young & wild | chaeyu

twenty ; released

 Chaeyoung shook her head again. "I can't believe we have to watch this like normal people."

"Normal people?" laughed Dahyun with a teasing smile. "Chae, I love you, but you're literally the local secretary. That's the most normal, boring, job you can have!" Chaeyoung threw a pillow at her in response.

Chaeyoung, Dahyun, Tzuyu, Momo, Mina, and Sana were all crowded in the Japanese trainee's shared apartment, squished onto the couches and covered in blankets. They had YouTube connected to their TV, ready to watch the new Jihyo music video as soon as it came out. Unexpectedly, Mina had suggested they use the international platform instead of a domestic, usual one because Jihyo and Jimin were not well known internationally, so any views could help. No one had a problem with that, and Mina was able to operate her way to the foreign site without help. Momo had cheerfully explained that Mina regularly did this to practice mirroring dances, in the comfort of their own apartment.

The living room was a comfortable size, but with six kids in their late teens and early twenties, all the girls were rather close. In fact, Dahyun was sitting on Chaeyoung's lap. Tzuyu and Sana were both sitting on the floor, and were getting along pretty well. Since Sana was fairly fluent due to have studied it for a few years before the move and Tzuyu doing well because of the help of Chaeyoung, the two were getting along pretty well in Korean.

But even though only four of the six girls were sitting on the couch, and the room was fairly spacious and had windows along the walls, Chaeyoung felt oddly crowded. Like she was sinking into the couch cushions and drowning under the thin blankets and pillows they'd collected to maximize comfort. But it evidently hadn't worked-- Chaeyoung felt anything but comfy.

Truth to be told, Chaeyoung was in a state of denial about her own discombobulated condition. She'd be doing good. This job, of which she'd had for almost a year, hadn't stressed her like her past job in customer service, and she hadn't had much panics as during school and her first job. But she still had moments like this, where the combined anticipation of the release, crowded room, and her own attempts to suppress her emotions took over.

A bubbly laugh arose from one of the other girls, and conversation become more cheerful. Sana and Momo, Chaeyoung noticed, did most of the talking. The loud voices made her head ring uncomfortably. Tzuyu laughed along, and Mina mostly nodded. She wondered if she was less fluent in Korean than Sana and Momo... Or maybe just shy. Chaeyoung didn't care at that moment. She was breathing shallower than normal, and her muscles were tensed.

"Chae baby," Dahyun turned her head to whisper into Chaeyoung's ear. "Are you okay? You seem anxious."

She knew her too well. Dahyun and Chaeyoung hadn't been friends for a year yet, but they were already well in-touch with each other's emotions. Chaeyoung had come into her job at YWE after a rough time in her life, and Dahyun had given her support and friendship.

"I don't know," mumbled Chaeyoung quietly to the girl sitting on her lap comfortably. With anyone else, Chaeyoung wouldn't allow it, but Dahyun was her best friend. "I feel... I don't know. I don't know."

Dahyun leaned back against Chaeyoung. By now, the other girls had quieted down, so she couldn't respond without being noticed and questioned by the well-meaning foreigners. But Chaeyoung could practically feel Dahyun's thoughts projecting into her mind, reassuring and comforting her, reminding her to breathe, that it was okay, that Dahyun was there for her.

"Chaeyoung," Tzuyu said suddenly into the sentence. The brunette froze, her breath suspended. Had Tzuyu noticed she was nervous? Did she think she was stupid or weak or unable? Would she hate her? No, Chaeyoung tried to rationalize. I'm calm. She's sitting with her back towards me, she can't have noticed anything.

So, she slowly responded, her heart thumping. "Yes?" Her response was so short no one noticed how her voice quivered.

"I... nevermind," Tzuyu said after a short pause. "I forgot the right word. It was a silly question anyways."

"I'm sure that's not true," Dahyun said, saving Chaeyoung from answering. Chaeyoung subconsciously released a soft breath of relief. She liked talking to Tzuyu and the J-Line, but she wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone in that moment.

"When does the music video come out?" Momo suddenly asked, defusing the slight tension immediately. Sana poked her arm and casually fixed her pronunciation mistake, before turning back towards Chaeyoung and Dahyun, the only native Koreans in the room. Dahyun nodded encouragingly as confirmation that she was correct. Sana smiled in satisfaction.

Mina cleared her throat. "Four-- yeah, four, right? Four minutes."

Dahyun giggled. "Reminds me of the girl group 4minute."

"Who are they?" asked Tzuyu curiously.

"Who were they," Chaeyoung sighed. Her mind distracted, she was able to talk without feeling terribly nervous. Still, discomfort lingered, but she ignored it. "They disbanded, unfortunately. But they were amazing. Hyuna and Jiyoon still inspire my r-- uh, they still inspire me."

Dahyun gave Chaeyoung an odd, teasing look, but didn't press her. Instead, she whispered in her ear, "Raps?"

"Yeah," mumbled Chaeyoung. "But it's embarrassing."

"What did you say?" asked Momo curiously from beside the two.

Mina shifted on the end of couch opposite Chaeyoung and Dahyun. "I don't think they meant for us to know."

Chaeyoung flinched a little. She hadn't meant to make them feel left out in any way. "Sorry," she said. She sighed, knowing she was about to out her less heard of hobby for the sake of Momo and Mina not feeling bad. "I was going... I was going to say that they inspire my raps, but didn't say that because it's embarrassing. Dahyun was asking if I was going to say that."

Momo's eyes went wide. "You rap too? Like Dahyun?"

Dahyun grinned at her new training partner. "Yeah, remember how I told you a friend helped teach me? That was Chae. She's great."

"While I'd love to hear about Chaeyoung's unexpected skills," Sana said suddenly. "It's about time for the video to come out, right?"

Tzuyu answered, "Yeah, it'll be out any second now."

Mina refreshed the page.

Nothing.

So she did it again, and again, and-- there it was! The introverted trainee clicked it immediately, and the six girls peered at the screen intently. Energy charged the room. In that moment, Chaeyoung ignored all her problems and focused on the loading music video.

The music video opened with a beautifully shot scene of Jihyo, her back facing the camera, sitting atop a high, green mountain. Vivid colors, melancholy but upbeat music, and Jihyo's beautiful voice pulled the girls out of the apartment living room and into another world.

Really, it was a beautiful song.

Maybe it would be successful. Maybe things were looking up for Young & Wild Entertainment.

a/n 20: sorry for the delay! i've been on vacation, so i took a break. however, i did write a oneshot (skz, but anyone can read it and understand lol) in my misc book if you guys wanna check that out :D dedicated to @ luckyk01 for reminding me to update! i wouldn't have been this fast if not for the reminder lol.

what existing solo song do you think would suit jihyo the most?