the fifth season

˖◛⁺ @lgcsoyoun & @lgchyejoo & ࿐

Though still far from her favourite sort of activity, Yuxi had started to become accustomed to the filming of radio schedules. As long as she got a couple words in and exercised caution, she was off the hook. Unusually unambitious of her, but she knew that a) she was hardly the most interesting conversationalist around and b) she failed to see why she should focus on activities unrelated to her main aspirations, hence her giving space to her co-hosts.

Her fellow members having already given the due introductions to the day's topic — travel packing — and participants, she started the discussion with the obvious caveat of "it depends on the nature of the trip."

"sometimes it's difficult though, because i need to carry all my skincare products and they're too big, so they have to be checked." she laughs as she remembers something. "oh! but once i only had one big toner that needed to be checked, and our manager had extra space so i put it in her luggage."

"now thinking about it though," she adds thoughtfully, chin in her hand. "having a heavy bag is kind of uncomfortable too? so maybe a checked luggage isn't that bad."

Chuckling, Soyoun then sheepishly adds. "My parents call me an overpacker, but I call it being ready for anything." It's not a secret that Soyoun has almost everything in her suitcase (and she'd pack appliances if she can get away with it). "There was a time I left my hair dryer back in the dorms, and I had the misfortune of getting a hotel room with a broken hair dryer." Turning to Hyejoo, she adds, "I think you were my roommate for that? Or was it Yamapi-chan?" Going back to the topic, she adds, "It was pretty embarrassing having to complain about it, so I learned to bring one with me ever since."

"I don't know about you two, but I can't ever travel anywhere without the hairdryer, thanks to that incident. And maybe a sketchbook. I feel weird if I don't bring one with me," she says. "How about you two? What's something you must always bring when traveling?"

she smiles, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. “even when i wasn’t the one performing, i’d always volunteer to help with decorations or write signs. i just really liked being part of it. anything that felt like working toward something with people, or getting to be creative. it always made me feel a little more like myself.”

there’s a pause as she glances between the others, thoughtful. “i think all of that really helped me later, without realizing it. even if it wasn’t official training, i learned how to stand in front of people, or how to support the people around me. i didn’t know then that i’d be doing that all the time now.” her smile turns a bit shy as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “it's nice, you know? to be able to look back at our time like that.”

"I went to a regular high school in Okcheon rather than the specialized arts high schools, too," Soyoun says. "So the school festivals had us sing and dance for some cash and mostly bragging rights., but we competed in those like our final grades depended on it." Soyoun laughs along at Kyoka's and Hyejoo's stories. "Oh my goodness! Lucky you didn't back out then, Youngwon," she chuckles into the microphone. "The festival would have been more boring without hearing you sing."

"Me, too," Soyoun admits. "I liked getting to work on stuff with my friends and make memories like that, but it was also a nice bonus to not have to do some extra studying." She laughs, half-joking. "I got extra-credit for helping out in the school festival, so I guess they boosted my grades in a way? And doing extracurriculars like that helped me explore different hobbies and outlets for my creativity, too. I agree with Youngwonnie, I like to think the school festivals trained us for where we are now. Even if in my case, it's more singing and dancing than painting makeshift sets!"

Soyoun claps along when everyone else does, making sure to show her polite enthusiasm to the cameras. The audiences at home prefer a mild-mannered and demure idol, so Soyoun gives them that. It was a beautiful opening number; Soyoun will admit. When the focus is back on the host, Soyoun then turns to Ichika. "Yes, it was. I was impressed with how they managed to make it look seamless," she says, nodding at the cameramen. "I have to give it to the cameramen for running around to make it look smooth."

she glances toward kyoka. "but i liked the feeling of a new school year — getting new notebooks, setting goals. i remember always thinking that this year would be the year i would speak up more in class, or ask more questions."

hyejoo laughs thinking of the memory. "i don't know if i actually raised my hand more, but it's funny to think about. back then i just wanted to sing for people, and now i get to be on a radio show like this." it makes her feel like she's come far, and she has a sudden wave of pride. "what about you, soyoun? did you like school?"

