— i'm the trap selena

                   jingjing wasn’t exactly used to people who weren’t… the nicest, no jingjing was used to getting scolded for forgetting dances, but he had yet to get used to people who were more like… mean? or not mean, but saying harsh words. however the poor boy always made it his mission to stay high and be happy, though it was hard, the male had decided on this since he needed to stay happy in order to stay as an idol. jingjing’s eyes widened upon the other cursing, something he hadn’t exactly expected, but maybe it was fair since apparently jingjing had been mistaken, the other wasn’t a new idol… “ah not new…. what did you say your group was called?” yes, yes the poor male had already forgotten the name of the other’s group. 

jingjing was feeling embarrassed, but more so he was feeling confused. and once again jingjing who couldn’t properly understand korean gets confused as the other speaks. however he hears something about age, so he decides to repeat his age. “me twenty” once again he shows ten fingers twice.

a confused expression enters jingjing’s face upon the other beginning to speak a sentence that consists of more than five words. no, no it’s too much for the poor jingjing who can’t properly understand korean. he’s as confused as one can get, and a voice in his head says he should run away, that way he can’t embarrass himself by using his poor korean. on the other hand though; jingjing probably shouldn’t run away now that he knows the other is an idol, because then there’s a chance of seeing them again.

“gold star, yes!” jingjing nods aggressively upon hearing the words he recognize. ‘park yoonah’ the boy repeats the words in his head. “are you new idol?” he asks, he assumes it upon never having heard of the group or name before, or maybe he has but as per usual has forgot. “no no, not ten, i am double” jingjing smiles widely “double! twenty!” jingjing shows ten fingers twice.

                    now that jingjing looks a little more around, there probably was more than just this person who looked at him while dancing, no if jingjing didn’t want to get this much attention perhaps he should’ve not danced in public? yes that might have been a better idea, but when wish’ song comes on, no jingjing has no choice but to dance, he knows basically all of the dances for their title tracks, no he is in love with their music. and then sure, he can’t completely recognize all of the members, but he would still consider himself a fan of theirs.

it’s a complete surprise when jingjing recognizes the other, because he’s really not good with faces, no he could probably forget his members’ faces even. however this face just felt so familiar, and though jingjing can’t put a name on the other person, he does know he has seen them before, whether that be on youtube or somewhere else. “ah” jingjing puts a finger on his mouth and makes a shh sound, signaling that he’ll try to be quiet. jingjing bows down, as deep as he can go basically, and then when he is up again he introduces himself quietly “hello i am vive’s xingxing, and you?”

open to:any connection: stranger, someone jingjing doesn’t remember meeting or friend location: supermarket near gangnam plot: jingjing begins dancing and you watch him

                   though jingjing soon will become an idol, he still isn’t that famous yet, and walking out alone is still something he can do, as long as he wears a mask and a hoodie just to be safe, no it’s the fewest that can recognize him from just his eyes, no that’s only people that really loved him on hot topic(k). jingjing is as he was before he came on hot topic(k) out at the supermarket, a place that scares him yet gives him comfort. jingjing just wants some snacks, and some few other things, but then suddenly something happens.

jingjing, even though wanting and soon to become an idol, he isn’t the best at knowing idols, knowing idol groups or songs. but some songs he does know of, that’s wish’ songs, no those he love, and when feel special comes on jingjing can’t help it. the chorus comes and jingjing puts down his basket. then immediately he begins dancing the chorus dance to feel special, and soon enough without noticing someone comes over to him. when the chorus is over and jingjing is done with dancing, he picks up the basket and that’s when he notices someone looked at him while dancing. “you?” jingjing senses something “aren’t you an idol?” hasn’t jingjing seen this person before? he’s pretty sure this is an idol, even though he’s not the best with faces and names.

yoonah most often had someone else to do all the shopping for her, a person that she regularly paid and almost treated like a regular employee, but today however, after receiving a text message that informed her of her assistant being sick, she was forced to do it all by herself. now of course she could’ve hired another person, but it felt unnecessary and it would’ve taken her far too much time to find someone worthy of her trust. besides she assumed that her assistant would quite soon get better. even the message said it wasn’t something serious. 

