birthname choi seolhee ( 최설희 )
nicknames 
 ► aria + seolhee's english name. she was given this name because her friends back in australia were tired of butchering her name all the time, and decided an english name would be much easier
 ► ria + the most commonly used of aria's general nicknames. other general nicknames include ari for her english name (but nobody really uses it because aria insists that calling her that would be an offence to ariana grande, the real ari), and seol ( 설 ) for her korean name.
 ► nation's fangirl + lovingly given to her by the international fans after the rest of the group (snakes, all of them) exposed just how many groups she's a fan of. she doesn't mind the nickname as much as she used to, because now she's debuted, most of the idols the group gets to meet ask to see her first, knowing that she's their fan.
  ► aegi ssaem ( 애기쌤 ) + a pretty self explanatory nickname given to her by her members and the other teachers as she's technically the youngest of all their teachers, being the choreographer of the group. alternatives include maknae ssaem ( 막내쌤 ) and baby ssaem.
  ► the real machine ( 진짜머신 ) + she has the ability to keep working and never get tired, almost like a machine, so she's given this name by pretty much everyone in the brand new fam. when anyone asks about this question, though, everyone knows to reply "doesn't she look like a machine when she dances?", not because she has the tendency to overwork herself as that would get the company a lot of hate though it's her own choice, really.

birthdate january 19, 2001
birthplAce sydney, australia
ethnicity korean
NATIONALITY korean-australian dual citizenship
languages 
  ► english + native + she'd spoken the language ever since she could remember, and she considers it her mother tongue. aria speaks with quite a strong australian accent, considering that's where she grew up.
   ► korean + fluent + thanks to the korean classes her mother had sent her to as kids, she'd been able to speak the language well despite not growing up in korea. she's most comfortable with speaking busan satoori as that's what she'd been taught (her mother is from busan), however she also speaks in the seoul dialect relatively well.
   ► mandarin + conversational + back when she trained at jyp, aria was required to learn the basics of quite a lot of other languages, however mandarin was the one that caught her attention, as it was one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world, and she'd decided to learn more. she can hold a short conversation in mandarin, but that's it.

faceclaim  김승연 + sis
backup 강미나 + gugudan

appearAnce  standing at 162cm tall (she is pretty short, but it's nothing a few centimeters of insoles can't fix) and weighing 42kg, aria is considered normal for her size, at least, if you consider the fact the she works as part of the korean idol industry. she's one of those idols that look like they belong more on the cute side than the pretty side, with features that look like they belong on someone much younger than she actually is, and cheeks that are pretty much the softest things ever. her hair is currently dyed a lighter shade of brown than her original hair color, falling to the middle of her back in curls that frame her face. she has standard piercings on both ears and has two cartilage piercings on her left ear.
 

style  oversized hoodies, denim jackets, velvet chokers, high waisted shorts, monochrome baseball caps with quotes. aria's style is very different to what most people would think she wears if they just looked at her face, and that's partially the reason why she dresses like she does. she tends to stick to black and white when she's dressing, since both aren't extremely bright colors, and both also fit well with pretty much every color there is out there. the way she wears her hair really depends on the outfit she's wearing, and she sometimes gets lazy and leaves it down, but the default is either space buns or braids, since they're the only ones simple enough for her to do herself.

pERSONALITY TRAITS 

esfj the consult, hufflepuff

[ pos ] cheerful, playful, loyal, ambitious, observant
[ neu ] perfectionist, selfless, hardworking, sarcastic, honest
[ neg ] insecure, sensitive, reckless, gullible, guarded

ELABORATION

if you were to say that aria's a complicated person, it would be a hell of an understatement. she seems transparent enough, she seems easy to read, but you'll eventually come to realize that she's actually hiding more of herself than she lets on.

the sunshine.
cheerful, loyal, observant, selfless.

