"Here's a secret - I play the drums. Pretty good at it too." Bright smile with a hint of smugness, it was the kind his fans typically liked. "Cool, right?" He leaned into the camera without warning, startling the guy filming and making him stumble. Seyoon instantly offered his arm as support. "Sorry. Too sudden? I should have warned you. Hey, how's my skin doing today? Did I look good super close up? Am I glowing? Let's put a bit more highlighter on my right cheek-"
Surprise, though, Seyoon didn't end up choosing the instrument he was actually skilled with. Instead, he decided to go for the keyboard and gave himself a background of a deeply passionate artist, completely engrossed whenever he played. The room seemed to quiet when his fingers touched the keys, posture loosening as muscle memory took over. His breathing slowed, shoulders relaxed, movements deliberate and unhurried, as if nothing else existed beyond sound.
When he gazed down at the keyboard, his eyes became soft but focused, like a man in love. And when he looked at the camera, Seyoon gave a subtle glare - a stern expression, faintly irritated, as if displeased by the intrusion. It created an intimacy that felt accidental, something viewers weren't meant to witness.
This was very different from his usual image, but hey, we can't use the baby-face, good little-brother vibe forever. Best to start experimenting to see what other directions his fans would appreciate, so later in his career, he wouldn't scramble. Season's Greetings were perfect for that. Exposure, but no serious commitment. Here's to hoping for the best!
the end of 2025 changed something in her. she suspected it was the showcase — the glitz, the glamour and the travel. she had been so enamoured with the new world that's opened up to her, it felt like the debut bug finally bit her. sure, she was a little antsy to debut, but perhaps even antsier at the prospect of all of her freedom being stripped from her.
whatever it was, it was the exact thing that pushed her down the halls, determined to do something, anything to have that last stroke of rebellion before she has to hunker down the rest of her life. she was heading towards the front doors, making a pit stop for water. just as she's passing the last few studios in the corridor, her peripheral catches someone. in that split second, she's able to register who it is and makes a detour into the studio. she drops her bag by the door and sprints to the speakers, turning off the music.
"we are going to do something fun," minnie declares, closing the laptop of evil and walking over to her bag once more. there was a finality in the way that she spoke, as if it were fact, an order. there was no room to argue. "i want to do something absolutely wild. and you're coming with me."
what they were going to do, who knows. maybe he'll just come up with something. after all, he was the more adventurous of the two. she turned to him with a grin, bag on her shoulder once more. "lets be bad kids tonight, yoonie."
Honestly, it felt like he'd been in a fog. Going, never resting. Doing, and no longer thinking.
But tonight he felt awake. It was as if somebody really wanted him to be.
Oh, yeah, must be you.
"Mmkay." He laughed, a soft sound of amusement that brought warmth into his eyes. "You are the boss tonight, Minnie." Seyoon was always down for something wild and fun. Let's be real, he'd never been a good kid in the first place.
"What are we doing?" He found his cap and slipped it on before they stepped out. "Is this let's go rob a bank type of night? What?" He raised a brow. "You did say wild. We could fill a duffel bag and ditch the country. Run off to some island and chill in a resort while we wait for the police to catch up." Seyoon was only teasing, though. As much as fate's been tempting him, he'd never be able to embrace a life of crime.
Seyoon hosted a Christmas party, and you are all invited.
Not everything went according to plan, but it was still a dang good time.
First of all, Seyoon should never be trusted to host any sort of event. He legit couldn't be bothered with invitations and did the old school thing of yo, invite whoever you want, just get 'em to bring food or drinks and a Christmas tree ornament. As a result, the poor tree he’d stolen from a friend’s basement was overloaded to the point it was more colorful baubles than tree. It started aggressively leaning to one side, and no amount of duct tape - it was all he had in his drawers, don't judge - could fix it.
"Had anyone seen the fucking star?" He tried to shout over some talented asshole's high note. Great. Just great. People were officially drunk enough to be making off with Christmas decorations. Before too long, they'd start practicing choreo in Santa hats. He would go and hunt down the thief himself, but he was at the front door handing people their entry snacks. It was a holiday special - sugar cookies. Except he'd accidentally used salt instead of sugar, and at this point, it was too late to admit that.
Somebody broke the vase. Somebody else dropped their lipstick onto the carpet. A chick in a rainbow dress pulled in the pizza delivery guy, and this dude was shooting fake money while pretending to be James Bond.
As Seyoon stepped back and surveyed the chaos that he was for once not a part of, he thought, eh, this is quite all right.
