but i still want you (priv.)

soyee · Jun 4th 2018

lee hana

(( xiao: ...

hana: guess i’ll do it myself

i feel bad for jihye and kaito, rip ))

as hana listened to jihye explain, she automatically wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her closer to her. she wanted to do anything and everything she could to comfort jihye, especially since it was rather obvious that she was upset.

“hey, don’t blame yourself for anything, okay?”

she gently placed her fingers on jihye’s chin, making jihye look at her. she studied her face to make sure she wasn’t crying, before planting a comforting kiss on her forehead. it was something that the older girls back at the company did to her when she was upset and it was always so comforting, so hopefully it made jihye feel a little better too. “there’s tons of reasons that he could have ran off like that, but trust me, i don’t think any of them are bad. maybe he was embarrassed, i mean, he hasn’t been able to tell you how he feels until tonight, right? and then he kisses you, he probably had this huge burst of excitement and then got embarrassed when he realized what happened. not embarrassed because of you, but maybe because it was so sudden?”

she was sure that kaito wouldn’t do anything to hurt jihye, and he surely didn’t just up and leave because of something bad. the boy loved talking to her and being around her, he wouldn’t leave her in such a rush unless something happened, not bad, but on the level of nervousness and embarrassment.

“him and xiao are probably talking right now, and trust me, if it was for any weird reason that he left you then xiao will take care of it. we care about you a lot, we wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.” she gave her another squeeze, smiling softly at her. “speaking of xiao, me and him are going to have lunch together tomorrow. you should come with me, xiao will probably explain everything. and besides, as much as i missed talking to xiao, i missed talking to you ten times more.”

nakajima kaito

“she just said goodnight and thanked me for walking her back. i was so worried that she hated it or thought i was weird for kissing her out of nowhere that i just left before i could see or hear her reaction.” he sighed, looking up at the other. “i’m not sorry that i kissed her because i liked it and it felt right. i’m just sorry that i ran off so soon. she looked so confused.”

he shook his head and fell back on the mattress, his eyes glued on the bunk right above his face. “i want to talk to her tomorrow. tell her that i only ran off because i was embarrassed, and that i don’t regret anything. unless she says she hated it, then i’ll for sure regret it.” he ran his fingers through his hair again, letting out another sigh before looking over at xiao. there really wasn’t anything to say about the situation anymore, and he really wanted to move past it for now.

“enough about me though, why were you looking so happy? did hana confess her undying love for you?” he tried his best to tease the other, a weak smile on his lips as he nudged xiao’s leg. “whatever happened, you did something right, she had the biggest smile on her face when she was on her way back.”

peachy. · Jun 4th 2018

byun jihye

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(omg i know, poor souls :(( )

jihye instantly fell into hana's embrace, her head on the other girl's shoulder. she was glad to be able to talk it out with her, since hana seemed to be really good with this kind of stuff, which was completely correct. as hana spoke, jihye closed her eyes, nodding her head every one in a while. maybe hana was right and he didn't run off because of her. jihye was so quick to assume it was her fault, she didn't want to properly assess the situation, and that only left her more time to come up with reasons why it was her fault.

"maybe you're right," jihye choked out quietly, looking down at the ground. just like hana was there for her, xiao was there for kaito and vice versa. xiao and kaito are probably talking about it now, so maybe that'll help. xiao definitely wouldn't tell kaito that he completely messed up or that she hated him, since xiao knows how much kaito likes jihye. hopefully xiao is smart about this, but there isn't really any doubt he wouldn't be smart.

hearing about the lunch offer, jihye tilted her head. while it would be nice to talk to them again, there's may other thing to think about. she'd be a third wheel, an awkward one at that. also, what if kaito's there? xiao just wouldn't leave him uninvited. as much as she wanted to talk to kaito, it definitely be too awkward to discuss what happened, especially around hana and xiao. but it'd also be even more awkward to just act like it never happened.

even through everything, jihye smiled, hearing hana's last compliment. jihye was happy that she was able to befriend hana so quickly, especially for times like this. while her own company trainees could've helped her out, she was happy hana was the one to be here for her. "thank you, but i'm not too sure, i wouldn't want to third wheel your date." she suddenly perked up, but only to tease hana a little bit. "speaking of which, it sounds like things went okay for you two?" she asked, changing the subject.

liu yixiao

xiao listened to kaito, understanding how the other male feels. it was good he wasn't upset over something much bigger and that he wants to resolve it so quickly. "she was probably confused because she wasn't expecting it. she was probably just as surprised as you were." he explained, trying to capture the whole situation.

"trust me, if she didn't like it, she would've let you know she hated it or you would've seen her reaction way before you left. my bet is she was just surprised. just try to not overthink the situation. she likes you, she really does. don't worry, everything will be fine." he reassured. "just talk to her about it tomorrow, she'll understand."

when kaito laid down, xiao went to do the same, but only leaning back to rest on his hands. kaito then decided to change the subject, which was probably for the better. "well, i started to confess to her, but my mind completely blanked out. but it was like she read my mind because she told me she liked me too, even when i didn't even say anything." he said, smiling. hana did seem really happy when she was with him, and to only hear about how happy hana was on her way back to the dorm made him even happier. man, he really was falling for her. "we're going to have lunch together tomorrow, you should join us. it's been a while since we all got together." xiao offered, looking over at kaito, aiming to see how he was still handing himself.

soyee · Jun 4th 2018

lee hana

“hey! who said it was a date?” hana pretended to be offended, but only ruined the act by laughing a second later. “i mean, we told eachother that we like eachother. that’s about it. and it’s not really a date tomorrow, just taking advantage of the few chances we have to hang out. you really won’t be a third wheel, besides i’m sure xiao misses talking to you.”

she was really glad that jihye already started to feel bette. she hated seeing anyone sad, but seeing her friends and people she cared for upset, that was just the worst feeling for her. “speaking of tomorrow, we better get some sleep before it is tomorrow. besides, i gotta convince whoever i’m paired up with to do a dark concept, i promised xiao that i would try one out.” she stood up and took jihye’s hand in hers, ready to lead her back to their shared bunk bed.

