#para: miyeon | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

realmackross · 1 year ago

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PARTIES: @fox--tales, @realmackross TIMING: Morning of July 13th SUMMARY: Llama goes for a cup of coffee, but runs into Miyeon in the process. The last thing she wanted. WARNINGS: None!

It was early. Way too early. The wait for her usual morning iced latte was taking forever. Miyeon was pretty sure she was going to get her second tail by the time it came out. If they didn’t hurry up, she was going to get a caffeine headache. Or maybe she just had a headache anyway, whatever. She just wanted her coffee and she was so close to whining about it.

She sighed and resigned herself to her tragic fate when she caught sight of someone from the corner of her eye. Hot damn, it was Mackenzie Ross herself. Miyeon had seen her at that party the other day but she kinda thought she was just passing through town or something. There was no way she was living here. Like sure she went off the grid or whatever but here, in Wicked’s Rest? In the middle of nowhere? No way. Maybe she had family here. Or maybe there was something else. Something more scandalous. It didn’t matter what it was, Miyeon was itching to find out the deets.

Suddenly she wasn’t pressed about how long it was going to take her to get her coffee. “Hey,” she said with a little wave to the girl as she walked over to wait for her order, too. “It’s good to see you again.” She offered a small smile. “You look like you’re doing better than at the party. I don’t know what happened but you’re okay, right?” There was genuine sympathy there, it wasn’t all bullshit. Miyeon didn’t want anyone to be upset, not at something that’s supposed to be a good time. “I mean you did get to miss seeing me embarrass myself with my dare. Fingers crossed there’s no video.”

—

Llama had been covered in a hoodie and sunglasses. Her goto for going out in public these days. Why she had chosen to come this early for something she couldn’t taste almost didn’t make sense. But the last time she went for a late night coffee run, things hadn’t gone so well. And there was a teeny-tiny part of her deep down that had wanted some normalcy in her life. In fact, the more it crossed her mind, the more she had started to long for it. And right now being out in public didn’t seem too bad. People had been minding their own business. She hadn’t been noticed…

Shit. She had been noticed, but it was by a familiar face and someone who had seemed nice enough. But if what she had seen on the internet was true, and Miyeon really did work in radio, then Llama was going to have to stay very tight-lipped on a lot of things, “It’s good to see you.” As long as you’re not here to pry. “Thanks, and yeah, I’m fine. Something came up, and I had to rush home. I hated to leave the party so soon.” She really had wanted to stay, but Nora had made that nearly impossible with her comments, “Oh? What was your dare?” She was curious. “Don’t you hate when that happens. People posting videos of you without your permission.” She had genuinely meant it, but had also hoped Miyeon would pick up what she was putting down in terms of just leaving her alone, when it came to private matters.

“Llama…Ross…Okay, who names their kid Llama?”

Llama rolled her eyes and sighed as she started to move forward to get her drink, “Well, it was nice talking to you. That’s me, and I hope to see you around town sometime.” She knew the conversation had just started, but poor Llama was trying to avoid being questioned by Wicked’s Rest’s own inquisition.

Snagging her drink from the barista, Llama quietly said ‘thank you’, before leaving the small shop. However, on her way out, she heard Miyeon’s name being called by the same barista. Shit. She was gonna have to pick up the pace a little bit.

—

“There’s always next time,” Miyeon said with a small shrug and a smile. “I’m just glad you’re doing alright.” As much as she wanted to dig into Mack for a story, something she could craft into the next big podcast to hit the net, it wasn’t going to be at the expense of her as a person. Miyeon wasn’t that desperate. And if she was invited to the party with the rest of the people there, she had to guess that Mack was a decent enough person.

She hoped regaling her own tale of embarrassment would lighten the mood a little. “Well, you know that wolf girl on tiktok? The one who jumps around and makes fun of those kids in elementary school who thought they were an animal or whatever?” Miyeon always had to laugh at them. They so wanted to be her but they just couldn’t. And they would never even know. She got in big trouble with her mom the one time she told kids she could turn into a fox. Which is why she was super careful that it never got back to her the one time she full-on transformed right in front of Jimmy Macintyre, the little shit. He nearly pissed his pants, too. “Anyway, some people didn’t know or acted like they didn’t know so I got dared to do the wolf girl jumps. It was a stellar performance, totally Oscar-worthy if I do say so myself. I mean it was no mime lessons reenactment, of course.”

