BOUND BY THE RULES — #MATCHMAKER EPISODES ANNOUNCEMENT
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TRANS:
EP1:
현설과 카리나의 #MATCHMAKER 건전한 에피
소드를 위해 단 것을 준비하세요
Ready your sweet tooth for this wholesome #MATCHMAKER episode with Hyunseol and Karina
EP2:
#MATCHZ를 따라 일련의 카니발 놀이기구와 게임을 통해 추억의 길로 모험을 떠나보세요
Follow #MATCHZ for a trip down memory lane with carnival rides and games
EP3:
현설과 카리나가 유대감을 형성하는 동안 집에
서 편안하게 페이스트리를 즐기고 베이킹을 통
해 그들의 삶에 대해 이야기를 나누세요
Enjoy pastries at the comfort of your own home as Hyunseol and Karina bond and talk about their lives through baking
EP4:
친구와 연인 사이의 경계가 점점 얇아지면서 감
정이 드러나는 별자리를 주시하세요
Keep an eye on the constellation of love as the boundaries between friends and lovers become increasingly thin.
EP5:
드러난 감정과 눈앞에 놓인 고백, 친구에서 연인으로 도약한 현설과 카리나는 어떤 발걸음을 내디뎌야 할까
Feelings revealed and the confession laid out in front of them, what step should Hyunseol and Karina take next after taking the leap of faith from friends to lovers?
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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bbtr misc. female idols who got a crush on txt seol
note: just pretend that you're viewing this piece in 2023, just like hyunseol's kprofile. i gave proofreading this.
warning/s: a bit angst in some parts if u guys squint
itzy — choi jisu (최지수) ⸻ early 2020 - present
first meeting
when lia first met hyunseol, she'll say it was something unexpected, like really unexpected.
her encounter with the txt member happened when the latter bumped into her who was heading to a restroom at a music award show.
pretty unexpected, right?
when they bumped into each other, poor surprised lia lost her balance but good thing hyunseol is here to save the day (good thing too because lia tries to avoid any interaction with her slightly strict stylist)
but enough of that because there's something else that needs our attention right now, like how did hyunseol here break lia's fall?
things you need to know: an arm wrapping around a waist
lia didn't realize hyunseol's hand placement at first since she is too busy looking at the latter's face and too stunned at what had happened.
but when she did, oh boy, she felt blood rushing to her cheeks and the area where hyunseol's hand landed became warm even though she had a fabric of clothing that separated her skin and the bighit idol's hand.
hyunseol profusely apologized to her, thinking that she embarrassed the itzy member without any slightest hint that the blush on lia's face isn't from embarrassment but from something else.
lia is so flustered that she couldn't bear to say why she is blushing, too flustered to think of anything else but how close her face was to the other idol earlier, how warm hyunseol's hand was against her side, and the scent that was coming from the tall idol.
lavender and jasmine, two scents she didn't imagine would smell good together in someone until now.
the two stood in the hallway in an awkward silence before hyunseol's manager came strutting towards them with that motherly tone of hers.
"there you are, seol. i've been looking for you, come on. you guys are up next for the performance."
with a final bow, the bighit idol let her manager dragged her away without saying anything, leaving lia standing in the hallway before a hand fell on her shoulders.
the stranger got startled when lia flinches before the latter turned her head and saw one of her members, yeji staring at her skeptically.
"are you okay?", yeji asks her, concerned.
"y-yeah."
lia stutters out an answer as she places a hand over her chest, hoping that small action would calm the raging storm in her heart.
start of interest
lia immediately get interested on hyunseol the moment they parted ways on their first meeting.
her curiosity on hyunseol started with a research on the tall idol, like who she was, how long she has been a trainee, etc.
when she found out that hyunseol used to be a jyp trainee, she somehow started regretting not signing up in jyp earlier and often gets thoughts like what if i had met seol earlier?, what if i had become friends with seol if i had signed up with jyp immediately?, etc.
she was so curious on who hyunseol is she even started watching those txt (un)helpful guide videos in youtube, because apparently, moas considered hyunseol as the most charismatic member in txt.
one video led to another various more and now, she started watching the group's mvs and immediately understands why hyunseol has a huge fanbase coming from various other kpop groups.
everything about hyunseol are insane, especially her vocals, her dancing skills, her confidence, and her visuals as if she was made by the greek goddess of love and beauty herself. a living and breathing of perfection.
her curiosity led her into getting caught by ryujin who had a knowing look over her face and she immediately felt guilty after like a child guilty of hiding their mother's most precious broken vase.
but surprisingly, ryujin just told her that she was expecting lia getting interested on her best friend and a "you weren't totally good at hiding your interest on seol, you know."
okay, lia probably is not good at keeping everything in the low when she realized that she starts to listen more on hyunseol-related stories ryujin shared whenever they eat together (probably her members realized it too and that thought just made her more embarrassed than before)
ryujin chuckled when she saw lia blushing furiously before patting her member's shoulder. "it's okay, unnie. there's nothing wrong with liking seol. you know i won't mind that and besides, you're not the only one who's crushing on her."
"what?"
and that was the moment lia's world stops for a moment.
