chapter fourteen
〈 ♞ 〉NIGHT CIRCUS02 NOVEMBER 2015
07:35 AM KST
07:35 AM KST
THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER
It’s too early to be thinking–to even be awake and moving–and Sookhyun groans as he shuffles through his morning routine on autopilot. He bumps into Seungheon in the bathroom, where he chokes on a mouthful of water and toothpaste when he hits him, and he apologizes quietly with a few pats on the back. He ends up mistaking Seungheon’s toothpaste for his own, but that’s not as big as a deal as brushing his teeth over the toilet. He doesn’t flinch when Seungheon grabs him by the hips to move him back in front of the sink and he doesn’t flinch when he opens his eyes and sees a face with sleep marks on his cheek from sleeping on Jiwool’s jacket all night. It reminds him of his high school days, falling asleep on his desk from studying all night only for his sisters and mother to scold him in the morning.
Sookhyun sighs, a few bits of foam escaping his mouth when he does so, and then grimaces. It’s too early to be doing any of this and then he finally steps foot outside the hotel five minutes to eight, and it’s freezing. He whines as he huddles in close to Seungheon, blessing the man for forcing him to wear his own large poofy jacket instead of the one he brought which was basically, well, his trench coat he was going to wear for the event on Wednesday and a hoodie. “Thanks, hyung,” he murmurs into Seungheon’s shoulder, smiling when he hears Seungheon laugh, sounding breathless, in response.
“Of course, Hyun.”
There’s a jostling right after, where Seungheon wiggles his shoulder to get his attention, and when Sookhyun looks up, he quickly catches sight of the rest of their group hovering next to two vans. Outfits are being piled into the back of one while cameras and small sound equipment are being loaded into the other. Min is talking to two men who he can only assume are the drivers and then there are a few other men talking to their managers he doesn’t recognize. They can’t be Chinese though, because their managers don’t really know the language in the first place.
“There you two are,” Jaesun breathes out. He’s finished loading a large box into the back of the second van with Yongha when he emerges. His cheeks are pink and he’s shed his jacket, tossing it into the middle seat where Sookhyun can see it’s close to toppling over the edge of the seat and onto the floor of the vehicle. “Are you ready to go?”
On instinct, he and Seungheon pat down their pockets, making sure they have their wallets, phones, and card keys, before they look to him and nod. “Where’s Suhwannie-hyung?” Sookhyun asks, looking around to see the other missing.
Jaesun tilts his head towards the van, smiling, almost as if he’s trying to stop himself from giggling. “He’s still sleepy and it’s cold so I told him to go pick a seat and nap while we get ready to go.” And then Jaesun stares at him a bit longer, eyeing him up and down, before he looks concerned. “Are you really that cold, Sookhyun? I thought Seungheon only brought that if it was freezing.”
“It is freezing,” Sookhyun whines, rubbing his hands together to stave off them becoming frozen sausages. His face is cold too, pretty much his whole head, but oh well. “I’m going to go sit next to hyung and–” He whines when Seungheon links arms with him to keep him in place. “I want to be shielded. It’s cold!”
“You should be getting used to it already,” Seungheon murmurs.
The words still Sookhyun. Memories of training in Jellyfish Entertainment and all the lessons he’s received about how he should and shouldn’t act in public flood his mind and, really, it isn’t all that cold as he first expected. It’s getting closer and closer to December but it’s not even the coldest of the season yet. He’s old enough and legal to get married. He should act more like his age.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, relaxing a bit as he says it. He takes in a deep breath before letting it all go in a big sigh.
Next to him, Seungheon simply stares at him, confused. “What for?”
Sookhyun bites the inside of his cheek, before he feels his phone buzz inside his pocket. He looks to his friend, an apologetic look in his eyes. “I’ll stop whining.”
That makes Seungheon freeze, Jaesun pausing next to them as he tries to pass them to reach the managers. They both stare at the youngest, confused and worried, before Seungheon speaks up again. “You can whine all you want,” is the first thing he says, causing Sookhyun to look to him again. “You’re the maknae.”
“Yeah,” Jaesun picks up, walking over to ruffle his hair, which Seungheon instantly reaches up to fix anyways because hairstyle is important. “You whine all you want. It is cold out here,” he affirms, looking over to see Jiwool and Hyemi jumping into their van next and Min trying to indiscreetly rub her hands together to keep warm. “So, you can go sit next to Suhwan if you want. You too, Seungheon. We’ll introduce you to the rest of the people here when we get to Houhai.”
On instinct, Sookhyun mouths the location, trying to practice his Chinese. It should be easy, considering his sisters forced him to go to a Chinese-immersion school when he was younger, but it’s been years since he’s actually studied the language until he met his Min-noona. “Houhai,” he murmurs out loud, before Seungheon is dragging him to their van. He lets him and he lets Seungheon gently nudge him to enter first, allowing him to peek inside and see Suhwan in the back corner leaning against the window sleeping. He smiles as he climbs in next, taking his seat next to him and looking expectantly to Seungheon who simply gives him a smile before leaving them.
Through the windows, he watches as Seungheon goes to Jaesun while Min follows after, the drivers going back to their respective vans and getting ready to leave. He stares at their driver for a few minutes standing outside the vehicle before taking out his phone, remembering he felt it buzz a few minutes earlier.
It’s a message from Jaehwan-hyung: ‘Sookie I heard you’re in China?’
Sookhyun stares at his phone confused, before typing back his reply: ‘Yes hyung. We’re here already.’ He watches the screen as his message shows Delivered underneath and then mere seconds later, he sees the thought bubble pop up showing Jaehwan is typing a message back: ‘We’re going to be there tomorrow for the Korea-China Song Festival~ are you going to have time to meet up?’
Sookhyun’s jaw drops, amazed, before looking to Jaesun still talking to everyone else outside the van. He didn’t know VIXX was going to the same festival they were going to. He wonders if Jaesun knows.
‘We’re going to be in the same festival, hyung!’
Almost immediately, the thought bubbles pop back up.
‘Seriously?! That’s awesome! I guess we’re going to see you there soon!’
Sookhyun can’t stop himself from smiling. His heart is racing and more memories of hanging out with the soon-to-be-named VIXX members in Jellyfish Entertainment flood his mind. It’s been a while since he’s seen any of them but the one who sticks in his mind the most is Hongbin. He’s received messages from all of them congratulating him on his debut and the shock that he and Jaesun are in the same group, but it always goes back to Hongbin and his smile. Sookhyun almost whines to himself, not wanting to confront the man, but it’s going to be close to impossible to keep avoiding him at this rate.
‘It’s going to be great seeing all of you again~’
“I’m sorry,” Seungheon immediately says, before bowing, and stopping himself short of standing right next to Jaesun. He doesn’t want to be standing exactly equal to him because he’s not a leader but it doesn’t matter anyways because within seconds, he feels a push to his back and now he’s standing between Min and Jaesun, all in one line. “My name is Seungheon of Night Circus.”
The man in front of him laughs before returning the gesture. “Hello, my name is Kwon Soonwook. I will be in charge of directing your music videos.”
That catches Seungheon off-guard. He turns to Jaesun and then Min, wanting to ask ‘our music videos?’ but then Min smiles and talks instead. “Thank you and your staff for taking the time out of your busy schedules to help us.” Oh, did he mean for the ones in Korean and then Chinese?
“Oh,” Soonwook says, giving them a brief nod as he eyes them. “It’s a pleasure to be working with a new group. I’ve heard some good things about you.”
“I’ve heard that you might’ve heard the same good things over and over again while our CEO was drunk,” Jeanne slips out, giving all of them a fake sheepish smile, before sliding into the first van. “Just saying.”