Alright, that comment was pointed. Miyeon considered dropping it — she wanted to start off on the right foot, after all— but she simply couldn’t. Not when her integrity was in question.“Hey, if you’re accusing me of something, you can just come out and say it. It’s not like you’re on the record,” she said, her tone firm but not aggressive. She didn’t want to wage a war here, all she wanted to do was get the facts straight for all parties involved. “And, for that very record, I didn’t record any video.” Only some really terrible audio that she could barely hear over the other side conversations happening around her that night. “Even if I did, I have journalistic integrity. I get that that’s not really a thing in LA but you’re not there anymore.” She knew Mack had no good reason to believe her, not really, but she was sincere in her words and Miyeon was usually pretty confident that she was able to effectively communicate her thoughts and intentions.

Miyeon’s face scrunched up in confusion when she heard the barista shout out “Llama Ross.” An interesting choice for a pseudonym. She was going to have to ask about that. And it was her lucky day, her order was ready for her to swipe off the counter with a quick thanks and smile which meant she could stay right on Mack’s — or should she say Llama’s — heels. “Hey, where are you hurrying off to?” It couldn’t be a set or anything, not here. This town was weird but not the Hollywood kind of weird. Maybe the SyFy Channel kind of weird but even that was pushing it.

—

Llama had felt bad not really giving Miyeon the time of day, but she had been hounded like this one too many times. Cue many of the hideous paparazzi photos that were now floating around on the internet. Instead, she opted for the good old classic nod and haul ass plan, but with Miyeon hot on her heels, she really couldn’t escape. And instead of further being rude, she stopped walking, and turned to see exactly what the woman had wanted, “Look, you seem like a really nice person and all, but no offense, you work on the more journalistic/podcast side of things, and for me,” especially now when I stand a chance to be outed for everything that I am and have done, “it makes me nervous. Not to say that you’re like that, but I’ve been burned, one too many times, by people who I thought I could trust, but really just wanted the ‘scoop’.”

Maybe getting to the point was best. But she didn’t want to hurt Miyeon’s feelings. Llama was sure her podcast and morning show were great. It was just a matter of not getting too close only to be burned at the worst time of her life.

She looked at the ground sheepishly ashamed for trying to outrun the woman she had briefly met at the party. She didn’t know if she had taken video or what, but it was still only fair to give Miyeon a legit chance to prove herself. Llama would have wanted the same thing. Please don’t regret this. Please don’t regret this. “Can we start over? It’s not fair that I jumped to conclusions about you when I don’t even know you, and I’m sure those Wolf Girl Jumps were totes cute.” Sticking out her free hand that didn’t contain coffee, Llama looked to Miyeon with a soft smile.

—

Miyeon was pretty sure she was watching a window of opportunity close in front of her. Not that she knew what the opportunity was. She wasn’t sure if it was an opportunity for that interview or for maybe just something simpler – like friendship. Miyeon didn’t even know what she wanted anymore. Sure, when she first saw Mack Ross at the party, she could only see the stars in her eyes, thinking about the potential interview, the scoop, the deep dive, the exclusive. But she couldn’t bring herself to be that kind of slimy gross journalist who would tear someone apart just for a story.

Not to mention, that seemed like a terrible way to get a tail. Sure, okay, she didn’t really know how to earn one of those. Yet. But she figured it had to be good deeds and not like shitty manipulation tactics that would get her closer. Either way, it seemed like they were running in the same circles of people in town. It wouldn’t hurt to see if maybe she could find a friend there.

To say she was almost bowled over by what happened next would be an understatement. “I would love to start over,” Miyeon said with a smile and reaching out to shake Mack’s hand. She nearly jumped at how cold it was and had to make sure she kept the surprise off her face. It was probably just poor circulation or something like that. Did she have an iced drink or hot? Whatever, didn’t matter. “I hope so. Because I’m pretty sure for the most part they were just totally embarrassing.” The shop was busy, but mostly with people coming and going. The seats were pretty empty. “There’s a booth by the back there if you want to hang out?” She wasn’t sure if the other girl was going to take her up on it. “Totally cool if not. But you can interview me instead of the other way around. A nice little turn of the tables, yeah?”

