but i still want you (priv.)

soyee · May 31st 2018

lee hana

(( it’s alright ))

it had been a few days since all the trainees were placed in their classesand everyone was busy practicing for their first cover performances. just a few days before they had filmed the theme song for the show; thankfully the lyrics and choreo were easy to remember and perform. everyone was so busy lately, that nobody even had time to look online and see what people were saying about them after the first episode aired; maybe after their performances they could take the time they had to get ready for bed and take a peek at what people thought. though hana really thought that nervousness would only increase after performances, worrying about what people thought about their skills now that they were performing in a group setting.

truthfully, hana missed talking to her three new friends a lot more than she was worried about what people thought of her, but she knew it would probably change soon. as the number of contestants went down, her fear of being the next one to be voted off would only increase. the first group of voted off trainees was rather large too, twenty in total. ten girls and ten boys, and even though they would all most likely be lower class trainees, hana still feared that she would soon be in their position.

thankfully though, the team of trainees she was put with for the song they were given to cover were all rather friendly and laid back, and were higher class trainees too. so she didn’t really have anything to worry about so soon in the competition. she didn’t like the fact that she was now training against jihye, who she considered a really good friend, but competition was competition. you couldn’t really choose who you got to compete against.

it didn’t take long for every group to perform their covers, and hana only grew more nervous after watching everyone. even the f class trainees performed well, if she were a viewer at home she would have a hard time choosing who she liked and who to vote for. but she decided not to worry about it too much, seeing that the weeks stress was over for now. sure, they would know the results in the morning and then begin practicing for next weeks performances, but she was sure everyone was thankful for just a few hours of peace.

it didn’t take her much time to get back to the dorms and get ready for bed, removing her makeup and getting into much more comfortable clothes. she decided to wait for jihye to finish getting ready too, wanting to talk to her after the stressful week prevented her from starting any conversations with her bunkmate. plus, she really wanted to ask her about the whole kaito situation.

nakajima kaito

kaito decided that while practicing and the anticipation of the competition was fun, he missed talking to jihye more than he originally thought he would. despite the fact that he was placed in a rather great group of boys to perform their assigned cover song with, none of them really interested him like jihye did, none of them seemed to understand him like she did. none of them were as cool as xiao either, not that he would ever tell his roommate that, but he really missed all his new friends.

he wasn’t nervous, he knew there was an impossibly low chance of him being voted off the show so early on, given how high his class was and how well his group performed their cover. he was more annoyed, he was a rather social person and if he didn’t have the chance to talk, he grew irritated rather easily; and given the fact he couldn’t even find talk to xiao, he was upset.

thankfully though, it didn’t take long for every group to perform, all of the trainees cheering once they were excused back to their rooms and told they could take the night to relax. he practically ran back to his room, quickly cleaning all the makeup off of his face and getting into more comfortable clothes. xiao wasn’t too far behind either, which made him rather happy. he was excited to finally talk to the other boy again.

once he saw that xiao was done getting ready for the night, he spoke up “you did really good tonight.” he fell back onto the matress, letting out an exhausted sigh. “i’m telling you, class a has your name written all over it. you’re going to be joining me soon. sooner than you think.” he stretched his arms as he sat back up to look at the black haired male. “do you think we’d be allowed to go to the lobby again? maybe the girls will be there.”

peachy. · Jun 1st 2018

byun jihye

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to say the least, jihye's past weeks have been pretty stressful. filming the title song went okay, and it was actually the best part of her experience so far, but that's the only type of fun she's had. okay, that's maybe a little exaggeration. to start off, jihye was put into a solid group of dancers. and for the song they were covering, sharp and synchronized dancing would be the highlight of the performance. they sorted out lines with no issue and the choreography came to them easily, but a few days before the recording, one of her teammates got extremely sick and was seen as too ill to perform. so the group had to redo the choreography, as well as redistribute the now open lines. it doesn't sound stressful, but as the chosen leader, although jihye did tell them she didn't deserve to be leader, she put all the blame on herself. she thought she didn't give them enough breaks, so she got sick. jihye thought it was her fault if the line distribution seemed unfair. but none of that was true. she gave her team enough breaks and the line distribution was as close to equal as it ever would be. but somehow, jihye took this much harder than she needed to.

but with the stressful moments came the good ones. jihye and her group practiced so much they were almost in perfect synchronization like it needed to be. even if she hates to admit it, jihye did hurt herself a few times during practice, mainly from sliding on the floor too many times. but she didn't let that hold her back when it came to the actual performance. she watched every group perform ahead of her, constantly getting more and more anxious. but as soon as she stepped onstage, all of her doubts melted away and her group performed to the best of their abilities, hoping to be labeled as a crowd favorite. only time could tell that, or at least the following day could tell.

after filming was done, jihye hurried back to the dorms with another group of girls, somehow being pulled to go with them. once she was there, she instantly took off her makeup and changed into something comfier: a hoodie and leggings. when she finished preparing herself to sleep, jihye sat on her bed, pulling out a journal. there, she wrote everything about her day. from the morning to now, everything she feels goes into there. she heard of other trainees doing it so she decided to do the same. it's been a daily habit of hers for months and there's no signs of stopping.

once her hand was tired of writing so much, she put her things away, eyeing her surroundings. there, she noticed hana. she hasn't had time to talk to hana since the practicing started, and jihye really did miss her. "hana!" she said happily, peeking out from her bed to took up at her friend. "you did amazing today, i'm so proud of you!" she said, happy to have this moment to talk.

liu yixiao

xiao's week went by faster than he expected. from being completely pulled away from his usual friend circle, xiao found himself constantly working. there'd be days when he wouldn't get more than an hour of sleep only because he needed to perfect this song's choreography for his group. honestly, he had no idea how a song like this ended up in the choices for the first performance. surely this would be something for a finale? the choreography was difficult to get perfectly right, but nothing xiao couldn't handle. his group handed it well too, which surprised the male. his group was a very mixed group consisting of all positions. rappers, dancers, vocalists, and and those who found themselves in multiple fields. the teamwork they all had was incredible, and xiao was lucky enough to bond with them all, creating new ties and friendships, but never replacing hana, kaito, and jihye.

when the filming came around, xiao was feeling more confident than anything. he knew his group was ready and he knew he was ready. that was enough to calm his nerves, even though they were quickly rising as it became closer to his performance. luckily he was one of the first ones, so he had the pleasure of sitting back and watching all of the groups peacefully, even though he did feel like they did threaten his own safety from elimination with their own amazing performances. no matter what, he knew his group did the best they could and that was worthy of pride. hopefully the crowd saw them as good enough, as well.

once he got back to the dorms, xiao didn't hesitate to clean his face and change into a tshirt and joggers, his usual nightly attire. he was getting ready to actually go to sleep until he heard a familiar voice from below him. kaito. "ah, surely not yet. they probably forgot all about me, but you did good on your performance too. that concept really seemed to fit you." he said, referring to the cuter concept kaito was showing tonight. girls seem to really like cuter concepts, which was good for him. they either like the sweet, cute concepts or the tough concepts, and kaito could probably fit both of those easily. xiao on the other hand had trouble with being cute. not that he wasn't cute, but he just felt weird being overly cute when his overall look now is more mature. maybe if he was younger, he'd be better with cute concepts, but as of now? no way would he ever be good in that area.

when kaito mentioned going to the lobby, xiao sat up completely. he did really miss talking to hana. he promised her he'd help out with her dancing, but there was no time for them to ever meet up. he felt bad, but he knew she was busy with her own things. "i don't see why not. let's see if i can get down first." he laughed, getting out from his comfortable bed and trickily making his way down. you'd think he'd get better with the amount of time he's spent on top bunks, but no. ladders seem to be his biggest enemy. he's tall enough, why should he need a ladder?