► possibly the most cheerful person you'll ever get to meet
► she really isn't that hard to get to know because she's so bubbly and friendly, and she tries so hard to make everyone fit in and feel included
► E X T R A
► it's never boring with her around
► even during dance lessons, she tries to be patient and encouraging with everyone, and will spend extra time with people if they need help with the choreography, even if she's tired as hell and can barely stand properly
► she's all the members' biggest fan when they get a move they've been struggling on right
► needless to say, the members enjoy having her teaching them
► she's also very very fiercely loyal
► if she decides you're her friend, you're her friend for life, and she'll literally go to the ends of the world if it means you'll be happy
► because of how cheerful and airheaded she acts, people tend to forget she also has a caring, more mature side
► she knows how to read people well, and she's observant, able to pick up on the slightest change of behaviour or on the most subtle telltale hint that someone's hiding something or someone's going through a hard time
► you think you're good at hiding your feelings? you're not. aria can always tell when you're lying, and she'll always find a weird way to make you feel better
► a member thinks she's ugly? aria will go out of her way to compliment them
► a member doesn't have as big a fanbase as the others? she'll put them further forwards in choreographies so they'll be noticed
► a member's working themselves too hard? she'll slip small chocolate bars in their bags to give them energy
► she has the tendency to put everyone's problems before hers, and she also tends to forget she's a human being that has her own problems as well

the little .
playful, sarcastic, honest.

► every group has this one member that's basically the little of the group
► this girl has basically claimed that title
► unnie? dongsaeng? same-aged chingu? doesn't matter, she'll diss you all the same if a camera's shoved into her face
► her comebacks and sarcastic one-liners are absolute gold, unless they're directed at you
► and the fact that she can say things with a completely straight face
► the fans like it so much that they have her quotes made into memes
► aria isn't one to sugarcoat things, and she likes to say things as she sees it, so she guesses that's why she comes off this way
► she also loves teasing the members
► whether that be about their love life (or lack of), their inability to keep up in dance class or exposing their secrets (not their huge ones though, she's not that mean)
► everyone knows she doesn't mean to be rude though
► she's just an overgrown child, after all. all children like to play around at some point or another
► this side of her comes basically hand in hand with the sunshine. it's just sometimes she wakes up feeling like being a good member of the group and sometimes she wakes up feeling sassy as heck

the performer.
hardworking, ambitious, perfectionist, reckless.

► it doesn't really fit the persona she'd sculpted for herself in front of the fans, so this side of her is hidden from them, only shown during rehearsals and practices back at the company
► she's a bit of a perfectionist
► scratch that, she's so much of a perfectionist when it comes to herself that she won't stop practising until she either gets it perfect or she physically doesn't have the energy to practice anymore
► she's pretty much the most hardworking person in the group because she's scared of making mistakes and messing things up for the group
► "where's a—why am i even asking, of course she's practising again"
► but she's also very reckless, often forgetting to eat or sleep during the few weeks, or even months leading up to their debut or their comebacks
► she tires herself out but she really doesn't care as long as she nails her part of the song or dance, or perfects the choreography she'd been making for the group
► her members have to keep telling her to take care of herself, but she'll most likely respond with "i'll do that after i get this step right"

the mystery.
insecure, sensitive, guarded, gullible.

► this one's probably her most well concealed side
► so much so that her members don't even know about it, because she has her guard so high up they can't tell
► she's a good actress anyway
► she knows her habits and tells extremely well, and she knows how to manipulate her facial expressions or actions to make people think she feels a certain way
► she's confident and charismatic onstage, but she has her insecurites that are tucked away deep under that facade
► aria hides away her insecurities, just letting them eat her up because she's scared of burdening her members, who already have enough to deal with themselves than to have to worry about her as well
► and because she's sensitive and tends to believe everything she's told, she doesn't forget every negative comment ever made about her
► and it drives her to practise more, to diet more, to act like someone she isn't because she's scared she's not good enough, she's scared she doesn't belong in the spotlight, she's scared she didn't deserve to debut like the haters tell her
► but she bottles it all that in and hopes nobody notices until she really can't handle it anymore

bAckground 

[ 2001 ]

"can i really?" ava asks as she tugs on her mother's arm, practically bouncing with excitement at the idea of getting to hold her sister for the first time. her mother laughs softly, waiting for the girl to calm down a bit before handing her the small bundle resting in her arms. she knows ava wasn't always the most gentle girl in the world, but somehow she trusted her with aria.

ava brought her sister closer to her, grinning. "she's so small," she whispers in awe, looking down at aria, the fingers of her spare hand hovering above the baby's face. the baby lets out a small, bright giggle, and ava glances back at her mother, smiling. "i love her already. i'm going to be the best sister she's ever had!"

her mother couldn't help but smile at her daughters. her two beautiful girls.