—

The handshake confirmed things. Miyeon was willing to start over and that sent a wave of relief over Llama. She could just eat her later, if things didn’t exactly go according to plan. Okay, that was more of a twisted joke inside of her own head, and one she kept cued up at times, but she knew it wouldn’t make any kind of sense and would only be funny to her. She had to entertain herself and the shitty situation she was in somehow, “Good.”

Pulling her hand back, she glanced over to the booth that her new friend was referring to. It wasn’t like she had anywhere to be. And now that Miyeon wasn’t so much of a threat, Llama didn’t see why she couldn’t spend a little more time getting to know her, “How does one do a Wolf Girl Jump exactly?” She had totally been messing with Miyeon knowing there wasn’t a chance in Hell that the person standing in front of her was going to hop around like a dog and howl in the middle of the coffee shop, but she had to ask. After a brief pause though, Llama’s expression eased up, and she began to laugh, “I’m kidding, but yeah, let’s go find a seat. I’m sure I can figure out some more questions to ask you.”

Llama made her way back to the empty booth and slid in the seat with her back to the door. Normally, she had preferred to see who was coming and going, but at least they would get more privacy if people didn’t see a famous actress sitting in the back when they walked in. Taking a drink of her coffee, she sat it down on the table and crossed her arms, getting comfortable.

—

Miyeon shot the girl a look. There was no way she expected her to do full on wolf girl jumps in the middle of the coffee shop. Like sure, she’d consider it if she got something good out of it. But it would have to be really really good if she was going to completely humiliate herself in public. So she was relieved to see that it was all in gest. “You had me there for a second,” she said with a smile. “I hope you know I’m serious enough about a second chance that I was briefly considering it.” Still, she was glad to have an opportunity to actually chat.

She followed towards the empty booth and took a seat across from Mack. “Alright, hit me.” She went to take a sip of her coffee and paused. “I mean like, not literally. But, you know, with questions and stuff.” It was weird, being the one to get questioned and not the other way around. She wasn’t entirely used to that. She hadn’t been in this position often, especially not lately, and she was really not going to sit and introspect on why that was. There probably was one and she just wanted to enjoy her coffee and not think about her own flaws or failures or anything like that. Too much of a downer for morning coffee.

“Oh wait, can I ask one thing first?” she said, leaning forward eagerly. She got close, looked around to make sure the coast was clear and lowered her voice to a whisper, just in case. “Why are you going by Llama? Is it like a code name or something? Low profile? Sorry, I’m just curious since, you know.” Miyeon pointed at the name on Mack’s drink.

—

Llama had kind of wanted to see Wolf Girl Jumps, but she would save that for later in the evening when she’d probably be scrolling Tiktok endlessly, unable to sleep and trying to avoid thinking about life, errr…death. Still the fact that Miyeon was considering it did mean something to the young zombie. Instead, she was going to relish the opportunity to turn the tables and interview the interviewer, “This, like, never happens, so I’m pretty excited that someone else is in the hot seat for once.” She took another sip of her coffee, before sitting it back down.

Llama had spent years in the spotlight constantly being questioned about this and that. Some things she gladly talked about and others that she really just wanted to be left alone about. But since she had fled her apartment down south after the Brody incident, the idea of being questioned had made her incredibly nervous. Sure, she had been taught not to breach contracts with spoilers knowing there were consequences like fines or possibly being fired, but if she breached this contract by accident, she would likely be sent to prison or worse. It was a thought that had constantly lingered in the back of her mind.

Seeing Miyeon lean forward made Llama’s brow furrowed in confusion. What was this question going to be? If it was anything super personal, she’d get up and leave. Simple as that. But hearing it was just about her name and why she was going by Llama seemed to give her some relief, “I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were about to ask me something super personal, but yeah. Code name. I’ve always loved llamas, so I thought, why not?” In reality, she still couldn’t put her finger on it, and though she hardcore ground it into everyone’s mind who questioned her, the fact of the matter was that Llama couldn’t really understand why it felt so off. It just seemed to help that Miyeon had come up with an answer right there on the spot.

