fallenegos

[fallenegos]

what do you want for your birthday?

[fallenegos]

do you have any new hobbies? anything you can recommend we try out too?

[fallenegos]

28. today’s tmi?

[fallenegos]

7. what do you like about the company?

[fallenegos]

aaahhh it's so good to see you online again!! and i got lucky too because i just got off work in time 😊what have you been doing lately? i've been trying to get more fashionable, and you're really such an inspiration to me... are there any must-have jewelry pieces you can recommend to someone who works in an office?

2 comments from the artist

[ 민니 ]: Just keep it minimal but intentional. Subtle details go a long way. Style should be personal, so I won’t tell you exactly what to wear. Instead, here’s what I’d personally look for. Maybe you can use that to find what you like: - Small round-cut crystal stud earrings or a simple huggie hoop. - A thin bangle, preferably metal or crystal-accented, that sits close to the wrist. Nothing that clinks against a keyboard. Swarovski has good options! - A single chain necklace or a short pendant necklace. One is enough if it’s the right one. - Personally, I love watches. The Certa and Illumina from Swarovski are my must haves.

[fallenegos]

28. today's TMI?

[fallenegos]

26 / what's your ideal type?

[fallenegos]

who in the industry do you look up to the most?

[fallenegos]

hi, idols! as an apology for the pause in operations on the main and the lack of monthly schedules, we come bearing gifts... an ask meme! this isn't the honesty hour that was mentioned a while back (as that will be used as part of our next event), but we think it'll still be lots of fun. check under the cut for all the details!

✩　[조태준] message is here!

our second ask meme will be in the form of interactions on hi-u, midas labels' very own artist-to-fan communication app, and girl talk, the exclusive communication app for girl code. the following questions, inspired by questions that idols are commonly asked by fans online and during fansigns, must be answered with your muse's public image in mind. your muse's answers do not have to be honest, but they must remain appropriate. if you do choose to have your muse respond inappropriately, there will be in-character consequences. if you're willing to take that risk, you may, but we recommend running any potential inappropriate answers by us to know what the companies' reactions would be. the goal of this meme is to explore your muses' public images a bit further, and let other muns see how they interact with their fans. you can send any of the below questions to any mun/muse that reblogs this post. you are more than welcome to send in your own custom questions, from the pov of that muse's fan (or an antifan). we do encourage avoiding sending any questions that could be deemed too inappropriate, but many idols do experience hate and inappropriate or intrusive questions on these platforms, so you're welcome to also send in questions in that vein (as long as the mun you are sending it to is okay with it).

would you rather have five [group member] or a five-year-old [group member]?

would you rather date [group member] or [group member]?

which member do you spend the most time with lately?

how would you rank your group members based on visuals?

how would you rank your group members based on personality?

what's your favorite thing about your group?

what do you like about the company?

what's your favorite thing about yourself?

who do you look up to the most?

do you have any friends in the industry?

what variety show would you like to go on the most?

what does your dream comeback look like?

how should i ask out the person i like?

can you recommend me a song?

can you recommend me a movie?

what app do you use the most lately?

do you have any new hobbies?

how do you destress?

where do you want to travel to next?

what's the first thing you think of when you think of your fans?

can you share your personal scent?

what do you want for your birthday?

if you could spend one day with your fans, what would you want to do?

what's the key to your heart?

what's your most prized possession?

what's your ideal type?

what's your favorite season and why?

today's TMI?

tell us something about your trainee days!

tell us a story from your childhood!

who's your [group name] bias?

what girl group do you like lately?

what boy group do you like lately?