There was still a Christmas gift in his pocket that needed to be given - he was biding his time like the wimp he'd always been. Gotta do it though, Seyoon promised himself that he would before the end of the night.
It had always been easier for him to run. Easier to pretend rather than to face the truth. But life was supposed to be about growing.
And maybe, just maybe...he was ready to be less of a coward.
"Merry Christmas." He lifted his beer in a toast to no one in particular. "Here's to being brave," Seyoon dropped his empty can on the counter and tucked his hand into his pocket, closing his fingers around the ribboned box like it might disappear if he let go. "And moving forward."
┈➤ i couldn’t even decorate a locker in the company building for you :((
┈➤ the balloons would have deflated
┈➤ BUT!!!! i have this
┈➤ [ yoonie_birthday_vlog.mov ]
┈➤ enjoy hehehe~~
PLAY: the video starts with a close up of minnie in the camera. “hi~ i’m sorry i can’t be there for your birthday. so we’re going to spend a day in vancouver together!” she says cutely. the video continues with short clips of minnie getting ready. a clip of her washing her face. a quick glimpse of her putting on makeup. then of her posing to show off her outfit. the next is her holding the phone above her, vlogging as she walks down the streets of vancouver. “ah it’s so cold,” she says with a pout. she pauses to adjust the scarf around her neck.
the camera is flipped to show the streets, the buildings, anything and everything she passes on the walk. “it’s so beautiful here! and we’re not to far from a pier!” there’s more clips of random shops she passes, a large building, and finally: the pier. it’s particularly windy that day, turning minnie’s nose bright pink. “i’m coming back a snowman at this point.” she laughs, turning the camera to show the pier. there’s a few boats on the pier. minnie excitedly points out ducks and pigeons.
the next clip is of minnie in a restaurant. “i’m at la belle patate,” she says in english, absolutely butchering the name of the restaurant. she laughs, reaching to move the camera to show her food. “i got poutine! i wanted to try canadian things.” with her first bite, her eyebrows furrow almost angrily. “oh wow…that’s so good!”
then she’s showing off a cake. “for you! happy birthday~” she offers a spoonful to the camera. she then takes a bite for herself. “everything this place has is soooo good. we have to come here.”
minnie is then in stanley park, filming the scenery as she walks through. she gives commentary on things she encounters, namely different flowers. the remainder of the video is her back in the hotel room. she’s laying on the bed, bare faced once more. “i also got some presents.” she sits up, camera now showing the shopping bags.
first she pulls out a vancouver sweater. it’s a dark red colour. “now you have something that was bought from your hometown and you can rep your hometown!” she then pulls out a cat plush. “this reminded me of you~ so i got it. it has a little bowtie look!” the plush is an orange cat with floppy limbs. she makes the plush sit upright on the sweater. “and i got you this~” she pulls out a custom leather back journal. “if you feel like you can’t talk to anyone, you can use this to get your frustrations out. isn’t it nice? you can also tie it shut with the band!”
she puts the presents back in the shopping bag, returning to the bed. she smiles at the camera. “i hope seeing home was nice! i know it’s not the same as being in person but at least it brought back treasured memories. happy birthday!” she blows a kiss to the camera before the video ends.
He didn't know what he was expecting when he clicked on that video-
No, actually, that would be a lie. Seyoon absolutely did go in with an idea in mind. Seyoon, being who he was, usually received a very specific type of video on his birthday. The kind that involved silk and lace, a husky voice, and a promise.
He slapped some headphones on, crawled into bed, made himself comfortable, and...
...Hold on, was she outside? Why did that street behind her look so familiar?
Seyoon sat up straighter and shoved a pillow behind his back.
"Are you in Vancouver?" He actually shouted at his phone like a total clown. As if Minnie could hear him while she was busy filming pigeons. “Dork,” he muttered, watching her coo at the fat, shameless birds. “Be careful. They’re only cute until they steal your fries!”
Poutine. Cake! Seyoon watched Minnie walk into the place he used to go for runs on the weekend. "There is so much you have to see still. You are right, we do have to go back there. I'll show you." He hummed, thinking about all the fun food places they could try.
Seyoon could tell they were almost at the end of the video, because he was getting the present spoilers. A cozy sweater, yes! He could definitely use that in the current season. Oh, that cat did look like him. See how lazy it was! Yes, stand properly for Minnie! A journal, too? Huh. Guess she knew he had frustrations he wasn't telling anybody. Did his weirdo-funny-guy-party-dude-thot exterior not fool her that well?
"Thank you," he said as the video finished.
Seyoon rewound the video back to where she was placing the cat down on the sweater, watching how its little limbs flopped about pathetically. He laughed his face off and did a quick rewind again.
