bejoomi

[bejoomi]

as of early october, joomi has been a studio delta trainee for a year.

it's crazy to think of how different his life was before the day he signed that contract. he never really had thoughts of being an idol. he abandoned his band and took a risk on an idol company, of all things.

he thinks he made the right choice in the end. all of the dead calm members are trainees now themselves, or off doing better things that would keep them away from the band anyway. it wouldn't have lasted.

instead, he became a delta trainee, and has worked hard to improve in every area an idol could ever need to show – and he also fell in love, but that's a whole other thing.

his weakest area by far was dancing. or well – no, it was probably rapping, technically. it probably still is rapping, but it doesn't feel like as much of a weakness as dancing always did, because it isn't so vital to know.

now, he's still not the best dancer in delta by far. that would be stevie, or jinyoung while he was still here, god rest his soul. he has improved leaps and bounds, though. he likes dancing now. there's something cathartic about throwing all of yourself into something. songwriting is like that for joomi, but dancing takes it a step further, because it's so active. high quality dancing requires all of you. and then razor sharp technique on top of that. it's still hard.

he's cooling off, drinking some water when seira scoots her way over to him. he's glad, honestly. he's been wanting to say hi and properly welcome her to delta, but just hasn't gotten the chance yet. he smiles. she knows his name? that's surprising. "i know who you are," his smile only widens, and then it softens a touch. "welcome to studio delta, seira. you've worked hard."

she's asking if she can practice with him, though. dancing, of all things, and his eyes widen a little. "well – yeah, sure. i'm not the best dancer though. i used to be the worst dancer in the class, actually," he laughs lightly. "not anymore, but, you know."

are you a dancer?

it’d been quite the while since seira had last been a trainee. she’d been a trainee for two years prior to debut, then an idol until last year, then she’d been practicing by herself, until now, a trainee again. on a probationary contract though. she was thankful and happy she was a trainee again, but the word probationary haunted her, scared her. she was set on giving her all, but she’d also given her all during next gen and it still hadn’t worked out for her. she was scared, but all she could do was attempt her best and work hard.

she wants to work on her rap, but she knows that shouldn’t be all she’s focusing on, her original rap got her this probationary contract, but she needs to show she can do more than just rap. it’s been a while since she last practiced her dancing, it was probably during next gen, she’s not sure how to start again, but she looks around the practice room as she stretches, her eyes landing on joomi. she scoots her way over to the other.

“joomi, right? the name is seira, or sunah if that’s easier to pronounce” her heart beats fast, she’s not the best at approaching strangers “are you uh, busy? i wanted to hear if you’d like to practice dance together?”.

sending it to... @bejoomi

[bejoomi]

joomi honestly doesn't care about winning the unofficial signature contest. he thinks it's just cool to get the chance to talk to so many people who have walked the path he has and achieved such massive success. dressed as a stupid skeleton, of all things. it's pretty ridiculous, but it's also fun, and god knows he can always use more of that energy.

jiayi asks him if he was nervous to approach bxy, and he hums in consideration. "a little? but not too much. they were really nice when i met them on next gen. they complimented our performance a lot, so i was like, 'well, worst thing that could happen is they don't remember me and i make a fool of myself, in which case they would probably take pity on me and give me an autograph anyway,'" he replies, lighthearted by the end. he's sort of joking, but that was his thought process.

he smiles as jiayi declares the signature an official signature. she's cute, with all the spirit of someone new to this industry and determined and enthusiastic to make her mark. that sounds like joomi has been here for ages – he hasn't. he's just already seen enough of his fellow trainees grow despondent over the past year. he hopes jiayi doesn't.

"six? really?" she asks joomi incredulously, eyes scanning over his own notebook. jiayi thought four was a decent amount, the night is young anyways, but turns out she's been slacking in comparison. she huffs, determined to get at least two more autographs in the next half hour.

"did they? that's sweet," she smiles at joomi before popping another pretzel in her mouth. "were you nervous going up to them?" she asks, curious how joomi felt in the moment.

"it's official, then!" she states, giddy. "it's a signature so i'll count it."

[bejoomi]

seojun is a good sport about joomi's questionable joke, so he grins, both relieved and a little amused. "that's good," he says with a nod. when he thinks about it, seojun has been pretty busy in the past year since that fateful halloween. he was a coach on next gen, and joomi can only assume he's part of the same project jinyoung is as a lime trainee.

"it's nice that they just let us have fun for halloween," he comments, turning to look around at the rest of the trainees (and senior artists) mingling at the party, or collecting candy and signatures. everyone works so hard. they deserve to have some fun every now and then, and he's glad the entertainment companies seem to agree. it's also cool that they let the trainees take part in this massive tradition, even if it isn't a public event for them like it is for their seniors.