✩　are you their manager?

nowadays, it's getting easier and easier to find an idol's manager or stylist on social media... and we know fans can be a bit intrusive! staff members may also reblog this post, and muns may send them any of the above questions (that are applicable, of course), a custom question of their own (whether a genuine question or an intrusive comment by a fan), and/or any of the below questions. we recommend that staff muses reply to these questions as if they're really replying to a fan on social media, but if your staff member would not have a public sns account, you may answer these honestly as if they were speaking to a friend.

what's the hardest thing about your job?

what's your favorite comeback from [artist/group]?

what's your favorite thing about [artist/group]?

do you get along with your artist(s)?

what do you wish more people knew about [artist/group]?

what's one thing you'd change about your artist's career?

what's one thing you'd change about the company's policies?

do you have any regrets about your career?

do you think you get paid enough for everything you do?

if you could work with any other artist, who would you work with?

if you didn't work in the industry, what other job would you like to have?

what advice would you give to someone who wants to work in this industry?

while we are not currently accepting submissions for voucher redemptions, we will be issuing out one standard item voucher for every 3 questions answered for a total of three standard item vouchers per muse, but you may answer as many questions as you'd like. make sure to take your answers with #midas:meme002, and we'll announce when our submit is back open. you may reblog this post and send questions as soon as this post hits the dash. this meme will run until may 1st. happy answering!

[fallenegos]

1 + 1 = ? at allure korea charity brunch with @virtuepoint @egodoll

go jieun wanted to curse whatever entity put her in this position.

one second, she was hovering by the entrance adjusting her rings, the next, she was following behind doah like a dolled-up duckling. that wasn't unusual. they did spend a considerate amount of time together and jieun liked sticking close to the older woman. it wasn't entirely for the comfort of a familiar face, but because doah always knew how to make things more tolerable. but now? she had second thoughts about following doah around.

jieun's sipping her drink slowly, watching shin doah talk to han seowon like it’s the most natural thing in the world. like this wasn't weird to her.

her eyes shift from one to the other. back again. then to her drink. takes a sip. then stares again.

she lowers the glass and gives doah a once-over like she’s trying to make sure this is still the same person who she'd once got into a dramatic argument over nail polish with. then she looks at seowon again, who’s still a mystery to her. but he's still… here. still talking. and it's a lot more than he did that time she ran into him in the company building. the gears in her head are turning, but it’s like static noise in her head. watching these two talk is like watching two fonts that absolutely don’t match being used in the same poster. jieun raises her glass again, eyebrows slightly raised, and takes another sip. slow. thoughtful. borderline suspicious.

"i'm just gonna say it," she announces, half to herself. "this is throwing off my entire internal sense of reality, and i don't like that." she pauses, eyes still darting back and forth between them. "it's not bad," she adds, mostly to doah, "just… weird. it's like seeing a cat and a goldfish hanging out. no one’s even doing anything wrong, it just doesn’t make sense. how do you two even know each other?"

[fallenegos]

an unwelcomed intruder. midas building on some random day. for @swandivers

the lights were on. that was the only reason jieun tried the door. with how exhausted she was, it's not surprising she didn't think through every possibility of why a room's lights were on. she just simply thought someone forgot to turn them off. it happens sometimes, and she’s always been the type to turn them off when she notices. and maybe part of it was that she wanted an empty room before heading back to the dorms. one that's quiet enough to sit in and feel like nothing for a while.

but just jieun's luck, the door creaks when it opens. and the room's not empty like she had thought. jihan is there.

the thought to turn around hits her immediately. she could easily just pivot, walk back into the hallway, and pretend she wasn't even in the building. but it's too late. the creak wasn’t loud, but it was enough. if he heard it- scratch that. if he even might have heard it, she’s stuck. she’s not about to look like she snuck in and fled at the sight of him. so she stays. still, at the edge of the frame. letting the door fall halfway shut behind her, but not all the way.

"sorry, didn't know this room was occupied," she says flatly, walking the line between apology and indifference. "thought someone left the lights on." she doesn't move closer. doesn't sit. she just leans slightly into the doorframe. her eyes flick towards the glow of the monitor. but she doesn’t try to make out what's on it. not her business. not her place. or maybe it could be, but she doesn't ask.

maybe if it were anyone else, she would've said sorry and somewhat meant it. jihan's... different. just different in how he's treated her. or didn't treat her, more like. he was just another cold set of eyes when they first crossed paths. another person in the building who didn’t think much of her. and that was fine. jieun doesn't beg for approval. never has, never will. she's used to being overlooked and dismissed simply because of her family name. but even so then, his indifference stood out. not because it hurt, but because it was the type of dismissiveness that makes someone feel invisible without ever outwardly being cruel. and despite jihan making somewhat of an effort as of lately, jieun still doesn’t really know where she stands with jihan. nor would she even dare to ask.

