magic hour.

“Ah unnie, there’s no such thing. We’re all busy, and keeping up with each other is tricky. I could have contacted you more times myself,” but time and her insecurities spoke louder every time. Sooah couldn’t be certain if Jiwon would even want to hang with her in the first place. But she’s working on this now. Reaching out to people can’t be that hard. “I’ve been doing well,” she replies to the question as she clasps her hands on her back, “busy but fine. It feels nice to have things to work on and be active. Every day I feel like I wake up and have something to do, and it’s a nice feeling. I think I would be a little down if I didn’t have much in my hands,” she rambles, but the words are honest. At the mention of her group’s latest hit, Sooah brightens up and grins at Jiwon, “did you? That’s so nice, thank you, unnie!” she says excitedly, and she nearly takes hold of the Jiwon’s forearm, but she stops herself and instead claps her hands, “the pictures for the album all came out pretty for this album, so I’m happy you got one for yourself. Is there a song in particular that you like the most from the Finale?”

jiwon’s schedule tended to be more lax. she didn’t know whether or not it was because her company didn’t want her to overwork herself, or if they didn’t really care to promote her individually. either way, it had its benefits, like being able to meet up whenever someone else had the time.  “well, it’s good that i built up the courage to ask you then. i’ll be more than happy to save you from our livelihoods anytime.” she finally remembers why she felt comfortable around sooah. the friendly nature of the younger hitting a spot that was close to home. “you’re right. there will be a lot of opportunities in the future for us to try things. let’s just hope the next one doesn’t take twice as long to happen.” her excitement started to die down when she realized she didn’t think about the possible end results from trying a new place out. worst case scenario is neither of them like it, but her mind made things appear ten times worse than it actually was. 

“thank you for squeezing me into your schedule. i know you’re quite busy these days.” jiwon offered a big smile to the shorter female as she slid her hands into her pockets. “i know that the last time we met that you would recommend a place for us to eat, or at least i hope i’m remembering correctly. it’s been a while since then, but i’ve been wanting to try this place out for a while.” jiwon was counting her lucky stars that any thoughts about why she didn’t go alone hadn’t crossed the other’s mind. while she did enjoy sooah’s company when they ran into each other, there was a bigger reason to why she didn’t go out in public alone. it was something that she didn’t like to address, but she was probably overthinking again and it wouldn’t be an issue.

milk pressed her lips together, attempting to hide her amused smile. jiwon’s excitement was infectious. “you’re being cute.” her tone was curt, but her face betrayed fondness toward her elder. “if you do that, stretch first. can’t have you out of commission, you know.” it was half a joke - she didn’t expect jiwon to do something quite so silly, prepared or no. 

milk breaks at the offer of a love letter. it’s only a chuckle, but it’s accompanied by a rare, wide smile. “i’m glad you like it. i’m hoping to keep the same energy with the next title, too.” she confided. considering she and eunah lived together, it wasn’t exactly a secret. “i’m not going to lie, i’m psyched to just do the easy parts this time.” another poorly kept secret was milk’s distaste for fanmeets, fansigns, hi-touches and variety shows. music, in her opinion, was best when it was the whole of the content. the constant stream of people was overwhelming, and she despised being touched, especially by strangers. despite what fans sometimes thought, they were in fact strangers.

“you’re right! i still need to stretch before i do anything crazy.” jiwon rushed to start doing some stretches she normally does. however, they were at a pace that was too quick to actually be effective. “i can’t imagine if i was taken out of work from a cartwheel. it’s make more sense if i was out from practicing too much instead.” she began to chuckle as she remembered something. “i think i also forgot an important fact... i don’t think i remember how to do a proper cartwheel since it’s been so long.”

“i’m feeling great. i’m feeling really good.” jiwon started as she buzzes around in the waiting area. it was rare for jiwon to be so energetic off stage during promotions periods. she was someone who put her everything into her performances, leaving nothing left over. “i want to do something big like a cartwheel or something, but i feel like i’m a bit too big to just be throwing my body around and hoping for the best.” she chuckled. it was rare for jiwon to indulge in her childlike antics, especially as one of the older members of 7rophy. she had a different type of bond with each of the younger members, and she cherished the 98 line a lot. 

