1x1 daices. x tsunami,

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: p a n i c k e d


emmie’s eyes fought the sunlight streaming through the large glass windows of the living room. she moaned quietly in protest, snuggling deeper into her pillow (or at least, what she thought was her pillow) to block out the light. she hoped she could maybe get a few more minutes of sleep before chaewon, who always got up early and woke her up with her not so stealthy movements, would awaken. she had to admit though, the couch was pretty comfortable.

wait- the couch? her eyes flew open, finding herself trapped underneath the weight of.. another person? why am i- her mind went blank as she looked up slowly and caught a glimpse of a pair of lips that were no doubt mimi’s. oh no, oh no oh nO her hands flew to her mouth to hush the gasp that escaped past her lips when she realized what had happened. as gently and quietly as she could, she untangled her limbs from mimi’s.

then, she carefully laid the sleeping girl’s head on the pillow she had been clutching all night and pulled the comforter over her, tucking her for however long she would continue to sleep. she took a moment to admire how serene she looked as she slept, taking a mental picture to save for her memories (she really wanted to take a real picture, but she realized how creepy that probably would’ve seemed).

her hand reached out to gently brush the hair away from mimi’s face as she admired the fine details of her pretty face. ”i’m sorry.” she murmured softly. “i always somehow manage to drag you into these awkward situations. it’s driving me crazy, you drive my crazy. ah, in a good way though, i promise.” she chuckled quietly to herself, her eyes still locked on mimi. no, wait, what am i doing?? for goodness sake you’re talking to her while she’s sleeping, that’s so creepy eunha. she cringed at herself and stood up quietly.

scurrying to her room, all she could think about was how she would actually apologize to mimi when she woke up. she couldn’t believe she had let herself be so careless. but also, why didn’t anyone just wake her up?? as she approached the door to the room, she opened the door slowly, peeking inside and sighing with relief when she noticed that chaewon was still asleep.

she walked in and shut the door quietly after her before making a beeline for the bathroom. after a quick shower in a frail attempt to wash away her shame for doing such a thing, and to mimi of all people, she hopped out and made her way back into the room to get her change of clothes.

”good morning~” she heard a singsong voice call out, making her jump in shock, her hand flying up and over her heart instinctively.

chaewon was sitting upright on the bed, a coy smile on her face. she had clearly been waiting for her to get out of the bathroom to launch her sneak attack. “so, how’d you sleep last night? you looked realll comfortable; we all couldn’t bear to wake you. i didn’t know you were so bold though, eunha-ah, making mimi your pillow just like that.”

her face flushed and her brows furrowed at chaewon. “sh-shut up! you’re partly to blame for this too you know. you’re the one that pushed me away and told i had to sit over there.” she protested, knowing that it really was her fault but wanting to save whatever dignity she had left.

“don’t worry baby, you guys weren’t the only ones who enjoyed that little scene last night.” chaewon giggled, clearly enjoying watching emmie’s face contort into a horrified expression.

“wh-what? what do you mean?” emmie choked out, her gaze following chaewon‘s to her phone that was sitting on the nightstand. her eyes widened when she saw the way it kept lighting up with notifications, like an old lightbulb on its last life, blinking periodically.

she threw on a white t-shirt and layered a soft pink overall dress over it before diving for her phone. when she opened up her sns, her hand flew over her gaping mouth. her feed was filled with dozens and dozens of photos of her and mimi cuddling on the couch. some of them had even been taken that morning. there were already a mountain of edits and captions plastered over the pictures, saying things like: “i totally ship it!!” / “omg i can’t believe they really fell asleep like that.” / “they’re sooo cute!”

“oh my gosh. who posted these??” emmie groaned, still scrolling through her feed. she paused on one picture of the two of them without any filters, edits, etc.. they actually looked pretty nice together, a tranquil moment in time now forever preserved. well, just one picture wouldn’t hurt. she saved it to her photos, avoiding eye contact with chaewon and her stupidly large grin from across the room.

hayeon barged into the room before either of them could speak again. ”good morning girlies, please meet me downstairs for breakfast asap! we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.” her gaze shifted towards emmie, a sly smile playing on her lips. “oh? you looked so comfy in mimi’s embrace that i wasn’t expecting you to be up.” with that, she sent her a wink and disappeared as quickly as she had appeared, but emmie could hear her laughing as she walked down the hall.

emmie just hoped mimi wouldn’t eat her for breakfast.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ confused, sleepy, hongery 〙
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Mimi woke up slowly; she had never been a morning person, and despite the change of scenery and circumstance today was no different. Mumbling nonsense as she gradually woke up, Mimi looked around blearily, stretching languidly on the couch.

