— SOO

it’d been a pretty recent development still but minah could tell that these days, bc entertainment took her much more serious as force to be reckoned with in her own right, a profitable asset in more ways than just as one out of six lipstick members. the steadily increasing amount of solo music to her name was one the main indicators of that but it wasn’t just limited to that. there had been her musical role as well and careful beginnings of working together with other artists. there had been some features so far and she had released a song together with daisuke and the next thing bc was looking into was possibly working together with unity’s samsoo as her manager had not so subtly hinted. 

nothing was set in stone yet and minah knew better than to get her hopes up before anything was confirmed but surely there was no harm in getting to know each other a little better already right? even if it turned out to never see the light of day it was nice to get to know a (somewhat new person). plus, with what she knew about the other idol he had always seemed like a friendly, polite person, the kind of individual she could see herself become friends with. “hi, samsoo, it’s good to see you too. thank you so much for coming all the way here.” she greeted him, bowing her head lightly in return. “i hope that traffic wasn’t too much of a headache.” she glanced around the meeting room bc had put them in, not exactly a great space for getting to know a new person and to get comfortable around them. “what do you say, can i treat you for a coffee or something? any place that’s not here truly, it’s a little… drab in here.”

Samsoo hadn’t really had the opportunity to collaborate with other artists before. Outside of his group, he had collaborated with Duri and had been apart of the collaborate project group with Ash, Hyunsoo, Sung and San. Other than that, he was regulated to Unity performances or his own solo music - which wasn’t much. He was a perfectionist through and through. He could have easily released a solo album prior to that moment in time, but he just wasn’t completely satisfied with it. He so many songs written that he had put on the back burner just because they didn’t fit the style and sound that he wanted for his official solo debut. At Gwanghwamun was a song that he had put a lot of thought and heart into, but it was also a safe release. A ballad. Something palatable for the general public. He wanted to release something that would be one hundred percent authentically him. 

despite many idols following a path that led them to a solo career, specifically a solo career that revolved around making music of their own, jaeyeol hadn’t been one to ever really plan on releasing solo music all his own. he was absolutely fine doing features for others all day long, but his interests lied elsewhere in the world of solo opportunities, the other members of unity had the solo music careers thing down, they didn’t need him added to the mix really. he had other interests anyway. only if he could get dimensions to give him more of a chance to explore those before the day came when unity would be no more, as sadly as that was.

jaeyeol chuckled, amused with the older, and truly being very aware of the fact that samsoo would have everything ready way before he ever came to ask him to sing a demo. the older was the mom of the group for a reason. the younger rolled his eyes playfully, “yes, mother, we have. can i hear it a bit? just to see how the lyrics hit in with it?”

There were times where Samsoo found himself thinking about the inevitable. Thinking about the day that would come where Unity would have to part ways and go on with their own lives - professionally, of course. The chances of Unity not interacting with one another post disbandment were extremely slim to none. Even though he was the eldest and acted as the unofficial mother of the group, he himself was very attached the group, maybe even more so than the others were. They were his family, and he would always want them around, whether or not they were performing or working together. He just hoped that their own individual solo ventures wouldn’t make it difficult for them to still say close with one another. 

while knight was still an active group technically, they were nowhere near as busy as unity currently was, at least no anymore. their free time was now filled with their own solo endeavors and schedules mostly. but that extra time home had allowed for them and duri to adopt all of their wonderful animals. as much as they loved animals neither of them would have adopted more than they knew they could handle and love to the absolute fullest. it’d be hard for both of them not to end up bringing another cat or dog home that day.

“that’s smart. hopefully one day you can have some more pets if you’d like,” maverick couldn’t fault samsoo at all for that mindset. it was the logical move to make for where he and jaewon were at in their careers. though they found himself laughing along at the mention of their large brood of fur babies at home. “oh yes, our small army,” they joked, “no one warned us about how hard it was to say no to adopting. but we agreed no more for now so sadly i can’t take this little guy home either.”

