new beginnings

minhee hadn’t really wanted to come. to him, the perfect christmas celebration would be the kind where nothing was celebrated. his lack of enthusiasm for such festivities isn’t something that’s a big secret, he’d just much rather stay home where it’s warm and his mum has something cooked up for him. his sisters call him a hermit but minhee would rather be a warm hermit than have to freeze out there in the cold.

still, he somehow finds himself at a party, dragged along by some old friends. he’d attempted to come up with some excuse, had already thought of something to say ( “sorry, i’ve got… homework…” ), but they weren’t the kind to take no for an answer –– especially when this would’ve been minhee’s 50th ‘no’ in a row to a gathering.

the party isn’t anything too extravagant, he sees more familiar faces than he’d expected to, and in the spirit of christmas (haha), minhee mingles with a few of them. pleasantries are exchanged, and maybe –– just maybe –– minhee’s imagining it, but he notices a lot more girls have taken an interest in him and what he’s been up to lately. “the usual,” minhee would reply, “school.” and then they’d laugh, tell him that he’s funny ( i’m not joking though? he’d think to himself ) and he’d politely smile.

to say that the party was boring would’ve been one-sided on minhee’s part; he sees people enjoying themselves and minhee’s just the type that would’ve much rather be doing something else. or talking to someone else. there’s just too many people here. he’d much rather be talking to yujin, but every time he attempts to start a conversation with her, he’s interrupted by somebody. tired of the interruptions, in his minhee-like fashion, he wordlessly walks straight towards her. 

“yujin,” he calls out, “there’s… a lot of people here. do you wanna go somewhere else?” and he’s not too sure why he’d asked that, where he’d gathered up the courage to casually ask her to ditch the party with him –– if she’d even want to –– but a part of him sort of wishes that she’ll say yes.

the chilly air and falling snow brings about a childish glee, but also a bitter memory from yujin. she’s always loved the beauty and festivity of wintertime, but it’s only been a year since her heart was last broken on christmas day (the one before being getting socks for presents). not to say it’s completely dampened her mood, but the reminder make her think twice before smiling.

still, she tries her best to enjoy it anyway. she’s promised herself to move on from that whole ordeal, and even if she’s still weighed down by the fatigue of practice, she finds the time to attend a party hosted by some old friends. it’s nothing big, but she has fun. it’s been awhile since she’s reconnected with most of them after changing schools, and a surprisingly high amount of them actually know about her being a trainee. it probably has nothing to do with the fact she’s been talking about it nonstop, right? it’s just to vaguely complain!

she notices minhee’s presence at the party quite early on, but never gets to properly talk to him beyond their initial greetings as they both have casual conversations of their own to hold. it’s not until he approaches her that she turns her focus. 

“oh, hey, minhee,” she smiles at him, a bit brighter than before. his proposal surprises her, but she’s been getting her social battery drained with each conversation. she finds the invitation’s phrasing a little embarrassing, though, as their small audience starts whispering. she pardons herself quickly before more people notice. 

“sure! i’ve been meaning to get a little fresh air,” she steps up to him sheepishly, nudging him to lead the way. “have you been enjoying the party?”

— abduction;

rkchacha‌:

“good point,” she nods in acknowledgement. the cheap party store fangs taste horrible, but that’s the price you have to pay with a budget. not to mention they also look a bit dumb, but she thinks that adds personality. 

i hope your high school can handle you. well, yujin has an internal chuckle, more like she can’t handle it right now. she’s never been the brightest, but with how little time she’s had to attend school with the trainee schedule...nothing’s looking up there. not her grades or her social life, a big yikes if you’ve ever seen one. “it’s been handling me...well enough,” she gives him a knowing look, shaking her head. “you know how it is with me and school.”

she whistles pityingly as she retrieves her phone from him, listening to his answer. way too relatable, surprisingly. she hadn’t thought he would have schedules to rival hers, but his life sounds hectic as well. “ooo, we’re skip buddies then. skipping buddies? you know what i mean,” she gives him a lopsided grin. “no way—a vlogger? really?” she gasps in surprise. “that’s so cool! weird niche, though,” not that she’d really know the ins and outs of the vlogging market, but it’s never crossed her mind to watch videos on daily life. “what’s your channel? i’ll subscribe!”

cliches

minheerk‌:

he seems way too casual about this—or is this normal here? she hasn’t been in the outside world in awhile, maybe customs have change? nah. this guy’s just shameless.

