#I’ve been wanting to draw Lin ever since I saw his new design I just have been v busy

[caiusthecat]

Linhardt with new Three Hopes design!!

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Main Story Chapter 4-1 : 爱德华之旅 The Journey of Edward Translation

“Life is a journey so lonely; but then, I met you.”

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Main story tag will be #For Light and Night

The lively entertainment news page was always chock full of all sorts of information.

From the divorce of the top flower maiden to the jubilant happily ever after of a popular celebrity’s long-standing relationship. The hot search was refreshed hourly.

And today, the entirety of this page was almost filled with Lin Yao’s announcement of her withdrawal from the entertainment industry,

Brother Mao: (Y/n)! Did you see? Lin Yao's leaving the entertainment industry!

I’d only just set foot into the office when Brother Mao rushed at me, shoving the screen of his phone in my face. It was streaming Lin Yao’s press conference.

❖☆———————————★❖

Lin Yao: I deeply apologize to everyone who has been supporting me, but this is my decision after having thorough thought.

Lin Yao: Starting today, I will cease acting.

She was wearing that black feather dress, and the butterflies on her cuffs fluttered their wings along with her every movement; her words setting off waves through the media.

This dress that had originally been prepared for the award ceremony had unexpectedly been used for her farewell in the end.

❖☆———————————★❖

Brother Mao: Why so sudden? Wasn't she still acting normal back when she was trying out her formal dress?

Brother Mao: Or, don't tell me her agent forced her to do it?

MC: But, don't you think she looks happier than before?

MC: A new life, a new goal. No matter which case it is, it's fine if it's her personal choice, don't you think?

I saw a flash of brilliance in her eyes, something that I’d never seen before other than back then at the café. 

It was a light so stunningly bright, even though she’d now have to face the world with her bravado, alone.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something. What did you mean when you said Bai Mu disappeared?

MC: Was he taken away by this "Blood Tribe" that you mentioned before? And even then, what's this "Blood Tribe" you spoke of?

Osborn: Why are you so very curious?

MC: It's not just curiosity… This matter already has something to do with me, regardless.

MC: I feel like it’ll always be weighing on my heart if I don’t set it straight now.

Osborn stuffed his hand into his pocket and let out a sigh.

Osborn: The Blood Tribe are a group of people with special Abilities, where bloodlines are prioritized above all. You can say that they’re... the Descendants of God.

It was a term he’d uttered after a short pause.

MC: Descendants of… God.

Osborn: That being said, I don't know whether it's true or not. It's just a legend.

I couldn’t help but look down at my fingers. Judging from what happened back then, I DID have an Ability. If so, then… Does that make me...

Osborn: And where are your thoughts running off to again? Just because you have an Ability doesn't make you one of them.

Osborn: Generally speaking, whenever someone from the Blood Tribe uses their Ability, their eyes will turn red.

There was an inkling, a vague image of something, that kept flashing past my mind, but I couldn't manage to get a firm grasp on it.

Osborn: This world is far more complicated than it seems.

Osborn: From the times of the ancients, other than the Blood Tribe and the Spirit Tribe, some humans also harbour Abilities.

Osborn: My guess is that perhaps someone up their line, like say, maybe one of their ancestors, had some form of relation to them. Or maybe it was due to some reason or another. No one really knows.

MC: The Spirit Tribe? And what is that?

Osborn: Just as the name suggests; they're the descendants of sacred beasts and deities.

MC: !

MC: So, they're not… human…?

Osborn: They're not, but they can exist in human form.

Osborn: What? Finally know what fear's really like?

I steeled myself and shook my head. Then, suddenly, a thought popped into my mind.

MC: Wait… Osborn? You're human, right…?

This question itself sounded odd. Osborn stiffened before his lips quirked up into a smile.

Osborn: Didn't you say that I'm just Osborn to you?

Osborn: And as for whether I'm part of the Blood Tribe or the Spirit Tribe… How about you guess?

Osborn: Get it wrong, and I'll have you for a snack.

He winked at me, the sly smile on his face easing some of the panic that had been in my heart.

