໒꒱ . TRAINEE MISSION # 15 、REFLECT

FILE: LILI _ PLOT CALL _ q2

SUB: EVENT

⤷  RE: TRAINEE MISSION 017

preparation thread: open !

bonus thread: with anyone i haven’t threaded with yet ~ !

⤷  RE: WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY 002

lili is open for plots ~ she is gonna struggle hard b/c 1) she knows 0 japanese and 2) hosting is probably her weakest skill

it’s like they said —

misery loves company.

and lili was no exception to the rule — especially when it came to jisoo. 

did she have the right? no. 

was she being perhaps a tad bit too possessive of a boy who obviously didn’t give two shits about her and her precious, precious birthday? yes, possibly, astonishingly, devastatingly — she was and she was not proud of it.

sitting here, more than a little miffed that he was appearing aloof — and not the least bit remorseful ( or concerned like what the fuck! ) to what had so obviously pained her, she frowns, even harder — fuck, was she going to regret the wrinkles such an action caused later — and turns her gaze away from him.  

she relays in her most poised tone — the one she used whenever she was on the phone with her grandmother and raised voices were not suitable for a pretty, pretty lady or so her grandmother liked to say — despite the frown:

“it’s not fair.” she answers him, pointed gaze turning harder — almost glassy in her distress. “you don't even care. what if i was dead in a ditch?" 

remorse is thrown out the window as she taps a finger against her arm, annoyed at the outcome. here she had come to apologize and he was throwing that in her face.

surprise, lili sits down by him. time was bound to lead them to this, since it was either them being opposite ends of a magnet, parallel lines yet never colliding for the next forever period of time, or that they'd eventually collapse and meet again. he didn't know when, or if it would happen again, but again, surprise- of course lili would be the one to approach him. ( maybe he's too good at this whole ' being alone ' thing, which is not a good thing... )

stubbornness doesn't really reward anyone, especially where there's a void of a close friendship that somehow falls apart. immaturity would do that to any pair. her comment makes him overthink, because during their birthdays, he did overthink. to say something or not to say something. but after radio silence on his own birthday,

"i mean-" wait, why is she turning it onto him? jisoo supposes lili always has a way with words. his eyes narrow back at her, "and what about a few days ago? i figured it wasn't going to happen when i didn't hear anything either." at least there's no filler smalltalk ( his ultimate pet peeve ), and they're straight into the thick of it. "that's only fair... right?"

XU LI YIFEI LILI, PERFORMER. ENCHANTED WAVES SANCTUM

she is a girl, just like the rest. her father sees her as such. no different than the others, just like the others, one more daughter to add to the his master plan. her father lacks nothing: daughters, wealth, nor ambition. she was just another one to be used for their father’s egostistic power play. her father, the founder of a well-known informant guild, had married into her mother’s noble family. the li family were well suited to his claims for power: they had both wealth and influence, built from years of triumph and trust; desirable attributes that only aided in her father’s ambitions.

pretty and quiet, this is your cross to bear. one of seven daughters, she is not the eldest, not the youngest, she is just a daughter — pretty and quiet, taught the bare minimum, ready to be sold off like cattle to the highest bidder. she’s seen it happen four times already in her twenty-three years. does she yearn for more? perhaps — there’s no other life she’s known except the one she’s seen within the walls of the li estate. outside was unheard of — a life she could only revere in her dreams. and in her dreams, the outside world is beyond the chains that hold her in this hell she calls home.  ( it is why, when she gets her first taste of freedom; stowing away in the servants' cart had been deplorable but thrilling, all the same, she wonders why had she waited so long to take a step out )

death becomes you. tw: sibling death, death by childbirth. her second eldest sister dies in childbirth. it’s an awful affair — the man was thirty years her senior and had left his wife to die as he held his newborn in his hands. to his dismay, the babe is also a daughter. promised a son, despite the self-evident reality that the li family found their luck in their daughters, he comes to her father with an ire to burn and an even more appalling offer. from this blasphemy comes yifei’s worst nightmare come to life. 

she is just a girl, just like the rest, part two. she’s known since she was five who she was to marry. it had been engrained into her memory with each waking moment and with every trivial interaction. her marriage had been decided for her and whether it be by the grace of god or not, at least, yifei didn’t dislike him. it is only when her sister dies does lili finally see the monster in her father. he is not only calculating, he is also heartless. her sister’s husband wished to replace her — with yifei. a payment for the defective wife he had lost. the night lili learns of this truth, is the night that changes everything.

death becomes you, part two. tw: murder, death by arson. she hadn’t meant for it to happen. at least — not in the way it did. she was to leave the estate in a fortnight, to depart for her new husband’s home and be his wife, bear his children and maybe, live the life her poor sister should have breathed. this is what should have happened. but suddenly the main hall is engulfed in flames and only yifei is there to watch it fall, ashes to ashes. ( she doesn’t remember how she gets out, had someone helped her? had she run off on her own? all she knows is by the time the pocket realm opens up, she’s on the run and suddenly her face is plastered all over posts within the district )

on the run: she is just a girl, unlike the rest, reprise. she changes her name. relinquishes claim of her sisters — prays that they had made it out alive, unlike her bastard of a father — but it’s too late, her new life had begun. a performer in the enchanted waves sanctum was not what she had always dreamed of but surprisingly it was better than what she had always known, if one could believe it. at least it was until one day she chances her face, its distinctive features all dressed up in charcoal, nailed to the post and a fear strikes her. the pocket realm hadn’t been her first choice but it had been the best one at the time. if she was on the run, there was no way they could find her from within, right? she could only hope.