In front of them, Soonwook simply shakes his head. “Yeah,” he mutters, before he’s shrugging. “Well, anyways, we’re heading to Houhai?” he asks, looking to Min next to him and Seungheon looks over to see his smaller leader nodding with a small smile on her face.
“Yeah,” she answers in Korean before repeating the location’s name in her native tongue, before switching back again. “It will take about thirty minutes to arrive to the location CEO-nim requested.”
“But if I’m not mistaken, she left the actual location filming up to you,” Soonwook mentions with a smile, catching both Seungheon and Jaesun off-guard. They look to each other confused, Soonwook and Min continuing to talk about the location, and Seungheon faintly catches Min’s words of “I visited a long time ago. I barely remember the area, but it should be pretty this time of year.”
“I feel like you don’t need to be here,” Seungheon whispers to Jaesun, leaning over the slightest bit because Min keeps reaching out to touch the back of his thigh to keep him in place. “Same with the managers.”
“Yeah,” Jaesun murmurs back, taking the opportunity to lean in Seungheon’s direction but stare at the conversation happening between Min and Soonwook. “This is literally her territory. Why are we even here?”
“Because you’re a team,” Hyunchul suddenly whispers, leaning into the little space between them to give his input. It makes Seungheon and Jaesun jump, causing Seungheon to bump a little into Min’s hand, and it shakes her and Soonwook out of their conversation about the possible filming locations of Houhai. “How about we head to the location already, Soonwook-nim?” he asks, tilting his head a little in respect.
“Ah, yes,” Soonwook says, looking around to see his crew has slowly started to disperse. “Would it be alright if I continued talking to Min-sshi here? Which van will she be riding in?”
Seungheon jumps when Min suddenly slaps her hand against his leg. He gives Jaesun a weird look, which he returns just as quickly, before they feel simultaneous pats on their shoulders. “Seungheon, go with Min and the girls,” Hyunchul decides, giving all of them a wide smile they all know is not his normal.
“Yes,” Sunyoung adds in, laughing, as she grabs a hold of Jaesun’s arm and starts dragging him to the second van. “We’ll join the rest of your crew in the second one, Soonwook-sshi.”
“Okay,” Seungheon spits out, when Min suddenly links arms with him and keeps him close. He looks to her confused and she’s just smiling pleasantly at Soonwook. Her grip on him is tight though and he still can’t figure her out after all this time.
“Thank you,” Soonwook says, before gesturing towards the vans.
Seungheon lets Min lead them to the van first, before she settles in the middle-back side seat and he climbs into the back. He sits between a confused Jiwool and Hyemi and they stare as Soonwook takes the other side seat across from Min as Hyunchul takes the front. While Min talks to the driver briefly, Seungheon leans over into Jiwool’s space, whispering, “What is she saying?”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Seungheon pokes it as Jiwool finally speaks. “Something about waiting then going.” She looks just as confused though, whispering. “Why are you here?”
“Yeah,” Hyemi adds in, all of them trying to remain quiet as Min continues to talk to Soonwook. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Seungheon mutters, staring hard at the way Min seems to be withdrawing into herself but also trying not to. “Is she okay?”
Jiwool shrugs then, staring at Soonwook with an intensity Seungheon has only seen a few times before. “He’s a stranger to her and she has to engage in prolong conversation.”
Ah, that’s right.
“Jiwool, stop staring at me, yeah? I see you,” Soonwook suddenly says, before all of them turn to stare at her with wide eyes, confused. But Jiwool is smiling brightly and Soonwook is laughing. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“You know him?” Seungheon asks, surprised.
Jiwool does a weird shrug and shake of the head, though she’s still smiling. “Through SM, oppa,” she answers, glancing at Seungheon, before looking back to Soonwook. “I didn’t know you would be here too.”
“Well, you know your CEO,” Soonwook says with a laugh, settling back in his seat to take in the surroundings they’re driving past. “She’s a persistent one.”
“I guess so,” Jiwool says, and Seungheon takes the chance to reach out and touch Min’s shoulder. They catch her attention easily and smile when she reaches up with a hand to gently pat Seungheon’s on her shoulder. They share a look with Hyemi who’s still a little confused, but then the rest of the ride goes on in–almost–silence. Thankfully. All they hear is Jeanne murmuring suggestions and ideas to Yongha in their seats behind the driver and Hyunchul, Seungheon humming when he eventually hears in English, “Au Naturel.”
“Where’s noona?” Suhwan mumbles, a sharp turn making him knock his head into the window and waking him up. There’s somebody he doesn’t recognize sitting on the other side of Sookhyun and he stares at the man briefly before looking to Sookhyun who’s dozing off and Jaesun in front of them who’s looking over his shoulder at him. He’s removing an ear bud, so Suhwan looks to Sunyoung who’s sitting in the front seat, past another unrecognizable man. “Where’s noona?”
“Min’s in the other car,” Jaesun answers, reaching behind the seat to gently pat his knee. “We switched spots last minute.”
“Oh,” Suhwan murmurs, nodding, as Sookhyun’s head finally plops down onto his shoulder and he closes his eyes again. He thought she was going to ride with them while Jaesun rides in the other van, but then, wait. He opens his eyes again, looking around and not seeing Seungheon either. “Where’s hyung?” he asks, reaching out to tap Jaesun’s shoulder and get his attention.
Jaesun hums as he looks over his shoulder. “He’s with the girls,” he answers and Suhwan frowns, eyebrows pinched together unintentionally. “Don’t worry. It’s not much longer until we arrive there.”
Suhwan nods, looking to him briefly again. “Okay, hyung.”
Houhai is pretty in the morning. The waters are sparkling and there are already a lot of visitors walking along the lake. Even though the ride was only thirty minutes, it feels nice to stretch his legs, sighing as he hears his knee joints pop with the movement. Seungheon hums as he turns and instinctively drapes his arm around Jiwool, the person who’s closest to him. She doesn’t say anything as she looks around and Seungheon counts it as a victory.
“There are a lot of restaurants around here,” she murmurs. “And foreigners.”
“This area is actually pretty popular with foreigners,” Min says, both Seungheon and Jiwool turning to face her. She’s looking around too, but there’s a peaceful expression to her eyes, like she’s savoring the moment. “A lot of establishments took the time to build new things around here and it’s attracted a lot of people. It’s a nice place.”
“This will be perfect for filming,” Soonwook comments, as he stands a few feet away and stares at the entire area. “We could do a time-lapse. Maybe film the majority of it at night because of your lyrics. The night life would be nice to film too.”
“That would be pretty,” Min affirms, a genuine smile on her face.
There’s a blanket of silence that falls around them as they take in their new surroundings. Hyemi is wandering off towards the lake while Min and Soonwook continue to talk about possible scenes and how to film certain expressions, and Seungheon glances over every few minutes to see that Min has finally relaxed. She’s speaking to him like a professional should and he wonders if this is what their CEOs saw in her when they casted her. She glows in her hometown and Seungheon just watches until the rest of their group shows up, having been caught behind traffic and separated earlier.
It takes a couple of hours to set everything up, to change coats and shoes and to put on makeup, and Seungheon feels as cold as the night before when they flew in to China in the first place. Everything they’re wearing looks and feels thinner than what they actually own and he’s jealous Min and Suhwan get to wear scarves when the rest of them can’t. Though, he guesses he should be thankful. They have those hand warmers stuffed in their pockets in case it gets too cold.
“There are going to be several takes,” Soonwook announces. He’s holding onto his camera while it’s attached to the stabilizer and the other two men are hovering around him with other equipment Seungheon recognizes but doesn’t know the name of. “At least seven, one with each member as the focus.” He looks to all of them before landing eyes on Seungheon first. “Then we’ll do group shots, preferably when night falls. We’ll take breaks when necessary. Shall we get started?”