once the boys got situated and left the dorm, xiao instantly looked around to make sure nobody was in hearing range from them. "so," he started softly. "what going on between you two?" he asked kaito. knowing they haven't talked to each other recently either, xiao was still curious to see what kaito was thinking. last time they were together, it was unclear if either of them caught on to the vauge flirts they were sending each other's way. but if kaito didn't see it, xiao will surely be there to tell him what he sees happening. he might not be certified in this field but he sure wasn't blind.

soyee · Jun 1st 2018

lee hana

upon hearing jihye’s voice, a wide smile spread across hana’s face. while she had enjoyed the company of the other trainees and hearing compliments from them, nobody could ever beat jihye and the happiness she made her feel. “jihye!” she greeted back, letting out a soft laugh. “i can say the same about you! i’m so envious of you, if i even attempted a single move from that choreography you did tonight, i would end up with a broken leg. you’re like... a dancing queen!”

she hopped down from her bed so she could see the other girl better, and so she didn’t have to talk as loud. she really didn’t want to disturb any of the other girls, especially now since people were starting to act less nice and willing to do anything to get to the top. plus, she wanted to ask jihye something a little bit more private.

“can i ask you something?” she sat down on jihye’s bunk, not really waiting for an answer to that question. “is there something going on between you and kaito? i mean if there is, it’s nothing bad. i actually think that if there isn’t, that there should be. xiao pointed it out the other day and it’s totally obvious that he likes you. i mean, you like him too, right?” she didn’t want to risk reading jihye wrong, just because kaito liked her doesn’t mean she liked him.

nakajima kaito

when they left the dorms, kaito expected the two of them to continue complimenting one another on their performances or talk about how glad they were to be able to talk again, so xiao’s question threw him a bit off guard. “what do you mean?” he laughed nervously, hoping that the other wasn’t really asking what he thought it was. “between me and jihye?”

he stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to think of what he could say without admitting to everything that he had been feeling for jihye. but he decided that it was impossible to just avoid his feelings forever, and besides, xiao could read right through him, almost as if he was crystal clear. it would be obvious to xiao if he was lying, and he’d rather just be up front about it from the start. “well i mean i like her, obviously, or else i wouldn’t talk to her so much. i mean i might have a little crush on her, but it’s not going to evolve into anything more than that, so there’s nothing really to worry about.”

he started walking a bit quicker so he was walking right beside xiao. “but do you really think you could ask me something like that without me asking you the same thing? what about you and hana? you were holding hands with her the other day, that’s not exactly something just friends do. not with how happy you looked about it anyways.”

peachy. · Jun 2nd 2018

byun jihye

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jihye was taken back by hana's sudden question. well, it's wasn't exactly sudden, but it was unexpected. what surprised her more was hearing about kaito liking her as well. did he really? even if he did, it was a relief to hear that other people think so. jihye honestly couldn't tell he liked her in that way, she only thought he liked her as a friend. "r-really?" she stuttered, making sure she heard correctly. "i mean, i never thought he liked me like that, or i just never picked up on it." she instantly began to feel bad. has kaito been trying to send her hints? waiting after evaluations,coming directly up to her the day before, always making sure she sat next to him or was close to him? were those all hints that jiyhe idiotically missed?

"well, i haven't really thought about it. he's one of the nicest people i've ever met, he always knows what to say, and i always feel extremely happy when hes around." she confessed quietly. by now, everyone was either passed out or in another room, but jihye still didn't want to be too loud for the eavesdroppers. "does that mean i have a crush on him?" he asked hana, tilting her head. all her life, jihye really hasn't been one to notice anyone and develop a crush on them, she's always been too focused training by herself so she could make it into a company. and after she got into beat interactive, she never even had time to think about relationships. maybe it was because anyone around wasn't the one for her?

now, it was jihye's turn to ask questions. "but what about you and xiao? kaito told me earlier he saw you two holding hands. do you think he likes you?" she asked, emphasizing the last 'he.' jihye was sure that xiao had to have some sort of liking for hana, it had to happen. they were like something you'd only see on tv, something that was too cute to be real.

liu yixiao

xiao smiled, getting the answer he had hoped for. "are you aware she likes you too? i mean, almost anyone could tell. you should see the way she looks at you. it's almost exactly like the way you look at her. and if only you could've seen her reaction to your performance, she couldn't stop smiling." again, two words: heart eyes. and as one of kaito's newest good friends, he couldn't let that fact go without kaito knowing.

but as soon as the tables turned, so did xiao's expression. his happy smile turned to a look of curiosity, wondering how he'd dig himself out of this hole he was creating. "well you see, i told you earlier that i'd explain, but i also warned you that it wasn't particularly the most exciting story." he warned jokingly. "you see, after we got everything for our classes, hana wanted to find you and jihye, since none of us had talked since before the evaluations. when she found you guys, she grabbed my hand and we started walking towards you." he innocently explained to kaito, but that wasn't all he had to say.

"but i think you're trying to get me to tell you if i like hana or not." xiao said with a laugh. "but you're right, i would say i do like her. but it's not like we'd have time to actually talk about it. i mean, if this past week was any hint of how the other weeks will go, we'd never see those girls at all, except for filming for performances. and she told me she should've already debuted by now, so if she somehow doesn't make the debut group here, she's going to debut in her own group, she'll be too busy for me." it almost pained him to say those words. his tone immediately dropped, his expressed changed, and almost everything about him almost shut down at the mentioning of him not talking to hana. by now, he'd openly admit to his friends that he does like her, but who couldn't? she's extremely talented, beautiful, and she has an amazing personality. it's hard to not fall for her.

soyee · Jun 2nd 2018

lee hana

“i’d say you do have a crush on him.” she nodded, a gentle smile on her face. she was glad that all of this was going so well, not that she expected it not to, but there was a chance that jihye would have taken her questioning the wrong way or said she didn’t actually like kaito like that; and she’d hate to be the one to break the news to kaito.

“oh, about us holding hands...” she blushed and quickly shook her head. “there wasn’t really any meaning behind it. i mean i liked it, but it was really a mistake. just, a good one.” she shrugged, thinking about jihye’s question. does xiao like her? maybe it was obvious that he did and she was just being as oblivious as kaito and jihye were to eacother. “maybe. i mean he’s nice to me and everything but i’m not really sure if his feelings go that deep for me. he’s not really that obvious. or at least i don’t think so.”

suddenly her mind was only filled with the handful of memories she had with xiao, trying to remember if there was any obvious signs that he liked her. she would feel so bad if he was hinting at it and she just didn’t catch on, causing him to lose faith in the idea that she might feel the same too. suddenly she stood up, holding her hand out for jihye.

