CHAPTER 02
ㅤㅤㅤ˗ˏˋ LUMIÈRE / PREPARING FOR DEBUT! ˎˊ˗
CHAPTER 02!
CHAPTER 02!
SM ENT. COMMUNICATION CENTER'S PRACTICE ROOM
GANGNAM-GU, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
JANUARY 5TH, 2016 (01:27 PM)
"here," ahyeon and yerang abruptly looked up to find one of their new managers, yoo sangki, approaching them with an unpleasant handful of recording cameras. he definitely looked like he needed a hand. both girls politely offered their empty hands to him, relieving the poor man of the heavy load.
"what are these for, oppa?" ahyeon inquired as her eyes studied the lifeless objects resting in the palms of her hands.
"ah," sangki began before gesturing to the three portable cameras held in the girls' grasps, "i was told that mr. lee sooman wanted you girls to record your move-out and move-in process together as a new girl group. y'know," sangki shrugged, "getting comfortable with both each other and the camera."
"i'm guessing these are kind of like our video diaries," yerang suggested, her eyes moving from sangki to ahyeon as the corners of her plush lips coiled upwards into a warm smile, "something to look back on in our older days?" both sangki and ahyeon grinned at the girl's rather in-depth analysis of the outwardly simple task.
"huh," ahyeon began toying with the gadgets at hand, "yeah. i guess you're right. kind of like... the beginning of our story." the older girl must admit she felt herself cringe at the rather cliché saying, her nose crinkling as she refused to look up at sangki or yerang. just then (and thankfully), the two girls felt a rather rough presence overtake their minor moment. ahyeon and yerang didn't even need to look back to realize it was—
"nobody told me we were filming a cheesy coming-of-age movie," the two older girls shared a knowing look before turning their heads to the youngster squeezed between them, her taller figure easily draping both arms over their shoulders, "why are we sharing the corny sentiments now? we didn't even debut yet! save the tears for later, my dear unnies!" hwayoung shook the two older girls on the last word to emphasize her point before squeezing them tightly to her side, the trio momentarily rocking from side to side before detaching.
"wait, what?" the pounding of sneaker soles against the wooden floor echoed throughout the practice room as a panicked jangmi hurried over to the group, a mix of confusion and hurt occupying her features, "we were having a group hug and nobody told me? that's not fa—" the once upset girl cut herself off with a rather dramatic gasp as her attention redirected to the cameras patiently waiting in the loose grasps of ahyeon and yerang. "woah! what are those?" jangmi outstretched an arm to point at the said recording devices before looking around at her peers expectantly, "no way! are we going to record our own like behind-the-scenes video with these cameras?" she was now jumping up and down excitedly, her hands pressing against her cheeks.
at this, the other five members turned their previously divided attention to the cameras in curiosity, bodies then slowly gathering around ahyeon and yerang. the leader gently handed one of her two cameras to an excited jangmi before focusing her full attention on figuring out how to properly work the technology.
"uh, yeah," ahyeon spoke up while tossing and turning the camera around, "sangki-oppa gave the cameras to me and yerang just a moment ago because apparently teacher lee sooman wants us to film the 'move-out and move-in process' together as a new girl group." the oldest girl briefly studied her fellow members' various reactions before flashing them a small smile. it was then when she finally got the camera up and running, one arm raising the device to face her and her members while the other reached out to flip the monitor around. using the reflection to find the right angle, ahyeon offered the camera an awkward but adorable purse of the lips before turning around to her members with a just as awkward chuckle.
"unnie," hwayoung approached the camera with an amused grin as she was obviously trying to suppress a giggle, her finger extending to press a red button, "i think you forgot to press the record button." the familiar red dot began blinking at the corner of the screen as ahyeon could only gape at herself through the monitor in disbelief. warily turning her head to study her surroundings, she was relieved to realize that her fellow members were too busy fiddling with the cameras to crack up at her small incident.
"oh my– jangmi-unnie–" clara struggled to formulate a proper sentence as intense laughter shortened her breathing, soon doubling over to grasp her knee with one hand and her aching stomach with another. you could hear a soft chuckle behind the camera as well as yerang grinned at the clearly overexcited vocalist throwing her limbs here and there for the recording camera. ahyeon (who was still struggling to make eye contact with her own camera for more than ten seconds without running out of things to say or do) was quick to focus hers to the three laughing members, capturing their pure and candid joy.