“don’t stay up late, okay? if you find yourself worrying about anything anymore, you can wake me up. i won’t mind. losing sleep is worth it if it means knowing you’re feeling okay.” she smiled softly at the older girl, feeling as though she would really do anything to keep her happy. she was the first friend she made here and the first friend she made in a long time, she would do anything to make sure she was always feeling alright.

nakajima kaito

yeah. xiao was right, jihye was probably just confused. he felt a little better upon hearing that, honestly any answer that didn’t include her hating the kiss or hating him was good enough for him.

“you’re in love with a wizard. jihye told me earlier that she had a feeling we would be waiting for them in the lobby. you better watch out, she’s probably reading your mind right now.” he teased, surprised to hear how well everything worked out for the two of them. who would’ve known that people like them could get such amazing people to like them back?

“me? join you two for lunch? and ruin your date? as if.” suddenly though, he lifted his head so he could look at xiao. “do you think hana will bring jihye along? i’m totally in then.”

peachy. · Jun 4th 2018

byun jihye

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jihye agreed and went into the bedrooms, sitting on her bed as soon as she could. "alright, and you better not stay up late, either. you need to be getting a lot of sleep, tomorrow's going to be an important day." she said to hana, letting go of her hand to let her get to her bed. but before hana got up to her bed, jihye gave her an actual smile. "thank you, i'm glad to have a friend like you. goodnight!"

it really was great to have such a good friend, like hana. she knew exactly what to say and instantly made jihye feel better. hana's company was really luck to have her. she's talented, has a good personality, and is one of the hardest workers jihye has met here. if jihye had not met hana, who knows what they'd be doing? chances are, everything would be different. they'd all be in different social circles, doing their own things

once hana went up to her bunk, jihye laid down, instantly wrapping herself in her blanket. it didn't take long for her to actually fall asleep. jihye was more exhausted than she thought, which was a good thing. jihye wouldn't be able to fall asleep if she decided to stay up any later, her mind would be too busy thinking about anything and everything. kaito, the competition, her friends, home, everything.

liu yixiao

xiao laughed, shaking his head. "i'll try, but it's hard to figure out what's going on in this mind. good luck to hana if she can try to figure it out." really, xiao's mind was all over the place sometimes, point proven by what happened with hana earlier. often times, xiao's mind is like a maze, it gets very difficult to navigate and find the right things to say or do. so if hana can really read his mind, he's wishing her all the luck he can give her.

"hey, i wouldn't say it's a date." he said with a smile, looking at his friend. as soon as he mentioned jihye, xiao nodded. "i wouldn't see why she wouldn't. they're always together whenever they can. it's be surprising if they weren't together." xiao then sat upright. "so it's a plan then! we should probably get some sleep, those other boys are going to be wishing they didn't stay up late." xiao stood up, stretching his arms.

"if you need anything, you'll know where i'll be. goodnight, kaito." with that, xiao scaled the ladder up to his bed, picking up the blanket to wrap around himself. but he didn't lay down just yet. even though xiao was the one to say they needed sleep, he was going to stay up for just a little bit longer, just in case kaito needed anything else.

soyee · Jun 4th 2018

lee hana

(( i timeskipped then, i hope you don’t mind ! ))

the next morning hana found it hard to wake up, but still didn’t really regret staying up so late the night before. after all, if she had just gone to bed then she would have missed out on xiao’s confession to her, and who knows when the next chance for him to tell her would have came along?

despite the mornings rough start, the rest of her day went by rather well. she was paired with nice and talented girls for her group and she even was able to convince them to try out a darker concept, just as she had promised xiao. she also noticed how her and all of her friends did well in their last performance, and they already had a steady amount of voters; something that they would be beyond thankful for later on.

and before she knew it, lunchtime finally arrived. the minute she recieved her lunch she headed over to where jihye was practicing, a huge smile on her face. “c’mon, let’s go eat together.”

nakajima kaito

despite the fact that he had spent most of his night worrying, he slept rather well. maybe stress was the secret to a good nights sleep, not that he was going to test that theory out any time soon.

his day had been going well, he was paired up with another group of boys that would surely put on a great performance, and their song and concept fit all of them rather well. they even decided on a good line distribution and the choreography wasn’t too hard, it wasn’t too easy so it was still impressive, but not so hard that they wouldn’t be able to sing while dancing.

before he even knew it, they were being given trays of food. oh yeah, lunch. he was supposed to join xiao, hana, and possibly jihye for lunch. the idea made him nervous but excited; he hoped jihye wasn’t mad or upset with him. once he received his tray of food, he left the room, the other boys in his group not even questioning it, and heading to the lobby where xiao said they would all meet. once he arrived, he sat down and waited for the others; hoping that xiao was right and that hana did bring jihye along.

peachy. · Jun 4th 2018

byun jihye

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(that's fine!)

jihye woke up extremely early, getting no more than four hours of sleep. she could've gone back to sleep, but once she gets up, there's no way she'll fall back asleep any time soon. before the other girls woke up, she quickly showered and prepared herself for the day before sitting back down on her bed to pass the time before she had to leave for filming.

once she was given her group, jihye was surprised to see she was the youngest one there. the oldest was only twenty-three, but it was still weird for jihye to be the maknae, since she's always had younger members. but luckily for them, they decided to try a more mature look, or one that didn't highlight their cuter charms. the song they chose was fairly difficult as well. the choreography was very visually pleasing, the song showed all of their talents, and the line distribution was extremely easy to sort out. basically, this week would be a lot better than last week for jihye. especially since she wasn't the leader, jihye would have a lot less stress to deal with.

lunch time came quickly, and honestly jihye was torn. should she stay with her group? should she go with hana? hana seemed to be very enthusiastic about jihye eating with her, she really didn't want to hurt the younger girl's feelings. but, she also had a commitment to her group, and they probably wanted to still work over lunch.