It seemed as though the roles were being reversed between the two of them. Maverick and his group were slowing down when it came to group activities - their group comebacks were becoming less and less frequent while Unity’s were picking up in frequency. It was much more common to see a Knight member by themselves, promoting music on their own or promoting some other solo activity. As much as Soo loved promoting with Unity, there was a part of him that was a little jealous of his friend. Being able to do solo activities more frequently without having to deal with possibly interfering with group schedules. 

jakyung can’t help but give him a look of disagreement. if anything, gold star was pushing their patience and limit. sure, they expected to have a few months break after touring, but in reality, with their recent schedule release, the origin leader wasn’t expecting much sleep or downtime. “yeah sure, its gold star we’re talking about. money hungry as money hungry can get.” he leaned in closer, whispering the last part. he didn’t want any of their manages to hear him say such things. scolding was something jakyung really disliked.

“i think i will get too side tracked to keep the kids occupied over what the parents have told me.“ is his honest answer to samsoo’s question. he did have a strong personality, knew what needed to be done and said, the amount of times he had spoken on his members behalf to their staff, was more than he could ever count. “oh come on, its some hair. you always look good.“ jakyung huffs back, but pulls his hand away. “i guess that made sense to why i even got my outfit picked. skinny ripped jeans apparently are not kid friendly.“ he jokes, smile pulling on his lips.

Of course he knew that at the end of the day, Gold Star, as well as pretty much any other company out there, including his own, only really cared about what their idols and artists could do for them and not what they could do for their idols and artists. Even when a group made as much money as Origin did, they didn’t get a break from the high demands and tight restrictions that their company put on them. It wasn’t surprising in the least. Unity was one of the highest earning groups under Dimensions and they hadn’t seen an off day in God knows how long. “Trust me - I know exactly what you mean.” 

date: september 27th  location: volunteering for delivering food to the elderly @fmdsamsoo

there were worse ways yul could imagine spending his day. he wasn’t entirely sure what had brought on this sudden volunteering kick that the companies had been on, but petting a few cats and keeping an old lady or a little kid company for an afternoon was a lot better than getting shoved around by a crowd of fans as he tried to make his way home from schedules. or being bothered by his mom, but nothing was truly worse than that if you asked yul. plus, growing up in a rich family meant learning how to turn on the charm with a pretty smile and a well placed compliment to woo over older people into thinking he was nothing short of an angel - which, if you asked him, wasn’t far from the truth.

“please enjoy!” yul chirped sweetly as he’d handed over the food and, now that there was a small moment of freedom, he turned to look at samsoo. “you enjoying yourself there, hyung?” he began, allowing himself a brief pause to relax for a second. “who would have thought i’d be such a hit with the elderly! but i guess it’s not a surprise… they seem to like you a lot too, though.” 

Samsoo didn’t really mind interactions with the elderly. He had met and had to speak with extensively with elderly people from a young age and had grown somewhat used to it. He knew how to talk to them, get them to laugh and what kind of sense of humor to use with them. There was no way he could tell an older woman the same kind of joke he would tell Maverick or Jakyung, and fortunately for him, he had been around enough older people to learn what kind of jokes were appropriate for that age range. And it seemed as though all the idols there had gotten lucky because most, if not all, of the elderly people there receiving meals were all polite and very kind. He hadn’t gotten a rude senior citizen yet, which he was glad to say. 

“No,” Sunghee shook their head. “I think… even if Jaewon hyung is a bit grumpy all the time, he has our best interests at heart.” Now, Sunghee didn’t think that necessarily applied to Champion as a group, but they couldn’t deny that Unity’s leader had never done anything to make them doubt his position as the group’s leader. “Have you noticed that our choreography hasn’t really gotten harder but somehow rehearsing is becoming more difficult? Do you think I’m too young to be complaining about my age? Because maybe I’m reaching that age where dancing as often as we do starts being more painful than it used to be.” There was always a possibility for that. Sunghee tried their hardest to care well for their body and it wasn’t as if they were out of shape in any way, but being an idol was demanding. More than people could imagine. And he trained for a few years before that. No one’s body could handle all that without some struggle, could it?

Sunghee thought over Samsoo’s words. Dissociating. Putting their body on autopilot. Sunghee considered what that meant for them. For someone like Sunghee, who had to be hyper aware of everything they did at most times of the day, who could only afford to truly relax when they were by themselves or with only a few trusted people, the thought of not having control of what they did was more terrifying than enticing. “Can’t do that, hyung,” Sunghee rolled their shoulders, bringing their arms over their head and stretching them. “I don’t want to deal with people’s assumptions when I’m on autopilot. I don’t think I even know what it feels like to not be aware of myself all of the time.”

