her eyes on woohyun again as they do so. she builds her adlibs from his own as he does the same, and she sways lightly to the rhythm before preparing to go back in.
i wonder for how long i must go on forgetting you
i wonder if you're already living your life while having forgotten me
the snow is falling again right now, but i get no words from you
when i'm thinking about you again because i want to see you
she wonders if the song's lyrics are a little too melancholy to fit in with spirit of christmas, but then thinks the instrumental is festive enough. it's not a slow ballad, thankfully, and when she catches some of the audience members swaying along with her and woohyun, she's not so worried about it anymore.
the chorus comes again, and she gives woohyun a knowing look as they sing together: "please wait a little for me; if you can wait until i'm able to understand, it's not such a long time~ please think of me-- of the image of me standing alone in the snow-- until tears fall from the longing~"
and then they're there, the part they had been nervous about the most, though they had practiced it extra hard as much as they were worried. she follows woohyun's lead of starting the series of adlibs, bouncing back and forth before finally hitting it together-- the high note-- then trills down in time with each other like they had practiced many, many times.
she's able to break off from the final note of their hard work with a bright smile, adrenaline rushing through her every being as she bounces and sways along to the music with woohyun next to her. the success of their high note as well as their vocal runs gives her even more confidence to go back and forth with each other with more adlibs, and she's so relaxed throughout the rest of the song.
as the music fades, her eyes are on woohyun the whole time before she finally tears them away to look at the crowd, and she bows deeply. when she comes back up, her signature gummy smile sits comfortably on her features as she waves with both hands, mouthing thank you to everyone.
singing on stage is always such a pleasant experience, and mijoo finds out today that it's even better when it's with woohyun. she glances over at the said male one last time, giving him a happy smile before holding out a hand for him to take then leading him as well as herself off the stage.
hello, my friends. ; o ; i am sorry for my absence for the past two weeks or so; i've been going through some very personal things in real life that i've had no space to worry about anything rp-related. it seems that i've miraculously survived two activity checks without saying anything to the mods (i've just had no time or will to do anything on the computer, unfortunately) so i will be officially putting my two muses (mijoo and yoongi) on a hiatus for the time being, just in case. i'm just not well right now, mentally and emotionally, but i've been slowly getting better (talking with my trusty friend sera) so i will be trying to get some posts in sometime this week. i'm so very sorry to those that are waiting for replies from me and thank you for reading this! ; o ;
Wendy sprints over as fast as she can until she tackles the older girl into a tight embrace. Itâs been long since they last saw each other. They didnât even get the chance to talk at summer camp, and she hasnât heard from the older girl since then.
â Unni, how have you been?â she mutters to herself as she lets go of Mijoo unni, smiling with all the affection she has for the older girl. âI missed you.â She can hardly begrudge Mijoo for not accepting the contract she won at the MGAs. After all, people have their own reasons for their decisions. Wendy just thinks it would have been better if they signed together, since it would have been less lonely for her⌠But thatâs just being selfish. Mijooâs own happiness comes first.
âSo my friends werenât kidding after all,â she says to make conversation. She had to immediately establish that she isnât angry with the older girl at all. She may have been a bit sad at first. If Mijoo unni is happier in Sphere, then Wendy is happy for her too. At least Mijoo finally has a place to call home. âSphere Entertainment, hmm? Were Nell sunbaenim and I not good enough reasons to accept Novaâs offer?â she asks jokingly. Despite the lightness in her tone, she really wanted to know why Mijoo unni didnât accept the offer, when clearly, between the two of them, Mijoo unni was the more idol-like one.
relief gently washes over mijoo the moment wendy's in her arms-- as if to wordlessly tell her that everything's okay. wendy's tight hug alone lets her know that the younger isn't mad or upset; she couldn't hold mijoo so earnestly if she was, right? (or so mijioo wants to believe.)
she clings to wendy a bit longer than the younger had originally intended, probably, basking in her warmth and her silent comfort. "i missed you, too..." she mumbles, taking in a deep but quiet breath through her nose and letting it out just as softly before letting go of wendy. it's hard trying not to just break down right then and there as wendy so obviously jokes around on purpose to make her feel better, and mijoo lets out a sharp sigh of relief that also somewhat resembles a laugh.