"you might be one of our seniors soon, huh?" he decides to make conversation. "you can pretend you don't know what i'm talking about if you're legally obligated to keep it a secret," he adds lightheartedly. "i just know someone in lime. well, a few people in lime," he laughs, because that much is obvious, isn't it? "i mean, i know someone that has blabbed to me a little about the project group."

seojun had been wandering around and trying to catch up with everyone possible.

sure it took a lot of time but he had plenty of friends he hadn't gotten the chance to speak to with all the training they had been doing. it had been mostly waving as he passed by others on his way to wherever when in the axis building.

as he looks over the different items on the table, he easily pours himself a glass of fruit punch since he had been eyeing it after everything he had to do tonight.

looking over, he give a smile to joomi. it had been a bit since he's seen the other and it seems a bit funny that they are interacting again at another halloween party. "i've been okay. much calmer than last year. so you don't need to worry about another panic attack from me." sure that happened a few times when things got to overwhelming for him but he didn't mind joking about it. he's just glad someone was there for him during that or he would have easily left the party that night.

[bejoomi]

for a moment, joomi thinks she's onto him right away, with the way she furrows her eyebrows and stares at him. he still ends up answering the question, though.

cherish. it seems like everyone loves them. he gets it. even though their music isn't really to his taste, they've done a lot for the industry, as far as his research has indicated.

"i really like nana," he answers himself. he liked her even before kpop was on his radar, and then he had to sing one of her songs on his season of next gen, back when kpop was barely on his radar.

when yeseul asks him why, through her little ipad as usual, joomi doesn't answer right away. instead, he narrows his eyes, searching. is anyone from cherish around? he could've sworn he saw someone not too long ago...

he grabs onto yeseul's hand and starts walking idly. he sees some of their other seniors, and maybe it's rude to just walk past them, but they're busy talking to others anyway. it should be okay.

eventually, though, he sees her: none other than nana herself, chatting with someone from...shit, he can recognize her face, but can't remember her name or the group she's from. not a delta senior...oh! she's from wonderland, isn't she? what's her name...sora, maybe. yeah, he thinks so.

he stops walking, pondering over their options. truthfully, he's a little nervous himself. it's not like it's his first time ever seeing nana in person, but he hasn't spoken to her before. if he's forcing yeseul out of her comfort zone, though, it's only fair if he does the same, right?

"let's go say hi," he decides, continuing to tug yeseul along. he's very sure she'll protest, but she'll also probably be too frozen in fear to resist him much. "or just get some candy from them, at least. and maybe their signatures."

once he's standing in front of nana and sora, his nerves really kick in. he bows respectfully, several times, then says, "i'm a big fan. i'm joomi. i'm a studio delta trainee. this is yeseul," he motions to her beside him. she doesn't have to talk if she doesn't want to. he figures it's better for him to keep talking, actually.

"we wanted to get some candy from you, if you still have any left," he smiles brightly, but a little shy simultaneously. "and! if i can get your signatures in my notebook, too...that would be really cool." he releases yeseul from his grasp so he can extend his notebook to their seniors to sign.

it isn’t that yeseul never thought she’d be joining an entertainment company, if anything they were hopeless thoughts and fantasies. she once saw herself joining as a composer, or a producer of sorts, but that was it. reality did not sink in for her until about an hour into this party, full of senior artists and fellow trainees. really, what is she doing here with all these… talented people?!

she’s overwhelmed by just about everything. fortunately for her, joomi is here! so she tags along with him as they navigate through the party. it’s comforting to stick by a familiar person’s side, and joomi is, in her terms, dadcoded. even though they’re one year apart, yeseul feels like he’s mentally at least five years older.

besides everything else, yeseul is just in bliss that they’re both delta. she sincerely enjoys the time they spend together, especially if the topic is about music!

the girl blinks at joomi repeatedly. an extremely basic question. suspicious. she furrows her eyebrows at him, pressing her lips together as she stares at him. why is he asking that question? weird. she answers him anyways, with her usual ipad:

⤷ cherish? ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻) my dad used to play their songs a lot.. so i grew up liking them!!

yeseul doesn’t connects the dots and answers. she thinks about the question very seriously. it’s rare for her to have any biases, usually she likes the group as a whole. though just this year, she started liking a certain trainee from nextgen… but she can’t say it. that guy hasn’t even debuted!

as she continues thinking about it, she smiles awkwardly and shakes her head.

⤷ just cherish!! why? abeoji, you are being very suspicious. (≖_≖ )

[bejoomi]

* ♪ – checkmate

do seohan is odd.

if joomi had to choose one work to describe him, it would be that. that's fine, though. truthfully, joomi likes odd people. they aren't as predictable as other people, and that makes for a more complex puzzle for joomi to figure out.

seohan is one of those puzzles for joomi. he seems normal on the outside, but there is something vaguely unhinged about him below the surface. sometimes it peeks out. joomi has seen enough over the course of the time he's known him, thanks to the cat cafe he frequents, and bonding over biscuit, apparently seohan's favorite cat from the cafe who joomi has now adopted.

that's why he's over at joomi's apartment now. he found out joomi adopted biscuit somehow, and wanted to come see her. joomi was like okay, fine.

what he doesn't know is why they're sitting on the floor, coffee table in joomi's living room cleared off, setting up to play checkers. seohan brought a checker board over for reasons unknown to him. joomi didn't ask why, because that felt rude, and seohan didn't explain. he did ask him to play eventually, though, after biscuit disappeared under joomi's bed and refused to come out.

she'll come out eventually, joomi assured him. then came the suggestion to play checkers and wait for biscuit to decide to grace them with her presence again.

