SUMMARY: Linyang hates everyone, but not everyone wants to hate Linyang.
GENRE: Budding friendship?
PAIRING: Platonic! Linyang and Suwei
WORD COUNT: 0.8k
WARNINGS: None
Linyang’s routine used to be very simple.
She would walk into HBH Entertainment at eleven, coffee in hand. She would flash her ID and a forced, thin-lipped smile to the woman at the security desk. Then she would take the elevator up 3 floors, unlock the private practice room, and wait for her very expensive private vocal lesson to begin. Her parents have been paying a hefty amount of cash for Linyang to take vocal lessons at HBH. If Linyang was your average girl, HBH would never accept someone with no intention of debuting. However, Linyang was not your average girl, and she will not allow you to think of her as such.
Linyang comes from a line of very wealthy Chinese business people. Linyang’s father is the head of a textile manufacturing company while her mother works as the head publisist of a fashion magazine. The rest of their family works as CEOs, international businessmen, actors, models, and film producers.
Linyang did not want to be an idol until about a month ago, when the idea crossed her mind after listening to one of her cousins brag about the new CEO position she had obtained from her father. What was Linyang supposed to do, let her cousin have the whole family’s attention? She requested idol training at HBH the following morning instead of her usual private vocal and dance lessons.
Now her schedule involved actual effort. Now she had to be in the practice room at six in the morning. She couldn’t use social media as freely as she used to. She had to live in dorms with girls she barely knew. And, the worst of it all, she actually had to work with these people.
“Linyang. I’m not gonna say it again.” Rushi clapped her hands together, the little patience that the Chinese trainee had was clearly wearing off. “It’s so important that you don’t just stop dancing when you forget a move. It looks even worse when you stop.”
Linyang rolled her eyes. “If you actually taught me the steps, I wouldn’t forget them. You move way too fast.”
Rushi arched her eyebrow. Haeun let out a low whistle.
“It’s not my job to accommodate for your incompetence, princess.” Rushi adjusted her cap, narrowing her eyes at Linyang. “We’re starting from the top. No stopping. Keep your moves clean.”
The music started again. The phrase “princess” echoed in Linyang’s head throughout the whole routine. When the girls finished, Rushi called for break.
Linyang marched over to her designer gym bag, which she kept far away from everyone else’s stuff. She didn’t trust any of these rats with her belongings. While the other girls chatted and laughed, Linyang touched up her make up and stretched out her limbs.
While she was reapplying her concealer, she felt something a little off. She glanced to her right and saw that in the reflection of the mirror, Suwei was watching her while she chewed on the rubber straw on her water bottle.
Linyang arched an eyebrow.
“What?” Linyang asked in her foreign tongue. Suwei blinked, slowly raising her finger to her cheek, pointing at a faint red mark.
“What concealer is that?” Suwei asked, responding back in Mandarin.
“La Prairie. And no, I don’t know any drugstore dupes.” Linyang frowned at the girl through the reflective glass.
The younger girl didn’t respond. She still watched as Linyang blotted the concealer with her fingertips, concealing any small imperfection on the woman’s face. Linyang usually wouldn’t complain about someone staring, but now it was getting a little awkward. And the small spot that Suwei had pointed to on her own cheek only seemed to be more and more noticeable to Linyang.
Finally, her nerves snapped. Linyang turned around, narrowing her eyes at Suwei.
“Come here.” She commanded. The younger of the two stepped closer, her eyes wide. Linyang placed a drop of product onto her fingertip and blended it into Suwei’s skin, instantly covering up the small blemish.
“There. Is that what you wanted?” Linyang asked, crossing her arms and arching her eyebrow. Suwei observed the spot where her blemish previously was, touching the skin lightly.
“Thank you.” She said breathlessly.
“Hm.” Linyang responded with a short huff before Rushi called everyone back to finish up practice before dinner.
When the practice finally broke, Suwei made her way back to Linyang’s side as they gathered their things. Linyang frowned, looking sideways at the younger trainee.
“Linyang, if you want... we can work on dancing together.” Suwei offered, a smile on her face.
Linyang exhaled through her nose. She’d rather fling herself in front of a moving car than accept help. Especially not help from one of these lowlifes. But if she didn’t do better next showcase, her time as a trainee could be cut short. And having a connection who can speak both Korean and Mandarin well would not be the worst thing.
“Tonight, then.” Linyang said shortly.
“Tonight. Okay. See you then!” Suwei nodded, giving the older girl a thumbs up before jogging over to Kotori, who was waiting for her friend by the door.
Linyang watched the younger girl go with a shake of her head. This better be worth it.
SUMMARY: Tonight is the first opening showcase for HBHT20. Suwei starts freaking out during rehearsal, but the ‘02 kids are there to keep her grounded.
GENRE: angst, comfort.
PAIRING: platonic!02liners
WORD COUNT: 1.2k
WARNINGS: talks of an anxiety attack, mentions of xenophobia!! please don’t read if either of those topics are sensitive to you!!
Goosebumps rose to the surface of Suwei’s skin as she made her way through the backstage hallways with her friends to the main stage. They weren’t performing for real right now, it was just a run through, but Suwei’s nerves were already starting to mess with her.
She’s performed on stage with HBH Trainees last summer, but that was completely different. She was only ever apart of the over-arching HBHT19, and being a new trainee at the time, she often was placed in the back of group performances. She never had the chance to shine individually, but she wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to getting the attention she used to crave.
