Chapter Text
The early morning announces itself slowly into the translucent satin curtains of Tzuyu’s room. Not long after the gentle rays hit her eyes, she wakes to find Butter and Kaya fast asleep by her feet. A tiny smile makes its way to her lips in appreciation of seeing her babies still at peace which wasn’t always the case, at least for the former bitch.
Not wanting to disturb them, she slowly sneaks her way out of the duvet, concentrating more than ever not to pull the sheets where the dogs are laying unmoving. After succeeding, she goes straight to their common washroom inside the dorm to fulfil her morning regimen.
Cheer up, Tzuyu! She thinks to herself. You’re filming today, and you’re first in hair and makeup!
If anything, Tzuyu is grateful to have been assigned as the first one to get ready, especially since their usual order is by age—meaning, she is always the last person in line. As a morning person, Tzuyu sometimes felt that precious time gets wasted as she waits for her turn when she can get ready in no time and go on with what her schedule for the day dictated.
Tzuyu takes her time to go back to her room before putting on a cream button-down shirt and a relaxed pair of jeans. Now ready to head out with her bare face in all its glory, she finds Manager Unnie waiting for her by the hallway as she opens the door.
“Good morning, Unnie!” Tzuyu beams.
“Good morning, Tzuyu,” Manager Unnie smiles before raising an eyebrow. “You seem to be in a good mood! Are you ready?”
Tzuyu nods and flashes her pearly-whites in response. They did not waste any more time and headed to the van. Throughout the almost 10-minute trip, Tzuyu maximised the liberty to snooze until they arrive the location.
As she enters the studio, she finds an even sleepier member than her sitting by her own makeup chair on the farthest side of the studio, head swaying side-to-side while getting her hair styled. Tzuyu sighs—she knows that feeling more than anyone else, the kind of sleepiness that feels like an endless battle you can’t overcome no matter how hard you try, and we know Momo is not one to give up sleep if it’s the last thing she does.
“Momo Unnie,” Tzuyu rushes to Momo’s side and softly nudges her left shoulder.
“Mmm…?” Momo responds, still keeping her eyes closed.
“Are you okay? Did you get enough sleep? Will you be able to perform properly later? Maybe you need to rest first?” Tzuyu asks in one breath, concern lingering in every syllable she speaks.
From this, Momo finally meets her eyes on the mirror, “Our Tzu-Tzu. Don’t worry about me, I just need to sleep as much as I can before we film and I’ll be fine,” Momo hums as she gives Tzuyu’s hand a firm yet reassuring squeeze.
“Okay, good,” Tzuyu says. “It might take us three more hours before the rest of the members get ready anyway.”
Momo slowly nods and closes her eyes once more. Tzuyu then walks carefully until she finds her designated makeup chair and makes herself comfortable. Not long after, the team is already working on her. Tzuyu entertains herself with her mobile phone, browsing through Twitter and keeping herself up to date with what ONCEs are up to. From time to time, she snickers after seeing absurd video edits posted by their fans. At one point, she sees a Momo-Mina moments compilation.
What was their ship name again? Tzuyu inwardly asks herself, knitting her eyebrows together in the hopes of remembering the term. MoNa? Sounds wrong. MinaMo? Maybe this...? Oh wait! MiMo? Ah, yes! MiMo.
Tzuyu shakes her head. She remembers this one fan-made video edit her mother had sent her way back and shakes her head in disappointment. Tzuyu continues to busy herself with her phone.
Now, don’t get her wrong; she sometimes has small talks with the staff as she prepares, but this time, she happens to be deep in that wretched bird app that she did not notice another member enter the studio.