restless

“i think my favorite part of lalalilala is how much of a supervillain i got to look like,” mo said, chin resting on their hand. “now or never was fun, but if i got to look like an anime villain every comeback, i think i’d be living the dream. i wish i could just bring that era back.”

“ Honestly, I really like what the concept designers did for the music video.”  The Brunette said softly; “I’ve never really thought about how much goes into concept design but the Lalalilala music video was really good. You guys did a great job playing your roles.”

“i was just saying to be careful, because my dog likes jumping up on people. he’s tiny, so it won’t hurt you or anything, and you can just push him off,” hyo explained, before pausing. “are you okay?”

“Ah, that’s okay!” She hums gently; “I could use a little hug from a furry friend to be honest.” At the pause, Nemo shifts her weight a bit, stretching the back of her neck, “I’m okay, i just have been zoning out these past few days.. that ontop of a reoccurring headache doesn’t help much.”

“oh, i didn’t say anything. but now that you mention it…. are you alright?” daeseok asked softly. “you look….distracted by something. sorry if i’m prying.”

“Oh, i’m okay. Just worried and a bit stressed with some things.” She says quietly, offering a small smile at the other’s concern, “Producing, parents, personal things; the three p’s are messing with my mojo at the moment.”

“i said my daughter likes your hair,” jangbyul repeated, patting the toddler hiding behind her legs on the head. “she’s too shy to tell you herself, but she wanted you to know”

“Ah,” She says a bit surprised, though a wide smile spread across her features as she processed the comment; offering a small gentle wave to the toddler, “Thank you so much! I like your hair too! Did your mom do it for you?” Nemo looks back up to the woman, smiling a bit, “How old is she?”

“have you ever had blue light glasses? are they worth the fuss?” dongwoo mused aloud, rubbing the back of his neck. “my literal career is being on a computer, but the eye strain is fucking ridiculous. if it makes a difference, maybe i’ll cop a pair.”

“I heard they’re good... but one of my friends said that they weren’t all that it’s cracked up to be... So personally, I’m not that good of a source to ask.” She says shyly, “I can keep asking around to some of my friends but maybe they’re worth buying if the reviews are good?”

“do you think math is a good enough special talent?’ deokjun mused aloud. “rewind is going on weekly idol and i can’t think of anything cool to put on a profile. how lame would it be to say i could do your taxes as a special talent…”

“Didn’t someone say anything is a talent if you try hard enough?”  The producer looks over at him a friendly smile on her face as she imagines him going on the show and showing off his math skills. “I think it could work out.... Or maybe you can show some of her other talents??? Maybe you can write it down as like ‘math wizard’ or something?”

“yeah, i guess being cautiously optimistic is better than putting all your hopes into something and it never coming to fruition,” he agreed. most of his accomplishments had come at random, from people offering him opportunities and him having blind faith and taking them. he knew he couldn’t fully relate to a lot of what yoojung was feeling.

“i think so. i don’t think i would have kept with it if i didn’t like it,” he admitted. he had had much different aspirations before being scouted, after all. and since he had his degrees, he could easily slip back into them if being an idol stopped being fulfilling to him. “i mean, that would be super nice, but you’ve been working all day too. i wouldn’t be mad if we ordered in or something,” he assured her.

"Yeah i don’t think they’ll choose me.. I want to be positive, but i’ve got such a along way to go and i’m not sure if they’d trust me with a new boy group all by my self...” Yoojung truthfully was quite nervous at the news despite being excited for the new opportunity, she wasn’t sure exactly what might lie ahead and she was terrified of letting her new group and company down.

"I’m glad you enjoy, all that attention would be mentally draining for me... I think?” Yoojung remembered how many people were both emotionally invested in her and her parents and she wondered if she could really do that. Her company had been softly asking her about the chance of a possible debut, but truthfully Nemo didn’t want that attention for herself; At least not now. “I can do both, I don’t mind!” 

hwayoung blinked a few times, her brain taking a moment to catch up with what nemo had said. it wasn’t often that she received compliments so abruptly like that; it brought a faint blush to her cheeks. “oh, thank you!” she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, trying desperately to keep her smile from growing embarrassingly wide. “that actually means a lot to me.”

“Ah,,” She starts, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear momentarily, “I’ve been shadowing Yeong and stuff, so i’ve been listening to a lot of your guys’s tracks.”  Nemo offers her a soft smile and shifts a bit, clearing her throat, “I’m going to hopefully be a producer here! I’m signed and everything but i’m just waiting for my assignment...”

“do you think they’re going to assign you soon?” deokjun asked, wrapping his arm around her and playing with her hair gently as they sat. “dispatch ran an article the other day about future plans, and they made it seem like a new debut was imminent– do you think you’re going to get to work with them?”

he sighed. “well, if i said i wasn’t tired, i’d be lying, but it’s not that bad,” he admitted. “getting ready for comebacks always takes a lot of energy, but our new song isn’t as intense, so i’m not as fatigued as i realistically could be.”

“Did they?” She asks curiously, a rush of excitement running through her veins as she grabs her phone and searches for the article. “I really hope they do. I’ve been working hard and i have some sample songs that maybe they could use for a debut... I really hope so. But I don’t want tog et my hopes up, they might not think i’m ready for something like that...” Yoojung was cautious, she wanted to continued to be focused on perfecting her skills and have zero expectations than get her hopes up for nothing.

