young & wild | chaeyu

tenth ; evaluations

 "How's training going?"

Over the din of the unusually busy practice room, Chaeyoung had to speak much louder than her normal volume, almost shouting in order in order to be heard by Tzuyu. The usual craze of monthly evaluations had set in amongst all the trainees, but with the larger-than-normal group of trainees, tensions were unusually high. With the worrying budget, money management, and surplus of trainees because of the combined headquarters, Chaeyoung had heard many rumors that Nayeon and Jeongyeon were planning to cut a large handful of trainees.

It wasn't uncommon for girls to be cut at monthly evaluations-- a month or two of bad performance, and it was pretty easy to see what girls had it in them to withstand the tough life of an idol. It was cruel, Chaeyoung thought, but she knew that it was a good form of preparation. Not only would a debuted idol have odd hours and have to work hard for many days in a row, they would also need to have strong willpower to carry on and tough enough to withstand criticism and even hate. Girls that couldn't manage to pull themselves together for monthly evaluations multiple times-- sometimes even in a row-- probably couldn't handle the life they were pursuing.

The night before, Chaeyoung had been laying in her bed wide awake, thinking about the evaluations. What if Tzuyu was cut? She wouldn't be, Chaeyoung knew that. She had already had a few modeling jobs with YWE, and her immense beauty and hard work meant she was likely to stay with the company, especially since she was trying to learn to sing and dance. But at the same time, the fear Chaeyoung felt wasn't unfounded-- now that Tzuyu was in South Korea, it was important that she learn the language, and rapidly. As her assigned 'tutor,' Chaeyoung felt as though it would be on her if Tzuyu happened to be cut. And, Chaeyoung realized, a wave of dread passing over her, I've let my own emotions and nerves get in the way of teaching her.

So there she was, less than half a day later, trying to talk to Tzuyu and apologize for her lack of reliability-- to at least soothe her worried conscious. But the overlapping music from all the different girls practicing their presentation for the evaluation made for a loud and chaotic space. It didn't help that the room in question echoed easily due to its large space. It was pretty much a hopeless cause to have any sort of conversation without shouting.

Based on the baffled look on Tzuyu's face, the other girl had no idea what Chaeyoung had just yelled to her about.

Sighing, a small smile curling the corners of her lips upward, Chaeyoung gestured for Tzuyu to follow her a few steps to the staircase outside the practice room-- with the solid door shut behind them, it would be a lot quieter, and certainly private enough to check up on the more introverted girl. A nod of confirmation from Tzuyu signaled Chaeyoung to get out of the noisy room as soon as possible. Chaeyoung didn't mind loud noises most of the time, as long as they sounded okay, but that cacophony was one she didn't want to hear any longer.

"Is this okay?" she asked as Tzuyu slipped through the door and outside the full room.

"Yeah. A lot quieter," the taller girl answered, her voice too soft compared to the roar of conflicting music they had just heard. She shivered, putting her own arms around herself.

"Are you cold?" asked Chaeyoung worriedly, noticing that she was wearing a tank top and leggings. Now that she noticed it, Chaeyoung couldn't help but look at her arms, normally covered up because of the cold winter weather. The way her tank top draped around her thin, tall figure was alluring, something Chaeyoung hadn't been prepared to see on Tzuyu, who she imagined in leggings and sweaters.

"No. Just... chills." Her response seemed as though it had been cut short, like there was something she wasn't saying. Not for the first time, Chaeyoung felt a pang of hurt at the idea that she was making Tzuyu feel uncomfortable in any way. But she already felt she was reading into things too much, that she was asking far too many questions. So she just rushed on with saying what she'd meant to initially.