Laughing with them, Soyoun playfully pouts before turning serious in thought. "I had a love-hate relationship with school. I wasn't exactly the best student either, but I worked hard," she finally admits with as much seriousness as was reasonable for a light topic. "But I kept myself busy with lots of extra-curricular activities like art club, fashion club, and the dance club, so I still had a lot of good memories."

Nodding along with Kyoka and Hyejoo, Soyoun adds to her story. "I can relate to the excitement of getting new notebooks and setting goals, too." She pauses, chuckling before another memory comes to her. "But I was most excited to decorate my scheduler. People always said I had the prettiest timetables in my class." She deserved to flex her minor achievements and drop some Astrid lore for the fans.

"If people needed to draw something for a class competition or for the festivals, I'd often be the one in charge of it, so I spent a lot of my time drawing, painting, or taking care of our entire class' outfits," she admits with a laugh. "Was it like that for you, as well? Did they make you sing or dance to represent your classes in competitions, too?"

What’s a job you’d like to try aside from your current profession?

It's not a secret that I'd love to be a fashion designer! I graduated from Ewha University back in 2020 with a Fashion Design degree, after all. But okay, fine, that's an obvious answer.

@lgcsoyoun

They’ve been to award shows before, this isn’t even the first award show this year, but there’s still something… different about attending one geared toward the Japanese industry. It’s neither good nor bad, but different, almost uncanny. But enjoyable. There’s no doubt about that.

As the opening show wraps up on the screen, she claps along with the rest of the attendees and audience. Briefly, she catches a camera in her direction and she politely smiles before it moves. She doesn’t know for sure if that moment will be shown on broadcast but it was best practice to be polite. When the clapping subsides and the hosts take the reigns of the show, she settles into her seat and turns her head to talk to the member to her left, Soyoun. “The camera work and settings were really nice, weren't they?”

Soyoun claps along when everyone else does, making sure to show her polite enthusiasm to the cameras. The audiences at home prefer a mild-mannered and demure idol, so Soyoun gives them that. It was a beautiful opening number; Soyoun will admit. When the focus is back on the host, Soyoun then turns to Ichika. "Yes, it was. I was impressed with how they managed to make it look seamless," she says, nodding at the cameramen. "I have to give it to the cameramen for running around to make it look smooth."

@lgcichika

Posing with food is nothing new to Soyoun, but she has to admit this is the second time she'll be posing with something she actually made. (The first would be the birthday cafe treats, by the way.) As she looks at the chocolate box they're meant to pose with, she wonders if she can actually open one. She admittedly has two reasons behind this: to get a better photo and to see what the other girls came up with.

she let out a soft chuckle, recalling how she'd wandered around the set earlier and was greeted with polite bows from new staff members and juniors. “i don’t think we’ll ever cross paths with them, honestly,” she said with a casual shrug. “the only time idols and actors meet is usually during the company’s family concert. even then, i doubt they’ll drop by backstage unless they have a reason to.”

“you’re going all out?” she grins, eyebrows raised in amusement. “then why not bring your cushion too? that’s like… the last line of defense for any idol before we’re totally barefaced.” jaehwa chuckles, patting her own compact in her bag. of all her makeup, the cushion is her must-have as it blurs imperfections and gives her just enough of a confidence boost. “not going home for a few days doesn’t sound that bad, though. it’s like an unplanned vacation, right?”

"I've come across the trainees since I'm the mentor of a special workshop," she says gesturing to the pile of papers she's working on for tomorrow's group session. "A lot of them have arrived after we made our debut. Then I met a new trainee at the convenience store near our first dorm building back then... She's now an actress and a friend... I'm not sure if you've met her? Kim Cherry? Really sweet girl though."

Shaking her head, Soyoun sighs. "It depends on what happens at the location. I would hope they at least let us fix our faces before they pretend to wake us up... But I have a feeling we'll really be woken up, so it might be my actual bare face for the world to see." Shuddering, Soyoun only knows that it will be out of town and far away from civilization. She has no idea what else is in store for her. "That's true. We'll find out the location tomorrow, so we can pack accordingly. I'm curious to see what the show is all about and why it has to be out of town. I hope it's somewhere fun."