"how good are you at checkers?" joomi asks. joomi is pretty good, but he hasn't played in a while. he doesn't really care if he wins or not, though. joomi intends to use this game as a weapon of psychological warfare – or to be more accurate, an opportunity to pick seohan's brain when he can't escape him.

– @beseohan

[bejoomi]

joomi can't help but laugh softly. jay is cute. he frequently forgets that they're actually born in the same year – even if joomi is technically older, being born in january. he just seems so young sometimes. and he calls him dad, which doesn't really help that fact. "i barely know how to play it. just basics," he clarifies. "i had an instructor that told me i needed to learn a new instrument. i don't even remember why at this point. but that was what i chose. i haven't gone back to it since those initial lessons, though. maybe i will one day? it was kinda fun." joomi would probably find playing most instruments fun, though.

he laughs again as jay tries to come up with a name for them. "jaymi...?" he tries. there is a bit of a ring to it, maybe? "i don't think i know enough to teach you. but maybe we can take an actual workshop and learn how to play it together." he wouldn't mind that. he still thinks he can improve with the instruments he currently knows, but it wouldn't hurt to learn something new for a while.

jay asks if he's a diva, and joomi does take a moment to genuinely consider it. he shakes his head before long, though. "i don't think so. you aren't like...entitled enough, to be a diva. you're a pain in the ass, but that's different." he says it affectionately and lightheartedly.

jay is right, though – for how much they talk, and for being jay's dad, they don't actually train together that much, at least when it comes to fun stuff. "yeah, we should," joomi agrees with a soft smile and a nod. "i think it would be fun to write a song together." joomi admittedly doesn't know too much about jay's creative process. it would be cool to find out. now that dohyun is gone, joomi doesn't feel as...for lack of a better term, locked in to writing with particular people. he's sure he'll still write with ren the most, but it's not the same as it was before.

"i wouldn't say i have more on my plate, but maybe more expectations?" joomi answers after thinking for a little while. "the instructors know what i'm good at and where i'm lacking pretty well now. they might still be learning about what you can do." then again, it's already been a few months since next gen ended, hasn't it? time flies.

now that jay thinks about it, he doesn't really spend that much time with joomi in relation to making music. maybe a part of him assumes that joomi is usually busy making music with his trio of producers; he doesn't really feel the desire to get in-between the flow and rhythm they probably already have as a group. sure, training in general, yes. but nothing outside of the usual day-to-day.

that probably means this is the perfect opportunity, instead. it's not that it's just the two of them, but still. it's a great start! "you can play the gayageum? why is this the first time i've heard of this!" he whines, not one to hide his playfulness around joomi ( then again, he feels even more like a brat whenever he's around joomi, maybe it's because joomi allows him to be ). "you have to teach me next time. not here, we can have our own mini workshop. a jay-joomi special. jayjoo...? jayjoo: the workshop. first agenda, gayageum." he furrows his eyebrows, wondering if that has a nice ring to it now that he has said it out loud.

he hums, blinking at joomi's next statement. "are we? divas? am i?" he never thought of it that way. divas are usually high maintenance and difficult to deal with—he supposes he fits the bill, but jay personally believes that he's easier to get along with than most! it's not like he's the normally grouchy one, despite his edit during next gen.

"you know, dad... this is making me realize we don't play together that often—if at all!" jay concludes, nodding to himself after he has mentally confirmed that in his head, on his own. "we should do this more often. again, outside of this workshop." he laughs, making plans even though joomi hadn't exactly properly agreed. "it feels kind of criminal that we haven't made at least one song together," he points out.

"i guess we are all busy though. especially you?" he wonders aloud. "as my senior trainee? do you have a lot more on your plate?"

[bejoomi]

when jiayi asks how many signatures joomi has, he double checks in his own notebook. he always has one with him, and decided it would be fun to participate in the unofficial competition by having their seniors sign the inside cover of this one in particular. it's about halfway full of song lyrics already, and considering how much he writes, he doubts he'll get use out of it for much longer – but it's still fun.

"six," he replies, after double checking his count. "i got all of bxy's autographs and then cade's, from vertex." it actually took him a good deal of courage to approach cade. that man is a spectacular songwriter and producer. joomi would consider himself lucky if he gained even half of his respect and recognition for his skills after he debuts.

the bxy autographs might come as a surprise, though, so he figures he should explain. "i met some of the bxy members on my season of next gen, so it was easier to approach them. they actually remembered me, surprisingly." he's touched, honestly. maybe that remix he made of frost stuck with people more than he expected.

when jiayi mentions her own autographs, and the scribble, joomi looks. "i mean, some people have signatures that look like scribbles," he laughs. "i'd count it."

━━ axis halloween party ◞ trick or treat?.· ( @bejoomi )

"how many signatures do you have so far?" she asks joomi, leaning over the table. there's a fire in her eyes and jiayi is hungry to win the unofficial competition. she wants to get the most signatures, is desperate for it.

she pops a pumpkin-shaped pretzel in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully while looking out at all the other trainees mingling. it hasn't been long since the conclusion of next gen and when she got signed but jiayi feels like it was a life time ago, one of her first encounters being with joomi in the cafeteria where he introduced himself.

if he didn't want her to stick around, well, he should have said something by now. jiayi is sure she can be annoying at times with all the questions she asks, but she persists regardless.