jihye's practice was ending right as hana came to the room. nervous, jihye stayed back until other members left. some announced they were going to get food, and others announced they would go get a bit more sleep, so jihye figured it was okay to go with hana. grabbing her jacket, jihye wrapped it around her waist and met up with hana. "hey, let's go." she said with a smile, exiting the room to go get food. jihye honestly wasn't hungry, but she'll grab a little bit of food, just so hana doesn't worry..

liu yixiao

xiao fell asleep after about ten minutes, figuring kaito didn't need anything else. he slept pretty well, only to be woken up by one of the other newday media trainees. he was a little late, but that didn't bother him or anyone else. he gets ready fairly quickly, so that wasn't an issue for him.

at the filming, xiao was shocked to see himself do so well. he was currently ranked twelfth out of all the boys, which was pretty impressive. he wanted to be in the top ten, but that was still pretty impressive to him. what didn't surprise him was seeing hana and jihye at such high places within the girls ranks, jihye peaking at fourth. those girls were big competitors, luckily xiao wasn't competing for a final spot in his own group against them, otherwise he'd have no chance.

the group he was with all looked extremely young. he wasn't the oldest, but his whole group had that boyish look to them, which made it easy for them to come up with a charming performance concept. the division between vocalists and rappers was quite even too, which made the division of parts easy. choreography wasn't even something to ask about, xiao already took the responsibility to learn the choreography and teach it to the others. plus, their group worked extremely well together and they were all bonding like an actual group preparing to debut. compared to those girls, the boys in xiao's group were aiming to have fun, which xiao adored.

as soon as lunch came, xiao announced he was leaving, but because he wanted to work on the choreography on his own, rather than with his group. he wasn't completely lying, since he would spend part of his lunch period working on choreography, but he also used that as a way to get away from his group so he could meet his other three friends. he selected an average sized meal and a bottle of water before heading out to the lobby, meeting kaito. "hey," he greeted, sitting down beside his friend. "how's everything going? do you like your group?" while they were technically competitors, xiao wasn't too focused on scoping his competition, he was more focused on hearing about his friend's experience throughout this crazy journey. looking around, he didn't see any signs of the girls. come to think of it, he didn't see them in the cafeteria either. they much be on their way, it's nothing to worry about.

soyee · Jun 4th 2018

lee hana

hana happily got food with jihye and then headed towards the lobby, feeling more excited than usual. if this was just a normal meetup with xiao then she still would have been excited, just not this excited. knowing that he liked her, well that made everything twice as special.

as they reached the lobby, she saw kaito and instantly turned to jihye. would things be okay between them? surely they wouldn’t argue or anything like that, she just didn’t want things to be awkward between her friends. “hey guys.” she made sure jihye didn’t try to leave or anything before she sat down. “now that i have all three of you together i wanted to say congrats, you all have pretty good ranks so far.”

it was true, all of them were doing rather well. jihye was in fourth, she was in tenth. xiao was in twelfth and kaito was in a surprising second. it wasn’t surprising that kaito was in second, he had the talents and charms for it, it was just surprising that he managed to secure himself such a high ranking already. whatever he had, people loved it.

“and this weeks performance is going to surprise you xiao. the dance is rather difficult but i’ll have it perfected in time, i’m sure i will.” while she had gone with a darker concept as xiao suggested, she also made sure her group went with something with a harder choreography than she was usually comfortable with. the show was supposed to help her improve anyways, so that’s exactly what she was going to use it for.

nakajima kaito

kaito looked up at xiao as he talked to him, eagerly nodding his head. “yeah! everything’s perfect honestly, if my last performance went well then this one is going to make that one look terrible.” the truth was that he fit with the current group of boys he was with better than the other ones, it wasn’t anything personal, but there were a few personality clashes and their voices just didn’t fit together as well last time.

he was just about to ask xiao how everything was going with his group so far when the girls walked in, his smile growing when he saw jihye. he was thankful to see her there, he had been thinking about what to say to her all morning and he wanted to really talk to her. he listened as hana complimented them, remembering how jihye had gotten ranked fourth. he would have to congratulate her for that later, but now he really just wanted to talk to her about the kiss.

“jihye, can i talk to you? alone, i mean.” she looked happy, but he hoped that her happy face wasn’t a cover up for her being mad at him or not wanting to be anywhere near him.

peachy. · Jun 5th 2018

byun jihye

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jihye followed hana into the lobby, where both boys were waiting. there, she exchanged glances with kaito before sitting down. she couldn't help but feel an awkward presense, or maybe that was just her. she couldn't get the image from last night out of her head. kaito kissing her, then instantly wanting to leave. the memory of her actually watching him walk away had a lasting imprint on her. she wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel confused or hurt, but it was sure left an impression.

jihye stayed silent while everyone talked, only picking at her food she didn't plan to eat. she knew she needed to, but jihye really didn't feel the need to eat. plus, she'd also risk getting sick later, since eating before strenuous activity like practices made her very sick. breakfast would've been a much better option today, she'll be sure to remember that for later.

when kaito spoke up, jihye immediately looked up from her plate, snapping out of her thoughts. did he want to talk about yesterday? "hmm? oh yeah, that's fine." she replied, moving her tray over before she left her seat. she was almost positive she knew what he wanted to talk about, but that only made her more nervous. was he going to tell her that he didn't want to talk to her again? was this whole lunch invitation just a plot to get her over here just for kaito to just reject her? she sure hoped not. jihye was only in fourth place, but she was striving for first. she needed to be focused if she wanted to get there, and worrying about being rejected by kaito would surely put her mind in a bad place, and would surely bring her down. and with her company's situation, jihye definitely didn't have time to sit around and worry. she needed to keep a good place.

liu yixiao

xiao listened to kaito talk about his team, happy he was so confident. xiao's team would surely have a lot of competiton if kaito is hyping his team up this much, but xiao was confident his team would be much better, not to offend kaito or anything. when the girls arrived, xiao was about to start talking about his team but decided against it and greeted the girls instead. he was happy to hear hana's praise, and instantly went to thank her. "thanks, you're doing amazing. i told you you'd have a high ranking."