----
fromis_9 — lee chaeyoung (이채영) ⸻ early 2021 - present
first meeting
when chaeyoung first met hyunseol, it was after bighit change to hybe and acquire various companies to become one. she could remember it clearly as if it just happened yesterday.
it was a normal day for fromis_9 as a hybe staff gives them a tour around the huge building and talking about the company's rules and regulations when jiheon, who was standing beside her, suddenly let out a small squeal and started to hit her arm.
she looked at the maknae and the latter could only point at the front double doors to see bang si-hyuk, a female manager, and six tall figures walking inside.
she had heard of the six-membered group from jiheon, the moa resident of fromis_9 and mostly, the maknae always talks about oh hyunseol, her bias and bighit's wildcard.
fromis_9 was in front of the lobby when the well-known chaotic group passed them and bowed to them while hyunseol met jiheon's eyes and approached the latter before she smiled widely when the latter let out a squeal and pulled her into a hug.
"nice to see you again, fangirl. how have you been?"
"ahhh, unnie!!! it's nice to see you again, too."
the rest of fromis_9 looked at the pair in stunned silence and when they look at the txt, they saw the members looking at their oldest and jiheon with wide smiles plastered on their faces.
"you know each other?"
hyunseol looked at chaeyoung, the one who asked and smiled at her while nodding before she gently patted jiheon's head and met chaeyoung's eyes again. "yeah, i met heonie through yujin. your maknae was pretty excited and shocked when she learned that i'm friends with yujinie."
the rest of fromis_9 looked at hyunseol with their mouths forming into 'o' and laughed at their maknae's reaction while chaeyoung remained her eyes on hyunseol with a dazed look over her face. mainly, her eyes were focused on the latter's lips and how it stretched into the brightest smile she ever seen (with jiheon being in second).
"txt, come on! bang pd-nim is waiting!"
"we'll be there!", txt loudly replied back and bowed to the nine girls with hyunseol smiling at chaeyoung last as she finally pulled away from jiheon's hug before the six-membered group ran off to their manager.
chaeyoung was left looking at hyunseol's face until txt disappeared behind the elevator doors and snapped out of her trance, hoping her members didn't notice her odd behavior.
jiheon, who noticed her unnie's actions, smirked and looked away with a shake of her head.
start of interest
chaeyoung didn't exactly know when and how she starts to get interested on hyunseol, but once she heard jiheon blasting some txt songs in their dorm, she knew she'll end up thinking about the txt member more than once.
she doesn't know how to ask jiheon about hyunseol without getting suspicious, but when she gave up to her curiosity, she asked jiheon and the latter surprisingly answered all of her questions like who hyunseol was, what her favorite foods are, etc.
the maknae was so receptive in answering her questions chaeyoung was starting get suspicious of jiheon and confronted the latter about her behavior one day.
"you're interested on seol unnie, so i'm just helping your interest on her grow even more."
"s-so you knew? ever since?"
"yeah, and don't worry, i didn't tell unnie about your... sudden interest on her. i'm evil, but not that evil."
but those words alone didn't convince chaeyoung and that drove her in asking the maknae. "why are you helping me when you already knew that i'm interested on seol?"
"why not?", jiheon retaliates with a smirk. "besides you're attracted to tall people, right? unnie, i told you that seol unnie is tall tall. she's like 5'11 foot, unnie."
chaeyoung could only blink at the maknae's words with her lips slightly apart. "oh, also unnie." she looks at jiheon and sees the latter looking at her in a serious matter.
"don't fall for seol unnie too hard. you're not the only idol who is interested on her."
----
ive — kim gaeul (김가을) ⸻ late 2021 - present
first meeting
(be warned: slight angst)
when gaeul first met hyunseol, it happened when she caught yujin and wonyoung sneaking out of the dorm at the late of the night after a hectic schedule.
when the two got caught, yujin answered with a pleading voice, "wonyoung and i needed to meet someone. please, unnie, let us go."
"can i tag along with you guys? just to make sure you two will come back home safe."
yujin and wonyoung looked at each other for a moment and shrugged before gaeul changed her clothes.
after hitching a taxi, gaeul couldn't help but wonder who the person yujin and wonyoung were trying to go to this late
when gaeul decides to ask who this person is, yujin just answers with a nonchalant shrug, "you'll meet her when we get there" while wonyoung tried her best not to fully break down right there and then.
due to her members' odd behavior, gaeul didn't bother to ask again and has fallen so deep in her thoughts she didn't realize the taxi had already stopped if it weren't for yujin who pulled her out of her thoughts.
when they stepped out of the vehicle, gaeul realized they are in front of an apartment building before wonyoung walked inside first, hurry present in her steps and yujin led gaeul inside.
gaeul then saw someone waiting by the lobby, talking to the receptionist and to her surprise, yujin and wonyoung immediately ran to that stranger, pulling the latter in their arms.
seol, who was the stranger, got startled and turned to the two tallest members of ive, worry plastered on her face when she heard sniffles from them.
gaeul accidentally caught seol's eyes and the latter bowed at her before the former immediately looked away with a blush, her heartbeat consuming her sense of hearing before she chastised herself for even reacting that way and gently pinched herself.
