crying constantly

HONGJOONG

It had been hours since you last heard from Hongjoong. You knew he had stuck himself in his studio once again. It was a routine you followed once too many times. You had asked him what he wanted for dinner, but the message was left unread. You had known he hadn't eaten all day and was probably overworking himself again. You had gotten some of his favorite late night takeout, heading to the studio.

You bowed kindly to the bodyguards, heading into the building. You had done this many times before, your feet following the same path they always did, you hummed to yourself, clicking the elevators buttons. You wondered what had him so sucked up into his work. He never meant to stay out too late or worry you. He always apologies profusely and promised he wouldn't do it again. You never got mad at him or scolded him; you knew this was his passion and drive. He just worried you a bit sometimes. 

You said hi to fellow lingering staff, even checking in with the nightly janitor who you had become friends with. He joked about your appearance, saying you looked tired. It was true, you were tired, but you were worried about your boyfriend. You wore one of his hoodies accompanied by your night sweats, hair tied up in a bun and glasses resting softly on your face. You felt the soft bass of his studio running through the floor. So much for soundproof rooms.

You knocked on the door twice, before opening the door. You peeked over the door, seeing your boyfriend. Your smile faded once you had seen his face and expressions. His eyes were red and tears streamed down his face. He seemed very frustrated and tired, hair messy and his glasses slipping. You closed the door behind you, worry spreading through your body faster. 

He turned his head, forcing a grin on his face, quickly wiping his tears. “Hey. I'm sorry I didn't mean to stay so late. Is it that late?” He went on and on. You set the food down, sitting in your chair he had designated only for you. The boys knew not to sit there, that was your chair. It was pink and covered in stickers and drawings with sharpie all over, even a little throw blanket on it in case you got cold. “What's wrong?” you took off his headphones, cold hands sliding in his. “Nothing. just … working on this track.” he lied. “There's more to it, please talk to me, baby.” you pushed back his hair, your frown becoming more apparent. “I'm sorry… It's just become too much. Sending them demo’s and they don't fit their standard. I'm trying my best here.” he sighed. 

“Im sorry, I really didn't mean to stay late. You should've gone to bed, I don't want to keep you awake.” he added, trying to blink away his tears. “It's okay, baby. You know I can't sleep and you know how worried I get. And if im being honest, fuck these people. They want you, but not what you make? What kinda logic is that?! What kinda company does that? Atiny is gonna love whatever you put out, joongie. Don't let these people make you feel like your work is worth nothing. People pay thousands to get a sample like yours. But no one does it like my number one.” you wipe his tears.

“Thank you, baby. I'm sorry.” “stop apologizing, you idiot. That's what I'm here for. Cry all you need too. I was startled, I don't want to see you all frustrated and pent up, it worries me. But it's good to cry every once in a while. It helps heal the soul.” you laugh, kissing his wet cheek. 

“And you brought me food. What did I do to deserve you?” “What did this company do to deserve you? You'll make something they like, and if not… I'll have a long talk with them!” you balled up your fist, pretending to beat up the air. Hongjoong laughed, his eyes finally shining again. It was a real, genuine laugh. 

“Seriously , though, babe. You need to eat and rest. You keep hitting a block because you're tired. We can always try again tomorrow. And you'll find new sounds and inspirations. It's going to be okay. You didn't chart for no reason.” you never failed to remind him of their success, and his work. “My number one fan.” he pulled you into a soft kiss, hands resting on either side of your face. “My number one captain.” you giggled against his lips. 

SEONGHWA

You had just gotten home from a walk with your friend, and all you wanted to do was take a warm shower and debrief about your day with your boyfriend.

You slipped your shoes off, feet leading you to your room. A smile took over your face, knowing your boyfriend was on the other side. You couldn't wait to show him the birds you had fed on your walk, knowing he'd make up their life stories and give them funny names. As you reached the hallway, you noticed the door was completely shut. This was rare, considering Seoinghwa never left the door closed, especially if you were out later than him. 

“Hwa?” you called out softly, opening the door. Clothes laid out on the floor, you vanity light lighting up the room. On your shared vanity sat Seonghwa, visibly frustrated, tears streaming down his face. “Hey, what's wrong?” you set down your bag, sitting in the chair next to him. He wiped his tears, embarrassed. “Nothing… how was your date?” he faked a smile, pushing away the products from him. In front of him was his small collection of makeup, accompanied by a few makeup wipes and tear soaked tissues. 

“No, no, no. What's wrong, please tell me.” you touched his arm, worried expression fixed on his. “It's stupid.” he muttered. “My star, nothing is stupid if it's making you upset. No one told me.” you wiped his tears. The makeup residue on his face smeared. “It's… embarrassing and stupid.” “Nothing more embarrassing than Wooyoung, now talk.” you saw him crack a small smile as the jab of his bandmate. 

“Remember that fashion event dinner meeting I told you about? It's on everyone's day off. I just want to look nice. Nothing looks good on me, and I can't figure out how to do my makeup. I've tried and I tried to mimic what you do, but it's patchy and weird looking. I just can't, I feel like my younger self.” he dropped his face in his hands, tears coming again. 

It broke you to hear that. You knew Seinghwa struggled with his self image for years, and continued to do so. You wished that he could see himself the way you do. Your Seonghwa. The most handsome, angelic, beautiful person he was. You knew this dinner was important to him, and you knew that the fashion show was even more important. He just wanted to look nice for his event. 

“I'm sorry to ruin your mood. It doesn't even matter, I think I'll just call my manager and see if he can do something. This is stupid.” he wiped his tears. “No. I'll tell you what,” You picked up the makeup wipes, pulling one out. You rolled his chair towards you. Seonghwa seemed confused and sad. You started to wipe off his old makeup, smiling. “Im going to teach you. If anything goes wrong, we can just call Hongjong's stylist. She is my friend and she's willing to help. This is something that matters to you, so it's not stupid, baby. It matters. And tomorrow, we can clean this up and help you pick an outfit. The dinner isn't until later, so we can get up early and find one that works. I'll be here.” You discarded the  makeup wipe, grabbing a clean one. 

You continued to wipe his face, seeing his softening by a million. “It's not stupid, please don't say that. This is something big, this is your dream we are talking about. Just because you don't know how to do something doesn't make it worthless. You're so beautiful and there is nothing wrong with you, baby. It's harder to do things when we are frustrated. I'll teach you and we can eat dinner and we will pick out an outfit tomorrow, ok?” you set down the wipe, seeing a smile break out on his face. 

He pulled you into a kiss, the taste of makeup wipes on his lips. “I love you so much, how did I get so lucky? I didn't mean to ruin your day.” he kissed your temple. “You didn't ruin anything, silly.” you laughed. “Okay, serious business, though. What look are we going for?” you plastered on a playful serious face, earning a giggle and kiss from Seoinghwa. “My star.” he whispered against your temple. 

YUNHO

You had meant to stay up and wait on Yunho, you swore. But the couch was so warm and the movie was so relaxing, your eyes just closed out of instinct. The cookies laid on the table, forgotten about. 

You wanted to surprise Yunho, trying to get him in the holiday spirit. You had bought cookies to decorate, and loads of snacks and hot takeout. On the table laid the full spiderman collection, waiting to be watched. You assumed he'd be home on time, but after shooting him a couple messages, you assumed he was staying a bit late to rerecord stuff. 

Yunho wiped his eyes, trying to calm himself before coming into the apartment. He was torn apart, feeling bad. He had such a bad day, and he didn't mean to ignore you. It wasn't until he was walking home when he saw your messages. He didn't mean to worry you, and on top of his bad day, he felt like a bad boyfriend. You must be mad at him.

He kicked off his shoes, shutting the door behind him. He called out your name softly, his voice hoarse. His brows furrowed as he heard silence. You would usually yell back at him in a silly voice. You must be really mad at him. He turned on the living room lights, his face softening at the sight. 

You were curled up on the couch, your favorite childhood movie playing on the screen. On the table were cookies and icing, snacks accompanied by his favorite drinks, and his favorite takeout. The spiderman movies were stacked in order along with your favorite shared blanket on top of you. Your phone was in your hand, your word game paused. You weren't mad at him, and you weren't trying to pressure him. You wanted to surprise him, that's why you had been clingy all day. You just wanted to surprise him. No wonder you had woken up in such a good mood. 

“Yunho!” you stirred out of your sleep, sitting up, smiling wide. His heart shattered. Even after all the unanswered text, you were still so happy to see him. “Hey, my baby.” he hugged you, kissing the top of your head. “I wanted to surprise you, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm sorry.” You were wearing his hoodie and some sleeping shorts, very obviously ready for your movie night. That was his breaking point. You pulled away, starting to take the food of the bags.

“But that's okay. We can warm up the food and we can still make the cookies. The worker thought i was buying food for many people, it was hard to explain it was just for us! Are you hungry? Go wash up!” you turned around, takeout in your hands. You stopped in your tracks as you saw Yunho standing there, hands on his face, shoulders shaking. “Im… sorry. Did I overstep? Are you tired? We can always do this another day.” You set down the food, tugging at his sleeve. 

