"Is Choseung okay?" Sammi said, just as Shinae dropped to her bed. The latter blankly looked at Sammi, and  sighed.

"She's okay, her injuries aren't that bad and she'll be okay after a good night's rest," Sammi sighed in relief. 

"although you should check on her as well." Shinae said, a little slower than before. Sammi looked at her, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't think she'd be very welcoming to me." Sammi chuckled. 

"But it'll be nice to know that you still care for her and not siding with Aowen." Shinae said. Sammi turned to her, agape, but Shinae's facial expression remained so innocent.

So, so innocently oblivious. 

"Really, Shinae?" 

"I don't mean it in a really bad way, because I know you're just trying to be fair and all but sometimes Choseung thinks you're just siding with Aowen whenever they argue."

"I - look, I'm not really trying to side with anyone. It's just that sometimes Choseung may have acted reckless and she doesn't really understand what she's doing, and comparing that to Ao -"

Shinae shot her a look. It wasn't hostile, or even the slightest bit annoyed, but just blank. Sammi sighed. "Fine, maybe sometimes I acted too harsh to her, but it's not like I never acknowledged the good things she did."

"She doesn't cope well with tough love," Shinae said, "at least if you're seeing her and be kinder it may break down the walls between both of you."

"You're just too nice to her."

"You're too mean. It's just being kind."

"Knowing her she's probably thinking I'm just trying to pity her." 

Shinae paused at that. "But if you don't, she's going to think you're unfair and show favoritism."

"That's not what I've been trying to do! Ugh, this is annoying." Sammi groaned.

"It'll be nice for her to know that directly from you as well." Shinae said, smiling. 

"What if she doesn't think that way?"

"Well, that's something she can learn to grow in. Wouldn't cost you a bit to just be nicer to her." Shinae said, patting on the empty space on her bunk bed.

Sammi sighed, lying down next to the leader.

"You know, with the way you're always so brutally honest someone's gonna get offended."

"True, but I know you won't." Shinae said, patting the older's hair.

"Fair enough, thank you." Sammi said, quickly yanking Shinae's arm away.

"No worries." Although Shinae looked a little offended at the moment, it quickly turned into a playful smirk.

"If we do this often enough, people will start making nice fanfics about us too."

"Stop it," Sammi groaned, quickly leaving the bed. "you should check on the V App, Yoonbyul and Aowen are starting their vLIVE soon."

⇔

Yoonbyul stretched her back, moving around her arms and legs in a mini stretch workout. Aowen just stared at her, still looking slightly tired, but she seemed to be a lot more relaxed. They were both in one of the multipurpose room, with several staff busy going in and out.

"Did you drink the tonic?" Yoonbyul said.

"Yes, I'm more... fresh." Aowen said, a little slowly.

"That's good." Yoonbyul grinned.  Aowen can only give back a small smile at her.

It quickly reverted back to a more neutral face when the female producer approached them, holding several papers and giving it to them.

"So I think your manager should've briefed you both over the general structure of this vLIVE and some guidelines on what you can or cannot do, is that correct?" 

"Yep." Yoonbyul said.

"Alright, since this is your first live, the theme should be revolving around your comeback, some things that you like to do during your free time, and answering some questions." 

"Is it okay if... we can get a little bit out of the structure? Like if there's something funny, or one of the questions are not really out of the script."

"Because this is your first live, it'll be good  if we play this one safely first. If the questions are very controversial, because it's on real-time you can just choose to ignore them. Jokes are fine, just try not to go over the line with it. Did you watch the videos of other idols?"

"Yes." Yoonbyul said.

"Good, just kinda follow over those and you'll be fine. Be nice and kind, think of yourself like an ideal girlfriend taking people out on a date for a first time. Got it?"

"Okay." Yoonbyul nodded. Aowen also nodded, but quickly soured when the producer turned away. 

"It's okay, you don't need to do a lot of things if you're tired. Producer just wants this to be a good live." Yoonbyul said, placing an arm around her shoulder.

"I see. Then let's do our best." Aowen said, gently pushing Yoonbyul's arm away, her voice still unconvinced.

