Work Text:
“Scram.” Flinching away from the door, Winter quickly spun to look at the owner of the voice.
Immediately she bows, it’s a senior she recognises from even before she’d become a trainee.
“I’m sorry.” She keeps her head down, waiting for some sort of reply, forgiveness, reprimand; the past few days surrounded by the regulars of the limelight has taught her something.
Almost everyone hides a side of themselves from the cameras.
There’s some seniors who are just as smiley, just as kind.
But there were also those whose smiles immediately fell the moment the camera pans away.
What more when it comes to Karina? An idol wrapped up in every mean girl controversy and who looks as if she could glare you to your grave?
She squeezes her eyes shut tight, keeping her head down as if voluntarily punishing herself so the taller idol wouldn’t have to tell her to.
Only, nothing comes, and when she figures the raven had just decided to leave her alone and look back up, instead she’s greeted with obsidian orbs staring down at her.
Don’t tell me she’s some sort of sadist who just enjoyed watching me bow to her.
“Don’t eat that before your stage, it scratches your throat.” Winter quickly looks down at the singular fried chicken wing she’d bought without her managers knowing, biting her lip sadly as she mentally parts with the treat she was going to give herself for reaching a successful debut.
Clearly, the look doesn’t slip past the older woman.
At all.
“...Go in and pick something from the table, leave that for later.” She’s not a sadist! She’s an angel! Sent from heaven for me!!!
She reaches out happily, smiling widely, only for sharp nails to push against the middle of her collarbone, it hurts more than she wishes it would’ve.
“Don’t touch me.” It’s like the raven was reminding her of the distance she should keep.
Like a reminder that her kindness was just that, kindness, not an invitation for friendship.
She nods once, fully content with the outcome of this conversation.
Oh but…
“Could I- come back here after my stage? I was hiding to eat it because they would scold me for getting extra food…” She’s rubbing the spot Karina had practically pricked, holding her little plastic bag of chicken in the other hand as she ruffles up her hair, scratching her temple.
Perhaps the sight is endearing enough for the raven haired senior.
“... knock yourself out.” With that, the most unreal looking beauty that Kim Minjeong has ever laid her eyes on proceeds to disappear down the hall; towards the bathroom, but she quickly ignores that fact and sprints her way over to the older woman’s snack table.
She places the chicken on the side of it, glancing over the box, it’s filled to the brim with only a single tiny cookie pack taken out, she eliminates the other pack from her choices.
If she likes that one I shouldn’t take it…
“Which one does she not like…?” There’s half a thought to pull out her phone and go on NamuWiki to look up karina’s profile, or maybe naver, or would the older woman have done some sort of childhood snacks video by now?
Alas, her phone was in her manager's bag, since they couldn’t risk her members or her going around asking for numbers.
She picks up a pack of the milk cream biscuits.
“The chicken one at the top left, the corn one on the bottom right, the green one in the middle she finds too sweet.”
The rookie quickly turns around, and almost as if a Déjà vu, she bows down once more.
“Woah. What, did you come in here to steal something? Why are you so…jumpy?” Winter quickly flicks her body back up, waving her hands out in front of hers denying the theft allegations.
“I know I know! I was just kidding- but really, I’m surprised to see she let someone come in here.” Based on what the older woman’s teammate was saying, she supposes there is some sort of truth behind the rumors, the cold air around the beauty, the distance she puts between even her and her duo.
Though, Giselle does look pretty close with the raven, close enough to know her snack choices and sit on the older woman’s jacket.
“Not gonna introduce yourself?”
“Winter! Kim Minjeong! I’m 25 years old, born on January first-“
“Team?”
“I’m with Chaehyun and Ning Yizhuo, we’re a trio…”
“Uhuh. Are you perhaps the missing idol that those people are currently searching for?” Giselle quickly walks back over to the door and pulls it open, revealing a barrage of “Kim Minjeong, are you stuck in the toilet!?”
“Come out, I’ll buy the Guo Bao Rou you wanted, damnit!”
“We have 15 minutes, Winter! We can’t just do it as a duo instead!”
"I'll go through your text messages- no, search history!!" She recognises that voice.
It’s Ning Yizhuo.