"don't be silly... you know i would have loved to train with you..." (and also see nell sunbaenims, but that bit holds significantly less importance next to wendy.) "it wasn't anyone else, i just... i felt a little out of place, i guess...? it was all me, i promise." she tries not to cry-- swallows down many lumps that feel like the size of a baseball-- and with a small shake of her head with closed eyes, she pulls herself together.
"also... not many people know, but i've-- i've had an audition opportunity with sphere before that i... didn't even get to try because of a family emergency..." she shrugs shakily. "i... i guess i had some unsolved mysteries within sphere that i wanted to figure out..." like could she have made it in if she got to try the first time around? could she have been much closer to her dream than she is now if she had...?
she falls quiet, a small apologetic smile finding her lips. "i'm sorry..."
The cafeteria was a place that Seulgi hadnât really spent a lot of time in as of yet, she often would bring her own lunch from home, or go out with some of the others to go check out the restaurants in the area, so she was happy to go ahead and find out what they had to offer with her new friend.  âIâm sure of it too. I havenât eaten here much, but Iâve heard it isnât bad,â she smiled, ready to check it out herself.  âIâd probably eat here more, but Iâm so used to making my own lunch from back in school, that itâs become a habit⌠or Jonghyun oppa makes me something to bring too.â
âItâs nice! Though Iâm pretty much a zombie in the mornings, honestly.â she couldnât help but wonder how much of it was a joke, she really hoped the other wasnât lonely in the mornings, someone like Mijoo deserved never to be lonely.  âOh sure! Iâll go find us a spot!â She turned to look at the area before heading off to do just that.Â
mijoo looks on with a bit of envy as seulgi mentions jonghyun making her something to bring with her to the building. it must be nice having roommates, and she can't help but feel as though she'd like to room with close friends as well. she loves her family, she hopes no one gets her wrong, but wasn't it almost every young adult's dream to move out and live with friends? it's probably quite the experience, and she makes a note at the back of her mind to look into that sometime. until then, she'll stay with family. (which she has no problem with at all; in fact, she'll probably see them less once her sphere lifestyle settles in more, so it's probably best to spend time with them as much as she can, while she can.)
filling her tray with food that's offered, mijoo tries to hurry so she doesn't keep seulgi waiting. she soon turns to look around the diner with her tray in hand, keeping her eyes peeled for her lovely friend. when she spots the younger, she smiles brightly and hurriedly scurries across the floor to the table she's sitting at.
"ah, sorry! did i take long?" she asks with an apologetic smile, picking up her chopsticks. "hey, will you tell me more about rooming with friends? is it nice? fun?
heâs about to respond to her and say that he remembered - because itâs honestly not hard to recognize mijoo, especially after sheâd been on novaâs winning team. Â but she interrupts before gunhee has the chance to get the thought out, so he blinks slowly until something like recognition clouds her vision and he leans back from the pointing fingers and the excitable expression.
if gunheeâs to be honest though, he never thought he made that strong of an impression on the others who watched the talent show when he performed. Â though it was enough to get him an audition to sphere which ultimately led to him being signed on as a trainee, the thought that a peer could remember his performance makes him stiffen in surprise in his seat. Â gunhee gives a weak laugh and nods his head at her excitable imitation of his line, still surprised she remembers that much of it at all. Â â yeah, thatâs me. Â i canât believe you remember.â his laugh is quiet, and though heâs taken aback - his heart grows warm at the thought of it. Â maybe gunhee makes more of an impression than he really believes.
â yeah, after the performance ..â he trails off, thinking about that moment.  â after the performance, a scout came up to me on the way to my room.  and i guess thatâs why iâm here today.  what about you?â gunhee smiles faintly at the memory, and heâs almost curious to hear her story.  â but yeah, thatâs okay.  call me what you want.âÂ
she tones her excitement down just a tad when she realizes she's doing it again-- probably making him uncomfortable by being too friendly-- and she offers him a soft smile instead when he shares how his sphere journey began. his story is similar yet different from her own, and she's all smiles as she she parts her lips to speak again.
