lgcdom

[lgcdom]

dom was trying to keep a straight face. he didn't want to let on that he was too happy about debut—but he was!! after they'd told them the results of the evaluation, he was shocked. then he was lightheaded. and then he needed to hurl, so he zipped out of the room and hid himself in a janitor's closet where he proceeded to smack his cheeks until they were red, just to test that it wasn't a dream.

( he couldn't stop smiling behind a closed fist. kicked the blankets and couldn't sleep for two days straight. it was only on the third day that it came crashing down on him: he was debuting with versus. more specifically, he was debuting with a certain member of versus. that was enough to make him sick again. )

fortunately, his dinner plans with sarang came a week after when he wasn't a total disaster. "fine," dom answered, glancing down at the menu that he was not hiding behind this time. "scared," he admitted a second later. "versus is a performance-forward group. i don't— ... i can, but." his thought trailed off. he decided to ask her instead, "they put you in crystallis, right? how do you feel about that?"

she was gunning for debut and now it was here. it wasn't almost unbelievable, it was simply unbelievable. but it was happening, in a few months and she was going to start debut prep. a part of her felt like it couldn't be true. it was only when dom arrived that she snapped out of her thoughts a little. even if their dinner was around the topic that had her thoughts running wild in the first place. "i ordered some us some water and the waiter will be back in a minute."

a congratulatory dinner for their debut. she even picked a fancy restaurant for the occasion. actually, it was a slightly funny thought that they were eating together. for sarang at least, just a bit of time ago she thought he hated her for reasons unknown. "our lives will vastly change in the up-coming months, how are you feeling?"

@lgcdom

[lgcdom]

the saddest things always came in the quietest moments.

dom thought he knew hurt when he snapped, then let's separate. they had been arguing for some time, and each fight had him more and more pressed, white knuckles braced against the sink, fuming. you knew what you were getting into. you knew how important this job is—not only for me, but for us, the community, this city. i want to make this place better for hana when she grows older so she doesn't have to keep looking over her shoulder like you do. but if i'm making you so unhappy, then let's separate.

he thought he knew pain when he saw the way minnie looked at him then. the cowardice part within him screamed for him to look away, to save himself from seeing the tears that he knew would inevitably stain her cheeks—but he couldn't do that. in that moment, on that cold december night, he broke his vow. the least he could do was look her in the eye as he did it.

it destroyed him, saying what they were both thinking out loud. his world came crashing down, but he wasn't crushed until a little later, when they stood on opposite ends of the room, her by the door, him by the sink that he hadn't left. and it was just the silence between them. the look they shared then. and the quiet question, what happened to us?

every bit of hurt after that came in small waves. he became numb to it for the most part. but every so often, his chest would cave in, and he'd feel the hollowness and emptiness within him because, after all this time, minnie still had his heart.

tonight, he felt it again—that small clench as he listened to hana tell him about the moon and stars. he didn't know that she'd learned that already. in thinking about it, he barely knew anything about his own daughter that he claimed to love. who were her friends? what was her favourite subject in school? things that every father should know.

his eyes glazed over. he choked it back, cleared his throat. distracted himself by lifting hana up so she could sit on his shoulders. ( she took after her mother in the intuitive sense; a glimpse, and she would've touched his face with her small hand and asked, daddy, why are you crying? and he couldn't have that. he couldn't have her see him as the broken man that he was. )

( minnie, though. minnie had known him for so long. she knew him as well as he knew himself, if not better. there was nothing he could hide from her. )

he let out a breath, a little shaky.

"it's getting redder!" hana squealed above him, pointing at the moon. dom smiled. tried to, at least. "i see that. pop quiz—what did mommy call it again?" corn moon! "that's right. do you know why we call it the corn moon?" even though dom couldn't see her, he felt her shake her head. "it's because, back in the old days, they used to harvest corn around this time. but sometimes, the harvest wasn't good, so they would wish upon the corn moon, and next year, the corn would be plentiful."

"so how about we do that together?" his gaze trailed over to minnie, softened, but so very sad. "let's close our eyes, and make a wish."

i can't promise that.

a part of her wanted to scream "well what can you promise anymore?" dominic made so many promises growing up: promises to keep her safe, to make her happy, to love her forever. slowly but surely, he's broken every single one. hearing it again doesn't hurt any less. in fact, it now brings up buried memories.

what more do you want minyoung? i'm working 14 hour shifts! i'm trying and it's not good enough for you!

her eyes closed, breathing in slowly at the memory. at the yelling, at the tears she shed. she had retreated that day, made herself smaller. she knew it was the end at that moment. she couldn't stay there. it just hurt when all she wanted to hear was an apology and he'd try to be home more. she just wanted home with dom and their baby.

but they'll never get that, will they?

with her eyes open and the tears gone, minnie readied to protest. she will not make herself small anymore. she had to put a foot down. maybe it's time to make him choose. his family or his work. she had to give up her dream. why couldn't he? doesn't he love her enough? doesn't she matter enough?

