* 열기.

"where's the humble pie for dessert?" ara asks with a sly brow that moves upwards, but she's not being serious. they've playfully bickered about this before, and ara never means it. if anyone would pick between the two of them, nora would always be the more personable, friendly and adored one for sure. ara comes across as... too serious, in her own opinion. and while fully aware, she does not want to change it at all. so far, its done her well in life... so no complaints. "cheat day, cheat week. it'll be... fine."

"i haven't given much thought into job hunting, not since being hired at the studio," nora muses, mind momentarily wondering as she thinks back to the first day she'd stepped into her title as an instructor. from the start, nora had known the studio wouldn't be a forever thing, and the hours worked well for the limited availability she had, so she'd seen no reason to disrupt the carefully curated flow she's worked hard in crafting for herself. now, however, nora can't help but let her mind wander more often— she was due to graduate in the next year, internships and proper work prospects glinting off in the distance, and with the number of acquaintances seemingly being scooped up by talent agencies left and right . . . maybe it was time for nora to start devising her next course of action. "it's been nice, but it won't last forever. not for me, anyway."

when it comes to dressing-up, no matter what the occasion, claudine always makes sure to give it her all. in the first place, her number one policy has always been the mantra of never doing anything half-heartedly, which she applies to everything within her reach. as an avid cosplayer ( and a professional one , might she add, although she assumes she’ll have to put that side job of hers in the back burner now ), she is no stranger to putting forth an elaborate costume with the convincing make-up alongside it. now that she’s aware of the axis halloween party, having become a trainee herself, of course she’d put forth her best. it’s only natural, nothing can stop her from going the extra milestone when the subject matter is anything close to cosplay.

"sober and halloween are two words that've never mixed in my own personal experience, but . . . i guess there is always a first for everything," nora concedes, eyes rolling slightly with an absence of heat. far from labeling herself a party animal ( mainly because nora rarely had the time to allow herself such fun on a regular basis ), nora liked to think she had a healthy balance when it came to both her virtues and vises— never one to overdo things, only partaking in leisure responsibly. so, while only a bit annoyed, it makes sense for a party hosted by axis to be carried out with a certain decorum.

"i do prefer the private noraebang rooms but for a good cause and performance, i'm down for it." after being signed as a new trainee, there is a bit of hesitance of what she did in public but - a good song being recorded cannot be bad. she's pretty much a nobody, but maybe it could count for something in the future. if nothing else, its practice. "yes, need a drink to get in to the mood and that'll give me some time to think of a song to sing too. did you want to... sing something that was actually holiday themed or any old song in general? or is there even an option?" ara tries to crawl through her membrane for some songs that were from spooky-themed shows, but the only thing that comes to mind is the song that Wednesday danced to from the show she didn't even watch. the show got so viral...

"chances to come out like this don't happen as often as they should, but i'd suspect our schedules will be better aligned now as i get used to training," nora muses offhandedly, a hum following in her words wake, lips pursed as she flips through the songbook with focused eyes. "let's go with something a little fun to start out with? something to warm us up before we try and tackle anything crazy, but nothing too outrageous . . . oh!" not for the first time, nora finds herself alight with inspiration, a hand reaching out to grip aras arm gently. noras smile grows slightly larger, a brow raised. "what about something from hocus pocus? you know, the song the witches sing at the halloween party— i put a spell on you." something not too outrageous, nora had said . . . who was she kidding.

seojun isn't usually one to end up at a party unless it was one run at the axis building or by a friend. he always felt to awkward especially since he knew he wouldn't be too familiar with everyone there. here he was through, finding his way around and dressed up in a pirate costume. he tried his best to be as unique as possible as well as feel comfortable. he just keeps to himself mostly, being friendly when someone talks to him but finding any chance to sneak away.

it's a surprise seeing him here, their paths rarely crossing these days despite having a decent amount of overlap when it came to the circles they ran with, different lives and schedules occupying their time. truthfully, nora can't remember the last time has the chance to have a proper conversation with seojun, so this encounter is one nora doesn't find herself minding. considering the freshly signed contract with her name back at the company building she would now be frequenting alongside him, the shorter supposes now is the perfect time to catch up a little.

"i mean... we should have probably looked up reviews then before spontaneously doing this." if anything, everyone else looks to be rather engrossed and he's doing his best to keep his voice quiet to not disturb them as the guide is leading them around the path, as they huddle like little school kids on their worst behaviour. "there a few more ways i can think of having fun that didn't have us roaming through a.... really grimey hall?" his sleeve caught onto one of the walls and it must be true what the guide said about this place being abandoned because ew, the amount of dirt that came off on to his already neutral shirt. bad idea. following viral trends or whatever was hip but they were already here. "i could have dressed better for this though."

"the one time i decide the dive into something without any prior knowledge to prepare myself, and of course, it's something as . . . interesting as this," nora finds herself muttering under her breath, tone dry and low as to not let anyone outside of their direct range hear. it was one thing to talk badly amongst trusted company in private, but it was a while different story when trying to voice thoughts as they came in the moment without directing unwanted heated attention your way. ordinarily, nora cared little about how others viewed her, but she'd like to at least try and keep their excursion from being any more unsettling than it already was. "next time, we can just do something nice and less dirtying like a scary movie marathon."

deer in headlights.

"it's a good thing my leisure savings are on the heavier side right now, i'd hate to be out too much for something that might not be worth it . . . my expectations are rather high for this, so if this is anything less than amazing, i'll be more than disappointed," nora responds, delivery just as hushed as minsoos had been, brows furrowed slightly as her gaze wanders atounf the space with acute alertness. she hasn't ever been the easiest to scare, a skeptic in many ways who preferred exercising rational thought when it came to more outlandish events, but there's no denying the way her shoulders seem to tense as the two follow along with the group. so far, if nothing else, nora will say the atmosphere is doing wonders.