"well, i was just sitting and waiting for a friend of mine to come back from using the restroom before the closing ceremony began, and a stranger sat down next to me..." she scoops some food into her mouth-- they're here to eat, after all-- and she's quick to chew behind a hand so she can swallow down everything before talking again. "i bowed out of courtesy, of course, but deep down, i wondered when they were going to leave because i was saving that seat for my friend..." she lets out a laugh, thinking about that morning. "turns out he was a scout from sphere!" it was a different approach compared to how she remembered getting scouted the first time around, but the excitement that came with receiving a sphere business card was the exact same.
she glances down at her tray to eat some more food, chewing a bit in thought before swallowing and looking at gunhee. "do you think he still would have offered me an audition if i told him that i was saving the seat for my friend?" she giggles softly. "what if he ended up just leaving without looking back!"
Some time ago, some of Wendyâs friends from school told her they spotted Mijoo unni at the Itaewon area. She didnât think much of it, as she never asked Seulgi and Soojung to confirm these rumors for her either. She decided that it had to be a coincidence that her friends saw Mijoo unni near the Sphere building, until they reported that Mijoo unni was performing with Seulgi and Chorong at the Sphere trainee concert.Â
Itâs been weeks since they were all required to train in the new facility at least twice a week. Sheâs already run into several friends, but she has yet to prove Mijoo unniâs trainee status for herself. A familiar figure walks along the hallway. Wendy hastily ties up her shoe laces as she makes a dash for her. âMijoo unni!â she calls out as soon as sheâs within hearing range.Â
being in and out of the new facility, she had admittedly been anxious to run into her teammates she trained with during the mgas. she misses them greatly, she hopes no one gets her wrong, but she had been afraid about what they thought of her; would they think badly of her? would they think she was a traitor of some kind for turning down nova? and to add to it, she signed with another company...
she supposes she can't blame anyone for thinking badly of her, though her choosing to turn down nova and sign with sphere was something she did for herself... not anyone else. she didn't turn down nova because she didn't like anyone there; she just felt a little out of place. she didn't really have a preference to begin with as to which company she wanted to try for... she put down nova because she loves nell.
but there's probably no way for anyone to know about any of this, considering she hasn't really shared them, so she really can't blame anyone for thinking badly of her... right?
though lost in her thoughts, she hears a familiar voice call for her, and she brings herself out of it to turn around. she widens her eyes slightly when she sees who it is, and while a part of her feels nervous, the bigger part of her is happy to see the familiar face. "wendy!" she exclaims, waving both her hands as she bounces lightly on the balls of her feet.
this is bound to be a dream right? heâs fallen asleep at practice in one of those rare moments, and the weeks without seeing mijoo have finally caught up him. heâs dreaming of her image, the same bright smile, the same lovely voice. woohyun has to be going insaneâthereâs no way, no absolute way.
he lifts his hand promptly and smacks his cheek harshly, letting out a small choke of pain because he could definitely feel that. youâre not supposed to feel pain in a dream, right? of course not, but it hurt, which meant that this wasnât a dream and lee mijoo was definitely there in front of him, her smile still in place and looking more and more angelic than sheâs ever did before.
âlee mijoo.â he repeats her name once more, even as she greets him, hears the door shut behind her and hears the surprising news. he stares at her for a long moments, blinks slow and languidlyâhis mouth opening and closing a few times as he assembles his thoughts together. the surprise slowly settles into incredulity, then embarrassment, then slowly a happy grin lights up his face.
âyouâyouâre a trainee?â he questions, shifting from foot to foot as he lifts his hand to rub his offended cheek, his grin only widening, looking dumb and utterly boyish. itâs strange, how one girl could revert him to feeling and looking so young and foolish again. âseriously? youâre a trainee and you didnât tell me? was that the secret?â
heâs a little upset heâs just now finding out, but itâs much better than the alternative that he originally thought. heâd take this over that any day.
