LOVE WHISPER

comeback after comeback had become a definite thing for jaein since lucid’s debut. dimensions hadn’t been shy since the beginning about how much they wanted to use their whole double realm thing to push the girls into being busy. it didn’t help that jaein had a solo comeback coming up at right in between love whisper and summer rain. her mind was filled with different choreographs.

thankfully, summer rain falls on the easier side of their choreography. it’s a lot better than the crazy footwork they had with love whisper, and she appreciates a more mellowed down dance because it usually means she didn’t have to spend as long learning it. the girls were all good dancers—she thinks that’s something nobody can deny—which would mean that their first practice would go quite smoothly. 

what jaein hadn’t failed to realize was how little presence she had with this track. she’s not complaining at all. frankly, this is everything she’s been waiting for. perhaps this is dimensions’ attempt at trying to be nice to her, and it’s surprising to learn that they know how to finally manage one of their artists. with their normal realm, there’s no denying that she’d been front and center for a lot of them. the school trilogy especially had been very evident of that. summer rain, while still being a normal realm song, didn’t have that same bright energy as their previous songs which may be the reason she’s been pushed more towards the back. 

whatever the reason may be, she’s satisfied with her placement during the choreography and her minimized lines throughout the song. it would have been stressful on her body and vocals since summer rain was coming right after her island promotions—which have also been shortened in comparison to her previous solos—thus she appreciated the generosity from dimensions. the bare minimum, but she’ll take it coming from her unreliable company.

the only worry she has is the response of her fans. there were already complaints from time to time about how their choreography seems to cover a member up completely, and this time around jaein was the one that’ll be in the back and unseen. none of that matters to her, but she’s aware that fans always want the best for their own idol.

one by one, she counts the won bills trickling into her palm. by four, she multiplies to sixteen — she’ll keep note of that tucked in her memories for the next time she crosses paths with jaein.

for now, she listens in, the smile encased behind curved eyes, and subtle nods. “is it still going to have lucid be the modern day ballerina in frilly dresses and lullaby tunes?” minjung asks as the classic sampling draws her back to hands up, and her smile breaks piece by piece into a split-second tightening of her teeth against each other. “all songs that sample classics i think deserve to belong in the graveyard. the classics can live on, but the re-making of them into modern day pop should be laid to rest with the originators.”

her smile peeks back over, her hands taking each bill to the vending machine, eyes roving over the same choices given anywhere. “turns out dimensions and gold star share a brain, they’re no einsteins. we’re sampling beethoven in fuse’s comeback. the track should’ve been incinerated rather than a nice recycle into the ecosystem of our industry.”

“yes,” she says with an almost smile. at this point, it’s become predictable how lucid will look on stage and what kind of music they’ll release whenever they lean towards the normal realm. “though a little less frill this time around and a bit more flow, if you know what i mean.” taking a look down at her dress, it looks casual rather than something an idol would wear for stage, but that was the whole appeal of their normal side, wasn’t it? the girl-next-door vibes with a touch of innocence. in other words, it’s a great tactic for dimensions to spend less money on their outfits since they could be bought at the lotte mall next doors. 

“i guess i’ll just have to wait around until you’re done performing, then.” the sentence could have come across negative, but in jeonghwa’s mouth her upward tone and bright, open smile came out to a tone of teasing. “but in the event i get whisked away by the government for unknown reasons before then, you’ve gotta take a video and tell me in real time.” normally, jeonghwa might have whined and begged for jaein to ignore dietary restrictions and give her cake one little taste, which then would turn into a whole slice, yet for once, she decided to be good. jaein was genuinely already stressed enough, and pulling a move like that in front of so many staff members just sounded like it would embarrass jaein. if they were alone… that would have been a different story.

she decided to make herself comfortable, or as comfortable as she could be, and grab a chair to plop herself down on. “please,” her hand waved, “i’m fine. how could i have known what face you’d make when you saw it if i didn’t personally deliver it?” leaning back, she tried for as much of a ‘relaxed’ pose as possible, though the cheeky grin on her face didn’t fade. “anyway, what were you up to before i came in? what stage are we at here?”

despite never wanting solo promotions to begin with, jaein was oddly pleasant with the promotions that came along with island. it was minimum compared to her last few attempts, and in her eyes it looked like dimensions was starting to semi-give up on her. to any other idol that might seem like a warning, but to jaein it was the kind of good news that she’d been waiting for. it also helped that island was a better song than any of her past ones though she’d never admit that out loud. especially since the people who had worked on her past few mini’s were those she cared about. 

“Oh, please do so. I’m sure I’m this close of them kicking me out, and I would love nothing more,” he says while demonstrating with his hand how thin he thinks their company’s patience is right now. Then he notices the problem in their thinking, and his eyes twitch before closing them, “but then they would be upset at you, and it would do nothing for me. Who even knows, maybe they give me an acting gig and I’ll have more work. I don’t like that idea at all.” And he’s purely being melodramatic now, and he can’t blame anyone but himself and the alcohol, but what else was he supposed to do at this point, anyway.

