♡ — hello hello, it’s been a long time!! tl;dr school got really overwhelming really fast and then my laptop had some issues, and thus i’ve been away for several weeks :’))) so, i thought it’d be a good idea to get a new intro of sorts going, seeing as so much has changed with aera and i’m doing a Big overhaul of her pages and whatnot as soon as i get the chance!
for those you who don’t know me, i’m mia, and this is yoo aera, former yuseong wonderchild and the freshly debuted main vocal and lead dancer of clover! at the moment, she’s 50% major identity crisis, 50% trying to pseudo-adopt any younger trainee she crosses paths with, and 100% a big ol’ softie that has some Minor attachment issues.
i’d love to get new plots going, especially with those who joined while i was away, or even to update some plots aera already has! feel free to either send me a pm or like this post and i’ll come running your way!
as was in her original intro i’ll do a quick rundown on her backstory below the cut + updates and some minor changes from when i first threw her into wishingstars a few months ago!
private profile | career page | connections
background
born and raised in the upper west side of manhattan, yoo aera is the child of a famous broadway actress and a well-known composer, a first and only child after years of failed pregnancies and difficulties conceiving. she’s super super close to her parents and would go to the ends of the world for them, and they’re perhaps one of the largest reasons she wonders if her time training under yuseong was worth it— more on that later.
aera took to the performing arts from a very very young age; as the daughter of artists herself, she was exposed to the world quite quickly and encouraged wholeheartedly in her endeavors.
due to the nature of their jobs, her parents were in and out a lot towards the latter end of her childhood. this didn’t do....great things for her in the long run in the name of attachment issues and being afraid people will always leave her, but on the bright side she spent all that time alone getting really good at singing and dancing and whatever else she was enrolled in so..we take those?
skip forward a couple of years, her first solo performance goes viral in 2010, which included a twelve year old aera belting her tiny heart out to mariah carey’s all i want for christmas. this video garners the attention of yuseong entertainment, among another dozen companies, to which aera begins her research on the idol world and what that would mean for her.
as the story goes, aera falls in love with the idea of becoming an idol. she eventually signs a trainee contract with yuseong mid-2011, where she remains for the next decade of her life.
in her early trainee days aera really relied a lot on older company members and more established trainees to find her footing— it was quite a stark change she took on, and she wasn’t necessarily prepared for. eventually, however, she does adjust and becomes a successful and well known trainee within the company.
given her training period, aera was very much in the running for etoile back in 2017; she, however, was ultimately cut from the final lineup during the latter end of selections, which absolutely destroyed her. having spent the better part of the decade training for the sole purpose of debuting, being faced with the reality that she may have missed her only chance of doing so took a major toll on aera.
after this, she had seriously considered giving up on her idol pursuits and returning to america, but after some good ol’ Self Introspective she ends up deciding to continue under the company with hopes of debuting in the next cycle.
by 2021 she was just about ready to call it quits (and had made peace with the fact) when the company began trainee evaluations for select season one. treating it as her last act as an idol trainee, aera was eventually chosen to represent yuseong on the show.
select did an absolute number on her just because of how high stakes the whole thing was. never knowing if the public still liked her enough to keep her in the running and having to be absolutely perfect for six month straight was exhausting, more so than she’ll ever admit. she was in this odd mix of wanting it to be done with while simultaneously wanting to enjoy every last moment of it, since she knew this could very well her last endeavor in the idol world.
in the end, it all pays off— aera is one of fourteen trainees voted into one of two debut teams, and is eventually announced as the main vocal and lead dancer of clover, which debuts in march of 2022. at twenty-three, after over a decade of training, yoo aera has finally reached the end goal...or, at least, what she had thought was the end goal.
more on aera
what’s going on with her as a person, well that’s a whole other thing; major identity crisis right now like lots of self-introspection and hyper analyzing what has essentially been her entire life. think of that feeling of believing finishing one task will solve all your problems, only to find out there’s a million other things to worry about afterwards— aera’s one task was debuting, and she’s finally achieved that, and it’s hard to figure out what you want with yourself after accomplishing the only dream you’ve ever had.