And that was when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror hanging on the wall. Smiling, eyes bright, and cheeks flushed from laughing. Seyoon looked really damn happy, and that-
That was a fucking problem.
He clicked off the phone and threw it across his bed as if it had turned into a creature with gnarly teeth. "Fuck," he said. "Fuck!" Seyoon's heart was beating fast. Thump thump thump. Blood was rushing through his veins. Whoosh whoosh whoosh. "Nope. I am cool. I am super cool. This is fine. It's fine." He chanted like it would make the heat under his ribs disappear.
The phone screen was dark, but his mind continued to display images of a certain girl in his old neighborhood, phone in hand and smiling.
She's pretty. Minnie is so pretty when she smiles.
No shit, bro. Of course, she's pretty! We don't fuck with people who are not pretty.
But we are not fucking, are we? How long has it been? Have we slept together yet? Did we forget about the original mission, bro? Because if we aren't trying to take her to bed, then what have we been doing for these past god knows how many months?
Seyoon thought about the long car rides, their random conversations, and the weird jokes. He thought about all the meals they shared and how he sat down with her family for Chuseok.
What have we been doing?
He snatched his phone back and blocked Minnie's number with a few practiced clicks.
There, fixed. Everything shall go back to normal, he'll go scroll some Instagram hotties and-
...Actually, no, he couldn't block her yet. Seyoon unblocked Minnie again and let loose a miserable sigh. The thing was...Seyoon turned his gaze to his desk, where a little present box neatly sat. Yeah, he'd already bought her a Christmas present. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. So maybe he'll just deal with all this after the holiday season...
he knew seyoon's type. he hung around seyoon's type, called them his best mates at one point in his life. if the rumours were indeed true—seyoon's behaviours weren't really proving otherwise—then this story only had one ending.
and if there was a genre dom hated most, it was tragedy.
"don't be vulgar." as if dom gave a fuck about that. he had quite a mouth on him himself and usually wouldn't care for swearing, but when seyoon dropped that expletive in reference to minnie, it was just as he said—vulgar. "you're talking about minyoung, right?" if he was, then dom's going to lose his head. if he wasn't, then seyoon's going to be the one to lose his head.
My nachos! They just passed by his favorite place like it was nothing. Seyoon pressed both of his hands on the window and stared at the restaurant with deep, passionate longing. How could he do this? Seyoon turned back to Dom, eyes bright with betrayal. He was just about to begin his lamenting speech when the guy dropped a very unexpected bomb.
What? Huh? Weren't they going to eat? Why were they talking about girls?
Well, one girl, specifically.
"Yeah, I am talking about Minnie," Seyoon said, voice cooling instantly. "What's it to you? Why do you care about who I like?" For a moment, his eyes were dark, and his usual smile vanished, leaving behind an expression that was cold and unfamiliar. Even to himself. "Do you like her?"
The air thickened, and Seyoon's gaze remained sharp and unwavering until another possibility occurred to him. "Or, do you like...me?" Wait, no, that would be worse. "Actually, forget this, I am not having this conversation with you. I am getting out." Seyoon grabbed the car door handle on his side even though it was still clearly locked. "Pull over, now."
All the shit that happened lately had Seyoon feeling some type of way. Of course, he wasn't in tune enough with his emotions to identify what exactly he was experiencing, but in general, he felt uncomfortable.
What would make him feel better? A drink? He couldn't afford to get hammered when work events were coming up. A cigarette? Hadn't he promised himself that he'd quit for the sake of his voice? A hookup? To be honest, he was kind of tired these days and not really in the mood...
Please don’t tell him he was losing stamina at the ripe old age of twenty-three.
So, in the end, he went to the convenience store and got himself a lovely, harmless pack of Oreos. On his way back, he slipped on a wet patch of grass. Woohoo! Just what he needed.
Instead of catching himself or crawling right back up, Seyoon just...flopped. Face up to the beautiful dark sky. It was cold, but otherwise not a terrible place for a rest. He had his hood over his head and a mask over his face, so the odds of being recognized and dragging his group’s good name through the mud were low. That's right. The only dignity lost tonight was his own, which was fine. Probably.
Eventually, he noticed someone standing over him. A girl, actually.
