young & wild | chaeyu

fifth ; cafe

 "How far is the- the-"

"Cafe," offered Chaeyoung.

Tzuyu nodded, pulling her coat tighter around her body. "Yes, that. How far is the cafe?"

"Not far now. A minute or two," Chaeyoung said in response to Tzuyu's question. "Are you too cold?"

Tzuyu shrugged. "A little," she admitted. "But I get cold really easily."

Chaeyoung bit her lip, glancing sideways towards the elegant idol, who was dressed in a long-sleeved white cotton shirt, with red words written in what Chaeyoung realized must be Mandarin. She wore a pair of black leggings with stylistic holes along the side of her lower legs underneath. It was a simple, plain look, but Chaeyoung found that she liked it a lot more than some of the stupidly over the top outfits that she saw some idols wear on the streets.

Tzuyu suddenly stopped walking. "What about the press?"

"What about them?" asked Chaeyoung, sounding somewhat defensive. She hadn't thought of that either, if she was being honest.

Slowly, Tzuyu started walking again. "I suppose it wouldn't matter," she decided. "I was barely known in my home country, I certainly won't be recognized here."

Chaeyoung opened her mouth, ready to say something helpful or kind, but Tzuyu continue talking before she could.

"I'm not pretty or good enough at acting to catch anyone's attention," she spoke in a rush, as though she could not stop herself from saying the words. "If I'd been more successful, more eye-catching, maybe the company wouldn't have had to bring us back here. Maybe I could have provided enough income for the other trainees to have better food and shelter. Maybe I could have provided a gateway for them to debut. But I didn't." Tzuyu continued to walk on, her pace quickening and frustration in her voice.

Chaeyoung grabbed her arm, and she stopped walking, turning to face the smaller girl.

"What?" asked Tzuyu, her normally melodic voice shaking the slightest bit.

Chaeyoung parted her lips ever so slightly, contemplating and making eye contact with Tzuyu. Her eyes, Chaeyoung noticed, though brown, seemed to hold flecks of gold and bronze in them.

Tzuyu waited for the girl to speak, wondering what could be going through her mind. Chaeyoung tilted her head, but before she even started talking Tzuyu couldn't help but ask, "What?" again.

Chaeyoung pursued her lips. "Nevermind," she answered. "We're here." She gestured across the street, to a small cafe on the first floor of a tall building. If not for the electric sign with the cafe's name glowing on it, Tzuyu wouldn't have known what she was looking at.

"Let's cross, then," suggested Tzuyu, and she sounded as though she'd already forgotten about her emotional outburst and the way Chaeyoung had looked at her-- with sympathy, and with caring, though it made Tzuyu feel small. Before Chaeyoung's observant, calm gaze, she felt as if every imperfection was being picked out and prodded at. So she certainly hadn't forgotten, of course. She remembered acutely, and her own confusion and concern showed in her hesitant movement and pained expression. For all her acting and modeling abilities, Tzuyu found herself unable to hide her own emotions from Chaeyoung.

Being sure to stay safe, the two girls crossed the empty street. A cold, sharp wind picked up, swirling around them and touseling their hair. Tzuyu shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands in an attempt to warm herself. Chaeyoung opened the cafe door for her, noting with slight concern how cold Tzuyu seemed to be.

Chaeyoung and Tzuyu both ordered their drinks-- a small black coffee for Chaeyoung and a hot chocolate for Tzuyu-- before seating themselves at a table in the corner.