"Ouch...Neck. Eyes..." She mused quietly, voice still rough from sleep, wincing as her eyes stung and protested against the contacts she had been wearing overnight. "Where...?"

Feeling around blindly for her phone and picking it up from where it had fallen on the ground, she tsked in disapproval when trying to unlock it garnered no response: it was dead. Sighing, Mimi slowly sat up, blinking against the harsh morning light streaming in through one window.

"Hmmm... Not room. My- not my room." She continued, confused, trying to tame her bedhead. Recollections of last night came back to her slowly, and Mimi felt herself blush as she remembered; remembered being forced to sit next to Emmie -not that Mimi would have complained, really- and the shorter girl falling asleep on her, then falling asleep soon after. She gazed at the blanket still tucked around her person and the pillow placed carefully on the cushion, a smile slowly stretching across her face. It was nice, how much Emmie cared; she felt warm and tingly all over.

Warm and content enough that Mimi collapsed back onto the couch, grin persisting as she caught the faintest whiff of Emmie's perfume. Right as she was about to fall back asleep, however, she felt a sharp hit across her head, and Mimi let out a protesting cry. "Ow! What the- stop!" She continued, when the blows persisted.

"Oh don't be dramatic; it's a pillow. You're the last one awake, anyways." Jia's unmistakable voice sounded somewhere above her. Mimi simply ignored it, burrowing further into the couch.

"Oh for the- We're gonna be eating soon; I know you want breakfast, cause you always want food. Anyways, do you want everyone to see you with your crusty morning face and hair? Do you want Emmie to see you like this?" Jia continued, sly.

Mimi sighed. "Fine, fine- I'm up. Not! Cause of that comment. I'm just hungry." She grumbled, slowly getting up and plodding back to her shared room, leaving her phone to charge as she took a quick shower, tossing on a large hoodie and throwing her hair into a damp, messy bun, grabbing her chunky glasses as well; this seemed like special circumstance enough for her to relax her appearances a bit.

Her late awakening meant she was one of the last to arrive in the kitchen. She glanced dubiously at everyone's scarily similar expressions, ranging from devilish glee to roguish smirks. "What?" Mimi glanced at her clothes. Did she have a stain somewhere? "Do I have something on my face?"

Mimi grabbed a couple slices of toast, quickly assembling a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, practically wolfing it down as her body demanded sustenance after barely having a dinner yesterday. "What's going on?" She mumbled through a mouthful, glancing at Emmie; only her face was different, expression caught between nervousness and embarrassment. "Did I say something in my sleep or something? Oh- did you have a good sleep, too? I didn't want to wake you." She continued. She napped with her friends all the time, so that wasn't out of the norm, but she also had a tendency to mumble in her sleep; if she said something strange, if Emmie heard her say something strange, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

After breakfast, it was back to filming; other than some light makeup, Mimi hadn't bothered to change anything, too lazy and still a little sleepy. At first, the filming was just some filler; something for the editors to use when they were compiling the episode, or future episodes. As it neared lunchtime, however, it seemed it was time for more variety; Mimi felt dread settle in the pit of her stomach. Given her track record with the previous minigames, she highly doubted she would survive these.

"As it nears lunchtime, we have a feast prepared for our idols!" The leaders chorused, reading the card handed to them in unison. "However, there's a catch; both groups have to make one dish with the ingredients laid out, and if they make too much noise, they get a penalty point and a funny prop that they have to wear. The group with the least points -as in, they make the least amount of noise- gets to get food from the feasting table first!"

Mimi felt her mouth water and the drowsiness clear from her brain faster than she could blink as she glanced at both the two tables laden with ingredients and the long table positioned a little further, covered in simmering soups, mountains of rice, and a whole farm's worth of meat. A little thrill of competition rushed through her, fueled by her voracious appetite; god, she couldn't wait to eat. Leveling a sneer and crossing her arms, Mimi stared down M3RCY with a predatory glint in her eyes. "You guys are going down." She jeered, before turning her gaze to the food in front of them.

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: uneasy, excited, smiley


emmie was sitting at the counter, languidly shoveling sugar-coated cereal into her mouth as she listened to the buzz of the other girls' conversations. she had been met with nothing but bursts of giggles and wicked grins from her groupmates when she had greeted them in the kitchen moments before and was grateful for that despite the looks, they didn't interrogate her as chaewon had.

almost all the girls were in the kitchen/dining area at that point, the only one missing being mimi. when emmie had walked downstairs earlier, she took a quick peek at the couch and found that the pillow and comforter were by their lonesome, meaning that mimi had already made her own great escape.

when she looked up from her now nearly empty bowl a second time, she noticed that most of the other girls were grinning in the direction of the entrance of the kitchen. when she looked up, she saw mimi enter, a dubious look on her face. emmie felt her heart start to race. she admired how effortlessly beautiful she was. with her messy bun, stray stands framing her face, and her glasses, oh gosh her glasses. emmie couldn’t remember if she had ever seen mimi wearing them before, but she sure was glad she got to see it now.