she definitely feels like she’s just missed out a lot— opportunities to further her career by potentially finding a company elsewhere, life lessons that she simply didn’t have the chance to engage in, or just spending time with family and friends. she’s achieved her dreams, but she’s finally starting to look at the costs and wondering if it was really worth it.
not to mention she’d spent this entire time building up a life within yuseong, especially within the trainee ranks, only to end up debuting under another company even if it is an affiliate. aera has a lot of Emotions about that.
as it stands though, with all of that going on the background aera still loves performing even if that love is diminished by her constantly wondering what-if, and she’s damn well good at it.
as a trainee, aera was and is sort of yuseong’s poster child. she was basically raised within the walls of yuseong so she’s very much a reflection of that, both as an idol an as a person: hyper-conscious of how she is presenting herself at all times, a talented performer at the expense of...well, a life.
while it might sound like aera should be quite jaded and cynical— and to be fair, she sort of is— in general she’s got this mother hen-type personality going. its attributed a lot to her upbringing, particularly as a trainee— having lived away from her parents from such a young age, and such a pivotal time of her life, aera is really really really grateful that she had people back in her early trainee days looking out for her and showing her the ropes.
over time, as she got older and gained more seniority within yuseong, she eventually made it her own mission to pay it forward. if a trainee was willing, aera would always volunteer to help them adjust to the company and navigate life as a trainee, and has a bit of a reputation for essentially adopting trainees as they come by. she’s always wanted a younger sibling, so this works out quite well for her.
aera gets attached to people very, very easily— which is a very, very bad thing given how cutthroat her line of work is. she spent a long time under yuseong, and lost a lot of friends in the process, for a variety of reasons. especially with her parents super in and out of her life aera has always been the type to make strong bonds with others if they’ll let her— which means, when they leave, it always hurts. aera’s used to having people come in and out of her life, but that’s never made it easier.
aera’s never done too well with the whole rest thing. when she still lived in new york she was always bounding from one activity to the next, never too keen on returning to an empty apartment. training under yuseong left no time for breaks, and every day since the beginning of select has been nonstop. it was just the way her life shaped out to be, and she’s never resented it because it’s all she’s ever known.
that does mean, however, going to sleep is a struggle. aera’s just restless no matter what time she falls asleep, and unless she’s genuinely on the brink of passing out, sleep doesn’t come easy. it’s her luck— if you look at it that way— that clover has been busy enough since their debut that it usually came to that. but today wasn’t, and she’s stuck between checking her phone for the time and staring listlessly at the ceiling.
she doesn’t know how long she lays there for— probably not long, to be honest, because aera is just an impatient person, but it’s long enough for aera to realize she isn’t sleeping any time soon. she sits upright, intent on getting out of bed and finding something to distract herself, only to realize someone across the room doing the exact same. her eyes widen in surprise, only for a smile to split across her face soon afterwards.
aera isn’t exactly an actress. well, no— aera isn’t an actress. she’s taken classes through yuseong over the course of her training, but the last ten years have been spent preparing for an idol debut, first and foremost. with the selection for this new survival show final, however, the company had been eager to get her as much exposure as possible before filming began. it’s a lot to take in, but these past few weeks have been all about adapting to change and new experiences.
she just doesn’t want to mess up. aera might be a small piece in all of this, a few seconds of a music video, a puzzle piece in the grand scheme of this. but this is someone’s song, something meta has poured more time and effort into than aera has ever known, and she’s being tasked with bringing it to life. at least it’s not wholly unfamiliar to her— finding the light and playing a role that yuseong has pushed her into.
she’s almost taken aback when the director calls cut— aera had been expecting something to go terribly wrong, for whatever reason, but she realizes that they’d only made a few adjustments and shot all that they’d planned for. aera’s first proper industry experience, done in a flash.
