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jay take it easy pls take care of yourself first
Jangmi read Jay's text as she checked the time. She came out from the company's doors after pulling another all-nighter. Due to the weight requirement everyday, Jangmi didn't let herself leave the practice rooms until she finally reached the goal. But these past few days, she just couldn't reach it.
She walked outside to the already bloomed sidewalk, with dozens of types of plants she could and couldn't name. She was meeting someone at the nearby coffee shop to catch up with each other.
"Noona over here!" Niki called as he waved his hand up excitedly. Just by the way he sat, you could tell that the boy grew a lot.
"You're getting so tall now," Jangmi said as she walked over to the table. "Man, I wish I could say the same."
"But you're so thin now noona!" Niki tried to compliment her back, noticing how her once full cheeks were now a tad bit slimmer. "It looks good on you." He smiled ever so brightly.
"I sure do hope so, because it would be a waste if the company had this stupid weight requirement and still didn't work on me." Jangmi said as she rolled her eyes. She was never fond of having weight be a big factor when it comes to being a trainee. "Aren't we supposed to just be healthy?"
"It's sometimes like that noona," Niki started to explain. "South Korea just has stricter beauty standards, that's why they're being so strict about weight."
"I guess so." The girl lifelessly replied.
"I heard from Sunoo hyung that you're seeing someone right now." The boy changed the topic, sipping his chocolate milkshake. "How's that going?"
"Busy." She replied, thinking about their schedules. "We took a look at each other's calendars recently and we almost miss each other every time we get a free day off."
"Wait, so you're both trainees?" Niki asked as the girl nodded in approval. "But doesn't your company have rules about dating?"
"They do," Jangmi said as she looked out the window, seeing couples strolling beside each other and admiring the petals that were falling from the trees that grew on the sidewalk. "But we're not dating yet."
"By the way Sunoo hyung described you two, it sounded like you were." Niki said as he envisioned Sunoo's description of the two. "He compared you two to tulips and hyacinths, they're supposed to grow together but I don't really know get how that happens."
Jangmi let out a soft laugh, feeling shy about how the two viewed her relationship with Jay. It was true, how pure her relationship was with Jay.
The way of how he was always a gentleman towards her, never going out of line. He was always gentle and patient when it came to her, apart from their first kiss.
"You know life isn't all about relationships, almost everyone I meet asks about Jay." The girl spoke looking back at Niki who already had his eyes on her. "How about you? The top dance trainee. Don't you have any stories on that?" She said as she smiled at the boy.
"My teachers tell me that I'm doing great and all by myself," Niki trailed his sentence. "But they think I need to be a better teammate. That's why my rank took a dive." He said as he bit his lower lip, feeling bad about the critique he got during their monthly evaluation.
"And why are you struggling with it?" Jangmi asked knowing how bright and open the boy is. She was confused on how he struggled with finding his rhythm with the others.
"I just get so nervous around them, and I tense up." He revealed. "Sometimes I can't catch up in their conversations because I'm still not that good in Korean since I speak Japanese at home." He continued.
"Then I think to myself that maybe focusing on my individual evaluation would make up for my shortcomings in the group." He finished his sentence as he asked Jangmi for help.
"Focusing on yourself only would never benefit the group." Jangmi straightforwardly said, looking at Niki sternly. "There's no I in team, Niki. It might sound cheesy but it's true."
"Yeah, it is kind of cheesy." Niki said before the two shared a laugh, enjoying the rest of their day together.
"I should go," Niki said as he stood up from the table. "Thanks for meeting up with me today noona! I hope we can do this again soon!" He smiled as he waved goodbye to the girl who still sat.
"Just promise me that you'll become better!" She said as she smiled proudly at how far Niki has come.
"We'll do better!" The boy corrected her before smiling cheekily and leaving.
Jangmi stayed for a few more minutes, enjoying the extra time she had before going back to the training hall. She thought about what Niki said on improving.
No matter how good they were or they thought they were, they still needed to improve some things. This put her into deep thought at how she would actually improve herself before her first monthly evaluation.
She looked out through the window and saw a Border Collie who stopped right in front of the window where she sat. She waved at the cute dog who sat in front of her wagging her tail back. Then she saw her owner that followed, Jake.
"You're dog is so cute." Jangmi said as she walked out of the cafe to meet Jake, letting the dog sniff her hand before actually petting her.
"Her name's Layla." Jake introduced her to Jangmi, squatting down too to pet the dog. "She's my girl."
"So this is how you're spending your vacation?" Jangmi said as she patted the fur off of her hands.
"Pretty much, Sunghoon and Jay are having too much fun at camp." Jake smiled at Layla, patting her one last time before standing up. "Better take my girl out on a date."
"Well, she is one lucky girl to be taken out by the one and only Shim Jaeyun." Jangmi joked while still admiring Layla. "And it looks like she's having a blast." She said as Layla put out her paw for her.
"I wonder if the two are having a blast too at camp." Jake said as he wondered about the stupid things his friends are capable of.
"I just hope they haven't burned down the farm yet."
