stella

hello everyone!
          
          since it's fanmeeting week, i'll be pretty busy (and i'm guessing a lot of you will be too hehe). so i won’t be able to write or post any updates during the first week of may. but once things settle down in caratland, i’m hoping to finally get back to writing again.
          
          that’s all for now! hope you all have a lovely day ahead!

hello everyone!
          
          i’ve scheduled an update for strawberries and cigarettes tomorrow afternoon! i honestly didn’t expect to end up writing so much more than i originally planned. editing and proofreading took way more energy than the actual writing, but i’m glad i managed to wrap it all up within the timeframe i had in mind.
          
          it’s a pretty long chapter, but i hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed working on it. i’m really liking where the story’s headed right now hehe! i’ll be taking a short break from writing since it’s holy week, and the next few weeks might get a bit busy with other plans. that said, i’m hoping to get back into writing chapter 9 by the first week of may. i’ll keep you guys updated when that happens.
          
          also, i’ll be posting a little survey (or something like that) soon about the next story i mentioned before—just to see which one you’d be more excited about. so please look forward to that!
          
          that’s all for now hehe~

hi guys!
          
          chapter 8 of strawberries and cigarettes has been coming along smoothly and a lot quicker than i expected, thankfully! i honestly thought i wouldn’t be able to start it any time soon because of some serious family matters that happened just last week. but somehow, i managed to sit down and write. i’m still a little unsure how to end it since i don’t want it to feel too rushed or drag on for too long. if needed, i might shift some parts originally meant for this chapter into the next one. i’ll figure it out when i get there hehe. for now, i’m hoping to post the update on or before the end of holy week or the easter season.
          
          on another note, i was surprised (in the best way) to see quite a few readers from the americas and europe! i really thought my readers were mostly from asia, so seeing the reach of this story go beyond what i imagined is... kind of surreal. even if it's still a small achievement in the grand scheme of things, it means the world to me. thank you so much for the love, the support, the votes, the comments, and even just for saving the story to your reading lists. you guys have no idea how much it lifts my spirits ❤️✨
          
          before i end this, i want to bring up something i asked a while ago—about which story you’d like me to work on next, maybe after this update. i’ve narrowed it down to just two options to make it easier to choose: wonwoo’s story, and the one featuring all 13 members with minghao as the main character. would love to hear what you think, so please let me know when i post about it again!

hello everyone!
          
          i hope you all had a great time watching caratland! 
          
          i haven’t been able to write since my last update because i got busy. i was even bedridden on day 1 of caratland and could barely stand on day 2, so being able to watch the online streaming was a huge relief—it made the pain a little more bearable.
          
          i’m feeling slightly better now, so i’m hoping to start working on chapter 8 of strawberries and cigarettes tonight, or tomorrow at the latest. i’ll also be out of town sometime next week, so if all goes as planned, i’m aiming to finish by mid-april.

i've scheduled an update for strawberries and cigarettes tomorrow!
          
          turns out, it ended up being a longer chapter than i planned. sorry about that—i know some of you prefer shorter ones. but i hope you still enjoy reading!
          
          also, happy international women's day! here's to strong women everywhere 

hey guys!
          
          i'm in the final stretch of writing chapter 7 of strawberries and cigarettes. if all goes well, i should be able to update within the week, so please look forward to it!
          
          i'm not sure when the next update will be after that since the coming weeks might be a bit hectic (funny how i said the same thing when i posted chapter 6, yet here i am, almost done with chapter 7) and a little depressing (with wonwoo's military enlistment news). still, i'll try to write whenever i can and hopefully have a new chapter out before april ends. i did promise monthly updates, after all.
          
          i hope you guys have a great day ahead!

hello!
          
          just a quick update—i'm starting work on the draft for chapter 7 of strawberries and cigarettes! if not tonight, then definitely by tomorrow. i'm aiming to update in early march, though that may be subject to change.
          
          also, my twitter/x account is now updated, and i plan to be more active there from now on. feel free to check it out and follow me hehe~
          
          hope you all have a great day! 

hey everyone!
          
          i’d love to get your thoughts on something regarding the next story i’m working on. i realize not all of my engaged readers follow me, so they might miss these surveys and announcements unless they happen to check my profile (except for my few followers, of course). while it could be more effective to use my published work to reach a broader audience, i’d prefer to ask here on the message board, as i’m really hoping to foster a community here.
          
          i know it may not be ideal to start a new story when i’m still moving slowly with my current one, but i’m really eager to work on something different to avoid burnout. i’m not planning to publish anything soon—these are just ideas i’m working through—but i’d love to get your input on which story concept you'd like me to start developing next.
          
          here are the options (these are the ones i’ve developed the most so far):
          - wonwoo x oc (academic rivals to lovers, high school YA romance, fluff & slice of life) - set in korea
          - dk x oc (unrequited love, slight angst, time skip) - set in korea, with possible scenes in the US
          - the8 x oc (enemies to lovers, potentially dark romance) - set in steampunk china
          - seungkwan x oc (old flames/second chance romance, angst, slice of life) - set in korea (specifically jeju-do)
          - joshua x oc (contractual relationship, living together, rich x poor) - set in korea
          
          and finally, the most ambitious one i’m considering (planning to make this a trilogy, so it will take quite a while to conceptualize, develop, and research):
          - seventeen ensemble & oc (the8-centric, organized crime/triads/mafia, contemporary fantasy, young master x servant) - set in 80’s-90’s neo-noir china
          
          i know i may not get many responses here, but i’ll be asking again in the future! thank you for your time and input! 

caratdeul! happy carat day, beautiful people~ ✨
          happy valentine’s day and happy black history month as well!
          
          as promised, i’ve uploaded a new chapter. my apologies if it’s a bit long! the first part of chapter 6 of strawberries and cigarettes was originally going to be included in chapter 5, but i moved it to avoid making chapter 5 too overwhelming in length (which, ironically, backfired since chapter 6 ended up being the longest chapter i’ve written so far). there were also parts i intended to include in chapter 6, but because of its length, i’ve decided to shift them to chapter 7 sksksks. anyway, i hope you enjoy the chapter! ❤️
          
          on another note, i think it’s actually a good thing i’m leaving you with such a long chapter for now because i’m not sure when i’ll be able to update again. the next few weeks are going to be pretty busy for me, so it might take a bit longer than usual (though i guess this isn't surprising, since i’ve been on a monthly update schedule). maybe the next one might be in mid to late march?

恭喜发财! ❤️✨
          happy lunar new year everyone!
          
          unfortunately, no mooncakes for me this year since my fil-chi friends live too far away. still hoping my father brings home some nian gao tonight, though hehehe
          
          anyways, i'll resume writing chapter 6 of strawberries and cigarettes—if not tonight, then maybe tomorrow. hoping to finish it before valentine’s day because...
          
          *drum roll* (and not-so-spoiler alert for those who read the un-revised chapter)
          
          it’s a date chapter!
          
          please look forward to it!