"be careful, sweetie," minnie called but dom was already swooping in to help her. the soft scenes of dom caring for hana, holding her and kissing her used to make her heart soar. now it feels like nothing. maybe pity. hana was so full of love and happiness, she didn't deserve this. she didn't deserve a father who prioritised work more than she and a mother trying to keep the tears hidden. she deserved a normal family.

why did she fail at giving her baby a normal family?

minnie took a deep breath, heading over to where they both were, taking the spot opposite of dom. "hana, do you know why tonight is so special? it's a corn moon, it'll be a lunar eclipse tonight." of course hana didn't quite understand but she got excited anyways. she was really into science thanks to educational kid shows. space had been her favourite lately. she even learned the cycles of the moon (though she says them wrong, with her baby lisp).

"can you tell daddy what you learned about the moon, baby?"

she refuses to make a scene at the social. everyone was here. they'll be fine for now. she cast one last glance at dominic as he listened to their daughter struggle to say gibbous. he was as beautiful as ever. though despite being on the other side of their daughter, he felt so, so far away.

[lgcdom]

hana was crying, and it had nothing to do with the scratches on her knees. her small hands clung to her father's coat, her tear-stricken face buried in the lapels. she was shaking, terribly so.

her father was not in any better condition; despite finding hana safely tucked away between trees, sitting in a bed of flowers surrounded by honey bees, he panicked. scooped her up into his arms and held onto her so tightly, she must've thought something was wrong and began wailing. ( she didn't let up, not even when dom bounced her on his hip and turned her towards seyoon, whom she adored. )

( i didn't thank him—was one of the many thoughts dom had as he rushed hana to the hospital. she wasn't wounded aside from a few minor scratches and a bee sting, but dom wasn't taking any chances. i'll thank him later. )

which brought him here, chest heaving, hands trembling as he tried to approach hyuk as an acquaintance and not a terrified parent. it did not work. "scratches," dom grunted, ushering them into an empty room to lay hana on the bed. he did not care for protocol at the moment. "knees, elbows. one sting on her left arm. bee." his daughter cried even louder at that. he attempted to soothe her by brushing her hair back, telling her, it's okay, uncle hyukjae is just going to take a look, okay?

he then glanced up, his eyes startled from their usual tired state. "can you check her for reaction? there was poison hemlock in the area we found her in."

title: emergency meeting partner: @lgcdom type: lgc au event (apateu)

it happened all the time, so hyuk was already used to it- the commotion, the strained voices, and touch of desperation inside the er. during the day and in the afternoon, the voices, no matter how loud they sounded, didn't feel like something out of the ordinary,  but when you're working in the night shift or later, any different sound would hit you differently.

hyuk was probably one of the few exceptions around. he enjoyed working during that ungodly time because things were quieter and less stressful, with the presence of casual drunks and intoxicated people during the weekends.

but when he was about to grab his 5th coffee of the day, all his alerts started to ring in his ears when the screeching sound of shoes on the pristine floor startled him, making hyuk look up and recognize the person entering the er with a child in his arms..

hyuk knew dominic for a long time, even if they, despite living in the same complex, were distanced from each other through the years. he could easily say he knew his little daughter more, because the girl was always around with her mother, being the ever cheerful and polite girl. to see him looking so scared, and the girl with a distraught complexion, made hyuk rush to meet them in the middle.

“dominic, tell me everything.”

[lgcdom]

babe. dom flinched at that. chest clenched. couldn't help it. he tore his sight away from her. forcibly, so he didn't have to see the way her eyes glossed over as if she was about to cry. another promise broken, another step back. ( he didn't promise to never make her cry—that would've been impossible since minnie was sentimental—but he did promise to always wipe her tears. )

( the urge to had faded over time, over several instances, but the guilt of not doing so remained immeasurable. for all this talk of making the world a better place and protecting the community and all its people, dom was certainly a coward. )

"i can't promise that." his gaze remained on hana in her frilly princess attire as he said this. it was a bad habit, looking away, not being able to meet minnie's eyes whenever he didn't have good news. guilt was gnawing at his lower lip. another bad habit. still, he acted like he had it all together. "the task force is small. they're unwilling to put bigger names on the case since the evidence we have isn't enough." it's also why they hadn't issued a curfew. that, and they didn't want the public to panic. he considered telling her that after she had asked, but some things were better left unspoken.

like how she still called his place, home. as much as his stomach twisted into knots upon hearing that, he wished she never said it.