"no, you didn't say anything. i slept pretty well, thanks." she replied, abashed. "i'm really sorry i fell asleep on you like that. i hope you're not too sore from having to stay in that position for so long. i really would have been okay if you, or anyone really, woke me up." she shifted in her seat. "i'm also really sorry that you keep getting caught up in my, er, lack of self-awareness." a shy smile bloomed on her face.

from watching the confusion spread across on mimi's face, emmie figured she must not have seen the posts on sns that the rest of the girls were probably snickering about. "mm, they're all probably just trying to tease us because of all the posts." she offered in response to her first question, pulling out her phone and handing it to mimi so that she could see for herself. "the fans really seem to like us." she added, a vaguely nervous laugh following in suit. she watched mimi's face for her reaction, unsure of what to expect.

the rest of the morning passed quickly. pushed here and there, told to say this and that, she got swept up in the tide. when it reached mid-afternoon, it seemed it was time for a change of pace. emmie's nerves returned once again as the girls were lined up to listen as the leaders announced their next activity. ah, silent kitchen. this would be interesting.

the tables set up before them were filled with more food that emmie had ever seen in one room at once. the leaders then went around and passed out cute, colorful aprons to all of the girls. though meant to act as a protective layer, it really was more for show. she used the scrunchie she usually kept on her left hand to tie her hair up into a high ponytail, pulling it taut as she eyed the other group.

with a signal from the producer, the girls were off. the kitchen was lively with activity, the girls maneuvering around each other while suppressing their giggles, snorts, cries, and everything in between as best they could. on more than one occasion, emmie found herself trapped between two teammates mouthing aggressively at each other as they worked to make mandu. she tried her hardest not to make any sounds, but this proved to be a difficult task with the amount of flour being thrown around and overall chaos that was unfolding in the thankfully large kitchen.

when a comically large alarm clock began to screech, signaling that times was up. hayeon and jia took their places by the scoreboard where tally marks had been made to indicate the amount of point each teamed had gained. ”that was quite possibly the most stressful yet most entertaining thing i’ve ever done, but now it’s time to announce the winner!”

with a dramatic flourish, the scoreboard was flipped over the reveal a score of 25 to 32. “congratulations, Hilight! you all are the winner of this challenge! please make your way over the feasting table to claim your prize.”

emmie joined the rest of the girls in clapping in congratulations, a wide smile on her face. she used her wrist to wipe the flour that had somehow managed to make an appearance on her cheek. she took of the apron and set it on the nearby counter before pulling her now frazzled hair out of it’s once sleek ponytail.

”this is all because you couldn’t keep in your squeaks.” chaewon tsked, playfully shaking her head at emmie as she walked into place in line behind her. “well maybe i wouldn’t have squeaked if you didn’t keep flinging flour and mandu filling at me!” she shot back, pouting to add effect.

as exhausted as she now was from all the activity, she was very grateful for the opportunity to take a break and enjoy a meal with all the lovely gals around her. her face hurt from smiling all this time, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ focused, playful, satisfied 〙
- - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - -

Mimi merely grinned, shaking her head softly. "Oh- don't worry about it! I'm just glad you slept okay; you looked really nice- er, peaceful when you slept." Coughing, Mimi shut her mouth with an audible click, fiddling with her glasses for a moment. Mimi, you absolute buffoon; stop your big mouth before you reveal more about how you watched her sleep.

Mimi then blinked, confused, as Emmie hesitantly slid over her phone. "Posts? What posts? I had to leave my phone to charge. Did I miss a message?" Mimi slowly accepted Emmie's phone, brow still furrowed, wrinkling further when she realized. "Oh my god. What the- who's responsible for this???" Mimi cried, an uncontrollable blush blooming across her cheeks as she saw screencap after screencap of her and Emmie asleep on the couch. Part of the redness in her cheeks was due to embarassment and righteous indignation, but part of it was just... How cute it was. It was an achingly domestic scene, her and Emmie sprawled together, positively cuddling. Mimi found herself pausing and smiling for a split second, before she leveled the smile at Emmie and handed her phone back.

"Thank you for letting me know- I uh, hope you're not too uncomfortable. Sorry." The smile melted off her face, expression becoming chillingly cold as she turned to look at Jia. A quick hush fell over Hilight, and the leader began to look vaguely panicked.

"O-okay, Mimi, honey, love, let's hold on a- oh my gOD-" Jia shrieked as Mimi practically leapt at her, thus ensuing a massive chase with Jia screeching and Mimi bellowing threats from behind.