"i have four, i think," she mumbles, flipping through the small notebook she brought along with her to count. "wait," jiayi's brows furrows. "maybe three? this looks like just a scribble," she says, trying to hand over her book to joomi so he can take a look.

[bejoomi]

* ♪ – this is going to ruin the tour

sure, joomi trains with stevie at studio delta now, which means he sees him practically every day. you think he might get sick of him, or at the very least not want to hang out with him outside of training too, but stevie is special. how could anyone possibly get tired of stevie?

okay, he's sure some people would probably find him annoying, but he doesn't. and it's almost like doing some kind of holiday festivity around seoul is a tradition for them now, even if it's an accidental one.

it brings them to now, tagging along at the end of a group of ghost tour attendees. joomi honestly finds everything fascinating. he's not too easy to scare – at least as far as the supernatural goes. joomi thinks even if the spooky stories their tour guide spews were true, he could probably befriend an evil spirit. they have reasons for being that way, right? maybe.

he can tell stevie is a little jumpy, though. part of him is tempted to be a terrible and evil friend and intentionally scare him, but considering it's stevie, he decides to yap as an attempt at a distraction instead.

"did you know that the banpo grand bridge holds the guinness world record for longest bridge fountain?" he highly doubts stevie knows. stevie hasn't even lived in korea for that long. there's probably even basic trivia about the city he doesn't know. lucky for him, joomi does!

– @bexstevie

[bejoomi]

* ♪ – introducing...

maybe, from time to time, joomi is a little devious. it's rare, but occasionally...it can be fun.

poor yeseul should not be his target. she is quite fragile and nervous and also so new to the trainee landscape as a whole – throwing her to the wolves would be cruel. but she won't be going to the wolves on her own! joomi will be there to protect her!

that's his goal, anyway, during the part of the night allocated to trick or treating, of all things. honestly, joomi himself is not the most comfortable with their seniors, but he is starting to feel like a senior (citizen...) himself these days, and it makes this whole ordeal easier.

yeseul has been following him around for a little while now, and joomi honestly doesn't mind. he likes helping the new trainees, especially if he already knew them beforehand, like he did with yeseul. he's really glad she's part of delta, and he's happy to hang out with her whenever she'd like.

maybe he is betraying her trust, but he kind of thinks forcing yeseul out there could be good for her – in moderation, anyway.

"yeseul, who would you say your favorie axis labels artist is? do you have any biases?" it feels like such strange language to use, for a guy that didn't know shit about kpop at this point two years ago. times and lives sure do change.

–– @beyeseul

[bejoomi]

* ♪ – refreshing

joomi is having fun.

halloween is usually one of the best holidays for him, though. it's more about fun and being a little silly compared to holidays based on family, like christmas, seollal and chuseok. or his birthday. somehow those holidays always manage to feel incredibly lonely.

halloween always somehow manages to be fun, and this year is no exception, it would seem. he has to give the axis staff – mainly sr media? – credit. they know how to throw a halloween party.

it's crazy to him that it's his second halloween as a trainee. last halloween, he was just starting his time in delta. now...he's one of the longest standing trainees there, isn't he? it's just ren and hyejin before him now, with dohyun gone. and jinyoung.

he pours himself a glass of fruit punch at the snack table like it's soju. he's having fun. he can be sad about what he's lost on a different holiday.

someone comes up to the table beside him, and joomi looks over at them without thinking. speaking of last halloween – there's a familiar face from the escape room nightmare of last year. has he seen seojun again since then? he can't remember...

"hey," he greets him regardless, with a soft smile. "this halloween seems a lot less scary than last year. are you holding up okay?" maybe he's teasing him a little. is it mean? last halloween, seojun was so overwhelmed by everything gone that joomi had to talk him down from a panic attack. yeah, it probably is a dick move to joke about it. too late now.

–– @beseojun

[bejoomi]

joomi laughs softly, gaze shifting back and forth between sua and biscuit as she wanders. honestly, joomi could probably just sit here and happily watch biscuit roam around all day. well, happily isn't exactly accurate, but you know – contentedly, or something like that. he's not really in the mood to do much other than sit around and mope anyway. observing biscuit is a far better use of his time, all things considered.

joomi is honestly sick of moping. he does it too much. but in his defense, mope-worthy shit just keeps happening to him. biscuit already makes him feel a little better, though, somehow. it's not that sua is bad company in the slightest. cats just feel different. less judgment – well, no, biscuit definitely judges everyone intensely. still, he feels...less pathetic when he thinks about taking care of her. he hopes it helps long-term. he thinks it will.