"Nice legs," he said without moving. "If you are going to stay for a while, want to scoot over just a tiny bit to the right? You'd block that street lamp perfectly and protect an unlucky man's delicate eyes. Thanks, babe."
dom tightened his grip on the steering wheel. he tried not to look. or say anything. god knew, he was about an eyebrow twitch away from blowing his lid. babe? since when were they on the babe stage? how long had this been going on? had he been oblivious this entire time because he was so focused on other matters that it didn't even cross his mind that his two friends were—
wrong person. that's what seyoon said. casually, dismissively, as if this were a normal occurrence. wrong person... what does he mean by wrong person?? there's more than one 'babe'??? did minnie know about this? she must know, because if dom heard the rumours, then surely she would've as well. which meant she was ignoring it. or she didn't believe it. or that seyoon was tricking her into believing that she was the only one that he was seeing!!!
"thanks," came the stiffest response to seyoon's congratulations. and then, "put on your seatbelt." that was not a threat. dom was a law-abiding citizen, thank you very much. ... okay, fine. it was a small threat. a warning, if you will.
dom turned onto the main road. usually, by this point, he would be complaining about practice or skipping through radio stations, but tonight, it was quiet. he didn't know how to start this conversation. there was really no elegant way. but he had to. for minnie's sake.
"want to tell me who you've been picking up in my car?"
Geez, what's gotten into Dom? Seyoon recalled this man only losing his chattiness around women.
"Nope, I don't wanna." Seyoon grinned, bratty. "You never cared before. How come you want to know now? I always return the car clean, don't I?"
He did. Since Dom was nice about lending his vehicle, Seyoon figured he could at least practice decent hygiene. For once in his life. In fact, he wiped this car down more carefully than his own nightstand - no hair, no smudge, nothing. A serial killer would be proud.
"I am just kidding. I'll tell you. Stop being so uptight." He shoved Dom lightly. Friendly. "And the answer is painfully obvious. Chicks, of course." Seyoon shrugged. "Or uh, just one lately. Singular." If this guy was hoping for anything juicier than this, he'd be disappointed.
And now, onto more important things.
"Shall we get nachos?" He was already looking up places on his phone. "Oh, and don't worry - we didn't fuck in or on this car." Seyoon tossed out that sentence absently, distracted by a menu.
moving into the type zero dorms was both just as crazy as he thought it would be and at the same time, very uneventful. finding out that he would be roommates with hyoseop meant that he would be quick to befriend the other.
it's an exciting time.
but once he's finished (somewhat) unpacking, he hurries out to the living room to meet everyone properly. of course, during the initial meeting, they had all met formally once he had been confirmed to debut but this was feeling more and more exciting as the days passed. he could feel it in the air somehow, the excitement of his debut buzzing, as the days and hours and minutes ticked down.
but first, he needed to befriend the rest of the members. he already knew baekhyun from before, and had chatted a little with hyoseop when he had been unpacking so now he just needed to yap with (or at) seyoon for a little.
they've been yapping for a while, with iseul fully laid out across the couch, before he sits up suddenly, realizing he had a very important question to ask the other. "wait, does anyone cook?" he asks, eyes bright and wide, a glint there had possibly hadn't been before.
"Depends...are we talking about someone who just cooks or someone who can cook well?" Because that would make a difference.
Should Seyoon tell him? They were just getting to know each other, and he didn't want this little secret to soil Iseul's first impression of him. Like, he wanted to be thought of as cool...and stuff.
Seyoon contemplated.
He really thought about it.
And then he decided, fuck it, a little embarrassment might bring people closer. He could use another buddy in the company.
"Okay, I am going to trust you with a secret," he said, giving their latest member a serious look. "I can't cook, not really. But lately, there's been a voice telling me that I should try a bit harder in life..." Maybe that was a sign that his frontal lobe was finally close to reaching full development.
Seyoon dragged over his mini fridge and swung it open. "So I've been trying to cook. These are my latest attempts."
Behold, dear Iseul! There, sitting neatly in a ceramic dish, was a stack of drumsticks. What was wrong with them? Well, for starters, they were green. Like, radioactive, sci-fi experiment gone awry green. "These are peppermint drumsticks." Iseul could probably tell without the introduction, because the smell wafting off these monstrosities was like toothpaste having an existential crisis. "Wanna try one? They got a lil kick to 'em. Not too much."
"glad you are aware that i care." she says it with a cheeky grin, poking his side. "and don't you forget it, kim seyoon." she giggles. the sound fades when he steps forward. her eyes widen. her nerves came alive, skin prickling at his touch.
no way she was folding like this in the middle of her kitchen.
he stepped back just in time to avoid her swat. her cheeks were heated from their proximity. even now, she was so easy to rile up and he knew! that devil of a man. there minnie was, wanting nothing more than to pull him closer. (or maybe pull him on her, who knows.) and damn, it still read in her face how much she wanted him.