"this isn't a negotiable." dom spared a glance at minnie, and all he could see in the moment was his biggest, most costly mistake. they should've been smarter about things, but they were young, and dom was very much in love. he was greedy. he stole everything from her—her dreams of becoming a chef, her enthusiasm for their future, her light. a good man would let her go. sign the papers and cut ties so she could move forward.

but he couldn't.

because he still loved her most.

"daddy, mommy, look!" their daughter shouted from one of the telescopes that she wasn't quite reaching. dom muttered a quick we'll talk about this later before heading over to lift hana up. she grabbed a hold of the telescope. dom couldn't help but notice how big her hands had gotten. they used to be small enough to curl around his index finger. now, they're able to hold their own.

dominic was truly excellent at his job. when he had initially applied, minnie had been nervous. being a police officer was dangerous. but dom had assured her he'd make it to detective — and he did. minnie was so proud. she wanted him to be the best. but being the best apparently meant being away from his family. minnie didn't know it at the time, but the promotion to detective was the beginning of the end.

she shouldn't feel relieved that the modus operandi is based on men but a part of her does untense. though the description, aside from gender, matched her descriptor closely. dom was right: there's no telling if it'll stay with male victims or the killer might switch it up to throw off the trail.

her eyes drift over to her daughter. she was lively, dancing around in a circle as another child blew bubbles above her. minnie would die before she allowed something to happen to her. "i'm surprised you guys haven't placed a curfew." her eyes return to dom. so does the dull ache.

her brows furrow. "given what some thought?" she can't help it but her heart sinks in fear of what that could possibly mean. she doesn't realise, but she's holding her breath until —

"move back in? babe—" she was ready to protest the idea, knowing she can't abandon the lease with milan and kyoka. her train of thought derails when he says my family. minnie's heart thuds, a sharp pain throughout. her eyes began to water although no tears spilled. she knows dom loves her and hana. but hearing it was something else.

minnie sniffled, fanning the tears before they could fall. "i don't know, dom, i have to think about it." her eyes drift to hana once more. "though it would make her really happy...."

moving back in wouldn't change their situation, how strained everything has been. she wishes desperately this would mean things would go back to normal, but she knows it won't. dom is still going to be at work most of the time. minnie was going to spend her day watching their daughter alone. her heart grips with worry that they would just fall back into routine...

"promise me you'll be home at night." in her eyes there was worry but there was a glint in them. defiance, stubbornness. "no late nights. i don't care if we have the dog and the camera. i want you. home."

[lgcdom]

gutted — apts, one late night

dom was about to lose his fucking mind. he was two coffees down ( of the four he already had today ), and despite being wide awake, his brain was still somehow fast asleep. they had located yet another missing person that fit the m.o. three times was a coincidence—but four, now five times? they had a serial killer on their hands, one with very specific tastes. they just couldn't prove it.

number five came gift-wrapped. washed up on shore right outside their precinct and was a clear-cut case of accidental drowning. only thing was—the man, mid-20s, was known to be terrified of deep waters. ( "he wouldn't be there," his mother had insisted, grabbing a hold of dom's coat. "my son would always find an alternative route if he knew he was going to be close to water." )

( he found out earlier today that their victim had been seeking counseling to overcome these fears. )

dom paced the corridors. then the courtyard. chewed his lip. frowned. ( he's always frowning these days; creases were already evident on his forehead. ) quiet footsteps padded in the vicinity. he knew it was one of the residents, but still, his hand shifted over his taser.

it was only seyoon.

his coat fell back into place, shielding the taser once again. "seyoon." dom motioned him over. "need to pick your brain for a second." there used to be formalities—hello, how are you?—but he had long stopped caring once the bodies started dropping.

"how would you make a kill look like accidental drowning?" it sounded like an accusation, but dom's gaze held no such animosity. they were on the same side of the coin: heroes of the community, protectors in their own right. "we located another," he explained. not that he really needed to; despite protocol, he was constantly asking for @seyoonlgc's expertise. he was really that desperate for a lead because they had nothing next to a victim profile and a possible m.o.

[lgcdom]

everything about this situation broke his fucking heart. from the disappointment evident in her words, to how she fiddled with her necklace, to the way she looked at him now, without that twinkle in her eye that he never thought would dim—even the way he breathed her name, "minyoung," wrecked him to his core. he rarely called her by her full name. having been friends since childhood, she was always minnie. his minnie. but minnie was too intimate for a relationship beyond repair.