[ 2008 ]

"you know, you should become a professional one day," ava suggests casually when aria steps off the stage with her award. the younger tilts her head, blinking in confusion at her sister as they continue walking, and she shrugs. "you're good enough. you've been dancing ever since you were three, you have to be."

"i'm not...good," she replies. she may have only been seven, but she knows when her sister was exaggerating. her awards were purely based off the fact that the rest of the group did well too, she definitely wasn't the best. "you're just saying that because you're my sister."

ava bends down to her level, looking her baby sister in the eye. "you are good enough," she repeats seriously. "you're good enough to dance on a proper stage, okay? i'll be waiting for the day you do it."

there was a moment of silence before aria speaks again. "are you sure you're not lying?"

"why would i lie? you could be an idol when you're old enough, and then i can laugh at you and tell you i'm right."

[ 2011 (tw for mentions of suicide) ]

aria stared blankly into the darkness of her and her sister's shared room, her arms wrapped around her knees and certain she was out of tears to cry. she hadn't openly cried in so many years, much less cried so much she passed out, but the second those words left the principal's mouth, she broke down.

ava, her sister, would never get the chance to turn 18. ava, the sister who'd taken care of her for so long had taken her life, leaving no note, no explanation. nothing.

she should've noticed. she should've realized her sister had been lying every time she said she was fine and she should've been there for her. but she hadn't been. she hadn't been there for ava when she needed her.

she breaks down again, burying her face in her knees, thoughts of how horrible a sister she is racing through her head, repeating like a broken record.

she just wants ava back.

~

her parents told her the next day that they were moving to korea. it was too much for them here, the pain still too fresh, and they wanted a fresh start. away from here, away from where they were labelled as the family of the girl who jumped off the school building.

[ 2014 ]

"i got in, ava," she breathes, grin obvious on her face as she looks up at the stars in hopes that her sister could hear her from out there.

she'd just been accepted into fantagio, not a huge company, but one with enough popularity to give her a decent trainee life. she knew her sister had always wanted to see her perform onstage and she was going to honor her sister's wish even when she wasn't here anymore.

"i'm going to become a trainee." the words come out barely a whisper, but she knows in her heart if ava could hear her, she'd heard everything.

she pretends she doesn't hear the shouting coming from the other side of the door when she bids her sister goodnight.

[ 2017 ]

"you should've been there for her more!" aria flinches when she hears her father yell from across the table, and she glances up slightly to see him glaring at her mother.

she lowers her head even further, pushing her barely-eaten food around her plate as she listens to them argue. ever since what had happened to ava, her parents had searched for someone to blame, and when they found no one, they turned their grief and anger on each other.

"i should've been there? you were barely ever home!"

aria winces at the volume, and her phone chooses this time to vibrate in her pocket. she bites down hard on her lip, knowing fully well that it was namu, probably demanding an answer as to why she hadn't answered a single phone call since the company had allowed them to visit their parents for a while, but she couldn't answer. if she answered, namu would hear everything. the fighting, the chaos. she didn't want to burden the older girl with all that.

she waits for namu to give up and hang up before she relaxes again.