"and here we have a bumblebee—a very very dangerous bumblebee—sleeping off to the side," hwayoung muttered just enough for the camera's microphone to clearly pick up her words as she approached the limp figure hidden in the dim corner of the practice room. hovering over the main vocalist's seemingly lifeless body for a good moment or two, hwayoung squatted in order to dramatically zoom into the older girl's face, "i present to you: eom danbee." and as if on cue, the said girl peeled an eye open to glare at the camera lens. if looks could kill, this poor camera would've been buried six feet under by now, but its holder was barely fazed. cheshire-like grin only growing wider, hwayoung lowered her pitch to enhance the scene before her, "dun dun dun!"
"...do you want to die?" dabi slurred, her voice thick with sleep.
"alright, girls!" loud laughter and jumbled conversations died down as their manager stepped into the practice room, clapping his hands together for an attention-grabbing effect. it definitely worked its magic as all six members whirled their heads toward the older man. "it's time to start packing your things and moving into your new dorm. c'mon. let's get going." he jerked his head toward the door before heading out himself, hand rummaging through his coat pocket for the van's key. a shocked gasp erupting from both jangmi and clara, the two simultaneously raised both hands to their agape mouth before throwing on their winter coats while rushing after their manager. sharing an amused smile after witnessing the two, ahyeon and yerang respectively shut their cameras down before shrugging on their own puffy outerwear.
"come on, you child unnie," hwayoung grunted playfully while tugging on dabi's arm to sit her up, the coat she was using as a makeshift blanket sliding down her shoulders, "you can sleep later. let's go." the main vocalist blankly watched the younger girl pull on her own jacket through half-lidded eyes, groaning and in weak protest as hwayoung had to practically manhandle dabi to get her up and off of her always-sleepy .
LUMIÈRE'S BRAND NEW DORM
GANGNAM-GU, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
JANUARY 5TH, 2016 (05:58 PM)
the girls' intense gazes zeroed in on sangki's thumb punching the combination of numbers onto the apartment's keypad, his habitual nagging of remembering the passcode falling on deaf ears as the series of beeps taunted the more impatient members. when the whirring of the automated lock sounded, the said anticipating girls pushed their manager to the side as they barged through the doorway, a collection of squeals and gasps cutting through the once silent air.
"hey! did you girls even memorize the passcode?" sangki helplessly called after the preoccupied members, a defeated sigh escaping his lips after realizing they were far from listening to him. just then, he felt a small hand momentarily squeeze his shoulder. looking down, he could only let out another sigh—a relieved one this time—upon seeing the much-needed leader smiling back up at him.
"it's alright, sangki-oppa. i'll make sure they get the passcode down." she reassured the man before stepping in herself, taking off her red vans and neatly placing them to the side. yerang looked up at sangki with an amused glint in her wide eyes, her plush lips mirroring the same amusement through a soft smile before following ahyeon into the rowdy apartment. after a silent moment or two, sangki realized he only had a head count of five. (again) as if on cue, a slow rhythm of heavy footsteps resonated throughout the empty staircase. the man whipped around to spot a still-sleepy dabi trudging her way towards the open door, sparing him a fleeting glance and a small grunt of greeting before lumbering into the new dorm.
"i call this room!"
"i call rooming with jangmi-unnie!"
"oh, i'm definitely sleeping in this roo–"
"hey, girls! come on out! we need to figure out who's rooming with who before we move our stuff in!" ahyeon glimpsed into each room to look for the hyperactive trio, the three members following their leader into the barren living room where yerang and dabi were already waiting. all plopping onto the heated, wooden floor in a rough circle, all eyes eventually landed on ahyeon after getting into comfortable positions.
"alright, so... roommates... how should we do this?" ahyeon began, eyebrows knitting together in deep thought.
"more like who's going to room with me?" dabi interjected out of the blue, immediately capturing the five girls' attention. the atmosphere tensed in the slightest as there was a sense of hesitation among the members. everyone knew dabi had a bit of a temper; hell, she was known as the trainee for losing friends in the blink of an eye due to her bad attitude. not being able to let the silence drag on any longer, jangmi unnecessarily shot her hand up to look at ahyeon as if asking for her permission.
