1x1 daices. x tsunami,

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: panicked, exhausted, relieved


emmie wanted nothing more than to just sink into mimi's embrace and stay there forever. she sniffled into mimi's shoulder, eyes closing as she settled down. "i'm sorryyy, i didn’t mean to cry. or to make you cry. i don’t what’s wrong with me." she whined, snuggling deeper to hide her face. she knew she probably looked like an absolute mess by now and she definitely reeked of alcohol, but now, all she wanted to do was fall asleep in mimi’s arms and forget about everything that had happened that night.

from her slightly delirious state, she heard the faint rumbling of the car pulling up, her eyes still half-closed as she felt herself getting pulled up by mimi. she slumped over in the seat of the car, hardly conscious at this point. her eyes fluttered open only when she heard mimi calling her name, eyes wide and voice pleading. ”go? no, of course not. i want to stay... with you” she murmured, a lazy smile on her face she she looked at mimi’s still slightly blurry face.

stumbling their way into the apartment, emmie followed mimi’s lead towards the couch. at mimi’s pleading, emmie felt her face heat up, though she wasn’t really sure if it was still just the alcohol. at this point, there wasn’t anything left for emmie to lose. she had already gotten wasted and interrupted whatever mimi and yoojin had been doing despite being yoojin’s guest. now, she figured she might as well just give in and indulge herself if only for that night. she sat on the couch beside mimi’s sprawled out figure, her hand still interlocked with hers. mimi looked like a little puppy, begging for her attention, and who was she to ignore her? she kicked off heels and pulled the girl closer so that she was leaning back into a corner of the couch to support her neck and back while mimi could use her lap as a pillow. sleep overtook her soon after, lulled by the warm, comfortable weight on her legs.

the first thing emmie noticed when she came to the next morning was that she was definitely not in her bed, or even her apartment for that matter. the second thing was curled up figure laying across her, chest slowing rising and falling as she slept soundly. the third thing, and perhaps the most concerning thing, was the pounding headache that was threatening her sanity. since she was basically trapped and honestly didn't really want to move and deal with her hangover, she simply closed her eyes again and figured she'd deal with it the second time she woke up.

that's when the first thing she had noticed came back in mind, and her eyes flew open. if she was in Hilight's apartment, that meant from mimi's group could walk out and see them at any moment. the only thing worse than her headache was probably the even bigger headache she was going to have if the other girls got word of this. she could already feel the embarrassment and hear the teasing, two things that she definitely could live without. she looked down at mimi, her gaze softening. she looked so peaceful, just as she had that day when she had fallen asleep on her during the movie. only this time, the scene was a little less domestic and a lot more risqué. "mimi? i'm sorry, i really, really don't want to wake you but i really think it'd be best if i got out of here before your group mates wake up." she whispered, her mouth by mimi's ear. she nudged the girl's shoulder gently, trying to wake her up but also feeling really guilty about it.

once she was free, she quickly gathered her belongings that had been strewn across the floor. her purse, her phone, and of course, her shoes. "i had fun last night though, even if i can't really seem to remember much of it right now. well actually, i guess that just kinda proves just how much fun we did have." she said to mimi, chuckling softly as she rushed to get the straps of her shoes on. "ah, well, i'll be going then. i'll text you when i get back!" she gave mimi a small smile and a quick wave before closing the apartment door as quietly as she could.

once outside, she was nearly blinded by the sunlight, her arm reaching up to shield her face as she looked around for an approaching taxi. she would've called for a car, but she really didn't feel like having to explain herself to anyone right then, especially when she could only remember bits and pieces of what had happened. once she managed to flag down a cab and was on her way back to M3RCY's apartment, she let out a deep sigh, feeling to tension in her release now that she could just sit and relax during the short ride.

maybe she had fled Hilight's apartment a little too fast, but she felt that this would end up being the best option for now. thinking back to last night, she tried to recount what had happened. she definitely remembered dancing with mimi, then sitting at the table with her as she snuggled up next to her, and then... it all went downhill from there. the same sinking feeling she had felt when she realized the two figures had been mimi and yoojin hit her right then. it all came flooding back to her. the panic, the insecurity, the anger and frustration. she even remembered crying into mimi's arms, her face flushing in embarrassment at her own self. she groaned, smacking herself on the forehead with her palm. how could she let herself be so reckless? she hated people like that, and now she had just become one of them.

"uh, miss? we've arrived."

emmie shot up in her seat, scrambling for her purse. "ah, yes. sorry. thank you so much." she clambered out of the car after handing the driver the money and hurried up the stairs. sneaking into the apartment as quietly as she could, she was relieved to find that no one was up yet. she ran into the bathroom, jumping out of her clothes and welcoming the warm embrace of the running water as she washed away all the sweat, tears, and feelings of last night. her mind kept replaying the scene she had seen in that dark hallway, the one she wished with all her might she hadn't seen. if only she didn't drink so much because then she wouldn't have had to go to the bathroom and then she wouldn't have had to witness... that. she felt tears beginning to prick the corners of her eyes once again, and if she hand't been in the shower, she would have freaked and cursed herself. instead, safe in it's confines, she simply let it all out, exhausted from both the emotional roller coaster she hadn't voluntarily signed up for and of course, her lack of sleep.

once she finished and had changed into a baggy t-shirt and shorts, she pulled out her phone to send mimi a text. I'm so, so sorry about last night. i don't know what came over me. she bit her lip. did mimi even remember? well, it didn't matter. it was better to be safe than sorry, and she was definitely already sorry. i'm sorry i can't be there to help you nurse your hangover! maybe next time? c; she added, hoping to brighten the mood just a little. not that she really ever wanted there to be a next time considering the way she had acted under the influence and how much of an aftereffect it was having on her now. there was a pretty high probability that emmie was going to stay away from alcohol for a while. she was seriously regretting her actions from last night and the steady throbbing in her head was only one of those reasons.

"well, well. look what the cat dragged in. i take it you had a good time last night?"

emmie yelped, nearly dropping her phone. she looked up to find chaewon sitting up her in bed, stretching as she eyed emmie.