“I would flee the country. I would have gone to Italy or New Zealand and work in a grapevine, away from my parents. Live simply, away from any attention and cameras,” he motions his hands from side to side and takes the chance to put his head up just to down another shot down his throat. He’d do anything to get off this business and not be remembered again but has the impression it’s not something easy to archive. “All of this, what we keep doing, is not at all worth it, you know. We keep trying so hard to get nothing out of it. I hate it.”

it’s no secret that jaein gets so much responsibility thrown at her as the leader of lucid. whenever something goes wrong or right with the group, she’s called by staff members. after years of being told that she’s in charge of the other girls and the group, she’s become accustomed to always being on the look out and behaving herself. just like she did back when she was a child. “eh, wouldn’t be the first time i had someone upset at me,” she says nonchalantly followed by a smile that looks awfully closer to a smirk because of how it doesn’t reach her eyes.

ryu jaein aesthetic // love whisper

headcanon: idol questionnaire #13-21

Waking up at shit-ass o’clock for an equally shit-ass o’clock call time should be outlawed. Especially if it’s for something like this company photoshoot they’re all doing. As much as Seola is grateful to remain in Dimensions’ payroll, there are some things that have her questioning the company’s decisions. They’re in the middle of comeback preparations, and thankfully, they have yet to get their hair changed. Otherwise, it would have been madness for all seven members of 7ROPHY to be wearing hats to hide their new hairstyles. As much as she enjoys being booked and busy, Seola still thinks the reason for the shoot is stupid. Sure, Seola is close with some members of the other groups, but there are some people who she didn’t even know existed until this shoot. They aren’t exactly the happy family the creative director is pushing them to be.

She had just been shooed away by one of the photography assistants after being a menace while hyping up Yena by shouting out compliments when the photographer and creative director weren’t giving instructions. Seola’s contemplating who to bother next when presence joins her. “Ugh, mood,” Seola says with a sigh. She then directs her attention to Jaein and shrugs. “I didn’t get a memo that we were suddenly going for the happy family image either. You’d think they’d give us leaders a heads up on this…” Seola then reaches for two sealed water bottles and offers one to Jaein. “Water? Might as well get a drink before they retouch all this.”   

jaein begins to wonder when this whole family thing started within companies. who was the genius who thought that it was smart to advertise a company as something more than a business center? she means genius sarcastically but in a business point of view, it was a pretty smart move. unfortunately, there seemed to be people who actually bought into it. she hasn’t seen many herself, but she knows they exist. people who claim they’re dimensions stans and love all the groups in the company. 

with the cake needing tending to, jeonghwa hugging jaein back was more of her hands closing up the cake again and her chin briefly tucking over jaein’s. when they parted, jeonghwa took an actually good look around so she could find a flat surface to put the cake on. “when aren’t we busy? it’s no biggie.” she waved the worry away with the movement of her hand in the air, then headed towards a table to properly lay out the cake, uncovered for everyone to see. quite proud of this one, she was.

jeonghwa turned on her heel to face jaein again, then continued, “besides, i like decorating. it’s more fun than the baking part of it when it comes to cakes. like, sure, toss ingredients in a bowl then put it in the oven. it’s the same every time. but this is fun.” though a little more sappy than she intended, her words turned to, “and it’s worth it for you. you’re busy, too.” jeonghwa clapped, then, wanting to shift the mood yet again, “so you promise you’ll have some? it can be after you’re done if that matters. i just need my official leader-ly review.”

having her members visit for her solo promotions was nothing totally new. it’s happened a couple of times in the past because all her members have been supportive, but it’s the first time she’s been given a whole cake. homemade as well because she knew how much jeonghwa loved to bake. she could already hear the camera shutters from some of their staff members who were sending cheers towards the two lucid members. it’s a small moment, but it’s moments like this where she feels especially proud of her members. well, member in this case.

“if only i knew how many sours went into a whiskey sour summer punch.” minjung muses out loud, lets the feigned woefulness of her voice die into the silence before she takes a look over towards the vending machine. no money — just time to waste.

so, she flicks her gaze back over to jaein, cool and collected when her eyes detail towards the other idol. “do you have any spare change? i don’t have my wallet, and fuse hasn’t done much but dry up the money in there — promise, once i find some success i’ll pay you back triple, quadruple.” her eyes flesh out a wink, back turned straight to the wall because in reality, what she’d rather have is a conversation that drawls on further, taking her away from the point of promotions altogether.

her hand waves in the air, taking no account to whether jaein gives the money or not, changes the subject ironically back to the whole center of music promotions. “what are you promoting today? is it a solo venture out in the wild or is it groupwork?”

the talk that comes from minjung leaves her a bit puzzled, but that doesn’t stop her from handing the fuse member a couple thousand won. the most she’ll probably need is two thousand won if she’s feeling fancy since nothing at these vending machines are too expensive, but the wink takes her by surprise and before she knows it, she’s handed her all the change she has. 