"you better behave on the tour," she warns playfully, giving him a pointed look. not that she didn't want anything to happen (she very clearly did) but god forbid she was a little too loud ....
minnie's eyes softened at the mention of his grandmother. she took a seat next to him, reaching to hold his hand. "i think that's really scary. i don't think you should force yourself to go but maybe you should consider she'd want to see her precious seyoon one more time." it was difficult to force oneself to see an ailing family member. minnie couldn't imagine what that felt like. it made her feel as though she had no place to give her opinion but she couldn't bear leaving seyoon to shoulder this himself. "do you want me to go with you? maybe it'll make you feel better to know you're not alone. we could reminisce together. i bet that would make her happy."
minnie brings seyoon's hand to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to the back of his hand. "just think about it a little while i cook, yeah?" she rises, moving to the stove. she began to turn the stove on, adjusting what angle the pans were at. without turning around she says, "my sisters are around the corner waiting. if you lean in your chair you can see them both, i bet."
and if seyoon looked he'd find the twins huddled around the corner from the kitchen, type zero albums in hand.
"Like heck you got time to come with me," Seyoon said. "You are going to be so busy with work stuff soon." Legacy wasn't one of those companies that did absolutely nothing with their trainees. They got projects too, shows sometimes. "In fact, you might even debut soon because you are so talented. And then your schedule will be hectic, and groups don't even tour in my home province sometimes for you to sneak away to hang out with my fam for a bit. Everyone just forgets Vancouver exists."
But fine, he imagined it for a second: Minnie checking out his questionable-looking tree house. Minnie sifting through the blueberry bushes in their fields, and him picking up a spider from one of the webs between the leaves to scare her because he was an asshole. Maybe they'd laugh about it after, and his stepmother would hear all the commotion and come out. She'd say oh my god Abie, be nice to girls! Especially ones willing to accompany you all the way here to Canada.
Yeah, okay, maybe it was more than a second. Maybe Seyoon thought about that idea for closer to five or six seconds because he was distracted by the kiss on the back of his hand. It felt warm. Kinda tingled. Kinda tickled. It shouldn't have affected him much because it was just a kiss, but it sorta did. Fuck?
"Okay, Prince Minnie." He threw her a couple of finger hearts and captured the twins with their albums. He got them to sit with him and started signing all the albums one after another, doing random little doodles too. "I am drawing you two little piglets," he said as he diligently worked away. "Because that's what I am going to be tonight." And he shall ask if he can take back leftovers, oho.
what was to be a routine hang out slowly stopped being so systemic. it's not a surprise. trainees were busy. idols got busy. trainees who were phasing into being idols are busy. he was supposed to be busy. well. he was. but jisoo had expectations for his career and it didn't quite meet the standards this year. majority of which was his own fault, in his opinion. he didn't get cast for certain contracts. he didn't settle an idea for his brand in time this year. his love life? a disaster - nothing new there. so clearly, he's the problem.
as someone who fared well in remaining calm for the majority of situations, it's no shock that with the combination of 2025 not being his year wholly-- that jisoo's reason and tolerance levels had severely dropped for everything. (yet still being booked - he's not ignorant of that fact... it's that he could be doing so much more. so much better.) so here we are- what ought to be usual meet up got postponed multiple times from both ends, yet now that @seyoonlgc was here, the tension sits heavily in his shoulders. "it feels like a long time since we've properly been able to hang out without a camera in our faces for the purposes of 'content'," jisoo says, once he takes a seat down across from seyoon, looking outside the window. it was a seemingly peaceful night, but he could tell the trees were billowing in the wind. "how's the new lifestyle been treating you?"
Uh-oh, Seyoon smelled a little tension. It was in the air, it was in the trees. It was in Jisoo's stiff shoulders.
Fortunately, they were not in a car. And fights outside of confined spaces, he could handle so much better. Besides, it may not even escalate to that. He was, after all, a man of charisma.
"It's been too long. But you know I've missed you, right?" Seyoon took Jisoo's hands, both of them, and looked him in the eyes with so much affection that it had to be exaggerated. It was the type of look he typically gave people when they fed him on a hungry day, or did his laundry after a small, biohazardous mountain formed. "I would spend all the time with you if I could," he dramatically declared. "Each and every single day for the rest of our lives." This would and should sound like a love confession, except that if Jisoo recalled, it was the exact same lines Seyoon fed his middle school girlfriends (or almost-girlfriends). Jisoo probably heard this speech at least seven times.