“No, baby, it's not you… I'm sorry. I had a really bad day and I didn't look at my phone. I would have come home earlier if I knew you were doing this. You're just too sweet, you're not even mad at me.” He wiped his tears. “Why would I be mad? You had a long day, I just wanted to surprise you. It's okay, it's been a very week for you. I'm not upset or anything, it's ok, Yun.” you wrap your arm around him. “I don't deserve you.” he enveloped you in a hug, kissing the top of your head.

“I would never get mad at you for working. It's what you do, but please just tell me when you're overwhelmed or tired. I never want to cross that line. You do so much already. I just thought you needed a break.” You smiled against his chest. “I needed this. I'm sorry again.” “dont be. It's okay. I'll warm up the food, now go!” you scold him. “And you owe me a million kisses.” You called after him. “Make it two million.” he laughed as he entered your shared bathroom. 

YEOSANG

Yeosang shut off his phone once again, turning his back towards you. His insomnia was eating him up. 

He knew better than to look at twitter. He knew better than to doomscroll and see the negative words about him online. He knew each time he opened the damn app, his heart would break. You knew that too, you had caught him once too many times. He stood up, heading to the kitchen. He filled a glass with water, hand curled around the counter. It was too much. Did he even contribute to Ateez? Was he any good for the band? Did he really add anything? Were his seven seconds of lines even worth it? Tears pricked his eyes as he kept thinking. He let his head hang. Quiet sobs left his mouth, not wanting to wake you. Was he even worth anything anymore? Even if he took a hiatus, it wouldn't make a difference. It was that he wasn't even there. 

“Yeo?” a tired voice called from the dark. The lights flickered on, leaving a shirtless yeosang standing there, along with you, wrapped in a blanket, eyes still adjusting to the light. “Are you ok? Why are you crying?” you walked towards him. “Im not, baby. Go back to bed, it's late.” he refused to turn around. “ I can't go to bed without you. Are you okay?” you asked again. Yeosang had a hard time talking about his feelings. He could sit there all day and listen to everyone else, but it was hard for him to do the same.

You guys had argued about this before. You had worked really hard to break his walls, letting him know that speaking about his feelings was okay. He was still working on it, trying his best. “Yeo.” you repeated his name, inching closer. “I just… I looked at the internet again. I read what they said.” He admitted, too ashamed to look at you. “I don't even know if I'm worth anything. I don't even get to sing in my own group. Maybe these people are right.” he whispered the last part, wiping his eyes. 

“I appreciate you telling me what's wrong. I don't think you should've looked on there, but it's human nature. I promise you, Ateez would not be Ateez without you, baby. You were picked for a reason. You're meant to be there. You belong. It doesn't matter what they say, they will always have something to say, they will always judge. But at the end of the day, you were picked. You had companies going to war for you, baby.” You caressed his face. “I'm sorry for looking.” “It’s okay, no one is mad. It's natural to want to know. It's not okay to tear yourself down and tear your image down that you worked hard on. You're the Yeosang. Of the Ateez, you know? The same group that everyone copies… because you're the best.” You smiled. He giggled softly at your joke. 

“Thank you.” he swiftly kissed you. “Youre welcome, THE yeosang of THE Ateez.” you took him by his hand, leading him to bed. “And next time, please wake me up. You scared me. Imagine seeing a sexy, buff, shirtless man in your kitchen in the middle of the night.” you wiggled your brows. “Sounds like a nightmare.” he played along, pulling you onto the bed with him. 

SAN

You stepped out of the shower, the steam still hot on your skin. Your music played softly in the background, accompanied by you humming. You changed into fresh pjs, working on your skincare.

The door opened slightly, the steam pooling out of the bathroom. You looked up to see a very sulky San, mouth pouty and eyes watery. You stopped your skin care immediately, looking at San. “whats wrong, baby?” you touched his face, eyes laced with concern. He hugged you, arms pressing you closer with every second. “I don't want to leave. I don't want to go on this tour without you. I can't imagine being away for months and not seeing you.” He cried into your shoulder, body slightly shaking. 

You had been holding it well. When the tour was released, you cried in the shower, knowing every week was one week closer to him leaving for months. It had been done before, but not for this long. You hid it from him well, not wanting him to think you were holding him back from his success. San hadn't mentioned anything about leaving, so you didn't want to bring it up. 

“Just think about how good it will feel being up there again, dancing around and singing with all your fans and brothers. It's gonna be worth it. And I can watch you act up all the way from here.” You rubbed his back, laughing at your own joke. “But I want you here with me. I need to hold you every night. I want to see you in the crowd, I need to see you singing along.” He kissed your head. “Its going to be okay, Sannie. You'll have everyone with you. I'm going to miss you very much.” You pulled back, wiping his face. “But everyone isn't you.” he leaned his head against yours, hands going inside of your shirt sleeves as if you were going to disappear right there. 

You knew his manager had mentioned something about being able to come, but that was for the local tours. “So ask your manager. Ask him if I can come, even if it's just to these shows. Tell him you'll be worried and you'll get sick.” you laugh. “I like the way you think. My pretty, smart baby.” he kissed your forehead, a small smile creeping on his face. “Wooyoung bought his partner last tour, i think they're going to say yes. Plus, who would say no to this cute face?” San kissed you all over your face. “Stop crying, you big baby. What are these for?” you poked his strong arms. “For you!” he flexed for you, wiggling his eyebrows. You both were a laughing mess by the end of the night, the bubble of anxiety inside of sans stomach now gone. You always knew how to make him feel better. 

MINGI

All day, Mingi had been short with you. You had called him in the morning to rant about your stupid straightener that stopped working and how you tripped over your cat and spilled hot coffee all over you, making you run late to your date with your mom. 

He hummed and made small comments, but it wasn't the usual Mingi. His messages had also been short with you, just checking in here in there. But no random videos or cute selfies. You assumed he was just busy and overwhelmed, and had a hard day. You had gone with your mom home, staying over for dinner. You let Mingi know you'd be home pretty late. 

You finally opened the door to your bedroom, seeing a very tired Mingi sitting at his desk. His leg bounced up and down, fingers raking through his hair. “MIngi?” you tilted your head inside your bedroom door, brows furrowing. “What's wrong?” you took off your jacket, throwing it into the floor. “Just… thinking. How was dinner?” he asked, obviously sucked into another world. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I'm fine.” He muttered, tears threatening to spill out again. “Youre obviously not. What's wrong?” you sat on the edge of the bed, not wanting to overstep. “Work,” he muttered. “Youre on the brink of a panic attack, Mingi.” You stated. You knew him too well. It was all laid out in front of you. The fidgeting, shirt answers, spaced out. You knew this and the outcome. 

“It's fine, I don't know why it's a big deal.” he blurted out. “Okay, well, instead of talking to me like that, why don't you tell me what's wrong?” You crossed your arms, hurt, but understanding his state. He finally looked away from the scream, eyes tearing up. “I'm sorry… I didn't mean to use that tone. I'm just overwhelmed. The comeback is really soon and I can't seem to stop thinking about it. It's killing me. What if they don't like it?” he set his face down, chest caving. “It's okay, I just want to help. You can tell me to leave you alone. I just don't want you panicking, baby. I know how serious this is for you and I know it's a very stressful time for you and the boys. But I don't want you to bottle it up and keep blaming yourself for everything. There will be people out there who will judge for no reason, without even knowing or listening, baby. But you know how much effort and work you put into this, It's going to be okay, the fans will love it.”

“Please take care of yourself. Your health is above anything else, above every comeback and above people's opinions. So please, relax, take a deep breath.” You appeared behind him, rubbing his back. He breathed in and out, trying to calm himself. "It's okay to cry and talk about it. You did a lot of hard work this comeback, it's going to feel crazy for a while. But think about all the times you've gotten through this, Min. You're stronger than anything else.” He turned around, pulling you into the chair with him. You wiped his tears, peppering his face with kisses, especially the moles on his face. 

“Im sorry again for snapping at you. I know you're trying to help. I appreciate you.” Mingi kissed you, his body relaxing with every stroke you ran through his hair. “It's okay. How about we wash up and go to bed?” You pushed his hair back, kissing his lips once again. “Sounds good.” “And I'll make you some tea to help with that anxiety. Okay?” “Yes ma’am.” Mingi squeezed your hips, relaxing his head against yours.

WOOYOUNG

You laid on the bed, playing on your phone. You had recently started playing this word game with Yeossang, which became a silent competition with him. Everyday you'd send each other's scores, trying to see who was higher.

You heard shuffling, a sniffle, and the bedroom food open. “Hi, baby.” You sat up, looking at a very tired Wooyoung. “Long day?” You smiled at him, giggling at his face. “You have no idea.” he threw himself on the bed, head caving right into your chest. “Talk to me.” you ran your fingers through his hair. “Mr. Captain-know-it-all had a stick up his ass today. Sannie didn't want to hold me, they made me rerecord my lines a million times, Yunho dragged me through hell during practice, and they didn't even feed me.” He said through a muffled voice. Your shirt felt wet. “I just missed you, that's all.” He refused to look up. “Are you crying, baby?” you laughed, lifting his head up. It was confirmed. Wooyoung had tears coming out of his eyes. The light of the group, the unserious one, was crying. “Stop! You're laughing at my pain!” he pouted. I'm not laughing at you, dummy. I just want to know what's wrong.” “I just missed you so much today. I miss you everyday, and I'm so tired. I'm so, so tired. I just want to sleep in with you, please.” He laid against your chest again. 