aera’s just finished thanking some of the staff for their help, polite smile plastered on her face, when park’s enthusiastic voice reaches her. she pauses for a moment, confused, before she realizes it’s her being spoken to. “oh, thank you, park-sunbaenim,” aera responds, bowing deeply, blushing despite herself. “i’m honored that you’re happy with our work today. but i thought you and the other meta members wrapped for the day— did you stay all this time to watch the end of filming?”
maybe aera’s grown too accustomed to the cutthroat sides of their industry. yuseong wasn’t a company that necessarily fostered wide-eyed innocence, and select was an open invitation to the worst their work had to offer. but seeing chorong is jarring, not in any negative way, just in the fact that there exists a girl with so much of her heart on her sleeve when the world was so hellbent on destroying it. it’s hard not to feel endeared by her presence— and more than that, grateful, because given the last few weeks it’s been hard for aera to remember that she’s living her dream come true.
so she laughs instead, warm smile making it’s way onto her face, replacing her tired expression momentarily. “well, thank you. i appreciate it.” aera responds, following chorong’s lead. the commentary is nice— learning about wishbone is nice. aera finds that she doesn’t know much about her new parent company, outside of what’s available online, and it’s just...unfamiliar to her. she supposes that’s a side effect of having spent her life training with yuseong, that she knows everything about the company inside and out. “you guys had that renovation a few months back, right?” aera questions, opting to make some small talk. “how’re you liking it?”
aera blinks once in surprise, question catching her off guard. it’s not that she thinks it isn’t obvious, or that chorong wouldn’t care, but she’s grown used to seeing dark circles beneath her eyes and the people around her, and brushing it all aside. she’s ready to do the same here, but chorong has been nothing but kind and earnest and aera finds she isn’t keen on letting the conversation stop.
“a bit obvious, huh?” she laughs a little, signaling that her words are playful more than anything else. “i might have to take you up on that offer some day, but i think if i fall asleep i might not wake up. any rooms you recommend, though? for practicing or for napping— any advice is good advice.”
evaluation days. aera has a...difficult relationship with them. she loves to perform— she’s always loved it, she’s always known this— and evaluation days meant she was doing that. it meant the culmination of weeks long preparations and releasing that weight off her chest. it also meant opening herself to the worst of yuseong’s criticism in the hopes that something would stick, that whatever she’d done wrong this time around would become a cautionary tale for her future. she won’t say that she’s grown used to any of it, but aera does think she fares better with it now than she did before. she is nine years removed from that girl, after all.
besides, the attention isn’t on her right now. the rumors of a new boy group have been growing the entire year, and with how evaluations have gone there’s only more merit to the claim. the last time she was in this position she’d barely known how to cope with it all— she barely did— and that was with five years of training behind her. with how the newest trainees are being treated now, she thinks it was a small mercy her age cut her out of the running for ladybug.
with performances finally done, and the trainees dismissed for the week, aera finds her way weaving through the small crowd. she almost talks herself out of it, reasoning that he probably wants to rest, but aera had appreciated the older trainees checking in on her after her first evaluation— and she’d like to extend that favor.
“elliot!” she calls out once she’s spotted the other trainee, friendly smile lighting her face. “congratulations, on surviving your first evaluation. how’re you feeling?”
“don’t be silly! i’m just happy that you’ll have something to remember this all by, apart from whatever editors have pieced together. you deserve to remember this as it was, not as how someone wants it to be.” the younger girl has braced the worst of the industry in such a short amount of time; that was the nature of competition shows, and why select became as popular as it did. being a trainee isn’t enjoyable by any means— it’s difficult and heartbreaking and there’s no guarantee there will ever be a payoff for it all. aera is lucky enough to look back on her early training days with fondness. she just wants eira to be able to do that, too, in some capacity. “besides, you taking any of my advice to heart was enough of a gift as anything. makes me feel important,” aera winks, the teasing remark leaving her lips with ease, but there’s a level of truth that lines her words. for as much as she tries, aera has always worried her attempts at advice did more harm than good. she didn’t have much to show for her own idol career, after all— what place does she really have, trying to guide another’s? but no one can deny how much eira has fluorished over the course of the competition, and while aera will take no credit in that, she’d like to hope that even one piece of guidance she’d offered the younger trainee helped her along the way.