âhow long? what company? it wasnât nova, was it?â the questions fall from his mouth quickly as he moves to sit down, reaching over to turn the chair next to him around. âsit down, let me hear all about it!â
though it's there only for a short moment, she catches the small look of disappointment on his face. she's known him for years now, enough to know that he's often masking any hint of sadness in front of people, and he's trying to do that right now. she can imagine the disappointment he must be feeling, even as he tries to hide it from her, because this certainly wasn't the way she wanted to tell him either. she wanted to tell him in person, as much as he wanted to hear it in person, probably, though their schedules didn't quite allow them, ending up in this situation.
despite all this, she smiles brightly for him, nodding her head in an enthusiastic manner-- an answer to him asking if this was the secret. this isn't the way she wanted him to find out, but what's done has been done, and she plans to make the best of it as she scurries over to settle down on the seat next to him.
"it's not nova, no!" she bites down on her lip, trying to keep from smiling so widely as she thinks about the look of surprise she'll see on woohyun's face. "remember when i said i was thinking about sphere during the mgas...?" as she says this, she's no longer able to contain the big smile. she gives him a moment to let that sink in, her smile fading by the slightest in the process.
"i'm-- i'm sorry i didn't tell you ahead of time, oppa... i really wanted to tell you in person, so it took way longer than i had originally planned-- i wanted to tell you, i really did! i didn't not tell you on purpose, i promise." a small frown finds her lips as she tries to explain herself, the situation more upsetting now that she's said it out loud. she knows woohyun would have wanted to know as soon as it happened, and she feels terrible for letting it go this long without him knowing. "i'm really sorry..." she murmurs with a small pout.
There hadnât been time to waste, wallowing in a sort of self pity. She could use that for something good, so Yubin made it up in her mind to find a space to practice and keep to herself. She had just started to rap when the door the opened and before she could even get a word the other was apologizing. Yubin waited until she finished before she bowed back and waved the other off.
âItâs fine, I just started.â And she was ready to leave it at that but something made her stop. It took a second but she couldnât help but ask when she saw. âYou were on the MGAâs right?â NOVA offered her a contract, so she must have accepted to be in the SamSung building. âCongratulation on making it into NOVA.â
the other female insists it's all right, but mijoo's still sorry anyways, bowing her head once more in apology. she blinks when she comes back up, a smile finding her lips when the stranger recognizes her. (and once she's in the right mind for a better look, mijoo realizes the stranger is no stranger and she recognizes her as well; a trc trainee, if she's not mistaken.)
her smile fades only just a little at the mention of nova, and it turns sheepish as she scratches her head. "uh, actually... i turned down nova!" she tries to sound as positive as possible (and most definitely as modest as possible because who is she to turn down a company like nova, as some people might think), her voice energetic as she explains herself. "i'm actually under sphere... it's confusing, i know! a lot of people think i'm under nova and i feel bad because i didn't mean to confuse anyone..." she lets out a soft laugh in embarrassment. "aren't you a trc trainee?"
ah, iâm so tired. ( rose mutters to herself in english, rubbing at her neck. on her walk down through the lobby, she just happens to see someone loose money to the communal vending machine, and instantly, rose feels immensely bad for the girl with her arm tucked under the vending machine, probably after a runaway coin. she automatically tucks her hand into her pocket in search of shrapnel on hand, which she usually has. she pulls out several coins, seemed like today was going how sheâd hoped. rose approaches the girl quietly, wandering over and around people in the lobby with a small grin, and there she is, standing above the girl whoâs just beginning to move her arm from beneath the machine. ) what one did you want from here? ( rose asks, looking downwards at the girl with a blank stare. blank but genuine. she looks back, upwards towards the machine but is suddenly drawn back to the machineâs victim. ) wait a second, are you lee mijoo? ( lee mijoo, from the mgas, the show she hadnât watched really closely, but then again, this girlâs face was super recognizable and she really hoped that she was who rose thought, if not, then that would be awkward. ) ah, you are. arenât you?