"come on, let's take this in my apartment", seol says as she keeps an eye outside the building for unsuspecting sasaengs lurking in the shadows.
after a painfully 1 minute in the elevator, the txt member led the three ive members inside her apartment and to her living room before grabbing some tissues and water bottles with a few snacks in the kitchen.
"here, some water, tissues, and snacks. now tell me what's happened."
gaeul took the single seat across her members while keeping her attention on the older girl while seol took a seat between yujin and wonyoung who immediately clung on the txt member.
she saw how seol kept her attention on yujin who was crying on the latter's shoulder while letting out the problems ive is experiencing under the media's cruel hand as wonyoung buried her head against seol's arm, tears adorning her cheeks.
and soon, gaeul found herself crying along with yujin and wonyoung when the topic reached to the most sensitive ones like how the netizens made liz uncomfortable wearing the clothes she likes, how leeseo was mocked by some fans when she was doing her thanksgiving speech, etc.
but through it all, gaeul always sees seol listening to yujin's rants and vents with undivided attention and open ears.
seeing seol being so caring to her members, attentive to whatever topic they are talking about, and somehow being good at making her members smile made gaeul's heart flutter.
she doesn't know why or how but hearing the short laughters seol and her members share amidst of the sensitive topics, gaeul couldn't help but to view seol in the different light considering she knew there are only a certain group of idols in the industry that could be trusted.
after that small session, seol's phone rang and the bighit idol immediately answered the call before standing up and walking away, leaving the three ive members talk to themselves in the living room.
"so gaeul unnie, what do you think of seol unnie?"
gaeul threw yujin a look and saw a hint of mischief on the way the leader is looking at her, narrowing her eyes at the latter. "why are you looking at me like that?"
"looking at you like what?"
"like you want to start something i don't approve of."
yujin snickers. "wwhhaattt? i do not. you're just jumping into conclusions."
gaeul gets silent while rolling her eyes.
she then looked around and examined every furniture present in the room before she looked at the picture frame beside the tv and spotted seol with a kid seated on her shoulders.
meanwhile, yujin and wonyoung are talking about their oldest while keeping their eyes on the latter, seeing how distracted gaeul is.
after the phone call, seol immediately barged inside and put her phone inside her sweatpants pocket as gaeul noticed a hint of daze in the way the txt member looks at her members but she didn't ponder on that thought any longer.
"hello, sorry. that was my manager. she was asking something, but anyways— why are you looking at me like that, yujin?"
"is it our time to go?", yujin asks.
"go? at this hour? god no, you girls will stay at my guest rooms. i won't let you girls leave, especially now that you know crime rates are high around this time." seol shook her head, the trio only noticing spare clothes in her hands. "now, go change your clothes. the clothes you two left behind days ago are in the closets."
once yujin and wonyoung left to change their clothes, seol turned to gaeul and gave the clothes to the '02 liner with a smile. "here's some spare clothes, gaeul-ssi. i hope you have a good night's sleep tonight."
"why are you doing this?" gaeul's eyes immediately widened when she realized she talks her thought out loud and covered her mouth with a gasp before grabbing the clothes. "uhm, s-sorry, s-sunbaenim. you can just leave that question unanswered, i'll just—"
"it was the right thing to do, gaeul-ssi." the ive member looked at seol to see the latter looking at her with a solemn expression.
"besides, you girls deserve some kindness, not to mention the whole world. we may not be fully acquianted with one another, but i hope you are aware of how much yujin and wonyoung kept saying how proud they are to have members like you, even they don't know if you guys aren't exactly the the type of people to have deep conversation with or not."
seol looked away with a sigh and shook her head. "it's unfair and unfortunate for your group to be targeted by such unkind and mean people in your debut. you girls just want to achieve your dreams and besides you aren't doing anything bad, so..."
"why should they hate your group?"
seol's question kept gaeul up at night thinking as she spent the night looking up at the ceiling filled with glow-in-the-dark stars.
start of interest
gaeul's interest on seol didn't start growing until it was the last week of december 2021 after hyunseol had given six-membered group delievered foods in christmas with a printed note, "hello, ive! merry christmas! i hope you guys have a good day ahead of this special day. i wish i could bring these boxes myself, but i was needed at a short notice in the company. the first box contain your favorite foods while the second contains my gifts for you. merry christmas again 🫶 sincerely, azrael"
at first, the ive members didn't know who this azrael person is and almost called their manager if not for yujin and wonyoung explaining to them that azrael is hyunseol's english name and the bighit idol always used that name for deliveries.
why?, the question gaeul kept asking to herself. why is she so... helpful? caring? kind? pretty? funny? smart? understanding? open-minded? and more positive qualities that somehow describe how perfect she is??
being a curious person herself, she decided to watch some videos about hyunseol and her group that either could be from the group's official account or the fans while she hid in the comfort of her room.
her curiosity and interest not only led her to watching txt's mvs but also the behind-the-scenes, the group's variety show 'to do', and some music awards performances. it eventually led her eyes being glued to her phone screen more often and her members may or may not have noticed her sudden interest on her phone.
as the leader of her group, yujin noticed that gaeul started binge-watching something but whenever she approaches the latter, the oldest always puts her down as if she's afraid to accidentally spilled a secret.
