the sequel

“i need advice,” aeri said somberly. there were dark, bruiselike circles under her eyes– she hadn’t had much sleep since idol project at all, first having an absolute breakdown around that, but then her entire future being a topic to tear apart. finally she broke, needing to reach out to those she deemed close for a second opinion. a real one. “at what point….do i cut my losses and go? at what point do i stop giving liberty a million chances, and go to make my own?” @rvxjei​ @rvseulki​ @rvjaehee​ @rvohkyung​

jaehee sat on the sofa beside aeri, putting an arm around her friend and curling her legs up underneath herself. “i think you’re too forgiving. we both are,” jaehee replied bluntly. “and we have been for a long time. but we’re not young girls anymore, and time is ticking down, and... if they’re wasting your talent, aeri... you need to stop letting them.”

“there’s still something missing. it feels weird,” sikyung commented, and though it was meant to be a side comment under her breath, she realized she said it a little louder than she’d thought when heads turned to look at her. “i think…. because of all of us having different backgrounds, what with how many members we have in our groups, things are off, you know? some of us are performing like there’s eleven others, and some are performing like there’s only two, you feel me? it’s not cohesive.” @rvjaehee​ @rvhayoon​ @rvahki​ @rvdestiny​ @rvnayoon @rvmelody​

her breath caught in her chest. or it would have, if there was any breath left, but the last round of choreography had left her breathless. she wasn’t trained for this sort of thing. “it’s probably my fault. i need to work harder to keep up,” jaehee answered, trying to bite back any emotion bubbling up. “just give me a moment to catch my breath, and i’ll double down harder...”

“i just wanted to touch base. i wasn’t really allowed to intervene as a mentor, but…well, i could tell you were going through it,” he admitted, looking back at jaehee once they were done ordering. “how are you holding up?” @rvjaehee​

“by my fingernails, frankly,” jaehee admitted with a deep sigh, hand going to her forehead. “i’m glad i made the final lineup, don’t get me wrong, but god.... i felt so behind, and so ancient... like a relic of the past. and even now, it still all just feels like dumb luck.”

“you know, terra is so weird. i don’t understand it half the time,” yujeong said. “they assign us colours or whatever, but then barely do anything with it? i guess maybe that’s a good thing, but i would have thought they’d dye my hair purple by this point…. i kind of want to see dajeong with yellow hair… that’d be kind of funny…”

“i was always a little confused that some of you had cities, some of you had fruits, and some of you had shapes, but you didn’t all have all of those,” jaehee admitted. “it must be so much to have to keep track of...”