it was pretty cool all of his friends were high in the rankings, but xiao felt like he was really lacking. he was the only one out of his friends that wasn't in the top ten, he was only just shy of it and only by a small margin. he needed to work harder so viewers noticed him more, because right now he's gettig noticed, but not enough. is it because he's lacking in vocals? people loved vocalists and they were always pretty hard on rappers, since they have to be phenomenal just to get praised.

when kaito asked to talk to jihye, xiao fell silent. how was everything between them? he knew kaito wasn't upset about what happened, but he couldn't fully tell if jihye was alright. she's just been quiet. sure, that's really different for her, so maybe she was bothered? her face didn't say she's mad or upset, so that was good. maybe something else was bothing her, and not just what happened yesterday.

xiao watched them as they went to leave, still not saying anything. what would he say? have a nice chat? don't fight? don't kiss again? it was just better for him to stay quiet.

soyee · Jun 5th 2018

lee hana

hana watched as kaito and jihye walked away, turning back to xiao once the two of them started talking. “i’m sure they’ll be fine.” she spoke softly as she picked at her food. she liked kaito and everything, but if he hurt jihye any more she would surely have to disown him or something like that. it probably sounded dramatic, but jihye mattered a lot more to her than nearly everyone else on the show.

“but yeah, i’m in tenth.” she nodded, finally starting to eat. “a few girls told me being cute is what got me that spot over a few others who are equally as good. i’m telling you xiao, you act cute once and first place is all yours. girls love cute stuff.”

a smile appeared on her face as she looked up at xiao and away from the tray of food in front of her. “why do you think i like you so much? it’s because you’re cute. plus you have a pretty voice, me being able to be close to you means i can request for you to sing for me whenever.” she laughed softly, nudging his leg with her foot. “you do know how pretty your voice is right? tons of people must have told you by now.”

nakajima kaito

kaito led jihye away from the other two, stopping once he was sure they were at a distance far away enough to not be overheard. he let out a heavy sigh, unsure of where to start. he had so much to apologize for.

“i want to say sorry about leaving so quickly. i really wanted to stay with you, but i was embarrassed. i kept thinking that i messed up by kissing you, that you didn’t like it or that it was too sudden.” he shrugged, looking down at his feet. he was too embarrassed to look at her, what if she thought his apology was pathetic? “i thought you’d never want to talk to me again.”

he looked back up at her and gave a small smile. “and if you really want the truth i don’t regret kissing you, i just regret not asking you if it was okay first. i just like you a lot and was so excited when i heard that you like me too, i wasn’t thinking rationally. all i knew was that i wanted to kiss you.”

peachy. · Jun 5th 2018

byun jihye

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jihye followed kaito down the hall, as silent as she could be. when they finally stopped, jihye backed herself against the wall, looking over at kaito curiously. he seemed stressed, or at least he felt bad for what happened. she listened to his explanation, her eyes not moving off of the ground. he never really seemed upset at her or mad at all, not that she actually thought about it. and now that she knew why he left, it just made more sense. of course he'd be embarrassed, who wouldn't?

"it's okay," jihye said softly, still not looking up. "i was just confused, it almost made me feel like i did something wrong, since you just wanted to leave so quickly. but i should've known you were just embarrassed. i could tell something wasn't right and i wanted to help, but i just didn't know what to say." she explained her thinking, instinctively reaching up to grab her upper arms as a way to calm her nerves.

she had no reason to be nervous, she now knew everything he was thinking from last night, there's nothing left to hide. all cards are on the table, but she still feels like she'll do something wrong. but jihye did find it cute how kaito's main reaction to her confession was to instantly kiss her. that's what he's been thinking all along? normally, when people say the phrase "i'm so excited, i could kiss you", they normally don't mean it. but kaito? he meant it. and not that jihye didn't like it, she really did, but she wasn't ready to give kaito the upper hand that easily.

liu yixiao

xiao ate his food as him and hana talked about their placements. as soon as she mentioned him being cute, xiao shook his head, almost cringing at the thought of him actually trying to act cute. "well, you'll probably be happy to hear that my group is kind of doing a cute concept for the next performance. it's actually more to show off our charms, but it does kind of appear as cute." he said, explaining himself to hana. he promised her he'd do a cute concept, and this is probably going to be as close as he gets. xiao's not sure if he can do the school boy, pastel outfits.

to quickly switch the topic off of him, he looked over at hana. "so, what song has your group decided on?" he knew she wanted to do a darker concept, and xiao really thought she'd rock a dark concept. hopefully her group went along with it and not just decided to leave her in the dust. that would be extremely unfair to hana in a way, but if the majority says no, majority rules.

often, he'd look over to where kaito and jihye left, wondering what they were doing. he knew how kaito felt, so hopefully it was going well. he can't hear any yells, so that's a good sign? it was actually kind of surprising that jihye actually agreed to come eat lunch with them. did she not expect kaito to show up? but she also knew that if they had any time to meet up, kaito would be with xiao. and if hana was going to also be with xiao, kaito would also be included. maybe she did know he was going to be here, and that's why she agreed to come?

soyee · Jun 5th 2018

lee hana

“ah,” hana shook her head at his question. “it’s a surprise.” she looked at him and smiled, completely unsure of how she was able to get someone like him to like her.

“you’ll only have to wait a little less than a week to see, that’s not too long.” as she finished eating, she pushed her tray to the side. she turned back to the other two, knowing that xiao was watching in on them too. “sounds like everything is going well.” technically she couldn’t hear them, but that meant they weren’t yelling or anything. and no yelling meant things were going well.

she turned back to xiao, a smile on her face as she thought of something. “remember that you still have to help me improve on my dancing. i’m working on some things to help you learn korean better, the more words you know the better you’ll be at rapping.” she had asked xiao to help her be a better dancer and xiao asked her to help him be a better rapper, she hadn’t forgotten.

nakajima kaito

kaito nodded, understanding where she was coming from. “well i’m glad that you didn’t hate it or anything.” he blushed a bit, reminding himself that he really did kiss her and it wasn’t just some wild dream.