“Is it fun?” She asks softly, eyes scanning his face for a moment before dropping back to his lap,  “it might be tiring, but you’re trying your best and that’s what matters. I’m really proud of you.. Since your tired, do you want me to make you something to eat? You should rest...”

“that would be very helpful, thank you,” misaki replied, bowing again. she was glad she stumbled upon yoojung– she seemed nice and helpful. she was sure that there were staff members who wouldn’t be so kind.

“Okay,” She says, packing up her things into her backpack before standing up and stretching a bit.  “I’m not sure what she might be doing, but it’s best to head this way. I think she might have been going to the cafeteria, but i’m not sure.”  There’s a brief pause before Nemo looks back over to Misaki, “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you looking for Izumi for?”

“have you ever thought about being an idol?” mija asked out of nowhere, eyeing yoojung curiously. “like i know it’s not for everyone but…you’re super cute. and you clearly have musical know-how. you could have totally been an idol in a second life.” // @rvnemo​

“Oh” Nemo breathes, orbs darting from the floor to around the room for a moment before eventually settling onto her fingers; which were toying with the fabric of her sleeves, “Actually these days... The company is asking if I want to become a trainee but... I don’t want to be an idol. it seems like a lot!”

“  you  sure?  ”  even  as  she  asks,  minji  scoots  closer  on  her  butt  to  nemo.  she  could  never  be  a  producer  like  nemo.  liberty  is  known  for  their  authentic  music,  but  minji  honestly  doesn’t  contribute  much  to  heart2heart’s  releases  beyond  some  lyrics  here  and  there.  music  production  is  a  whole  different  game.  “  mm,  nothing.  nothing  new  anyways.  ”  minji  shuffles  from  cheek  to  cheek  on  the  pavement.  “  jeez,  how  long  have  you  been  sitting  here?  is  your  ass  not  killing  you?  ” 

“Of course.” She mumbles, turning her knees toward the other to be more engaged. Production often didn’t get the credit it was owed. She had seen a lot of fans comparing groups by which one was self producing and which ones weren’t; it made her feel like her music and her job wasn’t valued. Between coming up with melodies and temporary lyrics to fill her demos, Yoojung felt pressured by the culture surrounding the industry to release her own music. After all everyone in her family expected it at some point. But she felt like she wasn’t built for the spotlight. “Really? i think now is the prime time to come up with new stuff, the seasons are changing and everyone’s excited... It’d be great.” At the latter comment though she laughs, shaking her head momentarily, “I was in the zone so i didn’t notice but now that you bring it up, my butt definitely hurts.”

it wasn’t rare for hwayoung to be recognized – distich was doing well, after all, and she was one of their leaders – but she still felt a swell of flattery in her chest when nemo knew her name. “yeah, that’s me,” she affirmed, sitting down next to nemo and getting comfortable. “you go by nemo, right?” she did her best to remember everyone’s name, but it would be pretty hard for her to forget that one. 

Yoojung hadn’t expected anyone to really know her name. After all she was more on the quiet end and only introduced herself when she was told to or it was necessary. She had a mixture f feelings, but she reminded herself that she was being called by her producer name and not her birth one. “Ah yes, I’m nemo.” She says quietly, smiling a bit before speaking up again, “You’re voice is very nice and your raps are really good.”

while rewind was starting to get ready to come back soon, they weren’t in full-blown preparation mode yet, which deokjun was happy about– he liked performing and promoting (certainly a lot more than he thought he would when he was signed), but he also liked having spare time. spare time, as it were, he was using to visit his girlfriend today at new age. 

“sorry– i didn’t realize how focused on your journal you were. i thought you heard me come in,” he answered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before dropping down and sitting beside her. “what are you working on?”

Nemo let’s out a relaxed sigh as her brain processes that it’s indeed her boyfriend, before she let’s out a gentle sigh. She really hated how easy it was to scare her, it’s one of the reason she doesn’t think she could be a celebrity. They always had those one episodes where they tried to scare you in some way or fashion and she wasn’t really about that.

“It’s okay,” She starts, scooting closer to him so she can rest her head on his shoulder, “I’m just working on a sample song, I’m gonna have Jei read over the lyrics and then once i have the actual beat i’m gonna take it to Yeong and see what he thinks. I want to get as much practice and pointers in before they assign me.”  Slender fingers reach over to pick some lint off of his shirt before she looks up at him, “How was your day? I know it must be stressful since you guys are prepping for a comeback and all...”

hwayoung hadn’t meant to startle nemo. she’d only been curious to see what she was working on. hwayoung had made it her business to know the goings-on at new age since she debuted with distich. knowledge was power and if she wanted to ensure her group’s success, she needed to advocate for them to work with the best producers, choreographers, stylists, writers, and whoever else new age could provide. distich was still a relatively new group in the grand scheme of things and they’d only debuted in 2019, but it was never too early to start making connections or taking notes. but when nemo had jumped and shut her journal, hwayoung couldn’t fight the blush that crept its way to her cheeks. “sorry, that’s totally my bad.” she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “i recognized you from the company and was curious what you were working on.” she motioned to the spot next to nemo. “may i join you?”

Nemo blinked for a moment, looking up at the other girl speechless for a moment. She figured it was simply from the shock, but the blush that had crept onto the other girl’s cheeks began to mirror onto her own as the other had mentioned recognizing her. “Ah yeah, I shadow Yeong and Jei so that way i can get as much experience in for the group New Age assigns me to..” Her voice is soft, but there’s a steady nod as she gestures to the space next to her, “Yeah, that’s cool. You’re in Distich, right? Hwayoung?”