His Absence Doesn’t Escape Her Notice — 

her thumb slides from the capture button to the left — engaging her camera’s burst mode as she immediately steps back at the sight of seunghyun’s hands, trying to angle her phone to the best of her ability in every which way to get the best possible picture of seunghyun in all his purple glory.

oh, and a glory it was to see.

clad in his purple get-up as a character lili can vaguely recall, she finds it absolutely horrendous and it only makes it all the more hilarious — doubled-down by his horror to get his picture taken from the current circumstance, lili had thought today’s party would be a bore.

boy, was she wrong.

the moment he lunges forward, lili dodges to her right, side stepping the toppled over snacks in her need to escape. “in your dreams, seunghyunie ~” she nearly cackles, “this is the perfect early christmas gift to me,” and with that she makes a dash for it — immediately beelining it out of his clutches. 

It was almost as if when Seunghyun woke up this morning the clouds rolled back, and a higher power bellowed from the heavens and said - Get wrecked.

He can name a solid 137 ( 138 if you include the model manager he'd been avoiding after hearing word of a group Agency photo ) people he'd rather see on the Halloween of his discontent and unfortunately Lili did not even make the short list.

"Don't - !" The first step out of a stolen box is always a doozy. For a moment it looks as if Seunghyun's head is about to pop right through one side - Though he manages to catch himself and awkwardly roll from beneath it. "Don't you dare!"

Alas, the deed is done. His eye twitches with each subsequent flash, holding up a hand to shield as much of his face as possible. The costume was egregious enough without someone bearing witness to photographic evidence of his horribly drawn on mustache.

"Delete them. All of them." A bit difficult to be intimidating in a Waluigi costume of all things. Even on his feet towering over the trainee now, it's rather comedic. "Right now! Give me that -" he lunges forward, making a grab for it only to stumble a bit and jostle the table to their left, sending a few Nintendo themed finger foods onto the floor.

“was that so hard?” lili was no professional but she wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with the game. she had to do something on those thirteen hour flights from los angeles. sure, lili was probably being a little too forceful in her approach but what better way to show the gameplay than to test out each and every action extended to them. “how many did you end up collecting? i have a couple in my pockets, i think we can make you a flimsy net like the one i have!”

cycling through the equipment in her pockets, each one showing up with a flourish until she settles on the flimsy net that she wanted to show him. “like this one! and if we find a stone we can make an axe!”

the novelty of the game had died on her long ago but for someone like hyuk, it might be interesting since it appeared he had never played this game before.  

“this still looks so shady”, hyuk replied, eyes focused on how lili was playing and she looked skilled enough with her console, while he looked super awkward. he also didn’t know why he acted so defensive about it - it was just a game! - and people watching them would probably enjoy them being like that. “but okay, i will trust you”

in the next few moments, he pressed the controls like lil instructed, shaking a few trees around, but unlike her, he didn’t get a leaf, only fruits and branches. that game looked innocent enough and he was starting to like it.

“now what we do with all of this?”, he asked, his character collecting a branch, then returning to some random point on the screen.

CHEF BOY ARE WE FUCKED. where lili is no chef and @jiahlgc knows.

lili could feel it in her bones: exhaustion.

and it wasn’t even the good type of exhaustion — the one you usually get after a good dance practice, or after a hot stone massage. no — it was the one where every part of your body ached, even just moving a finger seemed to hurt. she frowns, pulling on the tap to turn on the hot water, ready to scrub her hands raw — as if doing that would clean them well enough to do their next task: cooking.

ugh, it never seemed to end, did it?

were they supposed to be variety stars or manual laborers?

“ugh, my fingernails are filthy.” lili mutters, more to herself than to anyone really. though, it doesn’t really hurt that the only one in earshot happens to be her roommate, who she is sure is already used to lili’s dramatics — if one could call it that.

her eyes pass from where she was currently brushing, hard, at her fingertips to jiah’s pretty manicure. “how’d you clean your nails so fast?” 

and then, after a long pause, with a hint of disbelief at the sight of her roommate: “— wait, you’re not seriously going to cook are you?”