Maybe that was why she was so hungry, and thus so focused, during the new variety game. "If y'all ruin this for me, especially after this morning, I will have your heads." Mimi jabbed a threatening finger at each of her members, eyes narrowed with intensity.

"Aww, does Mimi-unnie feel flustere- eep!" Haemi squeaked, when she found Mimi's finger an inch from her nose.

"No. Not right now. Not with this on the line." Mimi hissed, eyes sparking threateningly.

"Okay, yeesh." The group quickly assembled, giggles and fumbles quickly quelled by Mimi's laser-sharp focus- even if she knew she looked ridiculous, hair still messy, outfit barely above pajamas, but now also accompanied by a frilly pink apron. It was still a messy affair; gummy flour spattered on the ground -the staff had the foresight to lay a tarp on the ground beforehand- and filling smeared across their palms, turning everything sticky, not to mention the fact that none of them actually knew how to make the dumpling.

Still, probably due to Mimi's disposition at the moment, they were victorious, and Mimi raised her glove clad, mandu-splattered hands up. "Let's go!!! Food!!!" She cried, tearing off her gloves, only cowed when Jia grabbed her by the apron, jolting her back.

"Don't be rude; at least acknowledge M3RCY a little bit." Jia sighed, exasperated.

"A-ah... Sorry. Good game, guys." Mimi said, fire dying as she bowed in good sport to the other group. A lot calmer as she headed towards the table, Mimi went about filling her plate, humming under her breath as she began shoveling tteokbokki, pork belly, cold noodles, and beyond into her mouth, somewhere in the grey area between voracious and eager, just shy of messy.

"This is great. This variety show is great." Mimi grinned, full of energy as she bounced from member to member, suddenly social once she got a little (a lot) of sustenance in her.

"But you guys! Our fans, fireflys-" Mimi sidled next to Emmie, nudging the shorter girl good naturedly before she pointed accusingly at the camera. "And M3RCY's fans. We've seen what you've been posting! Stop doing that! We're just friends! You guys save all that art and stuff for yourselves!!"

A wave of uncertainty came over her; did Emmie consider her a friend yet? They only got over their last spat a week ago... Whipping her head to look at Emmie, she grimaced. "U-uh, we are friends? Right? Sorry, I um, don't want to assume..." She chuckled weakly, voice quiet so not to be caught by the hanging mics.

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: contented, cheerful, eager


emmie couldn't help but giggle at mimi's excitement when it was announced that Hilight had won the challenge. seeing her interact with her group mates was always an interesting sight. she liked the playful side of her that always came out around them.

she hummed happily as she ate, embracing the satisfaction of eating good food and the luxury of free entertainment as she watched the happy girls around her fill their bellies and chatter among themselves.

"your girlfriend seems pretty happy. food seems to be the key to her heart, but you probably already knew that." the girl had a cheeky grin on her face as she motioned in mimi's direction, who seemed to be bouncing from member to member around the table. chaewon's goading caused emmie to stop mid-chew. she really just couldn't get a break it seemed. swallowing her food, she turned her body to face chaewon, who was sitting next to her, and promptly grabbed chaewon's cheeks, pinching them hard enough to elicit an "ow!" out of the girl and leaving them glowing a soft pink.

"alright! alright, i get it. i'll stop... for now." a new, even cheekier (if that was even possible with the way chaewon always seemed to have a trick up her sleeve) smile spreading across her face as she rubbed her now sore cheeks. emmie turned away indignantly with a playful pout before picking up her chopsticks to resume eating. at least she managed to get a little bit of revenge, despite how ineffective it may have been.

soon enough, mimi was on her side of the table and making her way towards her. emmie scooted over in her chair to give her some room as she slipped in beside her. after hearing her speak, she did her best to shoot the camera a disapproving look and tsked, trying to emulate the same playfully accusatory energy as mimi.

her gaze softened as mimi turned towards her and questioned. "yes! of course we are." she responded with a smile. ”i think it’d be more awkward if we weren’t considering how we’ve already kissed and slept together.” oh gosh that sounded wrong, but it’s not like she was lying. a faint blush grew upon her cheeks at her own words, her mind already going back to replay those memories.

as the number of empty plates began to grow and pile up, it was soon time for the girls to move on to their next activity of the day. stuffed, emmie groaned as chaewon and hyeri pulled her out of the chair. “c’mon! hayeon said this one was going to be really fun.” they reasoned, hoping to convince her to leave her comfortable, warm seat.

with a sigh, she allowed herself to be pulled up and walked out into the common room after the rest of the girls. there, hayeon and jia were waiting for them with pairs of headphones in each hand. “i hope you all got your fill, because you’re going to need some energy for this one!” they began to pass out the headphones to each girl.