Seungheon smiles. This is going to be fun.
The closer the sun reaches its peak in the sky, the warmer the weather becomes. It doesn’t become the slightest uncomfortable. Instead, it warms Jiwool’s cheeks as she lets the sun warm her face in the chill air. She’s sitting on a bench near the lake, where a boat carrying several people laze past her as they take in the sights, and she listens for her cue in the song as it plays loudly for the entirety of their area to hear.
“All my fear, inside,” she sings, as she slowly shifts her gaze down to her lap. “All my hate, inside.”
Sookhyun’s voice filters through next, strong and powerful, and she stays in her spot before looking out over the lake. There’s the beautiful harmony of Suhwan and Sookhyun singing the last few lines before she hears Soonwook yell out, “Cut!”
Jiwool immediately looks over to see Soonwook covering the screen of his camera to see the film better so she takes it upon herself to go over and look at it with him. There are images of her walking down along the shoreline before she finally sits on the bench and closes her eyes. She tilts her head up before singing her last few lines and she hums, partially satisfied with the shot. She could’ve moved a bit differently and changed the direction where she was looking.
“Let’s do it a couple more times,” Soonwook murmurs, as Jiwool nods immediately, seemingly on the same page as her. “Let’s do it while the lighting is at its brightest.”
“Yes, sir,” Jiwool says, immediately walking away back towards the far end of the strip of land they’re on. Yongha comes jogging up to her to touch up her makeup and hair and they have to stop halfway because he grunts in annoyance and it makes her almost laugh and get lip gloss all over her cheek. “Sorry,” she murmurs, closing an eye when he fusses with her hair next.
“Just stay still,” Yongha mutters. Compared to the rest of them, Yongha, Jeanne, and the rest of the videography crew are sweating. She feels bad but she knows filming a music video takes a lot of work. Within minutes, Yongha is taking a step back to appraise her before he’s urging her to walk along with him. “I’m going to make sure everything looks good at your starting point,” he informs, like he doesn’t say this every time he talks to one of them.
“Yes, sir,” Jiwool answers again, smiling when Yongha rolls his eyes at her.
“You’re a piece of work, you know?”
“Aw, you’re finally opening up to me,” she says with a wider smile. It only makes Yongha tsk at her before he’s staring intently at her lips and probably making sure she didn’t mess it up. But she knows how to work around makeup by now. “Don’t worry, oppa. I got it,” she reassures, watching as he sighs, a bit petulantly, before nodding.
“Compared to Min and Suhwan, you’re all pretty natural with the whole makeup thing,” he confesses, looking ahead of them and to the people walking past them. “It makes working with all of you a bit easier. You’re not all newbies.”
Jiwool laughs as she slows to a stop, finally reaching her generally destination. “Well,” she says, “We are all rookies though.” She stills as Yongha fusses more over her appearance, before fixing her clothes, and then he’s staring down at her with little to no emotion in his eyes.
“Eh” is all he says and Jiwool hopes Soonwook doesn’t record her laughing at Yongha incredulously as he walks away.
Rapping in some obscure part of some random area isn’t new for Seungheon or Hyemi, but finding a location that fits their part of the song is a bit more difficult than they’re used to. Hyemi had already been in a music video, knows what she needs to do to get her best angles and perform the lyrics as desired, but worrying about their locations as well as figuring out the lyrics in another language is a bit difficult. For Min, everything is different except the lyrics and, for Jaesun, well, everything is new for him.
It throws the rappers off their game and while they mouth the words to the vocalists’ lyrics, they each prepare themselves for their only parts in the song. They all come at different times and at one point, they’re all gathered together facing different directions because apparently that looks good on camera. It’s different compared to Jiwool, Suhwan, and Sookhyun, but then again, Jiwool’s lyrics are everywhere.
By the time they finish, it’s close to two in the morning. All the scenes that needed to be filmed have been done, both Chinese and Korean, and now all Soonwook needs to do is compile it all together with their song playing with it and, technically, make it all look nice. The music video is basically done though and Min feels like it’s surreal. She finally finished filming one proper music video in a day and she sits, on that same bench Jiwool was sitting on earlier in the afternoon, and just takes it all in.
The city lights are pretty at night, with the bustling of the bars and the closing of restaurants. She hopes that Jiwool and Jaesun with their limited Chinese and abundant English are able to find their way to the place she ordered their dinner through the phone. The place should still be open though, according to what passersby said earlier in the evening.
Away near the parked vans, their managers are talking to Soonwook and his crew and Min doesn’t need to look around to know that the rest of her group is wandering around the lake as well. They’re taking the time to relax and take in the nightlife and she wonders if they even deserve that, so soon into their debut. She’s heard of stories of nonstop promotions and nonstop schedules, but she feels like they’re relaxing more than normal and getting a little more than normal, even without proper pay, and it doesn’t feel right.
Suddenly, someone sits next to her on the bench. The person bumps shoulders with her simultaneously and she laughs as she turns and sees sparkling eyes staring back at her. There’s a black mask covering the lower half of his face, but it’s Lu Han with a backwards snapback on and a dark jacket, hands in his pockets. “Hi there,” she says, quietly, still a bit surprised to finally see him again after so long.
“Hey,” Lu Han murmurs, before he’s looking out towards the lake. He stays hunched over compared to her relaxed form, back resting against the back of the bench, and she wonders how long it’s been. “I recognize him,” he says, chancing a glance back over to where the others are, towards Soonwook. “I’ve seen him at SM before.”
“He directed our music video,” Min informs, staring at them over his shoulder, before looking at him curiously. “Did they see you come here?”
“Pretty sure he did,” Lu Han answers, before Min waves off Sunyoung’s concerned stare.
“Way to make my managers worry,” Min mutters. It makes Lu Han laugh though, so she shakes her head affectionately. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the café.”
Lu Han shrugs as he finally relaxes, leaning against the back of the bench, and unhooks the left side of his facemask, towards her. Min hates how handsome he is. She’s surrounded by beautiful people and that’s unfair. “Sorry too. It’s okay though. Lao Gao said I had one too many Americanos today,” he says with a laugh.
“You probably did,” Min concedes with her own soft laugh, leaning over the slightest bit to touch shoulders with him. She can’t help it. If she likes a person as a friend, she’s touchy, almost like Sookhyun. But Lu Han doesn’t do anything to push her off, so she stays there, staring out over the lake with him.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Lu Han muses, minutes later. He’s glancing at her out of the corners of his eyes but she doesn’t look back, not really wanting to anyways. “What’s wrong? You look different with makeup on.”
“Thanks,” Min quips back, causing a chuckle to escape from Lu Han’s lips. “I’m just tired.”
“And I recognize that saying,” Lu Han retorts. “Don’t keep thoughts to yourself. It becomes dangerous.”
Without meaning to, Min sighs but doesn’t say much else afterwards. She just leans more onto him, seeking comfort, and he lets her. When people pass by them, Lu Han tilts his head down and towards her, hoping to cover his face without putting the mask back on, and Min simply waves to them to greet them politely. Though, not very many people pay attention to them at this late hour.
“You look like you’re on a date,” Jiwool suddenly pipes up, teasing, and it makes Min and Lu Han part instantly. They look over their shoulders surprised to see Jiwool smiling brightly down at them, with cartons of food in her hands and Jaesun next to her. She looks to both of them before giving Min one of the cartons and a pair of chopsticks. “Eat up, unnie. We have to find the others too.”
And just like that, they’re gone. Min’s stomach rumbles and Lu Han laughs as he helps her with her food. “You look like you’ve lost weight too,” he murmurs, watching as she takes a bite of her food. “Is it because of your company?”
