Small Flames

a bit of a horror movie

     the stranger’s shout makes her laugh out of shock, not expecting her own yell to be met with one from the other. honestly, this is such an absurd sort of experience that saea is genuinely unsure of what’s going on. perhaps that was probably her fault for having fully zoned out in the area that they’re in. 

     “oh,” she comments dumbly, a bit confused as to why the man had been trying to get her attention in general. but she slowly realizes that he had said he was making sure she was okay. or possessed? saea lets out a snort of laughter, finding this situation genuinely almost comical if only because it’s kind of ridiculous if you think about it.

     “okay but,” she’s curious now, looking thoughtful. “what would you have done if i was possessed? like what if i was a ghost?” she asks, thinking it’s funny that that was the thing that he had mentioned out of all possibilities.

he had finally calmed down some, found his breath. now, he was sure that this other person wasn’t unwell or ill. now that he was calmer, gikwang stuck his hands in his pockets. he was super curious about why she was simply standing in the road like that.

was it on purpose?

instead, she had a question for him first. a little unexpected but it was one thing to think about. “being possessed and being a ghost are two different things though. i still think the outcome would be the same, if you were possessed, i’d run and if you were a ghost, i’d run.” as soon as the idea really set in and he could tell it was something un-natural. “or i’d pass out, i think i’d like to run but i think passing out would be what really happens.” 

"really, are you okay though, do you need any help?” 

“it’s halloween, dude! go wild, be free!” well, maybe not actually halloween. but, close enough! “also, crazy is fun! beats being boring.” he nods his head, stating it matter-of-fact. his eyebrows raise, mouth parting in surprise as he blinks. “seriously? whoa. please, i gotta see this!” he’ll be sure to remind gikwang later, when there’s no threat of injury or potential authorities around to stop them.

stevie wiggles his brows. “maybe i do!” he quips back, cheeky. “i’m psychic! or. wait. that’s not seeing the future.” is it? stevie frowns in thought. “clairvoyance? dunno. either way, not the focus! i’m just here for you, man.” stevie reaches up to pat the older on the shoulder, grinning. “you’ve got this! either way, it’ll be fun, yeah?” at least it’ll be fun to watch. the cold water and dunking probably doesn’t feel the best, but it’s all about the experience.

straightening up at the call of gikwang’s name, he takes the bow and arrow equipment carefully, staring down at it curiously before snapping out of it; he returns his attention to gikwang, giving a single nod, expression a focused type of seriousness. “i got you! good luck, dude.” he shoots a grin at the thumbs up, shifting and shuffling to the side so he can see better. he fumbles a bit with the equipment so he can use one hand to record; he clicks the record button on his camera as quickly as he can, smiling to himself as he watches gikwang. he lets out a loud whoop! cheering loudly for the other with happy laughter. “go, gikwang, go!”

gikwang found himself taking a breath, placing his hands behind his back before he went for it. the water was cold when he went in, it took him a moment to gather himself. once he got pass that, gikwang was a go when it came to the apples. coming up every once in a while for air and to drop an apple in the basket next to him. it passed as mostly a blur until he heard someone call stop.

when it was all said and done, gikwang found himself coming in second place. just one apple short. a towel had been handed off to him and gikwang used to it clean his face, his shoulders and getting a bit of his hair as well. once he said thank you to the judges, he made his way back to stevie. “i didn’t win but i came close.” 

maybe elsa is a bit outdated of a costume, but who says you have to be trendy? it’s all about having fun, going all out and looking good. and stevie knows he does. he’s no elsa, but he looks good– maybe it’s the confidence that helps, with how he walks the streets in the classic elsa dress from frozen (the first one, he stresses). he shuffles through the road, heading to the meeting place he planned to meet gikwang at. he peers around, trying to find the older until he catches sight of him. perking up at the other, stevie lifts a hand in a wave, grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “hey there!” he greets, wrapping an arm around the other to return the hug before stepping back. he glances over at the apple bobbing station, watching the current ones go at it before directing his attention back to gikwang.

adjusting his dress and tugging it up a bit so it doesn’t get too dirty dragging around, he lifts his eyes up to gikwang, and glances over his costume. “guess? uh.” stevie frowns in thought, staring intensely. he tilts his head this way and that, tongue beginning to peek out the corner of his mouth. “you…are you from marvel?” he asks, nothing coming to mind right away. “whatever it is, i like it. you look good!” stevie shoots the other a thumbs up, cheeky grin tugging at his mouth. “dude, i bet you’re going to kill it.” stevie hasn’t done this since he was a kid. at the question, he lets out a thoughtful noise, brows furrowing. “i’m not sure.” he admits. “i have my shawl though if you need to dry off quickly.” he lifts up the piece of sheer, see through fabric from his frozen costume. “dunno how much it’d help. but it should be fine. they wouldn’t do it if it was like…a hazard or something, right?”

"not from marvel but i’ll take it. and the plan was to look good.” so, at least he was able to pull that off. “i’m an archer. i was going to go as robin hood but...eh, i didn’t like the costume.” and like he said, he wanted to look cool. sue him. “check it out.” sian turned, letting stevie see the bow and arrow’s on his back before turning around. “elsa right?” he looked stevie over, gikwang wouldn’t mistake that costume at all. he couldn’t get away from the movie when it came out. once or twice was fun but after that, he was sure his little sister did that to mess with him. 