"y-yeah. it was really nice." she coughed out, shrinking under chaewon's intense stare.

"are you sure about that?" emmie nearly yelped a second time as chaewon jumped out of her bed with lightning speed and was now hovering over her, her hands reaching out to grab emmie's face. she watched as chaewon's face contorted into one of concern, her brows furrowing. "were you crying? and don't you dare try to lie to me little miss."

emmie flinched, pulling away from her grasp. she averted her gaze, afraid of what was to come. "...yes? maybe?" she sighed. "but please don't tell anyone."

"depending on what you tell me next, i won't. now spill." her tone was demanding, but her gaze was soft as she settled beside emmie and listened to her woes. still fresh in her mind, everything just spilled out, unfiltered. she recounted what she seen, what she had felt, what she had done, what she had wished she hadn't done. by the time it was over, emmie wanted nothing more than to just curl up in a ball and sleep for two weeks.

"oh, baby. i'm so sorry, i'm so, so sorry," she pulled emmie into a comforting hug. "i know how upset you must of been, and it's okay for you to feel that way, but i think you should take some time to sort your feelings out a little more and then you have to talk to mimi about all this, okay?"

emmie nodded into chaewon's chest, a weight lifted off her own. she could only wonder how she would face mimi the next time they met, but most importantly, she wondered how mimi was feeling. emmie hadn't really said anything straight out last night, or at least, not that she could remember, so she hoped that mimi wasn't going to get upset that she had just waltzed (stumbled) in and dragged her away from her friend. next time. i'll definitely explain everything next time... soon, her breathing began to slow as she drifted off, feeling relaxed for the first time since yesterday morning before she started getting ready for the party.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ queasy, mopey 〙
- - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - -

Mimi barely woke up when Emmie nudged her, grumbling nonsense as she clung onto Emmie as much as she could, arms tightening around the girl's waist. "MmmMmm... nnnnnooo..." She grumbled, pouting, but ultimately provided very little resistance in her barely awake, definitely hungover state.

Crackling open her eye just a sliver, Mimi winced against the sunlight streaming in, groaning as she shielded her face against the morning sun. "Ooow... Are you going?" She rasped, slowly getting into a sitting position, taking the time while Emmie was gathering her stuff to slowly come to her senses- as much as she could, anyways. [color=#v]"I had fun, too! I'm glad we were able to go out, even if I feel terrible right now."[/color] Mimi grinned at Emmie, trailing after he to the doorway. "Yeah, text me! I'll see you later~" She called softly, before closing the door behind her.

"Ugh..." Mimi smacked her mouth a few times in disgust, still tasting alcohol on her breath. But more important than that, and the splitting headache, was the couch; it looked so inviting, and soft... Mimi tumbled back onto the cushions, face buried near the arm, and drifted off back to sleep, hugging one of the throw pillows that had been closest to Emmie during the course of the night.

"When do y'all think she got back?"

"I dunno, I heard something at four ish? But I swear I heard more than one voice."

"Oooooh, are you saying Mimi-unnie brought someone back? I don't see any signs of anything..."

"Naw, I don't think so; the only person Mimi'd bring back would be Emmie-ssi, but even then I doubt anything would happen; our rapper baby is dumb as rocks. Not gonna lie, I can see Emmie-ssi sneaking out so she doesn't bother us or something; sweet girl seems like the type."

"Okay, wake up Mimi, you dolt, stop hogging the couch. And drink this."

Mimi heard the conversation like it was through water, barely registering anything that was being said. "Muuh..?" She mumbled, barely rolling onto her side.

"If you don't sit up I'm going to throw this water into your face."

"M....'M up. wha..." Mimi groaned as her spine cracked, hair mussed and half of it sticking to her cheek due to a dried line of drool. "Hmm..." She eyed the glass of water two inches from her nose, along with two pills in Jia's outstretched palm a couple inches away. Grabbing it, Mimi didn't realize how thirsty she was until she began to drink, downing the water in a few seconds, barely remembering to take the ibuprofen as well.

"Ugh- thanks, Jia- uh, all of you guys." Mimi just began registering the croud, all of her teammates standing in a loose semicircle, a vague suspicion in her chest that quickly got masked by the nail persistently pounding its way into her skull. "I really owe you one."

Her groupmates settled onto the couch, practically caging her in. "Sooo... How did the party go?" Miyoung began, Haemi interrupting her by sniffing Mimi's day-old shirt. "Ugh, unnie, I can still smell the alcohol; what, did you spill it on yourself?" Followed by Sooah chuckling along with Jia. "How much fuuuun did you have with Emmie-unnie, huh??"

"God... Not gonna lie, it gets kinda foggy at the end. I just... There was- dancing?" A chorus of "oooohs" arose from the group. "Um... and then drinking, and then- Yoojin-ah was asking me a bunch of questions?"

Jia clucked her tongue in disapproval. "You remember more about Yoojin than you do about Emmie?"

"Um... No? I... It's just- It was an interesting conversation, was all. Also- did any of y'all see Emmie this morning?" Mimi vaguely remembered pulling Emmie into the apartment like some insufferable child, but at this point Mimi didn't trust her memory one bit.

"Sooah and I did hear more than one voice yesterday night, so I think she was here." Haemi piped up, still smirking at Mimi.

Mimi frowned as more bits and pieces of last night rushed back. "She was crying, I think... I didn't think she would be a sad drunk. Also Yoojin's questions were kinda weird. I don't know if they get along that well; we don't really hang around together." She mused half to herself, feeling remorse choke her throat. Not to mention, Yoojin was so close; if she wasn't friends with the other girl, she could've sworn that the girl was trying to come onto her. Maybe that's why Emmie seemed so distressed? Leave it to Emmie to care about her being taken advantage of, even when she was drunk herself.

"Crying? Did you make her cry?"

Mimi held up her hands in protest. "No! I mean- I... hope not? God..." She bit her lip, concerned, guilt snarling in her stomach. Her groupmates watched, silent, as she fumbled for her phone- five percent, just enough. Sighing in relief when she saw a couple notifications from Emmie, Mimi waved her phone triumphantly at her groupmates. "See! She doesn't hate me, we're still talking!" She quickly fired off a couple messages back.