one day, when ive took a break from practicing, yujin saw gaeul wiping her sweat off her face while facing the mirror in the room and immediately approached the latter before dragging the '02 liner out of the room, "gaeul unnie and i will bring some snacks, we'll be right back!"
due to the quick turn of events, poor gaeul didn't get a say in the impromptu hang out. all she could do is follow the leader out before she gets confused when latter asks, "so why are you suddenly being interested on your phone? i've been noticing how much you kept smiling to yourself while watching something in your phone."
i could lie to her and save myself from embarrassment, gaeul thought to herself. or i could say the truth and get this feeling over with.
yujin, sensing the hesitation, immediately added, "if you aren't ready to tell me yet, it's fine. i totally—"
"no, it's okay. i'll say it." gaeul took a deep breath. "it's because seol unnie. i was watching txt's variety show, to do the other day and i was trying not to laugh because i don't want to draw attention to myself while watching."
yujin scratches her nape, trying not to smile and avoiding gaeul's eyes. "well, you kinda failed because you did draw attention to yourself the other day to the point the members kept asking me what you were watching that got you smiling so wide."
when eunha first met seol, it was around viviz' comeback for their mini album, beam of prism. she doesn't know why but she could still remember the way how seol laughed at wonyoung's joke when her group entered the interview room (idk what it's called where mcs interview idols just like jangkku interviewed the idols).
the moment the three idols walked in the room, eunha immediately met seol's eyes and saw how the latter's eyes brighten at the sight of her. the bighit idol and jangkku immediately bowed at the three idols while greeting them.
sinb immediately smiled at the sight of the 5'11 foot idol while umji ran to the bighit idol and pulled seol in a hug while the latter let out a loud "umji unnie!"
her two members are close with the txt member ever since their gfriend days and she could always hear umji talking about the bighit idol to their leader, sowon even in the maknae's sleep.
hearing so many stories of seol from umji made eunha grow curious, but she never get the chance to meet the idol herself considering in the industry, hyunseol is known to be everywhere and anywhere. it is only a matter of luck to meet the idol herself.
but eunha didn't expect to see seol hanging out in interview room with the two new mcs out of all places. it's just too... random place to be in.
hyunseol and umji then pulled away from the hug before the latter smacked the arms of the tall girl, earning a groan from the txt member.
"ow, what was that for, unnie?"
"that's for telling me that you won't make it, and this." umji then grabbed ahold of hyunseol's t-shirt and pulled the latter down to her height before kissing the latter's cheek. "is for coming anyways. thank you, seol."
"y-yeah, a-anytime", hyunseol stuttered while blushing. "but unnie, you should know that i was going to tell you that i'll come."
"then why didn't you?" hyunseol could only look at sinb and the latter jerked her head back before her eyes fell on umji.
"so it was you all along?!"
hyunseol took several steps away from the scene and stood beside eunha who suddenly got nervous at the bighit idol's presence beside her.
why? it's because hyunseol was so tall beside her and she admits that the 5'11 foot idol is so prettier up close.
eunha doesn't know if hyunseol being pretttier up close is because of the latter's dimples making an appearance, the way the txt member's eyes disappear in her cheeks whenever she laughs, or maybe the way the bighit idol carries herself with confidence.
like she owns the place (and eunha's heart and the viviz member doesn't know it yet)
but whatever it is, eunha could only feel her heart starts having a rampage inside her chest while her thoughts became about the txt's oldest member.
start of interest
eunha's curiosity on seol didn't get bigger not until she got a birthday gift from her and a bunch of teasing from her fellow viviz and former gfriend members.
"happy birthday, eunha unnie! umji unnie told me the other day your birthday is getting close and well, i want to give you a gift even though we aren't close and acquianted with one another. i hope you have a great day today and i also hope you enjoy my gift. from azrael."
umji could only squeal in excitement once eunha told her friends who gave the gift and what gift was. it was a korean cookbook and a blank notebook to which has another note stuffed between the blank pages. "while you cook various foods, i hope you could make recipes that could satisfy your tastebuds, make you reminisce the past, and make you inspired to do more. use this notebook for the ideas you make because i know you'll do great now and forever, eunha unnie."
"eunha unnie, you received a gift from hyunseol, ahhh!! azrael is her english name if you're wondering." umji then shook her head and sighed with a hint of smile on her face. "but wow, i didn't expect her to go through with it."
"what do you mean?", yerin asks and soon the other five women looked at the youngest, intrigued.
"well, you see, unnies. i dragged hyunseol with me when i was shopping for my birthday gift to eunha unnie the other day since i don't know what to get for eunha unnie."
"then?", sowon asks, clearly interested on the maknae's storytelling.
"well, you know that we're close, right? to the point i shared some random trivias about you guys and everything that happened to us, right?"
yuju answers, "yeah, what about it?"
umji scratches her nape. "well... i told hyunseol from before that eunha unnie likes to cook. although i expected this to happen, i'm still surprised that hyunseol still remembers that info and decides to buy eunha unnie a cookbook and this blank notebook."
"when did you tell her that eunha unnie likes to cook?", sinb inquiries, narrowing her eyes.
"uh... two years ago?" umji looked at her unnies in confusion.
"and hyunseol still remembers that even though it's been two years?!"
eunha could feel herself blush as she held the txt's member's gift close to her chest, unable to join the chaos her six friends were in.