TRIVIA 

► the queen of 2x dance, blindfold dance, part switches and random play dance (she made the choreography, of course she's going to do it perfectly)
► she's a fan of so many groups, if you name a song she can probably sing and dance to it immediately
► she learns dances incredibly quickly, and can probably replicate the point dance perfectly after two to three times of watching the video
► she has the tendency to try to dance her problems away, so if she's still in the practice room after she's gotten a routine down perfectly, or she says she's coming up with a new dance despite not having been given a song to choreograph to, you know immediately something's wrong
► she likes to read the comments on every one of their videos so she knows what she's not doing well enough
► she doesn't have an exact ideal type, but she says she'd like to date someone that accepts who she is and sees her like a person instead of an idol
► she's the foodie of the group, and can constantly be eating but never get fat (she dances all of it off, so yeah)
► she likes haunted houses and horror movies, mostly since she's not scared and it's a great opportunity for her to, you know, get blackmail material
► she's the type to have a whole database of things to bring up about her members on programs (she doesn't, but the rest are convinced she does)
► she gets inspired for the dances by literally anything. she watches a show she likes? she'll probably create a dance centered around that. she sees the rest of her members playing around? she'll take inspiration from that
► she's very very good at playing video games, especially overwatch. she usually plays as d.va
► she used to get bullied in school for being half-asian so now she feels the need to stand up for people when they're being bullied
► she's decent at cooking, but she's clumsy as hell, so after she'd almost poured boiling hot water on herself, she'd been forbidden from stepping into the kitchen
► has a habit of blinking a lot when she's confused, and the fans find it really cute
► secretly wants to act in a drama some point or another because it seems fun
► she loves skinship, but she knows when people don't want to be touched by her. it doesn't stop her from excessively hugging her members, though, because she lives to annoy them
► rarely ever posts on her sns account, and when she does, it's only because the fans are asking
► has given up on correcting her members' poor english because she knows they'll keep insisting they literally sound the same
► honestly, she gets along with boys more than she does with girls because she's more of a tomboy but her members are an exception
► she's basically an honorary 2000 liner, so she has the honor of being in both the 2001 liners and 2000 liners groupchats
► she gets quite insecure when reading bad comments about her, but she doesn't try to avoid reading them either
► she doesn't like it when people treat her like she's a child, or when people think she's not capable of doing things because of her age
► she's the biggest receiver of second-hand embarrassment, but she's also one of the biggest creators of second-hand embarrassment at the same time
► hates when people discuss her height because she's not that short, right? (she is)
► "i'm not cute" she says, then proceeds to do aegyo in order to get food. and her aegyo is really good
► self proclaimed biggest wannable because her labelmates and her former fellow trainee is in the group (see, she has one more person to root for compared to the others)
► pet whisperer™ somehow even the most stubborn pets love her.
► attends sopa
► is allergic to seafood, so whenever they go out to eat at restaurants where their specialty is seafood, she always feels bad for saying she can't eat it
► she's not really a huge fan of honorifics but she'll say it if it means she won't be murdered for being rude
► claims she can speak a bit of romanian but in reality she only knows the swear words
► she performs worse than usual on her sister's death anniversary, but so far, nobody knows why
► none of the members know her family situation, they just know that every time they get a break to go back to their families, she's always mia
► she has quite a lot of haters as her vocal and rap skills aren't up to par with the rest of the group, and her dance skills don't really get to shine with the type of dancing idols do
► had learnt how to skateboard back in australia, and loves doing it even now
► she's a nervous stretcher, which she thinks comes from all the dance training she'd had as a kid
 

rElAtIONSHIPS

group member, hong namu  | 17  | idol

introducing #nahee (because they both agree #seolmu doesn't sound as nice as #nahee does), the two members of the group with possibly the most similar personalities (though namu's much nicer than aria is). aria and namu have a love-hate relationship consisting of dissing the hell out of each other, exposing each other, and namu's endless attempts to get aria to call her unnie. at least, that's what the fans see on camera and onstage. in reality, they're very very close, always there to help the other out when they need it, with aria constantly spouting nonsense so that namu can get inspiration for lyrics, and namu constantly nagging aria to take care of herself more.

aria waves into the camera, grinning as she watches the number of viewers and hearts increase, and she waves namu over, wrapping her arms around the older girl when she sits down. "hi everyone!!!!" she greets enthusiastically, trying to read the comments that come too quickly for her to see properly.

her eye catches one comment, though, and she can't deny that she feels slightly disappointed that most of the fans seemed to be asking for the other members instead of the two of them. "today's v live is just going to be me and namu since the other members are off on a schedule if that's okay?"

instantly, namu's hands are on hers where the camera doesn't reach, and she knows namu sensed the insecurity that took over her upon seeing the comment. she's about to turn and flash the girl a grateful look when namu opens to speak. "unnie," she says, deadpanning.