It didn't matter what he was. I believe that he'll always be right by me, and that he'll be my guide in this strange, inexplicable, and unbelievable world.

He was someone that wouldn't hurt me.

❖☆———————————★❖

Osborn said that there were also some humans in the world that had Abilities. If so, then would there be people like that in my close circles?

I poked Brother Mao.

MC: Brother Mao? Do you know what Abilities are?

Brother Mao: 'Course I do.

MC: ! You-

Brother Mao: I know you want me to praise you, but you don’t have to go about it in such a roundabout way!

Brother Mao: The dress you made for Lin Yao this time turned out really good! You’re talented, young lady!

I gave an awkward smile before letting out a sigh.

Brother Mao: I heard Man'man day that today's the newbie meeting where they'll announce the mentor assignments.

Brother Mao: Your dress was so nicely done, you might actually be chosen by Director Qi himself! And when that time comes, you've gotta treat me to a round of milk tea~

MC: Oh, right! It was today!

I was so busy that I'd been up to my head in work. So much that I'd nearly forgotten about this important meeting.

Sister Zheng Lin had told me before that the mentors would choose their apprentices from each of their own individual works. So, I hope that this dress will allow me to obtain my desired result.

A glance at the time told me that it was nearly time for the meeting to commence. I did a quick and simple clean up before heading to the meeting room together with Man'man.

❖☆———————————★❖

There were already quite a number of people seated in the meeting room, with most of them in their own little groups. 

Gao Cheng, who had been sitting in a corner, smiled and waved me over upon seeing me enter.

Li Man'man: With so many newbies here, wouldn’t the competition for the mentor selection be fiercer than usual…?

Li Man'man: Please let me be assigned the mentor I want!

She clasped her hands together in nervousness, muttering the mantra under her breath over and over again.

MC: Who do you want as a mentor?

Li Man'man: Sister Zheng Lin! I love her style! What about you?

MC: I…

I leaned closer to her ear and secretly whispered the name of the person.

Li Man'man: Dear lord! You’re brave! But that’s even harder than trying to win the first prize of the annual year-end party’s lucky draw!

It was then that the door of the meeting room opened. Mya briskly strode in with wide strides.

Mya: Is everyone present? We’re short on time, so let me announce the results of your mentor assignments.

Everyone held their breaths in anticipation, nervously staring at the file she held in her hands.

Mya: Chen Xiazi. Mentor, Edward.

She was a designer from Team D. Her colleagues all wore smiles as they stood around her, congratulating her.

Mya: Jiang Lai. Mentor, Bob.

Mya: Li Man'man. Mentor, Zheng Lin.

Li Man'man: Yes!

Mya: Gao Cheng. Mentor, Mya.

Mya: Jin Shaoze. Mentor, Sariel.

MC: !

Sariel! 

I looked over to said person who got him as their mentor in envy.

Among all the names that had been listed so far, it seems like most of the mentors only selected one apprentice to take on.

Is there even any hope for a newbie like me…?

However, as the list went on and unfamiliar names sounded off one after another… I never did hear mine being called...

I kept lowering my expectations, telling myself that it wasn’t a big deal at all, but my heart continued to race as each name was ticked off. I couldn’t stop my hands, which had been placed on the table, from curling themselves into fists.

Mya: (Y/n) —

I subconsciously closed my eyes.

Mya: Mentor, Sariel.

MC: !

Li Man'man: Jesus! It really is Director Qi!

Man’man instantly made a grab for my arm in her excitement, snapping me out of my internal reveries. My mind was in a daze.

MC: It's Sariel… Thank god…

After reaching the end of the list, Mya closed the folder.

Mya: That’s all for the mentor assignments. Now, I’m going to be making another announcement.

Mya: In a month, the Design Hub will be holding a shoe design competition for all Assistant and Junior Designers.

Mya: The theme of the competition is high heels.

Mya: And the winning works will be then exhibited at the Warson Group’s big show.

Li Man'man: We have the chance to be on it!?

The meeting room broke out in a commotion almost instantly after. Mya raised her hand, rapping her knuckles on the table in a bid for silence, but there was a rare encouraging smile on her face.