—

Miyeon smiled when she saw Mack’s shoulders drop just a little as she sunk into her seat when she mentioned she was excited to do the questioning for once. As much as Miyeon liked being the one to do the investigating, she knew there was value in sharing enough of herself to make others comfortable. Not to mention, she didn’t have a whole lot to hide. Well, other than the fact that she could turn into a fox and would live for centuries and her parents were ancient and sometimes she ate ghosts. Aside from that, totally normal.

Some part of the kitsune was hoping for some sort of crazy answer, something wild and exciting, but she would have to concede for now. “Why not, indeed,” she said with a smile. “Llamas are pretty cool, fair enough. That’s not a bad code name.” A thought struck her. “Wait, don’t they spit? Or, no, that’s camels. I think. Maybe? I don’t know. And hold on, are they the same as alpacas? I mean llamas, not camels. Like are all alpacas like squares or something and llamas are rectangles? Or are they completely different? Do they–” Miyeon caught herself midsentence. Oh yeah. Mack, or rather, Llama was supposed to be interviewing her. She wasn’t supposed to be asking twenty questions about llamas. “Sorry, I get carried away sometimes. You can always stop me.” She laughed before taking another sip of her coffee. “Or at least you can try to.”

—

Llama leaned back against the seat and settled back in. What she didn’t expect though, was a flurry of questions regarding llamas, camels, and alpacas. But instead of shying away from it, she welcomed it! “Considering Llamas are sort of my thing, you’ve come to the right person. So llamas, alpacas, and camels spit and do so out of feeling agitated or threatened. And while they do spit at humans sometimes, wouldn't you spit too, if you felt threatened and didn’t have arms to punch or push with? I mean we’re coming into their area and their comfort zone right? And they are all from the same family, but llamas are much larger than alpacas. And something good to remember…llamas may not look as cute with their longer snouts and taller ears, but they’re the puppies. Alpacas have squished snouts and shorter ears, look way cuter, but they’re like cats.” Llama caught herself. “I don’t think you’re the only one getting carried away.”

After taking another sip of coffee, she laughed, “I could talk about llamas all day, but I won’t.” It was hard coming up with questions on the spot, but she started with something easy, “Back to me interviewing you. So first question, what’s your favorite animal?” She took another sip, before sitting her cup back down. It was Miyeon’s turn to talk and explain herself. Llama was just along for the ride this time, which was nice.

—

Out of sheer instinct, Miyeon went to reach for a pen to take notes on the notepad that she didn’t have in front of her. There was no paper, there was no pen, of course there wasn’t. Whoops. She tried to act like she was brushing crumbs off from the table instead. “Sorry, whenever I get good answers to something, like really good info, I just want to jot it all down. Even though I’m not currently doing a story on llamas or anything,” she said, a small chuckle following. “I mean I could if I wanted to, I guess, considering I have Wicked’s Rest’s foremost llama expert sitting right here with me.”

It was impossible to keep the smile off her face. If she could see it, she might even call it sly, which would have only made her grin wider at the irony of it all. “Oh, foxes, definitely.” Miyeon nodded and took another drink of her latte. “The ears, the little snoot, the whiskers, that bushy tail!” Of course, she would love to have way more than just the one but that was so not the point at the moment. “You can’t beat them. They’re the best, hands down.” Sure, she was incredibly biased but what else was she supposed to say, guinea pigs? Ew, no. They were cute and all but like she was definitely cuter and she wouldn’t stand for anyone saying otherwise.

—

Llama watched as Miyeon went through the motions. It would have almost made her nervous, if it hadn’t been for the fact that Llama was the one doing the interviewing and the fact that the person sitting across from her didn’t actually have a pen or paper to write on. It was actually a relief, but Llama understood that old habits die hard. She still found herself preparing herself most days, when depression didn’t have a death grip on her, for life as a celebrity. Look presentable. Stay in shape. Eat healthy. Of course, some of that had been slipping lately. She had donned her hoodie more than anything, and it really didn’t matter what she ate now, considering she couldn’t gain weight, “I get it. I still live like I’m in Hollywood sometimes, when I’m really not.” She sighed and her eyes dropped for a minute.