"what?"

"i said it's namu unnie, not namu. i'm older than you."

aria rolls her eyes. "not that much older."

"four months."

"four months is nothing!"

best friend, lee felix  | 18  |  idol, stray kids

if felix and aria told you they were siblings, you wouldn't have doubted it. they annoy each other to no end, bicker on almost a daily basis, but at the same time they tell each other pretty much everything and they know they're always going to be there for each other, just like siblings. they've been friends ever since felix's family had moved next door (when he was three and she was almost three) and their parents forced them to play together while they welcomed the neighbors and talked about 'adult stuff', and they haven't stopped being friends since. she really can't imagine a life without felix (as a friend way, not a romantic way because ew) since he'd been there for pretty much most of her life.

"let me guess, you're missing a player and you need someone to fill in?" she asks as she picks up the phone. felix hums on the other end of the phone, and she knows she's right. after all, if she didn't hear crying on the other end of the phone it's probably because his team is losing miserably and they needed someone good at the game to help.

she hears him curse, and she guesses he'd either just been massacred by the other team or he's in the process of being massacred by the other team. she sighs and closes her notebook, moving over to the computer. "now would be a good time, ria," he says, and she doesn't have to see him to tell that his teeth were gritted in annoyance."

"alright, alright. i'm coming to save your lame ."

"my is not lame," he protests. aria rolls her eyes at the comment, thankful that it wasn't a video call because then she's sure she would have to hear him complain about how she never respects him.

"well it depends on who you ask, but i'd say it's pretty lame."

close friends, astro  | 18 to 24  |  idols

she'd run into one of the members (she thinks it's moonbin, she doesn't remember now because it's been way too long) on her first day in fantagio, and they'd immediately decided to take the lost child in, showing them around and making sure they got to classes on time. she'd later realised that once she became friends with one of them, by default she was friends with all the rest of them, and so by the time the year passed, the other trainees had dubbed her the official seventh member of the group. even after she'd left fantagio, they still remained good friends, and she's actually closer to them than she is with the brand new boys.

STAGE NAME aria + when they were discussing stage names, aria's name was deemed special enough for her to keep it just the way it is. besides, she didn't have to worry about anyone else in the industry sharing the same stage name as her this way.

POSITION main dancer, rapper, sub-vocal

TALENT TWINS  
 

( the names are linked )

sings like 김승연 + she has a very sweet and soothing voice, and though she's not the strongest vocalist in the group, her voice is still relaxing to listen to. she has a lower vocal range compared to the others

dances like jade chynoweth / 이주현 (i put two dance twins just in case foreign talent twins weren't allowed. if foreigner talent twins are allowed then she dances like jade!) + aria's an incredibly versatile dancer, able to adapt to different genres, however she's most confident with strong, hard-hitting dances. she has a lot of charisma when she dances as well.

raps like 유시아 + her rap skills still need some work, but she has a lot of potential, and her tone isn't too horrible either. combined with her stage presence, it feels like she's doing a lot more than she actually is

TRAINEE YEARS 2 years in fantagio + 6 months at bnm

TRAINEE LIFE 

[ 2014 ] at first it was like a dream come true. sure, training was tiring, and she found it difficult finding a balance between training, school, her social life and her personal life, but she was working towards her dream, and that was all that mattered. besides that, she had a relatively easy first year. everyone was incredibly welcoming to her when she first joined the company, and she hoped that she would be able to make them proud, never messing up a performance and always taking time to practice her singing more, as she was relatively horrible at singing, but she had the passion and at least she could stay on tempo. she decided to switch to rapping instead, and she found that she was much better at rapping than she was at singing.