She quickly sets the snack she’d picked back down, looking over to the senior helplessly.
“I-I’ll come back later for-“
“Thank you!!” When she sprints out the door and down the hall, she leaves Aeri chuckling to empty air.
“Is she going to eat up that little lost puppy or something?”
“If you don’t watch your mouth, I’ll bite you instead.” Karina pushes past her, immediately heading for the couch.
“Ouch, should I tie my hair up into pig tails and be dressed head to toe in your favourite colour if I want you to be nicer to me?”
“…That means you’d have to be nicer to me too, and I like the way we are, no thank you.”
“Rumors say we’re fighting you know?” The raven can’t help but look back up.
“Do you really care about it?” She has a look of suspicion in her eyes, like caring about something like rumors was beneath Uchinaga Aeri.
“Not really.” When the reply comes, it’s a confirmation of her suspicions.
“Exactly.” She looks back down to her phone, sighing.
Seriously, what’s the point of being here so early if we’re going to be one of the last ones performing?
She could be sleeping another 2 or 3 hours a day and maybe then she wouldn’t be this cranky.
—————————————————
Aeri pays attention, mostly out of curiosity…and mostly out of the fact if her suspicions are right this would be so funny.
The moment the tv remote is picked up, her ears perk up, attention diverting from her video.
The volume of the waiting room tv does become louder, and that’s her answer.
“Are you some sort of pre-debut fan? Or did you just take an interest in her?” It’s as if she’s some sort of coyote that’s been waiting to sink her teeth into the older woman’s weak spot.
It also just so happens that this is the first time in a long time Yu Jimin has displayed something even meagrely close to a weakness.
“I didn’t even know she existed until today.”
“And congratulations you found the rest of your life looking right at you?” It’s a coincidence that the moment Aeri finishes her sentence Winter’s part comes on.
It’s also a coincidence that Winter is directly staring just slightly off to the side of the camera, inadvertently really looking as if she was staring at the raven.
“See?”
“Shut up, Aeri; I was just…thinking.” It’s rather suspicious that Yu Jimin was still staring at the stage despite the conversation.
“About how cute she is?” Aeri starts wondering if the stage was really that interesting.
“About how their concept is the opposite of ours.”
Aeri pauses their banter for just a moment, paying attention to the screen, the bright smiles, the song that sounds as if the perfect match to a coming of age youth drama.
“Do you think we’d even- pull that off?”
“At some point, I was going to do something like that before you came into my life.” Aeri looks beside her, the look on Yu Jimin’s face.
“You know your words sound like you resent me for changing your debut concept, but your face looks so relieved you have me in your life.”
“If I didn’t have people calling me cold and mean all the time I’d actually be able to talk to people, but you’re right.” She laughs, eyes still not tearing away, watching the blondie hop across the stage before showing a wink and a heart.
“I am so relieved we don’t have to be jumping for an entire song.”
“She really is like an excited puppy, this time not lost since she’s exactly where she wants to be.” This time it’s Aeri’s turn to be stared at.
“I suspect if you went into her dreams and asked for her ideal life it would be in a snack heaven.”
“…you met her for like 3 minutes, did you psychoanalyse her or something?”
“No, but you didn’t see the face she made when I told her not to eat that super fried chicken over there.” The raven quickly points towards the fried chicken that was looking more and more sad as time passed, probably cold and soggy by now.
“Wait no, I did! She ended up not taking any snacks, she literally ran away as if she'd give in if she stayed any longer!”
A high note pierces through the room.
“Woah.”
Another one, this time joining the first.
“My youth drama concept suddenly became a battle field.” Aeri remarks quickly before turning back to her duo, a wide happy smile on her face; the likes the netizens wanted to see from her, at least, that’s what the headlines complain.
“Come on, Yu Jimin! You can do this! Sing along!” A flick of the leader’s index finger onto her forehead.
“You try it instead.”
—————————————————
When they get back from their stage, outside their waiting room is the rabbitpuppy, a new nickname for the rookie that the duo had made while bickering over what she resembled more.
There’s a look exchanged between the both of them when they realise the puppy was currently being scolded quietly.
“Why would you come over here?!” Minjeong has her head bowed down, clearly accepting the scolding with no intention to actually learn anything from her manager’s words.