“now, we’re going to be attempting the whisper challenge! we’ll start by lining you all up in a row, alternating one member from M3RCY and one from Hilight to get you all mixed up. then, the first person in line will be told a message. from then on, you must pass the message along until each person has gone. the last person in line will then reveal the final translation! you can not take off your headphones at any time so try your best to make sure the person you’re speaking too gets the right, or at least what you think is right, message.”

emmie put on pretty blue headphones she was given and allowed herself to be placed in line, giddy with excitement and anticipation. she was sure that watching the playback of this game was going to be hilarious.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ satisfied, confused, drowsy 〙
- - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - - ✦ - - - - -

Mimi struggled to swallow the large spoonful of fried rice she had just shoveled in, mouth suddenly dry, eyes watering in her effort to not spit half-chewed food onto her companion- or anywhere, for that matter. "U-um. Yeah! Haha." She rasped. Was it hot in here or was it just her? Maybe she was getting dehydrated. And obviously lack of water was the reason for the memories flickering through her head like images in a slide projector, too... Emmie cuddled up at her side, her smile, her lips-

"Water! I, uh, need water." Hoping the hoarseness and choking would explain her suddenly strange behavior, Mimi gave Emmie a parting grin, tilting her head to touch Emmie's for a second before she left.

One large glass of water and another plate of food later, she had slowed down considerably, although she was still chewing her way through her last plate. Also a bit tired from flitting from person to person, she had settled near the table -because of course-, back resting against one of the table legs.

"Scoot." Miyoung, this time. Mimi grumbled, but her temper had been quelled in the presence of a good meal, and she shifted without further complaint.

"I don't know how much you know about, like, people... But they're not gonna stop just cause you tell them to. Usually, people take that as a challenge. I mean- even you. Especially you." Miyoung nudged Mimi's shoulder with her chopsticks. "Also doesn't help that you did it with Emmie-unnie; y'all're just giving them more fodder to screenshot or screencap or screenrecord or screen-whatever."

Mimi frowned; she hadn't thought of that. "Well... I mean, they'll respect our wishes, right?" She mused innocently, although Miyoung's pitying glance definitely didn't give her a lot of confidence. "Okay well- I mean, really. We're just friends, really, so they'll stop when they see that, anyways. Also y'all! You guys aren't helping!! With the- with the pictures and everything!"

Miyoung sighed, shrugging. "I- okay. If you insist. I'll talk to the others too. I just... Are you sure- Ah. Nevermind."

Mimi merely cocked her head, a touch confused, but more satisfied than anything. "Thanks, Miyoung-ah. I love you~" She said cheerily, before scraping the last bit of food into her mouth, inadvertently getting sauce on her face.

Miyoung merely chuckled, grabbing a napkin. "Oh, unnie. You're kinda dumb, you know that?"

Mimi had been resting the food baby that she definitely had when they were called to arms again, thrown into another variety show. Getting up with a groan, Mimi ambled after the group, grabbing a pair of wine-red headphones from the leaders. Quickly shuffled into a line, Mimi sighed as she was first to receive the word, giving everyone lined up an apologetic glance.

"Sorry! I'm really bad at this!" She called, then grimaced; she couldn't even hear herself through the Hilight and M3RCY's hits blaring into her ears, how were the other's going to hear her?

"Okay, uh... ONE WORD!!!!" Mimi yelled, holding one finger up.

"A finger! Index finger! The number one! Number one! First win?" Hayeon fired off rapidly.

"W-what?" Mimi had no idea what Hayeon was saying. God, this was bad. "THE WORD IS HILIGHT!!! HIGH-" Mimi reached her hand up, trying to imitate height. "LIGHT!!!" She then pointed to the lightbulb hanging above their heads.

"Hand! Hand... Bulb? Fixing a light? Oh!!! Handlight? Flashlight? FLASHLIGHT!?!?" The other girl crowed back.

Mimi squinted; it seemed right? Or close enough. God, she really was bad at this. She made an okay symbol with her hands, leaving the rest up to fate.

The rest of the game didn't go much smoother; Mimi wouldn't go as far to say she was the black sheep of the game, but somehow she found herself struggling. Or maybe everyone was struggling the same and Mimi just couldn't see it (or at least, for sure she couldn't hear it). She found herself squinting constantly, as if that would help with her hearing.

"God, that was rough." She groaned, whipping the headphones after her head immediately after the game was finished. "I'm beat. Kinda want food... Or a nap." She mulled it over, Jia overhearing and answering with a sharp laugh. "What are you, a baby?" She laughed, flicking Mimi across the forehead.

Mimi whined, already settling onto the couch she had slept on before. "Stooop, It was good food!" She protested, but didn't make any move to get up like she had before.