"we have an m.o." it felt like only yesterday when they were sat at the dinner table with hana fast asleep in his arms. against his own policy, he would brief minnie on the cases he was working on to pick at her brain, so brilliant and clever and different from his black and white, no frills perspective. sometimes, it only took telling her to make him connect dots that he'd otherwise miss. she was his push, but he was never her pull. "so far, only men. 20s to 30s. dark hair, tall."

dom dragged his gaze back to their daughter.

"but anything's possible." he didn't want to say that, didn't want to make it real. "he's playing it smart, and he's escalating." his eyebrows threaded together. dom frowned, and for a moment, he debated whether he should ask. he'd toyed with the idea, ran it through several scenarios in his head of what it would mean for them—but in the end, his conclusion was always the same: better safe than sorry. they nearly lost hana once. his fault. the dread he felt in then was comparable to now. "i've given it some thought."

he peered over to minnie.

"i want you and hana to move back in with me. we'll set up security cameras, add extra locks. get a guard dog, like she always wanted." that he specifically said no to because he didn't trust a dog to be gentle with a toddler. "this is for me as much as it is for you. i'll feel a lot better knowing that my family is safe."

because that's what they were at the end of the day—his family.

a sigh escaped her lips as she watched the hour change to nine. dom had promised he'd be here for hana, knowing that their three year old was always so excited for family outings. despite the fact that they were few and far between nowadays, hana's excitement for them never wavered. minnie tried to contain her disappointment knowing her husband was over an hour late.

ex husband.

( it was a filthy phrase, one she didn't like using. they weren't divorced. just... apart.)

"where's daddy, mommy?" hana asked, pulling on minnie's long skirt for attention. minnie picked her up, giving a kiss to her baby's chubby cheek. "he's coming soon, my love. i promise. daddy always comes right?" hana nodded in confirmation. minnie put her down to go run off and play with the other kids under her watchful eye.

there's an ache whenever this happens. sure, dom mentally checked out on her when he got busy at work but he couldn't do it to hana. he needed to be there for her. minnie left for him to get his shit together ...not for him to get even worse.

she breathes in shakily, fighting back the urge to cry. she knows that dom loves them. that's without question. but why isn't it enough for him to try to show up? to be present? fuck — she refuses to cry in public about this. it wasn't the time for feeling as though her world was crumbling around her. her eyes lift. hana was running at full speed—

"it's okay," minnie says to dom when he apologises. hana was already off playing again though minnie doesn't doubt she'd circle back to yap dom's ear off. her hand goes to her necklace, fiddling with the ring between her fingers. "i know you're trying..."

was trying enough anymore? she didn't want to acknowledge what it would mean if it wasn't enough. what would she do?

"another one?" minnie's heart spiked and the urge to be closer to dom increased. her protector. her safe haven. her home. "do you have any leads?"

her eyes flicker to hana who was stomping cutely in protest, likely not wanting to wait. she takes up after her father in that regard: unable to slow down. her attention returns to dom. her heart ached dully. she's long since accustomed to the ache that dom brings about. so close yet so far now. she's never felt so distant from him until the separation. the feeling, once foreign, was unwelcomed. she hated that she's grown used to it.

she chewed on her bottom lip, fiddling with the necklace once more. "do you think... is it possible..." it wasn't safe. minnie felt as though there was only a matter of time before someone in the complex goes missing. "...has there been any female casualties?"

[lgcdom]

make a wish — stargazing, rooftop social

dom was restless—leg shaking under the table, fingers drumming against folded arms. for the first time in his career, he wasn't focused on the emergency briefing the head detective was giving. they had recovered yet another body fitting the m.o. of a series of strange deaths rippling across seoul: tall, dark hair, striking features. several months ago, they were laughing about sending a memo out to talent agencies to keep an eye on their models. three bodies later, and it was no longer a laughing matter.

his eyes tracked over to the clock on the wall where the minute hand was inching towards twelve. he'd promised minnie that he'd be at the rooftop social at eight. now, it was nine. by ten, their daughter would be growing tired, and by eleven, she'd be tucked away in bed. "that's all for now." the head detective clapped their hands together. "we'll reconvene in the morning. get some rest." dom didn't need to be told twice; he grabbed his jacket and was the first out the door.

he caught his breath at the bottom of the staircase. 9:27 PM, his watch read. an hour and a half late, even though he swore he would be on time next time. ( it's always next time. he used to be a man of his word, but rising quickly through the ranks meant more hours at his desk and less with his family. )

( he already broke his first promise—the one where he vowed to take care of her, to be forever by her side, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part. )

a sigh escaped him as he raked a hand through his hair and ascended the steps to the social. his heart was thundering against his chest, and it had nothing to do with how fast he ran here.