"empress biscuit," her calls to her softly, picking up one of the treats and waving it in her direction. she doesn't pay any attention to him at first, which makes him laugh a little. "hey, i'm talking to you."

she does turn around eventually, and very hesitantly wanders in his and sua's direction. he holds the treat out to biscuit, and as she approaches, leans closer to sua, guiding the cat in her direction.

biscuit seems to catch on to his plan and pauses, looking at sua skeptically. joomi still holds the treat out, waiting. he wiggles it a little for good measure. "she's a friend of mine," he assures the cat. "you trust me now, don't you? i wouldn't introduce you to someone mean."

biscuit takes a few more curious steps forward, and joomi drops the treat into sua's hands. biscuit pauses again and just stares at sua. joomi stays very still. "just give her a second," he murmurs.

in retrospect, sua thinks she might have been conned a bit-- when joomi blindsides her a bit with the question of can we get a cat? and how could she say no? joomi had been bundled up in a blanket, sniffling and sad about jinyoung while sua kicked his ass in mario party. it feels cruel to do so, her allergies be damned-- so sua agrees.

she's always wanted a cat. the stray cat in her childhood already labeled her own even if her grandfather refused to let her take the feline home with her. joomi's basically asking to live her childhood dream, and sua's going to reap the benefits from it.

a trip to the store, then to the cafe, then right back to their apartment. a bit of spontaneity never hurt anyone, and maybe she's basking in it a bit, enjoying the slight chaoticism of it all.

it's not so bad. to be honest, sua doesn't mind having to add a few more bottles of her allergy medicine onto her grocery list if it means joomi doesn't look so sad. it's the first time all day she's seen him a little brighter, and if the cause is a cute cat who looks like she wants nothing to do with them-- she's perfectly content with that.

her eyes follow biscuit's every moment, stock still as the cat makes her rounds around joomi's room. sua's unable to stop the small gasp that leaves her mouth at the idea of kids trying to pull her tail, frowning in the direction of biscuit. "little shits." she mumbles, mostly to herself.

when joomi tosses her the bag, she catches it easily, glancing at biscuit before back to the treats inspecting them. she snorts at joomi's words, opening the bag to take a few treats out herself.

"a surefire way to a girl's heart is food." sua jokes, setting the bag aside and tossing the treats in her hand idly. shifting, she moves to lay on her stomach, extending her hand towards biscuit, palm up with the treats displayed. biscuit's not really paying any attention to het yet, but she's patient. and besides-- the longer she doesn't have the cat's attention, the longer she goes without feeling like she's going to have a sneezing fit.

"though it makes you wonder if it's more the treats she's caring about rather than the person." sua mutters, huffing out a laugh as she shifts to get comfortable to watch biscuit gather her bearings.

[bejoomi]

joomi loves playing instruments. he always played piano throughout his life as an escape from the...abundance of hardships he faced. his fingers grazing the keys could transport him somewhere else, if only for a little while – somewhere that didn't hurt so much.

somewhere like where he is now, really. he's been no stranger to pain in the past year – or week, even – but he knows this is better than how things used to be. even with dohyun leaving, fracturing the trio that was dorenmi, and the sadness and creative block that come with it – this is better. he is safe. he is loved. he gets to make music every day for his job. there is still so much good. he tries, desperately, to focus on that instead of the loss.

the instrument workshops come at a good time, ultimately – another opportunity to float away on melodies he plays, and something new to focus on. he also hopes dedicating time to improving his instrument skills by himself will help bring some of his creativity back.

except he's not by himself. jay is here, and that's probably good, actually. he loves jay, but they don't spend enough time talking about music, all things considered. he was usually always writing with ren and dohyun during their free practice, or dancing with jinyoung, when that was still...relevant.

"yeah," he answers with a soft smile. "it was either this or like...gayageum or drums. but i think i could probably learn drums on my own, and gayageum doesn't feel as fun." he gives the bass in his own lap the lightest slap. "this is my next worst instrument, so it seemed like a solid choice."

joomi raises an eyebrow as jay gossips about their instructor, but he makes a solid point. "someone i know once said musicians are divas," he chuckles. "i think there's probably some truth to that. but as long as he's good..." joomi shrugs. god knows grouchy and strict is probably one of the easiest things he's dealt with.

he smiles softly once again at jay's mention of his love for music. "yeah," he agrees with a nod. "i am honestly not mad about missing out on dance practice for this. playing instruments is one of my favorite parts of training here."

boom boom bass.

while studio delta generally has a schedule for them to practice their instruments, this workshop that's being held feels like the perfect opportuniy to actually lock in and properly polish something that he's meaning to actually get better at. this time, it's the bass guitar. he's rather familiar with acoustic guitar and electric guitar, but when it comes to bass—well, he needed more experience.

the workshops came at the right moment. although he knows being an active participant in this workshop and committing to it means he'll need to sacrifice his time doing other things ( namely his dance lessons, as he's spending more time sitting down and working through an instrument ), he believes he can make up for it later down the road.

"dad, are you trying your hand at bass too?" he asks @bejoomi, tilting his head to the sides as the guitar sits on the base of his lap, held to his chest. "i heard that the mentor for this workshop is actually kind of strict and grouchy," he whispers, partaking in a little bit of gossip. "but usually, those types of people are really good at what they do, aren't they? you know, like our very own lovely ceo."

jay laughs, knowing that it'd be bad if he had spoken in a louder volume. "anyway! this is what i joined delta for, after all. focusing on what really matters to me—the music!"