“Okay. It's going to be okay, baby. I'll order some food while you shower, and we can do whatever you want. I miss you too, you know that?” You laughed. “And now you're saying I stink.” he bit you through your shirt. “Ow!” you shoved him off playfully. “And now you don't want to hold me. I should just die here. It's like I have the plague. First San, now you. It's okay, I'll run away.” He covered his eyes, fake crying now. “If you get in the shower I'll get in there with you.” You said. He shot up quickly, the sparkle and energy back into his eyes. “Deal! My sadness is gone!” he jumped. “C’mon, drama queen.” You pulled him in the bathroom with you. 

JONGHO

You and Jongho rarely argued. But when you did, it was hard. Jongho, even though he was the youngest, was the most mature. 

It frustrates you sometimes. It felt like he wasn't listening. Sometimes you felt like you were the only one trying to make a point. The argument was small, something about making sure to pick up dinner after work. Jongho was too tired and forgot. You were grumpy all day and this set it off. It had turned into a whole argument about an accident. 

“I can just call an order in, baby. I don't see the big deal.” He dried his hair off. “Yoou never do! I texted you that right before you left work! I'm too tired to cook, now we are both hungry. You always forget. I just want you to be more careful!” you rubbed your hands against your face. Jongho didn't take this personally. He knew you had a long week too, and this was just the icing on the cake. “Just relax. What do you want to eat? I'll call it in, that way we don't have to leave.” “Thats not even the point anymore! You stand there like you don't care!” You cried, tears uncontrollable. 

“I do care. I just want to eat dinner with you, it's okay.” He grabbed his phone, dialing the number of the restaurant. You stormed out, slamming the door behind you. Jongho looked down at his feet, heart squeezing. You had a really bad week with your manager and work, and he had failed to do one thing. But in all honesty, he had a long day too and just wanted to get home to you. But your words hurt him a bit. Him not caring? He always cared. He cared enough to make an effort and listen to you. That's how much he cared. 

He heard your keys jingle, along with you crying hard. He stepped out of the room, peeking around the hallway. You were fighting to put your shoes on. “Where are you going?” his brows furrowed. “Yeosangs. I'm sure you want me gone.” You huffed. “Im not letting you go out there. It's cold and late.” He shook his head. You were so angry you didn't even notice he was crying too. “If you're going to hold me hostage then I'll sleep on the couch.” You kicked off the one shoe you managed to put on. “Baby, we can order the food.” “I'm not hungry.” At this point, you had stomped to your bedroom.

“Baby, listen to me. I care so much. I was forgetful and I'm sorry. But please don't leave out of anger, we can talk this through, and if it's that bad, I'll take the couch. Just don't walk out on me, please.” he sniffled. You looked up, shocked at his face. He was crying too. Soft tears. Hurt tears. “Jongho…” You whispered. “I'm sorry if being with me is frustrating. I'm not very good at voicing how I feel. I'm sorry if I make you feel unheard or unseen. I don't mean that. I did honestly forget, and I know you've had a rough time and all you did was ask me for one favor. I'm sorry, but I don't want you to leave and I don't know where you are.” He looked at you softly. You felt so stupid. All this could have been avoided.

“I'm sorry. It's been really hectic and I guess that was it for me. I'm sorry I blamed it on you, it's really not your fault. I guess I just wanted to be angry and you were trying to help. I don't mean to make you feel like that, I said it out of anger. I'm sorry.” You cried in his arms. “Do I not care enough?” he whispered against your head. “You care a lot. I just don't know how to accept and handle it. I'm sorry, Jongho.” You cried into his chest. “It's okay, just please don't say things like that. I want you to talk to me.” “i know. I love you, I'm sorry.” 

his hands quickly found her waist, pulling her off the wall she was leaning against. "finally," he muttered, trying to pull her closer getting a small giggle to escape from her lips. her arms wrapped round his neck, fingers playing with his dark hair at the nape of his neck.

"why don't you come over tonight? we can have a chill night without any interruptions," seonghwa hummed, his fingers digging in slightly. jena let out a blissful sigh with a nod "sounds perfect hwa," she replied with a grin.

she pulled seonghwa closer, her eyes fluttering shut feeling his lips lightly brush against his until - "hyung! san is looking for yo- oh shit sorry!" yunho exclaimed covering his eyes before letting out a loud laugh. the couple let out a groan, jena's head falling against his chest, cursing under her breath.

"fine i'm coming," seonghwa huffed, patting her head lovingly before pulling away. yunho tried to hold back a fit of giggles behind his hand, watching the way jena's eyes narrowed towards him. "i'm going to kill you," she mumbled poking a finger against his chest before walking back to their practice room.

jena sighed in content, her hair freshly washed and face free of makeup. seonghwa was already in his pyjamas and under his duvet waiting to hit play on the movie they had decided when she emerged from the bathroom.

his laptop lay at the bottom of the bed, with a few bags of snacks in front of it. two cups of tea sat on his bedside table, cooling down as the pair got themselves ready for their night together.

she stood for a second, seonghwa's top that she liked to steal when she stayed stopping mid-thigh. the idol stared at her boyfriend with a grin, "what is it?" he asked noticing her amused smile.

"nothing, i'm happy to have you all to myself," she shrugged before jumping into her spot in bed. seonghwa hummed in agreement while his arms immediately wrapped around her shoulder, bringing her close so she could rest her head on his chest. his fingers lightly traced patterns on her exposed arm, while they watched the opening credits.

it didn't take long though until they noticed seonghwa's door opening slightly. mingi stood with a smile also dressed in pyjamas with san behind him. jena groaned, "no! go away please," she whined as they walked further in. they both giggled, shaking their head.

“just move over,” mingi said, pulling some of the duvet over his tall frame. jena hide her face in her boyfriend’s chest, muttering away angrily which only made san and mingi laugh more.

"not even five minutes in," seonghwa muttered into jena's ear, while mingi and san made themselves comfortable. san lay next to seonghwa while mingi cosied in next to jena.

jena rolled her eyes squished between her boyfriend and band member. seonghwa and jena caught each others eyes and both having the same look of defeat as they accepted that their movie night was officially hijacked.

the sun had set hours ago, leaving the streets if seoul to be illuminated by the street lamps. jena stood outside a convience store, her hood up to cover to try and cover a bit of her face. her hands were shoved deep into her pockets to try and fight off the cold air.

finally seonghwa's tall frame came into view, his steps quickening once he noticed jena. his face was covered by a face mask but jena could see his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “you’re late,” she pouted, letting seonghwa intertwine his fingers with hers after prying her hand out of her pocket.

“i know i’m sorry baby, but mingi was trying to join,” he explained as they moved to the entrance of the store. “i’ll get you some candy to make it up,” seonghwa grinned, pressing a kiss to her temple.

jena held the basket in one hand with the other safely in seonghwa’s as the walked around the store picking out ramen and snacks. both giggling softly at the silly jokes they were making. “do you think i should dye my hair for the comeback? i need to decide before the music video,” jena hummed, picking up a bag of chips.

“i like your hair any colour but dark would be best this time,” seonghwa mused, admiring jena and her shiny brunette hair that peeked from under her hood. “hm maybe i’ll just get highlights then,” she muttered to herself before feeling seonghwa pull her quickly down the aisle.

“hwa what are you doing?” she exclaimed which was quickly followed by a shush from seonghwa, his face contorting to a grimace. “hongjoong is here,” he whispered nodding his head further down the aisle. jena slowly turned to see her captain also browsing the many options of chips.

“they’re playing a joke on us, this can’t be real,” jena huffed as she turned back round. seonghwa shook his head in disbelief, pulling jena into the next aisle in hopes to avoid hongjoong. “we’ll be in and out before he can catch us, this is our night,” seonghwa said firmly, with jena nodding in agreement.

everything went smoothly, with the pair paying for their items. though they’re plan of being quick was quickly forgotten - “aw seonghwa, what are you doing here?” a familiar voice called out, stopping the couple in their tracks. “you’ve got to be kidding me,” jena muttered to herself before turning round.

hongjoong stood with an easy smile on his face and bag of his own in his hand. “just grabbing some stuff with jen, thought you were in the studio tonight?” seonghwa asked casually in hopes that deter their captain from crashing their night.

it didn’t however, and before jena knew it seonghwa, hongjoong and herself were sat outside sharing their ramen and snacks.

finally it was the groups day off which meant for jena doing absolutely nothing all day with seonghwa. jena was quick getting herself ready and giving her room a quick tidy before seonghwa appeared. they had planned to go get lunch a new cafe jena had been dying to try and then finally have their movie night.

she had kept their plans secret, in hopes that her roommates jongho, wooyoung and hongjoong would be busy. their captain had disappeared to the studio once again, while jena could hear the two youngest members kick around the dorm. their set of snacks sat neatly on her desk, with the matching pyjamas seonghwa had got them for their anniversary folded on her bed.

“jena we’re going to see a movie with sangie do you want to join?” wooyoung asked, poking his head round her door. he noticed how tidy her room looked all of a sudden, with the snacks on her desk. a small smirk appeared on his face, “ah i see you’ll be busy, you should tell seonghwa to come!”

her smile quickly dropped, her eyes narrowing as she watched wooyoung venture further into her room. jongho suddenly appeared, giggling lightly at the scene as he leaned against her doorframe. “you are doing this on purpose,” she huffed, while wooyoung wrapped his arms around her waist.

