aspirational -;

"i have some water and snacks," he slid the open bag further down the table towards risa, a little out of breath from rushing back to their little work area.

cam had respected the other trainee from the first time they had met. it took confidence and an outgoing side to go around a new company like sr media and hand out goody bags like she had. they had gotten on pretty smoothly from there. cam didn't have much time as a trainee there over her but he had been there long enough to show her some helpful spots to get alone time, and what studios had the better mics for playback.

it was a nice little friendship they'd found in each other so it made sense to work together on something for the songwriting camp. cam had a little experience with writing, it was something that was essentially expected of him at the old company and then it was something he dabbled in lightly in between those periods of his life- mostly in the form of poetry in his journal, never really progressing into the stage of formal lyrics. he was getting a bit better with writing his own raps though, practise and dedication had gotten him somewhere at least.

cam was a good friend, offering pointers and advice on the best spots to decompress, and what days not to get a certain meal from the cafeteria- which kou certainly wouldn't know, or remember for that matter. so being paired with him wasn't nearly as much of a burden as it would be with a stranger.

"i'll take a look, don't worry." he hummed in response as he skimmed over the notebook's page and then went back in with the capped end of his pen to better comb through. "i can imagine, but it'll get better with time."

cam would consider himself pretty fluent in korean. it was something his family had kept up at home despite being in a foreign country where he had to predominately communicate in english, and he had improved even more during his years back in korea. he wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to not be caught at first contact and he was able to mostly articulate himself with little issues.

"i'm still learning new words, even now- like here, you could use a shorter word." he reached over for his led pencil and lightly wrote out the alternative word he was thinking of. "that might flow better."

"i'm not always a patient person though," she quips with a laugh, thinking of the duolingo levels she skipped, and how ashamed she felt having to restart anyway. "oooohhhh," risa nods dutifully as she peers at the change cam pointed out, noting how it made much more sense in this context than what she had.

"right, that's definitely it. maybe that should be our concept," he jokes back, pausing his instinctive fidgeting to put his pencil to its proper use, beginning to doodle a large block-letter English R across the top-left corner of the page.

"listen, i'm lucky they didn't put me with someone who expects me to speak chinese, because i don't do much of that either," he confesses, his shoulders already a little less tense now that he feels less obligated to pretend to be someone he isn't for another company's trainee just so they aren't miserable for the next hour and change.

"also, 'ren' is fine," he adds, "'renyi' always sounds like i'm in trouble." he'll spare his new acquaintance the gritty details, but something tells him she'll understand that much.

as much of a partial punishment or joke it may have been to the lecturer, it seems like risa and ren might be a much better match than anticipated, and that's even more of a relief. "aw, i was going to practice my mandarin on you," she smiles and shrugs the joke away, nodding as she writes his name down on the corner of her own notebook next to partner: "ren, got it."

"i have some water and snacks," he slid the open bag further down the table towards risa, a little out of breath from rushing back to their little work area.

cam had respected the other trainee from the first time they had met. it took confidence and an outgoing side to go around a new company like sr media and hand out goody bags like she had. they had gotten on pretty smoothly from there. cam didn't have much time as a trainee there over her but he had been there long enough to show her some helpful spots to get alone time, and what studios had the better mics for playback.

it was a nice little friendship they'd found in each other so it made sense to work together on something for the songwriting camp. cam had a little experience with writing, it was something that was essentially expected of him at the old company and then it was something he dabbled in lightly in between those periods of his life- mostly in the form of poetry in his journal, never really progressing into the stage of formal lyrics. he was getting a bit better with writing his own raps though, practise and dedication had gotten him somewhere at least.

cam was a good friend, offering pointers and advice on the best spots to decompress, and what days not to get a certain meal from the cafeteria- which kou certainly wouldn't know, or remember for that matter. so being paired with him wasn't nearly as much of a burden as it would be with a stranger.

@bexrisa

"alright," the lecturer announces, as the lights switch on and the projector shuts off, charts and numbers and trends stowed away in ren's head like a swarm of wasps making a nest of his skull. he knows this stuff is important, knows there is no succeeding as a songwriter in the kpop world without, well, quantifiable success. but at the risk of being a quantifiable hipster instead, he can't help but cringe at the thought of wondering if every song he ever writes from here on out is hashtaggable, or dance-challengeable, or has a title that's catchy in at least three different languages.

"you're going to be randomly paired off now - take the next hour in your groups and see what you can come up with in the way of titles, lyrics, concepts. remember everything we talked about today: can you create an intangible piece of art that can be marketed as a tangible commodity? and can you do it while working with someone else whose likes and dislikes might be wildly different from your own?"

ren can tell he isn't the only one made uncomfortable by this concept by the groans and murmurs that circulate throughout the room. it's not that he doesn't work well with others; he was his overwatch team's captain after all. but he is so utterly particular about his music, his finished works more precious to him than anything else in the world. and he already has a team, in his own company, with friends he trusts with his craft. what's the point of pairing up with someone he will very likely never work with in this context again?