Sunghee was very much so correct in their assumption about Jaewon. The leader of Unity cared about his members more than anything else, Samsoo knew that for sure. Not only had they spoken about it in the past, on more than one occasion, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the second eldest member of the group cared about them. Even if he didn’t say it often, Samsoo could see it in his actions. Although that was most likely because he knew Jaewon so well. It was easy for him to see things about Jaewon that no one else could really see. But apparently, since Sunghee had made that observation, Jaewon had gotten better at showing that side of himself. “You’re right. He does always have your best interests at heart. He cares about you guys more than you think he does - trust me.” Samsoo pursed his lips as he thought about their question. He wasn’t a dancer, but he could understand where they were coming from. Unity’s choreography hadn’t upped in difficulty, in fact he was sure they hadn’t done anything more difficult than their earlier songs like Cherry Bomb and 7th Sense, but it was more difficult to move around during rehearsals and performances, if only just a little bit. “It’s not about your age. We put an extra amount of force on our joints and muscles, so they wear down faster. Talk to some idols who were active in the early to mid two thousands and ask them how their joints feel even though they’re only in their late thirties or forties.” 

while jaeyeol loved singing and performing, his interests in being his own solo artists had never really existed. the idea of standing alone on stage or writing his own music didn’t excite him in the same way performing with unity or others in general did. he had long been content with the idea of forever featuring and putting his creativity into other forms of entertainment outside of unity, like on youtube, for now at least. and while he had no interests in music to call his own, he had no problem helping others with what they created, including singing demos if asked nicely. especially from his favorite samsoo hyung.

“ohhh, you had this all planned out,” the younger joked while samsoo pulled out notebooks, waiting patiently to see what the other would have him sing. the scribbles and words on the page were a bit difficult to read, but he’d heard enough quotes in movies to now the creative process wasn’t always straight forward and was sometimes messy. “it’s alright, i can make most of it out,” he assured, reading through the words. “do you just have the words for now or did you have music for it too? or like if you don’t, what was the vibe you had in mind?”

As cliché and corny as it might have seemed to a lot of other people, Samsoo lived and breathed music. He loved music and wanted to pursue it as a lifelong dream. He planned on having his career last after Unity’s disbandment. It wasn’t that he was looking forward to the day that Unity would be no more, but he knew that it was inevitable. Unity wouldn’t last forever, and it wasn’t a bad idea for him to try to focus on what would be waiting for him a few years down the line. It was something he didn’t really discuss out loud all that often though, especially with his group members. It was one thing for them to pursue solo opportunities, but it was a completely different thing to think about their inevitable disbandment. He didn’t want them thinking it was something he was looking forward to, because it definitely wasn’t. 

it had been such a long time since maverick had first debuted as a member of knight and started the adjustment to idol life, close to a decade even. the frequent schedules and mandatory activities whether as just a knight member or alongside other bc idols, and maybe even other idols in general. they had long since become use to the events and attempts at money-grabs and digging up as much good publicity as they could manage. mostly, they felt alright about them, honestly bc had them do weirder things sometimes, but volunteering their time at an animal shelter wasn’t something maverick was going to argue against.

they couldn’t hide the increasing soft and fond look at they saw the kitten that samsoo was holding. it reminded them of when they had first brought their own cat home not all too long ago. “oh he’s so precious,” mav stated, reaching out to gently pet the top of the kitten’s head. honestly they were a terrible influence when it came to pets. which was probably obvious in how they and their boyfriend had six rescue pets at home. “well why not? i think your pup would enjoy a friend, don’t you?” he playfully cooed at the sweet animal. 