“we would never!” wooyoung exclaimed, dramatically pulling her closer. the doorbell rang loudly interrupting them. jongho moved first, then jena after escaping from wooyoung’s embrace in hopes that seonghwa was there. she jogged quickly down the hallway, her smile returning seeing her boyfriend standing there. yeosang was just slightly behind him, watching jena grab seonghwa and pull him quickly to her room.

wooyoung had yet to budge, a held a sly smirk on his face seeing the couple. “you know i love you all very much but please, i’m begging,” jena groaned, pushing wooyoung out of her room. “i just want one day with seonghwa! without anyone joining,”

yeosang and jongho laughed together watching wooyoung and jena bicker back and forth. with wooyoung insisting that they need to spend time together as a group. “i’m begging woo, we’ll hang out tomorrow, just leave me be!” she exclaimed, pushing him further into their apartment before running back to her room and swiftly shutting the door.

there were still a lot of lixliet moments!!!! even in the background you could see them just chilling and having fun 🥰🥰

also bonded with changmin (from tbz, not the mc ahshjws😭) over liking horror movies and stuff

“you have a chUCKY DOLL??? CAN I SEE IT????? DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO??????? 🤩”

not them cooing over photos of his chucky doll like it’s a baby/pet photo 💀

ateez and the boyz: 👁👄👁 should we be afraid orrr...?

hongjoong, in the distance: you can admire it but don’t you dare bring one home

okay the vaulting competition ✨

while watching sf9 go she was like “:ccc but i’m already shorter than the first level (1.7m)” 💀

she got really shy when changmin read that she has 10 years of ballet experience uwu

changmin, jokingly: oh~ she’s shorter than the box already

juliet: ☹️☹️🥺🥺

changmin: whdjgjwhd sorry sorry sorry 😭

eunkwang: hey!!!! don’t make the baby sad!!!!!!!

she killed it!! mostly bc of her flexibility as she could lift her legs high enough to not touch the box!!

she made it past 2.2m so that’s pretty cool 🤩

eunkwang: maybe it has to do with being born in australia and being around kangaroos

gave the cameras a 🥰✌️🕺🏻😚 after every successful jump

everyone else being her biggest hypemen 😌 the privilege smh

okay but one time as she was running up to the box her hat flew off and she went “nooooo” in tiny and ran back to get it

literally everyone on set went 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 uwu

even the judge/referee laughed 😭

you know how people are like “hold my xxx”

that was juliet but with her bucket hat 💀💀

for her last attempt at 2.3m she uhhh... kinda body-slammed right into the box and knocked it over so they both fell onto the mat 🤕🤕

cue yunho, wooyoung, chan and minhyuk who immediately rushed up to her to see if she was okay :(

the others were like “is she okay???? :c”

ngl it hurt quite a bit but she was also very giggly bc she didn’t expect herself to make it that far

but after the adrenaline wore off she definitely felt the pain :(

so they had to vote for the visual king right

mnet was like ok juliet u can vote for the visual king but they can’t vote for u bc we don’t wanna start anything so u can be the visual queen and win by default 😄

“should i be insulted that they made me win by default 😅😅😅”

yes juliet actually said that on camera and they left it in 💀💀

she still took the selfie and mnet put hers up on the board with everyone else’s but with a little crown over hers that said ‘visual queen’ 💀💀💀💀💀

she was pretty embarrassed by that ngl but sigh what else can she do 😔

hyunjae, pointing to the tiny crown over juliet’s selfie: ohhhhhh does this mean we can’t vote for juliet?

eric: if we could she’d probably win by a landslide

sir we caught u in 4k 👁👁

when seonghwa said he thought felix was cute and wanted to adopt him as a little brother though 🥺

juliet went (◕‿◕) and immediately dragged him over to felix like “OI MATE HERE’S YOUR NEW FRIEND SEONGHWA”

Little Miss Indecisive makes a reappearance bc whO SHOULD SHE VOTE FOR?????

“can i vote for someone not on the show?”

she didn’t actually say that don’t worry

she ended up voting for minhyuk!!!

mostly bc she genuinely thought he was really cool but also bc they were far apart enough in age that people would be less likely to spread rumours

it do be like that sometimes :/

“minhyuk-sunbaenim was very charismatic in their performance from last round, and he was so cool just now during the vaulting competition so i’m going to vote for him!”

she did write a tiny disclaimer on her paper slip that said “everyone is handsome!! <3” though 🥺

WHEN FELIX PLACED 2ND IN THE VISUAL KING THINGY

biggest hypewoman

“YEAHHH FELIX THAT’S MY CUTE BESTIE RIGHT THERE EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LOOK AT HIM!!! FELIX VISUAL KING!!!!! SO TRUE BESTIE!!!!!!!!!”

hwjdbwjjs before they announced minhyuk as first the mcs asked juliet who she voted for and she was so shy when she said she voted for him 😭😭😭

she didn’t take part in the balloon snake tag game and the relay bc she was pretty exhausted from the vaulting (and also bc the boys told her not to bc they could tell she was still slightly in pain after she slammed into the box 🥺)

so instead she became everyone’s designated cheerleader :3

when wooyoung came first in the relay she was so proud!!!!

right after he crossed the finishing line she ran up to him and tackled him in a big hug :ccc

then she went up to eunkwang and asked if he was okay bc he fell during the relay :((((

in conclusion she had so much fun that day and was happy to make even more frens 🥰

— fan reactions;

she was literally backstage being like “uwu good luck guys :3” while looking like the long lost daughter of satan pls the whiplash the other groups got 😭😭

she was Feeling Herself™️ during the performance ✨ think cocky rocker!juliet giving the camera tons of eyebrow raises and smirks

oh yeah we also got RAPPER JULIET 🥵🥵

a cultural reset 😔

at one point her jacket slipped off her shoulder while dancing and when i tell you stan twitter went feral—

juliet, later on universe: guyS tHAt wAs aN acCiDeNt i SwEAr

she did the second half of the speech with hongjoong bc they’re sexc like that ✨✨✨

and then she did the second high note after jongho did the first one!!!! secret weapon maknaes let’s get it!!!!!!!!!!

the amount of people from other fandoms who became her fan after this performance though 📈📈📈📈📈📈📈

literally so many people, both idols and fans, fell in love with her from this episode 😌💅 unfortunately for them she is very very taken 😔😔😔😔

speaking of her relationship

someone should go check on chan 😭😭😭 bc is he okay????

let’s be real if your s/o did THAT while looking like THAT you wouldn’t be okay either ✨

someone seungkwan snitched to her later saying that when they were watching this episode chan malfunctioned for a good five minutes after ateez’s performance bc...yeah 🥵🥵

she was so excited when btob performed back door

“EVERYONE BE QUIET IT’S BACK DOOR”

jammed out with seonghwa to btob 🤩🤩🤩

when minhyuk ripped his shirt in half she went “wahhhh sunbaenim...”

it was purely out of surprise bc she didn’t expect him to do that at all but some of the boys still turned to look at her like ????? ma’am you have a boyfriend??????? 😭😭😭😭

“STRAY KIDS HOOOOOO!!!!”

her reaction to felix’s english rap though

“OH MY GOD FELIX WHAT THE F—”

she was literally speechless after stray kids’ performance aren’t we all 😔

in conclusion this is day 289 of juliet ignoring the “war” in “kingdom: legendary WAR” bc she’s just here for a good ol’ time 🤩

— fan reactions;

their stylists delivered once again bc her outfit was so good!!!!!! she definitely wanted to show a little more skin than usual since it was coachella 😮‍💨 the waist to hip ratio was ratioing

quick!!! what colour was her top

someone check on chan rn

babygirl finally using a handheld mic we cheered 😭 she’s a singer LET HER SING

their mics are on!!!!! when our maknaes harmonised during the high notes in arriba and wonderland everyone ascended!!!!!!!

she had so so so much energy the whole 50 minutes and it’s clear how hard she practised for this bc her vocals were so stable even with the intense choreo 🥹

introduced herself as ateez’s princess :’) gave everyone whiplash bc when she wasn’t performing she was her usual babygirl self, but once the music started playing again she went right back into demon mode

“over 6 years ago we were in the sahara desert filming our debut music video, wishing that one day we would be able to create a path faithful to who are as both artists and people. today, we have the immense honour of performing here at the sahara at coachella. thank you all for being here and we hope our performance will be, no matter how big or small, another highlight of your night” 🥲🥲🥲🥲 they made it

the wind was insane but she’s god’s favourite so her hair looked even more amazing

during the brief intermissions she tried to find atinys in the crowd and blew kisses to them <33

when they all took a shot during arriba???? she gulped that shit 😋 had atinys doing a double take bc girl???? aren’t you a lightweight??????

if anything it gave her more energy for the rest of the performance 🤭

also……she accidentally tipped her glass a little too far back so the alcohol spilled down her chin 😳 and her top 😳

bless the fansite who captured that moment on camera <333 the clip got over 50k likes on twitter as of now

her accent when she sang “’cause i just live today don’t care about a thing call me django” just makes everything better 😮‍💨 juliet baek the woman that you are

“COACHELLA!!!!!! ARE YOU FUCKING READY TO MAKE IT BOUNCY!!!!!!!!!”

all the locals and non-atinys were asking who she was 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 atinys scrambling to gatekeep her with the most ridiculous answers

“she’s a backup dancer!!!!” “she’s singing though…” “yeah that happens sometimes in kpop 😁”

✧˖°. tweets

“as you know,” the producer starts, “there is a special host for today.”