----
iz*one (former) and actress — kim minju (김민주) ⸻ early 2020 - present
first meeting
when minju first met hyunseol, it was when she decided to sneak out of the dorm at night. too late in the night that she could get scolded by eunbi, but she couldn't care less.
normally, she goes to the place she frequented, a karaoke bar, but with everything that is happening in her mind and the stress coming from the group schedule, she decided to ditch the bar and let her feet led somewhere new.
and that's why she ended up standing in front of a park that had a kid's playground and some benches around the area that overlooks a riveed.
she was walking towards the nearest bench by the river when she felt a presence nearby and when she was about to run away, a hand with a handkerchief immediately got ahold of her mouth.
tears soon build up in her eyes and fear immediately consumed her as she tried to break free, but a strong scent invaded her sense of smell as she slowly started to feel dizzy.
seconds later, minju could breathe again as she felt the strong grip on her vanishes and tried to catch her balance, but her knees gave up on her.
then a strange thing happened.
another arm had caught her and before she could slap the stranger with the force remaining in her body, she heard a voice that stop her.
"it's okay, minju-ssi. you're safe, i'm here. this bastard won't bother you anymore."
she doesn't know what happened next, but all she could remember was that she fainted.
when she woke up from the terrifying night before, minju finds herself in a bedroom and immediately gets alarmed because the only thought in her mind that time was where the fuck am i?
she looked around the room in panic and found some picture frames settled on the nightstand. once she laid her eyes on the pictures, she slowly recovered from her panic.
oh, so i'm in hyunseol's bedroom, yena unnie's best friend. it kinda looks... like her.
suddenly, the bedroom door opened and showed the txt member holding a bed food tray. the two stared each other for a moment before hyunseol smiled, making minju gulp at the sudden increase of the pace her heart took inside her chest.
"hey, you're finally awake. i was getting worried that you got too affected by what had happened last night."
the bighit idol walked in and placed the tray on the desk table nearby before she sat on the end of the bed and looked at minju solemnly.
"i'm sorry you had to go through the feeling of almost getting kidnapped yesterday." minju looked away and hyunseol immediately regretted saying those words as she stood up and walked up to the food tray, her back facing minju. "sorry."
"what's happened to the suspect?"
"i called the cops on him and threw him behind bars."
"how?" hyunseol could only smile and immediately recomposed herself.
"don't worry about your pretty little head on that. come on, you need to eat breakfast after that ordeal."
hyunseol carefully set the bed food tray on the bed, mindful not to get clumsy in front of minju. once she finished, she placed the silver utensils on the side.
"i don't know what food you usually eat at breakfast, so i hope you like blueberry pancakes and greek yogurt."
"i..." minju didn't know why she feels her heart beats against her ears, but just seeing the '99 liner's effort of preparing breakfast and seeing how nervous hyunseol is if she likes pancakes or not makes a small smile appear on her lips.
"i like it."
hyunseol smiled and nodded while having her eyes trained on her desk table, the feeling of blood rushing to her cheeks getting to her.
"oh okay, that's good to hear. i'll go now so you can enjoy the silence. i hope you enjoy the food, minju-ssi."
but before hyunseol could take a step, minju already stopped her.
"please stay, i could need a friend right now."
starts of interest
minju wasn't supposed to get interest on any idol because she knew it could lead to some kind of scandal and didn't want to bring that kind of damage to her group.
but whenever she hears her fellow member, yena talking about the bighit idol whether it may be because of her unconditional kindness, undeniable charisma, or her outrageous height (yena's exact wording), she couldn't help but remember the time hyunseol took care of her and became true to her words when she asked the bighit idol not to tell anything to yena.
(until now, yena doesn't know the almost kidnapping)
she tried to not to acknowledge the rampaging emotions happening in the deep pits of her stomach whenever she hears hyunseol's name, but whenever she does, her heart pounds with each breath she takes.
she wants to tell the others about the strange feeling she got ever since she and hyunseol talked, but how could she even talk to them without mentioning the part she almost get kidnapped?
sure, eunbi would scold her about that but that's the least of her problems because she's more concerned for mentioning the word, crush.
knowing her members, they would get excited over the fact that she got a possible crush and hyunseol getting known as minju's crush in iz*one is something she isn't ready for.
but she needs to take some risks every now and then and taking risks is what she'll do.
"uh, everyone. i've gathered all of you today to tell you something."
"it sounds pretty serious when you're nervous, minju-ah", chaeyeon voices out her concern while the iz*one members took their seats on the couch and on the carpeted floor.
"i just want to hear your opinions on this because it has been bothering me and makes me feel confused, so please i hope you take this seriously."
the rest of iz*one members look at one another, muttering things minju couldn't understand before they returned their attention on the '01 liner.
"it's okay, minju-ah. you can tell us anything." eunbi's soft motherly voice toned down the anxiety minju felt in her nerves before the latter took a deep breath.
"okay, i think i like hyunseol unnie."
"hyunseol unnie? from txt?" yena immediately stood up on the floor and looked at her member in surprise. "when did you meet her?"
"last week."
looks like she needs to tell them the whole story by how confused they are right now. take another deep breath, minju. you can do this.