“would it be too late or weird if i asked for a do over? pretend that i never even kissed you last night.” he shifted his weight from one leg to the other, completely in shock of how he was actually going through with asking her what was in his head. “i mean i was acting on impulse and i can’t even be sure that it was a decent kiss or anything.” he shrugged, looking carefully at her. “could i kiss you again? now, that’s what i’m asking. could i kiss you now?”

he suddenly realized that it could sound like he was pressuring her into it. “you could say no if you want!” he rushed his words out, not wanting to come across as a weirdo and not wanting it to seem like he only wanted to kiss her. because he wanted so much more; he genuinely liked her and eventually wanted to not be her friend, and instead be her boyfriend.

peachy. · Jun 5th 2018

byun jihye

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when jihye actually looked up at him, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. offering to start over was expected, but that was technically their first kiss, even if it was incredibly awkward. for the sake of kaito, jihye could at least lose that part in her brain somehow. it wasn't even bad, if jihye was being honest. he might've thought it was bad, but jihye surely wouldn't tell him that.

jihye sure is brave. out of nowhere, when kaito finished talking, she gave him a smile before reaching for his hand and pulling him closer. before she could think, she reached up, gently giving kaito a gentle kiss. she never really planned for this to happen, but she just kind of let it happen. her mind told her body what to do and her mind just did it.

she was really shocked by her actions, though. she's never been this brave or outgoing with it came to something like this, but maybe that's just a result of kaito wanting the same thing. he probably has his answer know. actually, he better have his answer now.

liu yixiao

xiao smiled, tilting his head when hana decided to not tell him the song she was performing. "ah, man i was excited to hear. a week and a half is a long time, but i guess i'll wait." his tone was mainly a joking tone, but he still was serious. he knew hana wouldn't reveal too much, so that wasn't big for him. what did surprise him was that she didn't seem like she would give out any spoilers as all. none, absolutely zero. that just be a big burden in jihye's team and all the other girl teams. not knowing what you're competing against is difficult, because you want to out perform them but you won't know how much you need to out-perform.

when hana mentioned training, xiao perked up, smiling. as a rapper, you need to be well fluent in the language. pronouncing something wrong or saying the wrong word is extremely detrimental, even as a veteran rapper. from his time training, xiao has earned that no rapper is safe. "you'll have to tell me about this list. and i can also show you some dances that are really good at teaching the basics." hana might be done with the basics, but they really proved to be good help, even with the most complex moves. they aren't called the basics for anything.\

"but yeah, let me know when you want me to help you and i'll be there. i probably won't be able to leave my group sometimes, but any break time i have, i'll spend it to help you." he promised, giving hana a smile. hana being from korea would actually prove to be a big help for xiao, since chinese is his first language. xiao's becoming more fluent in english, thanks to classes and overshadowed concepts, hana helping him would be one of the most best ways to learn as a foreigner.

soyee · Jun 5th 2018

lee hana

“i’ll bring the list with me next time we hang out. it’s mainly just basic words and stuff that is included in a lot of songs, but it could help a lot.” hana smiled when xiao said he would help her learn some of the basics; as a weak dancer she needed to constantly be working on everything, even the simplest things if she wanted to improve and be anywhere near the level of the trainees who were naturally gifted with dancing.

“won’t your group find it weird if the same girl keeps hanging out with you all the time?” she didn’t know how xiao’s group would specifically react, but she could bet that a lot of trainees would be suspicious of the two of them if they knew how much time they had spent together already. “but i do plan on taking you up on that offer. having someone as talented as you teaching me will surely be a lot more help than a teacher just telling me what to do.”

suddenly, she remembered something else, she wanted to ask xiao about the song he was going to be performing with his group in the upcoming week. “you want to tell me about what song you’re performing or are you going to keep it a secret just like me?”

nakajima kaito

kaito was waiting for an answer, and he was really starting to get nervous thinking that it was a no, but before he could tell her that it was okay, she kissed him. he was surprised at how bold she suddenly was, but it was a good surprised.

“don’t worry, i’m not going to run away this time.” he joked, laughing softly. even when he had messed up pretty bad and most likely had jihye worried the whole night and morning, she still liked him. he really didn’t deserve a girl like her. “i’m never going to run away again.”

suddenly his stomach growled and he remembered that it was lunch time, and that the two of them should be eating. “i’d love to spend some more time with just you, but i’m sure my stomach is going to hate me if i don’t eat right now.”

peachy. · Jun 5th 2018

byun jihye

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(i feel like jihye's starting to progressively get more wild as this story progresses o.o )

jihye looked at him and smiled, scrunching her nose when she realized how cringy her actions were. sure, that was a good way to say yes, but she couldn't deny that she could've just said yes. "that's good, i don't know what i'd do if you ran away again." she said with a small laugh, making the atmosphere much lighter than before. if he did happened to run away again, jihye honestly didn't know how to react. she'd probably forgive him again, but not in the way she just did.

when kaito mentioned going back, jihye wanted to say no, but then remembered that they still needed to eat. nodding, she agreed. "we should probably get back so there's still some time before we have to go back to our groups. and you really should eat." jihye told him, referencing towards his stomach who seemed to be protesting them staying in the hallway. with kaito, jihye began to walk back to the lobby, her hand still holding his from her recent actions. and if she was being completely honest, she never wanted to let go. all of her worries and nerves went away as soon as their hands came together, jihye would do anything to keep that keep that feeling.

when they reached the lobby, jihye knew xiao and hana would be curious. but really, what would they expect? they knew kaito and jihye's feelings for each other, there was surely no doubt that things wouldn't go bad. and as soon as they'd see the two so close, it would be obvious.

liu yixiao

that was a good question. would his groupmates constantly wonder about who he was spending all his time with? he could just say they're good friends, but that wouldn't do much. the boys here are typically focused on themselves, but they do get curious when it comes to girl friends or even girlfriends. from what xiao has heard while being here, a lot of the boys here have crushes and even secret girlfriends of their own, but it's been an unspoken rule to not mention it anywhere else. a moral rule of respect, if you'd prefer.