Samsoo sighed under his breath at the question. As much as he would have loved to bring the kitten home, and as much as he knew that Jaewon wouldn’t mind him bringing the kitten home, he knew that it wouldn’t have been the most logical or intelligent move for him to adopt the animal. They already had another pet at home, and with how busy the two of them had been and most likely will be for the upcoming future, they wouldn’t be able to balance their idol activities with taking care of two pets. He hoped that a little bit later down the line when things started slowing down for them, they’d be able to adopt another pet to add to their little family unit. 

jakyung can’t help but look at him with a raised brow “bold of you to assume gold star would allow some rest. i’m taking care of myself, i’m good. i sleep a lot? thats good right.” he laughs, squeezing samsoo to his side ever so gently. he was aware that gold star was very gentle with their health, they didnt want a sudden boycott by their fans. in reality, the origin leader didn’t mind it, he just want the opportunity to see his parents more often.

“dude, you think so?“ he asks, brows raising in surprise. the idea seemed wonderful. he loved kids, he wished he could do more thing that involved kids. like hello baby. even though he was very much aware origin would be in so much stress because of the kids. he can’t help but laugh at samsoo’s joke, shaking his head a bit and reaching to ruffle his hair “yeah, wouldn’t be a good look, but your face would still be handsome, so you shouldn’t worry.“

“...You have a good point. Although can you really blame me for assuming that? Gold Star should be making sure that their highest earning moneymakers are properly rested and aren’t overexerting themselves. If you guys are off your game, they don’t make as much money, you know?” He let out a laugh when he felt him squeeze his side, playfully rolling his eyes at the shorter male. He had to admit though, from what he had seen from the other side, Gold Star took pretty good care of them. Better care than Dimensions took of Unity, that was for sure. 

Physical touch was a type of comfort that, for a long time, Sunghee only found in their siblings and their mother. Everybody else in their lives were kept at a safe distance, not because Sunghee didn’t like affection, but because the thought of people they weren’t extra close to touch them made their skin crawl. After so many years of being in Unity, though, of sharing a dorm, rooms, and so many life experiences with the other members, Sunghee also found them to be a source of reassurance and people they could look for some form of physical comfort. With the fingers sliding into their head, Sunghee assumed that further touch would be acceptable, so they let go of their necklace, wrapping their arms around Samsoo’s leg. “Do you think this is all part of an elaborate plan to kill all of us before we reach the time to renew our contracts?”

Sunghee sighed, rubbing their cheek against Samsoo’s leg before letting go and lying down on the ground. They looked at the ceiling, grateful that the music was turned off for a moment so they could properly go back into themselves. Sunghee wasn’t a stranger to this level of demanding routine, but there was something to be said about juggling two different groups’ comebacks at the same time. “I have a rehearsal for Champion in three hours,” Champion had never bothered them in the past but suddenly they understood Jaewon’s distaste. “How mad would they be if I skip it?”

The eldest member of Unity had never really been one to shy away from physical affection growing up and even coming into adulthood. It was honestly, or at least it was only what Samsoo could assume, because he had never really received that much physical, or emotional, affection from his parents or older brothers growing up. His sister was the only person who he had skinship with within his family. Being around his Unity members had given him the chance to properly express his emotions through being physically affectionate, which Samsoo always took the opportunity to do. He had eventually rubbed off on their youngest member of Unity, Ting, who was even more affectionate than he was. That being said, he was never one to force his physical affection on anyone. If he got the vibe or feeling that someone wasn’t feeling it or it made them uncomfortable, he would stop without a second thought. “Normally I’d say yes, but you got to remember that Jaewon’s usually the one that holds us up during dance practices the most. Do you think he’s trying to kill us all?” 

jackie unwraps his arms from around samsoo, but still hooks one around his shoulders stepping so he was by his side. “i wish i was able to sleep in my bed, but yeah, maybe a tad better than being trapped in the basement.” in reality, he never remembered being trapped there. gold star did everything in their power to push origin out into the open wide world and here they were. 

jakyung nods his head a bit, listening to what his friend had to say and looking at him “oh my god, really? dude, im so jealous! i wish i was able to babysit!” he says, genuinely. he loved kids, he really did, but he rarely had the time to do absolutely anything outside of origin, even sleep had been limited. so he stayed with just donating money whenever he had the time to fill out forms and things. “you can brag all you want, kids are picky with who they like.”

The other’s arm around his shoulders made Samsoo smile, happy with the platonic show of affection from one of his closest friends. “You have been able to get some rest though? We don’t need you to be overworking yourself or putting yourself at risk of having some kind of health related accident.” It was sort of hypocritical coming from Samsoo - someone who had overworked himself to the point of nearly fainting on stage and having to be hospitalized a year or two earlier. He always did put other people’s health ahead of his own though. 