“No,” Min mutters in-between bites. “They like us to eat whatever we want as long as we look good for the recordings and everything.” She heaves a big sigh after a few minutes, the confession leaving her lips unintentionally. “I just haven’t been eating much.”
“Don’t tell me you’re doing Minseok’s diet regimen.”
“Not necessarily,” Min mumbles, though she does feel her cheeks heat up. That was a quick assumption, but he’s not exactly wrong.
“You’re going red. You never go red, Min.”
“I just feel,” Min trails off, unsure, as she stares at her food before looking to Lu Han and then away again.
Lu Han sighs in front of her, reaching in her container and grabbing a noodle with his fingers before eating it himself. “Minseok’s diet isn’t safe. Yixing and I tried convincing him to stop it, but he won’t. He insists it’s the only thing that works for him and you’re already tiny.”
Min winces at the word, carefully keeping her head down, so he can’t see her expression.
“I can assure you that whatever weight you’re at or become, you’re going to be okay and people will still love you for it. Just don’t become so underweight all I’m going to be able to see are your bones.”
“Hyunchul-oppa is giving you the stink eye,” Jiwool comments as she comes to sit next to them on Min’s free side. She’s smiling though before she starts eating her own food. “But that’s okay. Stay however long you like, oppa.”
Min stays silent at Jiwool’s presence, Lu Han’s words tumbling around in her head, and she continues to eat her food one small bite at a time. She continues to let Lu Han eat from her food, one noodle at a time, before she simply gathers a big mouthful and holds it up to his face. He stares at it, then to her, before he shakes his head. “You eat that.”
Min stares at him, before she’s dropping her food and turning so she can include Jiwool into their group too. She’s managed to keep it to herself, but Lu Han was able to sniff it out of her in less than fifteen minutes, probably ten if she was actually counting. “How are the others doing?” she asks Jiwool, hearing her hum in response. “Do they like their food?”
“They love Chinese food,” Jiwool answers with a smile, before it’s dropping, because Lu Han is grabbing Min’s container of food and holding up a large portion of her meal up to her lips. She frowns. “What’s wrong? What are you doing?”
“I owe her” is all Lu Han answers before he nudges the noodles against Min’s mouth and she opens it. She eats as much as she can from that one bite and Jiwool watches as the corners of Min’s lips turn up the littlest bit when Lu Han pokes at her bottom lip with the chopsticks.
“Unnie?” Jiwool calls, catching her attention. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Min answers quickly, taking her food back from Lu Han and eating it as earnestly as she can. She leans against Jiwool’s shoulder immediately after, trying not to be in the way of her eating her own food. “We should all visit here as often as we can,” she says, smiling more when Jiwool hums in agreement.
“You’re just saying that because oppa is here.”
“We don’t have to see him every time we come here.”
“But every time we come here we do see him.”
“It’s possible to live without seeing him once when we come here.”
“You know I’m still right here,” Lu Han protests, pouting, when both Min and Jiwool laugh and then say “Oh well.” But when Min sneaks a glance at him, he’s smiling again, relaxed against the bench and just taking a breather.
“Stay as long as you need,” Min says, after a few silent minutes, kicking her leg to the side lightly to nudge his own. She knows he doesn’t get much time to himself anymore. “Relax. We’ll be here a while.”
“Thanks,” Lu Han hums, eventually singing one of his songs, but it’s something new that Min hasn’t heard before.
“Houhai?” Hyemi asks, after she swallows a mouthful of food. She turns to Jaesun for confirmation, watching as he shakes his head. “Houhai?”
“You’re putting the stress on the wrong syllable,” Jaesun says. They’re sitting on another bench, while Seungheon, Sookhyun, and Suhwan are sitting somewhere on the grass near the shoreline, and he repeats the name of the place a couple of times before Hyemi repeats it.
It takes a few more tries, but then Hyemi is moving to other words, other lyrics, and she knows she’s messing up the pronunciation when Jaesun scrunches his nose for the third time. “I’ll practice later,” Hyemi eventually ends up muttering, looking around for Min, only to see her still sitting on the bench with Jiwool and a guy who she assumes is Lu Han. She’s small compared to them.
“Before you ask,” Jaesun mumbles, glancing in their direction before sighing and taking out his cell phone. He pulls up his messages but Hyemi doesn’t know who he’s texting. “I’m not going to get involved in that.”
Hyemi scoffs, as she takes out her own phone and is surprised to see a message waiting for her. “Like you aren’t already are,” she forces out, before she registers Minho’s name on her screen with New Message waiting underneath it. If she acts any different, then Jaesun doesn’t do anything about it, thankfully.
‘I’m sorry I haven’t been responding lately, but it’s too late anyways. It makes sense though, right? Anyways, maybe I’ll talk to you later. Or something’
It’s not the message Hyemi has been expecting–in fact, she doesn’t know what she was expecting–, but she still doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He didn’t even answer her question about the picture he sent to her of her and some other guy last week. It had been a picture of her and Jaesun walking away, to a nearby shop from the photographer’s studio hoping to get some smoothies for them and the rest of their group, but she didn’t know Jiho was in the area too.
She doesn’t even know how to respond to the message. She just sits there, staring at it, because she doesn’t understand what he’s trying to say. She looks up to Jaesun, questions at the tip of her tongue, but then she sees him on the phone, voice low as he speaks into the receiver and is staring straight at Min who’s looking back at them. She refrains from rolling her eyes. Of course, these two would call each other instead of walking to the other.
“Tell Lu-gege to have a safe trip, yeah?” Jaesun suddenly says, Hyemi watching as they give each other a simple wave. “And be wary of cameras.”
There’s laughter after a moment of silence and Hyemi stares at each of them curiously before she can see Lu Han gently caressing the back of Min’s head, like those older would do to others younger than them in affection, and getting up. He pokes Jiwool in the cheek before putting the mask back on his face and walking away with his head down.
When Hyemi looks back to Jaesun, he’s staring down at his phone again, typing messages, and then her own phone lights up with a new text. ‘We should go, guys. It’s getting too cold,’ says a text from Min.
‘You’re only saying that because Han-gege is gone now,’ says a message from Jaesun.
‘Wait, Luhan-sunbaenim was here?!’ comes one from Sookhyun before it’s followed up with ‘Luhan-sunbaenim is kind’ by Suhwan.
Seungheon’s is next with ‘you’re so easy to read, minnie’ and then Jiwool’s ‘wasn’t this a date?! unnie why don’t you answer me?!!!?!’
‘I’m right next to you and no.’
‘Hyemi’s right next to me and she’s not responding to any of these messages.’
Hyemi immediately looks up after that, seeing Jaesun’s cheeky smile, and she laughs when he does, amused with their group chat. ‘Let’s be civilized people and go back to the hotel and get some sleep,’ she answers, which she gets a chorus of ‘booooooooo’ from Jiwool and Seungheon, before Jaesun is laughing some more and adding, ‘Don’t we still have other stuff to do, Min?’
‘Oh, that’s right,’ Min says, after a few more seconds. ‘Self-camera. I don’t really know, but let’s go back.’
‘That’s what I’ve been saying!’
‘Actually, I’ve been saying that.’
‘Wait is nobody going to mention unnie and Lu-oppa because I think I crashed whatever was going on between them.’
‘Guys’
‘Unnie are yoU LEAVING ME GUYS’
Sookhyun sighs, a few bits of foam escaping his mouth when he does so, and then grimaces. It’s too early to be doing any of this and then he finally steps foot outside the hotel five minutes to eight, and it’s freezing. He whines as he huddles in close to Seungheon, blessing the man for forcing him to wear his own large poofy jacket instead of the one he brought which was basically, well, his trench coat he was going to wear for the event on Wednesday and a hoodie. “Thanks, hyung,” he murmurs into Seungheon’s shoulder, smiling when he hears Seungheon laugh, sounding breathless, in response.