"am i intruding? should i leave?” she asks, finally. because to jieun, the only thing worse than standing here awkwardly is doing that somewhere she's not wanted. "i was just looking for somewhere quiet for a bit. i can find somewhere else if you'd prefer to have the room to yourself."

[fallenegos]

jieun’s laugh is barely a sound. it's more a breath through her nose, paired with a little lift at the corner of her mouth. but it’s there. she's warm in that way that only happens after a stage when the lights fade and everything starts to feel real again.

"only once?" she teases, bumping her shoulder into heejin’s in return. "that means you’re getting better." her steps are still light, like her body hasn’t realized it’s allowed to rest now. that's not too surprising for someone who spends so much of her spare time practicing, rehearsing, chasing perfection like it's instinct. but her heart? it’s flying, still spinning from the rush of it all. and walking beside heejin, snack in hand, petals in the air? it feels almost too perfect, like a scene pulled from a dream.

and then comes the compliment. it's casual, but jieun's in too good of a mood to treat it as such. she doesn’t say thanks. doesn’t really know how to without her voice cracking a little or sounding too serious at the moment. instead, she shifts the hotteok in her hands, thumb brushing over the warm paper, and lets her gaze drops for just a second. there's always been this quiet understanding between them. because of that, the words hang there, light but sincere, and jieun can feel them settling somewhere just under her ribs.

if she lets herself respond, she knows she’ll get weird about it. say something too earnest and revealing. something like 'i don't think i’d feel proud of myself no matter how much i work i put in, but i trust you,' or 'i think i only pushed through because i knew you would be.'

and she could say those things, but her throat tightens and her stomach flips just imagining it. so instead, she takes a bite of her hotteok. a small one. a clear attempt to stall and give herself something to focus on instead of her feelings. the filling’s still warm, but she barely notices. her eyes stay fixed ahead, a faint pink coloring the tips of her ears—cheeks too, probably. jieun shoots a quick glance sideways, her smile turning a little crooked. "i’ll be doing the journal thing then. in glitter pen too. makes it very official."

her gaze drifts to the stalls ahead, bright with endless possibilities. "definitely something pink," she decides. "the messier the better. i want us to regret it halfway through and finish it anyway, because that's just how we are." jieun glances at heejin out of the corner of her eye, smile slowly growing. "we’ll pretend we were responsible the whole time when we go back."

just a moment -- with @fallenegos

the air tastes sweeter after a stage. or maybe that’s just the hotteok. heejin shifts the paper sleeve in her hands, carefully blowing on the steaming center before taking a bite. it burns her tongue a little, but she doesn’t complain—just hums through it like it’s worth the pain. which, honestly, it is.

her legs are still a little shaky. her heart’s still running on leftover adrenaline. but they’re done. the stage is behind them, the cheers were loud enough to swallow nerves whole, and now there’s just this—soft cherry blossom air, a paper-wrapped snack, and jieun walking next to her under the fairy lights.

she bumps her elbow gently against hers—more nudge than collision.

“see?” she murmurs, still a little hoarse from performing. “we survived. and i only looked like i was gonna pass out once.”

she doesn’t need a reply. they’ve never been a talk-every-second type of duo. jieun fills in the blanks when she wants to, and heejin’s never minded the quiet.

she takes another bite, waits a beat, then says, more offhand than she means it: “you were good, by the way.”

but then she glances over again, adds it more deliberately—so it lands this time. “really good. i hope you’re letting yourself be proud of that. if not, i’m making you write it in your journal later. no skipping.”

she flashes a grin to soften the edge of it, but it’s clear she means every word.

a cherry blossom petal lands in her hotteok, and she flicks it off with a little puff of air. “okay. now what next?” she asks, gesturing to the street of stalls ahead. “fishcake? something disgustingly pink? or are we pretending to be responsible idols and just heading back?”

