❝ 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘... 𓏴 ♢
ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁 . . . 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 those who fall for you ❜ ⸝⸝
⊹ . ◌ ༚ ˳ 🕳️⠀﹒⠀ ꙳ .
⌗ ; 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗜 𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗛𝗬𝗨𝗡𝗝𝗜𝗡 ▬ ★ ??
NEWS CAME LIKE A STORM TO MIDORI. With the memory still as colourful as it was when it happened, she wasn't sure what to think. Should she be happy? Stressed? Disappointed? Elevated?
'You and Hwang Hyunjin are going to be substitute MCs for Soobin-ssi and Arin-ssi.'
'Will we perform together too?'
'Yes.'
Freaking out seemed like a plausible idea, but for now, all Midori could do was sit on her bed, stare at the wall and let her thoughts wander. It seemed to happen quite often ever since she debuted. Granted, she had access to her phone, social media and Twitter, the place that bred toxicity.
Their comments, albeit doused in hellfire and venom, seemed to bring the slightest of amusements to her lips.
Trailing tired eyes over her desk. Scribbled notes and empty ink covered the white desk, standing proudly on four legs, right by her window. Light from her bathroom pooled through the springs, hindering the room from taking the colour of the night. Nyx would paint the night in the colours of the dark, hiding predators from prey.
Luckily, Midori had her lamp.
Some comments were meaner than others, some even dared to wish death upon her.
But those were quick to get shut down by those who admired her the most. She knew better than to listen to those who disliked her. Midori had done nothing wrong ━ perhaps that's why they hated her. Chuckling, she fell back against the bed, pillows engulfing her head. Did they not have anything better to do with their lives? Rather than spend their time projecting their anger and insecurities onto her.
The door to her room slowly opened, Naito peeking his head inside.
As soon as he laid eyes on her, he frowned.
'You look like a frog,' he commented, fully stepping inside, darkness hugging his body.
'Thank you,' Midori replied, watching as he dragged his feet towards her bed. Taking hold of her chair, he dragged it with him and put it beside her bed.
'I spoke to him today over the phone,' Naito said, taking a seat on the leather chair.
'Who?'
'K-hyung.'
Her heart fell. 'Oh,' she muttered. 'What did you talk about?'
'He's sorry, like, really really sorry for not telling us earlier,' Naito said, giving Midori a knowing look.
Giving him a thoughtful look, Midori wasn't sure what to do. 'Should we meet him again then?'
A shrug lifted Naito's shoulders upwards. 'What do you want to do?'
'I suppose. . . we should let this sink in. Besides, I have a lot on my schedule right now,' Midori told him, a small smile spreading on her lips. 'You can visit him without me. He's your brother too.'
'But I'm awkward.'
'You're not,' Midori chuckled. 'You're just. . .'
'. . .awkward,' Naito finished for her.
'Don't worry about it,' Midori waved him off. 'We're all awkward.'
'Right. . . but I don't want to meet him without you.'
'We'll do it together then,' she said.
'I know someone who's going to be awkward,' Naito chuckled, changing the subject in an instant.
'Who?'
'You.'
'Me?' There was slight bewilderment in her voice.
'Yeah, for tomorrow.'
'Right,' Midori mumbled, not bothering to stop the growing smile on her lips.
Tomorrow was the day she was going to meet her senior, the one she was going to be a substitute MC with. Their company ━ for the sake of both Midori and Hyunjin ━ had decided that it would be best if they got to know each other a bit before standing on stage together.
Naito chuckled, seeing her flustered face.
'Don't forget these,' he said, reaching for her pill on her desk, throwing them at her. 'You're one minute late.'
She shook her head out of amusement. 'You keep a better track of them than me.'
'Well. . .' he trailed off. 'I don't want you to become a raging bit━'
'Naito,' she warned.
'━female dog.'
'It's your lucky day then, the gynaecologist said I could keep using these.'
'Fascinating,' Naito commented in a bored tone.
'Very,' Midori replied.
'Good,' Naito patted her leg twice. 'Now go to sleep, it's 9 PM.'
'Says you.'
'Goodnight Melody,' Naito cooed. 'Momma Naito loves you very very much.'
Playfully rolling her eyes, Midori watched as Naito put her chair back and slowly walked out of the room.
'Sod off,' she laughed.
﹙★﹚
They were meeting in one of the studios at the BigHit building, alone and away from any cameras and windows. If they met in public, people were bound to create rumours, and she did not want that ━ at least not right after she debuted. Her feet dragged against the ground while she was pacing around, anxious with her heart beating hard against her ribcage. Rarely did she ever feel like that, but this time was clearly different.
And when the door opened, her face paled and it was as if death was her near. She had only ever seen Hyunjin once at a music bank where they greeted each other, but that was formal, very formal and not something Midori thought about.
She bowed as soon as she saw him, not wanting him to take her as a disrespectful person.
'Hello,' he greeted her, a paper bag in his hands.
'Ah. . . hello,' Midori greeted him back, voice surprisingly low.
'I brought something for us. . .' he trailed off with a light chuckle, putting the bag on the table. 'Because I felt like we needed to eat something too.'
Midori hastily nodded, tongue tied in a knot.
Perhaps she was the awkward one and not Naito.
'I appreciate that,' she said, giving him a genuine smile.
'Don't be a stranger, Midori, come,' he said, motioning for her to sit down with him.
Would it be odd to say that she enjoyed the way her name rolled off his tongue? It was different to the way Ni-ki or Sunghoon used to say it. The simplest of things seemed to create the most complex of feelings inside of her.
'I had to ask Beomgyu about your favourite drink,' Hyunjin admitted, giving her a sheepish smile before giving her a mug of chai latte.
'Are you close with him?' Midori asked, a thankful smile spreading on her lips.
'I am. Jeongin is closer though. . . I heard Jeongin is also close with your brother?'
She nodded, confirming his suspicions. 'He is, I don't know how but they got close after we first met at that Music Bank.'
'You did well there, I was surprised. But I suppose it makes sense since you've already performed a lot, and you were on two survival shows before debuting,' he chuckled.
It took her by surprise. He seemed to know a lot about her.
An awkward laugh left her lips. 'You seem to know a lot about me,' she noted with another laugh. 'It's making me flustered.'
Her comment made Hyunjin flustered, for he was quick to cover his mouth and wave her off.
'I just asked Beomgyu and Taehyun-ssi. I felt like it was better to have some information about my new colleague,' he answered.
'I understand,' she flushed, taking a sip from her chai latte to swallow the awkwardness. 'And I appreciate that.'
'I'm glad,' he smiled.
'That you appreciate it. . .' he added.
Silence engulfed them.
Midori wasn't sure what to say. What if she said something that would offend him? What if he found her annoying or clingy? What if he hated her voice? What if she was too ugly for him? Thoughts ran around her head, every possible scenario playing in her mind.
'Are you excited for the performance we'll be doing?' he asked, giving her an expectant look.
'Of course, I am,' Midori said, truth spilling past her lips.
'Have you learnt the choreography?'
'I have,' Midori answered.
'Then. . .' he trailed off in thought. 'I guess it would be good to practise it together, yeah?'
'Yeah,' she nodded. 'It would.'
jia's note﹗
wake up in day one