truth be told, duri was rather nervous about performing - but that was something that wouldn’t be happening closer to the end of the show filming, simply due to the order of performances. but, he was sure it was going to be fine, that titan was going to do well - well, he knew that titan was going to do well. he was just more worried about himself and if he’d feel pain while on stage - that was something that duri was really hoping wouldn’t be the case. but, he was sure he could get through it, and ignore it. he was good at ignoring pain, wasn’t he? there was nothing to worry about.
he’s dressed up in the red outfit for the jealous stage later that day, the glittery eye makeup underneath his eye. he liked to be the first one done with things and out of the way, he was usually quick about things. he made sure his hair stayed neat and he didn’t mess it up in anyway - though, there would probably be constant touch-ups throughout filming that day. but, nonetheless, he left the room for a moment, before he’d have to be called back to begin filming for the day.
this was when he came upon saebyul, something that seemed to happen often to duri. but, he wasn’t complaining at all, since he’s always had a good conversation with the younger. plus, it would be nice to have a conversation away from the cameras, that’s for sure. his smile grew a bit once he approaches, “hi!” he greets, in very much excitable, duri fashion. “how are you feeling about today?” he asked, a bit curious if he was the only one feeling a bit nervous.
👀 + what is something you'd like to do if you had the promise of no backlash and negative response? 👀 + is there anyone in the industry you would swap places with and who would that be? 👀 + do you think your potential is wasted as an andromeda member?
👀 + ask me anything — accepting!
what is something you'd like to do if you had the promise of no backlash and negative response?
“Talk about politics, I guess? Make where I stand very clear so the wrong people don’t mistake me for a reference they can have for themselves. I’m not personally bothered by the possibility of backlash I could suffer from it. I’m very privileged in the sense that if the whole idol thing failed I could just go to university and do something else, but I’m contractually bound and whereas I could take on the hate of random people in online forums, I’m not willing to risk it against a multimillionaire company and their team of lawyers.”
is there anyone in the industry you would swap places with and who would that be?
“Bang Sunyoung. She’s beautiful, she’s rich, she just do whatever she wants and if she doesn’t want to do anything she can just chill, having tons of passive income and focus on her hobbies. She’s living the dream!”
do you think your potential is wasted as an andromeda member?
“Not really. I’m self critical enough to be able to say that if I had debuted as a solo artist from day one I wouldn’t really have gone anywhere. Being in a group, especially one that has some degree of expectations when it comes to performance and skills, forced me to improve a lot as an idol. If anything, I think being in Andromeda is the best thing that could’ve happened to my potential. I just wish I could sing more, that’s all.”
setting goals was difficult for hyojung because she was never sure of what would happen. she usually liked to see how things would go about before setting a concrete goal because she knows she’ll end up disappointed if something doesn’t work out. it’s why new year resolutions were absolutely useless for her. she usually ended up swerving and thinking of something else by the next month anyway. “another full album from selene would be nice. our last one was two years ago. i’d also like to film another drama this year! maybe playing a role that’s different from my last ones?”
2. what song would you want to sing to or play for someone you like?
questions like these always felt like a trick question. of course, hyojung doesn’t think her fans would be setting her up or anything, but she also knows that her own fan could upload this on twitter innocently and then non-fans will try to pile up and accuse her of dating or whatever. she’s twelve years into her career, it’d be weird if she hadn’t dated before, right? yet, people seemed to expect this innocent image out of her to this date so who knows what the response would be. nevertheless, she looks up from the post-it to look at the fan staring at her with sparkling eyes and begins to sing all for you from the drama reply 1997.
3. what’s your favorite scent?
“i like floral scents. i know some people find them too strong, but i find them to be lovely. makes me feel like i’m in a garden,” she says with a chuckle before scribbling floral on the post-it. the fan that begins to ask her if there’s a specific perfume she uses, but the fan manager is ushering her along. the album is taken from her hands as well so she looks at her fan with a pouty face instead and mouths that she’ll tell her next time.
10. what is your most used app?
hyojung wasn’t one to spend a lot of time on her phone. even if she did, she liked to read on it. novels, poetry, the news and so on. not the entertainment section though because that was usually too much. “hmm, probably naver? i feel like i end up clicking on it even if i have nothing to look up. there’s also a dictionary app because i’m trying to brush up on my japanese again.”
11. what should someone do to win your heart?
to be frank, hyojung had absolutely no clue. she got this question a lot both as a rookie and also whenever she’s at a press conference for a drama. people really seemed to be interested in her ideal type and stuff like that. “i like honest people. i’m also not a fan of people who are superficial. i’m not sure if there’s anything specifically that would win my heart over but those two are definite no-no’s.”
12. what do you want for your next birthday?
she had stopped receiving birthday gifts from her fans starting a while ago so the question takes her off guard. “i’m fine with anything they get me. it’s the thought that counts right? because they have to take time off of their day to get it, and they had to think about what i would like. there’s so much thinking that goes into a birthday gift that i’d be thankful with anything.”
13. what do you consider to be your most charming feature/trait?
“i’ve been told i have a pretty smile,” she states. as if to prove her point, she gives the fan sitting across from her a wide smile. it makes both of them burst out laughing. “also, a lot of people tell me they like my vocal tone. whether it’s on selene’s songs or in dramas so i guess that’s a charming feature as well.”
