barbie

                                         “I Don’t Need U. „

FULL NAME: Hyunmi Barbie Lee NICKNAME(S): Barbie, Hyunni, Mimi AGE: 26 | August 20, 1996 GENDER & PRONOUNS: Cisfemale, She/her FACE CLAIM: Park Sooyoung EYE COLOR: Brown HAIR COLOR: Black HEIGHT: 5′6″ OCCUPATION: Twitch streamer, Influencer HOMETOWN: Hidehill, TN (moved to Los Angeles when she was 18) NEIGHBORHOOD: Hartley Avenue

x

“Barbie I’m not going anywhere” he tried his best to reassure her. “Even if it’s not whatever this is, i’ll still be here as a friend. You can’t get rid of me that easily.” She smiled at her. In the past he had lost people he loved because he was young and didn’t fight for them, he didn’t want to make those same mistakes again. Even after this whole PR stunt and the contacts came to an end, even if she decided she didn’t want to pursue a relationship with him then he’d respect that. They didn’t have to be a thing but whatever they were he’d still be there for her. As a friend, as somebody she only hit up when she needed a shoulder to cry on, whatever it was he didn’t care.

“You know me, Barbie. When have I ever not been honest with you? I think I’ve made it clear from the start whenever I wasn’t happy.” Charlie paused for a moment before smiling, the smile disappearing as he watched her pull away “no, thank you.” He responded strangely, he wasn’t sure exactly what was going on right now. “Uh.. sure.. if that’s what you want I guess?” He raised an eyebrow as he stood up off of his bed. “I’ll uh.. get the staff to make up the room for you I suppose? If that’s what you want?”

x

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep..” she’d heard it many times before. People saying they wouldn’t leave her and then she turns around and they’re gone. It wasn’t that she completely didn’t trust what the football player was saying, but she was so worried that her personality would become too much for him and he would just be done with her. Maybe that was why she’d been trying to find ways to sabotage it and put and end to whatever was happening between them. She just knew that she would tire him out sooner or later. 

For a while, she thought about whether or not she wanted to stay in the room with him or take herself to her room and be alone. The way he kept asking had her wondering if she should just stay with him, but would that be for the best when she was highly emotional? “Y-yeah... that’s what I want...” she was clearly unsure of herself, but figured if he wanted her to stay with him then he would ask. 

Hyunmi: I've been doing a lot of thinking..

“You don’t think I know that? I’ve spent more time with her than I have with you since you moved back here,” he replied, his voice raising. It wasn’t like him to lose his cool, but a part of him was beyond tired. He grabbed her hands, holding one in each of his own as he looked down at his little sister, letting his voice be calm before speaking. “What’d you want me to do, Hyunmi? You wanted me to defend you? Tell our parents that you deserved more?” he asked. “You didn’t have to be the one to pick up broken pieces of glass in the middle of the night because your parents were fighting over you. You didn’t have to be the one that was scrutinized and screamed at and made to feel less than if you were anything other than perfect. I put up with it my entire life, so that you didn’t have to.” The words left his lips with a sigh, stepping back and letting her hands go, fully intending to leave after he’d spoken. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you in the way you wanted, but all I wanted was to protect you. They were never going to love you, or me.” Jae looked around, the presence of secuirty guards hearing this entire conversation making him uncomfortable. “I’m leaving. Just unblock my number for emergencies.” He turned around, heading for the door.

x

For the first time since they’d come in contact with one another again, Barbie’s features completely softened. If she were being completely honest, she hadn’t known any of the issues their parents were facing because she was that much of an outcast in their eyes. There was always a pair of headphones keeping her secluded from the world around her. “At least they fought over you...” she said softly as she looked up at her brother with tears streaming down her face. “I wanted to be punished.. to be yelled at. I wanted something I did to matter to them at all. Why do you think I started acting out?” she questioned him, her lips tightening with anger as she thought about the neglect she faced. “I didn’t know you were dealing with all of that, though... I care about you. You’re the only brother I have.” her head nodding as she ran her fingers through her hair and watched him head toward the door. “Make sure you get home safely..”