Mya: I believe that all of you are aware that a big show is held once every ten years ever since Warson was established.

Mya: It is not only a summary of the past ten years as we look back at it, but it also serves as an outlook for the prospects to come. This show is a big event for both the Warson Group and the industry alike.

Mya: In the previous years, Assistant and Junior Designers were only able to participate as assistants; but this year, the board has decided to extend more opportunities.

Mya: The theme of this time’s show has been decided. It is “Spring”.

Mya: As this time’s show would also be Warson’s 120th anniversary, it will be of significant symbolic meaning to Warson as a whole.

Mya: This is an invaluable gem in the fashion industry.

Mya: As this chance is extremely rare, I do hope that all of you can seize it firmly since it might very well never happen again.

After Mya left, the people from the administration departments took over, explaining our company’s culture and systems. But it was obvious enough to anyone that everyone’s attention was no longer present.

I mused, resting my chin on my hand as I sketched an outline of a shoe in my notebook.

MC: This competition’s open to all Junior and Assistant Designers… And only one person can win…

After the initial excitement died down, I put my pencil down and contemplated the shoe I’d just sketched out.

It was an ordinary-looking shoe, made of ordinary materials and your usual out-of-the-mill patterns.

I might have made many clothes up till now, but I had a pathetically sad amount of experience when it came to making shoes, whether it be back in school or during my internship.

MC: ...I definitely need more references to work with.

MC: Oh, yes! There should be some there!

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Night⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: (Chapter 3-20) | Next Part: (Chapter 4-3)

[welcome-to-the-cafe]

Shang-Chi (2021) Review Pt. 2

This one will be about the less character-relevant stuff, such as casting, props, settings, and design.

Easiest first: props and costumes.

A bit cool, a bit silly, and bit too "Chinese-themed".

The old Ten-Ring troops had normal armor for the time and age. The new Ten Ring troops looked like the Snake-Eyes fodder ninjas but with tassled helmets. Like I appreciate what they were going for, but...it look dumb dude. And what they were doing with only one hook sword? The electrified thing was cool, but y'all didn't use the bladed hand guard, the combo hook move, the spiked pommel...wasted potential smh. And then the electric arc crossbows....again I appreciate the idea, but that was silly, especially after we showed the Ten Rings sniper with a normal ass gun. Or, just go full sino-futurism and give me the chainsaw spiked club, the electrified monk's spade, taser three section staff.

The villager's clothes were too...saturated, and monochromatic. It kinda reminded me of Mulan (2020) actually, the white people's ancient Chinese clothing. In contrast, in the he TianLongBaBu wuxia series I've been watching, people dress in...normal earth tones. Oh also, too many fucking sandals, where are my black loafers and thick white socks, with rope bindings? Like the kind modern Shaolin monks wear?? The villager's weapons too. Only Xialing's was kind of interesting, the rest are vanilla staffs and sword+shield. Boooo. Where's the dragonscale fangtianhuaji? The dragonscale guandao? Ok I'm done. Just disappointed.

Wenwu's costumes were pure drip in every scene. Zero complaints.

Shang-Chi's letterman's jacket was my favorite costume to be honest. He should not have changed in the village. The final costume seemed a bit too...modern, but not quite to the level of the Black Panther suit. It just seemed like Western superhero top with a vaguely Chinese pattern on it. Or it looked kindof...southeast asian? Wish it had no sleeves.

Katy should've kept her Macau drip. The "traditional" robe just didn't look right.

Xialing looked the best in her inverse Bruce Lee colors crop top and sweats. Like damn.

Ying Li's robes' green is too saturated in my opinion, unnaturally. Same with Michelle Yeoh's character. Now that I think about it, I hardly ever see bright green in traditional Chinese clothes...or modern Chinese fashion. Her pristine white/biege wushu outfit is also meh for me.

Death Dealer's dark blue + yellow colors are quite striking, but a bit odd and out of place with the rest of the Ten Rings' getup. Perhaps it was intentional, since he's the elite trainer? I wish it was more modern, a la Snake Eyes' suit. I would also like to complain about his opera face makeup though; why only the top half? Is that even a real opera face design? It's kind of a dumb half-ass reference I think. Like, Noh masks are used all the time for creepy effect, why not Beijing Opera?