“It might have taken a couple of good hits, but at least you eventually caught on and you were able to better yourself, you know? Development is always a good thing and you shouldn’t feel bad about how you behaved in the past or what your past habits were. You’ve grown from the Jiwon you were a few years ago. Even the Jiwon you were a few months ago. That’s what life is about, y’know? Growth and development. Becoming newer and better versions of yourself.” That was how Samsoo personally liked to perceive things. Being able to look on his past as a learning experience instead of looking back on his past and being embarrassed or ashamed by it. Of course it was a lot easier said than done, but it wasn’t impossible, not by a landslide. “That’s fair. Although I’m sure it’ll garner a lot of interest. Being able to create art is a talent that a lot of people like seeing. I mean, people go on variety shows and make animal noises - I’m sure your talent for drawing would definitely be accepted after that.” He nodded in understanding. “I used to be like that. Still am, kind of.” Soo used to be extremely shy and closed off, even back when Unity first debuted. He had slowly gained more confidence in himself and started caring less about what people think, which helped lessen his shyness a lot, but he still found himself preferring to be inside, away from a lot of people, then as the center of attention. “There’s nothing wrong with being a homebody, just as long as you don’t forget to get your body outside from time to time. Even if it’s just a walk to the convenience store or a cafe.” 

“or to you,” eunah added. she’d hate to see jiwon’s anxiety eat her up again, the way it used to when they were younger. she knew, of course, that she wasn’t free from it nowadays. eunah, more than anyone, understood the persistent struggle against her own thoughts, but she was always happy to see jiwon smiling. she was even happier to let jiwon give her advice. it was good for her, eunah thought, it might get her out of her own head. “ah, yeah, don’t remind me of everything people said about where are you.” but jiwon was right. despite where are you’s dismal performance next to hobgoblin, it remained one of eunah’s favourite 7rophy title tracks. “but thank you, i’ll try to remember that more often. i just wish the higher ups felt the same way.” they hadn’t explicitly said how they felt, but the lights in their eyes when discussing how the album was charting told eunah everything she needed to know. “to be honest, i don’t think i would’ve released this much solo music if i wasn’t in 7rophy. i think i’d maybe just be doing musicals full time … and then maybe i’d eventually release a christmas album like idina menzel.”

“like you said though, don’t worry too much about all of that shit. people will hear the emotion behind it. not everyone, but people will.” eunah gives jiwon’s arm a reassuring squeeze. she’s never too sure how reassuring her squeezes actually are, considering her hands are skinny, pointy and always cold. “my first solo song was let me in. it was … really personal to me as well, so i understand. that’s what made it the most scary for me, but as soon as it was released, i felt … free? not totally, but it felt like a small bit of the weight i’d been carrying was gone. once the song’s out, you can’t take it back. it’s kind of like going cliff jumping or something. it’s out and then it’s done. you can move on from it.”

“yeah, i do too. me is one of my favorites and i honestly thought that would’ve done better than it did. that’s true for a lot of our tracks actually.” each time they failed to get a win had shocked the older, as the title tracks had gotten better each time in her opinion. jiwon nods as she gets what eunah was saying. “wherever you are and whatever you are doing, i know i’ll be supporting you. hm, that makes me think about where i’d be if i wasn’t in 7rophy. hm, i’d probably be a dancer somewhere or a model. that probably would’ve been the fallback.” it wasn’t something jiwon liked to say, but she knew that she was pretty enough for that. she just wanted to be recognized for her talents.

eunah whined, wordlessly and low in her throat, embarrassed by jiwon’s praise, momentarily hiding her face in her hands. she shakes her head quickly, and holds up her hands to jiwon in protest. “no, no, it’s not magic or anything like that! it’s just …” what is it? eunah isn’t sure. she prefers keeping herself busy. if she’s busy, she doesn’t end up spending so much time thinking about her issues. she had built up so much freetime over the last few years thanks to 7rophy’s middling success, so having so little now doesn’t feel all that bad. it’s like she’s making up for all that lost time and opportunity. “i’ve just gotten lucky, i think.” not everything she touches turns to gold. she wishes. “it’s scary, actually. my songs are charting well. it’s really cool, and it feels amazing but … when they drop off the charts, it’s tough, and i’m always thinking, ‘what if what i release next can’t live up to that?’” a pause. eunah puts on a smile. “so i have to keep working hard! for my own sake!”