"daddy!" his daughter squealed, running up to him. dom dropped down quick enough to scoop her up into his arms. "hello to you too." he tried to ignore the way his heart broke at how hana greeted him—with too much enthusiasm that only spoke of how long she waited. and even if he was successful in burying that, nothing could've saved him from the way everything shattered the moment he caught minnie's gaze from across the rooftop.

there was nothing else to be said. apologies weren't enough to mend a relationship long broken. he let hana down. watched her run away to her friends by the telescopes.

"i'm sorry for being late." again, was the word left unspoken. "they found another body, so we were called into ..." and again, he used his daughter as excuse, watching her play for some time so he could gather his thoughts. but whatever he had in mind vaporized the moment he turned his tired eyes back on minnie. she looked beautiful tonight, just as she always had. "sorry," he said once more. "there's no excuse."

[lgcdom]

"i wasn't following you," dom retorted from behind a trash can that hid only half his body and none of his pride. he cleared his throat and stepped out, dusting himself of nonexistent debris because he needed an extra moment to think of an excuse. ( he ended up dusting himself for a good five seconds; unfortunately, his brain decided to give out after an entire day of practice. but he digressed. )

it was a lie, of course. him not following yoojin. but before anyone gets any ideas, dom had a very good reason to. picture this—yoojin eating a snack. it was a snack dom had never seen on store shelves before which made him insanely curious. was it so good that it was always sold out? but yoojin had it often enough, so it must be sold somewhere. and with how late yoojin was out tonight, dom figured it must be because he was going to a top secret convenience store. or meeting with a snack dealer.

either way, it led him here, to a burger joint, quite a distance away from the legacy campgrounds so dom really shouldn't be around these parts—

but, well,

"i was here for a quick dinner." dom elbowed past yoojin and peered up at the menu. "and you were following me. you only got here faster because you have longer legs." he threw a look over at yoojin ... only to feel a little bad for his tone, so he quickly followed up with, "and because you helped me earlier, i'm treating you. so what do you want?"

it wasn’t the first time yoojin saw @lgcdom looking at him that way. well, not exactly at him, but at what he was eating. the first time it happened, he was eating some snack he got from the convenience store, most trainees went during their breaks, and they weren’t on good speaking terms, so yoojin just ignored him and moved on.

but there was some kind of pattern, and he just realized that he just needed to prove his theory and then he could find something else to do.

they’d be normally practicing late at night, just like most trainees did at that time of the year, and that night was no different. it was surprising that they were on good terms, not bickering like an old married couple, like hyukjae used to tease them about. actually they were just competing against each other to see who would get tired first, and so far, they were just panting and repeating the same moves over and over.

it took the coaches to yell at them and call practice night over for them to stop that silly and pointless competition. 

yoojin wouldn’t admit how exhausted he was, but instead of going back to the dorms, he decided to leave the company building to eat something - he rarely did that, but his traitor mind told him it was okay to indulge himself a little bit. 

he noticed the person following him when he looked over his shoulder before entering the tiny burger place most people ignored during the day, but yoojin kind of grew fond of. “why are you following me, dominic?”

eat you up, with @lgcdom

[lgcdom]

debut eval, group —

the easiest group performance, by far, was haru's dangerous. dom's vocal ability far exceeded his performance capabilities, so having a vocal-forward song with ( comparatively ) slower, minimal choreography allowed him to perform at top shape.

mdsz's earth, wind & fire wasn't that vocally difficult for him either, but with the song being upbeat, he struggled to make 'appropriate' expressions ( read: smiling ). he often had to remind himself to look like he's having fun, which unfortunately led to instances where he would perk up when he was near the front ... only to return to his normal resting bitch face once he went to the back. despite these setbacks, his singing surprisingly suited the song well because it was in a ( comparatively ) higher vocal range.

the hardest ( no pun intended ) was type zero's hard. it wasn't so much the concept, but rather, the choreography. his stamina's not that great, so with a fast-paced choreo, he was already struggling to keep up, oftentimes having to sacrifice singing his part in order to catch his breath or focus on the movements. he didn't have any confidence going into this week, but he was relentless in practice, putting in a lot more hours to perfect this song over the other two. in the end, it wasn't his best performance of the three, but it was the one he felt proudest of since the improvement was drastic.