“a repackage album. i like this one though, it’s kind of nice,” she confesses before taking another drink from the sparkling water she’s just bought. “kind of cheesy because it samples a classical piece, but i think it was nicely done.” she didn’t hold a lot of opinions when it came to lucid’s title tracks, but that doesn’t stop her from having a preference among the ones that are released. summer rain wasn’t terrible, and she’d almost say it was nice. that doesn’t change the fact that she’s exhausted though. 

It’s not like Wooram cares, because most of the time, he doesn’t. But there are exceptions, very rare ones that make him wonder if he’s being too imposing, or being too much of an annoyance. In his defense, these types of people who make them care are rare enough, so he doesn’t know how’s he’s supposed to act with them, but this is also Jaein, and Jaein has been a constant in his life for as long as he can remember this nightmare beginning. He doesn’t want her to suffer consequences for sneaking out, but at the same time, there’s no one he trusts as much as he does her.

“I have no fucking idea. I guess I did well in science back at school? I had all types of stupid dreams and careers, and I’m sure that I could easily be anything I wanted,” he says a little heatedly but not enough to make a scene or get unwanted attention towards the two of them. “But here I am, dancing and singing for a living. Pathetic.” Wooram rolls his eyes and drops his head back to rest on his forearm. He takes a big sigh, and he’s too far gone to even care about sounding like the spoiled young man that everyone knows that he is. “That’s the problem, Jaein. I’m doing fine. My career is fine, my life is fine, everything is just fine. Don’t you get sick of constant mediocracy?”

if anything, jaein thinks she would have majored in business if she ever went to college. it just always appeared to be the safest option. that or she goes into any major, takes a few years off to study for the civil servant exam and just live her whole life steadily. so when wooram brings up mediocracy, she can’t exactly agree. she’d spent the earlier years of her life trying to be bigger and better, but she learned that it wasn’t worth it. which brings her to now: what’s so wrong about mediocracy? 

idly waiting, and it’s a talent at this point in her career.

one she shines and flashes, escaping the fuse waiting room when hands up becomes the point of her grievances in the first place. despite how many times her mind wants to flash it out for another topic, it all draws back to her when the cheap tech wear of stage outfits and the cues for call times play the tune to what she considers her own death march.

it’s when she hangs near the vending machines, no thought process with her head against the wall, ears picking up on the traces of staff whispering through that another voice pierces straight in — a suggestion. she tosses a look past her shoulders, pointing a look, turning her torso slightly. “demi soda peach tastes good — but if you’re really looking for a revolutionizing taste, trevi lime takes away the sweetness of both of your options.” 

it’s all pointless at this point. waiting around in the hallways, picking off the inkigayo sandwiches and the vending machines unused when staff is at the beck and call of the artists — still, it at least provides an escape. “but then again, personal choice of whether you like sugar or not.”

jaein doesn’t really have a sweet tooth—she never has—and all she wants more than anything is to take a smoke outside the building. however, she knows that’s not an option which is why she wandered over to the vending machines in the first place. taking minjung’s advice, she pushes the button for trevi lime instead, hoping that it’s bitter just like her feelings. she’s never gotten the purpose of sparkling water, but she just wants anything at this point. 

she takes a sip of the drink, and it’s not the best thing she’s had in the world, but it’s also not too bad. “huh, it’s better than i thought it’d be. you could make a job out of recommending drinks to people. actually, i think that’s basically what a bartender does except the people they recommend to are mostly drunk out of their minds already.” with a purse of her lips, she raises the drink in minjung’s direction as a sign of gratitude, and it oddly looks like she’s about to give her a toast. 

stress baking, though an act when called by its name sent shivers down jeonghwa’s spine, did its job in the end, every time. she liked to think of it as baking to free one’s self from the confines of daily life, rather than tie it to the concept of stress. admitting that she was stressed out… well, no one needed to hear that. things weren’t that bad.

for example, this cake she’d put together in her ‘freeing baking’, painstakingly spent hours decorating, and very carefully closed up and transported with her, was all due to what excess time she had. swinging her way through backstage doors and seeing her leader’s face was one of the lovely benefits of having a job with irregular hours.

a smile spread along jeonghwa’s face. she mimicked a skip as she made her way over to jaein, and when she was close enough, began speaking in a melodic tone, “guess what i brooought.” her stop at jaein’s side was sloppy, though she took extra care to steady the cake holder. “my fearless little jaein leader’s been working so, so hard, so i thought i should give her my well wishes.” with a dramatic flourish, she pulled the cake holder’s top of, holding it out at arms length as she said, “ta-da!” to reveal the island themed decorations beneath.

@fmdjaein

while she’s still dissatisfied with the fact that dimensions continues to push her into a direction she knows she won’t be succeeding in, jaein can’t deny that she likes island the most out of all the solo songs she’s received so far. she finds it difficult to place labels on songs, but she thinks that island feels the most like her and it’s also the one she feels the most comfortable performing. it’s not too preppy like don’t make me laugh was and definitely not a forced sultry like tiger eyes was. it’s a good combination of things that jaein can perform without overthinking, and for once she thinks she’s actually enjoying these solo promotions.