“ah, yes, yes, i’m looking forward to it,” chan replies.

dokyeom feigns surprise. “i wonder who it could be,” he wonders aloud, hand resting on his chin.

seated to his left, mingyu turns to give him a puzzled look. “i thought the rundown said we didn’t have to pretend not to know.”

“oh… really?”

“should we do a drumroll for their grand entrance?” hoshi suggests, a grin lighting up his face when he catches the panic that flashes across juliet’s face from where she’s waiting.

without missing a beat, the others join him in pounding their fists against the desks, some even mimicking trumpet noises as juliet walks onto the set and towards her designated seat between jeonghan and jun.

“hello,” she greets with an air of solemnity, “i’m your host and moderator for today, juliet.”

“wow!” a chorus of cheers and hollers erupt all around the table. smiling, she bows her head in thanks at the applause from both the seventeen members and the staff on-site.

she begins setting the stage for the episode. “you are here today to demonstrate your levelheadedness, and i expect you to be proactive in sharing your opinions. this is different from ‘debate night’, i want to see your critical thinking and discussion skills.”

vernon raises his hand. “are there any stakes in this?”

“stakes?”

“yeah, like, what do we risk losing?”

juliet ponders for a moment before deadpanning, “my admiration.”

her quip has the members giggling, some of them nodding in approval as they voice their acknowledgment.

“wait, you’re going to be objective, right? no personal biases?” seungkwan interjects, eyeing her with feigned suspicion.

“of course! i’m offended you’d think otherwise.”

chan, who had been mostly quiet up to this point, clears his throat. “excuse me, moderator, i want to say something before we start the debate.”

curiosity piqued, all eyes turn towards him. he hardly seems bothered by the weight of the stares trained on him as everyone awaits his announcement. juliet playfully narrows her eyes at her boyfriend, already having a hunch as to what he will say.

he gives her his most charming smile. “you look really pretty today.”

instantly, noises of protest fill the room.

“hey! what are you doing?”

“are you seducing our moderator?”

“that’s playing dirty!”

“okay, okay!” juliet says, slamming her fist on the desk like a judge’s gavel. “let’s start the discussion!”

topic (i) — if you kill pinocchio, is that an act of murder or vandalism?

like seungkwan, she had a hard time suppressing her giggles while dokyeom was making his opening speech

it was just too funny (and endearing) that they took these debates so seriously

dokyeom, whining: moderator, why are you laughing??

juliet: i’m not, i’m not, please continue

she tried so hard to keep her poker face that she ended up looking like 😐, which the sebongs found even funnier and started teasing her for

woozi: juliet, are you okay? you seem like you’re having a hard time

juliet: what do you mean? 😐 i’m totally fine 😐

she was really impressed by some of the sebongs bc both sides made genuinely compelling arguments

that being said, there were moments where she couldn’t help but break character due to their quips

jeonghan: one of our japanese staff members has a robot puppy, and they raise it like it’s a real puppy. that person may feel like that robot puppy has come to life, but if it breaks down later, most people will see it as a robot puppy

seungkwan: yeah, it goes in the recycling bin

[ Empathy ]

juliet: 😟😟😟😟

her jaw dropped hjkdkejjsj she just wasn’t expecting that at ALL 😭 then she covered her face with her hands while laughing silently

[ She’s not crying ]

eventually the debate got heated

hoshi: the person who made this question is a bad person

THE WAY THEY ALL TURNED TO LOOK AT HER

juliet: i didn’t come up with this???? don’t blame the messenger?????? 😾

seokmin: oh, so it’s our pd

mingyu: why do they keep making us fight?

juliet: bc it’s fun, i’m having a lot of fun watching you guys fight

seungkwan and juliet were also very much giving 2young energy

seungkwan: okay, but say you were trapped in an icy cave and you have pinocchio and a lighter. in such an extreme situation, wouldn’t you use that lighter on him to keep your body temperature stable?

juliet: i wouldn’t

seungkwan: … okay 🫤

[ Silenced ]

woozi: if we’re using this hypothetical situation, imagine your body was made of wood, seungkwan, and you were with me, i wouldn’t set you on fire

hoshi: i might, if it was seungkwan

the editor made sure to zoom in on juliet pressing her lips together to stop herself from laughing 😭

hoshi: moderator, say one of your own members was made of wood and you’d have to set him on fire to survive, wouldn’t you do it?

suddenly, all of them were pressing to find out who in ateez she’d most likely set on fire if they were pinocchio

juliet: /cough/yunho/cough/

it might be an unexpected answer but she explained it was bc he’s the tallest and therefore has the largest surface area

nine makes one team who??

(obviously it was a joke she’d rather set herself on fire than sacrifice any one of the boys 🤧)

topic (ii) — does happiness you are not aware of at the moment count as happiness?

this question made her head spin bc she honestly had no idea what to think 😭😭😭 it could’ve been an essay topic for a philosophy course in university

juliet: i feel like i need to have a few drinks in my system before i can have this conversation with someone

if you thought we wouldn’t get chanliet moments in these episodes, think again <3

“well… why don’t you and i grab a few drinks after this? just us? 😏”

the look on the others’ faces could only be described with ‘ah shit, here we go again’

“can you stop flirting with our moderator???”

“get a ROOM”

seungkwan gave them the biggest side eye 😭

once again, both sides gave good arguments; she mostly listened quietly while stealing chocolates from jeonghan’s bowl while he was busy debating

at one point, she noticed that joshua had been fairly quiet during the debate

juliet: joshua, do you have anything to add?

joshua: hm? no, no, nothing ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ

juliet, shrugging: oh, okay then!

[ Moderator who respects everyone’s rights ]

the rest couldn’t believe she let him off that easily

mingyu: you’re okay with that??

jun: i thought you said we could lose your admiration

juliet: well, sometimes it’s better to stay silent than say something stupid 😸

[ Sometimes it’s better to stay silent than say something stupid. — ATEEZ Juliet ]

topic (iii) — does good intent exonerate one from bad outcomes?

now, as a firm believer that intent doesn’t equate impact, this is something juliet feels very strongly about

wonwoo: regardless of whether your intention was good or not, you still need to take responsibility for the outcome

she actually got out of his seat to high-five him 😭

we love to see the dinonara rivals setting their differences aside <33

minghao: i thought you were supposed to be neutral 🤨

juliet: sorry, but he took the words right out of my mouth 😁

topic (iii, part 2) — you tried to save a plate that almost broke while trying to steal something (but you failed to steal) VS you were trying to help the owner but ended up breaking ten plates

woozi: who is better?

dokyeom: wouldn’t it be the latter?

hoshi: the latter is the good person

juliet: /nodding in agreement/

jeonghan: as long as they have the money to cover the damages, they’re a good person

chan: if we’re talking about who the better person is, i’d say it’s the former

juliet: hUH???????????

she said 😨

chan, defending his argument to the others: that’s why i said it’s the former, bc the owner never asked you to help

mingyu: that’s so dino, that’s the feeling i always get from him

meanwhile, juliet was still gaping at him with her jaw dropped 😭

jun, sitting next to her, was the first to notice her face and started giggling

it didn’t take long for the rest to notice

and everyone (including the staff) burst into laughter

[ Not a still image ]

chan, whining: why? why? why are you staring at me like that????

the lovebirds are fighting <//3

juliet: i get where you’re coming from, but i think that’s only a supporting argument for “good intent doesn’t exonerate one from bad outcomes”, but i wouldn’t say that makes them a worse person than the former

chan: ….. oh… wait, you’re right

he FOLDED 😭😭😭 (in all seriousness he really did think she worded what he wanted to say better)

hoshi: good people can make mistakes, but it’s good people like that who will make the world better in the future

juliet, impressed: woah… oppa…

she gave him a high-five <3 bc he spoke facts <3

vernon: bc of these laws, if a victim has to shoulder all of the responsibilities of the damages that resulted, from the victim’s perspective they would find that unjust, that is something the victim should decide

juliet, thoroughly impressed: bro… gimme five 🤚🏻

after wonwoo pointed out that the definition of exoneration meant complete absolution, only minghao voted for the ‘can exonerate’ option

minghao: it’s already in the past and they had good intentions, regardless of the outcome it’s in the past

but mingyu’s 100 million won car hypothetical made him reconsider 😭

juliet: i was about to ask you to lend me your car

minghao: as if you drive 🤨

DIABOLICALLLLLLLLLL

the editor put in a shocked kitty meme next to her face bc that roast was brutal (he meant it lovingly <3)

yes she now has her driver’s license but she’s a passenger princess at heart 😔

she asked a few sebongs to give closing comments and ofc chan was one of them

chan: i had a lot of fun today hearing everyone’s opinions, it’s really interesting to see all the different perspectives we have about these topics

juliet: mhm

chan: and i think the experience was even better bc we had such a beautiful and intelligent host

her cheeks turned bright pink from that </3

the lovebirds are still lovebirding 🥰

despite how cheesy his words were, the sebongs wholeheartedly agreed with him and said many kind things about how well she did as a host :’)

jeonghan: to wrap this up, julie, do you have anything to say or want to promote?

her mind blanked and in the moment the only thing she could think of was…

“um… follow me on instagram ✌🏻 bc i assume those of you watching are already following theirs” /muffled staff laughter/

[ @ jujubebe ]

the editor actually promo-d her insta 😭😭😭

and that was it!

she had such a great time hosting the debate and being on gose, everyone was so so sweet to her 🥹

<3 the julie effect <3

bonus — after filming

“i’m serious, you were amazing,” chan says sincerely, smiling down at juliet. his arms are wrapped around her waist, hers looped over his broad shoulders.

glancing around to make sure no one’s watching, she presses a quick kiss to his lips. “thank you, i was really nervous that me being there would make things weird,” she confesses, playing with the hair at his nape, “but i’m really grateful that all of you were so welcoming to me.”