“while we’re bad at reading the boys’ feelings, if there’s one thing we know about them, it’s that they love spending time with us and will take any chance to do so, right? so if i know anything about those boys, they’re probably in the lobby just waiting for us so they can talk to us.” she laughed a bit, wondering if her little theory was right or if she just sounded crazy.

nakajima kaito

“she likes me too?” suddenly kaito felt the happiest that he’s ever felt, his heart felt like it could burst right out of his chest once he imagined jihye getting the same feeling around him as he got around her. “even if i walk out of here a loser, i’m the true winner.”

his positive attitude faltered a bit once he heard about xiao and hana. “too busy for you?” he let out a playful laugh, gently nudging the other male. “look at us right now, everyone else would assume we’d be too busy sleeping, but we’re still on our way hoping to talk to them. trust me, she’ll find time for you. if even the busiest idols can find time to date, i’m sure we can too.” once he was done with his little speech, he playfully wrinkled his nose at the other. “and you were right, that story wasn’t exciting.”

he stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about what he wanted to say next. “i want to tell jihye about how i feel. especially if it’s as obvious as you say it is, and especially if she feels the same way about me.” he looked over at the other again, a playful smirk forming on his lips. “and it’s no fair really, hana gets to debut soon no matter what. you’ll be dating an idol and jihye’s gonna go back to being a trainee for a bit after the shows group disbands. once all the other guys hear this news about hana, they’re gonna be all over her you know. dating an idol is like dating a princess or something. you better swoop in and get your girl before some fame hungry guy tricks her and steals her heart.”

peachy. · Jun 2nd 2018

byun jihye

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jihye smiled, realizing how terrible they actually were at picking up on the boys' gestures. "let's go see then." she insisted, standing up with a daring smile. there'd be no harm in checking, so why not go anyway? plus, jihye was feeling a little bit restless and needed to get rid of any energy she still had. otherwise she'd be sitting in her bed, unable to sleep for hours.

once hana was ready to leave the dorm, jihye slipped on some shoes and they headed out. it's weird that they were going out just to see those boys, if they were even out there at all, but it was a good kind of weird. but, what would happen if they were really out there? what would she say? surely kaito and xiao have talked like her and hana have, so everyone knows everything by now, there's no secrets. no matter how much she can talk, there'd be no way of getting out of having to explain her crush to kaito. would he even acknowledge it? would he just pretend like everything was normal? honestly, it'd almost break jihye's heart if her and kaito didn't end up having a serious conversation about this sometime. it'd just slowly be eating away at her day by day, and nobody can take that for long.

the walk through the hallways were close to silent, since jihye was preoccupied with keeping an eye out for the boys. but they wouldn't be this close to the girls' dorms, surely. they'd get in too much trouble, they'd never hear the end of it. but as they kept walking, they got closer and closer to the lobby. soon after, as if on cue, jihye heard a familiar laugh. when they got to the actual lobby, jihye could see none other than kaito and xiao walking together,just like hana predicted. stealthily, jihye leaned against one of the walls, out of sight, and looked at hana. "you're a genius." she said simply, praising her friend for the oddly specific, but correct prediction. now what?

liu yixiao

xiao could only look at the ground, thinking about what kaito was saying. he was right. hana would be an idol soon, but could she make the time for xiao? does her company even allow dating? companies now are more lenient on dating, which is good, but other companies still have strict dating bans, which xiao couldn't imagine living under. it's not like xiao wants to go out and have a bunch of girlfriends, but xiao didn't want to feel like he's being sheltered from one of the most important things of his life. sure, dating takes a lot of time, but if you have the right person, they can definitely be a major improvement to one's mental, physical, and emotional health.

"i guess you're right," he said softly, still thinking. the thought of other people taking advantage of hana made his blood boil. there's a ton of people out in this world who only do things for themselves and to see hana getting caught in a relationship like that would not only break his heart, but it would leave him with a rage that not only could be satisfied with a chat, but he'd surely be back to haunt those culprits if xiao ever turned into a ghost. "but hey now, you should still act fast with jihye too. her group got a good reaction from everyone tonight. she's surely going to have a good number of votes and anyone's going to try to talk to get to her to get some good publicity from her." the sad part about these shows is that they give a good amount of screen time to the more well-known trainees, and always being around someone with good status is sure to land you some publicity. it's sad, but he's seen it happen before and honestly didn't want it to happen again.

realizing their conversation went a little too dark, xiao quickly changed the tone of the conversation. "honestly, i never would've guess i'd be one of the people those girls talked to. i feel like this has raised my confidence more than the actual show." he chuckled at his own joke, even though it was pretty bad. no matter what, bad jokes were somewhat of a given when it comes to xiao.

soyee · Jun 2nd 2018

lee hana

hana could barely cover up the laugh that she let out at jihye calling her a genius. “only when it comes to those two.” she peered around the wall, watching the two of them walk in. “but they’re honestly quite predictable.” she leaned back against the wall, looking at jihye. “let’s surprise them.”

she went silent again, waiting for the right time to act. when the perfrect moment presented itself, she jumped out from behind the wall, grabbing xiao’s arm. all the excitement from learning about his crush on her and finally being able to see him again made her forget what time of night it was, causing her to let out a rather loud and joyous laugh. “hi.”

before she even realized what she was doing, she wrapped her arms around him; she was actually hugging him. just a few days ago she was embarrassed for accidentally holding his hand, and now they were pressed up right against each other. “i missed talking to you.” she confessed, resting her head against his chest. it would have been like one of those cute movie scenes if she was just a bit shorter, but seeing as they were the same height, it just didn’t have the same cute aura. “i missed you. a lot.”

nakajima kaito

kaito nodded sadly, realizing that xiao was right. jihye had all eyes on her, there were probably tons of trainees in their rooms planning on how to get closer to her as they spoke. there were too many bad people who would take advantage of jihye’s popularity and kind personality, and he just hated thinking about it. “i’ll talk to her soon.” he nodded, looking back up from his feet and over at the other. “not so soon though, i don’t want to put her in a weird situation. not when everything is still so stressful anyways.”

kaito saw the first few performances of the competition as the most stressful, still trying to claim your spot and prove you weren’t someone that came to just play around. he couldn’t imagine having a confession to someone liking you being added to all of that, even if it was someone you liked as well. besides, he didn’t want jihye to focus more on him or dating while she still had to focus on the competition. he didn’t want to be the reason she lost the spot she worked so hard for.

“and hey, don’t be so surprised about that. i’m surprised that more girls didn’t come up to us.” he joked, letting out a laugh. “but really, there’s no need for your confidence to be low. you have everything you’ll ever need; talent, a great personality, you’re good looking too.” he quickly nodded to emphasize his words. “there’s a reason why people like you, why hana likes you. don’t put so much thought into it and just accept that you’re a great person, okay?”

just as he was about to continue, someone ran out from behind the wall. he half expected it to be a staff member coming to scold them or another trainee attempting to blackmail them after hearing all about their crushes, but he was never so relieved once he heard hana’s familiar laugh. and if hana was here, that meant jihye wasn’t too far behind. he turned at just the right moment to come face to face with her, a large smile stretching across his face.

“were you trying to scare me or something?” he laughed, gently grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him. “got him to confess.” he whispered to her, motioning to the other two friends of theirs in the room with them. “but enough about them, i’ve missed talking to you. no one else let’s me ramble on like you do. and i’m sure no one you talked to since we last saw each other could compliment you like i can. and speaking of complimenting, you did really good jihye. your performance was honestly professional level stuff.”

peachy. · Jun 2nd 2018

byun jihye

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jihye watched everything happen, a small smile on her face. she liked seeing her friends so happy, especially after the stress they've all endured. plus, it was good to see kaito again, even though she did see him a few hours ago. speaking of which, seeing him smile as their gazes met made jihye smile back. all of the energy in her body tripled, and now jihye realized she wouldn't be able to fall asleep for a while.

it kind of surprised her when kaito began to pull her closer. she almost tripped over her own feet, which wouldn't be surprising, but she saved herself before she did. curious as to what kaito planned on doing, she stayed still. as soon as she heard the update about xiao, jihye looked up at kaito with wide eyes, completely surprised. she knew anyway, but to hear him actually confirm it was different.

before she could respond, kaito kept talking, which she had no issue with. like he said, nobody let's him talk more than she does. it started out as a polite action, but quickly turned to complete will. the longer she heard him talk, the more she liked to hear his voice.it sounded so unique, yet so calming. and when he start to compliment her again, she couldn't help but smile, her cheeks getting hotter with every second. "thank you, you did really good, too. everyone couldn't stop complimenting you, and neither could i." she laughed nervously, wondering what to do next. it felt different, hearing about kaito's potential crush on her. she felt even more shy and awkward compared to before, and not knowing what they'd do next filled jihye with curiosity.

