“i don’t think she wants to be an idol,” she replies after pondering his question. “she’s still young, still figuring herself out. though i suppose that conversation may be coming up soon. she’ll be graduating from high school next year.” miyu’s eyes focus downwards, settling on a spot of condensation on the table. because of her, mitsuki now has options. if her parents let one daughter follow her dreams, why shouldn’t the other? truthfully, the dancer’s not sure what her sister wants to be when she grows up. she wonders whether she just missed that conversation.

she turns back up to look at him, flashing a smile. “she’s been really into sports recently. mitsuki is a great swimmer, she’s been on the swim team for ages. i don’t think she’s going to the olympics any time soon,” miyu says with a laugh. “but maybe she’ll be able to get in to a good school with a scholarship that way. i think she’s always been more of a free spirit, less of a planner.”

”they’re crazy, yes, but i try to get as much sleep as i can during our down time. i manage the lack of sleep and long hours by keeping my free time relatively chill. i know some people have the energy to go out, but i’ve always been a homebody, even before debut.”

“i think future dreams was a wake-up call,” she tells danny earnestly. “i never thought i would actually debut as an idol and saw training as just another way to practice my dance and learn. i realized halfway through that this was serious and i needed to step up. after i was confirmed for debut especially, i realized that i needed to apply myself to more aspects than just dancing. there’s no easy way to say this,” she looks at him, seriously now. “but talent doesn’t just manifest itself overnight. i was in the same spot as you are, dancing felt comfortable, anything else and i felt like i was out of my league. kind of like i was an imposter. it wasn’t good for my confidence, though, and that’s half the job.”

“even if you’re nervous or scared, you can’t show it on stage. they’ll rip you apart for that,” miyu says with a sigh, knowing how critical netizens could be. “anyways, once i knew things were serious and people were counting on me, it’s like something switched on in my brain. i sought out more vocal training. it was hard and uncomfortable at first stepping outside of my comfort zone, but i promise it gets easier the longer you do it.” she gives him a soft smile. “i also did a lot of practice on my own time. gosh, i don’t know how i functioned that first year after debut. i don’t think i got any sleep,” she says with a laugh.

"So there are perks of introversion! I find myself to be a homebody too. That is probably why we get along," eyes smiling crescent moons at Miyu, he nods in agreement. "That among other reasons. So what kind of wind-down hobbies do you usually do back at the dorm? I guess the last thing after all that practice, you wouldn't be doing much dance in your downtime anymore. It's weird, how dance used to be the hobby and after it becomes the job..." He tilts his head and shrugs his shoulders at that. "It is what it is."

"Yes, I've managed to get most of the nerves and fear. I need to stay in a positive mindset and bubble so I am only keeping positivity and criticisms on my side. And cutting those out who are extremely negative. Not counting the management and staff, they're supposed to tell me where to improve on. It sucks though, I've had some really close friends leave recently as trainees and it makes you wonder, right?" Then again, it must be even crazier for Miyu's point of view- where some of her colleagues actually quit.

Hey, did anyone else catch ONEART STUDIO's dance concert? Team Love and Team Ambition were awesome! I was there to catch up with my favourite idols but I thought it was amazing that trainees were able to participate. Okay, I'll cut to the chase. That was the first time I realized Danny was one of the LGC trainees. I never really followed any up and coming trainees since I was more focused on the debuted groups. That's why I was there at the concert to begin with! Anyways, I hope he debuts sometime soon, but if he doesn't, he'd totally fit in with any dance studio as one of their dancers. What do you think?

[ + / - ] Danny caught my eye during Oneart Studio's concert too! I cannot help it, my eyes were glued to him. It's hard to keep up with the trainees but it's like a nice pop-up surprise when we do see them. [ + / - ] isn't it kind of dangerous to stan a trainee? they're not even guaranteed to debut... [ + / - ] WAITAMINUTE... It was hard to keep up with every single individual on the stage, but the dance concert was so good. I'll try to spot him next time. 

“oh, no it’s okay!” she re-assures him, waving her hand in front of her face. “i’ll just be patient and wait. besides,” miyu grins. “ice cubes will just water the drink down.”

”i actually don’t know yet,” she tells him. “they haven’t given us all the details. i’m hoping they’ll let us know soon, i have to coordinate with my family so i can give them tickets to the concert. i’m sure it won’t be a problem, though.” miyu tilts her head in thought. “it hasn’t been a problem before. there have been times where my parents weren’t able to make it, but i think mitsuki’s attended every concert of ours in japan! she’s dedicated, in a scary way.”

“i think me debuting in a girl group awakened something in her. she’s always talking to me about this group and that group. i can’t keep up! she’s into jpop too, so twice the amount of songs and members to memorize,” the idol says with a sigh, shaking her head a bit. “she’s that age, though, i guess.”