Next, CGI animals.

Morris the Hundun/Dijiang was cute, but I half expected him to suddenly go nuts and devour Slattery, since the Hundun is one of the primordial evil beasts. But Disney needs their marketable mascot. I even saw a Lego piece for him before the movie was released!

The trip through the other world was a bit too safari-like. Like wow, the Ninetails is just chilling by the road, and a herd of Qilin conveniently pass by. The execution of these creatures were fine, though the Qilin eyes were too "dead".

I don't have problems with the Lions' design, but they were completely unnecessary, and lowered the stakes for the final battle for me. Those two lions could literally tear apart all five of Wenwu's trucks in less than a minute.

I stated already, the big evil monster, the little soulsuckers, and the dragon are completely unnecessary to me. Even when I saw just the wood carving of the soulsucking bats, I felt disappointed. Xialing and Shangchi spent way too long riding the big dragon and not doing kungfu :/

Onto settings.

I just recently visited Bay Area! The hilliness of SF was nicely showed off by the bus fight.

Macao seemed well-grounded and normal for a modern Chinese metropolis. Was portrayed better than Tokyo was in Snake Eyes in my opinion. The bamboo scaffolding scene reminded me heavily of Rush Hour 2's Hong Kong fight, and I could hear Jackie Chan assuring us "don't worry, Chinese bamboo, very strong!".

The Ten Rings compound was...eh. No defining features to locate it anywhere real so whatever. But the interior was weirdly homey?

The Ta Lo village is what I really want to complain about: why they gotta throw Chinese people back to the Xia dynasty like that? Straw huts? Really? And there was a total of like 7 buildings there, across a tiny area. That is not a village, it's a medium-sized temple complex. Kung Fu Panda 3's hidden panda village was loads more impressive, with interesting geography. This was on a flat plane next to a pond. Combined with the costuming, it's like hello, it's hokey Western orientalism again.

Casting.

Tony Leung. Perfect. Outstanding. Phenomenal. Sexy as hell. I have recovered fully from Lust, Caution. I see on Tiktok that westerners are thirsting after him, and I am very satisfied. The "Killmonger-Loki" Effect is now the "Wenwu-Killmonger-Loki" Effect. I only wish he were younger, because I hate the "daddy" kink. Mr. Leung, you are a hero to Asian-American men. Thank you.

Awkwafina. Yeah she is pretty good as the unabashed ABC friend. But lately, I feel she has been over-used as the main Chinese-American actress. On some social media, I have seen Black users complain of her 'blaccent' and vow to boycott Shang-Chi in protest. I'm inclined to defend her, as it is probably what she grew up with, and the boycott feels like another attempt to draw moral hierarchical divisions between minorities. Similar sentiment is "yall didn't come out for Black Panther, why should we come out for Shang-Chi?". I don't have any data as to whether 'we' did come out for Black Panther, but I generally disapprove of POC factionalism.

Simu Liu. I'm glad that Westerners are thirsting over him too. I'm glad he's very enthusiastic and affable, and well-liked in the Asian-American community. He's us! And he got a shirtless scene! But the catch is...he doesn't fit the current Chinese standard for "hot guy actor".

From the majority angle: that's toxic af. He's hot enough, why are we being so picky with dumb Asian beauty standards? Will we ever properly support ourselves? Like damn, this is the first Asian-American lead in a goddamn Marvel movie, and this is how you treat him?? By the Heavens.

From the other angle: his eyes are small, his jaw kind of round, head kind of wide. Not the most masculine, but definitely not feminine. He's a normal Chinese-American dude. Chinese dude, Harbin, Heilongjiang born. Compare that to Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Chris Pratt, Sebastian Stan, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, etc. These are among the finest western specimens; why did the pick the Asian hero to be played by the 'normal-looking' dude? Was Jackson Wang not available? Or Ludi Lin? I personally have a suspicion that his appearance most fits the stereotypical look of an Asian man to Western audiences, and that's why he was cast.