Regardless, she's just hoping for a smooth vLIVE.

"We're starting in 5 minutes." 

"Okay!"

⇔

"Oh... is this starting already?" Yoonbyul said, tapping at the phone screen. She started seeing the hearts that popped up above the finger button, with a stream of comments right next to it. Behind her, the producer and another staff nodded.

"Okay! Hi lovelies, I'm Ion, the main rapper from our group EMANON! Thanks for tuning in to today's vLIVE, and for today it's just going to be pretty chill, and probably just going to kinda answer your questions and tell you guys some stories..."

Yoonbyul looked up a little cautiously, and realized that Aowen was still not in the picture (something that the producer motioned to her about). "Oh! But I'm not alone, since we have Aowen-ie with us!" 

The blonde rapidly ran across the wooden floor, approaching Aowen at the corner (whom, for the life of her, could not figure out why they couldn't just start things with both of them together). But the latter quickly smiled, flashing a 'v' sign at the screen.

"Hello, snow fairy and vocal Aowen here." Aowen said, leaning closer to Yoonbyul. At the corner of her eye, she saw the producer quietly nod. She internally sighed.

Of the things that Aowen thought the company may have done right, this one is way on the spectrum of 'crap we can't trust these girls'. But anyways.

"Nowadays, I think after the comeback our schedule is pretty straightforward... we go to shows, do interviews, and things like that. Then after we get back we just practice and do evaluations. Why we do evaluations? It's just that we can improve and bring our best stuff to you guys~"

Yoonbyul said these things so sweetly, almost without a hint of irony or sarcasm. If anyone else in the group had said something like that, it would've been straight out bad. 

But Aowen just nodded, leaning even closer and linking her arms with the older even though she cringed internally, playing up her own idol image as the cute younger visual.

"Oh! Hm, ranking people from cleanest to least clean? Aowen, what do you think?" 

Aowen opened , but paused for a bit. "Well, I think the older unnies like Sammi, Shinae, and Yoriko keeps the apartment in check." 

"Yeah, but I think you're really clean too! Honestly the room with you, Sammi, and Shinae is so clean. I mean, Yoriko really helped with the other room."

"Is no one helping her?" 

"Well, I tend to work in the studio, and then I think Jiyoo does help her! Choseung does her best too, most of the time, but she mostly just does it all in one go, like once a month."

"That's good," Aowen said, nodding. "you all should be proud of yourself."

"Yeah, but I don't think we help her enough. Oooh! This is Riya from India. We're going international!" Yoonbyul said, turning her eyes to another comment.

"'I really like your new song. EMANON, fighting! Greetings from India.' Hi Riya, I'm glad you enjoyed our song! Thank you so much for supporting us~"

Aowen was slightly impressed, hearing Yoonbyul switch flawlessly between Korean and English. And maybe it does show in her face, because Yoonbyul turned to her, grinning. 

"Hey, it's really cool! We have a few international fans! ...I didn't expect to see that our song would be so popular outside as well, but it's great to see you guys. Love you all!" Yoonbyul quickly turned back, facing the camera.

And Aowen's mind wander a little, just as Yoonbyul began to chatter away. The whole vLIVE overall was uneventful, with the younger mostly responding to any question or statements (so she didn't look like she was so unengaged) as Yoonbyul continued to ramble about different stories without skipping a beat.

Aowen was still rather tired, after all. And that script was utter crap, in her mind, so part of her wasn't super into this. But also anyone who is close to Yoonbyul would know that the blonde's energy would just overpower even the most extroverted person out there. She could gracefully jump between these stories, re-telling them that even the most boring ones can seem so interesting.

No wonder she was chosen. Story is her art and her delivery is the craft. One can kind of wonder how she was such a beast on stage, but so lively and out there outside of it.

Maybe that's what happened when you're so full of talent and hard work. 

She thinks Yoonbyul is cool, with these things at hand... something she was not.

⇔

"That's a wrap! You all did a good job." The producer said, nodding at them.