"zhou renyi and takahashi risa."

it takes everything in him to stifle an eye roll. of course they've found the two most foreign-sounding names in the room and thrown them together, with little regard for style or taste or musicality or anything else that might give them an advantage (or disadvantage) in a creative environment.

she loves working with other aspiring artists, she really does, but preferably ones that might actually have a semblance of similarity in taste and composition interests. it's more challenging to do with strangers, though she suspects that's exactly what the lecturer intended with this little partners ploy.

the icing on top of the metaphorical shit sundae is when her name is read alongside someone else's who is also not korean, and risa bites back a half amused scoff. of course they pair the foreigners together, it's classic- and chances are, the difference between the two of them is night and day, and they'll be hard pressed to actually present anything remotely decent together.

she almost says no, you don't get it. risa seems to think nayoung thinks it's stupid that she can't think of lyrics or something. at least that's how nayoung interprets it. does she want to go into a rant with this other, relatively new, trainee right now, knowing it may piss her off? honestly, she has more important things to do than that. she does need to have at least some stupid lyrics written by the end of this thing to meet the coaches' expectations.

"write something like based on the feeling of a food or something?" she offers, then grimaces, realizing she didn't exactly word that well either. "like strawberries, they're red but they're also refreshing.. so you could like... write about the freshness of a feeling, or a new experience.. kinda like that. it doesn't have to mean anything beyond the surface. you've heard some of the stuff today."

daifuku... daifuku would be good, he's lost in thought, thinking about what to snack on later once he gets home, when he's snapped back to reality by a more than familiar voice. it's risa, she's bouncing up to him – looking a lot more alive than kou feels. he blinks at her, and it takes him a second to react. "ah, too blinding," he replies, purposefully using a hand to cover his eyes. "how do you have so much energy."

still, he can't seem to get away from the phone shoved in front of his face, and hanging out with risa a lot more pleasant than standing around the building alone. he lets her speak ( kou's never been much of a talker anyway, always a better listener ), and then laughs. "for a moment, i almost forgot you were older than me," he teases.

"ahhh not fair, don't bring up my age again. it's already embarrassing having to listen to discussions about premature aging with the stylists." she whines, "plus, i could run circles around you anyday, cat allergies." risa teases in return. "while you're half blind from your allergies, i'll be faaaar ahead, you wait."

nayoung is a good trainee. she's very sure of that! she works very hard to ensure that. she's the ideal idol, as far as she's concerned: pretty, can dance, can sing, can rap, can act.

can she write songs? no. does she think she needs to be able to for the sake of her career? absolutely not. she personally thinks this entire songwriting camp is a huge and boring waste of time. what is the likelihood that sr media would ever let her release an original song with them if she even wanted to? how would she be able to do that when she's pretty sure eunae and yuji are good at all that? literally, what do they need her to know this shit for?

she, as she does, remains polite during lessons, and tries to focus and do her best, which is quite frankly bad. it's frustrating, too, not just because she thinks this is useless, but because she's simply not good at it.

when the instructor starts breaking them off into pairs, she's partnered with risa, who nayoung is pretty sure is also good at this shit, only further proving her point.

after exchanging small talk and sitting in an awkward silence, just staring at their notebooks for a few minutes, nayoung finally grumbles, "this is so stupid."

during the lyrics workshop, she ends up paired with nayoung, whose (lack of) enthusiasm is clear, but risa doesn't intend on letting it change the experience. still, it's awkward silence for the first few minutes, risa quietly working on the task to create their own song that's supposed to be finished before the end of camp and stealing glances at nayoung until the younger breaks their tense silence.

she's not one to be pushy (depending on who you asked, honestly), but risa can tell that there's something particular about this that nayoung is just not enjoying, and the curiosity has been gnawing at her for days now.

hearing the other's words, she looked around them to the many empty rooms that were surrounding them. "they look like vocal rooms, but i'm not entirely sure. maybe trainees go in there to cry," she says with a slight chuckle. it wouldn't be completely unheard of as she's seen it happen before in her old company. of course, they didn't have as nearly as many rooms as this building did.

taking a few steps forward to the nearest door, she presses her ear against it. "it sounds quiet, maybe this one is just storage or something." risa pauses thoughtfully, "or maybe it's where old stage outfits get put or something. like a massive wardrobe. that would be cool."

while making friends has always come easily to her, approaching potential friends yet competitors is still a skill that risa hasn't yet mastered. nerves spike as she sets off on her self-imposed mission, introducing herself to her fellow trainees with the intention to start off on the right foot. however things ended up going, she was at least here for the next three months, spending most of her waking hours with these people. she might as well give it her best shot at making a good impression if the rumors of long training hours were true. as she reached one of her fellow trainees, a moment of doubt flashed in her mind, wondering suddenly if this was way too tacky or school-age. but it's too late to back out now. with a warm smile and a genuine desire to connect with her new peers, risa extended the bag of goodies (electrolyte packets, honey chestnuts, rice snacks, and face masks). "hi, i'm risa," she introduced herself with a friendly tone. "i just recently signed with sr media and thought i would introduce myself," she offered, hoping to break the ice and make connections with her fellow trainees.

it was weird, to say the least.

this was a moment haein's been dreaming for years and yet it didn't feel real. this wouldn't be her first time being a trainee. no, she's gone through that back when she first came to korea, but this time it felt different. this time, it felt like she really was going to achieve something.

she's wandering around the building, trying to get accustomed to the place when someone sparks up a conversation. she's a bit startled by the goodie bag, but she takes it with a beaming smile. "it's lovely to meet you!" haein exclaimed before gently shaking the bag handed to her to express her gratitude.

"unfortunately, i wasn't as smart as you were and i don't have anything to hand to you," she said with a slight pout on her face. "i'm haein. sparkling new as well." she's seen instances in her past company of trainees only thinking of others as competition, and she was afraid that would be the case here as well. however, meeting someone like risa gave her assurance that this time it could be different.