He's received hate for this, from Reddit r/aznidentity, the sub that I frequent, which currently is cheering Shang-Chi's box-office success. That's toxic af, and must be heartbreaking for him. Unfortunately, it's part of the larger conflict of Western and Eastern media, representation, markets, and culture. And that's a big fish to wrangle in part 3.

[ahgasescenarios]

Truth Among Lies- Taeil ANTM! Au

Word count: 2.5k

Genre: fluff

Request: Can I request a Taeil scenario where the main character is on Asia's Next Top Model and there's this challenge that you're doing a photoshoot with NCT2018 by @joeyburritooo

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! I struggled a bit to write this (I didn't really know how to describe the show in writing), but I hope it lived up to your expectations. Enjoy reading and let me know what you thought! (Had to repost because of technical difficulties)  Love you all, thanks for the constant support:)

Some people draw, some people write, some people dance. We all have our hobbies: our very own way of escaping reality. It's our own safe haven, a time when we don't have to worry about what tomorrow's got in store, but rather just enjoy the present.  

For you, it was modeling. You had been a model ever since you were a young girl and you had loved every second of it, from the makeup artists pampering your face with expensive products to the stylists dressing you in the latest collections of world-renowned designers.

They called you a natural. You always had fun on set, lighting up the entire room as a result. Photographers loved that about you, especially since you always came through with impeccable shots. From the moment you had first stepped on set, you had known you wanted to make modeling your career. You were prepared to work hard because you knew how harsh and demanding the industry actually was. In fact, it chewed up the weaklings and spit them out broken and discouraged.

You persevered though. You never let yourself give up on your childhood dream and so you went to countless castings and searched for opportunities for hours on end. And that's how you came across a casting call for Asia's Next Top Model.

You had shown up like you always did, walked like you always did and gotten home like you always did. You didn't expect much from it, it was quite crowd-pleasing and you didn't expect them to pick some average model like yourself (because everyone on there had some horror story that they qualified as their "past"). When you got a phone call to announce that you had made it to the top 16 contestants, you were beyond stunned.

Nevertheless, you packed your bags and flew to Thailand, where the show would be taking place. You had met Nadya and the other contestants, quickly bonding with some of them. A few rounds had passed and you had poured blood, sweat, and tears to stay in the competition, but you had managed to make it into the final 10.

You were all gathered in a room, awaiting Nadya's arrival. Rumor had it she was going to announce a big surprise for the upcoming challenge.

"Hello girls, how are you all doing?"

Everyone replied with a monotone "good".

"As you probably have heard, I have big news regarding this next challenge."

The girls whispered among themselves, trying to figure out what the surprise was before she announced it.

"Are any of you girls familiar with the K-Pop group called NCT2018?"

And now they were screaming. You covered your ears in an attempt to block them out, which revealed to be unsuccessful.

"Well, your next challenge is going to be your very own photo shoot with NCT2018."

Some were now even crying. Dramatic much, you thought.

"Now now, calm down. Each girl will be paired with a member or two and you will have to outshine them, or at least try to." At this, she winked. "I'm sure you're all very excited, so I'll let you girls get ready. See you then."

She waved before walking away.

"Oh my god I can't believe this! I hope I get paired up with Taeyong, he's so handsome-"

"Back off, Taeyong's mine!"

"Fine, but I want Jaehyun then."

"I want to get Winwin he's so dreamy, he's like a prince."

The room was downright chaotic by now and you wanted nothing more than to get out. Unfortunately for you, the cameras were still rolling so you had to fake your enthusiasm to fit in with the rest of the loonies.

***

"Hello ladies, my name is Sui Yan-Lin and I'll be your photographer for today. I'm sure you've heard about our special guests and are plenty excited for this photoshoot. A theme and a member (or two) have been assigned to you and I expect you to be professional about this, okay?"

"Okay."

It was pretty obvious that none of the models except you were going to be "professional". After the girls had calmed down, the photographer went around to give out the necessary information.

Apparently, you were going to be teamed up with a guy named Taeil for a swimsuit shoot. You weren't too psyched about having to wear such revealing attire. You weren't a prude or anything, but being half-naked in a room filled with 18 boys (or was it 16?) wasn't quite appealing to you. Although you were sure any of the other dumbstruck-girls would have killed to be in your shoes.  