"i'm not sure," xiao started, ruffling his hair. "they'd probably tease me about it at first but they'll get bored easily and move on. at least i hope." he laughed, continuing to eat more of his food. "but thank you, that really means a lot. i've been teaching some of the other boys i've talked to and they say it's been helping a lot, so i think you'll be in good hands." xiao said to hana. xiao likes to focus more on technique and accuracy in choreography before anything else. what's the point of having a cool and fun dance if the technique is bad? technique is like the alphabet of dancing, so of course it'd be important.

scrunching his nose, xiao thought about hana's last question. should he be nice and tell her? or should he be stubborn and not tell her? should he keep it a surprise for her? "well, since you won't tell me the song you're going with, i'm going to leave mine as a surprise too. but if you want to tell me what song you're performing, i guess i could tell you mine." he gave her a cheeky smile, shrugging his shoulders. sure, he didn't always want to look cute or like a young boy for attention, but he loved joking around and that was how he showed his 'cuter' side to others.

soyee · Jun 6th 2018

lee hana

(( i’m rooting for this new bolder than ever jihye ! ))

“well i guess we’ll both have to wait to see then.” hana smiled at xiao, completely intent of keeping the song she would be performing a secret. any other week she would have told him, but seeing as she had managed to convince the girls to perform the song that she chose with him specifically in mind, she wanted it to be a surprise for him.

“are you going back to your group when you’re done eating?” she noticed he was almost done, and while there was still plenty of time left to talk if he wanted to once he was done eating, she would understand if he wanted to get back. it was a competition after all, and they had to practice. using all the time you had to practice was probably the smartest choice someone could make on the show.

she looked up, smiling as she saw kaito and jihye coming back, hand and hand. so things had worked out for them. just as expected. “well look at you two! you’re abdolutely adorable.”

nakajima kaito

kaito happily walked back to the lobby hand in hand with jihye, having no problem if any of the other trainees saw them. even if they wanted to spread rumors among themselves, it probably wouldn’t have much impact. people were getting more and more focused on the competition and really couldn’t care what was going on around them. besides, unless him and jihye were caught holding hands by a camera, they really had nothing to worry about. and thankfully, nearly every possible time they had to meet up was a time where the cameras were shut off.

when they reached the lobby kaito really couldn’t help but smile at hana’s words, even feeling himself blush a bit. was he really that cute with jihye? he surely hoped so, a girl as pretty as jihye deserved to be with someone that complimented her well. as they reached the table, he didn’t even bother letting go of her hand, deciding that he could eat with one hand. even if it would be a bit of a struggle, he loved holding her hand way too much to care.

he knew that he would have to thank xiao for the advice later and tell him about how well it went. but he also knew that in turn he could ask how things were going with him and hana, if he kissed her yet. or maybe she would kiss him, like how jihye just kissed him.

“so what did we miss?” he asked as he stared to eat, gently squeezing jihye’s hand. “anything interesting or was it all calling eachother cute and other gushy stuff like that?” the only reason he knew he could tease hana and xiao like that was because he knew they wouldn’t take offense to it, that they would probably tease him and jihye right back.

peachy. · Jun 6th 2018

byun jihye

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jihye walked to her seat, shaking her head to use her hair to cover her face, just to hide her growing red cheeks. she expected them to react to her and kaito, but she didn't exactly expect to hear they looked cute. cute? yeah, that sounds about right. grinning, jihye looked at xiao and hana when kaito asked what they missed. examining their expressions, it didn't seem like they had an 'overly cute' conversation, but who knows? hana and xiao do look like they'd both have amazing poker faces. jihye on the other hand? not so much.

when xiao said that they were only talking about their performances, jihye tilted her head. "but you'll tell me, right?" she said in a joking tone. if hana wasn't going to tell xiao, who's most likely her favorite person here, what song she's performing, jihye doesn't even have a chance. but maybe jihye can persuade hana to tell her sometime soon, maybe if they have time to talk at the dorms, if they're even there together.

the small amount of food in front of her was quickly growing cold as she just talked with her other three friends, twirling a utensil in her hand. well, the hand that wasn't holding kaito's. jihye made a good decision, not letting go before they reached the others. it was crazy how just a few days ago, jiyhe was scared to link his arm with hers, and now she's fearlessly holding his hand, never wanting to let go.

liu yixiao

unsure, xiao could only look at hana, "i told my group i'd take a look at the choreography over lunch, so i don't think they'll be expecting me until practice starts again." he explained, finishing his food and putting his tray to the side. similarly, he decided to ask hana the same. "do you need to leave early? will they get mad at me for keeping you here?" he knew how competitive these girls are, and that almost scared him, if he wasn't as calm as he is. he's heard stories that some girls didn't get any sleep for days because they've been working so much. if the public didn't have such a big influence on voting and deciding the final group, xiao would pick the girls to win in a heartbeat. they have talent, dedication, and from what he's seen himself, they all have some pretty good morals, aside from a few. but maybe he's wrong about them.

when kaito and jihye returned, he was happy to see them holding hands. so she wasn't upset and kaito braved up and didn't completely freak out. it was good to see those two completely clear up what happened yesterday. is xiao was being honest, he wouldn't know what would happen if they didn't "make up." him and hana would either be caught in the middle or they'd be completely left on their own, leaving kaito and jihye to go find new social circles. the thought of these four not being able to talk together again was a chilling feeling for xiao. they all just met but somehow, he felt like they were all brought together for a reason, as cheesy as it sounds.

when the two sat down, xiao looked at kaito, taking in his teasing question. "well, we were just talking about the upcoming performance. she refuses to tell me what song she's performing." he explained, looking over at hana. xiao was a little disappointed that she won't tell him only the title of the song, but he completely understand why she wouldn't tell him. he only knows the concept, but it's like he's a little kid anticipating birthday presents or christmas gifts. "but i guess it's okay, i can wait until the filming day." xiao said with a laugh, putting a sarcastic emphasis on 'guess.' "what are you two planning? or are you going to keep it as a secret too?" he asked, looking at kaito and jihye.