his overall demeanour during these few weeks was desperate. as one of the oldest trainees, he felt like this was the last resort eval. the good: he pushed himself harder than he ever did ( and lost his voice for a brief moment during small group week ), and he finally ditched the button-ups and slacks for some worn down shirts and sweatpants. the bad: he got frustrated with himself and the other trainees whenever they weren't doing things right. ( there was one instance where he made a fellow trainee cry because he was being too nitpicky. he apologized some time later with some snacks. )

[lgcdom]

mae wasn't saying anything, and that was driving dom up the wall with anxiety. should he leave? but it would be rude to leave. should he say something? but he had nothing to say to her. nothing intelligent, at least. now seconds were ticking by, and the silence was becoming more and more apparent, and he was starting to feel this overwhelming need to say something, else he would actually run away. and the best thing he could muster was—"so, you come here often?"

here, being the vending machine outside of the practice rooms. god, why was that the first thing he thought of! she was going to think he was a loser—or worse, that he's an avid enjoyer of movies with badly written dialogue.

dom wanted to run.

but now he'd trapped himself because he asked her a question, and it would be super rude if he left now. so he stood his ground, and sorta - kinda motioned at the vending machine. "the snacks are good here. especially the takis."

mae watches it all happen in slow motion, the way dom fumbles the coke like it's radioactive, hiding it from her, the frantic pivot to "water." it's almost too good. like the universe handed her front-row seats to the dom show, and every episode's just him trying not to short-circuit when she gets too close.

she leans against the vending machine and twirls with her hair, like this whole hallway is just a backdrop in some hazy indie film where she's the manic dreamgirl menace and he's the nerdy english boy with too many thoughts and nowhere to put them.

"mm," she hums, gaze flicking from his face to the soda like she's doing a character study. "top row water? that's new." he holds the coke out to her and won't meet her eyes, which is unfair because she's wearing her best smirk today; little bit wicked, little bit tired, all bite. mae takes the can. now it's kind of a sport, like how close can she get before he self-destructs. this is the most fun she's had all week.

[lgcdom]

"what do you mean 'holy water won't do anything to you'?" his eyeballs were practically bulging out of his head at this point. if the holiest of water didn't work, that must mean he was dealing with a demon—and not just any demon, but the king, er, queen of all demons. what was a demon doing in legacy?? who was blasphemous enough to summon them?? and for what reason?? to tear up the stage???

wait, none of this was making sense. and the way this girl-ghost-demon-thing was looking at him was evident of that. not that she could hear his thoughts ... right? cough, if you can hear this! she did not cough. fortunately.

dom lowered the water bottle, mimicking her squint as he did. "i'm not a ghost." to prove his point, he pinched himself. and flinched. ( clearly, the point to be proven was that he's stupid. but never mind that. ) "and i haven't heard any of these 'sounds' you speak of— ... are you talking about the screaming?" the tip of his ears began turning red. he decided to try his hand at gaslighting. "you're—you're just hearing things."

lgcdom

it was a girl … no—A GHOST! he’d been hearing rumours about a screaming ghost around these parts, but he didn’t believe them because of course, ghosts didn’t exist, that’s stupid. and yet— “don’t come any closer!” he readied his microphone and caught a glimpse of what hit him. a bottle of…? HOLY WATER. dom snatched up the bottle and held it out to the girl. “in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, i forbid you from coming any closer!” thank you, catholic prep school for preparing him for this.

sori feels utterly embarrassed about how for a second she was actually scared. she didn’t believe in ghosts, but she did believe in much worse things. like serial killers, weirdos, people that shouldn’t be allowed around other people. so her first thought goes to that, a ghost can’t harm her (especially since they don’t exist), but some axe murderer making weird noises in here could. so she regrets not getting a weapon, and throwing her water bottle at whoever was there.

and then everything in her that was scared fades, this doesn’t seem like a serial killer, more like someone who just saw a ghost. sori looks down at herself, to kind of check she isn’t actually a ghost, stupid, eurgh. “holy water won’t do anything against me” she places her hands on her hips, squints her eyes at the other. “what are you doing in here making all these sounds! everybody keeps talking about some ghost, are you the ghost?!”.

[lgcdom]

boring? dom looked over at minnie as if she had grown a second head. who in their right minds would call her performance boring? minnie was anything but that, both in expression and personality. or perhaps he was the lucky exception, considering how often she picked at him. not tonight, though. tonight, minnie seemed ... quieter.

gentler, almost.

dom snapped his eyes back to the front. this was weird, he decided. not unwelcomed, not uncomfortable, just ... weird. for them to be like this—grounded, grown-up, and not at each other's throats like a pair of squabbling siblings.