“why wouldn’t we be? the guys adore you, not as much as i do, of course.” she giggles shyly at his words. “and you should’ve seen how excited our staff was when we mentioned wanting to bring you on the show as a special guest.”

“does your throat still hurt?” juliet asks worriedly, remembering that he mentioned his bronchial tubes not doing well prior to filming and during the debate.

chan shrugs. “a little, but it’s okay.”

her frown deepens despite his reassurance. with a chuckle, he cups her face in his hands to smooths out her frown with his thumbs. “honest, i swear. i saw the doctor and he said it’ll get better with more rest.”

“hm, i better stay over tonight, then,” she muses in a teasing tone. “y’know, to make sure you really rest.”

a grin lights up his face as he rests his forehead against hers. “i’d like that. a lot.”

“okay, you two!” seungkwan calls out, clapping his hands to catch their attention. “save the mushy stuff for later, the rest of us want to go home!”

juliet feels chan’s hand slip into hers. when she looks up at him, he’s already smiling softly at her with soft eyes. “yeah, let’s go home.”

lmk what you thought of this 🥹🫶🏻 obviously i couldn’t include the entirety of the episodes in this, so i hope this made sense and that you all enjoyed it 🫶🏻

cue the staff laughing in the background 😭

yes youngji wore a white cat ear headband for the episode bc of juliet’s resemblance to a cat 🤧

juliet: it’s okay it’s okay~ i can make my own [makes cat ears with her fingers]

after greeting and bowing to the staff in the room her eyes immediately went to the food

juliet: youngji-ya you prepared this for me???? 🥹

youngji: [gestures to the staff] they did, i just picked the best place after your manager told us you like fried chicken and tteokbokki

juliet: [turns to the staff] oh 🥺 thank you so much

the staff were instantly whipped SKSKSKSJ the coos and aww’s they let out when she smiled at them were so loud 😭

staff: you’re so pretty~

youngji: unnie, your smile is no joke, seriously

juliet: ah, really?

staff, explaining: when you smile your eyes smile with you, it’s really pretty

pls it made juliet so shy 😭 so true though julie prettiest smile <33333

okay but she came prepared ✨ she was holding a bag when she came in and when youngji asked her what was in it she revealed they were bottles of hangover drinks and coconut water

and she also bought a tub of pre-cut watermelon for youngji bc she heard the water content in watermelon helps with hydration especially after a hangover

[ So sweet ♥ ]

juliet bestest girl in the world 🤧

youngji and the staff there were all so 🥺🥺🥺

youngji: i wanted to have you on the show for a really long time

juliet: omg really?????

youngji: yeah after meeting you on immortal songs! we didn’t get to talk a lot but i thought you were really sweet, and then you went on stage and BAM!!!! you became a completely different person

juliet: no but i also thought you were so so cool on immortal songs, when you started rapping nicki minaj’s part i got goosebumps. and i also watched your cover of juice with seungkwan oppa, that was really really good and you looked so pretty 🥺

suddenly the episode turned into them gushing about each other 🫶🏻

youngji: unnie, you know—you are so hard to book [staff and juliet laughing] really! i tried to get you on the show but every time i reached out they said you were busy 🙁

juliet: ahhhh i think it was because we were on tour a lot this year before immediately preparing for the comeback 😔 give me your number, i’ll drop everything for you next time you wanna hang out

and that’s how they got each other’s number hehe <33

youngji: we’re gonna drink a lot today

juliet: ahhhhh~ okay okay~

youngji: that’s okay with you?

juliet: yeah but i have dance practice after this…….

youngji: girl you can’t go anymore, you won’t be able to walk in a straight line after this

juliet: it’s fine i’ll just stay the night here

youngji: [looking off-camera] your manager is panicking rn 💀 your company told us you can’t hold alcohol well too

oh boy did this bring out competitive juliet

i meannnn kq didn’t lie but she was so insulted 😭

“they said that?????” THEN SHE GRABBED HER SHOT GLASS AND THREW IT BACK WITHOUT HESITATION?????????

youngji: 🤯🤯🤯

the staff cheered while poor eunjung (her manager) was there like 🧍🏻‍♀️ bc she knew what was coming in a little bit

youngji: unnie, when was the last time you got drunk?

juliet: my birthday i think, but i was only with one other person, so i wasn’t in a bar or anything and i was stopped before i got too drunk 🫣

youngji: what about your members? do they hold alcohol well?

juliet: dude some of them are as bad as me 💢

just juliet casually exposing the other teezers <3 nothing new to see here <3

after that they ate a bit and decided to play a drinking game where if they spoke english they’d have to take a shot

youngji actually planned another drinking game in case this one didn’t work that well but juliet switches to english so often that they ended up not doing the second game 😭

“so tell me about your group’s newest song” “okay so—”

youngji: 👁👁

juliet: ?????? [realises] ah shi—

youngji: 👁👁👁👁👁👁

juliet: 😐😐😐😐😐😐 [takes another shot]

this went on as she continued to talk about their new album, the meaning behind guerrilla and some of her/ateez’s hopes for this era

both of them lost a few times but juliet was a lot worse 😭

so eventually she <3 gave up <3

“anyways as i was saying, we really hope to show a new side of our music—”

everyone in the room: ⁉️⁉️⁉️😃 what.

youngji: that was like at least 10 english words

juliet: oh…really? guess i’ll drink more then

SHE TAKES HER OWN BOTTLE AND STARTS CHUGGING FROM IT????????

bro youngji panicked

she pulled the bottle away from her lips while juliet just giggled

even the staff were equally shocked and impressed 😭

“WOAHHHHH” “WOOHOO”

another day another instance of an ateez member being too competitive and taking games too seriously

youngji: unnie……….you’re kinda wild

juliet, innocently: isn’t that the point of the show though?

youngji took a shot bc she respects the hustle 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

at this point juliet’s cheeks, chest and stomach were bright pink from all the soju 😭

she also had an oopsie moment bc she decided to wear a pink shirt to the filming so her skin literally matched her shirt 💀

youngji noticed and started shoving a bottle of water into her hands HELP

“youngji-yaaaaaaaa ‘m not drunkkkkk 😩😩🥺🥺”

youngji got up to bow to her manager in apology 😭

“i’m so sorry manager-nim but i really think she can’t go to practice later, just take her home and put her to bed”

“noooooo i can do it!!!!! c’mon, do the guerrilla challenge with me now!!!!!!!!”

cue juliet showing youngji the choreo for the challenge and the staff bursting out laughing 10 seconds in bc of how difficult it was

youngji: 🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️ unnie…….i thought it was supposed to be a cute challenge

juliet: it’s really not that bad!!! let’s start again—chumeul chwo break that wall uri feelro 👊🏻💥yeogijeogi ullyeo peojyeo guerrilla 🔥⚔️

okay but she nailed the challenge despite already being more than tipsy atp 😌😌

[ Still killing it ♥ ]

after that they went back to their seats to eat and talk about ateez’s comeback

youngji: i watched a lot of your fancams before today, you always look so confident in them

juliet: ah~ i gained that confidence slowly. if you watch videos of us from just after our debut, i always hid behind my members and didn’t speak much

youngji: is it because you were the only girl?

juliet: yeah, i thought i stood out enough because of that, so i was scared to draw even more attention to myself. but it’s because of the acceptance and love from our fans, my company, and my members that i’m able to be more confident and show a better side of myself

drunk juliet also means sentimental juliet bc she started crying after that 😭😭

cue youngji and the staff comforting her and handing her tissues <///3

juliet, still crying: i just [sniffs] love my members a lot [sniffs] they’re really good people, so please give them a lot of love [sniffs] my company is also really good too [sniffs] they gave me an opportunity when i felt really uncertain about my future [sniffs] and our fans are so lovely…. [sniffs]

she took some time to calm down before they went back to filming and talked about more lighthearted topics

at one point the clasp of her necklace shifted to the front so youngji helped adjust it

“this is a pretty necklace, unnie” “oh thanks, it’s from my boyf—”

PLS the way she immediately clapped a hand over her mouth 😭

youngji panicking part.2

“it’s okay it’s okay it’s okay don’t worry we’ll just cut this out”

“oh, everyone already knows…i just didn’t expect myself to blurt that out so casually”

“see? that’s why you should drink water instead starting from n—what you mean everyone already knows????? 😱😱”

cue juliet pulling out her phone to show youngji the article that exposed chanliet on january 1 😭 (and also to take a selfie with her hehe)

youngji, reading the article and comments: no they did not 😠 GASP NO THEY DID NOT!!!!!

juliet: mhm….mhm…….. 😕

youngji: this is such a coincidence because last time chaeryeongie was here she said most idols don’t want to date, and yet the guest after her is dating

juliet: it was kinda unexpected, i didn’t know i’d end up being in a relationship with him. i thought i was already lucky enough to be his friend, so i didn’t dare be greedy and hope for more

youngji: but everything turned out well and you’re happy now, right?

juliet: of course of course 🥰

her whipped smile :((( chanliet beloveds :(((((

she didn’t give too many details after that though bc she still wanted the privacy

but she kinda confirmed that chan was the one who confessed first sksksks

it was a really cute episode :’))) especially towards the end where youngji told juliet to tell herself that she’s doing well

“juliet, you’re doing well”

“more confidence!”