She didn’t want to bring the mood down, so instead, she focused on Miyeon’s answer, “Okay, but foxes are a legit and pretty good answer. They’re not llamas, but I’ll take it. Plus, you’re right. They are pretty cute. I wonder if Fox Girl Jumps are a thing…” She had pondered about the Wolf Girl Jumps before shrugging it off, “Okay, next question. What brought you to Wicked’s Rest or have you always lived here?” It wasn’t like she was going after anything in particular. If they were going to possibly be friends, Llama had just wanted to get to know Miyeon better.

—

“Yeah you’re pretty far from Hollywood,” Miyeon said with a wink. “I hope you’re ready for fall and winter. If you don’t have a snow shovel and some salt, get it now. You’ll thank me later.” She couldn’t imagine living anywhere without four distinct seasons so she was sure this was going to be a big shock to Mack’s system once it got cold. “But, on the bright side, that means you get to buy a whole new seasonally appropriate wardrobe. And if you’re anything like me, that’s more than a perfect excuse for a shopping spree.”

Miyeon had to take another glug of her latte to keep herself from saying anything stupid. It was too easy to make quips and jokes about being a fox girl, especially when people had no clue. But given the vibe of the party the other night, she wasn’t sure if she should even toe the line of revealing that secret any more than she already had. “Born and raised here, unfortunately,” she answered with a shrug, her arms out to her sides. “I know the ins and outs and then some for better or for worse.”

—

Fall and winter. Llama’s experiences with other seasons had certainly been odd. Though she had been around snow and the cold before, it was usually for brief periods of time. Shooting a movie here or vacationing there. But that was something that hadn’t even crossed her mind since moving to Maine. She had been excited at the idea though. The changing of the leaves. Sweater weather. Hot chocolate (with lots of cinnamon). And possibly even building a snowman and having snowball fights. It all sounded fun - a word that Llama didn’t take lightly anymore, “Yeah, I don’t have either of those. Where do you get that stuff? And are you saying what I think you’re saying, because Shopping Spree is my middle name.”

The thought of the cold made Llama instinctively shiver just a little bit. Could she even get cold? Would snow cause frostbite on her already dead skin? Just more questions she’d have to wait and find out the answers too. But she knew one thing, her coffee was sitting in front of her, and she was going to enjoy that, “Wow! So you could essentially be my own personal tour guide with the dos and don’ts of Wicked’s Rest.” Now Llama knew who to go to if she had a question, “Next question. What made you want to become a DJ?”

—

“Bet.” Miyeon was already making plans, lists, outfits, and accessories, she was ready. “In a month or so we should be getting fall looks. Get your PSL ready and we’ll hit the shops.” There were few people who could keep up with her once she was on a shopping high and, fair enough, that was partially because few people could keep up with her normally. That and she didn’t have a whole lot of limitations on her wallet and as much as she could insist that it didn’t matter and she could help, things could get weird. She had a feeling that wouldn’t be an issue with Mack. At least she hoped not. Unless financial ruin was the reason she was in town. Well, that would be a scandal. So really this was going to be good for her either way.

“That I could,” she said with a nod. “I’m sure you already learned the one about avoiding the woods at night. Like the news and whatnot does a pretty good job of advising that one.” Did they say the real reasons why people should avoid the woods at night? No, of course not, but it was better than nothing. “Ah yeah, that one,” she paused to take another sip of her latte before continuing. “So I studied journalism and communications and I don’t know if you could tell this about me but I like to talk a lot. Crazy, I know. I hide it so well.” Hey if she couldn’t joke about herself, then who could? “Anyway, I did a project where I tried out hosting a few spots on Leticia’s station. You know, at Vinyl Countdown, she’s the owner. Amazing, I love her. Anyway, she sort of showed me the ropes and I learned I’m pretty good at it and so here I am.”

—

Llama’s closet was full. So full that she probably needed to rid herself of some clothes, but it was hard. She had memories tied with every piece and parting with any of it would prove to be nearly impossible. It’s okay. She’d just rent out a storage unit if need be. But the last thing she wanted to become was a hoarder - where her next starring role would be the Hoarders crew visiting after reports from her friends came in that she had a problem, only for everyone to find her trapped under a pile of clothes, just to later eat everyone when she was finally dug free after being starved from human brains for so long, “Count me in. PSL will be locked and loaded with extra spice.” Yep. Storage unit it was.