[ 2015 ] by the time 2015 had rolled around, she was still not getting anywhere closer to debuting, but she still remained hopeful. that is, until fantagio started to select trainees to take part in produce 101, a survival show aimed to create a new hit girl group. she got into the lineup just fine mostly with her dance skills, but a month before the shoot, the company decided to pull her out of the lineup, claiming that they had too many people and they had to cut the least talented. it wasn't like she didn't expect her to be the one that was cut, but it still hurt knowing that she still wasn't good enough. so while her friends and fellow trainees were off filming shows, she was stuck back in fantagio, fake smiles and empty reassurances becoming part of her daily routine, as well as so much practice she'd almost collapsed of exhaustion multiple times. but she needed to get better, she needed to improve, and she desperately needed to do it. that's when one of her fellow trainees convinced her to leave. she was working herself too hard for something that she won't be able to achieve in the near future, and it hurt to see her constantly practising, constantly skipping meals, skipping sleep, even skipping school sometimes just to make sure everything was perfect. all because she'd lost her opportunity. and she did. she decided to transfer, hoping that she'd get another chance to debut.

[ 2016 ] she entered bnm at the beginning of 2016, and was added into the debut lineup of their newest girl group soon after. she'd gotten a lot of hate from the other trainees, who couldn't believe that someone who'd just gotten into the company could make it into the debut lineup so quickly, but the resent only made her work even harder than before to get their approval, to shut them up when they told her she didn't deserve to be in the group. the comments still got to her (more often than she lets on), and sometimes the members had to stand up for her when they got particularly nasty, but as long as she kept a bright smile on her face, nobody would really know the real damage that'd been done. after all, when she debuts, she'll be the one laughing, not them.

PRE-DEBUT  she didn't have any pre-debut activity, even back in fantagio

HEADLINES 

[ GROUP NAME ]'S ARIA HOPSITALIZED AFTER PERFORMANCE

she had been working herself too hard for the performances, and had collapsed of exhaustion the second the group got offstage. it wasn't the first time it had happened, so none of the members were as panicked as people would've thought they'd been, but it was the first time it'd happened in public, shocking the staff that had been backstage. she'd been rushed to the hospital immediately, and suspended from activity for a few weeks (which she'd complained about, saying she didn't work so hard just to not perform).

[ +1294, -362 ]  get better soon, ria. we miss you!!!!

[ +862, -571 ]  honestly she's just trying to get attention. we all know she's one of the less popular members of the group, but i didn't think she would stoop that low

[ +613, -95 ]  looks like she really cares about how this group does. you have this unnie's support~

GIRLGROUP MEMBER REVEALED AS CLOSE FRIENDS OF STRAY KIDS' 2000 LINE

aria had been seen hanging out with the '00 liners of stray kids to celebrate the airing of their survival show, and this caused netizens to question whether she was dating one of them. both companies went on to clarify that they were just friends, nothing more.

[ +2639, -1824 ]  can't believe someone like her has the nerve to hang around our oppas. she's not even that pretty and she thinks she has a chance? sl*t

[ +2517, -975 ]  is it bad that i kind of want to ship them?

[ +863, -504 ]  wow sasaeng much? some people in the comments are really deluded

ARIA ISN'T TALENTED?

aria doesn't really get to show off her talents much because she's too busy trying to show off all the other members' talents, so a lot of people naturally assume she got into the company because of bias.

[ +930, -712 ]  she honestly a really good dancer, though. i've seen her dance when she was back in sydney, and she has the skill, i just don't think idol dancing is enough to showcase her talents

[ +568, -409 ]  it really doesn't make a difference with or without her in the group. the average vocal ability would get significantly higher though

[ +428, -851 ]  she should just stick to being a choreographer. she's horrible at this idol thing.

birth name han jisung ( 한지성 )
OCCUPATION main rapper, vocalist + stray kids

PERSONALITY

if you asked anyone what they thought about jisung, the first thing they would say would either be about him being too loud for his own good or how he's basically sunshine in human form. aria's guilty of saying both, but it's not like it isn't true. he could be screaming in your ear one second, and the next he could be smiling so brightly you almost forget you wanted to kill him a second ago. he just has that effect on people, or maybe it was just her. she wouldn't know. he always wants people to be happy, and he acts in a way that reflects that, always cheerful, supportive and energetic in front of others even if he's tired or not really in the mood. he's flirty, sassy and affectionate as hell, but the second he's on stage, all that vanishes, replaces with so much charisma and passion for what he's doing that you won't even believe the jisun offstage and the jisung onstage could possibly be the same person. needless to say, he was way out of her league.