x

Achara was a very emotional person, she often cried when things became stressful for her or maybe when they were watching movies together. She’d never cried because of how Barbie had acted with her before, this was a new one for her. “I like.. forgive you I guess..” Achie shrugged her shoulders slightly before looking at her friend once more. “I like.. don’t want you to be home like all the time.. just like sometimes..” she sighed “I enjoy filming with you.. like it’s fun.. I just don’t like being alone you know?” she knew it would take some adjusting into this town but she didn’t think she’d struggle this much with it. Achara stood frozen for a moment at the mention of her Jae, quickly shaking her head at her. “No, me and Jae are like.. just friends or whatever.. I’m sorry we did that.. It was a once time thing and we are like.. never doing that again..”

x

Their differences drew them closer together in many ways. Where Barbie needed to learn herself, dive deeper into her emotions and really pull that side out of her, Achara was learning to lead with her mind sometimes. It didn’t seem to stick for the most part, for either of them really, but they were trying. “Totally like... listen like I don’t even think Charlie like.. frickin’ cares whether I’m home or at his. So like.. I’ll be home more.” she hadn’t realized that her spending every day with Charlie would have this response from Achara, but she appreciated her being honest and telling her how she felt. “Achara... I like totally know you like the back of my frickin’ hand. You’re so gonna catch feelings and I just like... don’t need you getting hurt. So like... just be careful.”

“Whatever is going on between the two of us, is between the two of us. And not you. I like to keep my word, so when we literally just said that we’d stay out of each other’s hair, I meant it. If you want to know more, maybe you should ask the person who’s not a stranger to you.” he responded, unable to contain his annoyance. A part of him had taken his little sister calling him a stranger personally, the way he felt coming out in his words. “I care about her, and she’s the last person I’d ever want to hurt. You don’t scare me in the slightest, so you can keep all your threats and jabs about how you don’t give a shit about me to yourself.”

x

Barbie couldn’t believe her brother was stood there speaking to her the way that he was. Arms folded over her chest, she was visibly shaking as she continued to stand her ground as she returned the rapid fire responses to him. “No, Jaehyun. That’s where you’re wrong. I brought her all the way here from Los Angeles and anything that happens to her is my responsibility. She can’t even work a fucking toaster without my help!” for the first time since they starts speaking, she shouted at him, the security guards awkwardly watching along and unsure of what to do. “Don’t say that you care about her when you just met her. I swear to God if you hurt her, you will regret the day you were born. She is more family to me than you have ever been! When were you there for me?” tears lining her eyes as she reached out to lightly punch his chest repeatedly with her questions. “When? When when!? I needed you to be there for me and I’ll be damned if you take that same carefree attitude into whatever it is you have going on with Achara..”

x

Charlie had never seen this side to her before, she was always so strong and had her walls up high. She usually had a smart mouth, a quick witty come back and would very easily shut down if she needed to. He was seeing a more human side the her which he honestly hadn’t expected, he had no idea what had set her off when he sent his driver for her with the bigger car. He figured she’d had a small disagreement with Achara or her brother but he hadn’t expected it to upset her this much. He certainly hadn’t expected her to begin opening up to her the way she had, of course it wasn’t nice to hear and he hated seeing her like this but it helped him understand her more as a person than some temporary contract in his life.