( * she really hoped people would just walk by, because stopping to ask her if she's okay or what's wrong would mean that they saw her on the floor with her arm under the machine and that's-- that's embarrassing. if they just walk on by, then it doesn't matter whether or not they see her, as long as mijoo doesn't see them see her. but of course, she's not so lucky today ( as usual ), and as she dusts her hands off to stand, she hears someone. she perks up her ears almost instinctively and turns around, pink tinging her cheeks. ) ah... i wanted a strawberry soda but i dropped the 100 won that i need-- ( * her eyes widen slightly when her name is uttered by the other female, though the surprise is soon overtaken by even more embarrassment when she realizes she has been caught sticking an arm under a vending machine by someone that knows her from being on television. how embarrassing. so embarrassing. ) ah-- yes, that's me! i'm lee mijoo... ( * she smiles sheepishly. ) i'm-- ( * she then laughs, pressing her palms into her cheeks in embarrassment. ) ahhh, i'm embarrassed! that someone recognizes me but also caught me on the floor like that!
( * it really would be just her luck to drop the last 100 won she needs to get her strawberry soda from the vending machine, even more so when it rolls under the said machine and refuses to come into contact with the tips of her fingers no matter how hard she tries. ) come onnnn... ( * she murmurs to herself, stretching her arm as far as she can fit under the machine, but to little avail. ) ahhh... ( * she whines quietly, shoulders drooping to show the disappointment. she didn't bring much change today-- she hadn't planned on getting anything from the vending machine-- but when she saw the little she had in her backpack, she had been excited about getting a strawberry soda from the vending machine in the new building. but fate has different plans for her today, it seems, and she carefully slides her tight-fitted arm out from underneath the machine, being careful not to scratch herself against the edges. great. she can't get soda and she just embarrassed herself in front of people walking by... ( probably fellow trainees; how embarrassing... ) )
      chorong has to inevitably come to terms with the fact that if mijoo asks for anything, sheâs likely to have zero hesitation about granting it. thereâs something about the cute girl that invites her indulgence ( read: spoiling ) and itâs worth hearing mijooâs pleased laughter or seeing those adorable gestures the younger makes just by being rewarded. much like a puppyâ chorong thinks, and perhaps itâs not unusual that her chow pup comes to mind.Â
     she plays the scale for mijoo, as requested, and joins in the exercise at the youngerâs behest. they go up all the way to âdoâ together, only to then repeat it simply for confidence-building. mijooâs modesty is her charm, but chorong discovers a quiet joy when witnessing mijooâs gradual warming up to her talent the more she sings. âready?â chorong asks politely afterwards and the rapper begins to play, not waiting for mijoo to find any reason to delay.Â
     experimenting with the harmonies as they sing, chorong wrinkles her nose when something doesnât flow as she expects and files it away as a mental note to fix on the next run-through. the key is not to overpower mijoo in any way and chorong softens her tone to compensate. when the rap part arrives, chorong chooses not to pause and powers through the verse.
warming up is more fun and easy when someone else does it with her, and mijoo's beyond happy as she warms up together with chorong. with every scale they climb and back, she feels even more confident than the last that by the time chorong asks if she's ready, she's able to nod her head enthusiastically. she's 100% ready this time.
once chorong works out the small kinks, mijoo thinks they sound beautifully together, voices blending so nicely as if they had always been a package deal. she knows it's consideration on chorong's part-- she's making sure mijoo shines more during the vocals-- and the young vocalist prepares to thank the elder after her part, but the words are forgotten as chorong continues into her rap verse. and then it's back, the admiration for chorong with stars in her eyes; she's just so cool.
mijoo sits there and shamelessly watches, though this time, she keeps her ears wide open to listen for her part-- "i don't wanna lose you, be without you, anymore"-- and joins in at the right moments between chorong's lines. she lets the first few syllables of the chorus go left unsung before coming right back in with chorong's accompaniment, singing through the whole part once more.