yujin makes herself as small as possible as he finishes up business with the top shelf. she’s just overthinking it, this whole situation. just an employee trying to do his job, whatever that is. not sure what it has to do with trapping her up against the bookshelf but hey, she wouldn’t know. why would she know? she’s just here reading shoujo manga.

his response causes her to shrink back enough that her head bumps against the shelf, her eyes wide and face red. “n-no!?” she hisses, heart thumping in her chest. there’s a fine line between teasing and flirting, and he sure is toeing the line. no way it’s the latter, even if her heart sheepishly wishes it so. the stories have rose-tinted her situation, for sure.

she opens her mouth to retort, but hearing her own name fall from his lips fills her with shame. so he obviously knows her, which means she’s known him at some point in time, and then proceeded to forget him. not sure how she could ever forget someone who looks like this, but she’s lost worse (exam answers). 

“wait...like, that minhee?” her face contorts with surprise and scrutiny, her eyes locked onto scanning his face for similarities. there are some, but his entire aura is different. for one, he’s much taller, but also less...nerdy (in a cute way!). “yeah, sure. the hair,” she repeats mindlessly, still too lost in her thoughts. his hair does look fluffy, she supposes. 

it’s only when he teases her that she snaps out of it, an offended pout on her face. “you got a problem with that? i’m allowed to read whatever!”

— abduction;

rkchacha‌:

“ooh, lucky! i didn’t get much time to prepare myself,” she pouts in memory of the frantic costume search just yesterday. if only she had decided sooner...or rather, if minhee had asked her sooner. still, she’s satisfied with what she has. at least she didn’t show up costumeless like someone today. like, c’mon! it’s halloween! live a little! “are you calling me a blood-sucker?” she teases, flashing the fangs in her mouth before pulling them out after. “these are so uncomfortable, by the way. never buy cheap.”

“mhm~” she nods in agreement, looking down at her fingers to count. “two years? ever since i changed high schools, anyway,” she smiles sadly. not the best move on her part, though she’s made many new friends in SOPA. “yeah, it took a lot of convincing,” she laughs. “skipping training makes me nervous...this is the first time,” she admits solemnly. “but i’m glad i did. got to meet you guys again! oh, and give me your katalk, by the way,” pulling out her phone, she taps on the yellow icon. “what have you been up to recently? aside from, y’know, school.”

— sweet red;

minheerk‌:

the less yujin is reminded of training, the better. it’s the first time she’s skipped since she’s joined, and though she’s not stranger to playing hooky (thanks to school), her time at trc has been much more professional and intimidating. she’s asked the seniors whether skipping for a day would get her in trouble, and they had assured her otherwise but she’s still nervous. thankfully, minhee had helped ease her into it, and she wonders for a moment when he started being such a bad influence on her, but whatever. it’s halloween. 

she’s no stranger to being called cute (as pompous as that sounds), but it feels different coming from minhee. she’s not sure why considering he’s definitely said it before back in middle school, but he’s changed a lot since then. “i’m not cute. i’m scary,” she jokingly pouts, lightly hitting his arm. “basic, but scary nonetheless!”

“wow, you’re on point with the memes, huh?” she may have been locked away in trc’s basement for the peak of the area 51 memes, but it’s not like she lived under a rock. “maybe that’s where the vampires live...not that i wouldn’t know, of course,” she raises her eyebrows suspiciously. “but yeah, let’s! i want some nice pictures to put in my wallet or something. so i have something cute to look at whenever i’m out,” she smiles back, though her cheeks flush red soon after at the cheesiness of her line. 

cliches

it’s a weekend and understandably, the library’s a little more crowded than it’d be any other day of the week. not that that bothers minhee much; despite the larger crowd, his job remains the same. as always, they ask him to shelve a bunch of books. somehow, minhee thinks that he’d only gotten this job because he was tall and could easily reach the top shelves (exploiting his height. it’s fine, he’s getting paid for it anyway). 

he walks around the library, placing the books at their designated areas when he comes across a few from the… manga section? personally, minhee’s never been a huge fan of animation or manga, sure he knows the basics like … dragonball, naruto… sailor moon? but he’s never been the kind of guy to closely follow those things. he picks up the book in question and furrows his brows at the title “MAID SAMA!”; but he’ll reserve his judgement for later.

sighing, he walks toward the manga section, only to find a girl there, particularly in the… shoujo (?) section. and just like he’d been instructed, he begins to place the books onto the shelves. he isn’t thinking much (not that he ever does), when he spots a book above the girl, on the top most shelf, sliding off. on instinct, he quickly rushes behind her, hand grabbing onto the book before it could touch her. 