Now that she was going to perform in a group of just 4 people, she knew that she would be more subjective to criticism. She couldn’t hide in the back anymore. People were going to see her and instantly see her as an outsider. They would judge her first on her nationality, second on any mistake she made, and last on her individualism.
“Hey,” A hand wrapped around Suwei’s. She looked up to see Kotori looking down on the shorter girl with a curious expression. “You’re not getting nervous on me now, are you?”
In front of them, Kitae and Kijung turned around, concerned looks etched into their identical faces.
“Susu, it’s just rehearsal, nothing big to worry about. Make all the mistakes you need to make now.” Kitae smiled, falling back so he could walk on the other side of Kotori.
Suwei smiled at the floor, trying to stomach her nerves. “I’m not exactly worried about making mistakes.” She voiced. “I’m more worried about the audiences’ judgement.”
Kijung huffed, falling in line next to Suwei. “What is there to dislike about you, though?”
“I can name a few things people might be a little prejudice about...” Suwei chuckled nervously. Kotori laced her arm through Suwei’s. Being a foreigner herself, she understood the pressure of trying to appeal to an audience that may already have a biased opinion on you.
Kotori locked eyes with her friend, a small smile on her lips. “Suwei, you’re gonna be just fine. Now c’mon, we need to hurry to the stage.”
Rehearsal was going great until it was Suwei’s solo. She thought she was doing pretty decent, given her nerves, but all her confidence faded when the vocal instructor asked for the music to stop. The four trainees stopped dancing while their vocal coach stood up from her seat in the audience.
“Suwei, your pronunciation is really muddled.” The vocal coach said in a gentle tone. “Your vocals are fine, but it’s hard to understand your Korean... How about we try your last part again?”
Suwei nodded, swallowing hard. She shook her hands out, glancing over at her group mates. Kitae gave her a thumbs up and a fist pump, a silent ‘fighting’.
The music started up again, and Suwei tried her part one more time. She got through the verse, but her coach’s face was pursed in a displeased expression.
When the song ended, the vocal coach stood again.
“Suwei, maybe you should devote the rest of the day to working on your pronunciation. It’s a little too noticeable.” The vocal coach advised.
For some reason Suwei took this comment a little closer to heart than she would have normally. By “too noticeable”, her vocal coach meant it was “too noticeable” that she didn’t belong, right?
Once she got off stage, Suwei couldn’t help her throat constricting and hot tears from rolling down her cheeks. She tried to brush them off as they made their way back down the hallway towards the dressing rooms, but Kitae was quick to notice that something was wrong with his friend.
“Hey, are you crying?” He asked, slowing down his pace. In front of them, Kijung and Kotori turned around quickly, their eyes wide. Suwei shook her head, ducking it downward so no one could see, but her breathing was getting harder and faster. She felt like her chest was closing in on itself, squeezing tightly.
“Hey, Susu,” Kijung walked over to their smaller friend, wrapping an arm around her. “No need to cry. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“It’s - it’s - it’s not that I made a m-mistake,” Suwei said through shakes. “I f-feel like I-I am the mistake.”
How can you say that?” Kijung asked, sounding as hurt as if Suwei was the one that offended him. She didn’t mean to make him upset. Now he was probably mad at her. God, she was such a burden. Her breathing started getting a little bit more labored.
“Suwei, you’re not a mistake.” Kotori said soothingly, patting the top of the short girl’s head. “I know how you feel, trust me. Knets used to say awful things about me and my nationality online when I was in ECHO. But the important thing to remember is this,”
Kotori squatted down so she was eye-level with her friend, her hands scooping under Suwei’s wet cheeks and making eye contact with her.
“You’re making history. Right here, right now. Just by being a trainee under HBH is a huge accomplishment! Ura unnie was the first Taiwanese trainee, but she made it through! You’re going to be just fine, okay?”
“I-I don’t want to l-let anyone down.” Suwei admitted, wrapping her own arms around herself protectively.
“And you wont,” Kitae placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re so talented and loved, Suwei.”
Suwei shook her head, the kind words not registering in her brain. She was too preoccupied mentally. Around them in the hallway, trainees were moving along, trying to get ready for their own rehearsal.
“Hey, guys, back up just a bit, okay?” Kijung requested. Kotori stood to her full height, giving Suwei some space. Kitae released his hand on her shoulder. Kijung tilted his head down to make some eye contact with Suwei.
“Hey, Susu, the four of us should get back to the dressing room.” He said gently. “While we walk there, take deep breaths. When we get to the room, we’ll drink some water and have a snack. Sound good?”
Suwei nodded. Kijung lead the way back to the dressing room. She realized that Kitae fell behind her while Kotori walked on the side of Suwei that was closest to the foot traffic. She took a deep breath, realizing that they were trying their best to make her feel safe and protected.
When they got to the dressing room, Kitae got Suwei a bottle of water from the cooler and a pack of fruit snacks. Kotori sat on a fold out chair next to Suwei, watching the girl eat the gelatinous snack.
“Are you feeling better now?” Kotori asked. “Is there anything I can do for tonight?
Suwei shook her head, chewing on a orange gummy. “You’re right, I’m capable of doing this. I know I can do this. I just have to have faith in myself.”
“Thata girl.” Kijung said proudly.
“Here, we’ll help you with your pronunciation.” Kitae suggested, sitting down on the floor in front of Suwei’s chair.