"okay, you see. i met hyunseol unnie when i almost got kidnapped last week, but it's okay—"
"what do you mean it's okay?! you almost got kidnapped last week!"
minju retorts back at eunbi, "but it's okay, unnie! i'm okay now! hyunseol unnie saved me—"
"she saved you?", yena repeats before she starts smirking at the younger girl. "she saved you, huh? did we hear that right?"
minju blushed with a sigh. oh boy, she could feel the wave of teasing coming from the girls.
----
twice — chou tzuyu (周子瑜) ⸻ late 2019 - present
first meeting
when tzuyu first met hyunseol, it happened at the mma 2019 when nayeon decided to bring newly befriended idols to the twice waiting room with everyone's permission.
the other twice members were resting in the room when nayeon suddenly barged inside with a wide smile on her face.
"hello, everyone!"
"what do you have on your sleeve now, nayeon?", the leader asked the oldest.
"remember my request to bring two friends in the waiting room?"
"yeah, who is it?"
"you'll see." nayeon smirked at momo before she walked up to the door and talked to a pair behind it.
"okay, are you guys ready?"
"go ahead", jeongyeon says, eager present in her voice.
"okay, come on in!"
the door then was pushed open and two tall figures came out, bowing to the jyp group. when the latter finally lifted their head, tzuyu was not disappointed to know the identities of the two strangers are.
kang taehyun and oh hyunseol of tomorrow x together, bighit's newest group and bts' juniors. tzuyu also had heard about the two members especially the various titles several netizens had given the txt's oldest in the span of several months after their debut.
bighit's wildcard, txt's solace, and nation's best friend.
seeing the 5'11 foot idol in front of her somehow made sense why seol was given those titles, although tzuyu feels that two of these titles contradict one another.
in bighit's wildcard, mystery is present around the tall physique of the bighit idol. one look from seol could give tzuyu the shivers she would feel whenever she felt an unsettling sensation in her body.
also, tzuyu had heard from various idols that seol was known to be the hidden ace of bighit, but she doesn't know if those statements held some truth in them.
in txt's solace, tzuyu had seen several videos containing hyunseol and her unconditional love for her members from cooking them food, gifting them expensive yet meaningful gifts, and being the best older sister the other txt members could have.
while the title, nation's best friend is a bit self-explanatory considering the various friendships hyunseol has formed with a variety of idols from different companies.
tzuyu couldn't grasp the question how hyunseol managed to befriend idols from almost all of the groups whether it may be a girlgroup or boygroup, but all she knows is that she feels a bit jealous on the fact that hyunseol could easily make friends without getting involved in dating rumors.
"hello, twice sunbaenim. it's an honor to meet you." taehyun tried to hide behind hyunseol, getting flustered and the latter took notice of it, stepping forward.
meanwhile nayeon looked at her members proud. "see? i told you guys i would eventually befriend her."
hyunseol nodded and smirked at twice's oldest member. "yeah, nayeon unnie was so determined to be friends she even dragged us on the way here."
the '95 liner blushed and pouted. "hey, i told you to not tell them that!"
"you didn't exactly make me swear on txt, nayeon unnie. besides, you were so adamant on befriending me i simply couldn't resist telling them that", hyunseol teased.
the twice members laughed at nayeon who was now smacking hyunseol's arm with the latter letting the older girl do whatever she wants.
"also, i agreed to befriend her because taehyun and i want to give you our albums. we hope we aren't interrupting something when we came in."
jihyo then smiled and stood up. "no, no. you aren't interrupting something. we are actually expecting you since nayeon and jeongyeon had a bet against each other on who you would befriend first."
hyunseol blinked and tilted her head at twice's second oldest. "you... were trying to befriend me earlier?"
jeongyeon blushed and nodded while the rest of twice members noticed the reaction of the second oldest and jihyo turned to hyunseol, confused. "may i ask what happened?"
the txt's oldest member turned red and cleared her throat. "she asked me if i can hang out with her and get drunk after the awards show."
tzuyu has never seen jihyo turn her head so fast until now and doesn't know if she'll laugh at jeongyeon or feel bad. "what did you just say to hyunseol?!"
"i'm sorry! she was in the legal age already, so i thought of inviting her to drink!"
hyunseol speaks once the chaos temporarily stopped, "uhm... i would accept your invitation, jeongyeon unnie, but i don't think the company would allow me. that's why i rejected your offer, sorry."
"so... you're willing to get drunk?"
hyunseol and taehyun shared a look before the former answered whike scratching her nape, "yes, but i never get drunk, momo unnie."
"eh? are you sure?"
"seol noona...", twice then turned their attention on taehyun who suddently got nervous. "has a high alcohol tolerance."
"when did you find out about that one?"
hyunseol and taehyun shared a look once again before the oldest of txt avoided the nine women's eyes.
"when g-idle had a bet against me that i will get drunk first before all of them."
"so who won?"
"of course hyunseol did. that's why she found out she had a high alcohol tolerance."
"so if you—"
the waiting room door then opened and showed txt's manager, yongsun before she bowed to the 3rd gen idol group. "hello, twice. i hope you don't mind me fetching seol and taehyun. the award show is about to start."
