𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅

hyorin's comment yanks out a laugh from yerin, high pitched coming from her normally deep tone, "depends on the kinds of animals; how about this, if we just have 10 cats, i'll keep that deal with you." she moves her attention, straightening out the lines of hyorin's dress, and nodding in satisfaction.

call her boring—enough people already do, actually—but hyorin hadn't done a lot of dating throughout her career because she was afraid of what it'd lead to. as much as she had complaints to ydh about her position right now within the industry, there was no denying that this was important to her. she didn't want to risk losing it because of some boy.

it's bittersweet, really, feeling like the personification of an ornate cupcake as opposed to a real human-being donning a pretty dress, but she digresses. there's a part of her that can't deny that this type of attire suits her, her delicate frame not at all overwhelmed by the frou-frou accoutrements and high-femme silhouettes, she just wishes it was all more comfortable. why not a blush-colored slip dress instead?

regardless, she walks the carpet, offers the photographers saccharine sweet grins and waves, but is quick to escape their hollers, and glad to be greeted by a familiar face mere moments afterward. though, the compliment she's given makes her grimace again, and it only grows when her head is patted, but this time, her expression is playful. "oh, you know me... i'm just the cutest." she teases, not daring to roll her eyes, but dialing up the smile to unveil that she's being facetious.

"you look stunning though. i always love what they put you in. maybe one of these days we can trade places." she adds, taking a step back to admire her group-mate, laughing at her honesty. "you and me both. i'm sure there'll be some sweet stuff, but you know. it all depends on how it flows with everything else. i just hope the food here is good. i skipped breakfast in hopes of having a feast."

she gives the other a smile at the compliment, though the credit goes all to their stylist. she's not dressed much differently from how she's always dressed at events like this. honestly, she's probably been styled like this one too many times.

"with how fancy this whole place looks, i'd be disappointed if the food wasn't good. i'm expecting a grand course meal starting with a bite-sized appetizer to a sweet dessert," she whispers before scrunching her nose in anticipation. this wasn't hyorin's first rodeo, and she knows there are other figures here that are probably a lot more important than some idols, so there's bound to be lots of good food.

walking over to the main event, she lets out a hum before nodding. "i did. there were some stuff just lounging around my apartment that i thought would be more useful in someone else's house," she comments. hyorin didn't offer up anything grandiose, but she had a few silverware that she wasn't going to use anytime soon. surely someone else could put it to better use.

"we're preparing for one too," she replies, nodding. "the date hasn't been finalized yet, but the next full album is projected to be released sometime this quarter."

areum pauses, catching herself slipping too much into the tone she uses in team meetings and press conferences and feeling the need to adjust. in a lot of ways, professionalism is a comfort zone for her, familiar territory she knows how to navigate. areum knows that if she wanted, this could be where she draws the line, keeping hyorin at arms length and at a distance of polite, predictable encounters—bowed greeting in elevators and company corridors, the occasional shout-out on livestreams and radio shows—all falling under the category of friendly colleagues that would at minimum satisfy fans and pr managers alike.

but a part of her hesitates at the thought of stopping here.

it's true that to an extent, areum still feels awkward around the members of angelix, having trained in their debut lineup all those years ago. she'll be the first to admit that she hadn't been the warmest trainee to them back then—closing herself off to everything but the competition and pulling away even more once their paths to debut diverged.

but despite all that, hyorin had always been someone who areum remembers as exuding gentleness and warmth, quietly carrying a sweetness like the furled buds of a spring tree—one breath away from blossoming. in waiting rooms, scrolling through her phone as she monitored her feed, areum had watched the clips her fans sent her of hyorin singing along to her songs and had felt her sincerity then—the open, uncomplicated appreciation hyorin had for her music, expressed wholeheartedly and without an ounce of reserve. areum had wanted to respond in some way back then but wasn't sure where—or how—to begin.

an idea comes to her now.

hyorin has some memories of areum from their trainee days, considering the other had practiced with the angelix members. however, the pool for posible angelix members was so large, and hyorin spent a lot of her trainee life alone, simply trying to improve her skills that she can't recall interacting with the other very much.

looking back, she kind of regrets it now, especially since she's such a huge fan of areum's music. if they had been closer back then, would it have been easier to approach her after they've both debuted? it's a question that will forever remain rhetorical, which is why she's putting in effort now to try to get to know areum.

at times, she can't help but wonder if she's put burden on the other with how much she's stated that she was a fan. surely it can't always be fun to be mentioned by other artists, even if it was hyorin purely fangirling over the other's music.

she's gone back to drowning in her own thoughts, trying to come up with another question to keep the conversation going when areum makes an unexpected suggestion. hyorin whips her head to look at the other, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. she hesitates for a moment, wondering if she's allowed to take up this offer but every bone in her body tells her that she can't possibly say no.

the hums now synonymous with the years of friendship placed under the belt behind them, and now — she's at ease. she pulls them towards the churro booth closest to them, eagerness now settling in the pit of her stomach as her eyes flit towards the sign then towards hyorin. "churros it is — let me pay for this. you can pay for the donuts we'll have afterwards."

her fingers now reaching for her purse, she motions to the server for two orders of churros, card readily at hand with a grateful smille painted over her features. "after these churros, we can take photos."

hyorin's never been big on updating her socials. it was something that came with the job, of course, but she wasn't one of those idols who uploaded very often. if anything, she spent more time on hi-u but even then, she usually had conversations with her fans rather than send photos like some other idols.

"i'm sure my fans are dying for some more photos. i'll be sure to leave you credits if they do end up being insta-worthy." her tone is teasing as she nudges her member with her shoulder before taking another bite of her eunbin-bought churro.