[bejoomi]

belated event + general plot call!

hi everyone! now that i'm officially off hiatus it's time to make my Official Plot Call and get back into the swing of things. i'll need threads of all kinds, both regular and event threads for all three of my muses. i'll do what i usually do and write a bit about their current states, as well as what they'll be doing and how they're feeling regarding the halloween event under the cut! and also an event tracker. but please like this post to plot and i will message you soon 💗

JOOMI

GENERAL UPDATE

with dohyun leaving delta, his songwriting trio (dorenmi) with ren and dohyun is broken. he is very sad about it because they had dreams of being The songwriting trio of delta's next bg and potentially the next generation of bgs in general. he is still movin forward though and doing his best to not be Crushed by it. he is feeling a bit aimless though, and he got so used to writing with ren and dohyun that his creative process is all out of whack now, which is p much just as frustrating for him as dohyun leaving. i think he's been trying to do more things on his own lately, both falling into his old habit of shutting down and closing in on himself when he's hurt by Other people, and because he just like...wants to make sure he's still comfortable functioning by himself, because maybe he's Not and if he Is other people leaving his life won't hurt so much. but i think he's also trying to like...do it in a healthy way, and not shut down, and he's also trying to hang out with people that aren't his closest friends because he thinks it would be good to expand his social circle a little. also out of hopes that if someone leaves again he won't feel it as much. this means there's a lot of room for plotting with new people, yay! or reconnecting with people he hasn't spoken to in a while. but he is still pretty sad and is an introvert so he will not be doing anything that requires intricate planning or orchestration on his part slkdfjglsflkf ALSO NEW DELTA PEOPLE!! PLOT W HIM! he will still do his best to be welcoming and be a good sunbae, not an emo ass bitch for them .

HALLOWEEN

joomi is in a Creative Block rn to some degree and this unfortunately is extending to halloween costumes. he would be happy to go out and do halloween stuff with people though....he just probably will not be making the plans. he might honestly go and do some stuff by himself though, like the ghost tour...so there's an opportunity for him to run into pretty much anyone there! or maybe catch him shopping for a halloween costume just Staring at them with nothing calling to him. he could probably use some help in the costume department, especially for the trainee costume contest. he does not feel the need to win it but he does want to do a decent job, if only because delta is running the contest and he doesn't want to disappoint them LMAO he also might go to lotte world and check out the discounts by himself. he used to work there and hated it but it's been a year now and he's kinda interested to see how it feels now. he will probably be weirdly introspective if u run into him there. LJKSDFKLSKLD (also update as i was typing this post: joomi decided he wants to be dead aka a skeleton for halloween. so he will be in one of those goofy ass skeleton body suits for the axis party and probably a mask too that he doesn't wear for more than 5 mins because it gets hot)

EVENT TRACKER

GENERAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: thread 1: @bexstevie (1/4) thread 2: open thread 3: open AXIS HALLOWEEN EVENT: party thread 1: @beseojun (3/4) ✓ party thread 2: @bejiayi (4/4) ✓ trick or treating thread/solo: @beyeseul (4/4) ✓

NAYOUNG

GENERAL UPDATE

nayoung's Situationship (cam) has now left sr media and she is Just A Bit sad. but she's also like wow i can finally focus without him bothering me god bless. LKJSDLKFSLKDF but she's still being pretty antisocial...though she is at least Aware now that she Should interact with people more. there are just not many people in her life she does actively want to spend time with. but she is more willing to do things with others now, though chances are she won't initiate anything unless it is with her Palz, of which there are like, two off the top of my head. KLJSDLKFS so she may need some encouragement from others to not just Work all the time. she is still gaming and working at the convenience store in her minimal free time tho so plots around that are always possible!

HALLOWEEN

she will not go out of her way to participate in anything but if the right person/people ask her to do something she will! HOWEVER she is very determined to win the axis costume contest. she is just way too competitive. she has decided she's going to be medusa and she is going all out. makeup, gray contacts, curled hair, snake staff and snake headpiece – the works. costume is something in this zone. she will probably look very unsettling and will enjoy unnerving people all night! it would be nice if she had someone to get ready with and/or help her do her makeup too so that plot is open if we can get nayoung to like someone enough for that LMAO 😭 but she will also 100% be sucking up to their seniors and getting as much candy and such from them as she can

EVENT TRACKER

GENERAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: thread 1: @beyuji (2/4) thread 2: @bejaeyoung (2/4) thread 3: open AXIS HALLOWEEN EVENT: party thread 1: @beclaudine (2/4) party thread 2: @beseira (2/4) trick or treating thread/solo: open

RIHA

GENERAL UPDATE

riha got a dreamwave audition callback for lime BUT she did not actually go and audition. she chickened out and decided to pretend to be sick 😭 she just felt very unprepared for everything and even though she knows auditioning could only possibly be a good experience. she scawed. it made her think about if she Really wants to become an idol or not because she's really only doing it for her late mom and she's very intimidated by it. she thinks she does tho! so she's going to try to focus up so next time an audition opportunity comes around she feels ready for it. it's all made her think of her mom more though, and if riha is good at anything it's Running From Feelings, so you bet she's been trying to fill her life with Activities so she doesn't have time to be sad! unlike the others riha Will initiate and plan things with just about anyone. she's also vaguely looking into vocal lessons on top of the dance lessons she's already taking so she can Actually Improve, so more music-related plots would be nice now! but rly anything goes with her, she's always down for something new. most of the time anyway