"oh, of course we don't mind. we need to get going, anyways." jihyo bowed at txt's manager before she turned towards the two txt members. "thank you for the albums. you can just give them to tzuyu here."
hyunseol then approached twice's maknae and gave txt's album while bowing at the latter. due to her sudden nervousness, the txt's oldest member accidentally touched the other idol's hand.
the 5'11 foot idol blushed and immediately stepped away when tzuyu had grabbed the album from her. this is so embarrassing.
the two txt members and their manager gave their final bow to the girl group before they walked out.
once the trio left, jihyo threw the maknae a look and her eyes widened when she saw the hint of pink invading the latter's cheeks.
start of interest
tzuyu doesn't know if she should let her interest drove her into finding more about seol, but hearing so many txt songs on her way to the agreed rendezvous on the day she will hang out with shuhua doesn't help her decision-making.
she thinks it was god's sign to tell her to give in and she isn't usually the religious type of people, but she doesn't know if she could give it a shot or not because what could she lose in a simple curiosity?
her [REDACTED]
taking the seat in front of her friend in the café, tzuyu couldn't help but sigh and her action caught shuhua's attention.
"are you okay? did you guys have a rough week at practice?"
"i wish it was from the practice, but no."
shuhua looked at her taiwanese friend and tilted her head. "is it a crush problem?"
tzuyu could only nod in embarrassment and shuhua's jaws drop. talking about crushes is normal between them, but tzuyu's crushes? that's rare, considering tzuyu herself finds it hard to get interested on people.
"so... what's wrong?"
"i don't know if i'm just curious about her or have a crush."
her. shuhua pondered. tzuyu might like a another female idol.
"first of all, who is it?", shuhua asks before she takes a bite off her blueberry crêpe.
"oh hyunseol."
shuhua immediately choked on her food and tzuyu went to her aid, giving the g-idle member a drink. once shuhua finally got to breathe, she croaked as she looked at her friend with wide eyes. "oh hyunseol? really, her?"
"yeah. what seems the problem?"
"i'm surprised that you have a crush, but having a crush on oh fucking hyunseol? that's expected."
"why?"
shuhua ran her hands over her face and breathed out, the pain from getting choked is slowly decreasing. "i know you don't care about what netizens think, but i also hope you know what you're getting into."
tzuyu's eyebrows creased together. what does she mean by that?
shuhua added, "other than being known as nation's best friend, she is also has the reputation as being nation's heartbreaker by the netizens who hate on txt for fun."
"how? how did she become a heartbreaker?" tzuyu then took a sip of her coffee.
"because netizens think hyunseol intentionally make friends with every group to flirt with one member and break their hearts after."
"but what do you think? yuqi sunbae is friends with hyunseol unnie, right?" tzuyu took three bites of her chocolate cake.
"my advice? go for it." tzuyu's head shot up in surprise, her mouth filled with cake. "what? just because netizens think of hyunseol that way doesn't mean i believe their words. besides, i've already met seol unnie and believe me when i say that netizens are just jealous of her and her friendships with various idols.
"but it's still your choice, you know if you wanna pursue your feelings or not."
tzuyu finished her cake as she finally decided before she speaks up, "i have a question."
"ask away."
"is there any chance that you'll like seol too?"
shuhua smirks, raising a brow. "aww, are you jealous i might take her away?"
shuhua's teasing made tzuyu blush like a madman and smack her friend's arm. "n-no, i-i'm just curious."
"sure, ms. curious." shuhua took a sip of her drink and chuckled before looking at the tall girl with a serious expression.
"if i'm not so stupidly in love with soojin? i would." shuhua cleared her throat, blushing as she looked away. "like hyunseol, i mean. but luckily, i already have soojin with me, so there's no need for me to join the chaos of being attracted with seol."
tzuyu then fell in silence after that.
is it really a curse to like seol?
----
red velvet — kim yerim (김예림) ⸻ late 2019 - present
first meeting
when yeri first met seol, it was when the latter accidentally got lost in the asia artist awards backstage. red velvet members saw her looking around the hallway frantically and irene decided to lend a hand as the leader of her group.
"oh, shit!" hyunseol jumped as she felt cold fingers wrapped themselves around her right arm. she turned around to see the five red velvet members and her eyes widened when she realized what she said.
"oh, i'm sorry, sunbaes. it wasn't me, it was azrael. i'm sorry, i'm sorry." the txt member bowed profusely and the sm idols chuckled, making hyunseol's ears turn red.
"azrael, huh? i heard that you're one of the english speakers of your group." wendy starts a conversation in english.
hyunseol's eyes slightly widen with familiarity and nodded. "yeah, i am. nice to meet you and your group, wendy unnie. i hope you didn't mind me swearing in front of you."
wendy chuckled and patted hyunseol's arm. "we don't mind. besides, we curse too, you know. just not around irene unnie, though."
hyunseol's lips twisted into a pout and wendy chuckled again. "but don't worry, she won't mind now considering we did scare you. anyways, what's wrong? we kept seeing you looking around the place."
"yeah, you look like a lost puppy looking around."
"a cute puppy", yeri mutters and joy's eyes rose in mischief, trying not to smirk.
but it seems that the txt's oldest member hadn't heard yeri's words and hung her head low. "i've lost my members in the sudden surge of crowd and now, i'm trying to find them, but it's been unsuccessful so far."