"is it worth it?" the question slipped out faster than he could even comprehend it, and almost instantly, guilt flooded in. guilt of wasting his time, all four years of it, when he could've been doing something more 'worthwhile' in his parents' eyes. ( his thoughts, not theirs. ) dom pulled his knees into his chest. "what if we're not good enough to debut? what if they just— ... kick us out, and that's—that's it?"

"what would you do then?" was the question he asked, but what he really meant was, where would you go?

"why wouldn't i?" was her simple reply. there was a system to their madness: to their endless jabs and teases. yet this was serious, that much was obvious by the text message. so minnie had came with less in her arsenal and more concern.

minnie nodded, taking the green tea with a gentle smile and took her place next to him. the roof was peaceful. it felt separated enough from the chaos beneath their feet that it felt as though they were transported to a different world. there weren't rules here. no status quo to follow. it calmed her.

her eyes merely flicker to him momentarily, returning focus to the bottle as she opened it. she knew better than to bombard dominic (of all people) with pestering questions and over-the-top reactions. instead she hummed.

"not bad. except he said i looked boring when i performed. need to work on my facials," she replied with a grimace of her own. though she weren't in legacy as long as he, she understood the frustration of debut feeling so close yet so far. "what the hell does 'do better' even mean? how is that helpful?"

she scoffed and drank some of the tea. "tired of not feeling good enough. eval time always makes me feel that way. i've had enough of that feeling recently."

[lgcdom]

“yerim, what are you do—yerim? yerim!”

it’s fortunate, dom thought as he lunged to catch her around the shoulders, that he was light on his feet ( another consequence of caffeine, apparently ). it’s unfortunate, however, that his mind was buzzing. what happened? was she okay? clearly not since she just toppled over! but why did she topple over? she was perfectly fine a minute ago—or was that a minute ago? how long was their break? did they take a break? yes, they took a break ’cause that’s when he—

“don’t move. i’ll get you some water.” his heart thundered against his chest as he eased her to the floor. and now that he was really looking at her … yerim didn’t look good at all. a little paler than usual, and she felt too warm.

dom returned not a moment later, his water bottle in hand. “here.” a careful but still slightly shaking hand tucked itself beneath yerim’s head so he could lift it a bit. “drink.”

exhaustion starts clouding her brain, it feels like a white fog but she can't stop the focus now - cheol was on something and yerim couldn't really afford to slack behind him. however she couldn't remember the last time she had a sip of water, her throat felt dry and head dizzy. yerim turns to go grab her bottle when she hears him... "from the top."

yerim needed the few minutes she could get but she also knew herself, she could go on for a little longer. however his suggestions didn't even sound remotely human, not right now at least in her condition - " cheo...." her voice gets caught in her throat, unable to tell him that she needs a break - she sighs heavily and the breath almost hurts in her throat.

that is when it happens, her legs wobble - it is only slightly but it is enough for her legs to give away under her and when she falls to her knees she struggles to breathe for a moment and she closes her eyes to concentrate, yerim needs to focus.... she needs water.

[lgcdom]

junho and sarang were both right, and deep down dom knew that, but he still hated it!! “i’m fine,” he insisted curtly. “we can continue. i’m not going to be the reason that we fail.” hearing himself say that made him flinch. it was no secret that him and sarang were in their fourth year, making them among the oldest of the current trainees. this was likely their last shot at debut. @lgcjunho was newer, but it didn’t matter; dom didn’t want to ruin it for him either.

so he tried again, to sing, but this time when he cracked, his voice gave out. “i — …” he scowled and stubbornly plopped down against the mirror, his arms folding across his chest. what was it that they told him to do? don’t overwork his voice? speak at a whisper? fine. if that’s what’s going to save his singing, he’d have to shut up until further notice.

“what — …” shut up!!!!

dom took out his phone and quickly typed a question: what do we want to eat? then, take out or sit down and order? there were more pressing matters at hand, namely fine-tuning their choreography, but since sarang mentioned food, he needed to know.

if junho thought he had it rough he couldn't begin to describe how dom and sarang seemed to have it, they had trained longer than him and here he was in a similar position to theirs... whatever this was, junho and here was trying to play in their league. thankfully junho had confidence for at least 10 people, and the last few weeks he had nothing but time to practice dancing.

summer vacation, what a blessing.

he startles when he hears dom's voice, the older male had been working hard to hit the higher notes, junho's voice didn't reach as high as dom's voice did - "i believe you hyung..." the concern in his voice obvious, dom's voice was now strained and it was concening - " you aren't doing anyone a favor by over working your voice though. "

junho looks at him, brows raised - " you want me to support? " he wonders what he can do to ease him down, junho glances towards @lgcxsarang... maybe she could share some words of wisdom with them... maybe, this tension and stress could very well ruin their performance if they weren't careful.