It's perfectly okay! Sometimes we're emotional drunks, nothing to be ashamed about! I should apologize, too; I left you alone for a while there. I'm so sorry! :<<

And as long as there's a next time~ I miss you already! >v</

If Mimi had known that would have been the last of their conversation and the beginning of a dry spell, perhaps Mimi would've said something different. As it stood, the conversations between them lessened to a trickle, sometimes nothing more than simple greeting texts, barely a call in between.

Tonight was another night where Mimi was sprawled on her bed with her hair damp from the shower and facemask on,, chewing her lip as she hovered hesitantly over the text chat. Last read: two days ago. It had been a simple good morning message and "fighting!" message, nothing else.

"Are you gonna ask 'em about coming over for watching the music video or what? We gotta plan what food we're gonna take out, y'know. We told you to text 'em -her- so you would stop moping and watching sad rom coms and disney movies from the couch and covering the cushions with your gross tears, but we also don't wanna cancel our plans, yo." Jia huffed, annoyed, from where she had been applying lotion from her bed.

"Ah... Yeah. I'm... Did- Do you think I did something wrong?" Mimi muttered. Ever since that day, Mimi kept feeling like she had messed up; god- she left Emmie alone just like that. She must have felt so abandoned. "God- you weren't there. Nevermind." Suddenly filled with determined energy, Mimi punched out a quick message, frantically sending it before her brain could catch up and tell her to stop.

Hey Emmie~! Would you n M3RCY wanna come over and watch our music video release the day after next? We were gonna order some food, too!

Mimi suddenly launched her phone at Jia (only half from anxiety), who shrieked, dropping her lotion just to catch it.

"You-" "You deserve it!" "You're lucky I love you. Where's your charger, you dumb, emotionally disabled dolt?"

"...It's next to the lamp."

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: unsure, pensive, jittery


the next time emmie’s eyes fluttered open, she was alone and had been tucked into her bed. she stretched out, feeling much better, and noticed the cup of tea sitting on the nightstand with a little note, chaewon’s scrawl reading: drink this when you wake up! don’t worry about the other girls, i told them you weren’t feeling well and then had to barricade the door before they all came rushing in to check on you. she chuckled and brought the mug to her lips, the warmth of the liquid spreading throughout her body.

emmie reached out to pick up her phone and check the time, hoping she hadn't been out for too long. she would hate to be the one to back up the group's schedule. upon turning on the screen, she saw mimi's texts and quickly went to reply. then, chaewon's words came to mind and she froze, her finger hovering over the send button. maybe it was best if she put a little distance between them for the time being while she sorted her thoughts out. with a sigh, she threw her phone away on the bed and got up, shuffling downstairs to show the other girls she was okay.

for the next few weeks, emmie worked on turning her focus onto other things, such as the promotional work the group was doing in preparation for their next comeback, whenever that was. she fell back into routine easily, glad to have something to take her mind off things. while she kept busy during the day, at night, when the girls were off in their separate rooms and settling down, she spent her time thinking about mimi. to be honest, she felt really bad about the lack of communication between them in the past few weeks, but in the end, it seemed to be working as she was able to keep her thoughts as neutral as possible when thinking about the situation.

she had begun separating herself from it, so when she began trying to look at things from mimi's perspective, she realized that maybe it hadn't been that big of a deal for her since she was friends with yoojin. as friends, it probably wasn't all that odd that they were physically close. in fact, emmie's heart soared every time she was the one that got to be close to mimi, and they were friends. while she wasn't so sure about how yoojin's heart felt, she figured it was wrong of her too continue to keep assuming the worst. every once in a while, she would mention some of these thoughts to chaewon, who was always there to listen and validate her feelings while still offering advice when she was asked. emmie was grateful she had cried that day, even though she hated crying, because who knows how she would have been dealing with those thoughts on her own if she hadn't.

currently, emmie was sitting at the counter watching her ice cream, her self-proclaimed snack before bed, melt in the bowl in front of her. the last time she had ice cream was when she had sneaked out of Hilight's apartment (the first time) with mimi. to be quite honest, she didn't really want ice cream, but she had felt a sudden urge to eat the cold treat and didn't have the heart to deny herself it. maybe this was her body's way of telling her she missed mimi when she had been forcing her mind not to. a sudden buzz from her phone made her drop the spoon and scoop up her phone. it was from mimi. ohmygosh did she know i was thinking about her?? wait, no, that doesn't make sense. her immediate thought after reading the text was yes!! of course! but her excitement faltered when she realized this meant she was actually going to have to confront mimi and not just keep playing scenarios with imaginary mimi in her head. she turned in her chair and called out to her group mates watching tv in the living room area.

"hey! Hilight's inviting us over to see their music video release in two days. mimi says they'll have food! what do you guys think?" she heard a chorus of cheers of approval in response, earning a small chuckle out of her as she sent mimi a text back. we would love to!! thanks for the invite. see you guys soon! :)

the days in between the scheduled meet up went by quickly. emmie had been trying her hardest not to think too much about it since she knew it would just send her spiraling into a nervous wreck. she spent those two days doing what she had to but then goofing off with the girls who all seemed pretty excited to see Hilight again.

hayeon rapped on the door, one hand clutching the pastry basket they had brought as a congratulatory gift and thank you for the invitation over. once the door swung open, the excited squeals began, hugs exchanged between members. emmie was smiley as ever as she was shuffled into the apartment with her group mates.

"thank you so much for inviting us over! and of course, congrats on your comeback!" she handed the basket over to jia and wrapped her arms around her for a hug. emmie leaned against chaewon, arms linked, as her eyes scanned the room for the one person who could turn her mind to mush from a look, a gesture, a smile. when she finally found her, not that it took very long, she felt her heart jump. this was it. she had been rehearsing in her head over and over both at M3RCY's apartment and the car ride over her apology and questions and maybe explanation. not that she really knew how to explain her feelings, but she figured she should at least try. chaewon gave her an encouraging pat on her shoulder and then emmie was off.