[fallenegos]

honestly, jieun was just bored.

bored and nosy and missing her best friend, even if she'd rather die than admit that. doah hadn't replied to her texts, and jieun, being who she was, checked doah's location and saw her at some random theater. waiting for a response would've been the normal response, but jieun was far from normal when it came to doah. she went to her location and figured she'd barge in, steal her popcorn, and complain about being ignored like a perfectly well-adjusted person.

there was something she loved about barging into doah's day like an unspoken 'i missed you.'

she slipped in just before the credits started rolling. and there, doah sat with her face in her hands, a quiet sob echoing louder than it should've in an otherwise empty theater. jieun froze. the words she'd planned—half a joke, half a demand for attention—died in her throat. she stood there for a moment, just watching. her grip tightened around the strap of her purse as her concern grew by the second. she moved down the row with soft footsteps. when she reached the seat beside doah, she didn't say anything, just eased her bag open and pulled out the little pack of tissues she always kept stashed. she quickly peeled one from the stack, leaned in, and held it out with a light touch to doah's arm. she only let out a small hum once doah took the napkin, quietly dismissing doah's reasoning for being caught crying in a theater by herself.

the second their eyes met, jieun nearly cooed at the sight of doah and bit back the urge to say something like 'aw, look at you.' the red-rimmed eyes, tear-streaked flushed cheeks, the glossy eyes... it's all so stupidly endearing. and of course it is. because of course even doah in this state has to be pretty. but jieun's chest still aches in that weird, annoying way it always does when doah starts crying. there's just something about seeing her like this that unsettles jieun, and she doesn't know whether she just hated it when people cried or if it was because it was specifically doah. she hated it when doah wasn't happy, which was already a lot more than she'd ever admit out loud since she didn't typically care this much about anyone who wasn't family.

jieun doesn't jump when doah speaks again, doesn't flinch at the threat. instead, she just blinked at doah. then, with that signature deadpan delivery, she starts talking. "i don't think things will end up very well for you if you killed me," she says after a beat, voice flat but laced with a kind of dry amusement. "you could try, but you know—with the whole midas co-ceo's daughter thing. might be career-ending... but some netizens might be happy so maybe it won't. either way, still very messy and not worth it. i heard prison lighting is not forgiving." she reached over, stole a single piece of popcorn. "not that i have anyone to tell this to that'd believe me anyway," she adds, softer now. "they'd just think i was talking shit. say i made it up. throw, like, ten stones at me for even hanging out with the industry's human barbie and tainting her." there's no real venom in it. just an edge of something dry and knowing. a quiet truth tucked beneath the joke. people always have something to say about jieun, and at this stage, she just lets them talk.

after standing there awkwardly, jieun finally opts to sit down and settle into the seat beside doah. she glances toward the screen as the credits fade to black, then back toward the popcorn tub between them. she reaches in, takes another singular piece, and pops it into her mouth. "so," she says, voice low and casual, "what were you watching? what scene made you cry?" her eyes flick towards doah again. it's brief, but attentive. she chews slowly. she just wants to understand, and some context would be great. "unless," she starts, letting her voice trail off a little before finishing, "it's not the movie making you cry." she doesn't press further. doesn't ask anything else. whatever doah says, or doesn't say, jieun will stay until the end of it.

crybaby open starter (for non-haute pink members)

it’s not quite comeback season, but it damn near feels like it with the amount of schedules midas music has shoved haute pink into—and honestly speaking? doah’s less than thrilled to spend this much time with her members. their seventh anniversary is approaching, and doah knows that means sappy, sugary-sweet group content to reassure their fans that contract renewals are going just fine, but having to pretend like one of her members isn’t a backstabbing bitch is pretty fucking exhausting. and the cherry on top of all of this? the backstabbing bitch in question is the member hauties think she’s the closest to—and to suddenly distance herself from hani would send the fandom into a complete and utter panic, so doah has no choice but to dance with the devil. 

sometimes, the devil is a five-foot-six bottle blonde.

but playing pretend is so fucking exhausting—and doah can feel her stress level rising with every second they spend together. and as if things couldn’t get any worse, she noticed a pimple on her jawline this morning. so, doah thinks she should spend her day-off doing some much-needed self-care—and what better way to treat yourself than to a marathon of your favorite romantic comedies? 