“ah! is debut on your horizon?” she leans towards him, eyes widening. it’s the first time she’s heard anything about this. “it’s been a few years, but to me it still feels like yesterday. i think the idols these days are lucky, there’s competition but it’s not broadcast for everyone to see and judge,” she chuckles a bit wryly. “i was so scared, for a lot of reasons. but mostly i was scared of failing and not debuting in nova. i’m so lucky, truly.” her eyes fixate downwards and settle on her cup instead of danny’s face.

"Do you think that Mitsuki would ever want to be an idol too? Maybe even a J-Idol? Or is that something she has zero interest in--" He doesn't know as much about her family, as he does know about Miyu herself, so it could be a dumb question. But if it was anything like the relationship between him and his brother, well, apples don't fall too far apart or however the saying goes.

Relaxation was something completely underrated but or underutilized in their line of business. "You must insist to your family or sister.... Text is OK too. I am not the biggest fan of Facetime but I know some others just insist, and it gets to the point where my phone is permanently in do-not-disturb mode. You can always pretend you're filming something anyway. Idol hours can be crazy, right?"

prior to embarking on nova’s world tour, miyu has a few stops to make. friends she needs to catch up with and housekeeping things she needs to do. her room has been tidied and bags mostly packed, leaving out the essentials she needs for day-to-day use. she’s always been one to prepare early, even if it makes her seem a bit neurotic.

she sits across from danny at the legacy cafe cupping a hot tea in between her hands. miyu took the top off to help it cool down quicker, but she doesn’t know if that’s helping enough as she tries taking a sip but just winds up burning her tongue instead.

“ouch!” she exclaims wincing. miyu pushes the offending beverage gently away from her, hoping that she’ll learn some patience in the time it takes for her tea to cool down.

Yoojin took a moment to look and check Danny's outfit for practice that morning, and even if it looked bigger than his normal size, he understood what the other trainee meant - some of their moves would make it harder to be performed, and for dancers like them, well that could cause a problem in the future.

"all they care is for us to look pretty up onstage, it doesn't matter if we'll be able to give a good performance." Yoojin sighed, checking his outfit as well - he knew they gave him skinny clothes so he could do his acrobatics with no trouble, but the cropped top was slightly too much. "I mean, I'm almost naked. You look good."

Now that he properly looks at Yoojin, and his own outfits, and some others in their group - it truly was funny how different yet similar their outfits could be. Like fitting among a theme, yet vastly different. His seemed more baggy than anything and Yoojin's was barley there. The other's comments did make him laugh though. "At least we're not having to wear heels or anything like the girls might have to. I don't envy them for that. I they wear them. Not saying that they have to." Sometimes even heeled boots or platformed shoes that were getting more popular among the boys were starting to become a hazard whilst dancing.

it had been almost three long months of practice, and yoojin could say he was feeling drained. the tension of the upcoming concert finally hit everyone, and for them, the trainees, at least, things were about to explode at some point. he had witnessed a guy leaving practice in tears after a particular harsh piece of feedback, and a female trainee complaining about the length of their outfit.

he sighed deeply, his body requesting more rest and his brain demanding him to calm his nerves when he was about to enter the fitting room. they were on that stage now, to wear their outfits and then practice with them to see if any adjustments were needed.

“oh hey danny”, he was startled when his hand found another trainee’s instead of the doorknob; he looked as tense as yoojin himself. “rough morning?”

The amount of dancing felt like a marathon, because they didn't get to have a break in between all of the dances. Sweat became his best friend and sleeping at night... became a ritual of sorts. "I really enjoyed the three dances we get to do, but I think my body wants a whole week off to sleep."

Looking to his side, he at least expected his partner to be someone with more skills than he was. but Danny looked legit lost in the woods, his big eyes didn't go unnoticed by yoojin when he offered him a smile, and even if they both now looked lost, at least they could bond over that.

Their lack of experience during an important task.

"I hope they tell us exactly what we have to do", yoojin smiled, his most friendly smile when he spoke softly, almost a whisper, leaning forward, closer to Danny, hoping his voice wasn't captured by the microphones inside the booth. "am I ready? No idea."

Ah well. A lack of confidence would only falter their growth here, and they were already under the spotlight, literally in the booth. Taking a deep breath, he thumbs at the line he's supposed to say. It's right there, it's not like it's improv.

251001 | SANGWON

he cackles at the joke about method acting, looking much too amused at the joke before he indicates for the other to wait a moment, hurrying off to his bag and returning with a vitamin c drink, and a lemon candy. he holds them out to danny, a grin on his lips.

"it's possible that the answer is all of the above, so vitamin c is usually a good way to counter that, for at least a little," he explains, indicating the two citrus-y things he had handed the other. "i brought a few extra just in case anyone was feeling their energy dip, so hopefully this helps?" he adds, unsure but feeling responsible considering that he's one of the leaders and also one of the choreographers.

"But thank you." If nothing else, the vitamin drink was pretty tasty and perked his mood up already. "The way you could predict this could happen," Danny laughs lightly, taking a seat on the dance floor for his impromptu break. "Nothing against the choreography or dance routine. The problem is clearly my stamina but hopefully after days of practicing this routine, I'll be in prime shape."