໒꒱ . DATE LOTTERY # 2024 _ THE DECISION 、

it’s almost sickening the way the nerves crawl upon her skin — because what did lili have to be nervous for? it wasn’t like this was some end of it all will she or won’t she a la the bachelorette; it was whether or not she’d like to — as they say — ‘continue the adventure with their current partner’. and if she said no, she could always call minkyu the next day and it'll be fine — right?

( it would all be fine? )

and as nauseating as it did sound — because whoever came up with seriously needed to be re-enrolled in romance 101 — lili couldn’t find it in her heart to deny it.

even if it went against all her principles — and maybe lili liked to think she was a better person than someone who’d reject one of her closest friends and then be fine with spending the day with them as if nothing had happened — she knew deep down that: she wasn’t a better person.

and she was just the type of person to do such a thing.

but when the cameras rolled and she’s asked the dreaded question, lili is answering before she can even tell herself that her mask was slipping.

“i’m glad it was minkyu — if anything, relieved?” she tastes the word on her tongue — as if testing it, the korean phrase a hard sell for a foreign linguist. lili nods, once she’s reassured that that is what she means. “that my date was with him. i don’t normally share much of my personal life — my childhood with many people — but since i’ve met minkyu before, being able to show him something that’s so dear to me was really nice. i think it made us closer.”

and she really did — think — that it had made them closer, rather in the superficial sense that lili usually built her relationships — in particular with minkyu, bolstering him around town with her black card through meals and little gifts — the fact that this had neither to do with any of the above made it different, made it feel different and lili still couldn’t quite describe that feeling other than … nice. it was — it is nice.

“and i think that’s why,” she pauses, licking her lips as a finger catches a stray hair before pushing it behind her ear — building the suspense through a charming grin and a small, gentle hum before she nods. “i’d like to go on another adventure with him, wherever that may take us.” 

because even if lili pretended that she was fine with burning bridges and acting fine, another part of her — the needier part that had spoken in harsh tongues and pleaded her not to — had already shown too much of her real self in the form of a happy childhood memory for all the world to now see. and she couldn’t deny that because of this, lili — whether professionally or personally — didn’t want the world to see her burn a bridge that she had now, despite her initial refrains, cemented in stone. 

satisfied with his answer, lili only beams in response. maybe she should call it luck that the cameras were rolling — getting an complimentary answer from minkyu as so has never been easier. 

“alright, alright, picasso. i can’t wait to see what you come up with.” she teases, eyes shining bright as she looks from the set of colors she had already swiped to her side to him. 

every now and then, her eyes briefly glance his way — a mirror of the image she was trying to transfer to the kite itself. unfortunately, lili was no artist — not in this way at least — but she makes the most of her materials and does her best to her strengths.

in the end, her kite looks more reminiscent of those old school shoujo mangas she and taeha used to pour over back in high school in between competitions; how she had remembered such a small detail is beyond her — but here it is, drawn in it’s full length: accented with big yellow stars and overly-drawn pink and blue flowers to surround the image of minkyu in the style of a shoujo protagonist from the 90’s. 

her ears perking when she hears his completion and she immediately snaps up the kite before his eyes could take in what she had made — smile already just that bit triumphant and overall pleased with what she had come up with.

“okay — i’m ready.” she takes a breath before initiating the countdown —

“one …. two …. three!” 

once sung, she spins her kite in time with his only to feel her lips crinkle in amusement; laughter already on the cusp of her tongue as she tries to choke out a — “is that supposed to be keroppi?? or is it kermit?” 

Off-camera, if this were truly Lili and Minkyu in their natural states, her comment about Hollywood actresses would be met with a snarky reply;

Minkyu would likely respond with something along the lines of how she’s pretty cute, but there’s no way she could compare to someone like Anne Hathaway.

This, of course, would all be in playful jest, never serious, always lighthearted. But the cameras are rolling, and while Minkyu always strives to present his most genuine self to the viewers and fans ( slash girlfriends ), he knows this moment calls for sweetness;

it's a moment meant to quicken Lili's heartbeat and those of the audience.

So he gives her a sweet smile, one that seems reserved solely for her, and gently lifts his free hand to fix a stray lock of her bangs. "You should already know you're much cuter than any Hollywood actress." he says, his voice soft and sincere.