There were definitely instances where Samsoo had music that he had written himself that he didn’t want to sing himself, or that he wanted to hear other people sing. It was one thing to write music and lyrics that were meant especially for him, but it was a whole nother thing trying to write music and lyrics that could fit to anyone’s voice. He had thought long and hard about the people that he would want to sing demos for him, and Jaeyeol was always someone that popped up in his mind. Not only did he know that the younger was talented, he’d be lying if he said that they had distinct voices, but their voices and vocal tone did have similar qualities, so it wouldn’t be hard for Soo to imagine himself singing it while Yeol was singing it. 

Most of the time the schedules and mandatory activities that Dimensions, along with the other two companies, forced the idols into participating in were not really all that fun. They were more bothersome and inconvenient than fun, but he had a feeling that the three companies didn’t really care whether or not their artists enjoyed the tasks assigned to them. No, all they really cared about was how their company looked in the eyes of the public. They wanted that good publicity no matter what the cost was. Fortunately for Samsoo, the cost that time around wasn’t boredom. In fact, he was excited to get into that particular schedule. 

location: dimensions dance studio date: august 4, 2021 with: @fmdsamsoo

Dancing has never been an area that Sunghee excelled at, neither has it even been a priority for them. Auditioning into Dimensions, Sunghee had only been thinking about rapping, about making music, about making a living out of music — not about the fact that it would be expected of them to master idol skills just like any other idol. When they started training, Sunghee hadn’t had the best time with the dance trainers either, so it had taken them years to properly get into it. And by the time Unity debuted, they thought they were competent. Enough to follow Unity’s fairly complicated choreography with ease, but definitely not coming close to the dance line. Yet, for years now, Dimensions has been pushing them to center more often, down to giving Sunghee dance breaks. It’s why they had decided to start working out more this year, so they could have enough stamina to keep up, but with 90s love somehow all that effort seems to not be enough. 

​They don’t collapse in the middle of practice, but it’s almost. Sunghee forces themself to try to breathe, slowing down and counting their inhales and exhales. They tug on their necklace, bringing the chewing toy into their mouth so they can focus on that as they gather themselves once more. But still, they have to kneel down, forehead leaning forward to rest against the nearest surface — which happens to be the side of Samsoo’s thigh. “Hyung,” Sunghee whines, voice muffled around the toy. “Are we almost over?”

Samsoo wasn’t a great dancer. In fact, he wasn’t even the best dancer in his group, or the second best or third best. Or maybe even fourth best. But what he lacked in technique and finesse he made up for in stage presence and his performance ability. He may not have been able to hit all the major points in a dance, but he could definitely put on a show. It had been a little rough for him when he first began training. He wasn’t a natural born dancer, and he had to practically build his skills from the ground up. What did help him in learning choreographies for Unity’s music was the fact that he was in pretty good shape. He wasn’t the most muscular person in the world, but he was lean, defined and strong in his own right. And his breath control was pretty good. 

kids were something jakyung loved. they were always so bring and fun to be around, it was a shame they didn’t have more events like this. however, with how busy origin had been, he barely had time to see his friends let alone have ends with kids. this was kind of a mix of both. he was aware all three companies would have sent idols and trainees, so it gave him the little chance to see some of them.

so when someone tapped him on the shoulder and jackie turned around, he wasn’t expected to be greeted by someone oh so familiar. “oh my god!” he says, reaching to hug samsoo without a warning “dude, don’t get me started on the damn schedule. its literally one of the few days i have off this month.” he explains with a laugh. he pulls away as soon as he’s explained the situation, beaming brightly at the other. “you have no idea, i love spending time with kids. its so refreshing. what about you?”

Samsoo couldn’t help but laugh when he felt the other male’s arms wrap around him, not hesitating to hug him back, giving him a friendly squeeze. He was glad that they have the kind of friendship where the two of them could openly show skinship towards one another. Skinship was one of Samsoo’s biggest love languages, and he was more than open to expressing his love to the ones he felt closest to. It very well could have been because of the lack of affection he received as a child, but that was a topic that he didn’t want to dwell on or question.