"don't let me cry..." she ends before turning to chorong with an expectant smile. "was that okay? i mean, much better after being warmed up, right?" she probably sounds super childish right now, but she really can't help it; chorong's like a teacher, where she silently encourages with warm looks and smiles, and mijoo feels like a kindergartner all over again, wanting to do well for the praises more than the gold stars. she wants to do well for chorong, as if she wants the older female to be proud, like a student would want with their favorite teacher. "your harmonies were so pretty, unnie!"
it was to be expected in this lifestyle. if you werenât tired, you werenât working hard enough. or so heâd like to think. a hand ran throughout his newly dyed locks and he leans against the nearest wall, relishing in the minor break that they had in their vocal lessons. although this training session had to be one of the peak moments of his day, he couldnât help but succumb into his tired state. his eyes fluttered to a close and he brought his knees to his chest, hugging them for warmth.
the urge to sleep had been real. two days of no sleep would do that to anyone. insomnia was a cruel hearted bitch that had jonghyun by the neck. itâs only when a female graces her presence beside the trainee that he stirred from his attempted slumber. âoh, mijoo-ah..â a soft smile touches his lips and he leans slightly against her. not too much, you never know who was watching. itâs rude to not acknowledge a ladies presenceâ or so his mother taught himâ so he stood on high alert. âhey, you.â belated at best, his mind decides to work in pace with his fatigue. âi never got to say congratulations to you, did i?â
in an attempt to deliver his body a stern shock of lividity, he hops to his feet and holds his hands out to the girl. âtrust oppa, okay?â in a rather sudden moment, heâs lifted the female in his arms and spun her around. one.. two.. three⌠four.. oh, nausea, nice to see youâ and that was enough. an array of gentle laughter left his lips and he placed the female down, albeit his own wobbly steps had aided him to fall flat on his ass. ânever-mind.. donât trust me.â he teases, his arm raising to rest over his eyes.Â
jonghyun quickly rubs his face as if heâs washing away the fatigue. nothing isnât working, so maybe he could slip away for some coffee.. they still had fifteen minutes left before their break was officially over.
âhey. letâs get some coffee? or a tea. itâs on oppa.âÂ
it'd be a lie if she said she's already gotten used to the trainee lifestyle, but she'd like to think she's getting around it. sleep had always been a mistress of hers, yes, but getting up early in the morning for training was not much different from what she used to do to help mom get the little ones ready for school. she's always loved to sleep, but losing sleep for doing what she loves-- like helping mom or training-- she does not mind.
even so, mijoo's still human, and by the end of the day, where hours have whizzed past her as she did what she loved doing the most, she's exhausted. today's training is no exception as she sits there, massaging her shoulders when they're dismissed for a break. she takes a look around, and once she remembers she's not so alone in this, it makes her feel the least bit better. everyone here is tired, but they're tired for a good reason; they're all here to do what she's here to do, and that brings her comfort.
when she spots a familiar face, she soon hops up from her seat to approach him, settling down on the floor next to him with a bright smile. "we're almost finished, oppa! let's do well for a little bit more, okay?" she sits still as the male leans against her, letting him rest like that for as long as he needs. she thinks about closing her eyes herself to let them rest, though not before jonghyun hops up to hold his hands out for her. she blinks in confusion, but takes his hands nonetheless, almost instinctively (if someone offers her something, she will take it!).
"waaah!" she lets out rather unladylike as he pulls her up into his arms, spinning her around. "oppa, you'll hurt yourself!" she manages to say between laughs, clinging to him tightly so he doesn't drop her (and in the midst of all the laughing, she inwardly hopes she's not too heavy). it's not long before he lets her back down, and she attempts to catch him before he falls (but fails). she squats down next to him, giving him a smile as she nods her head.