“Oh, unnie, come on!” Jiwon rolled her eyes, though if her tone hadn’t given it away yet the smile tugging on the corners of her mouth painted a very clear picture of how she was being mostly just playful. “I appreciate you looking out for me and my finances and I know you don’t need me to pay anything for you. But I can still be a good junior and invite you to a drink, right? It’s not a big deal, I promise.” She winked and took a sip from her coffee.

“I get that, but at the same time I feel like we’re all inevitably aiming at a burnout by age thirty and there’s really no point in speeding that up any further if you ask me.” Jiwon shrugged and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. “This comeback feels like it’s absolutely dictating my life right now and– well. It is. But I’m trying to cultivate the illusion that it isn’t, just to comfort myself a little bit.” She sent Yoonah a mischievous grin across the table.

“Have you been listening to something nice while chilling? Music, podcasts, audiobooks?” Jiwon quizzically tilted her head to the side. “I only really started thinking about this recently but audio content is a pretty easy way to fill quiet car rides to and from schedules or workout sessions! Though it kind of feels like cheating if you read a book but don’t really read it…”

“fine, fine, i’ll let you treat me this one time. but only because you keep insisting. i think it would unpolite of me to turn you down so many times, right?” she questioned, but the query wasn’t directly aimed at the other girl, posing more like something that she needed to ponder about.  “now now slow down miss jiwon. i have no plans of being a burnout by the age of thirty because i actually have a career plan and i won’t let this goddamn industry just forget about me.”

“once i’m actually done with lipstick and my contract with bc expires, i plan to open up mu own company. i have enough money and connections to make this happen and i think that i would make one wicked president because my company would be different. i wouldn’t accept any of this idol bullshit. however i think i’d still like to keep my love for fashion alive so yeah, i’d keep designing too, which kind of leaves me in a dilemma. i just wonder if i’ll have time for both,” she mused aloud as she took a sip of her coffee, coming to terms with the fact that she had almost missed most of jiwon’s words.  “i don’t think that behaving like that is the right solution. sometimes you just need to drop the illusions and face the reality. it makes life in the long run far better.”

WHEN / WHERE: Mid-February, evening; in a small café WITH: open to anyone; ok to assume connections if necessary!

“So, let me be clear here for a moment.” Jiwon straightened out the creases in her skirt first, perhaps taking a little more time than necessary just for the dramatics of it—if she did, that was no one’s business but her own anyway. “I paid for your drink, which means we’re going to play by my rules today. And my rules say that we’re not, under any circumstance, going to talk about work. Tell me anything you’re comfortable telling me here–” Her hands flew out, to gesture at their surroundings, that being the small, currently fairly empty café she’d suggested for the meet-up, “But no work talk.”

Frankly, none of this was as much of a selfless stunt meant to counteract the weighing pressures of the industry as she was making it seem in the moment but Jiwon couldn’t care less. She was tired of thinking, living and breathing Lucid’s upcoming comeback, no matter that she found it less boring than what their innocent concepts had been like so far, and if she had to co-opt someone else’s daily life anecdotes to get somewhat of a reprieve she wasn’t going to claim being above doing just that.

It wasn’t this bad, right? After all, she was still fielding the bill at the end of the day.

“now let me be clear. i didn’t want you to pay my drink, but yelling at you here would’ve been an awful idea. there just isn’t enough privacy and my voice is kinda loud. plus we all know that dimensions isn’t the best company out there when it comes to paychecks so i don’t want you to spend your money on me, ” with a swift move of her hand, she removed her black shades, reveling a serious face. “now let’s make another thing clear. i don’t play by anyone’s rules, except my own, that’s how i achieved all of this success in my life. besides work is probably the one thing that we can talk about because – let’s face it, because our lives are essentially boring and they revolve around work. however, i don’t even have anything that interesting and work related to share.”

