unplugged

Truthfully, the past couple of years Ohkyung was having a tough time reconciling his work with Liberty. He saw so many talented individuals slipping through the cracks and having to sacrifice so much of their time for very little returns, and there was not a whole lot he could realistically do. “When you’re ready to leave, leave. Liberty’s not making any effort to keep you here, so they don’t deserve to have you, frankly,” he said.

she rubbed her face, letting out a huge exhale. people like ohkyung were one of the reasons why she’d stayed as long as she had. as much as she was overlooked and badly managed and kept from showing her full potential, there were always kind people she loved working with. “you’re right. i probably needed to hear that,” she admitted softly. “i’d forgotten until idol project just how much i love to dance....”

“i’ll allow it, for now. but some of them are on thin ice,” she retorted with a little smile.

“oh? who?” aeri asked nosily. “i mean.... you left before i joined. i didn’t know you had beef with anyone...”

“well,  you should. i’m hardly ever wrong,” eunji said with a little flip of her hair, chin raising proudly. “someday you’ll get yours. and liberty will probably burn to the ground.”

she smiled. “can all the other artists get out first? because then i’m onboard.”

“god, i hope so. it’s been a long time coming. i’m really happy to finally feel… free. even a little bit,” he answered soberly. 

“It definitely is! And while there’s not really anything wrong with looking silly,  when it’s not really your intention to look silly… it’d suck to hear people say it.“

“nothing’s hopeless, aeri. it feels sucky right now, but you’re talented. you got a fanbase. it’s only a matter of time and hard work.”

“well... in time, that fanbase may falter. isn’t that every idol’s fear? that you’ll leave and there will be no fans left to come back to?”

“not with that attitude. have more confidence,” eunji answered with a tsk. “you’re plenty good. you just haven’t had the opportunity to show it properly yet.”

“well, that’s kind of you to say...” aeri murmured, tucking hair behind her ear. “i’ll take your word for it...”

“maybe if you were normal and boring. but you have a pretty cool story to tell, i think.”

“thanks. honestly, it feels really nice to like…finally feel like i’m moving forward instead of being in a lifelong rut,” he admitted. how much of that did he have narae to thank for that? he wasn’t sure. but she accounted for a lot of it, that’s for sure.

“use this time to make connections then,” jaemi insisted encouragingly. “start working on stuff– songs, choreo. and then when you leave, use those connections to find a better label, and you’ll have material to get out of the gates hot.”

“that’s...really solid advice,” aeri admitted. “thank you. it gives me something to work towards instead of just feeling hopeless.”

“i guess both of us needed a rough lesson to truly learn our worth,” eunji said somberly. “it’s fine. we both know better and will do better when we have the opportunity. we’re too talented to be ignored.”

“I’m sure there’s  some choreo you could ad to it! it could be like.. choreo that follows the lyrics/melody or choreo that suits the beat? Don’t mix them though; when you mix melody choreo w/ beat choreo it can get messy very easily!– well, i’m sure you know that but… Trying and coming up with something might help a lot!”

“maybe it’s time to reevaluate your options, then? how long was the contract you signed for?” jaemi asked, nudging her slightly (verbally. he wasnt touching her, just telling her to do something)

“three years, with a three year extension after the first two years,” she answered with a tiny sigh. “so i have about two years to go.”