“That really sucks, Barbie.” He nodded as she spoke. “I’m sorry you had to grow up like that.. in his shadow or whatever..” he wasn’t the best with words, he’d never really been a talker about feelings himself but he would try his best to comfort her however he could. “I get it though, I grew up in my brothers shadow too.. It’s tough but we made it out and look at us both now.” He smiled at her as he placed his hand on hers and gave it a light squeeze. “I’m sure you and Achara will make it out of this, it’s just a bump in the road. I’m sure it’s the same for Jae too but you also shouldn’t feel pressured to forgive them either. They’re both adults and knew what they were doing.” He half smiled at her sympathetically “but I think you just need some rest for now.”

x

Barbie herself had a hard time remembering that she was human, with emotions, thoughts and feelings. Because if the carefully curated wall she’d built for herself, she’d rarely tapped into her emotions properly and it caused many issues for her along the way. Dating in Los Angeles was nearly non-existent for her because whereas she was difficult, there was always some clout chasing girl who was willing to bend for the man. She wouldn’t, though. Always sticking strong in her personal thoughts and beliefs, she wanted to be someone who spoke without regret. Being unapologetic about everything she’d said and done. But she felt terrible for how she treated Achara. Maybe she even felt a little bad about closing her brother out once again, but she didn’t feel the need to forgive him as easily.

“Just promise me one thing…” she said to Charlie as she looked down at their hands. “If you get tired of me… just tell me. I would rather you be honest with me…” she was aware that this request was random. But, whenever she would have one of her meltdowns, she’d grown accustomed to people leaving her life. Be it quietly or not. “If you want me out of your life, just tell me. I don’t think I can handle dishonesty…” she immediately pulled away from him though. Realizing that she had been opening up to Charlie and it freaked her out if she were being honest. “I’ll… um.. thank you..” she looks away to avoid eye contact. “Maybe I should.. yeah I’ll go to my room..”

“Good.” He’d ignore how he felt right now, forcing a blank look onto his face with her words. They truly were two completely different people, and even if once upon a time he’d planned on telling her about their parents and what he’d gone through, he had no intentions of that anymore. “You’re right. We’re strangers. You live your life, and I’ll live mine.” he replied firmly. Ready to turn and walk outside, he found himself stopping at her next words, something about them making him snap inside. A scoff escaped his lips, glancing up at her. “Don’t read into things. We aren’t seeing each other, and besides, it’s none of your business, right?”

x

Barbie turned quickly, immediately making her way down the stairs to get in his personal space. “She’s my friend. I care about her far more than I could ever muster up any ounce of care for you. So yeah, it is my business. I know Achara... whatever you two did wasn’t just some little hookup in passing. I hope that you’ve had a conversation with her... before telling me you two aren’t seeing each other. If she gets hurt, I swear to God I’ll make sure you never service another animal for as long as you live.” her nostrils flared as she looked up at her older brother, breathing heavy with irritation. 

There was a time in his life where he’d felt very alone. Barbie left for LA, to make a life for herself, and he’d lost the only person he’d considered family. At that time, Jae had wanted nothing more than to see her. But right now, he wasn’t sure it felt that way, watching her pull out her phone and begin to record him. “Fine, I’ll make it quick then,” he let out. “Everything that happened was my fault, so take it out on me and not her. I know the two of you are close, and we aren’t. So, just forgive your best friend and kick me out of your life again, alright?” Maybe it was the fact that she couldn’t even have a normal conversation with him, but the next words that were said under his breath were unintentional.  “Shouldn’t be too hard for you, anyways.”

x

Once he finished his explanation, she pressed the button to stop recording and nodded her head slowly. “I already spoke with Achara. We’re fine.” she clarified for him, tossing her hair over her shoulder and looking up toward the ceiling in search of her next words. “But... I don’t know you. You’re like.. a stranger to me. So I would appreciate if you don’t impose on my personal space again.” her eyes finally came back down to meet his, swallowing the lump in her throat as she attempted to stand her ground. “I think that’s perfect. Stay out of my hair and I’ll stay out of yours.” She then turned to go back up the stairs, only stopping to look over her shoulder at him. “And I think you should keep seeing her if you like her. She’s an amazing girl and... she seems to really appreciate you from what she said to me.”