"i'll do it! i'll room with dabi-unnie!" she desperately volunteered, the small bit of fear over dabi feeling hurt still evident in her wide eyes. but in all blunt honesty, dabi couldn't care less if none of the members ended up stepping up like jangmi did because she acknowledges the fact that she can be childish and petty at times; but then again, dabi will also admit she feels a little relieved that it's tenderhearted jangmi who will be her roommate from then on. why? because it was jangmi who not only approached dabi first back in their trainee days but it was also jangmi who didn't judge the older girl off of first impressions like the many others did. and for that, dabi often found herself feeling grateful toward her fellow vocalist.
"uh," ahyeon looked taken aback by jangmi's sudden outburst before settling into a faint chuckle, "yeah. yeah! sure. go ahead." the leader nodded slowly, offering a troubled jangmi a small smile before turning to the two youngest members: hwayoung and clara. "then i guess the maknaes can stick together while," ahyeon finally looked to yerang who was patiently observing as usual before raising a fist, "yerang and i can share a room together." yerang let out a pleased hum as she bumped her first against ahyeon's.
"well, i guess that's settled then," hwayoung spoke up while witnessing her fellow members nodding along to her statement, "should we get unpacking then?"
"not with an empty refrigerator, no we're not," the six girls snapped their gazes toward the lifeless kitchen to find their manager hopelessly staring into the spotless refrigerator. if this were a cartoon show, now would be the perfect time to insert the cawing crow flapping over their blank heads.
"now that i think about it... i'm kinda hungry."
"isn't it dinner time?"
"oh yeah... huh..."
"alright, girls. let's go grocery shopping."
"unnie unnie!" clara bounded up to yerang and ahyeon who were managing the shopping cart, holding up a jumbo box of pepero with hope-filled eyes, "can we?" yerang and ahyeon exchanged a glance before staring down at the cart, the youngest girl following their gaze to spot the same exact box hwayoung already threw in earlier.
"ah," clara breathed out, "she beat me to it."
"unnie unnie!" this time it was jangmi who leaped up to the pair, holding up three packets of pork belly with hope-filled eyes, "can we?" jangmi nervously watched as ahyeon and yerang wordlessly studied the price tag before the lead vocalist quickly jumped to her defense, "i mean look at the marbling! i just know it's going to be delicious! don't you think so, yerang? and– and this could be our treat to ourselves, you know? for a strenuous trainee life and to a successful idol career!"
"hm," the leader let out a clipped hum, "yeah. sure. why not?" ahyeon then nodded in both approval and agreement, gently dropping the packets of meat onto the growing pile of groceries. the four members then continued to stroll along the aisles before hwayoung showed up with the piles of fruits and vegetables she was requested to bring.
"where's dabi-unnie?" yerang inquired as the five girls neared the cash registers, hwayoung and clara already beginning to load the items onto the conveyor belt. ahyeon was receiving the company's card from sangki when she scanned the aisles before her.
"last time i saw her, she was making friends with the saleslady who was handing out samples for the new castella cake," ahyeon offered her last recollection of the said girl before stepping up to the worker at the register.
"ah... of course..."
"...i'll go get her."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
PAM SAYS: u-uh... hi... hello... it's been a hot minute, hasn't it? hahaha. pretty sure you guys don't want to hear another excuse from my inactive , but please ??? take this second chapter ??? as my apology ??? it's summer break for me, and i've managed to come around and actually start writing again, so please excuse me if this is absolute trash and some parts seem rustic or repetitive. :^( i hope you guys are still there and willing to continue this journey ??? but !!! also !!! what do you guys think about these mini gif sets placed throughout the chapter? i apologize that it is all from blackpink house, but it really is difficult to find self-cam and behind-the-scenes videos of some of the faceclaims, so i hope this is fine for starters? (just pretend the more broad shots are of the lumière members hehe) anywho, i hope you still enjoyed this long-awaited chapter. and what would you guys like to see in the next chapter? would you guys like me to write about the bits and pieces of their journey to debut, or would you guys prefer for me to not drag it on any longer and just dive straight into their debut era? i'm down for suggestions! (but then again) i'm not sure if i will end up following them because other ideas might pop up along the way, but regardless, i would love to grasp an idea of what you—the readers—would like to see! omg idek it's like two in the morning right now! agh! okay! g'day or g'night, loves! <3
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LUMIÈRE / oh, the love-hate relationship you have with coding. e ___ e
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