THEIR STORY

i.   "lix-ah, you never told us you had a girlfriend!"  a new voice states, conveniently interrupting aria and felix's argument about whether cats or dogs were the superior animal. aria chokes on her drink, and she sees her friend do the same before the phone's snatched out of his hands, turning to face the owner of the voice. replacing her best friend's spot on the screen is another boy, a bright smile on his face as he waves at her through the camera. "hi mosquito boy's girlfriend!!!! i'm han jisung, pleasure to meet you~"

she waits until her coughs die down before she speaks again. "pleasure to meet you too!!! i'm aria, and i make good enough life choices to know better than to date that idiot over there."

"hey, i'm not that bad, you know," felix protests from somewhere off camera and jisung lets out a loud laugh, which aria joins in on, prompting felix to mutter an offended, "who gave you two the right to team up on me? you don't even know each other."

"so does that mean we have the right to annoy you once we get to know each other more?" she throws her head back in laughter at the comment, and when she looks back at her phone, she sees jisung dodging the playful swat felix sends in his direction.

she shrugs, feigning innocence as she looks at the pair. "well felix didn't deny it, so...partners?"

she was sure felix would've thrown his pillow her way if they had been face to face instead of in a video call.

they gradually grew to become close friends, bonding over their mutual love of annoying the hell out of felix and performing, and jisung eventually wormed his way into her and felix's little friendship group. neither of them minded, though (though felix was a bit annoyed at how often jisung and aria teamed up to basically just attack him at every single opportunity they got).

ii.   "you didn't tell me—"

"technically we don't have to tell you anything if we don't want to—"

"you didn't tell me jyp decided to bring you and minho oppa back!" aria exclaimed, glaring at her friends through the camera, though they all knew she wasn't really as mad as she let on. "what's the point of being your friend if you're NOT GOING TO TELL ME something as important as jyp bringing you two back?"

"okay okay we're sorry. it was supposed to be a secret."

"god, i even started a petition to let you all debut as 9 and this is what i get?"

"we'll give you a signed poster from one of our sunbaes as an apology?" jisung suggests, and aria lights up almost immediately, bouncing with happiness.

"yes please!"

jisung laughs, his eyes forming into small cresents as he did so. "you're cute," he states, a hint of fondness in his voice. he receives a light kick from felix, who shoots him a murderous look.

"stop flirting, jisung."

"i'm not! i just said she was cute."

"that's basically flirting!"

"it's not! she's cute the way babies are cute, am i not allowed to say that?" she doesn't know why her heart dips slightly when he says that, but she just blames it on the fact that she doesn't like being compared to a baby.

"would it have been any different if anyone other than jisung had called you a baby?" namu had asked her later on. she didn't answer, because she didn't know. would it have been different? would she have felt that way if it had been namu? if it had been felix? if it had been anyone else?

iii.  aria rushes backstage the second the showcase finished, and she engulfs the two of them in a huge hug. felix yelps, complaining that they were both sweaty, but aria couldn't exactly care less when she pulls the two of them closer.

"you debuted," she whispers proudly. "i knew you would." felix pulls away, claiming he needed less of this cheesiness (lies, she knows he actually loves it he just wants to come off cool in front of the staff. felix is weird like that), but jisung stays where he was even after felix had broken the hug.