You got dressed as quickly as you could, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. You had enveloped yourself in a bathrobe as you awaited your turn. You had made sure to bring your earphones so you could relax before the shoot. A loud knock on the door interrupted your much-needed "me time".

"Come in." You shouted, irked by the disturbance.

A shy boy started making his way towards you. The moment your eyes landed on him, you knew you were doomed. At that moment, you understood why the girls were so infatuated with those boys because the one standing before you was absolute perfection (if that was even humanly possible). He wasn't very tall which only made him cuter. He had a gentle smile on his lips and you realized you had probably been staring with your mouth agape for a few minutes now.

"Uh, hi, I'm Taeil, the one you'll be doing the photoshoot with. I look forward to working with you."

He bowed politely and you did the same. You smiled kindly before he left and if he had missed the hearts in your eyes, he was probably blind. You felt the heat rush to your cheeks and you shook your head to stop yourself from blushing. You weren't one to blush easily, but Taeil seemed to have gotten under your skin (literally).

The moment he left the premises, you went to look for your closest friend on the competition, Shirai. She was a Japanese contestant with a similar background as yours and she too was not one for drama.

You didn't bother knocking, bursting in unannounced.

"Shirai, what do you know about Taeil from NCT?"

She scoffed.

"No "hello"? How rude."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I want to know more about my partner and I'm sure you have all the latest news about him."

"That, I do. But why do you want to know? Does someone have a little crush?" She said in a sing-song voice, resulting in an eye roll from your part.

"You know just as much as I do that I don't have time for romance, now tell me. Please."

"Well he's the main vocalist and he has an amazing voice, he's the oldest and also the shortest. I think that's all you need to know about your 'partner'."

She smirked, satisfied with herself. You thanked her and left, growing annoyed by her attitude.

"(Y/N), you're up next. Be ready in 5."  Some staff member shouted at you.

And that's when it hit you that you were only wearing a one-piece (which did not cover much) for this shoot. You mentally face-palmed yourself, having a feeling that it will be harder for you to deliver today. You took a deep breath and with one last look in the mirror, you were off.

You walked confidently (well, you tried) to the set where miscellaneous summer essentials were scattered. Taeil stood before you in casual clothing. How he looked so effortlessly good in minimal clothing was beyond you. You tried to keep a calm exterior when he smiled oh-so-slightly at you, in vain.

The photographer wasted no time in starting the photoshoot. You were used to this, so you weren't too worried about the turnout. Taeil's occasional hand coming to rest on your shoulder or waist never failed to make you shiver and doubt your ability to keep your cool though.

You were done before you knew it, thanking the photographer and Taeil for their time. You were sad to see him go as you were hoping to have a chance to talk to him after the shoot. You pouted and started walking towards your dressing room when Taeil himself intercepted you. He had a silky bathrobe in his hands which he handed to you shyly.

Your face lit up with the brightest smile he had ever seen and you thanked him for the kind gesture.

"Taeil!" The said boy turned around in the direction of the 3 boys calling out for him. He held up a finger to keep you from leaving and walked towards the boys. After some mumbling and nodding, he came back to you.

"They want me to go get coffee for everyone. Do you maybe, I don't know, uh wanna come with me?"

"Sure!" You answered quickly, too quickly for your taste.

You changed back into your original clothes and left. You walked side to side in a comfortable silence until he spoke up.

"I saw the final shots while you were changing and you looked so amazing, (Y/N). You're a really strong model even if I don't know much about modeling. I think you have a real shot at winning this thing."

"Thank you, Taeil. It really means a lot." You gave him a genuine smile. "I've heard you're a good singer, but I'm going to need proof to believe it."

You teased. He blushed as he was now the center of attention.

"How about you give me your number and I'll prove it to you then?"

He asked, surprised at his sly retort himself. Your jaw fell, astonished by his forwardness (which you didn't expect from such a shy individual). You gave him your number regardless, I mean who wouldn't?

You made small talk for the rest of the walk to the coffee shop. You were happy you got to know him at least a little bit and you secretly he would come through with his prior offer.