“Of course, Hyun.”
There’s a jostling right after, where Seungheon wiggles his shoulder to get his attention, and when Sookhyun looks up, he quickly catches sight of the rest of their group hovering next to two vans. Outfits are being piled into the back of one while cameras and small sound equipment are being loaded into the other. Min is talking to two men who he can only assume are the drivers and then there are a few other men talking to their managers he doesn’t recognize. They can’t be Chinese though, because their managers don’t really know the language in the first place.
“There you two are,” Jaesun breathes out. He’s finished loading a large box into the back of the second van with Yongha when he emerges. His cheeks are pink and he’s shed his jacket, tossing it into the middle seat where Sookhyun can see it’s close to toppling over the edge of the seat and onto the floor of the vehicle. “Are you ready to go?”
On instinct, he and Seungheon pat down their pockets, making sure they have their wallets, phones, and card keys, before they look to him and nod. “Where’s Suhwannie-hyung?” Sookhyun asks, looking around to see the other missing.
Jaesun tilts his head towards the van, smiling, almost as if he’s trying to stop himself from giggling. “He’s still sleepy and it’s cold so I told him to go pick a seat and nap while we get ready to go.” And then Jaesun stares at him a bit longer, eyeing him up and down, before he looks concerned. “Are you really that cold, Sookhyun? I thought Seungheon only brought that if it was freezing.”
“It is freezing,” Sookhyun whines, rubbing his hands together to stave off them becoming frozen sausages. His face is cold too, pretty much his whole head, but oh well. “I’m going to go sit next to hyung and–” He whines when Seungheon links arms with him to keep him in place. “I want to be shielded. It’s cold!”
“You should be getting used to it already,” Seungheon murmurs.
The words still Sookhyun. Memories of training in Jellyfish Entertainment and all the lessons he’s received about how he should and shouldn’t act in public flood his mind and, really, it isn’t all that cold as he first expected. It’s getting closer and closer to December but it’s not even the coldest of the season yet. He’s old enough and legal to get married. He should act more like his age.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, relaxing a bit as he says it. He takes in a deep breath before letting it all go in a big sigh.
Next to him, Seungheon simply stares at him, confused. “What for?”
Sookhyun bites the inside of his cheek, before he feels his phone buzz inside his pocket. He looks to his friend, an apologetic look in his eyes. “I’ll stop whining.”
That makes Seungheon freeze, Jaesun pausing next to them as he tries to pass them to reach the managers. They both stare at the youngest, confused and worried, before Seungheon speaks up again. “You can whine all you want,” is the first thing he says, causing Sookhyun to look to him again. “You’re the maknae.”
“Yeah,” Jaesun picks up, walking over to ruffle his hair, which Seungheon instantly reaches up to fix anyways because hairstyle is important. “You whine all you want. It is cold out here,” he affirms, looking over to see Jiwool and Hyemi jumping into their van next and Min trying to indiscreetly rub her hands together to keep warm. “So, you can go sit next to Suhwan if you want. You too, Seungheon. We’ll introduce you to the rest of the people here when we get to Houhai.”
On instinct, Sookhyun mouths the location, trying to practice his Chinese. It should be easy, considering his sisters forced him to go to a Chinese-immersion school when he was younger, but it’s been years since he’s actually studied the language until he met his Min-noona. “Houhai,” he murmurs out loud, before Seungheon is dragging him to their van. He lets him and he lets Seungheon gently nudge him to enter first, allowing him to peek inside and see Suhwan in the back corner leaning against the window sleeping. He smiles as he climbs in next, taking his seat next to him and looking expectantly to Seungheon who simply gives him a smile before leaving them.
Through the windows, he watches as Seungheon goes to Jaesun while Min follows after, the drivers going back to their respective vans and getting ready to leave. He stares at their driver for a few minutes standing outside the vehicle before taking out his phone, remembering he felt it buzz a few minutes earlier.
It’s a message from Jaehwan-hyung: ‘Sookie I heard you’re in China?’
Sookhyun stares at his phone confused, before typing back his reply: ‘Yes hyung. We’re here already.’ He watches the screen as his message shows Delivered underneath and then mere seconds later, he sees the thought bubble pop up showing Jaehwan is typing a message back: ‘We’re going to be there tomorrow for the Korea-China Song Festival~ are you going to have time to meet up?’
Sookhyun’s jaw drops, amazed, before looking to Jaesun still talking to everyone else outside the van. He didn’t know VIXX was going to the same festival they were going to. He wonders if Jaesun knows.
‘We’re going to be in the same festival, hyung!’
Almost immediately, the thought bubbles pop back up.
‘Seriously?! That’s awesome! I guess we’re going to see you there soon!’
Sookhyun can’t stop himself from smiling. His heart is racing and more memories of hanging out with the soon-to-be-named VIXX members in Jellyfish Entertainment flood his mind. It’s been a while since he’s seen any of them but the one who sticks in his mind the most is Hongbin. He’s received messages from all of them congratulating him on his debut and the shock that he and Jaesun are in the same group, but it always goes back to Hongbin and his smile. Sookhyun almost whines to himself, not wanting to confront the man, but it’s going to be close to impossible to keep avoiding him at this rate.
‘It’s going to be great seeing all of you again~’
“I’m sorry,” Seungheon immediately says, before bowing, and stopping himself short of standing right next to Jaesun. He doesn’t want to be standing exactly equal to him because he’s not a leader but it doesn’t matter anyways because within seconds, he feels a push to his back and now he’s standing between Min and Jaesun, all in one line. “My name is Seungheon of Night Circus.”
The man in front of him laughs before returning the gesture. “Hello, my name is Kwon Soonwook. I will be in charge of directing your music videos.”
That catches Seungheon off-guard. He turns to Jaesun and then Min, wanting to ask ‘our music videos?’ but then Min smiles and talks instead. “Thank you and your staff for taking the time out of your busy schedules to help us.” Oh, did he mean for the ones in Korean and then Chinese?
“Oh,” Soonwook says, giving them a brief nod as he eyes them. “It’s a pleasure to be working with a new group. I’ve heard some good things about you.”
“I’ve heard that you might’ve heard the same good things over and over again while our CEO was drunk,” Jeanne slips out, giving all of them a fake sheepish smile, before sliding into the first van. “Just saying.”
In front of them, Soonwook simply shakes his head. “Yeah,” he mutters, before he’s shrugging. “Well, anyways, we’re heading to Houhai?” he asks, looking to Min next to him and Seungheon looks over to see his smaller leader nodding with a small smile on her face.
“Yeah,” she answers in Korean before repeating the location’s name in her native tongue, before switching back again. “It will take about thirty minutes to arrive to the location CEO-nim requested.”
“But if I’m not mistaken, she left the actual location filming up to you,” Soonwook mentions with a smile, catching both Seungheon and Jaesun off-guard. They look to each other confused, Soonwook and Min continuing to talk about the location, and Seungheon faintly catches Min’s words of “I visited a long time ago. I barely remember the area, but it should be pretty this time of year.”
“I feel like you don’t need to be here,” Seungheon whispers to Jaesun, leaning over the slightest bit because Min keeps reaching out to touch the back of his thigh to keep him in place. “Same with the managers.”
“Yeah,” Jaesun murmurs back, taking the opportunity to lean in Seungheon’s direction but stare at the conversation happening between Min and Soonwook. “This is literally her territory. Why are we even here?”