x

Achara wore her heart on her sleeve and it was either her greatest trait or ultimately her downfall with people. she wasn’t the smartest person but she had a heart of gold and only ever wanted to make people happy. Growing up with her parents at each others throats all the time up until their divorce it caused her to avoid conflict at all cost, it’s what made her into the people pleaser she was today. She turned to face her friend once more as she called out to her, her cheeks tear stained as she frowned at her. “I like.. totally love you as well.. you know that..” she shrugged. Barbie had been her rock now for many years and she trusted her with her life. “I like get it.. I fucked up.. I know..” she sighed “but it obviously like upsets me.. I’m like all alone here Barbie.. I don’t really know anyone and like.. I’m sorry about me and Jae.. but he was just like.. always here for me and like super nice..” she trailed off as she stopped for a moment “I’m just like.. in this town that I don’t know.. with these people that are like.. very different from me.. and you’re like with Charlie.. I’m just like all alone and he kept me company..”

x

It took making Achara cry for the first time in their friendship for her to realize she needed to look inward and reevaluate how she managed stressful situations. Instead of looking for the first hurtful thing to say and chalking them up as another lost relationship, she needed to think about her feelings. Maybe therapy was something she should be considering at the moment. “I’m sorry, Achie... I like totally didn’t mean anything I said...” she went over to pull the other into a hug, rubbing her back gently. “I’ll come home more often... and we don’t have to film everything. We can spend time together.. no cameras involved.” and now it was time to address the whole Jae situation. “As for my brother... I’m happy if you like him but like... it was just... doing that in my room is what upset me..” she nodded her head and let her friend go, but keeping ahold of her wrists. “I’m sorry again..”

closed starter for @barbiexlee​

location: charlie’s home

It was hard for him to not feel some form of annoyance towards his sister, growing tired of how she treated the people around her, himself included. Truthfully, there were days when it hardly felt like she was related to him, their relationship always feeling broken, and Jae even wondering why she came back to Hidehill in the first place. He’d knew he made a mistake, doing what he’d done in her room. But for once, he’d wished she would talk to him instead of taking things to a public forum. He stood in Charlie’s foyer, the security guards outside letting him in, watching as his little sister come down the stairs. “I told you that we needed to talk, Barbie.”

...

Barbie had done a bout of her own reflection after speaking to Charlie. She wasn’t the most forgiving person, often times simply cutting people off without a second thought in the world. She could have easily done that to her brother again, but not to Achara. Someone she genuinely cared about. When she was notified that she had a guest, she surely wasn’t expecting her brother so the smile she initially had was she started down the grand staircase immediately disappeared. “Oh you have totally have to be frickin’ shitting me right now..” she said under her breath. “Okay well.. you stay over there... and you tell me what you need to say. One step closer, and I’ll make them drag you out.” she then pulled her phone out and opened the camera, swiping over to video and hitting record. “Go on.”

x

Barbie had never spoken to her this way before, it hurt to hear her be so cruel and she tried to push it off as her being upset but part of her couldn’t. She would have never said anything like this to her, it didn’t matter the circumstances but she wouldn’t have said them. Achara couldn’t stop the tears from flowing out as she stood there and listened to what she had to say, her eyebrows furrowed in anger. “You’re like.. so mean..” she trailed off not really sure what to say right now. “I would like.. never say anything like that to you..” she shook her head “how can I like.. always be there when you’re just.. like.. never even here?” She asked honestly. “If you like.. really feel that way about me then.. I don’t know like.. I’ll just go back to LA.” She spoke softly before shrugging her shoulders. The last thing she wanted to do was be around somebody who felt that way. “Yeah.. I’m sure they’re like super strong.. anyway..” she wiped the tears from her face as she turned to head to her room.