soyee · Jun 6th 2018

lee hana

“they won’t be mad, it’s not like any of us said that we should be back right away. so they really shouldn’t be expecting me to come back any sooner than i have to.” hana shrugged. “besides, even if they do get mad at me, spending time with you is worth it.” while hana would most definitely mind if any of the girls felt any anger towards her, she knew they would get over it pretty quickly. they had to focus on their performance more than their personal opinions of one another. and what she said was true, spending time with xiao was worth the other girls being mad at her for a day or two.

when xiao went on to explain what they were talking about, she nodded along until he said that he guesses that it’s okay that he had to wait. she leaned over and playfully smacked his shoulder. “be a bit more patient. besides if i told you, you’d put on a way better performance than me and totally steal all the attention.” when she heard jihye ask if she’d tell her, she turned to her and nodded happily. “i’ll tell you about my song if you tell me about yours, later at the dorms though. i’m going to make sure there’s no way xiao can possibly find out before the performances.”

when she heard xiao if the other two were planning to keep things a secret, she perked up a bit. “or were you planning on keeping it a secret? because i can be patient enough to wait until the performances, unlike some people.” she turned to xiao and gave him a playfully bitter look; hoping that he picked up on the fact that she was just joking, teasing him.

nakajima kaito

kaito was glad that neither hana or xiao questioned or pointed out the fact they were holding hands, it was rather obvious, but they still didn’t talk about it and he was grateful about that. while he had gotten brave enough to hold jihye’s hand, he wasn’t sure if he could survive any of his friends talking about it in front of him without turning as red as a tomato.

he listened as the other three spoke, laughing occasionally at how easily they teased and joked with one another. who would’ve known that four complete strangers from different parts of the world would meet and become such great friends? it felt almost too good to be true. “well if everyone else is planning on keeping it a secret, why should i ruin the trend?”

he shrugged, continuing to eat his food. “it’s nothing too special though, well it’s going to be good and everything, but i’m hoping to save the best stuff for when we’re nearing the last performances.” it probably made him sound stuck up or that he thought he was the best of the best, but he really did plan on at least making it to the last round of voting. he already was in second place after a performance that he thought wasn’t anywhere near his best, and besides, he had seven years of training; he knew what he was doing by now.

he glanced over at jihye, noticing that she really hadn’t touched any of her food. maybe she just wasn’t feeling well or didn’t like the food, but either way he knew that it wasn’t good to practice so hard for such a long time without even eating a bite of food. he leaned over towards her to whisper in her ear, not wanting to make it obvious. if she was sick or something, she probably wouldn’t want the other two to worry, so he didn’t want to make her say anything loud enough for them to hear. “you feeling alright? you didn’t eat anything yet.”

peachy. · Jun 6th 2018

byun jihye

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jihye laughed at hana and xiao's joking. she couldn't help but think they looked extremely cute together. so, xiao and hana think kaito and jihye are cute, and vice versa? man that's just cute altogether. right now, things are going really good for the four. they've confessed, they're all in good places, it's a picture-perfect start to the months ahead of them.

when asked about her performance, jihye looked up. "i'll definitely be able to tell you later, hana. but i don't want to give away too much right now." she giggled, embarrassed. "but i'll give you all one word," she said before pausing. "intense." jihye said, raising an eyebrow in thought. her performance was pretty intense compared to other performances they've seen, but it was nothing too difficult. like kaito said, they'd rather wait to show the more impressive performances later, where it begins to matter the most. granted, all performances matter, but jihye does have a good placement, there's no way she's going to drop to a lot enough spot to get eliminated. she can drop spots, but not enough to risk her leaving.

when kaito leaned over to talk to her, jihye was a bit surprised at first. she wasn't sure what he was planning on doing, but jihye immediately relaxed once she heard him start talking. at that time, jihye remembered her tray in front of her. he was worrying about her. "oh, i'm okay," she said back softly, assuming he didn't want the others to hear them talking. "i get sick if i eat a lot before practices." she explained with a small smile. jihye can understand why he would be so worried. there's constant stories of trainees and idols fainting and having to be hospitalized because they either don't eat enough or they don't drink enough. it's scary to think about that happening to a friend, especially someone as close as jihye is to kaito. "if i'm not okay, you'll be the first to know." she reassured him, squeezing his hand back gently.

liu yixiao

xiao felt bad that hana was willing to risk her reputation with her team in order to see him, but in a way, he was glad. her simple words reassured him, telling him that she really did like him and she really did want to talk to him as much as possible. this made him feel very good, it was a very good confidence boost. although it does sound very selfish, but if being selfish meant he'd see hana all the time, he'd be the most selfish person on earth. xiao only hoped hana knew that he'd do the same for her. if she didn't know, he'd make sure she knows.

when he heard hana say she'll tell jihye about her performance, xiao gasped dramatically. "you'll tell her but not me, i see how it is." he said, jokingly over-exaggerated. while the two girls are technically their biggest competition, xiao found it funny that they're willing to spill each other's secrets to each other, but not to the one who she's not competing against at the moment. when hana mentioned stealing all the attention, that's when it made sense. the crowd's attention is not only given to the best male and the best female groups, but the best group overall. still in his joking character, xiao gave hana a sneaky look. "hmm, if i can't bear to wait, i'll have my ways of finding out. i'll just have jihye tell me." he said with a smile before getting a giggly rejection from jihye herself. man, they really are committed to each other.

if it wasn't for kaito leaning over towards jihye, he wouldn't have known they were even talking to each other. to distract himself, and to keep the attention off of the two, who probably don't want any attention on themselves while they talk, xiao turned to hana. "no matter what happens during the performances, i hope you know that there's nothing that could take the attention off of your group. dark concepts beat cute boys any day," he said, basically admitting his group was having a cute concept, or close to a cute concept. "but if i somehow take all the attention from you, i'll end up feeling bad up until i'm eliminated. that could be next week, who knows?" xiao told her with a smile.

soyee · Jun 6th 2018

lee hana

intense. hana felt really thankful that xiao was able to convince her, and that she was able to convince her group to do a darker concept. surely if someone as talented and as high ranking as jihye was doing something intense, cuter performances would be looked over like it was nothing.

before she could tell jihye that she was looking forward to watching her perform, kitao took her attention away and xiao started talking again. “jihye loves me too much to tell you my secrets.” she stuck her tongue out at him childishly, thankful that she had someone she could act like herself around, someone she could easily joke with.

when xiao admitted that he was doing a cute concept, her face lit up and her mood changed from playful to beyond happy and more serious. she reached over and grabbed both of his hands, looking directly at him. “if you’re really doing a cute concept, then trust me, you’ll have all of my attention. i’ll be so focused on you that i’ll forget about my own performance.” while it was a bit of an exaggeration, it held some truth. the idea of xiao trying out a concept she suggested was almost too much to handle, and the idea of him acting cute made her heart race.