“Because you’re a team,” Hyunchul suddenly whispers, leaning into the little space between them to give his input. It makes Seungheon and Jaesun jump, causing Seungheon to bump a little into Min’s hand, and it shakes her and Soonwook out of their conversation about the possible filming locations of Houhai. “How about we head to the location already, Soonwook-nim?” he asks, tilting his head a little in respect.
“Ah, yes,” Soonwook says, looking around to see his crew has slowly started to disperse. “Would it be alright if I continued talking to Min-sshi here? Which van will she be riding in?”
Seungheon jumps when Min suddenly slaps her hand against his leg. He gives Jaesun a weird look, which he returns just as quickly, before they feel simultaneous pats on their shoulders. “Seungheon, go with Min and the girls,” Hyunchul decides, giving all of them a wide smile they all know is not his normal.
“Yes,” Sunyoung adds in, laughing, as she grabs a hold of Jaesun’s arm and starts dragging him to the second van. “We’ll join the rest of your crew in the second one, Soonwook-sshi.”
“Okay,” Seungheon spits out, when Min suddenly links arms with him and keeps him close. He looks to her confused and she’s just smiling pleasantly at Soonwook. Her grip on him is tight though and he still can’t figure her out after all this time.
“Thank you,” Soonwook says, before gesturing towards the vans.
Seungheon lets Min lead them to the van first, before she settles in the middle-back side seat and he climbs into the back. He sits between a confused Jiwool and Hyemi and they stare as Soonwook takes the other side seat across from Min as Hyunchul takes the front. While Min talks to the driver briefly, Seungheon leans over into Jiwool’s space, whispering, “What is she saying?”
Biting the inside of her cheek, Seungheon pokes it as Jiwool finally speaks. “Something about waiting then going.” She looks just as confused though, whispering. “Why are you here?”
“Yeah,” Hyemi adds in, all of them trying to remain quiet as Min continues to talk to Soonwook. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Seungheon mutters, staring hard at the way Min seems to be withdrawing into herself but also trying not to. “Is she okay?”
Jiwool shrugs then, staring at Soonwook with an intensity Seungheon has only seen a few times before. “He’s a stranger to her and she has to engage in prolong conversation.”
Ah, that’s right.
“Jiwool, stop staring at me, yeah? I see you,” Soonwook suddenly says, before all of them turn to stare at her with wide eyes, confused. But Jiwool is smiling brightly and Soonwook is laughing. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“You know him?” Seungheon asks, surprised.
Jiwool does a weird shrug and shake of the head, though she’s still smiling. “Through SM, oppa,” she answers, glancing at Seungheon, before looking back to Soonwook. “I didn’t know you would be here too.”
“Well, you know your CEO,” Soonwook says with a laugh, settling back in his seat to take in the surroundings they’re driving past. “She’s a persistent one.”
“I guess so,” Jiwool says, and Seungheon takes the chance to reach out and touch Min’s shoulder. They catch her attention easily and smile when she reaches up with a hand to gently pat Seungheon’s on her shoulder. They share a look with Hyemi who’s still a little confused, but then the rest of the ride goes on in–almost–silence. Thankfully. All they hear is Jeanne murmuring suggestions and ideas to Yongha in their seats behind the driver and Hyunchul, Seungheon humming when he eventually hears in English, “Au Naturel.”
“Where’s noona?” Suhwan mumbles, a sharp turn making him knock his head into the window and waking him up. There’s somebody he doesn’t recognize sitting on the other side of Sookhyun and he stares at the man briefly before looking to Sookhyun who’s dozing off and Jaesun in front of them who’s looking over his shoulder at him. He’s removing an ear bud, so Suhwan looks to Sunyoung who’s sitting in the front seat, past another unrecognizable man. “Where’s noona?”
“Min’s in the other car,” Jaesun answers, reaching behind the seat to gently pat his knee. “We switched spots last minute.”
“Oh,” Suhwan murmurs, nodding, as Sookhyun’s head finally plops down onto his shoulder and he closes his eyes again. He thought she was going to ride with them while Jaesun rides in the other van, but then, wait. He opens his eyes again, looking around and not seeing Seungheon either. “Where’s hyung?” he asks, reaching out to tap Jaesun’s shoulder and get his attention.
Jaesun hums as he looks over his shoulder. “He’s with the girls,” he answers and Suhwan frowns, eyebrows pinched together unintentionally. “Don’t worry. It’s not much longer until we arrive there.”
Suhwan nods, looking to him briefly again. “Okay, hyung.”
Houhai is pretty in the morning. The waters are sparkling and there are already a lot of visitors walking along the lake. Even though the ride was only thirty minutes, it feels nice to stretch his legs, sighing as he hears his knee joints pop with the movement. Seungheon hums as he turns and instinctively drapes his arm around Jiwool, the person who’s closest to him. She doesn’t say anything as she looks around and Seungheon counts it as a victory.
“There are a lot of restaurants around here,” she murmurs. “And foreigners.”
“This area is actually pretty popular with foreigners,” Min says, both Seungheon and Jiwool turning to face her. She’s looking around too, but there’s a peaceful expression to her eyes, like she’s savoring the moment. “A lot of establishments took the time to build new things around here and it’s attracted a lot of people. It’s a nice place.”
“This will be perfect for filming,” Soonwook comments, as he stands a few feet away and stares at the entire area. “We could do a time-lapse. Maybe film the majority of it at night because of your lyrics. The night life would be nice to film too.”
“That would be pretty,” Min affirms, a genuine smile on her face.
There’s a blanket of silence that falls around them as they take in their new surroundings. Hyemi is wandering off towards the lake while Min and Soonwook continue to talk about possible scenes and how to film certain expressions, and Seungheon glances over every few minutes to see that Min has finally relaxed. She’s speaking to him like a professional should and he wonders if this is what their CEOs saw in her when they casted her. She glows in her hometown and Seungheon just watches until the rest of their group shows up, having been caught behind traffic and separated earlier.
It takes a couple of hours to set everything up, to change coats and shoes and to put on makeup, and Seungheon feels as cold as the night before when they flew in to China in the first place. Everything they’re wearing looks and feels thinner than what they actually own and he’s jealous Min and Suhwan get to wear scarves when the rest of them can’t. Though, he guesses he should be thankful. They have those hand warmers stuffed in their pockets in case it gets too cold.
“There are going to be several takes,” Soonwook announces. He’s holding onto his camera while it’s attached to the stabilizer and the other two men are hovering around him with other equipment Seungheon recognizes but doesn’t know the name of. “At least seven, one with each member as the focus.” He looks to all of them before landing eyes on Seungheon first. “Then we’ll do group shots, preferably when night falls. We’ll take breaks when necessary. Shall we get started?”
Seungheon smiles. This is going to be fun.
The closer the sun reaches its peak in the sky, the warmer the weather becomes. It doesn’t become the slightest uncomfortable. Instead, it warms Jiwool’s cheeks as she lets the sun warm her face in the chill air. She’s sitting on a bench near the lake, where a boat carrying several people laze past her as they take in the sights, and she listens for her cue in the song as it plays loudly for the entirety of their area to hear.
“All my fear, inside,” she sings, as she slowly shifts her gaze down to her lap. “All my hate, inside.”
Sookhyun’s voice filters through next, strong and powerful, and she stays in her spot before looking out over the lake. There’s the beautiful harmony of Suhwan and Sookhyun singing the last few lines before she hears Soonwook yell out, “Cut!”
Jiwool immediately looks over to see Soonwook covering the screen of his camera to see the film better so she takes it upon herself to go over and look at it with him. There are images of her walking down along the shoreline before she finally sits on the bench and closes her eyes. She tilts her head up before singing her last few lines and she hums, partially satisfied with the shot. She could’ve moved a bit differently and changed the direction where she was looking.