“I ran into them and we exchanged a few-”
“Don’t you know who you should talk to? Kim Minjeong, do you want to be a singer? Or are you here to make friends with other idols? Even if that’s it, can’t you choose someone that wouldn’t affect your image? You just debuted, do you want to have to leave the group?” That leaves a sour note in the air, she supposes the man doesn't know they're back, assuming they were still on stage or just finishing up.
“It’s not like-”
“We give you your phones so you can stay up to date, don’t you know what they say about-” The duo simply hides behind two clothes racks, watching as the puppy quickly butts in, cutting her manager off.
“Don’t say that. You don’t even know them.”
“And you do?” It's a sight they see often, a manager raising his voice, especially to a female idol in some sort of secluded corner.
But this was brave, with the duo's waiting room being one of the closest doors to the stage.
Jimin finds herself wondering if he was worse in the trios, all the way down the hall.
“No, but I know they’re nicer than you’re painting them out to be!”
“Don’t you know I’m saying all this for your good?”
“Urgh…” The duo watches as the puppy groans, rolling her eyes before stomping away, not bothering with her manager’s call for her.
“Kim Minjeong!”
Quickly, the man follows.
"Follow me and I'll scream!! Leave me alone!!"
The two of them exchange glances, with Aeri in particular searching her mind for some sort of funny punchline.
“I guess we should put up a sign that says the puppy outside barks and bites.” Karina can only look at her incredulously before sighing, pushing the door open.
“Oh, she didn’t even take her chicken.” When Aeri points it out, Jimin walks back over towards the makeup table, looking down at the sad piece of chicken.
“...Are you hungry?”
“We’re stealing the puppy’s food?”
“It’s not often we get defended by someone.” They surround the piece of chicken, towering over, Aeri scrunches her brows, confusion growing by the second.
“So we’re stealing their…food?”
Another sigh.
This is why they are always said to be fighting.
“We’ll buy her chicken! We’re not eating that, it’s been there for an hour at room temperature, it’s gonna make you sick!” Jimin is playfully kicking the shin of the japanese woman, gritting her jaw at how annoying Aeri was being.
“Ohh…how are we gonna get it to her?”
“Do you really think her manager is gonna let her eat it if we bring it over? We’re kidnapping her.” There’s a look on the older woman’s face that screams to Aeri Uchinaga not to ask any stupid questions.
“I’ll go buy the chicken.”
“...I’m supposed to go kidnap her?”
“Who else?”
“Urgh.”
When the senior finally finds the door of the trio’s waiting room, she reminisces about the last time she did this.
Being a rookie, walking door to door, introducing their duo, the soul that quickly gets sucked out of you as you realise most of them don’t really care until you become popular.
She knocks, lips a flat line, face devoid of emotion, eyes half open, fatigue plaguing her ever since their promotions had started.
She reminisces about the time when she was a rookie, before she’d felt this tired, as if she was just lugging her body around the broadcasting station.
As if she wasn’t even mentally here until she’s on stage.
“Yes?” It’s a funny coincidence, the person that opens the door is exactly the manager that had been scolding the puppy.
It becomes even funnier when he quickly turns around and tells the trio to gather up to greet her.
They’re all like this.
Cowards, the ones that only talk a lot until they see you face to face.
When the trio finishes their greeting, she’s thinking of the name she’d seen in the bottom left corner when watching their performance.
It’s not as if she could just go ‘the blonde one, follow me.’
Or could she.
“Did I…do something?” Luckily for the senior, the rookie steps out in front of her teammates, holding her hand up as if she was volunteering to be the only one to get scolded.
Only, the blonde’s face is filled with a happy expectant look, as if she knew the senior was here to invite her to a chicken party.
“I’ll apologise with her if she did something! She ran away just now because I was being slightly mean to her!” The raven can only watch as the trio start to gather around the blonde, as if shielding her from a disciplinary master.
All the while, Winter; she’d finally remembered the name, was still smiling, looking more and more sure that Karina was clearly here with either a snack or the forgotten chicken she’d left behind.
“You’re all changed, huh?” Winter quickly nods, smiling, with a secret look on her face as if to say
‘You can get me out of here without revealing that I’m going for chicken, right? Please~?”