“and you’re not going to be eliminated any time soon, even if you are i won’t be lasting long either. if you get eliminated, i’ll make sure i’m the first one eliminated in the next week. i don’t want to be here without you.” she blushed a bit at her words, realizing that she would have to switch back to being playful to not make everything sound so serious. “if you’re not here then i won’t have anyone to pick on, and what fun is that?”

nakajima kaito

kaito’s attention on anything except for jihye faded the second she hinted that her next performance would be intense. he knew she was talented, but intense performances always seemed to bring out talent in people that was impossible to bring out with any other type of performance. “already planning on ranking first?” he said it as a joke, but it still held some seriousness to it. she was already in the top ten and he overheard tons of people talking about how big of a threat she was, how she was surely going to make the girl group be the ones that debuted and she would be the center. it took a lot of talent to be talked about like that so early on. and now that she was essentially planning on showing off more of her talents? everyone else would look like first day trainees compared to her.

he let out a sigh of relief when jihye said she was okay, he had been so worried that she was sick or her company had put her on a strict diet that she had to follow even during the show. and hearing how if she ate a lot before practice made sense too, filling your stomach up and then exercising so hard and for such a long time, someone was bound to get sick. hearing about how he would be the first to know if anything happened to her made him feel a lot better too. even if he wouldn’t know how to help her in a lot of situations, he still wanted to always be there for her.

“just stay safe, okay? make sure you eat breakfast so you don’t go hungry throughout the day.” he knew he probably sounded like a doctor or something, but he knew the dark side of doing something as little as skipping breakfast one time. he had seen it one too many times, trainees at his company passing out during practice just because they skipped one meal. he leaned back away from her ear so they could join the normal conversations again, rolling his eyes at the sight of hana and xiao. “and they called us for, look at them jihye. aren’t they cute too?”

peachy. · Jun 7th 2018

byun jihye

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jihye laughed as soon as she heard kaito ask if she was aiming for first. "well, that's everyone's goal right?" everyone wants to be in first place, some more than others, but that was mainly everyone's goal. "some people aren't given the opportunity to be so close to first like others," she said, nudging kaito's shoulder lightly with her own. "i've got to secure my spot early on. this is serious." she giggled, obviously not being serious. jihye liked being around kaito, xiao, and hana. it was very easy to joke with them and nobody took non-serious things too seriously, it was just refreshing to be with people who are relatable.

she was relieved to see kaito okay after she explained why she wasn't eating any more. it was also good that he respected her and didn't force her to eat anything else. if she had to pick one of her worst pet peeves, it would definitely be people who constantly persuade someone to do something, even after they say no. the fact that someone couldn't respect another's wants or opinions is a huge turn-off for jihye. but seeing how kaito didn't try to make her do anything else made her happy, adding a new reason why she likes him so much. "i will, thank you for caring so much." she replied, taking this opportunity to rest her head on his upper arm, liking the comfort he gave her.

while talking to kaito, jihye completely fazed out on everything around her, including xiao and hana. when she actually looked over to them to see what they were doing, jihye laughed softly. "well look at you two! you're absolutely adorable!" jihye mimicked hana from earlier, using her own words against her now. they did look cute, anyone would admit that. she only wished that relationships like this could be acceptable to air on the actual show, that'd be cute to see. but it's too much of a risk for ratings and the actual trainees, any type of interaction between male and female trainees would most likely get scraped. but that's mainly a good thing, since any risk of rumors or scandals starting are small.

liu yixiao

xiao scoffed, pretending to be offended by jihye and hana's strong friendship. "fine, you win. i guess i can wait." he sighed in defeat, lowing his head. not soon after, xiao looked back up, flicking his hair out of his face. when hana grabbed his hands, xiao looked straight into her eyes, seeing her excitement. she really did like the idea of him in a cute concept, maybe he should do it more often.

hearing that she would actually forget about her own performance, xiao's eyes widened in concern. "no no no, i can't let that happen! you'll have to go before me then, you can't forget before you perform!" he said, full of concern. he knew hana was joking, but something about what she said instantly made him tense up, thinking of all the wild things that could happen. if she does forget her own performance, she could drop in the rankings, making it harder for her to get back up to top ten. xiao surely wouldn't let that happen to her, she's too talented to be in the lower ranks, she deserves to be in the top ten and xiao couldn't imagine her being anywhere but in those top spots.

the thought of her getting eliminated before him was also worrying to him, believe it or not. she was so much more talented than him, and he would surely get eliminated first if any of them had to. xiao was about to respond to her saying she'd be eliminated first, until she continued talking. hana mentioned her having nobody to pick on, xiao instantly scrunched his nose, trying to not laugh. "you're luckily i like you too much to not let you pick on me." he said to her, continuing to hold her hand in his.

xiao was too busy with hana, he didn't even notice kaito and jihye finish their own conversation, and now they've started to tease him and hana. "of course we're cute, cuter than you two." xiao teased back, giving kaito a big "i told you so" smile. he really did think him and hana were cute, the cutest, even. they compliment each other well, and of course xiao would agree and say they were cute. it's not like he would say they weren't cute. he was confident in himself and hana, even if they weren't officially a couple, they definitely did make a cute couple.