a knowing smile finds its way onto aera’s face, nodding along. “i get it. i mean, letting yourself hope is...hard, especially when the show is set up like it is,” never knowing where you stand in the public eye, if you’re safely among the top or on the brink of being cut. it’s been one of the most difficult parts of the competition for aera. “i didn’t let myself really unpack until a few weeks ago. i think i should’ve followed your lead— i don’t know how i managed to fit everything into my suitcase, now.” she laughs softly, nostalgia tied up in her voice. “but i’m glad you’re looking at things like that, towards the next big thing. you’re going to be a star no matter what happens, you know.” the future is so uncertain, especially in a world like theirs— but this much, this much aera knows.
she supposes its been the last ten years— of mentors, of friends, all of which had eventually left her in the end. aera’s grown used to saying goodbye and having the relationships she’s made dissipate over time, grown used to forgetting and being forgotten in the grand scheme of things. and maybe that’s the heart of all of this, aera’s own fears coming to the surface and fearing that same fate for her and eira too. but the younger girl is so determined, so assured that this won’t be the case, it’s hard for aera to stop the way her throat closes and a tidal wave of tears threatens to crash. she blinks the moisture in her eyes away, a watery smile appearing on her lips. “i’ll hold you to it,” she responds. her voice is shaky, but her eyes are bright— hopeful that the ending she’s seen so many times before doesn’t lie ahead of the two of them.
eira’s words mean more to aera than she’ll ever truly be able to articulate. aera’s always needed everything laid out in front of her in order to believe it— too many times has believing something will happen failed her in the end. and so hearing the type of impact she’s made on eira, on this wonderchild of a performer whose destiny was all but written in the stars, makes aera feel as though the last decade wasn’t in vain. because if she’s helping someone else achieve stardom, if her path was ultimately to light another’s— if it was eira’s, she will be more than happy with the outcome. “i’m happy to have helped,” is the reply she settles on in the end, her melancholic smile doing little to hide the sudden wave of emotion she’s combatting. “but remember that you wouldn’t have gotten this far without being talented on your own, yeah? i only helped light a bit of the path.” aera reminds her, pride for the younger trainee seeping into her voice.
aera laughs softly, nodding. “i’m happy to know that if i debut and everyone hates it, i’ll still have your support then. although i do hope that you won’t have time for that, what with your debut around the corner,” she teases, nudging eira gently. “if i do end up getting into one of the groups, i sincerely doubt you won’t be right behind me.”
premise: aera contemplates performing another sweet pea song, and the image clover might be setting up for themselves
setting: spring up! rehearsals, april 2022
wc: 385
aera tells herself not to be disappointed. tells herself that this is one of her ceo’s most popular releases to date and it’s an honor to be performing it, and there is nothing wrong with the concept or the staging or anything about it. aera isn’t in a place to complain or cherry pick what her image is or what her group releases or anything related to the fact.
don’t get her wrong. she’s happy with her parts. she thinks the song is catchy and by all means this performance is harmless fun. and clover has an image, a concept they need to live up to— of course they’re going to push the bubblegum pop songs and the white pleated skirts. she knew this was something that could happen regardless of when she debuted or which company she was under. it’s her job to take what they give her and make a goldmine out of it.
but aera’s favorite pastime has always been to ponder and worry, and is it so much that she doesn’t want to be pigeonholed into this image that clover has been given? to want to sing about more than just....wanting to hold someone’s hand, or doing step-touches in white pleated skirts? beggars can’t be choosers— aera knows this— but they’re at the most formative times of their group’s career. this isn’t just a fun performance. they’re making an impression on all their peers, on company higher ups, on themselves. is it so much that aera doesn’t want to be stuck in some cookie cutter image of absolutely nothing?
she’s being too negative. this is exactly the type of innocence clover wants to be, after all— they’re supposed to embody friendship, utopia, whatever else was in the brief about their group concept. and this performance means literally nothing— unlike most performances she’s had in the last ten years, this is just for fun. there aren’t any stakes here other than for her to sing a fun song and put on a cute dress. that’s all this is. there is absolutely no need to read into it.
aera needs to stop getting hung up over the idea of being an idol she’s made up over the past decade. it’s only ever lead to her getting angry, and she doesn’t know at who.