Even as they sit down, his perpetual half-smile remains, his eyes scanning the array of tools before quickly picking up the right markers and pens to decorate the kite.

"You'll be surprised. I'm the modern Picasso!" he declares with a playful brow wiggle in her direction, almost charming, before his focus returns to the kite.

He's chosen the same colors as her favorite plushie, even attempting to draw a chibi version of it. Though it hasn’t turned out perfectly, it's recognizable enough.

After a few minutes, he looks back up, a grin on his lips as he hides the result of his craft with his arms. "Okay, let's show what we've created on the count of three!"

You are lashing out because you’re too sensitive. Yes, I was narrow-minded for a short while. Get over it.

“you’re right,” she sighs — side-eyeing the trainer, utilizing her most famous confused expression: a draw of the brows, the slowing of her lips into a small, perplexed pout. “it also doesn’t help that he’s being so annoying about it, too.”

having been a transplant all her life, lili has been accustomed to not knowing where she’ll be or where she’ll stay. implanted from one place to another, from one caretaker to another — but never to the ones who really matter. so, she mulls over the question — one, to any other normal person, would be considered an easy-going, friendly question. 

lili decides easiest is best.

“los angeles.” it’s where she’s been the longest — so, by default, she supposes she could assume its role as her hometown as necessary.

“and you?” she tried to place the other’s accent but asking would probably be the easiest way to an answer.

Amelia loved the fact that she was a foreigner. She loved using it as an excuse during training and also to mess with other people. Throughout the years, Amelia had gotten out of a number of different scenarios thanks to the fact that she was a foreigner. She'd also made quite a lot of friends thanks to being a foreigner as well which was even better.

Amelia listened to the other girl, using her face as a mask to hide their true intentions. ❛ I get it. Some days are just not your day and when they add training on top of it it's just too much. ❜ Amelia shook her head softly.

Amelia was trying so hard to ignore the look on the coach's face while he stood next to them. Her desire to cause mischief and mayhem was too much right now. Growing up with two brothers had definitely shaped her personality. The fact that the other girl was just as into her idea as she was told Amelia that they would definitely become very good friends in the future.

❛ I'm Amelia. It's nice to meet you, Lili. Where are you from? ❜

the date lottery is far from lili’s reality — if anything, it’s her very own acting reel that she needs to polish up. and lili ain’t no actor — but what she is is competitive. so, she plays the show like how she plays her most precious, most interesting of games.

the more she can make the viewers believe that she’s falling for minkyu and his charistmatic charms — and vice versa — the more rewards she hopes to reap. ( whatever rewards may that be —  it keeps things interesting ) at any rate — from the subtle twinkle she spies in minkyu’s gaze; an unspoken agreement seems to form extended from their previous verbal wager — at least they’re on the same page.

“you’ve never skiied before?” the declaration would have otherwise bothered lili — why else would we be at the slopes if you don’t know how to ski? but she remains patient, calming that irritating little devil in her in favor for the calm and tranquil persona she was trying to portray; her brows furrow in a gentle confusion before her lips form a precious smile, almost amused at the thought.

“well, you’re in luck. my grandma has brought me to the slopes almost every winter without fail,” her grandmother had brought her once and left her to fend for herself with strict russian instructors. “so you could say i got a lifetime of snowledge.” kill her — kill her now. her smile brightening despite the cringy dialogue, trying not to laugh at her own demise as she looks to minkyu.

“i’ve been told i’m a good teacher, too.”

no one has ever — on this earth — told her such a thing.

her surprise is paused — a slow lift of the brow as she watches minkyu descend upon one knee. “thank you.” settling onto the seat, she quickly undoing her moon boots in favor of the ski boots that minkyu helps her into. a hand reaches out gently to hold his shoulder to still her movements as she digs her feet, one after the other, into each boot; making sure they’re properly in and not loose. leaning close to inspect her shoes, she turns her chin to look at minkyu, the hand at his shoulder squeezes it lightly, in kind, as her smile is practically beaming. “they fit perfectly, shall i help you with yours?”