“juliet, you’re doing well!!!”

“NOT ENOUGH!!!!! MORE CONFIDENCE!!!!!!!”

“JULIET, YOU’RE DOING WELL!!!!!!!!!!”

“THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT!”

and then they both took their last shot before juliet had to leave 🥹

juliet: this was really fun, seriously. talking to you is very natural and comforting and you’ve created a really great show, you’re doing well too youngji, and the staff too

youngji and the staff: 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

she was so wobbly when she went to go put on her shoes 😭

“unnie…….you really can’t go dance in this state 💀”

“i’ll send you a video of me dancing as proof 😤”

youngji, after closing the door: i didn’t expect her to drink so much today, i was so scared when she took the bottle and started chugging… i hope she doesn’t fall over at practice—

OUTFIT.

FAN REACTIONS.

of course she’s had health checkups before but never an endoscopy, so she was really nervous

doctor: i heard that you and mingi didn’t go through with your fasting

the editor added a sad kitty meme next to her face bc poor baby looked so guilty 😭

luckily for her, people become whipped for her wherever she goes <3 call that the juliet effect

juliet: i’m sorry, doctor ☹️ it was just a jelly, i swear ☹️

doctor: nonono, it’s okay, it’s just sugar water ☺️

she sat next to seonghwa as he started massaging his and yeosang’s feet…

“oppa… your hands are gonna smell like feet…”

and then she leans in to sniff yeosang’s foot???

“BLEUGH 🤢” (she’s joking)

when wooyoung revealed that the nurse called juliet pretty and yeosang handsome, they held hands and bowed

[ Nurse’s Award ]

our pretty pearlz <333

san: does drawing blood hurt a lot? 😟

wooyoung: AYYY 🙄

yunho: you scared? 😏

juliet: …i’m a little scared…… 🙁

the way yunwoo immediately did a 180

“aegi-ya, don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt that much” “yeah!!! just don’t look when the needle goes in, you’ll be okay!!!”

wooyoung: i have a needle tmi. i can’t get a shot on my bum, it hurts like nothing else

yeosang: so if i slap your butt 🫱🏻 / juliet: so if someone pokes your butt like this☝🏻

save everyone from pearlz

they decided that she would go first for the endoscopy

the boys’ fond fond fond gazes when she shuffled pass them with the pole thingy holding her iv </3 she’s literally their baby

“good luck, julie” “you’ll be okay” “don’t be nervous, you’re in good hands” “we’ll be here”

she’s so loved ;(

[ The maknae goes first with the love of the members ]

the plotting started once she went inside

jongho: what if we got the staff to tell her that we went home when she’s still under the anaesthesia…

ateez: LMFAO BRO 🤪🤪🤪

the editor immediately cut to juliet rolled out of the endoscopy room, completely oblivious to their plan

she was so loopy and began babbling a bunch of gibberish

“why’re waves called waves when they don’t wave at you?” “do i ’ave to sing for the intro?” “wait, my in-ear… it’s not working” “could someone please pass me my mic?” [ Thinking about work even now ] “where are the members?”

producer: they went home, only you are doing the endoscopy

juliet: w-what do you mean they went home…?

in her loopy state, just the thought of the boys leaving her alone in the clinic was too much for her, and within seconds tears were pooling in her eyes and dripping onto the pillow

/sniffles/ “but t-they said they’d-they’d be here” /sniffles/

everyone in the room panicked and the producer rushed to tell the other producer in the waiting room to get the boys in here 😭

they felt SO bad for scaring her and making her cry, reassuring her in soft voices while stroking her hair as the nurse dabbed away her tears :(

“how could you lie to me ☹️☹️☹️”

she got over it quickly though, bc the boys doted on her and promised to get her boba after <33

julie babbling gibberish while they listened fondly and nodded along ;(((

“do you think i was a cat in a past life? meow~”

she fell back asleep as wooyoung and jongho got their endoscopies done, so she unfortunately missed all of woo’s rambling

him telling her and jongho to stop sleeping while she’s literally out cold 😭

[ Sleeping kitty ♡ ]

we also got a cute moment between her and her manager when she was about to walk out of the room with just her socks on

eunjung: julie, honey, your slippers

juliet, mumbling: why’re they called slippers when they don’t make you slip… how about calling them walkers?

she was then transferred to the recovery room, but before she went in she popped in to check on mingi, who just woke up

juju blinking blearily while standing behind yunho and watching him banter with mingi </3 baby </3

obviously she couldn’t miss mingi dancing in the waiting room

the remaining members melted at the sight of her sleepy face and with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders

[ Another observer ]

hongjoong, quietly: ah, minyoungie… cute

she stayed for a bit to watch mingi but eventually convinced him to go to the recovery room with her

“oppa, c’mon, let’s gooooooooooooo”

juju tugging mingi along by his sleeve as he followed behind her 🥹

she woke up just as hongjoong and seonghwa woke from their endoscopies so she popped in again to see how they were doing

atinys found the difference between how she greeted them so funny and peak juliet behaviour

with seonghwa, she leaned down a bit to brush his bangs away from his eyes and said “hi” in the cutest tiniest voice

then she walked over to hongjoong, got all up in his face and was like “RAH 👹”

she loves her matz parents <33

then they all went to the recovery room for an hour-long nap 😭 the rest was very much needed and she didn’t do anything else that day except lay in bed and sleep (as she should)

she also babbled a bunch of stuff about chan <33 for obvious reasons it all got cut out of the episodes, but much to her embarrassment (and chan’s delight) certain clips continue to live on in his and the boys’ phones

lemme know ur fav ju moment 🤭

Immediately intrigued, Jeonghan turns to him with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Why? Who are you planning to call?”

At their manager’s nod, Chan reaches into his back pocket for his phone. Curiously, the other three members lean closer for a better look at the screen as he searches through his contact list. Upon seeing the familiar name, they begin exclaiming excitedly, especially Jeonghan who urges him to press ‘call’ without hesitation.

“Really? Really?” Joshua asks, hand covering his mouth in surprise. “You’re going to call her?”

Vernon’s practically at the edge of his seat as Chan presses the call button. “Do you think she’ll pick up?”

“I think so, if she’s busy we can move on,” he replies, bringing the phone up to his ear, yet it’s clear to the others that he’d want nothing more than to hear her voice, knowing the two haven’t been able to see each other as much as they’d like due to their busy schedules.

As he waits, he begins counting the number of rings in his head, his body jolting in part surprise-part delight when she picks up right before the third one.

“Channie?” Despite the confusion that laces her voice, he can tell she’s still smiling. “I thought you were filming for Going right now.”

“We are, we’re doing tongue twisters and we wanted to see if you’re free to try one of them,” Chan explains before adding softly, “you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with that, of course.”

“No, no, that sounds fun! But… your managers are okay with it?”

He gives another look to them, certain they can guess who’s on the phone just by judging from his tone. They exchange a few brief words before nodding again.

Relieved, Chan shoots them a grateful smile. “They are. I’ll put you on speaker now, okay?” He places the phone nearer to the centre of the table so the others can hear her better. “Do you want to briefly introduce yourself first?”

“Hello,” Juliet says shyly, her voice filling the space, “I’m Juliet from ATEEZ.” She’s glad she’s not physically there when the four immediately start clapping and cheering, knowing if that were the case her red face would be on full display.

Jeonghan leans in even closer so she can hear him. “Julie, it’s me!”

“Oh! Hi, Jeonghan oppa! Who else is here?”

Joshua and Vernon answer almost unanimously. “Me!”

Jeonghan continues his questioning. “What are you doing now?“

“I just got home from practice. You said you wanted me to try a tongue twister?”

“Yeah, I’ll send it to you,” Vernon says, already grabbing his phone to take a photo of the card. “It’s the Peter Piper one.”

“It’s so hard,” Chan complains, “I barely got through the whole thing, please save me.” He’s completely oblivious to not only the smirks exchanged between the two older members, but also to the cute whine that naturally creeps into his voice when talking to her. It’s not often when he talks like that in the presence of his members unless it’s for the cameras, so they’ve come to enjoy it while they can.

On her end of the call, Juliet quickly scans the tongue twister Vernon sent her, trying to commit as much of it to memory as she can. A Going Seventeen episode gets at least a million views, and to say she’s terrified of making a fool of herself is an absolute understatement.

Without thinking, she lets out an audible exhale, eyes widening immediately upon realising her mistake.