“for an yuseong idol, you are a terrible liar, daniel.” aera responds, beginning to walk over to where the younger idol looked like a deer in headlights. “i think if you would have said anything else, i might have believed you.” code word: might. the reality was daniel was always up to something, but there was never any harm in getting him to stop— all he ever did was make everyone’s lives a bit more fun, after all. it’s just aera’s luck that it’s also quite fun watching daniel panic over absolutely nothing.
she peers into the box, arching a brow at its contents. if she were a few years younger she might be a little more worried about this, accidentally pissing off a party full of all of their seniors and staff and the pr managers that might faint if they ever attempting anything out of line. luckily for daniel, though, aera is not that girl. not right now, that is.
“alright, alright, you make your point,” aera rolls her eyes, though she can’t hide the amused smile that appears on her face. “i won’t say anything. frankly, i’m a little offended you thought i would say something— i’ve let you get away with far worse when we were trainees.” she moves around him, taking one of the boxes for herself and peering at daniel over the top. “now, where were you taking these?”
“eira!” is her initial response, a beaming smile making it’s way onto aera’s face. they haven’t talked nearly as much as aera would have liked since select has ended— with both arcana and clover being fast-tracked to debut, there simply wasn’t time. now, however, amidst the fresh spring air, they finally have it. “i was meaning to look for you too— i’ve missed you,” she juts her lower lip out as a point, her hands tightening around the younger girl’s in response. “i’m feeling better now that i’ve seen you. you did great on stage today! i bet you could have given the phoenix members a run for their money,” aera winks playfully.
it’s hard not to melt into an endeared smile at the sight of the younger girl, all bubbly enthusiasm and good intentions. “if i knew any better i’d think you were calling me old,” she retorts, though there’s no malice in her voice as she stands up, following the younger idol’s lead. “but, i would be honored to share the stage with you once more, eira. just like old times, right?” she moves to link arms with eira, beginning to move towards the noraebang machines. “how have you been? things have been so hectic since the end of select i’ve barely had any time to check in on you. you’ve been taking care of yourself, right? trying to sleep enough, drinking enough water?” she knows it’s hard to make yourself the number one priority when their jobs were as demanding as they were, but aera’s always been prone to worry about others, and a gentle reminder does good one way or another. “i can’t say i’ve been great about any of it, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”
♡ — hello hello, it’s mia again back from another obscure disappearance!!!! basically i did an oopsie and sort of just...forgot to mention i was going on a two week trip but i am here now making another stupid ooc post!!! anyways i’m putting this out here as a plotting call because there have been so many new lovely people i’d love to write with and also i always always love writing with our older members too <33 if you’d like to plot n potentially thread something, please like this post or just send me an im and i’ll welcome you with open arms <3333
aera’s favorite artists definitely fluctuate a lot, mostly reliant on her general state of mind and how hectic her schedules are during that period of her life. generally she falls back to a lot of taylor swift, olivia rodrigo, lorde, lauv, and conan gray— she’s very much a fan of story telling through music, and her playlists often reflect that. additions to this mix include her favorite korean musicians too. her father is a frequent on her playlist, but it feels like a bit of a cop-out to say that he’s one of her favorites. other artists include the likes of younha, heize, and bol4. in general her favorite artists are anything on the softer, more emotional side of music— typically music she can lose her train of thought to.
How does your family feel about your career?
while her parents are absolutely ecstatic about her love of the fine arts, they have definitely grown weary of the idea of being an idol after having seen their only child trapped in its system for a decade. they will never express anything but outwards pride and enthusiasm for aera, but they feel that she’s been cheated by it— as aera does herself, in some sense. ultimately they’re still proud to see her on stage. if this truly is her dream they will support it without question.