“in a way i’m just chilling,” was there anything worth sharing? not that she could remember. life was always the same. work, sleep, travel, eat, and then do it all but in reverse. “but you do seem like someone who wants to talk. i can see it reflecting in your eyes. so spill your little secrets, bird.”

“ what’s the point of drinking if people think you’re drinking hot chocolate and don’t know there’s alcohol in it ? ” seungmin queries, scrunching up his nose as he speaks, but when he realizes who’s sitting in front of him for the umpteenth time, he squirms instinctively in his seat. it was kinda hard not to be afraid of a company senior, nonetheless one that possessed such a scary aura when she was standing in front of him. 

seungmin gnaws on his bottom lip absentmindedly, really unknowing what to say to her. was it a joke? or was it serious? he’d like to assume it was the former for his own sake, so he musters out a loud laugh hoping it’ll ease up the awkwardness. “ yeah sure, you can be alan, yoonah sunbaenim. i can be doug ! ” he wipes his sweaty palms all frantically on his jeans, rocking back and forth on the chair. things… certainly could get better if he tried, right? “ i wouldn’t say it’s a midlife crisis…. ” pause, and he thinks about how to choose his words correctly. “ i dunno what it is, probably just me being average and wondering how to stand out. ” seungmin shuffles inside his seat a bit more, and quite frankly, he was just setting himself up for a disaster of a conversation when a visible frown popped into his face. “ why would i throw away clothes ? that’s such a waste. “ 

“ah kid see, that’s your problem. you want to drink alcohol for the sake of other people and the idea of looking cool, but that’s not the reason why you should drink it. not that i’m encouraging any bad life styles, but you drink alcohol if you want it and if you like it, just like i do. nothing makes me happier than a nice glass of imported champagne.” the need to laugh at him and his immaturity only grew stronger the more he talked, sounding like a child that’s just learned how to use big words in the world of grown-ups. 

“i love alan. alan’s truly the best. probably also the funniest member of the gang. he just has a certain charm. but doug? why him? isn’t he like the most boring one? also stop rocking so much on the chair. you need to calm down. acting like a ball of anguish won’t do you much good,” she noted, wondering if there was another way to ease his worry. “of course it isn’t a midlife crisis because you’re a kid, but more like a barely legal adult life crisis. it’s okay, you’ll be fine. sometimes it takes time to truly find yourself and your voice. and you don’t have to throw away the clothes. you can donate it of course.”

“i think it’s a bummer that i can’t dye my hair for the comeback since i’m filming a drama and all,” yujin comments as she picks at the ends of her hair. twirling her fingers through it, she stares at its black color and how she thinks it would have been fun to change it for red moon. though she can’t deny that black suits the overall concept quite well so perhaps it’s a good thing that she was forced to keep it black. 

the direct of the producers has mentioned how they wanted her to look a little icy—whatever that really means—and how keeping her black hair would help. when she initially heard that she’d be playing the role of an idol, she thought it’d be asked the exact opposite. it’s not like actors dyed their hairs anything but the typical black and blue. it was the perfect opportunity for a drama to have someone with a bolder hair color, but it seems that the director already had things in mind. either way, she can only wait for element’s next comeback to give her hair color a change. 

“how about you? are you doing something wild with your hair today?”

open!

“you could always just dye your hair on your own and then later deal with the consequences of your actions. that is, if you’re brave enough  — which i assume you’re not, or else you wouldn’t be saying such things,” ah yes, the pointless hair salon chit-chat, it made yoonah shudder with fear, but at least she got a good laugh out of this one, finding the girl’s current situation pretty humorous. it must be due to her lack of experience and years in the industry, because after a while, all are bound to get sick of the never-ending idol rules at some point. 