Karina Yu is ashamed to say she smiles at the blind faith the rookie has in her.
Perhaps she’d missed this feeling, someone baselessly fully trusting that she has good in her.
Or maybe like in the blonde’s case, was goodness in human form.
“Can I borrow them for a while? 30 minutes.” She tries to be nice.
It’s exactly her formula when it comes to the industry and life.
Be nice, until being nice isn’t enough.
“We have to drive them back to the dor-” With the look on the girl’s manager’s face, she knows it won’t be enough.
It’s as if he thinks she’ll be giving them alcohol or something.
“We’ll drive them there, they can give me the address.” It’s clear from how the man flinches at the change of her tone.
This is why she hates smiling in the broadcasting lobby.
Vultures, the lot of the staff.
Anything to gain the upper hand, even if it’s painting the story of a lost loved one as a break up.
She shakes the memories away, quickly walking out the room before allowing the man to even think of an argument.
“Come, Winter.” She realises when she’s already half way through taking her next step that the tone she’d spoken in was exactly like Aeri’s when talking to Cooper.
“Sunbae, I’m not a dog.” The rest of the way back to her waiting room, the puppy is glaring at her, pouting, obviously dissatisfied with the way she’s stayed silent about apologising for calling the idol over like a pet dog.
That all disappears when they finally reach her waiting room though.
“Woah! Chicken!”
Then, all of a sudden, the trio has bright smiles just like when they were on stage instead.
“Thank you, Karina sunbae!”
“Hmm~? Me?? I bought it with my money??”
The trio turns towards Aeri, bowing in thanks yet again.
When they finally gather around the bucket of chicken, Jimin very naturally sits down next to the puppy that had piqued her interest.
“This is much better than a single soggy cold chicken wing, isn’t it?” She raises her hand to pet one of the pig tails that she’s coming to realise resembles a dog's ear.
She’s always been an animal lover.
Or maybe.
She’s always loved the charming and puppyish facial type on women.
Especially in a short blonde bob.
“Still not a dog.” It’s quick, it happens quickly, the puppy bites back, poking her waist.
“The puppy in our waiting room really does bite, huh?” It’s Aeri’s words, not even hers, but she’s the one who gets poked again.
It starts feeling unfair.
“I didn’t even say anything!!!”
She finally settles down, picking up a drumstick for herself.
When she finally raises her arm for her first bite, she starts to realise there’s a lack of personal space.
A look next to her reveals Winter being at least 4 shuffles closer to her compared to before.
She pauses, tilting her head, wondering if the younger woman had something to say.
“Thank you.”
It’s a small voice, whispered, as if somehow, the rookie would be shamed if she was heard thanking her.
It’s hard, with everything that’s happened ever since their debut 6 years ago, she had practically sworn to never befriend another idol again.
But this puppy seems to find herself in the perfect spot on her good side over and over again today.
“Ah right, I was also going to give you a snack, the one on the bottom in the middle is nice!”
““The chicken one at the top left, the corn one on the bottom right, the green one in the middle, those are the ones you don’t like.” It stun locks her for a moment.
And another.
And another.
“Why do you know that?”
“Ah, I told her just now, she was trying not to pick your favorite ones.” Aeri pipes up from the other side of the table, enjoying her chicken while engaged in a heated conversation about vampires with NingNing.
“And you memorised it immediately?”
The puppy has her lips pressed into a line, her cheeks pink with blush and heat, Yu Jimin finds herself wondering what the rookie would look like if she took some makeup remover to her cheeks right now.
There’s no reply that comes even when she waits, only when an awkward silence settles between them does Kim Minjeong all of a sudden bow her head down.
The raven is confused for only a second before realising it was a bashful nod.
Ah…she really is cute…
“Minjeong, right?”
A more energetic one comes, but the blonde’s head stays dropped.
“Can I bite you? I feel like I could swallow you whole.” When she tilts her head to peek at the younger woman’s reaction, she’s greeted with knitted brows and an angry look.
“No!! Don’t mess with me!!” When the trio finally notices the conversation the duo were having, they join in on the laughter.
Jimin comes to realise Winter would definitely have a hard time with both her teammates and her fans.
She was simply too fun and cute when angry after all.