“Let’s do it a couple more times,” Soonwook murmurs, as Jiwool nods immediately, seemingly on the same page as her. “Let’s do it while the lighting is at its brightest.”
“Yes, sir,” Jiwool says, immediately walking away back towards the far end of the strip of land they’re on. Yongha comes jogging up to her to touch up her makeup and hair and they have to stop halfway because he grunts in annoyance and it makes her almost laugh and get lip gloss all over her cheek. “Sorry,” she murmurs, closing an eye when he fusses with her hair next.
“Just stay still,” Yongha mutters. Compared to the rest of them, Yongha, Jeanne, and the rest of the videography crew are sweating. She feels bad but she knows filming a music video takes a lot of work. Within minutes, Yongha is taking a step back to appraise her before he’s urging her to walk along with him. “I’m going to make sure everything looks good at your starting point,” he informs, like he doesn’t say this every time he talks to one of them.
“Yes, sir,” Jiwool answers again, smiling when Yongha rolls his eyes at her.
“You’re a piece of work, you know?”
“Aw, you’re finally opening up to me,” she says with a wider smile. It only makes Yongha tsk at her before he’s staring intently at her lips and probably making sure she didn’t mess it up. But she knows how to work around makeup by now. “Don’t worry, oppa. I got it,” she reassures, watching as he sighs, a bit petulantly, before nodding.
“Compared to Min and Suhwan, you’re all pretty natural with the whole makeup thing,” he confesses, looking ahead of them and to the people walking past them. “It makes working with all of you a bit easier. You’re not all newbies.”
Jiwool laughs as she slows to a stop, finally reaching her generally destination. “Well,” she says, “We are all rookies though.” She stills as Yongha fusses more over her appearance, before fixing her clothes, and then he’s staring down at her with little to no emotion in his eyes.
“Eh” is all he says and Jiwool hopes Soonwook doesn’t record her laughing at Yongha incredulously as he walks away.
Rapping in some obscure part of some random area isn’t new for Seungheon or Hyemi, but finding a location that fits their part of the song is a bit more difficult than they’re used to. Hyemi had already been in a music video, knows what she needs to do to get her best angles and perform the lyrics as desired, but worrying about their locations as well as figuring out the lyrics in another language is a bit difficult. For Min, everything is different except the lyrics and, for Jaesun, well, everything is new for him.
It throws the rappers off their game and while they mouth the words to the vocalists’ lyrics, they each prepare themselves for their only parts in the song. They all come at different times and at one point, they’re all gathered together facing different directions because apparently that looks good on camera. It’s different compared to Jiwool, Suhwan, and Sookhyun, but then again, Jiwool’s lyrics are everywhere.
By the time they finish, it’s close to two in the morning. All the scenes that needed to be filmed have been done, both Chinese and Korean, and now all Soonwook needs to do is compile it all together with their song playing with it and, technically, make it all look nice. The music video is basically done though and Min feels like it’s surreal. She finally finished filming one proper music video in a day and she sits, on that same bench Jiwool was sitting on earlier in the afternoon, and just takes it all in.
The city lights are pretty at night, with the bustling of the bars and the closing of restaurants. She hopes that Jiwool and Jaesun with their limited Chinese and abundant English are able to find their way to the place she ordered their dinner through the phone. The place should still be open though, according to what passersby said earlier in the evening.
Away near the parked vans, their managers are talking to Soonwook and his crew and Min doesn’t need to look around to know that the rest of her group is wandering around the lake as well. They’re taking the time to relax and take in the nightlife and she wonders if they even deserve that, so soon into their debut. She’s heard of stories of nonstop promotions and nonstop schedules, but she feels like they’re relaxing more than normal and getting a little more than normal, even without proper pay, and it doesn’t feel right.
Suddenly, someone sits next to her on the bench. The person bumps shoulders with her simultaneously and she laughs as she turns and sees sparkling eyes staring back at her. There’s a black mask covering the lower half of his face, but it’s Lu Han with a backwards snapback on and a dark jacket, hands in his pockets. “Hi there,” she says, quietly, still a bit surprised to finally see him again after so long.
“Hey,” Lu Han murmurs, before he’s looking out towards the lake. He stays hunched over compared to her relaxed form, back resting against the back of the bench, and she wonders how long it’s been. “I recognize him,” he says, chancing a glance back over to where the others are, towards Soonwook. “I’ve seen him at SM before.”
“He directed our music video,” Min informs, staring at them over his shoulder, before looking at him curiously. “Did they see you come here?”
“Pretty sure he did,” Lu Han answers, before Min waves off Sunyoung’s concerned stare.
“Way to make my managers worry,” Min mutters. It makes Lu Han laugh though, so she shakes her head affectionately. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the café.”
Lu Han shrugs as he finally relaxes, leaning against the back of the bench, and unhooks the left side of his facemask, towards her. Min hates how handsome he is. She’s surrounded by beautiful people and that’s unfair. “Sorry too. It’s okay though. Lao Gao said I had one too many Americanos today,” he says with a laugh.
“You probably did,” Min concedes with her own soft laugh, leaning over the slightest bit to touch shoulders with him. She can’t help it. If she likes a person as a friend, she’s touchy, almost like Sookhyun. But Lu Han doesn’t do anything to push her off, so she stays there, staring out over the lake with him.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Lu Han muses, minutes later. He’s glancing at her out of the corners of his eyes but she doesn’t look back, not really wanting to anyways. “What’s wrong? You look different with makeup on.”
“Thanks,” Min quips back, causing a chuckle to escape from Lu Han’s lips. “I’m just tired.”
“And I recognize that saying,” Lu Han retorts. “Don’t keep thoughts to yourself. It becomes dangerous.”
Without meaning to, Min sighs but doesn’t say much else afterwards. She just leans more onto him, seeking comfort, and he lets her. When people pass by them, Lu Han tilts his head down and towards her, hoping to cover his face without putting the mask back on, and Min simply waves to them to greet them politely. Though, not very many people pay attention to them at this late hour.
“You look like you’re on a date,” Jiwool suddenly pipes up, teasing, and it makes Min and Lu Han part instantly. They look over their shoulders surprised to see Jiwool smiling brightly down at them, with cartons of food in her hands and Jaesun next to her. She looks to both of them before giving Min one of the cartons and a pair of chopsticks. “Eat up, unnie. We have to find the others too.”
And just like that, they’re gone. Min’s stomach rumbles and Lu Han laughs as he helps her with her food. “You look like you’ve lost weight too,” he murmurs, watching as she takes a bite of her food. “Is it because of your company?”
“No,” Min mutters in-between bites. “They like us to eat whatever we want as long as we look good for the recordings and everything.” She heaves a big sigh after a few minutes, the confession leaving her lips unintentionally. “I just haven’t been eating much.”
“Don’t tell me you’re doing Minseok’s diet regimen.”
“Not necessarily,” Min mumbles, though she does feel her cheeks heat up. That was a quick assumption, but he’s not exactly wrong.
“You’re going red. You never go red, Min.”
“I just feel,” Min trails off, unsure, as she stares at her food before looking to Lu Han and then away again.
Lu Han sighs in front of her, reaching in her container and grabbing a noodle with his fingers before eating it himself. “Minseok’s diet isn’t safe. Yixing and I tried convincing him to stop it, but he won’t. He insists it’s the only thing that works for him and you’re already tiny.”
Min winces at the word, carefully keeping her head down, so he can’t see her expression.
“I can assure you that whatever weight you’re at or become, you’re going to be okay and people will still love you for it. Just don’t become so underweight all I’m going to be able to see are your bones.”