[lgcdom]

triple threat —

dom was starting to croak—no, he’s not dying!!!—he was starting to croak like a frog. after a week straight of straining to hit the high-note in their choice song, type zero’s wormhole, his voice was showing signs of wear and tear. this was not good. this was not good at all, because the evaluations were soon, and if they—team orion— didn’t perfect everything tonight, they were going to be in trouble.

“what? i’m fine.” not that @lgcjunho or @lgcxsarang asked, but dom wanted them to know anyway. he cleared his throat and tried to sing the line again. emphasis on tried. even a rock could tell him that he sounded bad; not only was he out of tune, his voice completely gave out right before the high note. he was stupefied. his singing was solid this entire week, but for some reason, today, he sounded like a squawking duck—and that’s putting it nicely!

dom looked over at his groupmates, bewildered, as if it’s somehow their fault that he couldn’t do his part. “i … i can’t sing.” it scared him, admitting that out loud. his eyes widened, and he began to panic. “what if i rap? can i rap?” no, he can’t rap! and it’s too late to change their parts now!!

[lgcdom]

that me espresso —

dom was starting to regret that espresso shot. it did what it said on the tin ( kept him awake post-dinner so he could practice longer ), but he should’ve read the terms and conditions of caffeine, because … well ...

“let’s go from the top.” breaks were usually five minutes, but he couldn’t sit still. he was back up on his feet in just one to fuss with the laptop, his fingers trembling as he tried to rewind the audio—a surprisingly hard feat when he had to do it quick quick quick. “should we do it at twice the speed? let’s do it at twice the speed. i heard it makes your body react instinctively, so when you go back to normal speed, your brain thinks the song is slowed down, which for some reason, makes it easier to memorize the choreography. so we’re going to try it at double speed.”

without even checking on @lgcyerim, dom hit play and hurried over to the floor. the already fast song suddenly became a lot faster. his movements were frantic as he rushed through the choreo at double-time, stuttering only for a moment to shout, “you’re a beat behind! move faster!”

[lgcdom]

debut eval : performance —

secondary language.

dom agonized for literal days over what he would perform. for all of his previous evaluations, he would always go for some form of ballad with piano accompaniment. it was the acceptable safest choice, but he never felt connected to his performance. after weighing the pros and cons and having a mental breakdown in a janitor’s closet, he chose home — my first story.

thanks to his ( secret ) experience with metal music, dom was able to capture that raspiness in the original singer’s voice. he also pushed himself vocally, straining at his vocal cords until veins became visible in his neck. in the past, he always sang calmly, almost monotonously, but he would raise his volume here.

with some help from a japanese language coach, dom wrote his own lyrics for the english part of the song instead of simply translating it. he wanted to use what he learned in the japanese lyric composition workshop, but since his vocabulary was rather limited, his lyrics were basic. his japanese pronunciation also wasn’t quite on beat for the faster parts since he’s not used to speaking so many syllables as quickly.

since he was entirely focused on singing, he didn’t pay any attention to his expressions. it kinda looked like he was in pain the entire time. and maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t, but he definitely had to turn away from the camera at the end because he couldn’t stop himself from crying. he couldn’t believe he did that.

company song challenge.

anyone who knew dom would know that advice — haru’s jaehyuk was a wild choice and it definitely had nothing to do with the writer’s love for that song. but see, what had happened was, after deciding to do a rock song for his language evaluation, dom thought he should play it “safe” with the company song. he chose advice because of the piano in the beginning, thinking that the choreography would be melodic.

he was wrong. and he was stubborn. by time he learned the first verse, a week had already gone by and it was too late to change to another song. so he stuck with it, practicing late into each night up until filming day. while he was able to perform the choreography as intended, it became very apparent, very quickly that he was nowhere near the level of the original performer. he didn’t have the subtleties that made the choreo mesmerizing, nor did he have complete control over his movements, which made parts like the chorus look messy.

the one thing he was confident in was his ability to stabilize his voice, so even though his dancing threw him from corner to corner, he was able to carry the notes without losing his breath ( again, he had metal music to thank for that ).

dom’s fairly self-aware ( some would say self-critical ), so after his performance, he would swoop into a bow and apologize for “not doing jaehyuk-sunbaenim justice.” and even after evaluations were long over, he could still be seen practicing the chorus.