"hey! it's been a while. how've you been? i missed you!" she got a subtle feeling of deja vu. ah, that had been almost exactly what she had said to mimi the first time they met in two years at the studio. it's funny how time flies and of course, how feelings change. she looked up at mimi with a wide smile, honestly feeling a little better after seeing her face despite all the uncertainty she had walked into the apartment with.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ stressed, self conscious 〙
- - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - -

Thankfully, the next couple days Mimi didn't have a lot of time -or any, really- to overthink the single text she sent, even if she got a positive reply; all of their time was devoted to filming for shows and generally prepping for their comeback. The night of the music video release was a welcome respite, Hilight stumbling tiredly back into their apartment after a live performance earlier. Peeling off her thigh high boots and tossing them haphazardly on the shoe rack, Mimi collapsed on the couch while her teammates squabbled over who got to shower first. Thankfully, Mimi wasn't in a hurry, and she had a couple hours of free time before M3RCY would come over.

Oh god. She had free time. Mimi tensed on the couch at that realization, all her thoughts that had been pushed to the side due to work rushing back in a veritable wave. Stress, awkwardness, a little bit of fear- mostly awkwardness. Would spending time with Emmie come as naturally as it had before? Strangely enough, Mimi had never really felt awkward around the girl after they had made up their rivalry; would that still be the case? What if Emmie straight up just didn't want to talk to her? Mimi groaned, rolling off the couch onto the floor so she had more room to spread-eagle and assume a position akin to a despairing starfish. Every thought was worse than the last; even Mimi knew when she was spiraling. Pushing herself up with a sharp huff, Mimi went to fight for her place in the shower line; maybe a bit of friendly "let's all beat up Miyoung so she doesn't shower first and take seven billion years like she always does" would help her get her mind off of things.

All too soon, Mimi was sitting on the couch, fiddling with her glasses in her lap in an effort to stop herself from ruining her nail polish even more- not that her nail polish could be saved at this point, really. Jia gave her a pitying glance, sharing a room making her intimate with Mimi's anxiety, before she got up to answer the series of knocks. "Coming~!"

Mimi got up and followed when she saw everyone getting up too, forcefully jamming her glasses onto her face and letting out a sharp exhale. It was fine- this was fine. Hovering, Mimi couldn't help but immediately search for Emmie when M3RCY came across the threshold, gaze snapping to the girl who was... Making her way over. Mimi answered Emmie's smile with one of her own. "Hey! I've been good. You?" Easy enough; maybe this wouldn't be that bad. Seeing Emmie in the flesh still made her happy all the same.

Mimi settled at the edge of the couch, Jia next to her; it was how they had been sitting before M3RCY had arrived, but Mimi couldn't focus on the music video -or the other videos they watched after- at all; for some reason, her gaze kept flicking to Emmie. Really, it was taking all her concentration to not look. She made conversation amicably enough, chuckling when everyone joked around, but it was like there was an Emmie-shaped beacon, or a flashlight, constantly trying to get her attention.

Dinner ended up being much of the same; Mimi didn't have much of an appetite, which she thought was absolutely absurd; for her to not want to eat everyone out of house and home meant that something was gravely wrong, and clearly, nothing was. She wasn't injured, all that was happening was that... Emmie was here. Mimi frowned and took a massive bite of her fried rice as if to spite herself, only to choke and sputter on the abnormally large mouthful, reddening as she did; leave it to her to make a complete fool out of herself, always.

But even Mimi couldn't take the awkwardness -or rather, her own awkwardness- any longer. After food was eaten and everyone was milling around cleaning up, Mimi quickly walked up to Emmie and tugged lightly on her sleeve, gaze glancing at Emmie for a second before she had to look away. "Emmie... Do you think we could talk, maybe? I-" Mimi cut herself off, casting a furtive glance around to make sure people weren't paying attention before she lightly pulled Emmie to her and Jia's room. Closing the door, Mimi simply stared at the far corner of the room for a second, worrying her lip.

"I'm- I'm sorry. The party- I, um, don't really remember what happened, which I'm also sorry for -I should've controlled myself a little more- but I also shouldn't have left you alone for so long, basically abandoning you... I forced you to go, and then I left you. And I'm sorry for trying to force a friendship between you and Yoojin; I know not everyone can be friends and I'm sorry for trying to make you guys get along just cause me and Yoojin do. I- I don't... Um, you're a great friend. I love hanging out with you, and just talking or texting, or- whatever. Um, I'm sorry if I made things awkward, I didn't mean to. If- I'll change, I promise, I just... It's dumb, but I just... Missed you. I missed our conversations, and the jokes you would send me, and calling when we had to sit in chairs for forever while we got our makeup and hair done, and- um. I guess I just... I'm sorry." Mimi shoved her hands into her hoodie pocket, looking at the ground as she trailed off. "Sorry for rambling too."

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: worried, guilty


"same! i'm excited to see the video!"

emmie found herself straining to not look away from the screen and turn her head just a little to the right- where mimi would fall right into her line of sight. she settled on watching the mimi on the screen, a less intimidating version of the girl no more than five feet away from her. she knew that if she had to face the real one, she'd have to spill all her built up thoughts. by the time the girls were all eating dinner, she was beginning to lose a bit of her self-control, sneaking glances at mimi in between bites. at one point, she watched as mimi nearly choked on her food and redden, a faint smile forming on her lips.

soon enough, the girls had finished gobbling up all the food they had ordered. just as emmie was placing her dishes in the sink, she felt a light tug on her sleeve. she turned and felt her heart jump when she saw it was mimi, nodding in response to her request. she allowed herself to be led through the apartment by mimi, growing more and more anxious by the second. when they reached a bedroom and the door was closed behind them, she looked up and over at mimi, mind reeling. this was it, this was her chance to- her thoughts were cut off my the sound of mimi's voice. it seemed as though mimi had the same idea.

she listened carefully as the other girl spoke, guilt gnawing at her heart. she hoped that her explanation, or whatever fragments of thoughts that she was still trying to put together as one, would show mimi that all this was ultimately a result of her own insecurity. she took a deep breath, speaking softly but staring at ground in front of her, afraid to look at her.