And Seyoon certainly hoped Jisoo remembered, because he was trying to make his childhood friend laugh via reminders of their sillier days.
"New life is okay. Less free. I certainly have, like, no clubbing days now. You?"
death of a peace of mind —
somewhere on the cityside, night
take a chill pill, they said. go for a drive, they said. so that's exactly what dom did. he got in his car, made a few laps around the legacy buildings, trying to calm down, trying to reason with himself, trying to see things from a different perspective because—god knew—his world view was limited. in the end, he still found himself pulling up to type zero's block. he'd been here several times before to drop off his car for @seyoonlgc to use. because they were friends. and friends helped friends out.
dom was now re-evaluating this friendship in question. it had come to his attention that seyoon and minnie were ... involved. somehow. he didn't know how involved, and quite frankly, he'd rather not. it's just ... for some reason, finding that out didn't sit well with him.
so here he was.
he considered leaving. sat in his car with the headlights on, debating if he should get involved because it really wasn't any of his business—but how could he not? minnie was a friend too. a closer friend. he felt morally obligated. would he be a bad person if he just left it? but what if minnie got hurt? what if seyoon—
out of the corner of his rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of the man himself. too late to back out now.
dom rolled down the passenger side window and leaned over. "seyoon." it was kinda weird for him to be here, but it was still legacy grounds. so. "are you free to grab dinner?" yeah, they were definitely not getting dinner.
"Say no more, good sir, I am coming in." He slid into the car smoothly, the way he'd done many times before. Dom had a mouth on him, but he also had generous pockets and a kind heart. "I just gotta...text someone...real quick." Seyoon's eyes were on his phone as he shut the car door and put the seat belt on for himself. "Can't see you tonight..." He mumbled as he texted. "Sorry, babe. There."
With that taken care of, he turned towards Dom.
"You okay, my guy? You are looking a little tense." Seyoon had an idea of what might have caused this, but wasn't sure if it was his place to address anything. He probably shouldn't. Might just fuck things up more for the people involved since that was his one true talent in life. "Why don't I drive instead? You can relax and think about what we are gonna eat-" His phone buzzed. "Ah shit, I sent it to the wrong person. Fuck!" Seyoon quickly shot off two more texts before looking back at Dom.
"Anyway, yeah, you want me to drive?" He was pretty used to driving Dom's car at this point. "Also, congrats on debuting."
Ah, yes, one of the LGC Studios rooms. Being here made Seyoon miss his old podcast. It was so much fun getting all the guests and sharing their personal supernatural encounters. Sometimes he wished he could keep doing it.
"I can't believe we are on a show together again, Cherry!" He exclaimed, spinning around in his chair like a wild kid with his drink in hand. Somehow, he'd managed to not spill all over the place. That was likely a good omen, indicating that this episode will go smoothly for them. "For those who don't know, one of the first shows I've ever been on was Cherry's What a Childish Cheory!" He was still a trainee back then. "It was such a good time, and I am sure we'll have just as much fun today."
Seyoon picked up the box of cards in front of them. "Shall I ask first, then? Let's see if they gave us anything difficult...oooh, juicy." He showed the card to Cherry before reading it out loud. "What concept, role, or shoot would you choose if there were no limits?" Seyoon liked those words: no limits.
Mixed surprisingly well, believe it or not. At least to Seyoon's unrefined palate, anyway.
Now, onto the rest of his evening. Shower, check. Beers and sodas, acquired. Snacks, yes. All Seyoon needed now was a victim.
Whom shall he choose? Hmm.
"Hyoseop hyung~" His voice entered his groupmate's room before he did. Seyoon knocked twice, waited three seconds, then opened Hyoseop's door just wide enough to stick his head in. "Are you busy?" He asked. "Wanna hang out with me?" He presented Hyoseop with the drinks and snacks he'd swiped from the kitchen, waving them enticingly. "Come on, we've been working so hard. Break time! Let's watch a movie." Hyoseop liked that sort of thing, right?
thankfully seyoon didn't ask in front of her father, or else he really would've been dragged into cooking. minnie smiles, eyes soft to mirror his warm ones. warmth blossoms within her and her heart rate kicks up. "it's fine, my dad already prepped a lot of the stuff. i just have to toss it together and actually cook it."
( she was alarmed with how badly she wanted to kiss him in that moment for offering something so sweet. )
"hi papa," she said, walking around the table to give her father a hug. minnie's father was tall, a trait that minho and the twins took after. the man was a whopping 189 cm tall, yet looked like a gentle giant. his smile was bright and wide, clearly where minnie got her peachy smile from. he looks at seyoon kindly, introducing himself by his full name: hwang jaemin.