“I’ve heard that one and about everyone’s suspicions with mimes.” Of course, she was also a walking example, considering her name had been stolen, but to her, she was just Llama. “This town sure does have a lot of weird shit going on.” Maybe moving here hadn’t been the greatest idea…But then how would she have ever met people like Alex, and now Miyeon, who was explaining, in detail, how she started working as a DJ. It was nice, though, hearing about someone else with so much passion for what they did. Llama had loved her job as an actress. And not being able to do it was something that had been hurting her, so in this moment, she chose to live vicariously through Miyeon. “Okay, final question…If you’re going to be my friend, you’re not gonna try and use me as a story for your radio show right?” She took another sip of her drink, which she was pretty sure was cold by now, but it’s not like she knew that for sure.

—

“Alright, that settles it. It’s going in the planner.” Miyeon lived and died by her planners. She would never remember when anything was happening or what she was supposed to be doing otherwise. Even if no single other person on earth could interpret her organizational methods, it worked for her and that was enough.

“You can say that again,” she said, pulling a face as she set her cup down on the table. Strange was putting it nicely but there was no point in diving into that deep end. Not today, at least. She didn’t know what Mack knew and honestly, there was a lot that Miyeon didn’t know herself about the supernatural aspects of the town. Her parents had made sure of that. All she knew was where not to go and what not to do. And that only made those more appealing, to be honest.

The last question Mack asked was one that Miyeon should have seen coming a mile away. It was her job to anticipate responses and plan follow-ups to a certain extent. So she was disappointed that it surprised her at all. Ugh, it would be so convenient to just go for the story, get what she wanted and to use it to get ahead, but as sky-high as her ambitions were, Miyeon could never step on anyone else to get there. Sometimes she almost hated it about herself – she could only imagine how far she could go by now if she was willing to look out just for her own goals, but that wasn’t who she was. Tragically. So she held back the sigh she wanted to let out and instead held up her hand, fist closed and pinky raised. “Pinky promise,” she said, looking Mack dead in the eye. “Friends only guest on my show when or if they want to. And I don’t snitch on my friends.” And she meant it. As much as she desperately wanted an in, a story, a break, anything, she only wanted it if she earned it, if it was done with integrity. If Mack had a story to tell, she hoped that she got to hear it. And if she wanted to share it, she hoped she could earn enough trust to tell it. But those were some big ifs that she knew might never come to fruition. And she was okay with that so long as she got something out of it all in the end. Friendship was enough.

—

“I’ll have my people call your people to set it up.” Would Taylor still set this up for her? She was her assistant after all. But did Miyeon have people? Llama was so used to having to set up appointments and even schedule time with friends that she wasn’t sure, “Do you have people Taylor needs to call? You know what, I’ll just put it in my phone, right here, right now.” Pulling out her phone, she opened it up to the calendar and put it down for October. That’s when it got cold enough right? Miyeon would have to be the judge of that, since Llama always stayed cold.

Once she was finished, she shoved her phone back into her hoodie pocket only to see Miyeon holding up her pinky and making a promise. Promises…what had she heard about them? That you weren’t supposed to make them in this town? And though Miyeon was a reporter of sorts, she had been truthful the whole time they had been hanging out. If she was willing to make that promise, then Llama was going to take it.

Raising her own pinky up, she wrapped it around her new friend’s and shook on it, “I truly appreciate that, Miyeon. I’ll be honest. When I saw you earlier, I was hesitant to give you any kind of chance. People in the media looking for a photo or the scoop make me nervous, but I’m not in Hollywood anymore, so I’m glad I’m actually looking past that and giving you a chance. You seem like a pretty good person. Plus, I don’t snitch either. What’s the saying? Snitches get stitches?” Or your brain ripped out of your head? Letting go of Miyeon’s pinky, she lowered her hand and grabbed her cup, “And hey, I mean it about shopping. You’re gonna wish we never planned this.” With a wink, she got up from the table and tossed her cup in the trash, before walking out with a smile on her face.

#para: lattes & pinky promises #para: miyeon #{that's not my name; plot}#wickedswriting #fox--tales

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