liu yixiao

to be honest, if he didn't recognize hana's voice and her laugh, xiao probably would've swung at her. he didn't, thankfully. what else are you supposed to do when someone just sneaks up and grabs your arm? his mind saved him from that one, xiao would've been in big trouble if he acted differently. seeing hana there made xiao's mood boost, giving him energy he didn't know he had. seeing her right in front of him made him realize how much he actually missed her when they were working.

her hug didn't really take xiao by surprise, but he instantly began to breathe a lot slower to make it seem like he was completely calm and not internally freaking out because she was right here. instinctively, he hugged her back gently. "i missed you too." he said back, enjoying the moment. hana gives really good hugs, he could probably stay like this forever if it wasn't for the actual reality they were all facing. after a while, the two pulled away from each other, leaving xiaoa little sad, but still happy to see hana. "i'm really impressed with how well you did tonight. your dancing was amazing, i'm starting to think you're becoming too good and you won't need me to ever help you." he said to her, remembering their previous promise they made to each other.he could really see a lot of improvement, he could tell she was working hard.

from then on, xiao's mind completely blanked. he couldn't bring up the main reason he wanted to talk to hana, not yet. it was still too soon, they just met up with each other, the excitement needs to wind down a little bit before he can bring it up. instead, xiao ran through all the possible things to say in his mind. "so, did you come down here just to scare us? how'd you know we were here in the first place?" he questioned politely. out of all the people here, jihye and hana were the ones to find them, which really amazed xiao. did they have like some super sense that told them they were here? probably not, but it was still interesting to know either way.

soyee · Jun 2nd 2018

lee hana

hana quickly shook her head at the idea of xiao not needing to help her anymore. “no, i just got really lucky. i didn’t even remember the whole dance until this morning. i was a mess.” but then as xiao went on to question how they knew the two boys were there, she just shrugged. “a lucky guess, you two are really easy to read. besides, we didn’t even know for sure you were here. it was more of a hope that you were, so we could talk to you.”

she looked over at jihye and kaito, her smile growing. “plus i really wanted to see if either of them will admit their feelings yet. i think they’re really cute together, don’t you?” she turned back to xiao, letting out a soft sigh. “and i wanted to ask you something.”

her smile turned into a playful smirk, “kaito was really cute on stage today, and i was thinking about you trying that kind of concept. i don’t know why, but people who don’t look like they’d suit certain concepts always suit it best. think you could try a cute concept next time?” it was true, just seeing how cute all the boys in kaito’s group were during their performance had her wondering about xiao doing that type of concept, and she would do almost anything to see it. because it could only turn out one of two ways, absolutely cute or funny, which was a win-win for her. “and i was thinking if you could do that for me, i could try and convince my group into doing a darker concept next time. it’s like we’re switching concepts.”

nakajima kaito

“really?” he knew that he performed well, he just didn’t think that he would receive such a positive reaction from all the other trainees watching. especially jihye, who in his opinion, had one of the best performances. with their choreo being so difficult and their vocals still being stable, he would be surprised if all the girls in the group didn’t end up making it to the final few trainees. “well your compliments mean the most to me.”

was that a weird thing for him to say? hopefully not. but either way, it was the truth. her having a positive opinion on him was like having a well known senior singer having a postive opinion of him; they were people he respected and people who held so much talent that they could get away with thinking everyone else was on a lower level than them. but jihye wasn’t like that at all, she was fair and kind. “i mean, especially after seeing how well you did. if i was just a viewer who didn’t know much about groups, i’d think your group was an already debuted group just showing all the trainees how it’s done.”

now that he was thinking about the competition, he remembered what time it was. and how they’d have to wake up early the next morning and do it all again; witness a few heartbreaking eliminations and start practicing for their next performances. and it was just the beginning, there were a few more weeks of this schedule until they found out their fates. “i’m sure there’s a ton of people who are already huge fans of you, just waiting to support you in any group that you debut with.”

peachy. · Jun 3rd 2018

byun jihye

tenor.gif?itemid=8086108

jihye blushed, looking towards the ground. "thank you." she said softly. she really had no idea how to reply without looking more like an idiot. well, she already did feel like an idiot for acting so embarrassed, she assumed she looked like an idiot as well. smiling at the ground? this wasn't a one direction song, jihye. try again.

taking a larger breath, jihye looked up to face kaito. "so, what are you two doing out here? it's getting late and you should be getting enough sleep." she informed kaito. jihye knew how important sleep is to trainees in situations like this. the longer time goes on without getting enough sleep, that'd negatively effect practices and even someone's voice. and out of all the people here, she wouldn't wish that on kaito one bit. or xiao and hana.

"you know, hana's actually a genius. she told me she had a feeling you two were here. i call wizardry." jihye added, getting a little off topic. it really impressed jihye how hana was right, just by a guess. it's like how you can feel someone looking at you when you don't see them yourself. it's just this feeling of something happening, only to find out that it's actually true. the mind surely is insane.

liu yixiao

xiao listened to her intently, nodding as she spoke. should he tell her what kaito had told him? was it even his business to? but then again, if kaito actually went through with his plan, hana would hear about it anyway from jihye. but, he didn't want to be too invasive in something that would be considered private between jihye and kaito. on the other hand, have they been doing the same about him and hana? "he told me he was wanting to tonight, but if he actually does or doesn't isn't predictable." he told hana. xiao really didn't know if kaito would follow through with his idea, so xiao just left it as undecided. knowing kaito, he's shown to be very straightforward and got didn't really slack off much, so maybe he will bring it up.

as soon as she mentioned him with a cute concept, his stomach nearly dropped. "you really think so? i've never seen myself doing anything like a cute concept. maybe when i was younger i'd pull it off, but i'm not sure about now." he questioned, ruffling the hair at the back of his head. "but you should definitely go for a concept switch. you have a vibe that could fit any concept, and this is a good place to test stuff out." he pointed out to hana, not realizing that he should take his own advice. this place is better than any other place to try new concepts. after debut, a group's sound is generally set in stone, unless the overall concept is to have a constantly changing concept. also, once the public likes a group with one certain concept, they may react negatively when the group switches. but here, trainees get the best opportunity. they get to test their skills with new concepts and get to see how the public reacts to it. anyone would be smart to take advantage of this.

"but i can promise you this." he began, tilting his head. "if you start trying new sounds and concepts, i'll do my best to do the same. cute concept, dark concept, or even an urban rap concept, i'll try it." even if he was completely bad at some concepts, xiao would try his best, just to keep his promise to hana. sure, he'd also be doing it for himself, but if hana suggested he try different concepts, especially cute, he'd do his best to make her happy. man, he really is falling hard for her.

soyee · Jun 3rd 2018

lee hana

(( ajsbssj ‘this wasn’t a one direction song’ sometimes there’s lines in your post that make me laugh and i love it so much ))

hana nodded, smiling at the thought of xiao wanting her to try out different concepts. she wasn’t sure if she would ever really fit different concepts. everyone had potential to, but she was just another person that was afraid to step out of their comfort zone, to try something new.