If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?
1) have more time to spend with her parents, and for her parents to have more time to spend with each other. her mother is mostly based in new york, but her father often travels for concerts, to work with other composers, or as a guest lecturer at one university or the next. one of the things aera admires most about her parents is that they’ve always fully supported the others business endeavors, even if it meant they were separated more days than not. both of them flew out often to visit aera and spend time with her, but ultimately the three of them were spread across different parts of the world most of the time, and aera would give so much to say that weren’t the case.
2) left yuseong after etoile’s debut. this is less of a wish and more of a what if scenario aera would like to indulge in. there are a lot of paths she could have taken in regards to her idol career that plague her a lot at night. while she’s happy with her placement in clover she often wonders about what her life would have looked liked had she not stayed with yuseong after finding out she didn’t make the shortlist for etoile. she could have gone to university, or gone to another company, or done something else, but she’ll never know because she wasn’t ready for that kind of change.
3) win a daesang. aera has always chased faraway goals— exhibit a being her persistence in debuting as an idol over the past decade. now that she has debuted, another one of her larger hopes have become a still distant, but less unfathomable dream. it doesn’t matter what exactly the daesang is for— an album, a song, even a role in a drama if that somehow becomes something she finds herself excelling in. she just wants to have some sort of knowledge that she’s well and truly made it.
“it is, a little bit— mostly to exaggerate things. i know that when i was on they tried to make it look like i had a rivalry with another trainee, but otherwise i went off unscathed. as long as you’re not actively getting into fights, editors won’t be able to do much with you,” she pauses, voice lowering a bit. “the company will help you with that. well, i think they might. no one really said anything about it to me when i was on the show, but yuseong doesn’t like losing face— trainees include.” aera’s long since questioned how much influence yuseong really had on her while she was on select. it’s difficult to find the words for it, but if there’s anyone who will understand— well, someone who will understand soon— it’ll be taebin. “don’t focus on what’s going on behind the scenes. just remember that cameras are always on you, and you need to make sure your best side is showing.” figuratively and physically. netizens always love a pretty face, after all.
aera flashes taebin a sympathetic smile. she knows the feeling— of having so many legends to hold yourself up to, having so many people you have to prove yourself to. she struggled with it then, and she struggles with it now. “then don’t be yourself. be someone else, be someone more. baring yourself to the world is so, so hard. i needed some sort of security— some sort of role i could step into— to protect myself from it.” she’d spent years obsessed with this idea of who she had to be for yuseong to finally look at her, only to realize that the girl she had in mind didn’t exist. once that was established, putting on the facade became easier, somehow. “being yourself is important, yes, but ultimately the person you are on camera...it’s not going to be you, not really. separating that helped me a lot in the long run.”
a pause. taebin has the exact opposite problem that she did— avoiding rapping was easy for aera, but singing and dancing was admittedly not. “polish it, definitely— you’ll need it, but singing is something that gets better with time. select is about putting your best foot forward, and if that’s rapping for you, so be it. dancing might be...stressful, since the competition seems to put a lot of emphasis on choreography, but again that’ll come through practice. it’s not going to be fun but there’s going to be a lot of hours spent in the practice rooms— whatever you’re doing now, you’ll need to double it for the competition. on the bright side, they always have cameras rolling in the studios, so it might work in your favor if you showcase how diligent you are.”
jeongmin is clearly nervous, and aera can’t blame him. being thrown into a party full of established idols and their managers isn’t exactly the most typical of trainee experiences. she imagines she’d feel quite similar, if she hadn’t once shared a training room with half of the people currently present. perks of training for so long, she supposes.