"it's okay, really, you don't have to apologize for anything. you didn't do anything wrong and i never blamed you for anything. if anything, i should be the one apologizing to you." she paused, her gaze daring to wander towards mimi's feet. "i was insecure. i saw you and yoojin in that hallway and all these thoughts flooded my mind and i don't even know why. you guys are friends. i know that, i respect that, but a part of me hates it." her voice trailed off into a whisper at the end. she had been trying to come to terms about how she felt about mimi and yoojin's relationship for days but this had been the first time she really ever put it into words.

"i mean, i just- when i saw you two, i panicked. i know i shouldn't have, but i did. i'm sure it was probably nothing, but i couldn't get the idea that maybe it was something more than friendly out of my head. and then i got wasted and pulled you guys apart and dragged you away and cried about it, as if it were your fault but it wasn't. it really wasn't." she sighed, hands clenched together. "and i'm so sorry, i acted impulsively and made you worry but it was all just because i was insecure and unsure about my feelings. i missed you too, mimi." a breath, her heart racing. "i- i shouldn't have just cut you out like that. that was immature of me but i felt like that was all i could do when all my thoughts were about you. i needed some space to figure out my mess of feelings and i know i didn't handle this very well and for that, i'm sorry."

she looked up tentatively, her eyes slowing moving up from mimi's hoodie, to her chin, her lips, her nose... she faltered, eyes darting away quickly. not yet. "i guess what i'm trying to say is that i love having you as a friend and i don't ever want that to change and i- i'll do better. i hate this weird limbo we're in, which i know is kinda my fault and again, i'm sorry, so if you're okay with it, can we go back to being those girls who snuck out to get convenience store ice cream at night just for the fun of it?" a weak smile dared to grace her face as she attempted once more to look up at mimi's face. this time, she made it past her nose.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ relieeeeved, clingy 〙
- - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - -

Mimi frowned slightly, trying to think. "Me and Yoojin in the hallw-? Oh god." She began to blush furiously, flapping her hands. "Nono, no! Wow, gosh, um- it really- it really wasn't like that, I swear! We weren't doing anything, just talking! Aaaaah, who else saw... I can't go to another one of her parties ever again..." Mimi grumbled the last sentence into her palms as she covered her face.

She quickly sobered as Emmie continued, however, hands returning to clasp and fiddle with each other. Emmie's feelings... Mimi felt her heart begin to pound, her mouth dry as she listened in silence. Did Emmie-? Did Emmie have feelings for her? No; they had hated each other until a few months ago. But- was it really that inconceivable? Mimi's mind raced as she slowly picked apart what Emmie was saying. Emmie hating her and Yoojin's relationship; the moment in the hall, Emmie's distraught face; what Emmie was saying right now.

"...all my thoughts were about you. i needed some space to figure out my mess of feelings..."

How could she have been so blind? Mimi opened and closed her mouth for a second, stunned into silence at the revelation. But also- what about herself? Mimi would be lying if she said Emmie was just another one of her friends. Every time she even thought of the smaller girl, she just felt so unbearably happy. But also equally embarrassed, as she overthought every little thing she did, and replayed all their interactions back in her mind down to the smallest detail. Something about Emmie just made her lose all the smooth charisma she was known for in a blink. But it also seemed like... Mimi began to doubt. It wasn't a confession, for sure; it was an apology, and Emmie had said she wanted to sort through her feelings, emphasizing their friendship. So maybe it was infatuation, mistaken for feelings? Mimi could definitely relate to that one. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t even know if Emmie liked girls. God- her head was going to explode, thinking about this.

"Emmie, I-" A hard swallow. "You... You mean a lot to me, Song Eunha." She breathed. Even as the words left her mouth, they didn't seem adequate. She quickly pulled Emmie into a fierce hug, burying her face in the collar of Emmie's shirt. "Not your fault. None of this is your fault; we're just a couple dumb, bumbling idiots, aren't we? I also- I wanted to give you space, so I didn't keep up anything on my end either. But I could never hate you again. Please don't be afraid to be open with me with your thoughts and feelings; I'd miss you more than I would care about whatever you say that you think might be risky." Drawing back a little bit just so she could look Emmie in the eyes, she gave Emmie a soft grin. "I thought you would never ask; I had icecream just the other day cause I missed that... Us. Don't leave me alone again!" She faux scolded, bopping Emmie on the nose. Friendship; she could do friendship. Maybe it would let Mimi sort through her own snarled thoughts.

Now that she was hugging Emmie, Mimi realized how much she missed physical contact with her, and was now reluctant to let go for even a moment. Looping her hands loosely around Emmie's waist, Mimi frowned as she thought back, loathing to interrupt the moment but knowing she wouldn't be able to really mention anything after today. "Speaking of Yoojin- she, um. For the- So I can be more transparent too, I guess? When she pulled me away, she just asked if I thought she was pretty. And called me pretty, too. Do you think- do you think she likes me? Maybe that's why she doesn't want to hang out with you? I just- maybe that's why? I'm not too sure, though, she seems like a bit of a flirt? I dunno if that's all specific to me..."

"I don't like her, of course! At all!" Mimi scrambled, tacking the sentence on frantically. "I promise! I just- I'm so bad at figuring these things out, no one's ever- and I also haven't- you know?"