“okay, a promise it is then.” she smiled, reaching for his hand and wrapping her pinky around his. “a pinky promise too, so now you really have to go through with it.” she looked at their hands for a moment, remembering how jihye said that kaito knew about them holding hands earlier. it had been an accident, but she really liked it. and if kaito and jihye were right and xiao did like her, then he shouldn’t mind if she held his hand again.

she carefully laced their fingers together before looking back up at him, a smile on her face. “but don’t you worry about not being able to pull of a cute concept. you’re cute without even trying, a cute concept will be like nothing to you.” she could feel her face getting warmer as she started to blush. when had she gotten this brave? especially around boys? earlier today she dropped his hand as soon as she realized she was holding it, but now here she was, intentionally holding it without any plans to let go just yet.

nakajima kaito

was it embarrassing to admit that he and xiao only came all the way out here in hopes of seeing them? he sure hoped not. “we actually wanted to talk to you two before we went to sleep and our busy schedule started all over again. and looks like we got exactly what we wanted, aren’t we lucky?”

as soon as she pointed out how late it was, he nodded with a sad sigh. she was right, they should be sleeping. and as much as he wanted to spend the whole night awake just talking to her, he knew that would not have a positive affect on jihye’s performance in the competition. “you’re right.” he nodded. “we really should get to bed,” he glanced over at xiao to tell them just how late it was getting, but once he saw him and hana holding hands again, he turned back to jihye. well, those two would get to bed when they thought was best. and plus them being together left him some more alone time with jihye, and that’s just what he wanted.

“i’ll walk you back to the girls dorms, c’mon.” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, slowly leading her in the direction of the dorms. just because he agreed with her about needing rest doesn’t mean he wanted it to happen, he was going to take as much time as he could to get her back to the dorms. he really did want to spend as much time with her as possible.

he suddenly remembered her comment about calling hana a wizard and he let out an amused laugh. “so she’s like harry potter or something? guess we’ll have to call her hana potter from now on.” he joked, shaking his head at how stupid the things he could say were. “maybe her and xiao are like soulmates or something, maybe she sensed that he was hoping to see her in the dorms so she went. that’s not to crazy of a theory, right?” he laughed, looking down at her. “however she guessed, i’m glad she did. i really don’t know how much longer i’ll surivive these schedules if they’re the reason we can’t talk as often as we’d like.”

peachy. · Jun 3rd 2018

byun jihye

tenor.gif?itemid=8086108

(afhsh i don't know how or why i come up with those but i always feel like i write too seriously for some of my characters and now i'm just trying to add just really random stuff without it being too irrelevant, plus i feel like jihye would definitely be the person to say something like that, she's a total dork)

jihye never meant that they should to go sleep now, so when kaito suddenly agreed and started taking her back to her dorms, she was surprised. her eyes grew larger, full of confusion and a hint of sadness, wondering why he was so on board with wanting to get her back to her room. she couldn't say anything, except barely audible and non-understandable sounds that were supposed to be her arguing them leaving. but, he just said him and xiao wanted to talk to the girls, it didn't quite connect in jihye's mind.

but as soon as she felt his arm around her, she instantly stopped trying to argue. she felt weird being this close to kaito, but it was a kind of weird that jihye didn't want to lose. although, she couldn't help but constantly look at the floor or the walls closest to her. it wasn't that she didn't want to look at him, she definitely did want to look at him. jihye didn't know what she'd do if he caught her looking at him. like nothing was wrong, jihye continued to talk to him and gradually slow down her steps, making the trip to her dorm even longer. "surely things won't be like this down the road. there's too many trainees here, things do need to be a little stricter when it comes to schedules. hopefully it isn't like this the whole time. it was terrible not talking to you." she confessed, still not taking up the courage to look at him even though she was getting quite brave with her words.

suddenly, jihye remembered something. if a staff member caught kaito close to the girls dorms, he'd surely get in trouble. jihye would also probably get in trouble as well for being the reason he's there. but she didn't really have the power to just stop him there, did she? it's worth a shot. within a blink of an eye, jihye slipped out from underneath kaito's arm and instantly sat on the floor,with her legs crossed. it took a lot of willpower to do that, especially since she loved the feeling of being so close to kaito. but if this is going to keep them from getting to that dorm room, anything will do. "you're going to get in trouble if you get close to that dorm." she told him simply, looking up at him. "and i don't want you to get in trouble." sure, that was the case, but it wasn't the whole case. she didn't care where or how, but jihye just wanted to talk to kaito. and if it was in the middle of the hallway sitting on the floor, so be it.

liu yixiao

xiao smiled at hana's words, liking her straightforwardness. she's gotten a lot more daring within the past week. last time, she apologized for grabbing his hand and now she out here grabbing his hand, calling him cute, and being extremely expressive towards him, which he liked. other guys may be different, but xiao is often intrigued by those who aren't afraid to show their emotions or openly trust him when it comes to needing help or advice. he likes knowing that he can be able to help people with their problems, as well as knowing that people are comfortable enough around him to act a lot more carefree and playful. the vibe that creates is a very unique kind of vibe that xiao finds musing.

when hana grabbed his hand, he continued to smile. and when they actually started holding hands, it's almost like his smile couldn't get any bigger. ever since he talked to kaito about what he's been observing, xiao began to be more observant and investigative about hana's actions. hugging, hand holding, calling him cute, was kaito right? did she really like him?

xiao looked over to where kaito and jihye were, or where he thought they were. turns out they were completely gone. kaito must be starting his plan. well, guess it's time for xiao to go through with his idea.

he looked back to hana, his eyes shifting to almost everything around them. "h-hey, can i talk to you about something?" he asked, way more nervous than he thought. it wasn't bad, xiao. if she didn't like him, why was she holding his hand, calling him cute, and basically making him feel a thousand butterflies in his stomach every time she looks at him? confidence, xiao, confidence. as long as he doesn't completely mess up or chicken out, everything will surely turn out okay.

soyee · Jun 3rd 2018

lee hana

(( you’re right, jihye would say something like that, i love her she so cute tbh

and like i said i really love it when you add stuff like that, it’s always good to have a little laugh or see something not so serious in a serious situation when i’m reading replies ))

when xiao asked if he could talk to her about something hana could feel her stomach drop. the feeling of nervousness hit her so hard out of nowhere. maybe jihye was right and xiao did like her, but the idea of it sounded way better than the reality of it. it took weeks for her just to be comfortable holding his hand, and that was something that people who were just friends sometimes did. how was she even supposed to react if he told her how he felt? was she just supposed to tell him she felt the same exact way? or was that too weird and awkward?

“you can talk to me about anything.” she nodded, hoping the shakiness of her voice wasn’t too obvious. was it normal to get this nervous over something that she couldn’t even be sure was about to happen? as she glanced around she realized that kaito and jihye were gone, which made her even more nervous. granted, their absence was probably the reason xiao felt this was the time and place to confess his feelings. but not being able to see her other friends made her nervous. it was strange how she usually felt so calm and happy around xiao but now that he was going to express the same things, she started to feel the opposite. well, she was still happy, she doubted he could ever make her feel anything besides happy.

as she looked back at him, she decided that the nervousness was too much and let her eyes fall back down to their hands. her hand felt so comfortable in his hand, it was warm and soft and truthfully she didn’t want to stop holding it ever again. she gently ran the pad of her thumb across his knuckles, hoping that the action soothed his feelings as much as it did her own.

nakajima kaito

when jihye ducked out from under his group he instantly started to worry that he did something wrong, was he coming on too strong? did he say something weird? but his feelings shifted from worried to confused as he watched her sit down. he glanced around; they were so close to the dorms. if she was tired it wouldn’t be too long until she got back to her bed to rest. but as she explained herself, he finally understood.