HALLOWEEN

riha will be very happy to do halloween related stuff with anyone! she thinks halloween is very fun even though she gets easily scared. she loves seeing everyone's costumes, especially pretty girls LMAOOO that being said she is so facking indecisive she has no idea what she wants to be. so let her tag along with your group costume(s). she is down to go do fun things multiple days in different costumes and she would honestly like to try everything that's going on in the city for halloween! she will be very good at the zombie run honestly bc she's so active. i think she will have a lot of fun w that even though she will also be Screaming. if ur muse gets scared she can probably still run with them on her back bc she is a big strong girl. LKSDJFSFLSFD but she's open for a lot and is once again down for anything most of the time

EVENT TRACKER

GENERAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: thread 1: @beclaudine (2/4) thread 2: @beyuji (2/4) thread 3: @beseira (1/4)

[bejoomi]

post-hiatus cleaning!

hi everyone!! i've been on hiatus for several weeks now and technically still am, but i wanted to start Preparing to return a bit in advance, even if i may not write yet. i currently owe 20+ replies across all my characters here and as much as i would love to catch up i think that's unrealistic aklsjdfklasdg and some are also very old! so i've decided i will be starting fresh for the most part and dropping a bunch of threads. there are a lot of starters i haven't replied to and some that i still owe people and i'll probably message those people soon to ask if it's okay if we say they're happening at the present time instead of when they were posted, because everyone has had some recent developments! i'll cover those in another post as i nail down exactly what has changed while i was on hiatus.

i also do want to apologize for flopping on so many of these threads. i write 40 hours a week for my full time job and writing for rp on top of that can sometimes be a Struggle, and september was also a Rough Month. but i really do want to try to do better, and i would love new threads with everyone i've already threaded with and new people alike! i'll post a new plotcall at a later time too. i'd also be happy to chat about how any dropped threads ended if you'd like, and i may actually message some people about that myself! whew ok without further ado, i will list the few threads i am keeping under the cut.

KEEPING FOR JOOMI

her majesty - @bexsua

KEEPING FOR NAYOUNG

alcohol free - @beyinuo sunday meal - @lucielxbe catching up - @jindallaebe

KEEPING FOR RIHA

girls make me wanna die - @beyuji starter i've owed for ages - @beyeseul i <3 leg day - @shoutabe friends! - @bechangmin

also tagging rp partners that weren't already tagged in threads i'm keeping so they can see this:

@beyuwol @noelxbe @renxbe @beminseok @bejiayi

[bejoomi]

"sorry," joomi mutters, with little guilt actually behind it.

he doesn't say anything else. he just observes his friend - takes in the defeated posture, the notebook on the floor, the fact that his hair is even more disheveled than usual, and sighs.

usually, whatever powers that be grant him and ren some sort of balance. usually, on ren's bad days, joomi is okay - sturdy enough to lean on. on joomi's more fragile days, ren is the one that keeps him standing. it's an equal exchange. sometimes they're happy at the same time. rarely are they sad at the same time. but sometimes rare things happen.

joomi listens. alex is gone. he nods. he watches. he's not as sympathetic as he should be right away, maybe - takes longer to process it than usual. maybe he doesn't really process it at all. he feels a little numb, and a little distant. ren is about to cry. he can tell that much.

ren is about to cry and he just stands there for a little too long, before some wiring in his brain finally rubs together the right way to reattach him to his body.

he finally moves, and plops himself into the other chair, then rolls it toward ren. he bends down for a moment, just to pick up ren's notebook and set it back on the desk so he doesn't run over it. he settles in to the space beside his friend. he only looks at him briefly, though, before he chooses to stare mostly at the wall in front of them instead.

"jinyoung is leaving. for lime. i don't know if you heard yet," he shares, relatively emotionless, all things considered.

he sighs again, then chuckles, "fuck them, for real..." he doesn't mean it. he's just tired of both of them being sad despite their best efforts. he's tired of making it to the top of the mountain and being pushed back down as soon as they take their first real breath.

that's what it feels like for joomi, at least.

but at least he isn't always at the bottom anymore. at least each shove doesn't force him to start over entirely. he'll catch himself again on the way down, hope he doesn't have much to climb again - hope when he reaches the top he'll have long enough to enjoy the view next time.

he rests his arms on the desk in front of him, then lays his head on them. he just closes his eyes at first, then shifts to look back at ren from his new position.

"it's really always some shit," he comments. he figures if ren wants to talk more he will, and he knows ren knows joomi will listen if he does. he also doesn't have to. joomi is content just to sit here, too. at least as content as he can be, given the circumstances.

"fuck-" he utters again, this time in korean, startled by the familiar voice sounding from somewhere behind him, "you scared me."

but it is joomi, which means ren doesn't have to mask anything from anyone, doesn't have to pretend everything's okay, doesn't have to pretend that he's okay. anyone else would need details he isn't ready to present out loud, or would need an explanation on why an impossible blond in a scoop neck tee calling him a sad, pathetic little man has made him lovelorn, of all things. that's good, because ren wasn't sure how he was going to explain his state to anyone else, not when he can feel himself on the verge of giving everything up and succumbing to a breakdown in the third floor bathroom.

hey that doesn't suck, maybe he should write that down.

but when he turns in the swivel chair to look joomi in the eye and spill everything in the secluded, sound-proofed comfort of their favorite studio room, he sees something mirrored in his friend's expression and the words die somewhere on the back of the lump in his throat.