and luckily for doah, there’s a cinema near her apartment complex that happens to be screening some of her favorite films. maybe, just maybe, there is a god—and maybe he likes doah a little more today. so, doah catches a cab to the cinema—pulls her cap down over her eyes and buries her face in her turtleneck, quietly secures herself a small popcorn and a drink, and settles into the back row of the theater. the first movie starts, and doah notices she has the theater to herself—a realization that makes her remove her cap and lower her turtleneck. and since she has the theater to herself, doah doesn’t hide her reactions—letting out girlish giggles and audible gasps at every kiss scene.

but for some reason, doah finds herself crying at the end of the first film. she isn’t entirely sure why—but the credits begin to roll, and a loud sob bubbles past her lips. doah’s hands immediately raise to cover her face—letting out a string of muffled sobs as she hides behind her palms. 

doah realizes she isn’t alone when someone reaches out, touches her arm, and hands her a napkin. she lowers her palms from her tear-stained face—a scarlet flush decorating her cheeks. sheepishly, she accepts the napkin—dabbing at her damp cheeks while avoiding their eyes.

“i didn’t think anyone else was here.”

a sniffle, followed by a brief pause. her gaze suddenly flickers upwards—and she glares up at them, a small scowl enveloping glossed lips.

“if you tell anyone you saw me crying like this, i’ll kill you.”

[fallenegos]

jieun's always been the type to keep conversations short. but this? this is pointless. juvenile even. yet, here she is, standing in a hallway, feeding into ghost stories like a kid. she doesn't know why she's indulging it so much. maybe because it's rare to find someone who doesn't try to force real conversation out of her and is fine with letting things be ridiculous and meaningless. maybe because, for once, she doesn't feel like she has to calculate every word and every reaction.

"chills?" she echoes. "sounds like a classic case of being chosen." she drags out the last word just a little. her voice is light, but there's something in the way she says it that makes it hard to tell if she's serious ( she's not ). when the topic shifts to ghost-hunting tools, she clicks her tongue. "flashlights are fine. but a device to translate what they say? even if it's good, why would i want to hear them? what if they tell us to leave? what if they say your name?" then, almost offhandedly, she adds, "or worse. what if they don't say anything at all? just… breathing." the selcas come up again and jieun finds herself suggesting he take more pictures just for her own entertainment. "go ahead. take another one. use the filter. maybe this time it'll pose properly. but what do you think it wants? attention? revenge?"

but it's his next comment that earns something closer to an actual laugh from her. jieun hums, pretending to consider it. "if they've been waiting this long, they must be really patient. though that doesn't do me any good if that's the case." she pauses, raising one eyebrow at the other. "wait, what exactly would they like about you that they wouldn't like about me?" she asks, tilting her head slightly, still amused. it's a hypothetical question that has a large number of answers she doesn't actually care to hear, and the way she doesn't give him a chance to answer makes that clear. "but fine, maybe they just like idols who smile too much. besides, i think i'm fine with not being their favorite. what if they like you so much they follow you home?"

If you told Seowon from a literal day ago that he’d be trading ghost stories with Go Eunsung’s daughter, he would’ve thought that you were on something. Clearly, that isn’t the case. Jieun and Seowon are both career-oriented, looking forward with a one-track mind, but something about their conversation is juvenile. Seowon thinks back to the tales his friends told him of gwisin and dokkaebi in schoolyards and summer camps. He barely knows Jieun, yet something about this makes him nostalgic.

“Yeah, yeah, the lights went out. I think I suddenly got chills back then, too. It was like something just came behind me.” His eyes are wide, hanging tight to every word Jieun says. He’s not sure if he’s acting like he believes her just to get rid of the awkwardness entirely, playing up a part of himself for Jieun so she can have the smallest bit of fun, but he’s having fun with being silly, too. “Should we go to that stairwell? It’ll be our first mission. I’ll bring flashlights. What other tools do they use? Like… that thing that translates what the ghosts say. Should we invest in that? It’ll be worth it, I think.” Seowon shrugs, smiling. If he thinks about it more, maybe it’d scare him for real– call him a baby, whatever, but come on. “Yeah, it’s only when I take pictures. Maybe if I use that one filter, it’d show the ghost posing with me or something, Jieun. Should I take pictures there again?”