“Oh? What was that?” Joshua teases. “Why’d you sigh? This should be a piece of cake for you.”

“If I mess up, can it be edited out?” she blurts pleadingly. “Please don’t replay whatever mistake I make.” Her reference to the editors’ propensity to doing so has everyone on set cracking up, even the producers and directors hidden behind the cameras.

“Don’t worry, the editors will be much nicer to you than they are to us,” Jeonghan says in feigned hurt, hand placed over his heart. “So do it comfortably. You’ll probably do much better than anyone else here can, anyways.”

“Okay, I’ll give it a try…” Taking a deep breath, she begins reading off of the card in the photo as quickly as possible; despite fumbling slightly midway, almost throwing her off her game, she finishes the rest of the tongue twister with no errors.

The room erupts in cheers amidst Joshua’s playful protests that he didn’t get a reaction nearly as enthusiastic when he attempted one earlier.

“See? You nailed it, ba—Julie,” Chan beams, pink quickly colouring his cheeks knowing he almost called her ‘baby’ on camera. “You—”

“Is that Julie?” The four turn their heads to find Hoshi’s head peeking out from the heavy curtains used to separate the different sets.

This is promptly followed by Seungkwan doing the same. “How could you guys not tell us?” he complains as the two immediately make a beeline for the table. “Hi! It’s me!”

“And me!”

“Seungkwan oppa, Hoshi oppa, hi!”

“Why didn’t you call us instead?” Hoshi pouts. “You could’ve starred on our radio show!”

“Sorry, you know I’d love to, but they were the ones who called!”

Despite rolling his eyes in mock exasperation, Chan’s unable to suppress the fond smile on his face as he gently pushes the two towards the direction they came from. It warms his heart every time seeing his members adore her as much as he does. “Go back to your own show! She had practice and needs to rest.”

“Bye, Julie! We’re being kicked out by Lee Chan!” Seungkwan yells. “I hope he gets in trouble with you later! Rest well!”

Juliet laughs. “Thank you, and good luck with your shoot! I should probably go too,” she says, addressing the four in charge of the English radio show, “I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

“No, no, it’s nice talking to you,” Vernon reassures, “thanks for making an appearance.”

[Chan reaches for his phone, bringing it closer to himself before speaking in a softer voice. “I’ll call you later, okay? I miss you.”

He can practically hear the smile in her voice. “I miss you too.”]

Juliet hangs up, and the four prepare to return to their segment when Seungcheol wanders in from the other set.

“Was that Juliet?” They nod. “Why didn’t you let me say hi?”

A little while later, as the members and crew go on a short break from filming, Chan takes out his phone to send a quick message.

Think you can stay over? That phone call only made me miss you more

Her response is instant.

I’ll be there 💗

a/n: juliet being everyone’s favourite <33

The others howl with laughter at her witty quip at poor Seungcheol’s expense. The leader groans, sulkily muttering something about how she should never be let near Jeonghan to avoid his terrible influence.

“You should’ve told us you were coming, by the way,” Vernon says, gesturing for Juliet to take a seat on the couch, “we would’ve tidied up the place a little.”

She blinks at him blankly. “I live with eight men, I’ve seen way worse. You don’t want to see what the place looks like when Seonghwa-oppa isn’t home.”

“Fair enough.”

Next to her, Seungcheol asks, “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, but—”

“Why not?” The sudden change in his demeanour from carefree to serious has Juliet’s eyes widening from surprise; she briefly wonders if being able to switch auras in a split second is a leader thing.

“I’m waiting for Chan to come back so we can order,” she answers meekly.

His features soften, betraying a sense of sheepishness as red colours his cheeks. “Ah, that’s good. I’m sorry if I scared you… just… don’t skip meals, okay?”

Juliet smiles reassuringly, secretly relieved that his earlier solemness wasn’t brought by something wrong that she said. “I won’t, I promise.”

Soonyoung clears his throat, sensing the slight shift in the air. “So…” he begins, dragging out the syllable, “what are you gonna do while waiting for Channie?”

“I don’t know,” Juliet says with a shrug, “I always bring my Switch with me, so—”

“Ooh! What games do you have on it?”

She laughs at the way Soonyoung and Seokmin’s faces practically light up at the mention. “Not a lot. Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Overcooked, stuff like that.”

A small noise of confusion escapes Seungcheol. “Overcooked? What’s that one about?”

“Uh… basically you work in a restaurant and make orders before time runs out. It’s pretty fun because there are different settings, like in one round you work on two separate trucks and you have to be careful not to fall off. Stuff like that.”

“Have we played that before?” Soonyoung asks Vernon, eyes shining with curiosity.

The rapper shrugs. “I don’t think so? At least, we’ve never played as a group.”

“I mean…” Juliet pipes up shyly, “we could play a few rounds now, if you want?”

“Say no more.”

Chan worries his bottom lip between his teeth as the elevator approaches his floor. Having thought his schedule would end before rush hour so he could avoid the heavy traffic, he certainly didn’t expect to be 45 minutes late.

Knowing how anxious Juliet can get in unfamiliar environments, he hopes she’s at least in the privacy of his room so she can do whatever she pleases as she waits, without having to sit awkwardly in the living room. The several messages he’s sent her have yet to be read, leading him to believe that she’s either fallen asleep in his room, or is being roped into a conversation with his members.

He just hopes they’re not teasing her too much.

At the sound of the ding!, he dashes down the hallway leading to the front door, only for his forehead to crease with bewilderment when muffled yelling reaches his ears.

Hastily unlocking the door, Chan bursts into the apartment; his entrance seems to go unnoticed, however, drowned out by the loud screeching coming from the living room.

“Switch sides! Switch sides! We have to switch sides!”

“Someone pass me the tomato! It’s on the other side!”

“Hold on! I’m trying to serve the mushroom soup!”

“OKAY, BUT GET ME THE TOMATO!”

“JUST FORGET ABOUT THE STUPID TOMATO! THE ONION SOUP’S ON FIRE!”

“WHAT DO WE DO?”

“THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER! WE’VE BEEN THROUGH THIS!”

Chan expected to see a lot of sights, but almost half his group gathered in the living room watching four grown adults make virtual soup is not one of them.

“You’re back!” Seokmin greets in his usual cheerful manner when he notices Chan hovering by the edge of the living room. The vocalist is currently perched on the left armrest of the couch, meanwhile still recording the chaos unfolding before them on his phone.

“STOP MESSING AROUND WITH THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!”

“But look at this! I didn’t know you could use it while spinning!”

“OUR KITCHEN IS LITERALLY BURNING! OH MY GOD!”

Chan blinks. “What… what is everyone doing here?”

“Oh! Well, Hoshi-hyung said he wanted to try Overcooked so he, Juliet, Coups-hyung and I started playing, then I think Vernon offhandedly mentioned that to some of the others and they stopped by to watch.”

“Good job, guys.”

“You could’ve tried sounding a little more genuine.”

“That’s because I wasn’t being genuine.”

Playful jeers erupt from the spectators when the timer counts down to the last few seconds, and Chan watches in amusement as the four sitting around the TV—Juliet, Vernon, Mingyu, and Joshua—visibly deflate at the measly one star they get for the match.

“Dude, you suck at this,” Juliet pouts, shooting a disapproving glance in Vernon’s direction, “I thought you’re really good at games.”

Vernon’s mouth opens and closes as he thinks of a way to defend himself, “I-I, that’s because I’ve never played this game until today!”

“Just admit that you suck,” Joshua says with a teasing pat to Vernon’s shoulder, “Juliet and I practically carried our team.”

“What about me?” Mingyu whines.

“You let our kitchen burn down because having a fire extinguisher smoke show was more important to you,” the girl deadpans, cocking an unimpressed brow at him.

“Can I cut in?”

Juliet perks up at the sound of Chan’s voice, looking over her shoulder at his approaching figure. “You’re back!”

Something’s different, he could’ve sworn just a few days ago she had—

“Your-your hair…”

Soonyoung snorts. “That’s one way to greet your girlfriend.”

“Yeah,” Seokmin chimes in immediately, “at least say if you like it or not!”

Juliet smiles slyly. “Don’t worry, he’s contractually obligated to like it.”

“You’re in a good mood,” Juliet muses as Chan scrolls through the countless restaurant options on his food delivery app.

“I’m always in a good mood,” he refutes with a fond roll of his eyes, “especially when I’m with you.”

“Fair. But really, what’s gotten you so smiley?”

“Curious, aren’t we?”

“Very.”

Chan looks up from the screen, his teasing smile melting away into one of shyness. “It’s a bit silly, but it makes me happy seeing you get along well with the others.”

Juliet returns the smile softly. “It’s not silly,” she reassures, “it’d kill me if you didn’t get along with my members, so I get it. Plus, they’ve been so nice to me since day one, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, it seemed like you guys were having fun earlier.”

“If only you joined us, though you probably would’ve sucked at the game.”

“Would not.”

He falters slightly at the pointed look she gives him.

“Okay, maybe just a little.”

a/n: the father mode really jumped out with cheol 🥺😭 hope everyone’s staying safe and healthy!! 💗 also i would pay GOOD money to watch seventeen or ateez play overcooked can you imagine the absolute chaos 😭 this took too long to write but i’m happy i got it out before the week’s over T^T