"alex is gone," is all he manages, voice hoarse with whatever this awful feeling he's trying not to drown in is. saying it out loud makes it even more real, makes it shared knowledge that he can no longer escape. his face twists in a painful, unwelcome streak of emotion that he tries to turn away from joomi and toward his abused notebook strewn on the floor.

"and sarang-" the catch in his voice is undeniable this time, as is the heat welling in the corners of his eyes.

"fuck," he utters again, this time more small and pathetic, as he sets his elbows down hard on the desk before him and buries his forehead in his hands.

[bejoomi]

he doesn't mean to be dramatic, but he's glad stevie is here, because otherwise he fears he might've just died on the spot. hard things are always easier with friends – a lesson he's learned far too late in life.

in the grand scheme of difficult things, this workshop will be one of the easiest, he's sure, but god, his lungs hurt.

we have so much to look forward to, like going home, stevie says, and joomi manages a chuckle despite his current difficulty breathing. "i have never wanted to like...be in a bath more in my life." joomi isn't really a bath guy, but it sounds really nice right now. it'll probably feel even better later, once the pain settles into the rest of his body.

he follows stevie's lead and takes a sip of his own water, then heaves another massive breath that still burns his throat. "my legs are like...not that bad," joomi says, a little surprised. "but i'm weirdly aware of my lungs. i'm pretty sure they're about to explode." it's still dramatic, but it's helping him cope – and it could be possible, right? or maybe he's more likely to have a heart attack.

"i think i need to exercise more," he concludes. he's been thinking about it lately, anyway. his therapist asked him to think about what it would take for him to feel safe by himself, and he probably wasn't supposed to take it so literally, but he really thinks the answer is just being able to beat anybody in a fight and also being able to run away really fast. maybe by the end of this he will be able to run away really fast while singing perfectly on pitch.

dancing is no big deal for him. stevie thinks at this point, he could do it in his sleep. adding singing to the mix? trying to hold a note? trying to make his breathing and voice sound stable when he's flying around the stage with little breaks? that's hard.

and workshops are supposed to help. especially the one that the company's been slapping around everywhere. all it really takes for stevie to sign up for it is even one of his coaches suggesting it to him. if they think it'll help him, then why shouldn't he try it out?

and sure, stevie knows it doesn't give instant results. but my god. it feels like it should with what they have them doing. stevie doesn't mind exercise or a gym trip every now and then, but having to sing while running on a treadmill seems a bit like some form of torture. it has to be, right?

he's on the floor once they're given a break, flat on his ass and catching his breath. the extra weight of joomi on him that makes him let out an oof before he's leaning right back into the other.

"noo," stevie huffs, playing along. "we've gotta keep going. we have so much to look forward to," turning his head a bit towards joomi, his voice lowers to a whisper. "like going home."

he takes a sip of his water, waiting until after he's swallowed down the gulp to say, "i don't think i can feel my legs anymore."

[bejoomi]

joomi can't help but laugh a little. he feels like that with jay most of the time, though. he's just so odd. it's endearing to joomi, though. he doesn't mind the weirdness at all. i'm great company, jay announces, and joomi laughs again, nodding. "i'm kind of surprised i ended up coming too, but it's actually been really fun." joomi usually takes his sundays to decompress at home, usually with jinyoung, and also to work, so this is definitely a break from routine.

jay makes a good point, though. what's the point in a water gun fight if your opponent doesn't even have a water gun? part of him is tempted to buy one now, just to act like a child with jay, but he doesn't need to pay money for something he'll never use again. especially when jay is offering his own water gun to joomi.

he takes it with another smile. "how gracious of you," he jokes in return. he looks at jay then, carefully assessing the situation. where is his point of attack...?

the 12 year old boy in him kind of wants to spray him to make him look like he peed his pants, but joomi has probably listened to that part of him about five times in his entire life, including when he was actually 12. the next tempting option is square in the face, but joomi would feel kind of bad if he did that.

so he ends up just shooting jay in the chest, a "wound" matching his own. he grins, then holds the water gun back out to jay. "now we match."

oh, that’s right. now that joomi brought it up, jay doesn’t remember whether he told joomi he’d be attending anyway. or anyone, for that matter. he hums, racking his brain and coming up empty. well, there’s no way joomi would lie to him in the first place—so it must be true!

“i was debating—wait, no. i forgot, for a while. brain foggy.” what a very helpful description, he thinks. but it doesn’t matter ( not that whether his vocabulary made sense to someone else ever concerned jay in the first place ), because he’s speaking to joomi. “then when the day was approaching i was debating whether i should actually go or not! but i’m here now! and i’m great company!” he mimics joomi’s grin, closing the distance since joomi is no longer his target.

“since you look so defenseless, i feel like i’m cheating if i continue to target you.” he says this as if joomi should be grateful about it. which, in fairness, jay kind of thinks is valid. “i’m not a bully after all!” he laughs. jay does a little twirl with his water gun, before presenting his weapon to joomi. “i’m so nice i’ll even let you shoot me once. as payback. special treatment, from me!” he’s almost insisting, really, but he’s kind of curious which part of his body joomi will choose to aim at too. and it’s fair!