"but you can call me pops. all of minnie's friends do," he says with a chuckle and an earnest smile. hwang jaemin was the kind of man to smile with his entire heart and mean it, even if the interaction was casual. it makes sense as to where minnie gets it from. "i'll leave you two alone. i heard minhyuk terrorising your sister. i better cater to them so you're actually able to cook."
he affectionately ruffles minnie's hair, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head as he passes. he pats seyoon on the back in approval. he's quick to call out to his youngest, declaring himself the mediator between the two. minnie smiles affectionately after her father before turning to seyoon. "he works 12 hour shifts. well, not anymore since he's getting up there in age but he used to when we were younger. that's why i had to watch my siblings so much. sometimes when he got home he'd pick me up and put me into bed because i'd fall asleep doing my homework."
she turns to him with a grin. "are you going to get bored watching the magic happen? it's an exclusive behind the scenes look!" she laughs, pulling out a chair for seyoon to sit. "the twins might come bug you to sign their albums, though. i hope you don't mind."
Minnie's dad has got it going on. No wonder all of his kids were good-looking. It wasn't fair. Seyoon's dad was a heartthrob in his youth, too, so how come he didn't inherit all those fine genes and ended up averageish?
"He's a hard worker. Like you," Seyoon commented casually, waving pleasantly after pops as he left the room. "Trainee life is such a pain. I still remember." Even for him, an occasional slacker, the journey was not easy. "Must be nice to finally be able to catch a break. Spend some time with people you care about....whether that's family...or strays you've casually picked up for the day."
Seyoon didn't sit down in the chair that Minnie pulled for him. He stepped forward and took her hand instead.
"You know, Miss Minnie, you are bolder than I thought." His fingers trailed from her palm down to her wrist, pressing down gently over the pulse. "Giving me the eyes before your dad even left the room." Because Seyoon always noticed when people regarded him with interest. For a good portion of his years, his mind was preoccupied only by one thing, so naturally, he trained himself to read people.
"I thought we were gonna save that part for when I get a private room tour." Cheeky, but what else would you expect from Seyoon? He stepped back with a laugh in case a swat was coming his way.
"And don't worry, I won't get bored. I like hanging out with you and your family." Under other circumstances, Seyoon might feel differently, but this was Chuseok. "I was missing mine extra this year, so..." He gestured around the room. "This is helping." Normally, he'd leave it here and move on to happier topics, but something pushed him to speak more. "I would go back and visit. Should. I am sure the company would give me the time and help me schedule if I really asked, but to be honest, a part of me is scared." Seyoon sat down. "It's been years. My grandma's not been doing well, health-wise. I am afraid I'll go back and she'll be all...pale and stuff." He could count the number of people he loved on one hand, and that was one of them. Seyoon hated the thought of seeing her suffer.
"If I stay away, I won't see her uncomfortable and can remember her in her best state." Selfish, yes. "I think in general, actually, I like to remember people at their best." And that was why he tended to walk away from things and people while everything was still perfect. Ya know, quit while you are ahead before anybody could fuck it up. Were they almost at that point? Probably.
talk about being served with a slice of humble pie.
thank goodness it was off-season! yushin was undoubtedly unprepared for this day trip, all things considered. but there went that ego that felt that he was a fit individual who knew how to handle fitness in one way (ergo, his career). that did not clearly translate to any other fitness activity instantaneously. he'd surely get an earful later. if he made it back home safely...
coming in ill-prepared without the appropriate amount of caloric food, water, or even the proper clothing - yea. talk about doing zero research. he's lucky that his phone barely had some battery left, but even without signal, it was moot point here and after he'd collapsed from dehydration or exhaustion earlier, yushin had been pre-tty useless.
( seriously, why wasn't there service anywhere? )
eyes closed, yushin wasn't even sure if he'd passed out for some time, but at this rate, the sky had turned dark so surely, it had. shit!
"is anyone out there? hello? s-o-s," a mantra from earlier in the day, but clearly the athlete had to take the path less travelled because other than running water and some critters, nobody else had come this way. but he thought- he swore, this sounded like footsteps... ( or an animal, please don't be dangerous. oh how little he knew-- )
"oh my gosh, an actual human!" even through his exhaustion, yushin finally understood what was relative to seeing an oasis in the desert. "thank you thank you thank you thank you, i'm --
it's been a hell of a day. i will be honest, wasn't expecting anyone else around this bend at this hour." it was truly pitch black at this point, sun set gone a little pinch ago. a bit too eager to ask for help, but a good samaritan was precisely what yushin needed right now. albeit a bit embarrassed that they recognized him, but that might not be a con. perhaps... more inclined to assist him?