"Thank you very much!" Both of them said, bowing at her. It didn't take a long time before the staffs (including their manager) left, and both Aowen and Yoonbyul  found themselves back home, into their room. Once Jung left, Yoonbyul turned to the younger, smiling widely. 

"We're done! We're done! Aowen, we're done!" The blonde shook Aowen's shoulder vigorously, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Yes," Aowen smiled. "unnie, you did really well. It seems like you enjoy it."

"Yeah, and I really like it, to be really honest. Makes me want to do more vLIVEs, honestly." Yoonbyul said, stretching her hands.

"Are you not tired right now?" 

"Well, not like right now after this, I'm pretty tired too," Yoonbyul giggled. "but honestly, hosting these kinds of things can be quite fun."

"That's very good to hear." Aowen said, nodding.

"Yeah, and people seem to like it too."

"The people?" 

"Yeah, I meant our fans. I think looking at their comments just made me feel really loved and encouraged... like our effort even throughout these difficult times weren't wasted, you know?" Yoonbyul said, grinning. 

Aowen paused a little. Although the vLIVE was almost like a blur, she could clearly remember certain comments that were... less than pleasant. A few of them seemed more ridiculous in nature, but she could clearly remember a bit more that were more than just slightly dumb.

"Honestly, the song and genre doesn't suit K-pop. Why bother?"

"This girl is honestly really noisy. Why not have princess Aowen speak? So rude."

"Ah... these two members are so extreme. Do EMANON not have anyone else who are good in variety? The whole group can have good music but their personalities are not there."

Annoying as it was, nothing quite disturbs her as one.

"This annoying b*tch should either kill herself or I'll do it for her. She doesn't deserve to exist."

"Are you... sure about that?" Aowen said, slightly slower. It's one thing to insult someone, but it's another thing to wish for their death. And comments usually scroll down really fast, so hopefully Yoonbyul didn't notice them, but negative comments can be really difficult to ignore.

"Yeah." Yoonbyul said, full of conviction.

"Well, I'm glad you felt that way. It's still a lot more important to be confident in yourself first and foremost, though." Aowen said.

"Absolutely." Yoonbyul said, walking away. She stopped at that moment, and turned to the girl.

"Hey, if you don't mind... want to join me and some of the girls watching some K-Drama?" 

Aowen looked at her weirdly at that moment. 

"No, it's okay, I think I needed some rest." She said, turning away.

"Oh, okay. Have a good sleep then." Yoonbyul nodded, smiling sadly. Aowen gave her a quick smile, and Yoonbyul closed the door.

Aowen sighed. It wasn't like she didn't want to watch or spend time with the others. But she knew that behind the door there would be a certain someone who would be looking at the same thing... and might not want to see her at that moment.

Not that Aowen didn't have her own feelings about the situation, but she knew it was best to take a rest. It's going to be a long week anyways.

Just when she was about to open the door though, the door swung backward, revealing a short-haired girl.

"Fala-jie?" 

⇔

"Ah, this is amazing. She's being all huffy around him but it's because she has cancer." Jiyoo scoffed, chewing on gum and tightening her side of the huge blanket. 

"And he's totally gonna buy it until it's already too late and then he's going to be all violent to the people around him. This is annoying." Choseung huffed, shoving in more jelly packets in .

"Well, it is a K-drama." Yoonbyul snorted. Four girls huddled together at the unused lower bunk bed, with a laptop in front of them. The screen changes to a girl in the waiting room. With tearful eyes, she slowly covered her face.

"I don't get why she can't just be honest with him," Choseung said. "it'll save them so much trouble." 

"Well," Yoriko said. "being honest can be quite difficult for a lot of people."

"Or the drama would end on episode 6."

"Yeah, but it's just for a while! After that they can actually do something before it's actually too late."

"People can have different definitions of how to love another person." Yoriko said, shrugging. Choseung looked at her with a tinge of confusion.

"Yoriko unnie you should stop being vague-"

Just in that moment, they heard a gentle knock on the door. Yoriko quickly paused the video, and opened the door. Behind them, a short-haired girl with glasses lightly stepped back. 

At that moment, there was silence between all of them.