Don’t think the sunbaes really need saving if they lasted long, Jieun says, and Seowon kind of agrees. Still, he responds. “No, but… maybe some of the ghosts are vengeful and waiting for the right moment to strike.” he says ominously, raising his eyebrows as if he’s proven a point. Then, Jieun says that she’s giving him up first, which he kind of laughs at. “Sure. I respect it. But maybe the ghosts will ignore me because they like me and just go right after you.”

[fallenegos]

jieun huffs out a short laugh, low and breathy. "nope," she mutters, pressing her fingers harder against her temples as if that’ll do anything to quiet the endless loop running in her head. she lets her hands drop as she watches heejin sit down with a groan. something about it is funny in the way that makes her feel like they’re both caught in the same ridiculous cycle. "if you ever figure out how to turn it off, let me know. i’d love to experience inner peace at least once." but jieun knows that isn’t happening. not tonight. not anytime soon.

she stares at her reflection in the mirror. the exhaustion is apparent, but she knows she’ll still be picking apart details the second she closes her eyes. it’s just how she is.

jieun snorts in response. "maybe they’re just waiting for the right moment to hit us with an itemized bill. 'studio occupancy fee,' 'excessive breathing charge,' 'audacity to exist surcharge.'" she lets the joke settle, watching the way heejin turns the water bottle over in her hands. there’s a quiet ease in moments like this. she's still tired, still restless, but at least she has heejin.

jieun scoffs, letting her head loll to the side as she gives heejin a deadpan look. “bold of you to assume you’ll catch me to even grab my collar.” she lets her eyes flutter shut for a moment. she’s so tempted to test it just to see if heejin actually follows through. but it’d probably just turn into some ridiculous game of chicken before jieun inevitably caves out of sheer exhaustion. "though, i’ll warn you now," she continues, opening her eyes, "i bite if handled roughly. so if you’re gonna drag me, make sure it’s with care."

then heejin says 'you did good today' and jieun feels it settle somewhere deep in her chest. she doesn’t acknowledge it outright, nor does she really know how to. she typically ignored compliments because of it. but this was heejin, someone she knew and trusted more than the average person. she figured heejin deserves a reaction, so she just offers a quiet laugh followed by a small smile instead. "well, i guess that means i can officially take a night off from nit-picking details," her voice dry, but there’s an ease to it. a beat later, she adds, "you too, by the way. not that you need me to tell you that either."

she eyes heejin’s outstretched hand for a second, like she’s actually considering staying just to be difficult. she exhales through her nose, something between a sigh and a laugh, before finally reaching up to take it. "ugh, fine," she drawls, letting heejin pull her up. “but for the record, this is the earliest i’ve called it a night all month."

she rolls out her shoulders, trying to ignore the way her body immediately protests the movement. she knows the second she gets home, she’ll still be running the choreography in her head, probably imagining mistakes in her sleep. but for now, she’ll pretend she’s capable of leaving work at work. but she doesn’t argue. doesn’t fight to stay. because as much as her instincts tell her to push through, to run it one more time, she knows heejin’s right. perfection has a price, and they’ve already given enough of themselves to it for one night.

she gives one last glance at the mirror before turning back to heejin. "i'll be honest, the second i suggesteed stopping, i immediately regretted it," she admits, "but i don't want to get dragged out of here tonight. maybe next time?"

heejin watches the way jieun presses her fingertips to her temples, sees the exhaustion creeping into her posture—familiar in a way that makes her chest tighten just a little. the aftertaste of the last run-through still lingers, every beat and step echoing in her own mind like a song on loop. she knew jieun well enough by now to recognize the signs—overthinking, replaying every moment, wondering if it was enough.

"it never shuts up, does it?" her voice is soft, not quite a question, as she tosses a small towel over her shoulder and glances at jieun through the mirror. jieun’s joke pulls a smile from her, and heejin lets out a light laugh, lowering herself to sit against the mirrored wall with a quiet groan.