"i think you could basically derive," yushin starts counting on his hand. "i'm not wearing enough layers. i didn't bring enough food with me. basically passed the hell out and... no signal. no battery life. i am at your mercy."
"You wandered way in." Seyoon was almost impressed by how lost this one managed to get himself. "I think only a handful of experienced hikers come this way." Yeah, and one of the reasons was that the signal got really spotty in this area. For safety reasons, people mostly stayed on the main path. "Normally, I don't like to stick around this late either, but I got distracted by the scenery and started down the route an hour after I should." Mmhm. The scenery. Not some young entrepreneur's will to live.
"I think there's a cabin that's not too far from here. Since it's dark now, I was going to just stay there until the morning." Not a lie. Seyoon valued his life and was not about to risk it in the dark. He didn't trust nature these days. After all the shit he'd done, karma should be very much against him and actively seeking an opportunity to do him in and rid the world of evil.
The place that he mentioned did, in fact, exist. If they followed the river, it was maybe five minutes out. "Not the most well-made cabin in the world, but it's warmer than out here. I left a fleece blanket the last time I was there with a buddy." In the meantime, he took out his extra jacket from his backpack for Yushin. "Want some water, too?" Seyoon offered his bottle. Just less than half full.
Why was he being nice? Because at this point, he hadn't made up his mind on exactly how he wanted the night to end. Seyoon needed to collect more information on the situation and not allow himself to simply act on urges alone. "Let me carry you." Whenever he was undecided, it was always safer for him to play his secondary role of the rescuer.
Once upon a time, that was his primary role, and he was so good at it.
In fact, a part of Seyoon still believed that he was a better savior than he was a killer. He just preferred the latter more.
seyoon was so friendly and charming, minnie almost wondered if her mother would be charmed as well. thankfully, the woman had elected to be at minnie's grandmother's house for today. it was their compromise: minnie gets one day without her where seyoon could come visit and then minnie promised to be at the big family celebration including her mother. she was trying her best, for the sake of her siblings.
minho decides to play friendly and accepts the gift with a bow. he introduces himself and the rest of the family. but when minho moves, the twins are behind them and they look ... scared? frozen in place. "you okay?" minnie asks, moving to brush minseo's hair out of her face. it's minji who speaks first. the preteen points a finger at seyoon and stumbles through a shaky, "a-are you in type zero?"
it dawned on her in that moment: seyoon was an idol. she brought a debuted idol to her house and her sisters were deeply in the kpop scene. the twins looked like they were trying not to freak out but minnie broke the tension.
"c'mon guys, i'm trying to be an idol too. you don't freak out when i do a performance," she ruffles minseo's hair and she shrieks in protest. the twins barrel off to the room. something about needing to dress for the occasion. minnie turned to seyoon sheepishly. "i'm so sorry. i think you're the first celebrity they've ever met."
as minnie led seyoon through the living room, it dawned on her that they'll probably end up in the kitchen with her father. hwang minyoung was a miniature version of her father. in looks (he was a handsome man), in personality and in their ability to cook. he wouldn't let minnie cook everything on her own and minnie wouldn't want to leave seyoon to be hounded by her siblings. "uh, my dad's in the kitchen. he's going to help me cook. i promise he's really nice though. i take after him."
but minnie has never brought a boy home. she took a deep breath. it wasn't as if seyoon was her boyfriend or anything. this was casual. her dad wouldn't be weird about it....
Oh, right, yes. He technically was one. Still didn't feel real.
"They only took me on because I am good at telling jokes," Seyoon promised, giving a wink to the twins. "Maybe you'll hear some later tonight. Not right now, I have to keep a few tricks up my sleeves."
So far, the siblings were pretty easy. Except for grumpy, protective Minho, everyone else seemed to be accepting him just fine. Now, the father unit. Seyoon's mind spun rapidly in an effort to locate a strategy to make the best first impression, and in the end decided to go for respectful and slightly formal. Just in case Minnie's dad was the serious type.
"Want me to help with cooking too?" Seyoon put down all of his stuff in the corner of the living room and started rolling up his sleeves. His eyes were warm, and his smile so genuine-looking that you'd never guess the fact that his mind was secretly going nope, don't actually say yes!! I don't want to burn down your kitchen and ruin my chances of having a good meal! This is a purely PR offer meant to make me seem like a helpful, sweet guy. Parents and the elderly are usually suckers for those.
Actually, there was one thing he could safely do. Probably.
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