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: thankful, smiley


emmie sighed into mimi's hug, eyes closing as she felt herself relax a little for the first time in weeks. she chucked at mimi's comment about them being bumbling idiots- she had to agree. listening to mimi's words, she felt about a thousand times lighter than she had no more than five minutes ago.

when the taller girl drew back a little, emmie nodded in confirmation that she would try harder to be more open about her feelings. a smile spread across her face at lighting speed at mimi's mention of ice cream. "oh gosh, really? i did the same thing!" she giggled, blinking when mimi's hand made contact with her nose. "i won't! i promise. though, that also means you'll never be able to get ride of me." a looked up at mimi with a mischievous glint in her eye, her heart and mind feeling much better now that she was able to smile and laugh with mimi again.

emmie's mind was too occupied with how mimi's hands were on her waist to react to the mention of yoojin's name at first. when she finally realized what mimi was saying, her brows furrowed. "i didn't want to say anything because you guys are close, but i wonder if she does too sometimes. even when she first came up to us, she really only had eyes for you." she bit her lip, eyes moving down to stare straight ahead into mimi's chest. "i mean, you are pretty though so i understand why she said that, but i wonder why she had to drag you away to say it. she grumbled, thinking back to that scene in the hallway.

she felt a pang of relief at mimi’s words, a gentle smile on her lips from how frantically mimi had said she didn’t like yoojin in that way. she looked back up at mimi. that was definitely just a feeling of relief from hearing that her close friend didn’t have feelings for someone she didn’t particularly like. that’s all.

”i get it. i do not, however, understand how no one’s ever confessed to you. i mean, you’re beautiful and talented and pull off this really suave look but inside you’re just as mushy as everyone else.” she laughed, trying to ignore the part where mimi had said she hasn’t had to deal with these feelings before, which in emmie’s mind, could also very well have meant that she wasn’t dealing with those feelings now. she felt a drop of disappointment, not that she’d ever admit that. at least that also meant that mimi was available, right? not that she needed to know, of course. she was just trying to look out for her friend.

a buzz in her back pocket broke her concentration on mimi. reluctantly, she pulled away a little from mimi to reach back and grab her phone. ”ah, hayeon’s asking where i am. i think we’re leaving soon.” slipping her phone back into her pocket, she looked back to mimi. i’m really, really, glad we had this talk. i feel so much better now, and i hope you do too. i promise i’ll work on being more transparent- i don’t want any misunderstandings to ruin what we have in the future. you’re too good of a friend for me to let that happen. let’s go out for ice cream again sometime, yeah?” she pulled away from mimi, all the way this time. she felt a pang if regret as she did, she had missed being able to make physical contact with mimi. with a soft grin, she left the room to join her clamoring group mates who were waiting by the door.

”where were you? i turned around for two seconds and you disappeared!” hayeon took hold of emmie’s hand. “sorry! i was- er, in the bathroom.” she gave hayeon a big smile and batted her lashes in hopes of getting her leader to stop asking questions.

M3RCY turned to say goodbye to Hilight and thank them once again for inviting them over. then, they piled into the van and set off for home. once back into their apartment, emmie made a beeline for her and chaewon’s room, worn out from that spillage of feelings but also much happier than she had been in weeks. she shot mimi a quick text, a small smile playing on her lips. sleep well! i hope we can meet up again soon! ^^

“i’m guessing it went well, hm?” emmie rolled over on her bed and gave chaewon, who had entered the room behind her, a cheesy smile. “ah, was i being too obvious? yes! everything good now, we’re good now. and for as long as we’ll be friends, i hope we’ll still be good.”

chaewon rolled her eyes playfully and walked over to ruffle emmie’s hair. “i’m glad. you look much better now.”

emmie gave her a soft smile, pulling the unsuspecting girl onto the bed with her as she laughed. “thanks, chaewon. you’re the best. i love you, did you know that? cause i do.”

the other girl laughed and rolled over onto her side. “yes, eunha, i know. i love you too.”

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ happy, nervous 〙
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Mimi reddened, ducking her head at all the complements. "H-hey, now..." She mumbled, embarassed. "I-I mean, I... Aaah, I guess... But I- uh, started training early, I guess? Um, no one just really thought about- yah!!! You're mushy, I'm not mushy, I'll have you know plenty of people find me scary!" Pouting, Mimi shoved Emmie lightheartedly, although her expression quickly dissolved into a teasing grin.

"Ah! Right." Caught up in talking to Emmie, Mimi had forgotten that the girl had come over with M3RCY to watch their music video to begin with. "I'll be more open too; yeah! let's get icecream sometime~" Trailing behind Emmie with a bright grin on her face, Mimi couldn't help but feel like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Giving everyone a final hug and a wave farewell, Mimi set to clean the apartment with her bandmates, set towards her room, tired after an eventful day, and collapsed onto the bed with a satisfied sigh.

"Did you make out with Emmie?"

Mimi flipped over immediately, chucking a pillow at Jia in the same smooth motion.

"Ow- Hey! I meant- did you make up with Emmie. Sorry, slip of the tongue."

Mimi's eye twitched. "Uh huh. And- yeah. We did make up." A soft grin rose on her face unbeknownst to her. "We had a talk, cleared stuff up; I think we're good! I'm... I'm glad we're friends."

"Whipped." "What?" "Oh- nothing. Are y'all gonna meet up soon or something?"

"Yeah! We're planning on meeting up for icecream, sometime! Oh- also, uh, you've had boyfriends, girlfriends... How do you tell if someone likes you?"

Jia plopped onto the bed next to Mimi, giving her an incredulous stare. "Do you really have to ask? Of course Emmie likes you."

Mimi squawked, shaking her head vehemently. "N-no!! That's not what I meant. I- uh, you know, Yoojin, right? She, um, at the party... She had kinda pulled me aside? Called me pretty. I'm- do you think she likes me?" She held her phone out, like an offering.

Jia sighed, taking the device and scrolling mindlessly. "You're an absolute idiot. I'd hate you if I didn't love you." She barely took a minute to scroll. "Yeah- it kinda seems like she does. You're not gonna do anything, right?"

Mimi shook her head. "MmMmm. I just... I dunno, it's weird, being around both of them at the same time? I feel like there's a weird tension? Ah... It's- hm. Whatever, I'm sure it's fine."

The next time they met wasn't until the next brand promotion; Hilight had been busy promoting afterwards, their comeback doing surprisingly well. Other than the occasional shipment of clothing and accessories she would have to wear and post on instagram, there wasn't much news -Mimi tried to ignore how her most liked photo, by far, was the shoot with Emmie- until about three weeks later; this time, a commercial shoot, combined with a behind-the-scenes reel to promote both the brand and their groups.

