10 things i can’t live without. (base online) self para 011.
location: a studio in seoul date: october 2021 notes: sunghee filming their ten things i can’t live without video. featuring their manager. warning for some talks of body image and dieting.
During the early days of debut, Sunghee had struggled considerably with being in front of a camera completely by themselves. It was awkward, to say the least, having to stand there and speak to a camera and stare at the staff that stood behind it. No amount of variety training during their trainee years had been enough to make Sunghee comfortable with it. What had done the trick though, to the point where now they could easily go through an entire filming for a personal reality show — like Sunghee’s Sincere Cooking Show — was just having experience. Their year as an MC as well as the gigs as a radio host plus the reality had truly taught Sunghee how to be more comfortable in a situation like this.
They still didn’t enjoy talking about themselves all that much, but Dimensions had insisted they filmed this video now so it could be released during the down time between Unity’s comeback and the repackage. Sunghee relented, took the things they were supposed to, and arrived at the studio thirty minutes earlier than the scheduled filming so they could go through the whole process of getting their makeup and hair done.
It felt weird to have so much preparation be done just for their sake, but Dimensions did have a lot of money to spare when it came to Unity, considering how much money they made for the company, so. Sunghee would just accept it for what it was. Once everything was set up and the cameras started rolling, Sunghee smiled.
“Hi everybody, it’s Unity’s Sunghee,” they bowed their head, hands resting on the table. “And I’m here to talk about the ten things I can’t live without. Honestly, most of my list is pretty boring and kind of obvious, but I think the fans are going to think it’s fun to know, at least?” Sunghee chuckled, reaching for the first item. “The very first item is well, my phone. I think I can say the brand, right?” The director nodded and their question. “Okay, so, my phone. I use my phone for everything. Calls, e-mails, speaking to my family, all of that. It’s always with me. I have an iPhone 12 that I got a few months ago. I know the fans joked about me getting an iPhone after so long using other brands, but I have an explanation for that, actually! It’s because my laptop stopped working last year and I ended up buying a MacBook. For compatibility reasons, after my last phone stopped working, I decided to get an iPhone, but I think the other phone was just as good as an iPhone. It was mostly for work, I swear!
“And from there we can go to the next item, which is my laptop,” Sunghee put down their phone, reaching for their laptop. They had to cover some of the stickers with a weak adhesive as they were slightly inappropriate for broadcast and they showed the laptop to the camera. “Like I said, I got it last year. It’s a MacBook Pro, I carry this with me everywhere as well. I work on my music here, and I also watch films and all of that. It was difficult learning how to use it after so long using a PC but now that I’m used to it, it’s also pretty good.”
Returning the laptop to the table, Sunghee tugged on the sleeve of their shirt to show the next item.
“I swear I’m not getting paid to do this promo!” Some staff chuckled behind the camera and Sunghee smiled. “But the next item is my Apple Watch. I’m not really good at remembering everything I have to do and there’s a limit to how much my manager noona can do it for me, so the watch just reminds me to do things like drink water or eat. I’m a very forgettable person and these reminders pretty much save my life.”
Shaking off the sleeve, Sunghee grabbed the next item. “Also I promise there are things other than tech here, but I also cannot live without my headphones. I don’t really like those in-ear phones? I know everybody owns Air Pods nowadays and I do have those as well which I use mostly to go to the airport and stuff like that, but I prefer these bluetooth headphones. They fit on my head nicely, they aren’t tight so they don’t give me a headache and, most importantly, their noise cancelling is really good, so I can work on music in peace.” Sunghee also wore them even if they weren’t listening to music, just for the protection the noise cancelling offered.
“Stopping with the tech for a bit,” setting the phone down, they reached for their necklace. Sunghee had pondered whether to talk about it or not, but they had noticed how much the fans spoke about their necklaces and their bracelets, so they thought it would be better to address it some way, even if it wasn’t completely honest, to get the rumours to settle down. “I used to have the really bad habit of biting my nails,” false. “So I started using these chewable necklaces instead. They are really good for settling nerves and making me feel less anxious,” true. “And I own them in a bunch of different colours, so they can match whatever I’m wearing.”