14. what is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
“oh, this is a difficult question,” she says with a hum. looking down at the post-it note the fan has handed to her, there’s a few options that she can check. she checks off the box next to vanilla and cookies and cream. “i like simple flavors. nothing too heavy.”
15. how should i ask out the person i like?
she really thinks she’s the worst person to ask for advice when it comes to relationships. pursing her lips together, she twirls her pen around before looking up at the fan in front of her. “i really have no clue,” she tells her as her brows furrow together. “a letter? do people still write letters these days? i think it’s the most genuine way of confessing your feelings though because of the thought that gets put into it.”
16. what’s the secret behind your good looks?
the question immediately makes her laugh out loud. it’s one of those cheesy lines that fans are always throwing at her. she brings her hands up to her cheeks, feeling how they’ve warmed up a bit. “my parents? it’s all dna,” she says as she waves goodbye to the fan who’s being ushered to the next member.
17. what do you think of fans of the same gender as you?
“i’m always thankful for them. after my historical dramas have done well, i’ve gained a lot of ahjumma fans as well. they’re always telling me that they’d love to have me as a daughter or daughter-in-law, but i’m sure they only say that because of the characters i’ve played. anyway, our female fans have always been such a strength, and i’m happy to see them at fansigns or concerts or performances. they mean a lot, and i hope that selene’s music can continue to empower them.”
18. what is the most recent thing that made you happy?
“my older brother got a new puppy, and she’s adorable. it’s a shiba inu, and she loves to play around. it took a while for her to warm up to me, but i think she likes me now?” the fan then asks her if she’ll ever raise her own pet. “i would love to. my family’s always raised pets since we were young but since i’m not always home, i feel it’d be irresponsible.”
19. what is your happiness level these days on a scale from 0 to 100?
“hmm,” she begins before tapping her pen against the desk. this was a difficult question. she doesn’t want to answer too low because she knows it’d worry her fans but also, ranking it too high would be a complete lie. she’s standing somewhere in the middle anyway so she writes down a 75. “i’m really happy with where i am right now, but i always want to leave space for more happiness!”
20. can you give some inspiring words for someone going through a hard time?
perhaps it was because of her naturally sympathetic nature, but hyojung received lots of questions along these lines. “i know it’s cliche, but i want to tell everybody that it’ll pass. there were times when i was certain that i’d had the worst day in my life and how i’d never recover, but it was just another day. sometimes we have good days and sometimes we have bad days. it’s just the way life works and learning how to encourage yourself and think positively will do wonders. i hope you can continue to practice thinking in that way.”
only then cover by @fmddowoon & @saebyulfmd / reference.
it’s a little bit awkward -- at least, at first. the song is ... more romantic than he’d like to be singing with anyone other than -- well, with anyone other than jaein. it’s a little too romantic, a little too sad, a little too realistic, because dowoon believes that there will be a day, one day, when maybe one day he’ll be too tired to keep up with all of the timezones ultraviolet are jetting through, when maybe one day he’ll fall, past falling in love, fall into a nothingness, fall into the money he’s made and fall into it alone -- and only then, only then, can he see himself letting her go.
-- but she isn’t here. dowoon is perched on the edge of a stool, buttcheeks holding on for dear life, supported by one foot flat on the ground and the other cocked up on the bar between the legs. he’s smiling over his handheld microphone at equinox’s saebyul, cheeks bashfully tinted pink as he does his best to remember everything he’s learned over the last... how many months? how many years? how long has he been acting again?
the rest of the crew -- production staff milling about on the other side of the cameras, musicians warming up in swells in the background, just outside of his peripheral vision -- settle into place, waiting for their cues with an ease that dowoon still hasn’t managed to capture. he’s the type that benefits from rigorous rehearsal. he’s never done a single thing naturally in his life. they’re all counted in with a rudimentary five, six, seven, eight, and he and saebyul are singing: the result of nights of solo practice, and too little practice for his liking with the woman sitting across from him.
the runthrough is easy, right up until the end, when dowoon stumbles over his words. the realisation of what he’s done hits him, and a wave of grimaces pass over the production crew on the other side of the lens -- one after the other, kicked off by his own scrunched up nose. take five, shouts the director.
“sorry,” dowoon sighs. he reaches for the water he has tucked away just off screen, avoiding the furrowed brow of his manager adjacent to it. he takes a sip and he sighs again, longly and deeply, and he turns back to saebyul. “you sound really sweet though. this is gonna come out great if i can just,” he taps the side of his head, “get my head in the fucking game.”
❝ but i wish i could show you more of yourself
i wish i could make you somebody else
but i left it way too late
are you stuck in your own ways?
@saebyulfmd
“i was thinking what we could do for this, and i decided to stop at kimchi jjigae.” jihoon explains but he feels like it was a bit too obvious now that he was looking at the ingredients on the counter. their staff had agreed that it would be a great idea to teach saebyul how to cook something easy and he doesn’t think it gets easier than stew. maybe he was being biased a bit, especially because jihoon would eat stew for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and just the thought of a good stew was enough to get his stomach rumbling.
“it’s really easy i promise. i can trust you with using the knife, right?“ he teases a bit, smile tugging on his lips, sliding one of the bigger knifes to saebyul, but quickly deciding to hand her a smaller one, picking the larger one for himself. better safe than sorry, right? “i’ll be doing the same, so if you have question, look over and ask.” jihoon asks, placing a nice big wooden cutting board in front of the other and sliding some of the dishes with the uncut ingredients closer to her.