All of that flew out of his mind once he finally found Stevie in the crowd, right where they promised to meet. “Hey!” The word came out In English and he wrapped his friend in a half-hug. His eyes on the others that were currently finishing up this round of apple bobbing. “Can you guess what my costume is?” Would the other even get a hint of robin hood, Gikwang doubted it. “I’m ready for my turn, I’ve been practicing my apple grabbing skills, trust me, though I wonder, does someone catch a head cold if they keep dunking their head in water for a game?”

a bit of a horror movie

     she’s tired.

     that’s an understatement honestly. with everything going on in her life—namely just being busy since it’s comeback season right now so her fansite business means she’s not sleeping much and also her busking team has been practicing late into the night as usual—she’s been exhausted. but there’s no stopping her from going, going, going …

     on the walk home from the dance studio to her apartment, saea finds herself zoning out more than usual. she gets momentarily distracted by a cat in the bushes, and then just stands there and zones out, staring into the dark. part of her knows that it would be better to go home and sleep before she heads to music show promotions in the morning but she kind of just blanks out entirely.

     she vaguely hears someone calling out though it only barely registers in the back of her mind. writing it off as not being related to her, saea startles slightly when the flashlight appears in her line of sight and she whips her head around to squint into the light. “what?!” she’s probably being too loud but oh well.

honestly, he was second’s away from just calling the police and getting out of here. at this point, he wasn’t really expecting a response. what would come? he wasn’t sure and he was sure he didn’t want to find out. 

so, nothing prepared him for the little shout. and it wasn’t even the thing that really scared him. no, it was the sudden movement. her suddenly turning around. that was more than enough to give gikwang a scare. his brain had made the connection that said a word but gikwang’s response was a short scream, it took a second to calm himself down. 

“jesus christ!” was that finally came out, “i had been asking if you were okay or needed help.” his heart rate was slowing at least. “you were just standing there, i didn’t know if you had been injured or if you were possessed.” 

heyo, soyi is done so now it's time for gikwang! he'll also be hanging around the event all weekend long so there's plenty to plot!

hashtag.

“exactly! i mean, you might try it out and not really vibe with it. that’s okay. some things are not for everyone, but at least you made an effort.” that sounds like something his dad would say. stevie swallows tightly and shakes his head quickly, hair flopping around his face as he wills that thought away. clearing his throat, he tugs the beanie on his head further on his head, fiddling with his hair.

it feels surreal that gikwang had been an idol once. he was on television, he was a celebrity. and honestly, still kind of is, in stevie’s eyes. the more he leans about gikwang, the more cool he seems. “that’s crazy. you even have experience under your belt. i think you’d get a bit of a jumpstart with that alone.” people love that; he’s seen so many former idol videos pop up on his feed and how many views they snag; the people love a good underdog, someone not in the mainstream. stevie sees that it could go well for him.

“ah, true.” makes sense. “that sounds good! the networking will help too.” blinking, stevie laughs and grins widenly. “me? sure, i’ll edit! i can’t do anything fancy, but i can make it look sick.” he loves doing deep dives on editing tricks and styles. maybe he can watch a few of his favorite creators and get some inspiration. see what the competition is like. “i’ll make you look cool, don’t you worry!”

“that is a good way to make someone feel comfortable trying something new. it seems like even some of the young ones had can give some wise advice.” sure they were only about four or five years apart but it made him old, especially if it leaned more five than four. still, he gave the other a smile as he did so because he did mean it. that was a good way to think about, if it wasn’t something he wanted to in the end, it’d be okay to step away. 

“that’s true..” he did have some experience, it wasn’t much but it was something. maybe, it wasn’t enough to help him hit big but it was enough to push him a little on youtube. “i don’t even know if our group still has fans....” not that they had much before.  “or, if anyone keep’s up with us now that we’re disbanded.” he did have a nice amount of follower’s on instagram but he didn’t know how many knew about his music. “but it is something right?” gikwang also, didn’t want to be a downer on stevie’s kindness. “do you think it’s too attention grabbing if i put our group’s name in the title.”

@besaea​

gikwang found himself stuck, a little unsure of what to do. who could blame him? for the most part, gikwang had been minding his business, paying no attention to what was happening around him. his earphones were in and he was planned on cutting through the park to take a little time off his trip to the gym. on the way, he had passed a girl, someone. just standing there. it was a little odd, it played in the back of his mind. enough that he couldn’t help but turn around and peek, she was still standing there. 

and then, he was a little worried, back tracking a bit. he was a safe distance away. he wondered if he should get a little closer but at the same, this it was just a tad too scary at night. “hey!” he didn’t mind calling rather loudly, “are you okay? do you need help?” because no one would be that perfectly still right? he found himself inching closer, pulling his phone out to turn on the flashlight. “can you hear me?” and did he need to call the police. that was the biggest question. 

hashtag.

“really?” stevie blinks, smile curving wider on his face as he straightens up. “i think you’d do really well. i think people would like you.” you could do a lot on youtube. gikwang could do vocal tutorials if he wanted, do a whole load of teaching and giving resources on youtube; could settle into analyzing or reacting to vocal stuff– he could upload his own stuff if he wanted. youtube is such a large platform, there’s a plethora. there’s something for everybody, that’s the saying, right? something like that. anyway, you could basically do anything. 

“i mean, doesn’t hurt to try right? that’s how i did it.” his shoulders lift in a shrug, chuckling. “you kidding? duh! number one subscriber. especially if i gave you the idea.” there’s a cheeky twist to his smile, eyebrows wiggling. “could be your…promoter too! give you a shout out or two. help build a little community for you. but i still think people would like you! you’re really nice. very helpful!” his head bobs in a nod, smile eager and genuine. “what kind of stuff would you…want to do? would you like, wanna do teaching stuff? or…i dunno. there’s so much.” stevie hums in thought. “just takes time and effort, but so does everything else, right?”

gikwang managed to stop himself from really responding, but he couldn’t say he shared the same thought. he had been in a group after all, he did made his debut and shortly after, they disbanded. if he couldn’t gain traction with a company behind him, how would he succeed on youtube? he didn’t voice his thoughts though, he had learned to read the room and he didn't want to bring stevie down.