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: contented, sleepy, excited


by the time the final activity of the day had concluded, emmie's throat was sore from yelling and her belly hurt from laughing. by the time the word had gotten to the last person in line, who happened to be hyeri, everyone seemed happily exhausted from yelling at each other with exaggerated hand movements. hyeri turned towards the camera and questioned, "sprite?"

emmie burst into giggles, as that was definitely not what she had thought the word was when it had gotten to her turn.

the leaders, who had already removed their headphones once they had gone, stood together and a little off to the side. they had been watching and laughing along, but when it was time to reveal the final answer, they took up their position in front of the other girls to speak to the viewers beyond the camera as well as the girls. "unfortunately, the word was Hilight, not sprite. that was, however, a lot closer than expected! good work girls!!"

emmie joined the rest of the girls in clapping and bowing to the camera in farewell for the day.

"oh! but before our fans go, please remember to tune in tomorrow for the final episode of Hilight and M3RCY's show! we have a special surprise for you all so don't miss it!" the leaders grinned, signing off by blowing hearts at the camera.

pulling the headphones off her neck, emmie set them on the table and slumped against hayeon who reached up to pat emmie's cheek lovingly. "how're you doing? you look like you could use a nap. why don't you go ask mimi if she can be your pillow again?" a mischievous grin graced hayeon's face.

"unnie!!" emmie gasped, giving the other girl a gentle shove. "please, i just need a little break. chaewon's been teasing me all day and now you too?" she whined, pouting at her leader in an attempt to make her feel bad.

"okay, okay. i'm sorry baby, i'll stop." she pulled emmie into a suffocating hug, squeezing her tightly as emmie squirmed.

the rest of the day was left for the girls to do as they pleased as their last day at the villa. most of them chose to lounge around the property, beat from the day's activities and no longer having to keep appearances in front of the camera. emmie had chosen to swap her dress with a graphic tee and shorts and tied her hair into a low ponytail just to keep it out of her face. she passed the time playing board games, making small crafts, and doing face masks with the other girls. the happy girl bonding time concluded with a fresh batch of cookies from the oven that a small group of them had volunteered to make.

at their managers' request, the girls trudged to their respective bedrooms with a chorus of goodnights, settling in for the night.

---

a soft thud woke emmie from her slumber the next morning. as she rolled over in her bed to investigate, a sheepish chaewon whispered "sorry!" to her and picked up the shoe she had dropped.

"it's a good thing you're up now though. hayeon wants us to meet her downstairs in thirty minutes to do a quick rehearsal before the closing performance."

emmie gave her a nod in response, eyes still half-closed as she rose from the bed and shuffled into the bathroom. after freshening up, she changed into some grey joggers and a white crop top, slipping on her white sneakers before following chaewon out the door.

"good morning!" she greeted the other girls already up and in the kitchen, grabbing a quick bite before the run-through. she watched the staff set up the common area for the shoot, pushing the couches out of the way to make room and positioning the large spotlights. she began to feel the rush of anticipation. she hadn't danced since the collab as a result of her twisted ankle and was itching to get a taste of that feeling once again.

hayeon slid next to emmie, eyeing the boot on her foot. "are you sure you're going to be alright?" she asked, concerned.

"yes! definitely. you know this clunky thing was more cautionary than necessary. my ankle doesn't even hurt anymore, i promise!" she offered her leader her pinky, hoping that she wouldn't change her mind and make her sit out.

hayeon gave her one last dubious look before sighing and linking her pinky with emmie's. "alright, i'll trust you on this one. but you have to promise me that you'll tell me if it hurts again after we rehearse." she added, looking at her expectantly. a wide smile spread across emmie's face as she nodded in response with such vigor that her blond hair bounced up and down with her. hayeon slipped away with one last chuckle, presumably to check in with the crew to see if they were ready for the girls to move in for practice.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ excited, content, nervous 〙
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The rest of the day was spent just frolicking around, thankfully; Mimi took a shower and dressed down now that she didn't need to look pretty for the cameras. Through the stress of promotions, collaborations -god, that was a doozy at first- and beyond, Mimi hadn't realized how little time she had to just decompress. From mowing through the staff-provided snacks, to late-night facemasks, to shrieking their way through a horror movie, Mimi couldn't stop grinning, even when the staff had had enough of their late night antics and sent them to bed.

"So what're you gonna do with Emmie after this?" Mimi looked over to Jia from where she had been lounging on the bed and scrolling on her phone. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we're gonna go our separate ways, right? Unless the company puts us together again sometime in the future. I've seen you and her; y'all have gotten close. Are you gonna get her number or something? Hit her up?"

Mimi blushed, flopping onto her side and curling into herself slightly. "Uh... I mean, yeah? I might. Don't put it like that."

