Eunbyeol sat at the dining room table with Seungwoo and Dongpyo, all of them eating from a bowl of chips as they worked together to come up with ideas.
"I know we have to come up with solid ideas so that we can work with the screenwriter, but I'm feeling kind of lost," Dongpyo finally admitted, staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of them.
"Me too," she sighed, tapping the end of her pencil against her chin as she thought. "I'm trying to think of other dramas but like... I don't want to copy anything, you know?"
"Writers always draw inspiration from other works," Seungwoo pointed out. "It's okay to be inspired by something, and use cliches and stuff like that. Just... as you said, we have to make sure we're not copying anything."
"Cliches," she murmured, shading in a corner of the paper as her mind drifted. "Well, if it's a love triangle, then should the main lead be kind of cold at first? Like tsundere? And then the second lead can be perfect and sweet and somehow ends up friend-zoned?"
Dongpyo laughed, starting to write that down on the paper. "That's so frustrating," he said. "And classic. I love it."
Seungwoo leaned towards her, so close so that their shoulders were brushing. Her heart skipped a beat, but he didn't even seem to notice as he held out his phone for her to see.
He was watching the music video.
Watching it with him brought back waves of nostalgia.
"You know, I was really grateful for you that day," she told Seungwoo as they watched the video. She felt Dongpyo take her phone out of her hand, to do who knew what with it, but she couldn't even be bothered. Her eyes were on the video, feeling a surge of many emotions as she watched herself appear on screen for the first time.
"I just didn't want you to get sick or something," Seungwoo said, looking away from the phone for a moment to smile at her.
"Yeah, but you didn't have to care. You could have chosen not to notice. All of you... you all could have chosen to just look away. But you guys took care of me and made my first experience great."
Seungwoo grinned, ruffling her hair before turning back to look at his phone. "And likewise, you helped us create a chart-topping video. It blew up because of the storyline, so thank you as well."
A smile came to her face too, and she continued to watch the video. She watched her expressions as she stood on the sidelines of the dance floor, internally critiquing herself. Although everyone said she did great, she improved a lot since then, and she mentally noted things she could have done better. Still, even she could admit that she did pretty well, watching her own shy expression as Wooseok walked over, offering her his hand.
The camera cut to Hangyul, who was just steps away from her. She watched his face fall. "Wow, look at his eyes," she exclaimed. "You'd think I really did break his heart," she joked.
"You did," Seungwoo joked back, bumping his shoulder against hers. "But yes, he's a great actor, isn't he?" he said, pride shining in his eyes as he watched his members onscreen.
She smiled at his adoring face as he gazed at the members, and the video ended.
"I thought we should watch it to remember the storyline a bit better since we're coming up with ideas," Seungwoo explained, putting his phone away. "I think the dance is the key moment, and we should really focus on that. Maybe there should be a similar scene in our drama."
Eunbyeol nodded, casting her eyes skyward as she considered. "I like that," she agreed. "But where would we, as adults, go to a dance? Maybe at a party or something?"
"Maybe it's a school reunion," Dongpyo suggested, placing her phone back in her palm. "And there's a dance, and the scene happens again. Maybe that's the first time the characters meet, the first time in years."
"Ooooh, nice!" she said, nodding in appreciation. She frowned at the phone in her hand. "But what did you take my phone for?" she asked.
Dongpyo's eyes took on a hint of mischief. "You'll see."
Checking the time on her phone, she realized that she had to go. She was honestly sad to leave... her time with the members had been nice. A lot more comfortable and relaxed than she'd expected.
"I have to go," she said, almost apologetically. "See you tomorrow!"
"Be careful when you go out," Seungwoo said, patting her shoulder. "There may be stalkers."
She nodded in understanding. Since the news went out, there were bound to be crowds. Still, she hoped that they were kept to a minimum. Better yet, she hoped that no one decided to be a stalker today.
As she walked away, she checked her phone and saw exactly what Dongpyo had been doing.
Eunbyeol couldn't help laughing when she saw it.
He'd taken a bunch of funny selfies for her. He'd totally spammed her camera roll, but she loved it.
Yes, she was certain they'd all become good friends.