Mimi was nervous; she had never done any interviewing, or variety segment without her groupmates. Would she even be able to? What if she messed up and said something wrong? Getting scorned across the entire net might not have been her worst fear, but it was definitely up there. Putting on some makeup so she would be camera-ready but wouldn't screw with the makeup artists they would definitely have on set, Mimi was off, barely able to eat breakfast in time. There were cameras already ready, filming her getting out of the car; giving the lense a cool smile and a wave, Mimi let out a nervous breath before she set off to the building.

Everything was about the same as it had been last shoot; arrive, change into a new outfit -this time dominated by neon yellow, in her bucket hat, sneakers, and the logo on her oversized tee- before she settled into a chair for makeup and hair. During a lull in activity, Mimi suddenly felt arms loop around her, a soft kiss on her head.

"Emm- Oh! Yoojin-ah, how are you? This is one of the friends I made under the brand!" Mimi gave the model a small smile, patting one of her arms as she spoke to the camera constantly hovering on the edge of her vision. "I didn't know you were gonna be here."

"Aww, didn't you miss me~? Also it's not just me; some others under my company are here. That's Kwanseok, and that's Anjung." Yoojin nodded her head at an equally gorgeous guy and girl, both milling about on their phones in a corner as they waited.

Mimi laughed, delicately extracting herself from Yoojin's grip, Emmie's crying face flashing in her head. "Ah, of course~ How have you been?"

"I've been okay; why didn't you text me back yesterday?" Yoojin pouted, crossing her arms.

"Ah, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to! I was busy with promotions..."

Yoojin laughed, nudging Mimi in good humor. "Ah, I was just kidding; when will you invite me to watch you perform? I want to see how you idols do your thing..."

Mimi shrugged. "Oh! I mean, we're about finishing promotions, so maybe next time; I think M3RCY might have something coming up if you wanted to see how things work? You can ask Emmie; she's coming! If- uh, if you want.""

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: excited, uncomfy


it’s safe to say emmie was in a bit of a daze for quite some time after she and mimi were able to reconcile. Hilight got pretty busy with their promotions so although the two couldn’t see each other for a while, they were exchanging texts and calls throughout the day as they had once before.

then, she was told that the company wanted to ship her and mimi off to do another shoot and suddenly, all she could think about was the prospect of seeing mimi again. ever since they made up, she had begun to tell herself that the excitement she felt when she received a text/call from mimi or when she heard she’d be able to see her again was simply her way of making up for the time they had lost during that awkward in between. plus, it was normal to be excited about seeing a good friend after a while, right? there was nothing odd about that.

she had finished up the granola bar she had grabbed on the way out of the apartment when the car pulled up to the shoot site. after a quick thank you to the driver, she scurried inside, afraid that she’d back up the shoot if she wasted a minute more after already arriving ten minutes later than scheduled.

the first thing that greeted her once she made it inside was a large camera. she waved and gave it a quick smile before she hurried to the dressing rooms. in her frantic rush, she barely had time to look around for mimi. she was thrown a hot pink tank top and black cargo pants to change into before she was moved into hair and makeup. once she was settled in the chair, she felt her shoulders relax and occupied herself by making comments and laughing at her own jokes while the makeup artist scolded her for moving too much.

once she was shoot-ready, she hopped out of the chair and a flash of neon green caught her eye. it was mimi! a wide smile grew upon her face as she began to make her way over. her step faltered, however, when she noticed who was with her. be cool, be cool. there are people watching and mimi already told you there was nothing to worry about. emmie tried her best to regain the bounce in her step as she made it over to where the two girls were conversing.

she caught a bit of the last of what mimi had been saying. ”hey! i heard my name. i hope you guys weren’t saying anything mean about me.” she drew her brows down to feign a stern expression. it didn’t last very long though, a small laugh escaping past her lips. shoving her hands into her back pockets, she gave yoojin a smile as she turned towards her. “ah, yoojin-ssi, i never got a chance to say thank you again for inviting us to that party. i had a lot of fun!” emmie almost cringed at herself but tried to keep it together with the camera’s rolling nearby.

”of course! i’m glad you did.” she purred, making emmie a lot more uncomfortable than she already was.

just as emmie opened her mouth to speak again, the cameraman for the shoot called out for them to get into their positions. “well, duty calls! she laughed, speaking both at the camera and the two girls. she allowed herself to be led away by one of the staff members and towards the backdrop. the cameraman took a few shots of her on her own before she asked mimi and some other models to come in as well. they took a few group photos, the bright colors in everyone’s outfits were nearly as blinding as all the lights trained on them.

just as the other shoot had gone, this one was long and exhausting but didn’t seem so until they were allowed a break in between. during one of these said breaks, emmie took a sip from her water bottle and tried not to think about how the cameraman had told them that he wanted just her and mimi for the next few shots, for their company’s sake but also because their last pictures together had been a big hit with the fans. you’ve done it before and you can do it again. there’s nothing to be nervous about. she took a look at the time before deciding to quickly run off to the bathroom before they began again.

emmie hummed quietly as she made her way down the hall and into the bathroom. as she flushed the toilet and was about to leave the stall, she heard the bathroom door open as someone else came in. when she exited the stall, she found herself face to face with yoojin. after the initial shock of seeing her so close wore off, she forced a polite smile on her face and moved around the other girl to get to the sink and wash her hands.

“don’t you think you cling to mimi-ah a little too much?”

emmie froze, looking up at yoojin’s reflection in the mirror slowly. “e-excuse me?