x

Barbie had a way of saying things she didn’t mean in the moment. She’d done it to many in the past, but she never thought it’d get to that point with Achara of all people. She loved her like a sister, no one could ever replace her and there she was, treating her like a stranger on the street. “Like... Achara..” she called out to her friend, finally breaking and letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks. “I like... totally love you. I just... like... I don’t know..” talking about her feelings wasn’t easy for her at all. She’d never even heard the words ‘I love you’ from her own parents. She’d only ever truly discovered what love was because of Achara. Someone who was in her corner no matter what. She didn’t want to ruin that. “I like.. don’t want you to leave. You’re the only family I’ve ever like... known. You’re the only sibling I’ve like.. ever really had. I just.. am hurting..” admitting that nearly caused her to vomit on the spot, but she held it together. “And like... I’ve only been gone like a week.. how could you... like... does it like really upset you that I’m always at Charlie’s?”

x

Charlie was placing Barbie’s suitcases to one side, she could unpack them later when she was ready because she clearly needed him right now more than to figure out where she wanted her things. Sitting down on his bed beside her her turned his body to face her, a sympathetic nod of his head as he hurt her feelings. He couldn’t understand exactly why this upset her, he knew she was mad and he understood the frustration considering he’d had the same experience recently. He did understand however the guilt she was feeling over her blow up with Achara. “You both just need some time” he spoke as he brought his hand up to her cheeks to wipe the tears away. “She shouldn’t have done what she did and yeah I’m sure her feelings are hurt but I’m sure she understands why you feel this way.”

x

Had anyone told her she would be sat here with Charlie Abbott venting out her feelings, she would’ve laughed in their faces. He didn’t seem like the type to care at all, but he was right there with her, validating all of her feelings. “You know.. I’ve always wished I was an only child...” she sniffled, using her hand to wipe away her own tears as she moved closer to Charlie, placing her head on his shoulder. “My parents.. all they cared about was Jaehyun this and Jaehyun that..” the Valley Girl persona she’d made for herself was fading, reverting to the well-spoken tone she’d had most of her life. “And I envied him... a lot. I did... so sometimes I kicked myself.. like... thinking.. was I being too harsh to him... did he care about me more than I told myself?” a bitter laugh following her words. 

“But no... something he’d always known about me... how my personal belongings... mean the world to me. Because I never had anything for myself. I had to fucking work in high school if I didn’t wanna wear boys’ clothes they’d bought my brother but didn’t fit. And he just... spat right in my face.” she looked down at the floor, recalling every memory she had of her parents ignoring her. All she wanted was for someone, anyone, to treat her like she meant something to them. Achara was that person. But now she felt like she couldn’t even trust her anymore.

Barbie: [read at 7:21pm]

Jae: anyway.

Jae: i'll be at your boyfriend's place in 20 minutes.

Jae: yes, we do.

Jae: i haven't said sorry.

x

Seeing her best friend this mad at her was a new experience, she hated what was happening between them. It felt as though a piece of her was missing watching her best friend completely lose it with her, packing her things away instead of talking this out with her. She felt her lip tremble slightly as she took a deep breath, “but like… I didn’t mean it.. you have to like believe me..” she paused as she shook her head with a huff “maybe you can like.. talk to to him and he can explain..” she was grasping at straws but she was trying everything. “I don’t like to take help myself to your things.. please stop..” she wiped at her eyes before looking down at the luggage, a small sniffle before speaking “oh yeah.. sure..” she agreed as she tried to lift one of the bags but failed to do so “oh.. these are like.. really heavy..”

x

“Let me explain this in a like.. totally simple way for your frickin’ little pea brain to like.. get it.” Barbie shooed her away from the bags and looked her in the eyes with her fingers all pressed together. “You like... felt so entitled so my frickin’ space that now I can’t even stomach looking at it because you did what you frickin’ did. I don’t hate you like... we’ll be alright. I just need some space..” she finally informed the other, pursing her lips after the admission. “You’re just like.. always there.. and like... maybe I put way too much trust into someone I met at a party when we were both high off of our asses..” it hurt her to say what she was saying, but her mouth was moving and she couldn’t stop. “Now.. if you’ll like... excuse me.. I’m gonna like.. ask the driver to help me with all of this.”

Jae: we need to talk.

Barbie: no we don't.