“oh.” he replied dumbly, sitting down across from her. “yeah, that makes sense.” he knew he didn’t pose any physical threat to the female trainees, but the staff always had to take precautions that there was someone that could actually hurt someone else. plus there was always the risk of relationships starting, which probably wouldn’t be good press for the show, so that was probably another precaution they were taking. not to mention a male near the female dorms and vice versa was probably distracting; none of them were less than above average in looks and could easily pose as a distraction from the competition. they really thought of everything, didn’t they?

he looked across the hall at her, a smile spreading across his face. she could have just said goodnight and went to bed, but she didn’t. even if she was probably exhausted from the busy week and knew it would just start all over again tomorrow, she was still sat here with him. maybe xiao was right, maybe it had been obvious that she liked him the entire time. despite the realization though, he couldn’t find it in himself to confess his feelings just yet. surely a relationship or knowing a friend has a crush on you would be distracting, and he didn’t want to be a possible distraction for jihye so early in the competition.

“i’ve been meaning to ask you, what are your companies plans for your debut?” he remembered how xiao had said hana nearly debuted earlier, and he wondered what jihye’s situation was. was it like hana’s or was she in the same boat as him, relying on the show for any chance of a debut in the foreseeable future? he would hate if that was the case, she had a lot of talent and deserved to debut straight away.

“i mean, as your number one fan i want to know more about the group i’m going to support.” he offered a friendly smile, hoping the conversation wasn’t too boring for her. had hana and xiao told her that he liked her? was she expected him to confess or ask her out? he really didn’t want to be a disappointment but he didn’t want to be a distraction either, hopefully he had the chance to explain all that when he finally confessed, and hopefully she understood.

peachy. · Jun 3rd 2018

byun jihye

tenor.gif?itemid=8086108

(i absolutely love your characters too! hana is such a queen omg i love her)

also, xiao.exe has stopped working SOMEONE HELP THAT BOY)

jihye was relieved to know that he didn't want her to get up to continue their walk to the dorms. maybe he didn't want to get rid of her, after all. but jihye couldn't help but feel like something was still bothering him or there was something he wasn't telling her. not that he should be telling her everything. jihye decided later that she shouldn't worry about it, his business was his business and if he was truly needing to talk about something, he would mention it.

"well, the company talked to me and the other female trainees before we left to come here," she said, fiddling with her hands in her lap. "we can debut as six members, but since the company is small, we don't have a lot of the funding needed to have a full promotion. so, the longer we can stay here, the more compensation we'll get, and that'll go towards promotions." although beat interactive did have a good reputation as a strong dance company, the female trainees and staff are raising that company from the ground up. the girls have done various types of promotions, such as teaching choreographies at local dance studios, but the cost for promotions were way more than those girls could handle. if this show didn't exist, it'd take years to come up with all the funds needed. "but it's okay. as long as we get to debut, i don't care how long i'll have to wait." she added a little bit of positivity towards the end, all while not forgetting to add a small smile, still watching her hands.

after she stopped talking, she looked up to kaito, curious. "what about you? surely your company won't keep you as a trainee for much longer." for as long as kaito has been a trainee, he's the one who deserves this debut the most, there's so debating that. kaito belongs on the stage, and hopefully his company sees that. jihye moved a little closer to kaito after realizing she was speaking a lot quieter than she anticipated, hoping he wouldn't be too put off by this. "i mean, you really deserve to be on stage." she was quick to add, her eyes nervously shifting to almost anything in sight.

liu yixiao

after xiao spoke, he could instantly tell that hana was nervous. this only made him feel more worse. does she think he'll say something bad? does she think he doesn't want to talk to her anymore? "it's nothing bad, there's no need to worry." he reassured her, watching her nervous actions. would that actually make her feel better? xiao sure hoped it would, but he knows that people act towards nerves in different ways.

he waited a little bit before speaking again, allowing the silence to comfort them both before xiao could finally manage to say what he wanted to say. he's never been this hesitant before, so it was himself that scared him more than anything. while facing rejection from hana would surely hurt him more than anything, it was himself that could decide how things would go from now on. "i've been wondering," he started, pausing to think of what to say next. his mind was either blank or full of thoughts, but they weren't the words he's been wanting to say. his mind raced to find the right things to tell her, like thousands of little xiaos were frantically searching, screaming at each other and making the place a total mess. it would be only a matter of time before actual chaos would break loose in his head.

"so, i would say that we're pretty good friends," he said, carefully thinking about his words. "and i know i'd never let myself live if i didn't tell you now." he slowly added, his mind going wild at this point. it began to frustrate himself, seeing how he's basically leaving hana to stand there and watch him as he struggled, it was almost painful to watch. xiao has never struggled like this, not even at his auditions. it was like all of his feelings came forward and hit him like a train which left him lost for words. "ah, i'm sorry, i can't think." he gave a loud sigh, looking up at the ceiling. xiao took this situation calmly, not wanting to push hana away or freak her out, whichever came first.

soyee · Jun 3rd 2018

lee hana

(( lmao same with kaito like what happened to him being so flirty and blunt about how he feels ? ))

oh. oh. with everything that he was saying, especially with how he sounded nervous about it, she was completely sure he was going to confess that he liked her. and she really hoped that was the case, half because she liked him too and half because if she was wrong her next actions would seem weird and possibly scare off xiao. and she really didn’t want that. she dropped his hand, but only so she could reach up and cup his face in both hands, making him look back down at her. when had she gotten this brave? maybe feeling nervous gave her a huge confidence boost.

“hey,” she smiled, pretty sure that she was blushing now. “i like you too.” and if she wasn’t blushing before, she surely was now. it seemed as all the confidence had left her body, her hands instantly dropping away from his face, instead going to cover hers in a lame attempt to hide her red face away from xiao. she leaned forward a bit, letting her face hide in his chest. she was nervous, but she still wanted to be close to him. it was a weird combination.

the possibility of him saying something besides confessing his feelings was small, but it seemed as if that tiny percentage was mocking her. had she confessed when xiao didn’t feel the same way? that would probably be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to her, she would never live it down. she wouldn’t be able to look at xiao again, and she was sure she wouldn’t even be able to tell jihye.

nakajima kaito

kaito had always thought that every company was in the same situation; having trouble to find the perfect lineup and choosing a fitting concept. the idea of a company not having enough funding, especially for a group that would surely be an instant money maker once they did debut, broke his heart. was that a common thing? and knowing that it was the situation jihye was in only made him feel worse.

the idea of only one of them being able to debut from the show was heartbreaking; knowing that mostly girls watched the show who would vote for the boys to have the debut caused his heart to actually ache. even if he had been a trainee for so long, he had gotten used to it by now. he had been given nearly every false hope possible and could handle it again if need be. but jihye? he didn’t want her to just get used to being a trainee, she deserved to debut. and surely debuting with the show would give her company exactly what it needed to debut her final group. for the first time, he didn’t actually want to win.

“it’s kind of a funny story actually.” he shrugged, deciding to answer her question instead of thinking about her response. “they keep saying soon, but when does soon actually come? a lot of trainees left the company too, went somewhere else or just gave up completely. i’m the one who’s been there the longest, i’ve seen so many kids come and go it’s actually sad.” he paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. “they even let me think i was going to debut as a solo artist once. that obviously didn’t work out. right now they’re saying me and the other three that came on the show are the perfect combination for a group. they say they’re working out a concept for us, the other three are excited. i mean i am too, but being there for seven years, you hear the same thing a lot. if i don’t get excited, i won’t be let down if it turns out to not go through. and if we do debut, then i’ll let myself be excited.”

he smiled over at jihye, deciding that he had sounded and looked way too miserable during his explaination. “staying a trainee for so long has had its perks though. i mean, my korean has gotten a lot better so now i won’t embarrass myself whenever i open my mouth when i debut. and my company has even promised me that when i do debut, that i’ll be the leader, just because i’m so good at cheering up the other kids and since i’ve waited for so long. and besides, if i debuted i wouldn’t have met you on this show. who knows if we would have met at all? i mean, you’ve only been a trainee for a year right? i could have long been debuted by now.” he leaned a little closer to her, gently nudging her. “meeting you and being able to talk to you like this has made me a lot happier than debuting ever could.”