From the very beginning of their fake dating experience, one thing Minkyu has been consistently grateful for how effortlessly Lili aligns with his vision of what to portray: the perfect blend of sweet, romantic gestures designed to set hearts fluttering, both among the fans and the ever-adoring staff.

“Well, well,” he muses, a playful lilt in his voice as he sweeps a hand through the crisp winter air, guiding her past the entrance gate toward the ski rental. “You and I, my dearest Lili, are about to embark on our very own ski adventure, from way up there,” he points toward the towering peak of the slope, “all the way back down here.” The distant echoes of laughter and excited chatter from other skiers weave into the moment, painting a picture of a perfect winter wonderland.

He exhales, a chuckle escaping as he admits, “I have to be honest... coming from Busan, where the sun is king, I’ve never actually been skiing before.” His confession is lighthearted, almost sheepish, as they step into the rental shop, where an employee has conveniently already prepared skis in their sizes.

But rather than simply handing Lili her pair, Minkyu’s expression softens. With an easy grace, he gestures for her to take a seat on the wooden bench before lowering himself onto one knee. His usual bravado gives way to something gentler; his voice quieter now, almost intimate.

“Let me help you put them on.” he says, fingertips brushing against the bindings with care. Because even if this is all for show, he’s determined to make it feel real.

lili is no big enigma. she is no puzzle waiting to be solved. yet, if you knew her enough — spent a speck of time with her — her tells are all yours to read. the smallest lift of the right side of her grin, the most subtle twitch of her eyes wishing to crinkle — it’s like she’d say: the little things are what mattered most.

even when her personality was as big as the eiffel tower — at least to those who knew her and her own version of crassness. however, she seals such honestly and vulnerability for off cameras. masquerading as a bubblegum girl, covered in glitter and sparkles was hard work but for lili, she’d rather the world think of her as such than demean her for being too honest, too open as they often did to girls who stepped out of line.

it’s unfortunate — if not a bit embarrassing — that this is who minkyu sees in comparison to her usual bickery self. 

( in another world, maybe the audience would find such a version of lili as comical and funny — but no, in lili’s perfect world she was pristine and smiley — not jaded and bitchy )

“do i?” the compliment is like sweet cherry kisses on the tongue, and lili relishes in it — smiling even wider at his words than she knows she should; biting the inside of her cheek to rein it in, if she could. “cuter than those hollywood actors you wished you were on a date with?”

a part of her is glad — that it’s minkyu she’s sharing such a personal part of her with. thankful — was probably the best word to describe such a feeling — at least he knew her, could connect the dots of a story lili usually left untold. 

she hums in thought, hands swaying between them, before she stops right at the table where their blank kites awaited them.

“okay! i like that idea — surprise me with your artistic talent.” she laughs, letting her fingers drift from his so she could take her seat opposite of him; fingers already picking up the paintbrush left beside the kites. 

He notices it instantly, without needing words or any verbal confirmation: he’s known Lili long enough to recognize that genuine, adorable sparkle in her eyes and the way her cheeks lift higher than usual when she smiles;

It might only be a fleeting glimpse behind the public facade ( which he doesn’t judge or mind, understanding the necessity of separating private and business life given how scrutinizing and judgmental netizens can be ). So Minkyu treasures this moment to himself, basking in her warmth and enthusiasm as she shares a fragment of her childhood with him.

"You look incredibly cute when you smile like that," he comments. Their fingers naturally intertwine once their hands are linked as he follows close behind her, voice joined by a light-hearted laugh, his brows raised in playful delight.

This moment is everything he’s dreamed of: his very own romance-themed anime episode, with himself as the main character and her as the perfect co-star. “Though, I feel honored to be the one you chose to share this with.” he adds, his tone shifting to something more genuine as he gives her smaller hand a gentle squeeze.

But true to his nature, his playful attitude returns a moment later. “How about we make the kites for each other? I’ll make yours, you’ll make mine. Then we’ll let them fly together.”

His steps slow as they reach their destination, an expectant grin spreading across his face. The idea of crafting something special for each other adds a layer of intimacy to this date ( and he's absolutely sure the viewers will love it as well ). "What do you say?"

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

first snow fall of the year! did your wish come true? 

#lgctrainees #lgcent #xulili