“i’m fine, though. i’m doing better. i think working so much comes into it though. i’ve been writing a lot of music, you know? that’s how i’ve been managing my emotions recently.” enough about eunah, though. she reaches over to jiwon and takes one of her hand in both of hers. “how about you? are you … nervous for i dream?”

“make sure you’re still taking care of yourself, okay? we don’t need a jiwon incident to happen to you.” jiwon paused to let out a sigh, which was an indicator she was going to be talking more than necessary about her take on things, even if it slightly missed the point or nearly got off track. “i remember when i used to be overly obsessed with how well our songs charted and what the public were saying. after a while, i realized that there would always be someone who prefers one song over the other and continue to hate any releases that weren’t similar to the song they like. i think of it this way. you’re still young and you have plenty of time to release whatever songs you create. sometimes you can’t always top the previous release, but that doesn’t mean you’re less talented. you know what you’re capable of and that it is achievable since you’ve done it before. so yeah, knowing that should push you to keep working hard, but it’s okay if something doesn’t chart as well. there will be people who love the song. take me for an example. i love everything you put out simply because you’re that good, and it’d be that way even if we weren’t in 7rophy. i can gaurantee that.”

like clockwork, jiwon was a nervous wreck. constant pacing and rocking back and forth on her feet, it was obvious there was a lot weighing on her mind. things like queendom, her song dimensions ever so nicely were allowing her to release, and other small things that she blew out of proportion. it was mainly her song that occupied her thoughts as releasing something apart from 7rophy caused a lot of uncertainty in a life full of predictability. it wasn’t promoted, so it wasn’t that much a big deal anymore, but the fact that it might not be well received still bugged her.

aesthetics 001. — Cho Jiwon.

“I’m actually the same way, so I understand where you’re coming from completely. Sometimes life needs to hit you upside your head just for you to take a step back and listen..” He shook his head, laughing slightly. “You’d be surprised how many people don’t need to learn the hard way. How many people realize that they’re tired and say ‘maybe I should take a break’, instead of ‘I’ll just work through it’.” Even to this day, Samsoo found himself saying words like that to himself - telling himself that he’ll take a break as soon as he was finished whatever he was doing. And whatever he was doing turned into another thing, then another thing, then another thing. Until he was so overworked that he didn’t even realize it. He was a stubborn man through and through, everyone who knew him knew that. “That’s the spirit! And once you realize your amazing art skills, you can show them off at variety shows and make even more people stan you and the other girls,” he joked. He glanced outwards, taking in their surroundings and exhaling slowly. It really was peaceful. “I’m not really a nature kind of person - I’m what people would call a ‘city boy’, but I can admit that being outside is nice sometimes.. When there’s not a lot going on.”

i’m just saying... @fmdxyoungjoo​ @fmdxchaeyeon​

alright!! if it isn’t obvious, i don’t have many plots or threads going on for my girls. leave a like and i’ll write a starter tomorrow when i get to emptying out my drafts. if you want a specific muse of mine, please leave a comment because i have like one, maybe two on a good day working brain cell. if you also want it for a specific muse (if you have multiple) please let me know because i, big brain estelle, will just assume. <333 

Samsoo listened to her words intently, nodding his head in understanding. He’d never participated on a show like that before, but he could understand being worked so hard that he felt drained and lifeless by the time he was able to make it back home and crawl into bed. Some nights he was so tired that he could barely find it in himself to change out of his clothes from the day and into his pajamas - the only thing keeping him from just falling into bed was his aversion to having outside clothes on when he slept in his bed. “I can understand that.. And as much as I hate to say it, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but.. it just is how it is. Sometimes as idols, it’s required that we put up with being drained and exhausted.” It was the hard truth, but it was a truth that Samsoo had come to terms with a long time ago. “It sucks, but I had to learn that the hard way.” It was an experience that wasn’t fun - him practically fainting the previous year during the height of Unity’s promotions, but it was one that set things into perspective for him. “It’s never too late to pick up the hobby again. You never know - in a few years, you could be a better artist than Picasso,” he joked, letting out a chuckle. “I think that’d be a good idea. Maybe you can come back here? It’s a nice place to get inspiration.”