peachy. · Jun 3rd 2018

byun jihye

tenor.gif?itemid=8086108

(the girls are stepping it up lmao)

jihye listened to kaito as he described his situation. her heart hurt for him. this was his dream, his passion. and to have that hope constantly being taken away is heartbreaking. his dedication through all those years are incredible and really admirable. kaito has such a good character, someone like him is definitely needed in everyone's lives, and she was glad he was in hers.

as he kept talking, jihye couldn't help but smile. he was definitely too kind for her. he's taking time out of his schedule to take her back to her dorm, all while putting up with her stubborn antics to make their journey slower. he could've been annoyed with her and told her to get up, but he didn't. anyone else would've been tired of her shenanigans, but he's not, as far as she knows.

as her and kaito continued to sit in the hallway, jihye fell silent, thinking. there's so many things she needs to say, but is now the right time? heck, when would be the right time? as one of them gets eliminated? as they prepare to separate and go on their own paths, preparing for debut? they have the free time now, why not take advantage of it? "i like you, kaito." she said softly, not caring if he heard it or not. she just needed to say it out loud, audible or not. as soon as it left her mouth, it was like a wave of relief fell over her. but would she actually collect the courage to say it to his face? maybe. most likely.

liu yixiao

he couldn't believe what he was hearing. in the middle of xiao's self frustration, hana instantly could figure out all the word he couldn't say. looking at her, he smiled at her, seeing how her own actions made her embarrassed. now that he knows she likes him as well, xiao felt more relaxed and actually started chuckling, finding her actions cute.

as soon as she got closer to him, he quickly embraced her in another hug, aiming to calm her nerves. "it's like you read my mind." he laughed, keeping her close. "but since i know how you feel now, i can say this without worrying. i like you hana. i really like you." he said, much more confident than he was just a few minutes ago. it was kind of crazy, how all the events led up to this. when xiao first saw hana at the first filming, he knew he had to talk to her. and when he introduced himself, he knew there was something about her that interested him. the longer they talked, the more he realized how much he liked her.

hearing that hana liked him back was such a relief to xiao. everything just started to make sense. his mind was clear, he was as happy as he's ever been. although, it was more of a relief happy than anything else. rejection was his main fear, so now that it was out of the way, xiao felt like he could do anything. but as of right now, the only thing he wanted to do was to stay like this.

soyee · Jun 3rd 2018

lee hana

as soon as she felt his arms wrap around her, hana let out a relieved sigh. this was a good sign, right? and then when he finally said it himself, when he said that he liked her, she had to try her hardest to hold in the giddy giggle that wanted to leave her lips. it felt funny, hearing him finally say what she already knew. it felt good, knowing that someone she liked, liked her back.

she slowly pulled her face away from his chest, wrapping her arms around him so they weren’t completely separated, and looked at him with a smile. “i really like you too.” she felt like she could say it over and over again now, she liked him. and she wasn’t too nervous or scared to say it. she was nervous about what would happen to them after all this; did he want to ask her out now? it’s not as if they really had time for going on dates or being in relationships, but that hadn’t ever stopped anyone before. maybe he just wanted to leave it at that for now? but what if he met another girl who he liked more?

hana decided to just stop thinking of all the bad possibilities and just live in the moment; she was happy with xiao and that’s what she should focus on. “and as much as i want to spend the whole night talking to you, we should both be getting back to bed. people are going to start wondering where we are.” as much as she hated thinking about it, the other trainees back at the dorms or maybe even the staff were probably wondering where they could have gotten off to. and the last thing they needed was to be caught being so close in the lobby. “and i have to find jihye.” she whispered, wondering where she could have wondered off to. probably somewhere with kaito, but as she said, they should all be getting back to bed.

“we all have lunch at the same time right?” she asked, suddenly remembering how they were all given lunch in their practice rooms at the same time each day. “we could have lunch together tomorrow. all the cameras turn off, the staff are usually busy doing whatever they have to do. the other trainees are usually too tired to even care what everyone else gets up to. we could probably come out here and eat, right? just say we need some fresh air or something.” she shrugged her shoulders, hoping the idea didn’t sound too crazy.

and here was the time she didn’t want to come. she had to get back to bed. or else she would be too tired tomorrow, xiao too. and she didn’t want either of them risking getting hurt during practice or something severe because they were up all night talking. besides, like she said they could see each other the next day. they could work it all out. “go get some rest. if i see kaito i’ll send him to bed too.” she slowly pulled away from the hug, letting out a quiet sigh. “goodnight xiao, i’ll see you tomorrow.” and with that she starred to head down the hall towards the girls’ dorms, hoping jihye was somewhere there.

nakajima kaito

if kaito hadn’t been listening, ready for her to say something, he would have never heard what she said. she liked him. he kept repeating it in his head, trying to make sure that she had actually said it and it wasn’t his hopeful imagination playing tricks on him. jihye liked him too.

before he realized what he was doing, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her lips. his eyes widened as he pulled away, realizing what he had done. she had only just admitted that she liked him, and he was already kissing her? wow he was moving fast. “i- i’m sorry, i just-“ what had he done? what if she wasn’t okay with kissing him? what if he just scared her off? she had finally said the words he wanted to hear, and he already was doing dumb things around her.

“i like you too.” the kiss was meant as a non-verbal way of telling her that, but he didn’t realize how stupid it was until he already went through with the idea. he was embarrassed and he felt bad for jihye; he wouldn’t blame her at all if she never wanted to see him again.

he suddenly felt shy again, something that he didn’t like. he was usually so confident and had an endless amount of things to say to jihye, but here he was, speechless. “i should probably head back before someone sees me.” he quickly stood up, ready to go rip xiao away from hana and get back to bed. he had to tell xiao what just happened, and he was ready for him to tell him just how stupid he was and how badly he messed up with jihye. hopefully xiao had better luck on his end. “g-goodnight. we’ll talk again soon, right?”

peachy. · Jun 4th 2018

byun jihye

tenor.gif?itemid=8086108

the kiss surprised her, really surprised her. it's probably safe to say he likes her as well, which is a huge relief for jihye. she was extremely happy to know kaito felt the same way as her, but she was so shocked, it took her a moment to process when exactly happened. by then, kaito had already gotten up and was about to leave.

standing up instantly, jihye faced kaito, confused and a hint sad. he was right, he could get in a lot of trouble if he stayed. but that doesn't mean jihye wanted him to leave. time was cruel. she was thinking of how to reply, but she could only think about kaito only wanting to leave. she wanted to tell him it was okay and stay, but she knew that she shouldn't overstep her boundaries. if he wanted to leave, he should leave.

"uh, yeah, i don't want you to get in trouble. thank you for walking me down here." she said quietly, biting at her lower lip subtly. how was she supposed to act? she could tell he was bothered, was it the kiss? did he not mean to do that? she shouldn't act completely put off by it since she wasn't, but she also shouldn't act silly about it. either way, kaito didn't seem okay, and that made jihye concerned. but, if kaito wanted to handle it on his own, she should let him.

nodding at his last statement, jihye managed to give him a small smile. "yeah, definitely. i'll see you tomorrow." she replied, grabbing her wrists behind her back. should she tell him it's okay? should she thank him? would that be weird? she wanted to hug him, but knew he probably just wanted to get back to his dorm as soon as possible. to be honest, jihye was hurt. not because of kaito, but because of herself. she could see him right in front of her, obviously bothered and uncomfortable, and there was nothing jihye could think of that would help him. she wanted to, she really did, but her mind just told her everything she would do would just make it worse, which sucked. all she could do was peacefully send him off with what was supposed to be a reassuring smile. "goodnight, kaito."

liu yixiao

xiao smiled and embraced the moment, not wanting it to end. but soon enough, he knew he had to let her go, but not just yet. the smile still hadn't faded and he still as happy as can be. should he ask her out? no, he'll wait to do that. the middle of the night in a lobby isn't exactly a good place for that. maybe during one of the free days they have for vacation, they can go out and have a fun day, then he can ask her then. but certainly not here. although he wanted to, it isn't really ideal, not yet. especially when they're both battling curfew and risking getting in trouble.