Jia laughed, bopping Mimi on her nose. "Awww~ It's okay, if you're shy I can ask Hayeon to get her number for you~ You big baby."

Mimi scowled, pushing Jia away. "Stop- I'm not! I'll do it! I'll do it tomorrow, gosh." She felt a little zip of nervousness rush through her, fluttering in her stomach as she turned away, trying to distract herself with her phone.

Somehow, the question got stuck in her throat during practice, the short break after, and during the short practice run as well

"Okay Mimi, c'mon. it's no big, you've exchanged numbers with other girl group members before, c'mon." She mumbled to herself, her discomfort only exacerbated by the tight performance outfit and heavily stylized hair, makeup, and accessories, as everyone prepared for the final collab performance. Mimi was currently shuffling around in the common room, knocking her clunky boots together. Taking a deep breath when she saw a familiar blonde come down the stairs, Mimi tapped her hands together for a moment before waving and rushing forward.

"Hey Emmie! Uh- CouldIhaveyournumber? Um. Could I? Have your number?" Mimi fiddled with her phone. "Um- just so we could keep in contact later, you know." She trailed off awkwardly.

Thankfully, she was successful- if she wasn't, Mimi was fully prepared to run out of the villa and never come back, collab be d***ed- and Mimi prepared for the performance with a special spring in her step.

All too soon, they had to leave the villa, and return to the regular idol life, much to Mimi's chagrin. Giving everyone on M3RCY a hug, Mimi piled into the van with her groupmates and they set off.

She only lasted an hour and a half before she texted Emmie for the first time, almost laughing at the quick change. Just a month ago, she had thought she hated the other girl; boy was she wrong.

It also seemed like Jia was wrong about them returning to regular idol life and barely seeing each other again. Fate had other plans for them, or at least their company did- to no one's surprise (except maybe Mimi's) Mimi and Emmie were an absolute hit with their fans, the short variety show a beacon for anyone who paired Mimi and Emmie together.

"It's not funny! It's actually happening!" Mimi cried, hands on her hips. "I can't believe Mimi-unnie and Emmie-unnie were such a couple that they landed brand deals!" Haemi shrieked.

"Hey maybe I should hit up Hayeon-ah; you think we'll get sponsored by Gucci?" Jia cackled. Mimi huffed before turning; if she stayed and entertained her groupmates, she was going to be late.

Honestly, even she couldn't believe that they had landed a brand deal with Adidas. Not that she was complaining; looking at the veritable closet's worth of three-striped clothing from their new collection, she had to admit they looked extremely nice. Thanking a staff member who handed her one of the first outfits she was to wear, Mimi admired how the simple black crop, hat, and pants really made the baby blue windbreaker and mottled grey sneakers pop. Settling into a chair to get her makeup done, Mimi hummed in contentment as she waited for Emmie to arrive, a faint flutter of excitement warming her chest.

[tsunami,]

emmie
↳ feeling: nervous, excited


following her departure from the villa, emmie had been moping around, spoiled from all the fun she had at the villa (and the close proximity she was in with mimi) and no longer motivated to return to the busy work life of an idol. the one thing that she knew she could find relief in though, was her texts with mimi.

she had tried to keep her cool when mimi had asked for her number back at the villa but it’s safe to say that she stared at the brand new contact in her phone all the way back, contemplating if she should send her a text. it seemed mimi had similar ideas though, and despite the initial ohmygosh moment she had when she saw mimi’s name flash on her screen, they quickly settled into a casual, friendly conversation during their days apart.

when emmie got the call about the brand deal she and mimi had landed, she nearly fell off the chair she was sitting in. a brand as big as adidas wanted her and mimi to be part of their advertising campaign? she pinched herself, trying to comprehend what she had just been told and realize that no, she wasn’t dreaming. of course, this was a good chance for both the athleisure company as well as their entertainment company to make a big profit considering the popularity of the Hilight and M3RCY variety show. her group mates couldn’t stop clamoring about it until the day of the shoot, when they sent emmie off with a dramatic farewell.

”don’t forget to come back to us!” one called. “we’ll miss you!” another said. “say hi to mimi-unnie for us!”

emmie could only shake her head with a smile as she slid into the car waiting for her, her nerves starting to emerge once more.

when she arrived at the set of the shoot, she was immediately whisked away to get changed and get her make up done. she gave herself one last look in the mirror, adjusting the collar of the cropped lavender sweatshirt they had given her to wear along with some black leggings and white sneakers. she still could barely believe this was happening, even as the stylist sat her down in a chair and got to work on her hair and makeup. they finished her look off with a white hat, placing it on her head before doing the finishing touches on her hair.

when she was finally done, she was guided towards backdrop for the shoot. it didn’t take her long to find mimi; she always managed to catch her eye. her heart began to beat a little faster. even though it had only been maybe two weeks since they had last seen each other, emmie couldn’t help but take a moment to admire the girl’s features. the baby blue windbreaker she was wearing added a nice pop of color to her outfit, making her stand out more than she usually did in emmie’s mind.

she scurried over to her before the staff could come and whisk her away again. ”hey! long time no see.” she joked, smiling up at the taller girl. “can you believe this is really happening? i was full of nerves the whole way here.” she bounced on the balls of her feet, looking around at the set with excitement.