“no problem,” aera responds, an easy smile forming on her lips. the expression quickly turns sympathetic— she understands what it’s like to be a trainee after all, the constant feeling of inadequacy. it never really fades, but now that she’s debuted aera thinks it’s better, and that’s something in the long run. “it’s nice to meet you, jeongmin.”
her smile returns again, this time softer. understanding. “that’s only natural. you kind of got thrown into the deep end here,” she laughs, looking at the party around them. “try not to focus too much on that, though i know its hard to. there’s free food and private performances from some of the greatest today— not pulling on my own leg, by the way, i mean ladybug. in any case, enjoy this while you can. things are going to get a little crazy from here on out. personal anecdote.” she winks at him, a playful gesture. she doesn’t know this trainee, obviously, but she imagines he needs a little bit of a friendly hand right now. it never hurt to be kind.
These questions can be answered from your perspective as a mun or from the perspective of the character! As the main goal for the prompt is for headcanons and character development, you’re free to answer however many you’d like. The questions include options for artists as well as staff, as to make sure everyone can have something to answer! When you reblog, users will send in numbers corresponding to those question!
Each answered question will be worth 1 TOKEN EACH, which you’ll be able to claim a total of 5 times, totaling out to 5 TOKENS TOTAL! When you’re done, please submit the links to these 5 asks to the points blog. Make sure to tag all answers as WS:HCMEME. For these to count for activity, the word count for each answer must exceed 100 words. Like an open event, this meme will not have a time limit and can be used by future applicants.
being back within the walls of yuseong entertainment feels like coming back to a childhood home, knowing that you’ve outgrown it. she imagines she’d spend more time lamenting how things have changed in the past months had she not had a goal in mind today. aera might not know taebin incredibly well, but she knows this— he’s got a soft heart, and if there’s anything aera can do to help protect that before going into the show, she will. call it a hero-complex or just aera feeling a little too much attachment to her former company, but there’s almost a responsibility that she feels to help support taebin before he enters the hunting grounds. she was in his place just a year ago, and there were absolutely things she wished someone had told her before she dove in head first. and while aera will never have that advice, never have that mentor or someone to rely on, she hopes that she can be just that to taebin.
“i can’t blame you— i won’t say it was easy, being yuseong’s only representative. i felt like i was walking with a target on my back for most of the competition.” aera admits. “you can’t help but compare yourself to the people who have already debuted, to the people back at the company, and wonder if someone else was better suited for your place. but that wouldn’t change if you were the only trainee, or you were one of ten. those doubts never shake you. the only thing you can do is...work around it. let it motivate you to prove that the company wasn’t wrong to send you.” it’s the only thing that kept her sane during those first weeks in the competition, wondering after every practice if she wasn’t stealing the spot from someone who deserved it more, who wanted it more.
“you’re not going to ever feel prepared enough for it, not really. i mean, look at me,” aera gestures to herself, a short laugh leaving her lips. “ten years, and i still don’t think it was enough. don’t worry about if you’re ready or not. what matters is that you know that whatever happens, you are doing everything in your power to do things as best as you can. that’ll show on camera and on stage. people admire hard work.” a deep sigh leaves her lips, thinking about what vital piece of information she could share with the trainee that encapsulated all of select for her. “don’t get too into your head,” aera advises. “you’ll do more harm than good trying to pick apart everything you’re doing right and wrong and if you’re making the right choices. you’re going to be working on a lot of limited time— trust your instincts, and don’t try to think too much outside of that.”
aera’s not a particularly nosy person— at least, she doesn’t think she is— but she has a penchant for finding out when a certain blue.m member is doing something yuseong’s staff would hate. she thinks she’s done it again, given the way she’s watching him hauling in two cardboard boxes while the party is in full swing. aera thinks the younger should be worried given that someone’s already foiled his grand scheme. the good thing for him is that aera’s always had a soft spot for daniel, and she’s just a little bit tired of playing the picture perfect idol the last ten years of her life.
“i think this is the part where i tell you this is a bad idea, no?” aera asks, an eyebrow raised as she catches the younger idol’s attention. granted, there’s not much threat to her words— her eyes are amused, and she’s never been good at the whole intimidation thing anyways. she pushes herself off from the tree she’d been resting against, walking over to where daniel’s standing. “so, are you going to tell me what you’re planning, or am i going to head back to the party and pretend i saw nothing?”