”i mean, you follow her around all day and can’t be alone for more than five minutes before you’re off looking for her.”

emmie blinked, thoughts of that night flooding her mind. she shook her hands dry and turned around to face yoojin. ”i-if you meant back at the party, i’m sorry that i kinda barged un and dragged her away from you. i wasn’t thinking straight.” she stammered out, trying to ignore the way yoojin’s eyes were boring holes into her. “mimi and i talked it out the other day but i guess i forgot that i should have probably apologized to you as well. i’m sorry, yoojin-ssi. i am grateful that you invited me along to the party but then i made a bit of a fool of myself and i apologize for acting so rudely.”

without anyone else or the camera around, emmie was getting a little nervous. it’s not like she was expecting yoojin to physically attack her or anything, but she was growing more and more uncomfortable with the way yoojin was suddenly acting and without any witnesses around, anything could happen.

yoojin took a step closer, which caused emmie to take a step back, heart racing, until she was trapped against the sink behind her. ”if you’re really sorry, you’ll stay out of my way, hm?” she tapped emmie on the nose before turning on her heel and disappearing as quickly as she had appeared. emmie stood frozen in place for a while, still reeling from what had happened. what the heck was that?? stay out of her way? what does that even mean?

she shook her head, checking the time on her phone. seeing that their fifteen minute break was nearly over and she had to get back soon, she looked at herself in the mirror, slapped her cheeks to get herself together, and hurried back to the set.

once she spotted mimi, she made her way over, brushing away yoojin’s words that popped into her head as she did so. if she really was clinging to mimi too much, mimi would tell her, right? “ready?” she asked cheerily, hoping to mask how shaken up she was. she was here for a job and she wasn’t going to let anything, or anyone, ruin her performance.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ flustered, dumb 〙
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"Emmie!" Mimi whipped her head around, seeing the blonde making her way over. "Never, never!" She opened her arms for a hug, thrilled to see the other idol again. It was like she didn't know how much she missed Emmie until she actually got to see her again, her heartbeat more audible than ever. Before she could say more -and probably make a fool out of herself- Emmie was called away to take her personal photos. Slumping in her chair, Mimi watched for a split second before pulling out her phone, trying not to make it obvious that she was definitely, definitely staring.

"Emmie's cute."

"Hm-? Yeah, she is. Um." Mimi coughed, staring intently at her instagram feed, refreshing for the fourth time.

"So are you, dummy." Yoojin pulled up a chair, leaning slightly on Mimi. "I've been meaning to ask; do you want to hang out sometime? Just the two of us."

"O-oh! Uh, yeah, sure." Mimi began to sweat; god, was this a date? But Yoojin had posed it so casually. But what if that's how it was supposed to sound, and she was trying to make the date sound casual? She scrambled for something to say. "I love spending time with my friends."

Yoojin stilled, just a beat. Mimi panicked; god, did she say something wrong? But then Yoojin was smiling, so maybe Mimi had just imagined it. "Hmm, something like that." Yoojin winked, and before they could say anything else, all of the models were called to the shoot. Mimi grew preoccupied with the flashing lights and the veritable army of equipment facing her.

Soon, however, they were given a break, and before she was able to take a step Mimi had been rushed to the chair for touchups. After five minutes of being prodded, Mimi looked up to see Yoojin and Emmie gone.

"Pardon, Anjung-ssi- do you know where Yoojin and Emmie went?" Mimi made her way over to the unfamiliar model. The model looked up through caramel blonde waves, hazel lenses boring into her and glossy lips stretching into a small smile. Were eyelashes that long even legal?

"Mimi-ssi, was it? I think they went to the bathroom." She went back to her phone, long acrylic nails clacking audibly against the screen.

"Thank you, Anjung-ssi." Bowing slightly, Mimi shuffled for a second before she settled back into her makeup chair. Any other time she might have followed, but with the cameras focused on her, it would be too desperate and obvious of a narrative for the media. Settling back into her chair, Mimi tried to ignore the strange restlessness filling her.

Yoojin was the first to come back; Mimi had been up and milling, only a couple minutes left to their break and filled with a strange nervousness that spurred her to pace in front of the studio setup. "Mimi-ah~" She heard, before she felt hands looping around her left arm and a body pressed into her side.

"Hey! Do you know where Emmie is?" Mimi blurted, anxious. Why was she anxious?

Yoojin pouted. "What, you'll ask about Emmie, but not about me?" Mimi spluttered, scrabbling for an answer, before Yoojin laughed. "Just kidding~ there she is." The model jerked her head towards the back, where Emmie was walking out from the bathroom as well. When Emmie came close, Mimi grinned, pausing for a moment- she wanted to hug Emmie, always wanted to be in physical contact for some reason, but with Yoojin on her arm it was difficult. Almost as if she read her mind, Yoojin dropped her arm, and Mimi gave Emmie a tight hug, still loosely hooking their arms after. "Yeah! Ready~ Let's hope they don't do anything too embarassing, huh?"

Her hopes were dashed; really, she was naive to think they weren't going to push the couple concept if it had done so well last time. It was equally easier to do because Mimi was a little more used to this sort of thing, but harder because she was so much more aware of the space -or perhaps lack thereof- between them. Giving Emmie what she hoped was a comforting mile and not an embarrassed grimace with they were directed to stand forehead to forehead, noses barely touching, Mimi mumbled under her breath during a lull in the flashing lights.

"You'd think they'd get tired of this concept, wouldn't you?"

But they weren't, and the poses didn't get much better from there. "Last one; Mimi-ssi, do you think you're strong enough to lift Emmie-ssi up?"

Mimi blinked rapidly, fiddling with her sleeves. "Um... I dunno? I've never tried?"

The photographer gave her a pointed look, and Mimi rubbed a hand behind her neck, sheepish. "Sorry, Emmie; let me know if you're uncomfortable?" Blushing wildly enough to be seen beyond the makeup, she lightly hooked her hands behind Emmie's knees and back, hoisting her up in a bridal carry.

The girl was lighter than she had thought; Mimi was struck with just how small the girl was comparatively, but the feeling was quickly overrun with a wave of protectiveness that nearly had Mimi reeling. Since when-? Shaking her head slightly, Mimi simply adjusted her pose to what the photographer ordered, Emmie close enough that she could see every detail. Not that, Mimi was excited or happy about that- just, something she noticed. A lot. She didn't know that Emmie had such cute baby hairs, or such cute lips-

Mimi shut down that train of thought, hard. She was here on a job, not to think weirdly about her friend who she just made out- made up!!! Made up with.