"coffee sounds good! though i wonder if tea might be better so we don't ruin our voices for the rest of the lesson?" she suggests, gently taking his hand to help him up.
accidentally interrupting woohyun while searching for a vocal room had been a pleasant surprise a few days ago, but the nervousness is back as she carefully searches for another one today. not every room is going to be occupied by someone she knows, unfortunately, where she can just apologize and they can talk for a few minutes before she leaves to find another room. there are tons more trainees here that she doesn't know than she knows, and the last thing she wants is for someone's mood to be soured from a stranger interrupting their practice (even more so if the stranger is her).
pressing her lips together into a thin line, she goes on her toes to take a peek inside as best as she can, and when she thinks she sees no one, she carefully turns the knob and opens the door to stick her head inside. "oh--" and she's unlucky, yet again. "i'm sorry! i didn't know that someone was in here-- i didn't mean to interrupt your practice, i'm sorry!" she bows her head with an apologetic smile, ready to head right back out.
woohyun knows itâll take him some time to settle in; heâs still not fully adapted to kt yetâso itâll take him a while to even be close to adapted to what the seocho building offers. but heâs trying his best, at least. heâll take it day by day until every moves quickly and efficientlyâlike a well-oiled machine.
heâs managed to find one of free vocal rooms, and begins to busy himself, practicing songs and warming up. he scribbles down notes on paper of what he needs to work onâwhether or not his pitches sound right or his tone matches the meaning of the song. he uses a recording and plays it back, fingers tapping on the table as he presses one headphone to his ear, eyes narrowed in concentration. he chews on the tip of his pencil, listening to the sound of his voice before he shakes his head and sets down the headphones. he runs a hand through his hair with a sigh, fiddling with the sound board as he tries to remember everything else from vocal lessonsâwhat to focus on, what to do, what to improve on. heâs been so behind on everything since the transitioning of kt to seocho, and the adjustment period is taking far, far too long in his opinion.
with a shake of his head, he attempts to focusâclearing his throat and starting off his notes, voice low before raising slowly and slowly, until he abruptly shuts his mouth when the door to the sound booth opens, and his head snaps to attention, a smile on his face in greeting as he goes to stand and bow, but he stiffens and gapes at the form that peeks their way in.
is this a dream? this has got to be a dream. how long has it been since heâs seen her? he swallows thickly, voice suddenly dry as his mouth opens and then closes, before the words tumble out before he can help them.
âmijoo-yah.â he states, one hand reaching up to rub his eyes maybe sheâs a mirage? and then refocusing his stare on her once more, but nothing changes. âyouâwhat are you doing here?â he doesnât hide the surprise from his voice, because reallyâhe canât help it at all. she hadnât accepted the contract from nova, as far as he knew after the mgas. so whatâ
he doesnât get it.
getting used to sphere was already a difficult task alone, but it's even more so now with the merging of five companies. she's barely gotten used to the sphere building, but now she has a new facility to get used to as well; it's a little scary, but she finds comfort in knowing that there are hundreds and hundreds of other trainees that are put in the same situation as her. she wishes none of them had to go through this, but it's the least bit comforting knowing that she's not alone in this.
with that in mind, mijoo starts searching for other good things about the merge (because everyone knows being down in the dumps isn't very lee mijoo). she supposes the merge should be more convenient in the long run; she doesn't know much about running companies, but the merge probably happened because it'll be better for everyone, right...? and anything new in the world is just a matter of getting used to; once everyone gets settled in, she knows everyone will feel like a merge never even happened. (or at least she hopes.)
perhaps it's actually good that she's fairly new, because she can't imagine how veteran trainees must feel about this; training had been the same for them for years now, but that's going to change. perhaps it's good that she didn't quite get used to the training system before the merge happened, because there isn't much she has to change. (yes, good, lee mijoo! let's think about the good things!)
it's first day of sphere all over again as she walks down the hallway, looking for a spare vocal room to practice in. she's careful like the first day, not wanting to be rude by interrupting anyone's independent practice (though it's kind of hard when she needs to go on her toes to peek inside). when she thinks she sees no one, she opens the door to a vocal room, sticking her head inside for a better look. "hello...?"
she widens her eyes slightly when the person sitting stands and turns around, her mouth also falling open. ah, yes. how could she forget about the best part of this whole merge; she would be seeing her friends from other companies more often. she had been excited thinking about how she would see hyeri more often, and she did think about how she would see woohyun as well; she had planned on telling him in person before they met by chance around the hallways of the new facility, but it seems fate has different plans for her today.