“On the topic of nails,” Sunghee dropped the topic as fast as they could, reaching for the pouch on the table. “I didn’t know whether to show these or not but my manager noona encouraged me too, so here it is.” Opening it, Sunghee took out a couple of bottles and a few pack of stickers. “These are the things I use to decorate my nails. It also helps me not biting them, but I just like making my nails colourful. I used to be insecure about it, but seeing how much the fans enjoy them, I decided to learn how to pain them myself and now I carry these with me everywhere. It’s really good to pass the time when we’re backstage, and whatnot. Some of the make up noonas will even let me paint their nails sometimes, and I’m getting better at it, so I’m proud of myself for it!”
“Going back to tech real quick,” Sunghee put the bottles and the stickers back in the pouch, pushing it aside and grabbing the console. “My Nintendo Switch. I have both the normal one and the lite that I usually take with me to work, but I brought the normal one today because I wanted to show you that it’s customized.” Sunghee moved it closer to the camera, showing it around. “I managed to get it in a maroon colour, because of Unity, and I thought it looked pretty cool, doesn’t it? I play video games all the time, it’s my favourite way to pass the time and what I usually do during my days off. Most of my friends have it as well, so I also play a lot of co-op games, and it’s very fun. I recommend it to anyone who wants to play games.”
Putting the Switch down, Sunghee realised their throat was starting to hurt so they asked to pause the filming for a moment so they could get a glass of water. A hair stylist came in, fixing their hair a little bit, as did their manager with the vitamins they should’ve taken an hour ago. Sunghee downed them, slightly embarrassed, and the woman patted their shoulder and chuckled at them.
Starting back again, Sunghee grabbed one of the last few items. “Okay this is a bit silly, but the other thing I can’t live without is pumpkin juice? The fans know that my cheeks are very chubby still, no matter how much dieting or exercising I do, and they get very swollen sometimes. The best thing to get them to go down a little bit is to drink some pumpkin juice. I do like the taste too, so I always carry these around with me or have my manager carry it for me. If you haven’t tried it you should because they are really good!”
“On the topic of food,” Sunghee let out a nervous laughter, reaching for the massive bag resting on the side of the table. “So. I usually prefer to work during the night and I also struggle a lot with insomnia, so I end up taking a lot of late night snacks. My favourite snack currently is Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. I don’t eat it with milk or anything, just pretty much straight out of the bag, and I currently have this bag that is almost done and another full one at home.” Sunghee looked behind the camera and laughed again. “My manager is shaking her head at me, she keeps telling me to eat healthier snacks, but I can’t help it. I’m not really good with food textures, but the taste in this one is so good that it doesn’t bother me as much.”
Sunghee took a deep breath. “Last but not least,” they reached on the floor for the rest item, setting the pair of sneakers on the table. “High top Converse. I have almost one of each colour at home. I wear these with everything, I swear. The only thing I don’t do with them is practicing because they are uncomfortable for dancing, but I usually switch out of my practice shoes and straight into one of those as soon as we’re done practicing. Yeah. I just really like them, I think they are comfortable and they match any outfit.”
“Oh, we’re done, are we done?” As the staff started clapping, Sunghee released a sigh of relief, smiling at the camera. “Well, those were the ten things I can’t live without. Why don’t you share what your ten things are? I can’t wait to read all your lists! Bye!”
As the director screamed cut, Sunghee’s shoulders sagged and they allowed themselves to rest back against the chair. Their manager was the first to show up at their side, offering them more water and a Capri Sun, which they drank eagerly.
“Do I still have more to do today?” They asked, standing up, putting their phone in their pocket and helping their manager gather their stuff.
“One meeting and one quick photoshoot for company stuff and you’re free,” she patted Sunghee’s side as they sighed. “Come on, you can do this.”