"i know," he smiles back, before pulling her into another hug, overwhelmed with happiness and excitement at the prospect of debuting. she pulls her mask down a bit and returns the smile.

as she pulls her mask on and leaves, she wonders whether jisung could feel the thumping of her heart when they hugged, and she wonders whether he knew what it meant. but of course he didn't. she was sure all he saw her as was his best friend. nothing else.

nothing else, she thinks as her heart drops slightly.

iv.   "ria, you okay?" she hears jisung ask through her phone. she keeps quiet for fear of him noticing her voice shaking, and she nods. "i don't believe you."

"i'm fine, oppa. honestly," she says after a few seconds, another smile plastered on her face. lies. nothing was fine. not when people all over the internet were telling her she didn't deserve to be in the group, that her skills weren't good enough, that she made it into the group because of bias, not because she was talented. because the company liked her. because no other 6 month trainee would've made it into a group just like that. "i'm just a bit tired."

with their comeback coming up soon and no obvious improvement in her skills, she can't help but wonder if that was true.

"if you say so," he replies, and she sends him another bright grin, hoping he'd buy it. he seems to have bought it, because the serious look on his face vanishes, replaced by an equally big grin, though his wasn't fake, and hers was.

it was better this way, she thinks to herself. it's better for him not to know about her insecurities, better not to burden him with things that don't even concern him. she wanted to always appear happy in front of him so he'd be happy.

the ending 

up to you! i love both angst and fluff so i really don't mind!!!

CUTE THINGS 

► as far as the two of them are concerned, their ship name is nonexistent because they're definitely not in a relationship (behind their backs, their friends ship them as jihee, a combination of his name and aria's korean name)
► she saves jisung as 'pabo oppa' in her phone, and jisung saves her as 'shortie' (fun fact, apparently jisung found a way into felix's phone just to get her phone number as felix had tried to separate them, knowing they would be unstoppable when teaming up together. it's kind of hilarious)
► they're the types of friends that everyone thinks is dating, but aria's convinced she's the only one that actually wants it to be true
► jisung teaches her how to rap (because he claims he's a certified rap teacher) and she teaches him how to dance (since she low-key dances like a guy)
► she's very good at hiding her feelings for jisung, but namu just knows her too well (namu says it's because the busan line have a connection and they can tell everything)
► they have so many inside jokes you don't even want to be stuck in the same room as them (unless you're felix. then you're in on the inside jokes)
► people think she's involved in a love triangle with both felix and jisung, but really, felix isn't even competition
► the karaoke is their favorite hangout spot, where they both attempt to hit the high notes and film each other for blackmail material
► felix considers himself the third wheel of these two and regrets ever letting aria meet jisung
► they have a lot of skinship, but then again, both are originally very affectionate people so nobody can tell if they're just friends or more
► they're openly friends (like her and felix, as well as her and astro), so the public doesn't assume they're dating or create scandals, but they get shipped together a lot too
► fun fact, jisung hadn't recognised her the first time they met and found out much later through felix that she was already an idol. then again, she had been wearing a huge hoodie that covered most of her face.

comments she's kind of messy but i hope she still makes sense? i've made so many changes to her i don't even know if she's a good character or not, but i hope you like her~
password iridescent (means showing luminous colours that seem to change when seen from different angles) + they tend to switch concepts and this reflects that they're a group that has a lot of different 'colors' hidden inside them?
wishlist  
► the girls having their own reality show and some (or all, but i know some programs only invite the more popular members) of the members on variety shows?
► hidden cameras and meokbangs~
► some of the members are having a group date and since aria doesn't want to third (fifth? seventh? ninth?) wheel, she drags jisung along (though she doesn't really mind being the extra wheel, because she also lives to )
► amusement parks where some of them are just screaming their heads off and aria's just laughing because she's fearless af
► aria playing matchmaker with everyone
► those rare times aria is tired and she gets mixed up between korean and english (like she starts off a sentence in korean, switches to english, and then switches back to korean at some point)
► i kind of want to see aria in one of her low moments because she seems so perfect and happy all the time but it's really mostly just a facade to cover up her insecurities
► something where aria goes up to one of the members carrying a bunch of makeup and asking 'where does each of these go on my face?'
► her revealing the mess that is her family or one of the members overhearing the arguments when she's calling her parents