"yeah, you should probably get back, everyone's probably wondering where you guys are. and i don't want to get you in trouble." he agreed, nodding his head. time was slipping away fast and the longer they were here together, the less time they had for sleep to prepare them for tomorrow. not that xiao would get any sleep, he's too energized now.

mentioning lunch, xiao paused in thought before nodding once again. "yeah, lunch could work. i don't even think they care were we eat, just as long as the trays get to the right place and we get back to practicing at the right time." he added, happy about their plans being made. it's been a while since they got to be like this, and xiao really did miss it. he was glad to be able to talk to hana again.

as soon as he let go of hana, it's like he wanted to go right back and give her another hug. was he being too clingy already? she just gave really good hugs. but, he knew she'd have to go back eventually, and apparently eventually was now. "you need to get some sleep, too. i'm probably going to wait here for kaito though, so he doesn't have to walk back alone." he explained, not wanting to leave quite yet. "goodnight hana, see you tomorrow." he smiled, allowing her to leave to go to her dorm.

soyee · Jun 4th 2018

lee hana

(( we thought the girls were stepping their game up and then kaito goes kissing jihye ))

as hana headed down the hall
towards the dorm, the smile on her face was wiped away when she saw kaito speed walking past her. did something happen with jihye? the idea that something happened caused her to walk faster, the entire time she was hoping that jihye was okay.

once she reached the dorm, she was happy to see that jihye was there. she wasn’t in bed either, so she wasn’t asleep or anything, which meant she could thankfully talk to her. “hey.” she spoke softly, hoping that she wasn’t too upset. or maybe she was just overreacting and everything was fine, maybe kaito was rushing back to xiao to tell him he finally asked jihye out or something. she hoped it was something positive like that.

“everything okay?” she asked, ready to either comfort her friend or to celebrate how both of them just had gotten love confessions. “i mean, i saw kaito and he was in a rush so i got worried about you. did something happen?”

nakajima kaito

kaito felt bad. he felt really bad. he wanted to just tell jihye that he was okay, maybe even kiss her again. but he had already freaked out about everything right in front of her and that might make things more strange. thankfully he had the night to think about everything, he could even hopefully get some advice from xiao, and he would make things better when he saw her next. yeah. that sounded great.

he rushed down the hallway towards the lobby, wanting to get back to his bed before anyone could spot him and scold him and so he could just think in peace. as he reached the end of the hall, he was a bit surprised to see hana heading back, but he was glad. he was sure jihye would talk to her, just like he was going to talk to xiao. “goodnight hana.” he quickly ran into the lobby, knowing that if hana was only heading back to the dorms now, that xiao wouldn’t be too far.

one he saw him, he began to walk faster, grabbing the male’s wrist and dragging him all the way back to the dorms without a word. it probably wasn’t the most polite thing to do, but he had way too many things running through his head at the moment to care about that. besides, once he told xiao everything, he would understand.

once they reached their room, he forced the other to sit down on the bottom bunk, looking around to make sure everyone else in the room was asleep before turning back to face him. “save all the told you so’s and whatever else for later, this is serious.” he sat down on the bed beside him, letting out a heavy sigh. “i kissed jihye.” he finally admitted, looking everywhere but at xiao.

“and i liked it. i liked it a lot, but i really messed up and i think i scared her away.” he let his head fall down between his shoulders, his fingers tugging at his hair in frustration. “after i kissed her i kind of just left. like i told her goodnight and everything but that’s it really.”

peachy. · Jun 4th 2018

byun jihye

tenor.gif?itemid=8086108

(girls: wow it's like we're progressing the story all on our own

kaito: we'll see about that

meanwhile xiao is a giant baby who can't say words)

once kaito left, jihye watched his leave before turning back to go to the dorms. thankfully she wasn't that far away, since kaito walked her most of the way. once she got inside, jihye didn't know what to do. she was confused, dazed, and still in shock over what just happened. was it her fault? did he expect another reaction from her? he probably doesn't want to see her again, now. saying that he'll talk to her soon was just a lie, wasn't it? all the girls were in their beds, so jihye decided to sit outside of the actual bedroom in the makeshift living space, enjoying the quiet.

there, she thought. she thought about kaito and what would happen next. were they still friends? should jihye just let things chill out tomorrow? what should she do? she's never been in this situation, it's hard for her to figure out how to handle this on her own. luckily, hana came in to the room at the right time. looking up to her friend, she gave a halfhearted smile. "hi hana," she greeted.

so, she knew something was up. sighing, jihye sat up straight, eyes shifting from the left to the right. "well, something happened." she said, widening her eyes. "we were sitting in the hallway talking about our own debuts and out of nowhere i said i liked him, but i didn't even know he could hear me. apparently he did since he kissed me right after." she told hana softly so nobody could overhear. "it was good and everything, but he just kinda bailed after. he instantly got up and said he needs to leave."

by now, jihye was staring at the floor, unsure of where to actually look without having the urge to randomly cry. "i don't know, i can't help but feel bad, like it was my fault. he just left so quickly, like he was suddenly in a rush to go to sleep. i knew he didn't look okay, and i knew i should've helped him but i didn't, i just froze. i feel stupid and i'm pretty sure things are going to be awkward now, which i really didn't want to happen. all he was trying to do was walk me back to the dorm, but i didn't want him to get in trouble so i stopped. if i wouldn't have stopped, this wouldn't have happened and everything would've been fine." she began to ramble on and on to hana, who was her biggest support at the moment. she hated to bring the mood down since everything probably went great with her and xiao, but jihye needed to tell her, otherwise all of it would continue following her throughout her days, which only gets worse and worse.

liu yixiao

xiao waited for kaito in the lobby, not moving from his spot. but as soon as kaito appeared, they were off, xiao being dragged away. confusion overwhelmed xiao, wondering what happened to him while he was with jihye. he couldn't see the male's face, so he couldn't tell if he was excited or upset, either way there would be a whole lot to explain. getting to the dorms was quick, since they've taken the same route many times, they could easily get there blindfolded.

once they reached the dorms, xiao thought kaito would let him go, but this continued until they ready the bedroom. surprisingly nobody was there, which was weird. xiao surely thought he'd get in trouble for not being in bed this late, but now he knows he's not the only one out and about, along with kaito. obediently, xiao sat down as directed, still incredibly curious by what kaito was doing. but when he sat down and started talking, it all made sense.

all he could do was sit there, eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, like he was about to catch a fly or something. he kissed jihye? frankly, xiao saw it coming, but not this soon. without moving, xiao let him talk, watching carefully. kaito was really stressed about this, and he could see why. "d-did you see her reaction? did she say anything to you?" he asked, needing to know more about what happened. he really wanted to help kaito, so hopefully kaito knew that asking these questions were important.

knowing jihye, surely she would've said something? but she's also too nice, so she could also just stay quiet and let it pass. it's hard to tell just by hearing a small portion of the story. it's so weird to hear about this, knowing just hours before that kaito only had a crush on her and that she might've had a crush on him. this also made him instantly feel bad, deciding to tell him about his encounter with hana tomorrow once everything cools down. if he told kaito tonight, it'll be like rubbing salt in his wounds. xiao was too much of a good friend to bring up his happiness in a time of kaito's stress.