"ah, oppa..." she steps inside all the way, letting the door close behind her as she grins brightly. "surprise! i'm a trainee!"
she smiles at mijoo, because thatâs a smile and nod of understanding. itâs nice to find someone that can relate in sphere, though itâs bittersweet, too. now she knows how much mijoo is sacrificing to be here. she wonders if she knew, before she signed the sphere contract, how much time sheâd be giving up with those little siblings, and if sheâll fear sheâll be so absent that they forget they have an older sister at all, like luna does. she hopes she doesnât, for mijooâs sake. she also tries not to feel relief in possibly sharing that mutual understanding.
âyeah! they put a ton of effort in. it was really impressive.â she perks up instantly, easily ignoring any of her more serious thoughts. âwe dressed up as pirates one time too, and then in disney onesies, and we sang high school musical songs one time. as you can see, this is really our tamest hazing.âÂ
she thinks of hyun, and how much he objected to nice hazing, and canât help but chuckle at mijooâs response, even if she doesnât disagree. âit was kind of nice to have a break in all of the planning.â the past few months have been rougher too, so maybe the company needed something a little softer overall. âiâm sure there will be lots more chances for hazing in the future, though. if you ever have any ideas, weâre always looking for more, so just let me know.â
"oh, wow!" mijoo's impressed, yet again, as luna continues listing out the different types of welcomes they've done in the past. she's almost disappointed that she hadn't been around to do so; singing numbers from high school musical to welcome new trainees sounds like an awesome idea. (and even if she had been the one receiving them, she probably would have sung along as well anyways.)
"oh, i'm not very creative with ideas..." she says with a sheepish smile, reaching for her spoon to lightly poke her food. she's a little down when she thinks about how she might not be able to bring a whole lot to sphere and her fellow trainees as much as she would like to, though perks up again right away with a bright smile. "but if i think of anything, i'll definitely let you know! they probably won't be any good, but still!" she grins.
"have you eaten yet?" she asks before pausing. "oh! by the way... is it all right to call you luna unnie? or i could call you sunbaenim, if you'd like!"
Seulgiâs mind was already swimming with the prospects of all the girls that they had in Sphere already, just how well they could mold themselves into a group together. They had a lot of talent and a lot of diverse talents too. She couldnât really think of a thing theyâd be weak in if they were thrown into working together as a team someday. Just the prospect alone made her grin wide.
âOh, do you know what they have in there today? I ate breakfast at home this morning, so I didnât get to see the menu.â she asked as they walked next to each other. She was sure it was going to be good though, she had enjoyed her meals there so far.
âI know! Iâm so happy to have you here! Itâs hard enough to believe that Iâm here, but now that you are, itâs even better!â she proclaimed, quite excited about everything the older was saying. âI know, right? Thisâll be a change for the better!â she nodded âYeah, oppa is here too, we all ride in together in the mornings.â
"i haven't checked out today's menu either, no! but i'm not a picky eater and i don't have any food allergies that i know of, so i think i'll be okay." she grins at seulgi before looking ahead, curiously glancing around when they enter the diner. she wonders if a lot of people eat breakfast at home like seulgi did today, because the area's not as crowded as she remembers it yesterday. she thinks about how she would like to start the day after having mom's delicious cooking as well, but then decides she doesn't want the elder to wake up so early to fix her breakfast. (mom has to get up a little later to fix the little ones their breakfast before they leave for school anyways, but mijoo wants her to have some more sleep, even if it's just a little bit more.)
"ohhh, man, i'm so jealous! it must be nice to come here all together in the morning! it gets a little lonely by myself, you know?" she giggles, playfully nudging seulgi's arm to let her know she's just playing around before letting go of the younger's hand to reach for a tray. "did you want to maybe go find us a seat? i won't take long, i promise!"
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