he stands there behind the girl, a head taller and just barely inches away. his eyes are focused on the comic book that had almost fallen before he gently slips it back and tilts his head down to look at the girl, still standing behind her. “are you alright?” he asks, concerned. momentarily, he’s taken aback, a sense of familiarity washing over him.

she’s studied enough to warrant indulging in some guilty pleasures, yujin thinks as she flips through the latest one-shot shoujo manga with an immersion only rivaled by scientists working on discovering the secret to eternal life (or something). 

with her nose buried in the book, she pays little to no attention to her surroundings. even as other patrons edge by her stationary figure uncomfortably, even as a staff member enters the aisle to do his job, she stays hooked onto the heart-throbbing scene. it’s cheesy, but by god is she easy to please. a handsome lead with a soft smile is all she needs to fall in love...as annoying as the thought is nowadays, but still. sometimes you just need to let go of the real world and be happy.

the impending head injury looms above unnoticed, and yujin only snaps back to reality when she sees someone approach her out of the corner of her eye. she barely has any time to react before the figure ends up right behind her, reaching upwards to tuck the slipping book back into place. she doesn’t see that, though, as she’s turned around surprise to identify the man. 

she doesn’t say anything at first. though her instinct had been to back away out of caution, there isn’t much space in between him and the bookshelf, anyway. so she’s left with the option of looking him right in the face—the face that’s way too close to hers...and way too good-looking. her cheeks flush red against her will.

“i...i’m fine?” his question surprises her, unsure of what he means by ‘being alright’ (because she is very much not alright right now). he looks familiar now that she thinks about it, but she can’t quite place it. he isn’t some celebrity, is he? probably not, she would remember a face like his—but then why does she know him from somewhere? “erm, this is a weird question but do i know you?” 

* if a tree falls ,

rkpcy‌:

“marvelous,” she repeats after him with a silly grin on her face. she definitely likes him. “i should’ve read the fine print. i’m used to man-eating plants, but ghosts!? that’s too much,” her voice is whiny as she shakes her head. “you think i would’ve learned after signing my first ever contract, but nooo.”

she accepts the pair of chopsticks thankfully, clicking them together out of habit. it’s still a bit of a mystery just what is in the lunchbox itself, but she’ll choose to trust that her newfound guide hasn’t chosen to poison her or anything—probably. hopefully. “hey, brunch and supper are perfectly valid too,” she’s still growing...eating as much as she does isn’t weird!

with the chopsticks now tucked in between her hand and the lunchbox, she wonders briefly when she’d be able to try the meal as they continue on. not that she isn’t enjoying the tour, of course, but the idea of food makes stomach rumble, especially after the light breakfast she had earlier. it’s fine, though. she can hold on for however long it takes with how much fun she’s having. 

“oh, you compose?” she latches onto those specific words, a sparkle of intrigue in her eyes. she’s never considered it for herself, but the ability and talent to create your own tracks is beyond amazing. “that’s so cool! do you do it often? how many have you composed? is it fun?” she bombards him with questions, seemingly unaware of the ridiculousness of some of them.

— origami;

rksowon‌:

“true~” yujin hums in a sing-song voice. “not that i need help remembering it, of course, but it’s not like other people remember it much, anyway,” she laughs with a tinge of sadness in her voice. it’s honestly fine, though, she’s gotten used to celebrating birthdays already, no need for more...

or so she says.

“honestly? though i feel like i’m dying a little more every day,” she shakes her head dramatically. “it’s surprisingly not as bad as you’d think, but still pretty bad considering i’m slowly failing classes among everything else,” she scrunches her nose, feeling a headache coming already as she remembers the amount of homework she has left. “when’s your birthday, though?” she asks with a tilt of her head and a smile.

“it’s that rare, huh?” maybe it shouldn’t be something she actively works towards, but it’s in her blood to seek validation where ever possible. “is it like this in every company?” or is it just a trc thing? she leaves the last part unsaid, though it’s obviously implied in the way she looks around them meaningfully. sometimes she wonders about her decision to go with trc, considering they’ve proven their reputation of being one of the toughest companies true. maybe life would’ve been easier if she had simply, turned the contract down and waited for some other chance instead...well, it’s too late to ponder on that anymore.

“there should be some new trainees coming in soon then, right?” she approximates a guess. “within like...a few months or something?” then she’ll shed her status of being a newbie trainee. heck yeah. “that is a while!” yujin blinks in surprise, though her tone holds more amazement than anything. “have things changed a lot since you joined?”