"did you know where your waiting room is?", irene asks, her motherly instincts coming out for a moment.
"no, unnie. my manager was leading us to our waiting room when i lost them."
"aww, don't worry, i'm sure we can help you find them", seulgi consoled as she patted the tall idol's arm, smiling.
hyunseol scratched her cheek. "uhm, i'm not worried about getting lost. it's more like getting worried for my members—"
"seol noona, where are you?!"
the loud voices of yeonjun and huening kai cut hyunseol off as it boomed through the hallway, startling all idols and staffs present in the area including red velvet.
"anddd that's what i'm talking about." hyunseol then sighed and turned to the 3rd gen group with an apologetic look. "sorry, my members tend to panic or feel edgy whenever they realized i wasn't with them or they lost me."
"separation anxiety?", joy asked.
"no, it's just the fear of leaving me behind, especially the maknae. huening kai grew protective of his older members." hyunseol ran a hand through her hair and threw her wristwatch a look, her eyes widening a little bit.
"anyways, i need to go. i'll see you around, sunbaes." hyunseol bade goodbye before she shouted, her hands around her mouth. "yeonjun, huening kai!"
"seol noona?! wave your hands so we can see you!"
hyunseol then did what she was told and turned back to the five sm idols, giving them a wave before she turned around again and walked away.
"w-who was that?" yeri finally got her voice back after being so speechless in front of the tall stranger.
"it's txt seol, nation's best friend and nation's heartbreaker."
start of interest
yeri is aware of her sudden interest on txt's oldest member (she found out that seol is the oldest when she stumbled upon the group's official website) after hearing the title the idol earned in the span of several months after debut from seulgi.
and through nayeon, the idol she is currently hanging out with, yeri's interest on seol has been amplified. especially after the twice member's story with hyunseol's birthday gift for another twice member, jihyo.
"jihyo was so happy that hyunseol remembered her birthday and got her a bunch of clothes as a gift, especially the ones that are good for the skin."
nayeon sighed and placed her chin on her hand. "jihyo's so lucky to receive a gift like that." the twice member then looked at yeri to see the latter deep in her thoughts while staring at now-lukewarm coffee before gently nudging the younger girl.
"are you okay? you're spacing out. what's on your mind?"
"hyunseol." nayeon jerked her head back at the quick response.
"hyunseol? why is she on your mind? did something happen to you two?"
"no, i'm curious about her." yeri then threw the twice member a look. "seulgi unnie referred hyunseol as the nation's best friend and nation's heartbreaker. i'm curious how she got both of those titles when they're contradicting one another."
"oh, that." nayeon suddenly got quiet for a moment and sighed before speaking up again. "the nation's heartbreaker isn't true, though. male fans of various girl groups gave that title to her because they are jealous of her and what she is capable of, knowing their idols are at seol's disposal."
"those fans are aware of their idols' crush on seol?"
"some idols talked about it in vlive while some kept it secret. those obsessive male fans are jealous of seol because she has the confidence and freedom to talk their idols while they don't."
"is all of that true?"
nayeon shook her head as she sipped her coffee before she put the cup down and speaks, "god no, but it was the observation between me and jihyo had after tzuyu started liking seol."
yeri looked at nayeon stunned and when the latter noticed her behavior, nayeon just raised a brow back. "what? you think everyone is immune to seol's charm?"
"i just didn't think—"
"think that tzuyu will like seol?" yeri nodded. "most idols call it seol's curse, you know."
seol's curse?
"it was called seol's curse because seol has so many admirers she'll have a hard time dealing with them." nayeon finished her cake with two bites and wiped her mouth with a napkin while yeri looked down at her hands.
"you know, jihyo and i felt bad for her because apparently, she didn't want to get involved in this mess and despite the chaos happening in seol's life, she could still keep a smile on her lips."
"but..." yeri then looked up and met nayeon's eyes trained on her. "there's nothing wrong with liking seol, especially if you're not doing anything bad. as long as you still respect her as a human being who has feelings, then you can still continue being infatuated with her."
nayeon then placed her hand over yeri and smiled at the younger girl. "i know what you've heard of seol and please believe me when i say what the netizens kept saying negative things about seol isn't true."
nayeon gently squeezed yeri's hand. "seol is an innocent person and she didn't mean to make almost every female idol to fall in love with her, so please..."
"don't let the opinions of others change your view of her because you'll miss the real story."
"i-i won't, nayeon unnie. i-i promise."
who are you really, oh hyunseol? and why are you so mysterious?
----
female idols who almost got a crush or stopped having a crush on seol
kang hyewon - almost; reason: already have fallen in love with eunbi
kim chaewon - stopped; reason: claims seol being bad for her heart (her exact words: she's too much of a green flag)
cho miyeon - stopped; reason: doesn't want to be rejected by seol by the time she'll confess
seo soojin - almost; reason: already in love with shuhua
kim jiwon (liz) - almost; reason: wants no drama in the group
lee joowon (jooe) - stopped; reason: afraid of the scandals
the fem idols crushing on seol piece will take more days in the works because i'm still writing down on how these lovely girls met seol and how their curiosity on the bighit idol started, leading them to develop an interest on seol
