#wsaera

park knew that he wasn’t expected to stick around for the filming of the story portion of the shoot me music video, but there was a strange feeling that came along with not staying to witness one of their songs be put together. perhaps there were people who wished he would leave, his prescence nothing more than an extra body on the slightly crowded set as filming rolled out in front of him. 

making himself comfortable in a back corner, park leaned against a wall as he tried to stay out of the way. the storyline for shoot me definitely wasn’t something that he had helped bring to life. his creativity came to an end with the song itself, as if the music already told whatever story he thought needed to be told. but, he was content with the direction that the video had gone in. 

vicious words hurt like a bullet. it was all too true, perfectly brought to life at the scene playing out in front of him between the couple. he didn’t need to hear a conversation to understand exactly what was going on with the emotions that were being acted out. love can hurt. 

Seojin wasn’t one for surprises. In fact, he rather detested them when they were brought his way. However, the purpose of this development ( if you will ) was to promote a sense of actual thoughtfulness toward others he considered friends; or wanted to become closer to. Aera happened to be the first one on his long list.

In Aera's case, he hoped to mend his own false perceptions of her. Seojin thought of her as far more bright eyed and optimistic than himself. That was the thing about youth, wasn’t it? When Seojin was her age, he ㅡ No, who was he kidding? He wasn’t quite an old man yet. And they were the same age. Had he already forgotten that they attended the same high school together? Those mustard yellow uniforms should have been burned into his mind for years to come.

Certainly, whatever he planned had to be a welcome change from her hectic schedule. A mentally draining competition show, recordings, shootings, tirelessly preparing for performances. He would be dealing with his own occupations in a matter of time. Only then did the gravity of their situations truly set in for him. He thought it best for both of them to cherish any sliver of free time they could manage to grab onto.

It didn’t take long for an idea to hit him that sounded reasonable and actually doable. ( Who was he kidding? He wasn’t some ridiculously famous guy. He couldn’t buy out an entire portion of a restaurant for a night to celebrate a friend's debut. Not yet, at least. ) He managed to find a casual enough place frequented by other celebrities ㅡ a quiet, Western style. People in this establishment had the tendency to keep to themselves, thankfully. They would be but a drop of water in an ocean.

When Aera finally appeared, he ( loudly ) whispered her name. He nearly yelled it on accident ㅡ as he was prone to do.

he didn’t need much convincing, caught him at the mention of aera’s name alone. the words that follow— party, farewell, surprise. something on those lines, he hadn’t caught the full plan but he pieced together enough to know that it was going to be one of the last times he was ever going to share the same practice room with her again. the dark room, all encompassing with the light flickering of candles that dimly lit the cluttered room— his excitement brimming at the surface, threatening to spill over as he holds onto the scream that urges to break through before she even manages to make it through the door. 

and as things settle down, watching the tears that brim at her own features contouring the ducts of her countenance. he finally approaches her once everyone else has had their say, congratulating her one after the other. it was hard to hide the grin that he tries even harder to suppress— proud, happy, excited, an amalgamation of positivity that he seldom experiences. 

“ew.” he greets her, smirk only growing into a grin, breaking the facade that he had managed to paint on throughout the duration of the party planning. “are you crying right now?” a forefinger raising to gently tap against her forehead, reverie becoming occupied with bygone memories of their auditions that lead to spending almost a decade under the same roof. a roof that no matter how much had been altered, became like a home. a place that cultivated their friendship, manifested a deeper connection— one that he was certain was hard to find. 

it hadn’t been a surprise for eunbyul to find herself in the final lineup of the select girls. she knew going into the competition that she would make it that far. that’s what happens when you go into a competition knowing that you’re the very best, the competition hardly even exists. amidst the excited girls who had been called into 11:11 to learn their new future, eunbyul seemed relatively unborthered. she saw it as meerly a small roadbump in her journey rather than the next step in her life.

     careless words were once exchanged, accompanied by the sideways glance that would flicker across tired hues in a daze. impassivity pasted onto his features with the subtle tug of his corners into a smirk that seemed to be more condescendingly than intended. features, too truthful to his unsaid words, claiming a part of his vocabulary through the arched brows that would push up above his eyes with a silent scoff leaving so naturally from his throat, eyes circling back only to walk away. little was said between them, even less so in interaction. he tried to keep everything to a minimal, not wanting to accidentally piss anyone off in the process of assimilating himself into the culture of the industry.

     but that was a decade ago. now, now was different. he has carved out a spot for himself, despite the constant voice of self doubt, there’s a glimmer of hope that shines through the opaqueness of murky waters. more comfortable with the image that he presents to the media, to the netizens and to the fans that support him. more decisive in the way he chooses his words, and how he chooses to handle his reactions to other’s reacting to him. polarising, he has been told. digits raking through his strands of the all too familiar hallway of yuseong, eyes landing on the equally familiar silhouette of aera. a brow raising, it had been a while and he has heard of her recent debut. he wasn’t sure how long he had known her to wonder the yuseong hallways, to venture in the practice rooms but now she was there, freshly debuted.