“honestly, if we start charging them, they’d probably send us an invoice for breathing their air or something.” she picks up a water bottle, turning it over in her hands before taking a sip. “we’d be in debt by the end of the week.”

her gaze drifts back to the mirror. she watches jieun stretch, notes the slight slump in her shoulders that wasn’t there earlier. heejin knows that look. it’s the same one she sees in her own reflection sometimes—the weight of trying to prove you deserve to be here.

“but,” she adds after a beat, “i’m absolutely on board with the pact. no hesitation. if you say even a hint of ‘one more,’ i’m dragging you out by the collar.”

her tone is playful, but her eyes soften as she glances at jieun again. "…you did good today, you know?" she adds, quieter this time. "not that you need me to tell you that, but still. thought i��d say it."

she tilts her head back against the mirror, closing her eyes for a moment. it’s tempting to push through. to run it again and again until every detail feels perfect—but perfection has a price, and they’ve already been paying it for hours. "as much as my brain’s screaming ‘again’—i say we call it. you’re right. if we burn ourselves out now, there won’t be anything left for the stage."

a pause. then, with a grin pulling at her lips, "besides, we gotta keep some mystery alive. can’t show all our cards before the performance, right?" she pushes herself up, offering a hand toward jieun with an easy smile.

"c’mon. let’s get out of here before either of us changes our mind."

[fallenegos]

jieun starts thinking maybe she was wrong about seowon. make that not entirely wrong because he’s still careful in a way that makes her wary, but he’s not as boring as she first assumed. and against her better judgment, she finds herself indulging in this conversation even more. “the lights went out? that definitely must be a sign,” she muses, eyes glinting. then, after a beat, “seems to match the things i've heard and seen.” her lips curve up more, something between amusement and mischief creeping in. ghost talk is stupid, but it’s a fun kind of stupid.

“there’s a stairwell in the building,” she starts, her voice slipping out of the cold tone she usually has and into something more casual. “sometimes people hear footsteps behind them, but when they turn around, there’s nothing.” she tilts her head slightly, watching him carefully. “they say if you hear them more than once, you shouldn’t look back a second time. oh, maybe this one is the ghost you've been visited by... there was something about one of the practice rooms... the lights flickered every time someone’s in there alone. at first, thought it was the wiring, but i heard it only happens when someone’s dancing. never when they’re just sitting there. is it only when you take photos?” she's feeding into this conversation like she might actually believe in the paranormal activity in the company building. whether or not jieun made that up on the spot or had actually heard it from others was something she'd probably never admit.

at the mention of becoming ghost hunters with seowon, jieun decides to no longer hide her amusement. “you want to be ghost hunters with me? sure, why not. don't think the sunbaes really need saving if they lasted this long, but it could be fun." her voice is lighter now, not quite teasing but not serious either. “but don’t trust me. if we run into anything, i’m giving you up first.”

Yeah, Seowon’s actually facing Jieun now, but he still feels as if he’s being watched. Intensely. It’s a lot like being in the office with the CEOs, Seowon thinks, but he’s sure that comparing her to her relatives is a little bleak of him to do. Thanks, Jieun simply says, and Seowon gives her his million dollar smile. He’s not quite sure if she’d appreciate the pristine boyfriend-like image he gives his fans, and a little more sure that she views their love as artificial given the comments that she’s faced, but he doesn’t know anything else. “I mean it.”

Two can play at that game, Jieun. Seowon observes her, too. Her lips curve upward just a tiny bit and there’s a gleam of amusement in her eyes. The conversation’s awkward, and it’s very clear that the two of them have similar walls up, but for very different reasons. Maybe Seowon’s best bet is to be ghost hunters with her, and he does. “You have?” His jaw drops, eyes wide. Of course she has. She’s trained for three years and her father’s one of the CEOs, but Seowon’s still shocked. It’s not just to play into whatever this is with Jieun, though– it’s the combination of how monotone she sounds and how playful she seems. Jieun doesn’t seem so cold anymore, and he feels like he’s in school and telling ghost stories to his friends. “I want to know, sure, I’ve been sensing a… weird energy around me whenever I’m alone. I took some selcas once up here, and the lights suddenly shut off. I think it’s just them screwing around with me. Does that count as it showing itself?” His head tilts to the side. “Tell me more. Maybe we should become ghost hunters to protect the sunbaes. Thoughts?”