”alright, girls. we’re ready for you now!”

they were led to the center of the backdrop and adjusted into the first position. emmie’s breath caught in her throat when she realized how close she was to mimi. the first time had been because of her ankle, the second time was because of the pepero challenge, and the third time was because she fell asleep on mimi. she figured that since this was now the fourth time that maybe she should be used to it by now, but clearly that wasn’t the case. her rapidly beating heart could attest to that. the blinding camera flashes and bright lights shining on them made it hard for her to see anything other mimi, which definitely didn’t help her nerves one bit.

[daices.]

✦ MIMI ✦
〘 feeling ↠ relieved, flustered 〙
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Mimi fiddled with the zipper of her jacket as she waited for the cameramen to finish setting up, one rushing past with overhead lights and one smoothing out the white background. However, her gaze immediately snapped to Emmie when she walked in, giving her a wide grin, eyes crinkling into happy crescents. "Hey!" She answered cheerfully, opening her arms for a hug. It was honestly kind of absurd how she went from just okay to happy once she saw the shorter girl. Laughing, Mimi shook her head incredulously. "Honestly, this is so wild; if I had known, I might have hammed it up more- uh." Flushing slightly, Mimi refused to let herself think about what that would entail.

Following obediently when they were called, Mimi found herself blushing further when she was placed so close to Emmie that there was barely an inch in between them. "Um..." She started, then thought better of it; who was she to protest in her first studio shoot?

"Relax a little, girls! Make it natural!" The photographer called. Mimi cleared her throat, gaze focused on a super interesting spot in the far corner, posing herself as coolly as possible.

"Look at each other, too! I want to see that chemistry; look at each other!" He called. Mimi let out a breath, giving Emmie a small grin -mostly to relax herself- and willed herself not to look away. It's like looking into the sun. A part of her knew that this wasn't the normal reaction when someone takes cool photos with their friends, but Mimi had too much on her mind to entertain that train of thought.

And even she could tell that they were hitting the couples concept hard. It fell into a rhythm after a while; they would take a few pictures, then would be sent to change into different outfits and posed a few more times, rinse and repeat. But there was definitely a connotation. It was apparent when they were led to the back, Mimi directed to place her elbow to the left of Emmie's head and her hand to her right, basically caging Emmie against the wall. "Look intense! You're protecting her from the camera!"

That cameraman needs to stop calling orders that make this weirder. But Mimi did it without any complaint, scowling at the black lens.

It all came to a head when they brought out a white block that blended into the white of the studio. "Alright, so before your individual shots we're going to have you guys do some with you guys sitting on this." Mimi ambled along as she was directed to sit on it while Emmie stood, then vice versa, then sit with her back leaning against it while Emmie sat on the block, then both of them sitting leaning on it- Mimi's head swam with all the combinations; surely they had tried them all, at this point. Would they even be using all of the photos?

"Alright, last one, we'll take a few variations; Mimi, could you sit on the block? And Emmie, on her lap. Thank you!" The photographer crowed.

Mimi was growing to hate that photographer, for flustering her beyond belief basically the entire shoot. C'mon, Mimi; you're almost done. She repeated that thought like a mantra, settling on the block. "Um... Sorry. If you're uncomfortable." She muttered sheepishly, hands hovering before they settled on Emmie's waist.

Soon, that was over, and then it was on to individual shots. Mimi relaxed considerably, a knot in her neck she didn't even know she had protesting from her tenseness throughout the day. The individual shots were a cinch, and soon Mimi was collapsed in a chair on the side, fanning her face as she drank a provided water bottle. Who knew that long shots under near-blinding lights would be so hot? She watched Emmie's individual shots for a second, admiring how the girl glowed under the lights.

Wait- Mimi, don't be weird. She already has five billion people looking at her right now. Berating herself, Mimi immediately fumbled with her phone, focusing intensely on the small device until the photographer proclaimed the shoot completed. Clapping good-naturedly with everyone else, she gave Emmie another grin.

"That was a ride, huh? Who would've thought it would've been such a long shoot? That's name brands for ya." Indeed, Mimi had checked her phone a couple minutes prior, shocked that it was basically dinnertime, which meant they had been on location for more than seven hours.