run.

she smiled a little when he called her cute. “you changed your hair when you debuted,” she pointed out. “i think it just comes with the territory of the job, don’t you?”

“yeah...” he admitted with a pout. he just really didn’t like change. he only let theo touch his hair with the promise that they were going just a few shades different, not an alien color. “do you like it at least?”

“neither am i,” sangmin answered with a tiny smile. “it’ll just take a lot of practice and focus, yeah? i have no doubt that we can do it. and if we can’t, they can just put us in the back of the formations…”

“i can handle being at the back,” he surrendered. “especially if baohui is in front of me. he’s tall.”

“Well, here’s hoping, right?” Baohui said. He was pretty much starting from scratch, so he didn’t expect it to happen soon. “I wonder how many units there’s going to end up being for Scope, because Byulbit already has a ton…” he mused.

she nodded, adjusting her bangs gently. she was more nervous than anything, really. she didn’t think mnet was going to be to kind and accommodating for her.

‘ i don’t think i’ll win. i don’t think i even want to win’

she wrote. and she meant it. it seemed like too much pressure, and she already knew she was debuting with byulbit. she didn’t want to have to put in as many hours as somi had before somi withdrew.  she listened intently, nodding along with this advice. 

‘ i guess they’d have to be meaner than usual because of the show. better ratings. ‘

he didn’t even question her-- he knew just how she felt. “yeah, i didn’t want to either. i see how hard creed works, and i’m happy for them, but it scares me,” he admitted after reading her note. he liked communicating this way. he felt like a secret spy or something. “yeah, exactly! and like...they can’t sugar coat because of time restrictions. and they can’t be seen playing favorites. they just have to cut to the point.”

“the choreography is fun, though, so i guess we can call that a bonus?” sangmin offered weakly. “it kind of sucks for those of us who aren’t dancers but….it’ll look cool.”

“yeah, it’s cool! i’m a little worried i’m not going to be able to keep up though,” he admitted shyly. “i’m not the best dancer...”

“I’m not completely sure I’ll be in any units after White, myself, but I’m trying to stay hopeful. It’s been a while since I’ve had a possible debut to look forward to,” Baohui admitted with a little smile. “ I have a bit of catching up to do anyway, I think, so I don’t mind that much. I’m glad to hear, though!”

“that’s fair– i didn’t even think of that. i think i would have subconsciously gone easy on you too, and that’s not fair at all,” kyu reasoned.

“yeah.... so if you want to help me, i would like that, but i don’t think it needs to be on tv. that would be too much pressure. and i think people would ask weird questions...” he admitted, trailing off

she smiled as he went off, nervously playing with one of her rings while she waited for him to come back. the fact that he was so kind to her, and he didn’t even know her…it meant the world. he was a kind, kind soul. and once he returned, she was sure to show her thanks.

while they ate in comfortable silence, thet quickly wrote down another note

‘ you were on idol project, right? i’m going on the third season. do you have any tips?’

“are you going on the show?” rae asked excitedly, taking a sip of his strawberry milk. “oh, that’s so exciting! well...i didn’t ever think i was going to win. so being able to just go in and learn was fun. and make new friends-- because i knew i wasn’t going to make it, they all weren’t threatened by me as much as others so they were nice to me. i guess..... my tip is to listen to the judges. it might sound like they’re just being mean, but everything they say, they’re saying to help you.”

thet scrambled to find her backpack, pulling out a notebook and flipping to a fresh page, scribbling down in her best korean handwriting (she still wasn’t used to the sharp angles, so different from writing in burmese…) her order. after a moment, she wrote ‘thank you ♥’ before passing it to him with a grateful smile

he watched her write, smiling back brightly and nodding. “of course-- i don’t want you to not be able to eat today just because you’re not feeling well. i mean....i don’t know your circumstances or what’s going on, but you know what i mean. anyway, i’ll be right back.”

“oh– that show! i thought maybe the idol project 3 billboards were up,” kyu mused. “too bad i couldn’t have coached your season! it would have been nice to work with you.”

“oh, no! i just found out about that yesterday-- i think you’ll be a great mentor,” rae said earnestly. “i don’t know. i wouldn’t have liked that. you would have had to critique me and i think that would have made me upset...”

thet was having a rough month. she thought that she was getting less anxious and more confident, but it hit her like a wave coming crashing in. she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to ever debut if she was having trouble speaking at all. 

she jumped a little when raein spoke to her, eyes going wide and cheeks going red. once she realized what he was saying, though, her expression softened. she took a moment, then smiled, nodding. it was such a kind offer. and it would be nice to not have to be alone.

“okay, cool,” he answered, smiling. “do you know what you want? you could write it down and i can order it for you? or you could point at the menu! or do you get the same thing every time? then maybe the clerks will know...”