"Sammi-unnie? What are you doing?" Yoriko said. 

"Uh, I just wanted to check on you all," Sammi said, rubbing her neck awkwardly. "but I think you are all good?"

Yoriko turned back, and made eye contact with Choseung. The girl scrunched her eyebrows, but Yoriko only made a gentle nod, and smiled knowingly.

"We're fine... just taking a break and watching some dramas." Choseung said, quickly turning away from the older members. 

"Oh, that's good," Sammi said, nodding awkwardly. "then, if you need help or anything... just knock on my door or text me and Shinae." 

Choseung nodded, her head still turned away. Yoriko and Yoonbyul smiled at the oldest, but Sammi could see the slight pity in their faces. Jiyoo looked at her with a raised eyebrows, and nonchalantly turned to the screen again.

"That's great." Yoriko said.

"Hope you all have a good rest tonight." Sammi said, trying to pull her best genuine smile.

"Yep, hope you also get a good rest." Yoriko said, and she closed the door.

But just as she almost closed it, Sammi could hear a small voice in her head.

Gotta try harder than that.

She quietly groaned. She knew exactly who's doing that, but it's almost midnight and she had no intention of picking up another fight when they just barely finished one.

⇔

"So, you watched over the battle today." The man said, sliding down some folders at the brown mahogany desk. The woman across him gave a quick nod, her eyes not looking away from the large desktop at her right.

"Nothing wrong with that." She said, taking the folder without looking.  

"Is that not the reason why you called me in right now?" He said. 

"Well, I do have questions, but I'd need to look at the report first." she said, pulling the folder up. There was a pause between them, as she read through the content and nodding. 

There were just the two of them, the only other sound being the analogue clock that ticked behind them. He looked around the room, but couldn't quite shake off the unsettling feeling of being inside with her. The air seemed so thick and heavy, and although the heater was on, he felt coldness at the tip of his hands and feet.

"You sure do love making people feel uncomfortable, Aeran." He said, pulling a lint from his jeans. 

"Not my intention, even if it came across that way - just to clear things up." Aeran said, looking at him. He looked up, staring straight at her gaze. She had a smile on her face, but it felt so empty, and her gaze was as cold as ever.

"You've always liked it that way." He said, flashing a smirk at her. Aeran turned away, lightly huffing.

"It's nothing personal, Mr. Choi."

"Then ask your questions." 

"You're very patient," Aeran chuckled. "I'm just wondering why did you agree on this duel, even knowing where they're both at."

"They both had a conflict and one of them wanted to prove themselves to the other. I can assure you they were both trained properly and are already at the stage where both of them can properly duel without causing a massive damage."

"The collateral damage was quite big though."

"Nothing the compound cannot fix."

"Fair enough. So you knew that Aowen was going to give up? If she hadn't, I can't assure you that we wouldn't have cut down on your salary for the reparations cost."

"It was kind of obvious she would," Jung said. "and even with the damage, you had the added benefit of being able to witness two of your girls' power in its small glory."

"It will be if applied properly, not just for some kind of showmanship." Aeran scoffed. 

"It was applied properly." Jung raised his eyebrows.

"A glorified catfight is not a proper application of their skills."

"If you think about it, they're blessed with camraderie that comes with it."

Aeran opened , but decided against it. Clearing , she said, "I suppose it's better than quite a lot of groups out there."

"Lots of female groups."

"Doesn't matter," Aeran said. "but I can see your point."

"Glad to hear," Jung said. He slightly leaned forward, "anymore questions?" 

"That'll be good for today. You can go." Aeran said.

"And I will." He said, turning away from her, from the room, and from the growing discomfort.

But somewhere in between the coldness and void, he could sense a slight tinge of pain.

author's note : yes, aowen may have been a bit more headstrong and stuck up (described by -ixora) but being realistic that would've landed her in more trouble with the public (esp. with her being a non-korean and their scandal with jiae) so i made her a bit more mellow. 

also! yes will try to bank chapters before the sem starts (woohoo i had like 5 weeks of break and wasted 2 already) and hopefully can produce quite a lot of stuff. excited to see where this story is going.