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝐰𝐡𝐨? 𝐮𝐡.. 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭? ♥

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:     𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 !!!

“ uh… okay, so hear me out…. i want to do something bold ! ” seungmin puffs out his chest, loud and proud when he slams his fists on the table to stand up tall. well, maybe not tall since he’s only 5′9, but he can at least pretend for a second when he decides this is his chance to finally become more than the horseboy who laughs way too much for his own good. “ like… maybe we can chug seven bottles of vodka, that’s enough… to film our own hangover movie, right ? ” okay, seungmin definitely doesn’t sound certain when he slides back into his seat and turns his eyes away from the person sitting across from him. maybe, it’s just hopeless at this point to breakaway from who he’s been. 

with an elbow on his table, seungmin catches his chin on his hand. “ okay… maybe not that bold. but what can i do ? maybe i’ll just get like a nose ring and some tattoos.. that’ll make me look cool when charm comes back soon. what do you think ? ” his lips kinda pout outward, but it’s not some pretend aegyo or attempt to be cute. it’s just that he feels like a loser when he’s twenty-four and the fans still call him out for wearing his naruto shirt religiously in public asking why he looks so off when charm suddenly goes into concepts like hit. so what, he doesn’t get why the public makes such a big deal? 

“bold? oh i’m all ears,” she assumed it was going to be something childish, preposterous, out of touch with reality and suggested only for the sake of shock value, and well, she was thoroughly correct. “seven bottles of vodka? are you serious? i bet it takes two glasses of hot chocolate with a little bit of rum to get you drunk. and you know that’s just a movie, right? you’d probably end up in the emergency room with a severe alcohol poisoning. however, i would support the idea of buying a giraffe. i’d like to own a giraffe too, just like alan,” was it a tease? yes and no, but she didn’t dare to share that information with him. 

jiyoo couldn’t hold back another giggle, which turned into all out laughter. “my queen? my liege? supreme ruler? which one would work for you?” it was all good fun for her either way. “i mean, it is a boring and a sappy ballad but for some reason, boring and sappy ballad’s seem to work with the general public and something that would work with my image in aria.” 

jiyoo listened to yonce with a little awe and a smile on her face. “no, i wouldn’t want to be that type of artist. if i release any music, i know it’ll be something that wouldn’t be popular…something that’s just fun to perform every once in a while but i don’t want to chase a dream of topping the charts.” because she didn’t want to chase the charts. “you’re right! i should…” she just also had a soft personality. “i’ll go with fashion first! i until i get them to let me on more variety…crime scene didn’t do too bad and no scandals happened. 

“okay, now you’re finally speaking my language. all options do sound fantastic, so i’ll let you pick, as a treat. surprise me,” she, of course, knew it was just some mild teasing, but it was nice to be around someone who understood her quaint sense of humor and grand confidence. “do they really work? or do catchy pop tunes always surpass them? i think it’s the latter, little girl. but if that’s what you believe, then there’s really not much that i can do about it.”

“like i said, it’s nice to know what you want. it makes living much easier. but most of us do not know what we want or what we need. so you should be proud of yourself when it comes to this. life is just an endless list filled with hard choices. but enough with these boring talks because if you do find yourself in the fashion world, don’t be afraid to ask for my help. it’s basically my life. fashion’s everything. it’s always been everything to me.”

“yes ma’am.” jiyoo bowed her head humbly, with a slight giggle. yonce was a character and jiyoo thoroughly enjoyed her. some might’ve found her to be a bit abrasive and it made her laugh most of the time. she was sure if yonce didn’t want to be around her, she wouldn’t even be here. “i thank you for the compliment and i’d say you’re a bit correct.” it was a sad and sappy song but it seemed like people loved sad and sappy songs. that was the part that worried her. 