“Hyunchul-oppa is giving you the stink eye,” Jiwool comments as she comes to sit next to them on Min’s free side. She’s smiling though before she starts eating her own food. “But that’s okay. Stay however long you like, oppa.”
Min stays silent at Jiwool’s presence, Lu Han’s words tumbling around in her head, and she continues to eat her food one small bite at a time. She continues to let Lu Han eat from her food, one noodle at a time, before she simply gathers a big mouthful and holds it up to his face. He stares at it, then to her, before he shakes his head. “You eat that.”
Min stares at him, before she’s dropping her food and turning so she can include Jiwool into their group too. She’s managed to keep it to herself, but Lu Han was able to sniff it out of her in less than fifteen minutes, probably ten if she was actually counting. “How are the others doing?” she asks Jiwool, hearing her hum in response. “Do they like their food?”
“They love Chinese food,” Jiwool answers with a smile, before it’s dropping, because Lu Han is grabbing Min’s container of food and holding up a large portion of her meal up to her lips. She frowns. “What’s wrong? What are you doing?”
“I owe her” is all Lu Han answers before he nudges the noodles against Min’s mouth and she opens it. She eats as much as she can from that one bite and Jiwool watches as the corners of Min’s lips turn up the littlest bit when Lu Han pokes at her bottom lip with the chopsticks.
“Unnie?” Jiwool calls, catching her attention. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Min answers quickly, taking her food back from Lu Han and eating it as earnestly as she can. She leans against Jiwool’s shoulder immediately after, trying not to be in the way of her eating her own food. “We should all visit here as often as we can,” she says, smiling more when Jiwool hums in agreement.
“You’re just saying that because oppa is here.”
“We don’t have to see him every time we come here.”
“But every time we come here we do see him.”
“It’s possible to live without seeing him once when we come here.”
“You know I’m still right here,” Lu Han protests, pouting, when both Min and Jiwool laugh and then say “Oh well.” But when Min sneaks a glance at him, he’s smiling again, relaxed against the bench and just taking a breather.
“Stay as long as you need,” Min says, after a few silent minutes, kicking her leg to the side lightly to nudge his own. She knows he doesn’t get much time to himself anymore. “Relax. We’ll be here a while.”
“Thanks,” Lu Han hums, eventually singing one of his songs, but it’s something new that Min hasn’t heard before.
“Houhai?” Hyemi asks, after she swallows a mouthful of food. She turns to Jaesun for confirmation, watching as he shakes his head. “Houhai?”
“You’re putting the stress on the wrong syllable,” Jaesun says. They’re sitting on another bench, while Seungheon, Sookhyun, and Suhwan are sitting somewhere on the grass near the shoreline, and he repeats the name of the place a couple of times before Hyemi repeats it.
It takes a few more tries, but then Hyemi is moving to other words, other lyrics, and she knows she’s messing up the pronunciation when Jaesun scrunches his nose for the third time. “I’ll practice later,” Hyemi eventually ends up muttering, looking around for Min, only to see her still sitting on the bench with Jiwool and a guy who she assumes is Lu Han. She’s small compared to them.
“Before you ask,” Jaesun mumbles, glancing in their direction before sighing and taking out his cell phone. He pulls up his messages but Hyemi doesn’t know who he’s texting. “I’m not going to get involved in that.”
Hyemi scoffs, as she takes out her own phone and is surprised to see a message waiting for her. “Like you aren’t already are,” she forces out, before she registers Minho’s name on her screen with New Message waiting underneath it. If she acts any different, then Jaesun doesn’t do anything about it, thankfully.
‘I’m sorry I haven’t been responding lately, but it’s too late anyways. It makes sense though, right? Anyways, maybe I’ll talk to you later. Or something’
It’s not the message Hyemi has been expecting–in fact, she doesn’t know what she was expecting–, but she still doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He didn’t even answer her question about the picture he sent to her of her and some other guy last week. It had been a picture of her and Jaesun walking away, to a nearby shop from the photographer’s studio hoping to get some smoothies for them and the rest of their group, but she didn’t know Jiho was in the area too.
She doesn’t even know how to respond to the message. She just sits there, staring at it, because she doesn’t understand what he’s trying to say. She looks up to Jaesun, questions at the tip of her tongue, but then she sees him on the phone, voice low as he speaks into the receiver and is staring straight at Min who’s looking back at them. She refrains from rolling her eyes. Of course, these two would call each other instead of walking to the other.
“Tell Lu-gege to have a safe trip, yeah?” Jaesun suddenly says, Hyemi watching as they give each other a simple wave. “And be wary of cameras.”
There’s laughter after a moment of silence and Hyemi stares at each of them curiously before she can see Lu Han gently caressing the back of Min’s head, like those older would do to others younger than them in affection, and getting up. He pokes Jiwool in the cheek before putting the mask back on his face and walking away with his head down.
When Hyemi looks back to Jaesun, he’s staring down at his phone again, typing messages, and then her own phone lights up with a new text. ‘We should go, guys. It’s getting too cold,’ says a text from Min.
‘You’re only saying that because Han-gege is gone now,’ says a message from Jaesun.
‘Wait, Luhan-sunbaenim was here?!’ comes one from Sookhyun before it’s followed up with ‘Luhan-sunbaenim is kind’ by Suhwan.
Seungheon’s is next with ‘you’re so easy to read, minnie’ and then Jiwool’s ‘wasn’t this a date?! unnie why don’t you answer me?!!!?!’
‘I’m right next to you and no.’
‘Hyemi’s right next to me and she’s not responding to any of these messages.’
Hyemi immediately looks up after that, seeing Jaesun’s cheeky smile, and she laughs when he does, amused with their group chat. ‘Let’s be civilized people and go back to the hotel and get some sleep,’ she answers, which she gets a chorus of ‘booooooooo’ from Jiwool and Seungheon, before Jaesun is laughing some more and adding, ‘Don’t we still have other stuff to do, Min?’
‘Oh, that’s right,’ Min says, after a few more seconds. ‘Self-camera. I don’t really know, but let’s go back.’
‘That’s what I’ve been saying!’
‘Actually, I’ve been saying that.’
‘Wait is nobody going to mention unnie and Lu-oppa because I think I crashed whatever was going on between them.’
‘Guys’
‘Unnie are yoU LEAVING ME GUYS’
co-author’s note: i tried to do some work with the music video filming but while i'm trying to become more comfortable with that, i want to apologize for self-indulgent lu han because he's been releasing new songs left and right and debuting on the big screen in america so ;; anyways, min is having trouble because i wanted to put some depth in her. for the other characters, i have other things in mind to give them more depth but if you have certain ideas or anything to flesh them out more, come talk to me and i can try and work it into the story ;u; anyways, go watch the great wall and xxx: xander cage and kung fu yoga because that has been all my weekends in february :D
question of the day: yeah, idk what this is. i'm sorry. i'm trying to update once every month, at least. i also had a brain fart last update about how all the text messages were formatted so if this way in this chapter is cool, i'll stick to this version for the future.
OH WE'RE MAKING A WEBSITE FOR NIGHT CIRCUS but we'll let you know on how that's going in the future.
updated: 25 february 2017
question of the day: yeah, idk what this is. i'm sorry. i'm trying to update once every month, at least. i also had a brain fart last update about how all the text messages were formatted so if this way in this chapter is cool, i'll stick to this version for the future.
OH WE'RE MAKING A WEBSITE FOR NIGHT CIRCUS but we'll let you know on how that's going in the future.
updated: 25 february 2017
created by -catalyst
〈 ♞ 〉i swear i'm going to spam this entire story with new chapters by september/october! ( 1 aug 2017 )
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