more perfect than a doll

“what do you mean?” tiwi asked, eyebrows raising a little. “do one of you have some sort of scandal i didn’t know about? what’s so different about this unit?”

“no, it’s just... of everything, vpop is probably the least popular in south korea. and all the other groups have done so well. i don’t want to be the flop unit.”

“considering we’re in public and someone could walk in at literally any second?” harin pointed out, kissing bian again and letting her hands slide lower on her waist. “nothing more here. but i’d be interested in doing this little song and dance again in the future.”

“our unit is going to do fine, bian. have a little faith,” hoa assured her. there was a reason that they put this unit out last. they were building up a fanbase to support them– hoa was sure of it. “i’m going to do well, but because i want to prove it to myself. i don’t need to prove it to anyone else.”

“i’m trying, but it’s not like vpop is big in korea! i just don’t want us to be a flop compared to the others,” she worried aloud.

she sighed, looking at her phone before attempting the word again. “is that any better?” she asked with a little wince. “i’m really trying, okay? why can’t you just tell me what i’m saying wrong?”

“marginally,” she retorted. “that’s not really how you learn, chaeyoung, but for you....” she sighed dramatically, demonstrating the word for her new friend. “there. extra emphasis on the second syllable.”

“i don’t want that either,” tiwi replied sincerely. “i’m honored to perform beside you, and i want to make sure i do you all proud!”

“well, that’s the right attitude,” bian answered, finally yielding a smile. “i know how busy you are with the other units but... i’m looking forward to working with you. and i hope you being in the unit gets more eyes on it. i’m a little worried about ankaa. we need all the help we can get.”

harin’s eyes narrowed. usually she didn’t get this far– and she got why. it was kind of dangerous– you never knew who was going to hear something, and what they’d do with that information. but she wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. so she leaned in, taking bian’s face in her hands and kissing her.

“oh, yeah, i guess, but they were curling it. it looked really cute. like shirley temple. i’ve only ever seen it straight before,” she replied

“oh, i guess that sounds pretty cute...” bian admitted. “you have to do good on this show though, hoa. vietnamese idols in korea just like...aren’t a thing. our unit has the least chance of doing well. we need you to blow up so people will give us a chance.”

“i’m happy to do that! i just want to learn and do the best that i can,” tiwi retorted enthusiastically. “do you mean my vocabulary? because that makes sense– i’m pretty new to vietnamese, so i’m sure my word choice is pretty basic…”

“yes, your word choice. like i said, if we keep speaking vietnamese with each other, that will naturally improve. i just don’t want you to look too out of place when we really do debut.”

“from what i know, yeah. i saw her for her fitting a few minutes ago– she looked really cute. they’re having fun with her hair too,” hoa retorted.

“her hair is so short-- there’s not much someone can do with that. i guess i’m curious to see what they do,” bian admitted

“oh, she’s very interest. she’s almost salivating,” harin laughed, resting her chin on her hand.

tiwi looked up, immediately switching into vietnamese upon request. “how much do you want to hear? what do you want me to say? i know it’s probably really weird to have a non-vietnamese girl in your unit, but i really want to help make it the best it can be!”

bian tried to keep the look of surprise off her face, tapping her chin. “your pronunciation is better than i thought it’d be. your word choice should be better, though. i think whenever we talk, we should talk in vietnamese so you can keep learning...”

“keep talking, bian. you’re going to get a girl interested,” harin said with a tiny smile.

“please– i think at this point it’s clear that i’m the last person to underestimate you.”

“and you need to work on your superiority complex.”

“i don’t have a complex. i just know i’m good. if you don’t think the same about  yourself, you should probably work on your confidence.”