“i hope it doesn’t do well because a solo career in music isn’t what i want.” she shrugged her shoulders, knowing it sounded strange. “i’m happy singing with aria, i don’t even mind releasing portal singles but the company wants me to go into a solo music career and we don’t see eye to eye.” a slight sigh left her mouth. “if it goes well, solo career push and if it doesn’t do well…what’s the point in pushing for a solo career for a second idol and they’ll let me focus on fashion and variety more.” 

“i’m only two years older than you, don’t call me a ma’am, you little bitch,” despite her words, she took no serious offense, almost enjoying when she noticed how the girl giggled. “you’re welcome but i just tell it like it is and what do you mean by a bit? i know for a fact that ballads just aren’t as popular as catchy pop tunes. i might not always be right, jiyoo, but i’m never wrong.”

“oh  — well that’s interesting to hear. it’s good to know what you don’t want in your life. it’s a great start. a lot of idols seem to be deluded and think that they have to make a solo debut just to stay relevant — and then, once they actually debut, they keep on releasing mediocre songs because without those mediocre songs, they just know that the industry will forget them. but that’s why they can never be fully successful. real music takes time to make. you can’t just produce an entire album in two weeks. it’s ridiculous. so be proud of knowing your dreams,” harsh and without a filter, the worst sort of critic, yoonah knew that she was only telling the truth.  “don’t wait for some charts to decide your fate. just go and demand fashion and variety deals. don’t take no for an answer. but don’t forget to prove yourself. it takes time for companies to fully trust you because you are their investment and no one likes losing money.”

&open

“alright, what do you think?” jiyoo took a seat on her couch next to the other idol. and then there was a pause before she chuckled, leaning forward to play the song on her laptop. “well…i have to let you listen first.” she hit play and then her voice could be heard. it wasn’t long, just a demo and when it ended, she leaned back in her seat. “do you think it’ll be a hit?” it wasn’t a serious question for her though, she was all smiles. 

“with the collab’s i had so far, i think the company wants to push me into a solo career.” so far it seemed to be working and it was something the fans expected at this point. “they plan to have me release this as a portal song, test the waters and i kind of hope it doesn’t do well.” 

“before we get into details, i’d like to point out that i charge around 30.000 to 45.000 won per hour when it comes to any sort of consultations. but i guess i could do like a quick review for free right now. so play it,” she instructed with a thoughtful expression upon her face, ready to deliver her most honest opinion at any given moment; the thing is, she just felt like she deserved to be paid for it. “no. you have a beautiful voice. unique in a way, which is amazing and you should cherish it, but it’s a ballad. sad, sappy stanzas really aren’t what makes a song popular.”

“but good luck with the song and your solo career. however, allow me to add one thing. just because you can be a solo artist doesn’t mean that you should. it’s about what you want. and is this something that want?” blinking slightly in surprise, she didn’t bother to hide her confusion, baffled by the contradicting statements.  “wait, you hope that it doesn’t do well? what? why?”

open

yunhee sat at the her favorite cafe reading the book book she most recent bought - the entire poetry works of emily dickinson. the smell of new book pages mixed in with the large mug of hot chocolate and the almond crossiant she had with her was always relaxing for her. despite the busy schedule of preparing for all the end of year performances, she had managed to have a break from some of the chaos. looking up from the lines of the poetry, she noticed a familiar face walk into the cafe. “hey! long time, no see.” she exclaimed with some of her food in her mouth. bowing her head a couple of times, she looked at them again after swallowing her mouthful of crossiant. “sorry, that was rude. i was just surprised to see you here.”

some personalities in the industry were well known and talked about. everybody had more than one face – the one they presented to the public and the one reserved to their peers. often they weren’t extremely different from each other, but a few people – like bada, she reckoned – had to deal with the fact that who they pretended to be was not who they really were. she didn’t think yoonah had ever quite fit into that. everybody knew exactly who she was, both on the outside and on the inside, and bada was quite jealous of the fact that the woman just… got away with it. was it a matter of seniority? lipstick was one of the biggest girl groups in the industry and all the members were well-loved, so perhaps they could get away with acting the way they wanted to act. it meant bada knew she desperately needed to befriend them though, needed to have her name associated with a lipstick member and she was nothing if not insistent. the response from the woman was expected and bada just pouted. “but unnie,” she whined. “we got so close doing queendom, didn’t we?” not they hadn’t. bada smiled nicely to yoonah’s staff. “i just wanted to come and talk to you about how much i enjoyed news. unnie looked really good in it.”