You helped him carry the many cup holders and you joked around until you got back. You found yourself wanting to stay in his company further. In such a strict competition, breaks were extremely rare. As they always reminded the candidates, anyone could be eliminated at any time which meant that rest wasn't on the agenda.

Most of the girls in this competition were fake and arrogant, so to have such a normal, genuine conversation with someone from the outside was quite refreshing. Especially since that outsider was ridiculously hot and a sweetheart, what more could you ask?

You were thankful for the distraction but sad that it would be short-lived. By the time the two of you got back to the building, they were wrapping up the final shoot which meant that the challenge would come to an end soon.

"Okay, that's a wrap everyone! Thank you for today, we will come back to you with the challenge winners soon. Feel free to relax in the meantime."

Everyone gave a round of applause for everyone who had helped make today's shoot happen. The contestants went back to their dressing rooms and you did the same. You listened to music while you waited and soon enough there was a knock on your door and a staff member beckoning you on set.

You were all gathered in a cozy room, awaiting the verdict. Nadya made her entrance in a beautiful gown, looking as ravishing as always.

"Good afternoon ladies. I'm guessing you had fun with this week's challenge?"

The girls screamed their approval, deafening you in the process. God, you hated fangirls.

"Now, let's invite the boys back in." She signaled to a staff member and the 18 member-group entered. Each boy went to stand beside their previous partner. You blushed (again) when Taeil made his way over to you, patting you lightly on the head.

He leaned down to whisper in your ear.

"It's okay, you've got this."

You merely nodded, not as confident in your abilities as he was.

"You all did really well in this challenge, but there were two of you that stood out the most." Nadya paused, keeping the suspense alive. "Will Xiao and (Y/N) please step forward."

Your eyes widened at the mention of your name, but you stepped forward as asked.

"Xiao, the photographer was impressed with your use of your surroundings for this shoot. It is safe to say that you mastered the theme you were given. Good job."

Nadya smiled and turned to you.

"(Y/N), everyone agreed that you were the one who brought the most fun on set. You didn't overthink it and just had fun with it which earned you quite amazing pictures. Good job."

"And the winner of this week's challenge is..."

She paused once more and the room was completely silent for minutes (which felt more like hours to you).

"(Y/N)! Congratulations."

You gasped in disbelief. You jumped in joy, happy to have finally won a challenge.

"Now this means that you can't be eliminated at the next panel, but don't let that stop you from bringing your 110%."

You nodded frantically, overjoyed at your little victory.

"You can all return to the hotel and I will be seeing you at the next panel."

With one last smile, she was gone. Everyone had disappeared already too, except Taeil. He was standing there with a big smile on his face as if to say "I told you so". Before you could register what you were doing, you were hugging him tightly. He hugged you back the same way.

When you pulled away, you still had a smile plastered on your face. He couldn't help but smile back at the beautiful girl before him. He really did believe in you, even if you had met that same day.

Your smile faded when you realized his hand was still holding your waist. You looked up at him and he was already staring at you. His gaze faltered from your eyes to your lips and you knew where this was going.

"Can I?" He half-whispered.

You nodded, making him smile. His hands cupped your face gently and he brought your face closer to his until your lips were touching. The kiss didn't last long, but it was as sweet as you had imagined it to be. Taeil searched your eyes for any sort of hesitation and when he didn't find any, he dived back in for another kiss. He moved his lips this time and you melted under his touch even more. You pulled away only when you were out of breath.

"If that was my prize for winning, I should definitely win more often."

You smirked, wriggling your eyebrows at him. He burst out laughing, not expecting such a witty response to him kissing you. You smiled as you watched him laugh, thinking that you wanted nothing more than to see him laugh over and over again.

  He had then decided to walk you "home", hands intertwined during the journey. You had laughed more in those 15 minutes than you had since the beginning of the competition. It had been difficult and there had been times where you just wanted to give up and go home, but standing in the moonlight with Taeil gave you a new drive. You wanted to win this competition and you were going to try your hardest to achieve that goal. Because when you have someone rooting for you by your side, you can accomplish anything.

 |Masterlist|