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: backstage at any music show 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: anytime between november 1st and december 1st 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇: open

 it had been over five years and the idle time spent backstage at music shows never really stopped being annoying. were the buildings far removed from the city to the point where they really could not go anywhere else? bada reckoned at least it wasn’t as bad as when they were doing normal promotions as they’d often leave for an interview and have to come back anyway, making it not only annoying but also extremely tiresome. as she walked around the corridors, sucking on a lollipop she had sneaked into her purse and taken before her manager could yell at her for it, bada wondered if the fans thought about how unglamorous some aspects of idol life could be. she knew she hadn’t before she became one and it was one of the biggest betrayals since her debut. the girl stopped her strolling only because her eyes caught the sign on one of the doors indicating the room had at least one person she knew inside. wanting to talk but not wanting to go back to her members, bada knocked on the door. she didn’t wait to be let in to just walk, half-heartedly greeting the staff before turning to the person she was looking for. “did you know my nickname in school was tinkerbell?” she asked, taking a seat next to them. “it’s because just like her i also need applause to live but i can make do with compliments.” a bat of eyelashes, a not so subtle hint.

starter for: OPEN!

“Do come in, don’t be shy. And close the door behind you, yeah?” Jiah says as she leaves her door open and heads back to her kitchen. She was busy with filming her drama these past few days, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take some of her time to bake or help others who didn’t know how to. The whole Culture Complex thing bothered her since day one because it’s just one more way for companies to get fans’ money using their images, but well, there’s nothing she could do about it. And if that gave her an excuse to use her kitchen, then so be it.

“I’m sorry, I can’t remember if you already had a recipe in mind to submit or if you even want to send in your idea. If I’m being honest with you, I’m just using this opportunity to cook more often, and then later we can have something tasty to eat,” she says with a sheepish smile and a shrug. “I honestly didn’t think I would have the chance to do anything related to this, but it was good that you contacted me. Shall we start?”

“don’t worry, i’m really not shy, it’s just that— it was nearly impossible to take off one of my shoes. i think the zipper was stuck,” she explained, now barefoot, and closed the door just as jiah had requested. stepping forward, she revealed a large bouquet of roses, never being the one to show up somewhere without a small gift of course. “these are for you, mademoiselle. i hope you like roses, because if you don’t, i’ll have someone deliver a different type of flowers later. they’re, you know, supposed to be some sort of motivation for cooking.”

“well i’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t know how to make escargots, so no offense, but i’ll leave that to the professionals— and i don’t really have an idea, but maybe something like soupe à l’oignon, boeuf bourguignon, confit de canard, or maybe even lamb chops with a cognac dijon cream sauce?  but really they’re just my suggestions,” however she couldn't but raise a single eyebrow at jiah's following words, certain that it was some sort of a misunderstanding. “we? as in—oui? the french word for yes? i didn’t really come here to cook. not that i’m bad, i’m just lazy.”

       “a pigeon would make a lot of sense. i feel pigeons are the trouble makers of birds, aren’t they? they seem to like to cause trouble… especially with going to the bathroom,” he almost couldn’t help but to chuckle a tad bit. he shook his head, “i’ve seen a lot scarier! you’re not scary! unless you’re not fully scary to me?” he responded, his shoulders shrugging a bit. he chuckled a bit, “i’ll be sure to drag you away once you punch them in the nose so we can make our escape!”