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?"

VALENTINE INTERLUDE     ୨୧     @lgcjunyi     /     her throat was dying, after belting out to wicked’s naughty high note — broken glasses withstanding — she needed to rest. she had just given the room the best they’ve ever heard — to lili’s standards — and what she wanted was a reward for her efforts.

beelining to junyi’s side, she sits next to the younger girl, reaching for an empty glass to fill with the pink punch that was going around. the reward she wished to be collected lay at the other’s tongue: “i’m parched — how’d your white day go?” cut to the chase; lili wanted details! “some guy gave me the grossest flower arrangements, yellow daisies! do i look like a yellow daisy type of person?” 

meet ! xu lili ( 徐莉莉 ), '01 —  i’m the prettiest poison you’ve ever seen.

re:  prof  /  points  / tags  /  pinterest 

𝟭 . DISC — upon request! / TWIT — @/ninithots / OOC.

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

take me on a date to see nemo 🩵

#lgctrainees #lgcent #xulili

BY GOOD WILL OR GOOD LUCK? is this lili being nice or is it just luck? — @lgckyoka

one would think — if you’ve been through one thing, something similar to it would be a breeze?

well, to lili, she’d say you were dead wrong. 

( because no two things could be the same, there was always something different )

thankfully, this was not one of those times — these were one of the times she’s able to bless her lucky stars for being so god-damned, four-leaf clover lucky. but perhaps luck had nothing to do with it — because, again, if you’ve been through one thing, you’ve been through it all. 

and since lili had painstakingly gone through grueling work to learn japanese just for some mock hosting gig that never saw the light of day — to do it again, but in korean — a language she would say she was a little more than familiar with, well — lili would tell you she just won the lottery.

that is how lucky she thinks such a task is.

a breeze, it would be — despite her initial belief ( read above ) — because wasn’t hosting all about self confidence? and apparently, lili had that in spades.

and by her good fortune — maybe she was feeling nice or maybe she felt bad for kyoka — she saddles up next to the other after an afternoon lesson, glancing over at the other’s notes before pointing at a phrase she notices with her sparkly pink pen. 

“is this what you wrote for the exercise earlier? the one about improvising a music show scene?”

she laughs — an actual, loud-mouthed, almost snorting laugh — a laugh lili almost never lets anyone hear; and maybe it’s because of asami’s audacity or was it her comedic timing? or maybe, asami was actually that funny.

“you did not just learn that, shut up.” she teases, shoulder nudging the others as she shakes her head, nose crinkled and all at the playfulness of asami’s english. 

lili nods, understandably so to asami’s distress. when she had first arrived in america and had been placed into their special esl ( english as a second language ) classes at school, it was as if all her teachers were speaking an alien tongue — but now, after years of living and breathing the language and still being told it wasn’t enough ( hence why she was currently taking the english class ), well … it was quite the accurate statement: english was just so wrong. 

and yet, it was still considered one of the most important of languages to learn. 

that was some weird westernized level of thinking.

“you’re so right — but hey, on the bright side, at least they don’t need us to be completely fluent … just conversational? or like … maybe enough so that we don’t say … controversial things?” which, in hindsight, maybe learning a new language only opened them up to the vulnerability of saying something wrong …. well, that was for the company to handle.

When Asami was attributed with the task to learn English as fast as she could for the duration of the month, she won't lie, she was stressed. She doesn't know exactly why she never invested in learning English, to be honest, especially with how the company seemed to be investing in the western market as of lately, but after learning Korean in such a short time, and having Japanese to back her up as well, Asami didn't pick up any language books and focused in other things.

Now it's coming to bite her in the ass.

Though one must admit, trying to learn literally anything while feeling pressured? It isn't the best method. The teacher is nice enough, and Asami has been trying to focus, but when Lili interrupts her, it's like the first deep breath she takes of all evening, "The book's on the table," she says cheekily in English what she learned years ago when she was still in school, "English was one of my worst subjects when I was in school, I didn't think I'd need to revise those times years later," Asami admits with a sigh. "Korean was much easier to pick up, to be honest, now I'm struggling again with a language that makes very little sense."

any other day, one where the sun wasn’t in her eyes or the wind wasn’t messing up her hair — or where lili wasn’t paranoid that chicken shit had gotten underneath her fingernails — maybe lili would have tickled her competitive bone. but no, apparently that day was not today. and lili knew a losing game when it’s been had and from the get go — soap? was no winning contender in anyone’s book.

it wasn’t as if the people around here went through soaps as quickly as they would water — they couldn’t be that dirty, could they? she sniffs, trying not to appear too miffed by the idea before turning back to emi.

“surprised — why?” she feigns her own little raised brow in confusion, a smile playing on her lips as she looks at the juice cups. her finger dances in the air around them as she tries to choose, “which do you recommend, you’ve been here all day — which has been selling the most?” 

she swore, just when she thought she had legacy figured out, they wanted to throw another curveball-- like sending them out into the country, having them feign for themselves, or at least it felt that way sometimes. really though, all mimi could do was cackle at the different shenanigans they had been put through. it was all in a good fun, and honestly, she hadn't realized how sick of the practice room she was until they were heading far far away from it.

fresh air would do her some good anyway, it had been a rough couple of weeks.

and she liked competing. it was fun, it lit a fire under her, even more so when she realized she was losing. so to say this weekend had been... eventful was an understatement. it was nice to get closer to the trainees and unnies, though.

sometimes, this makes it easier to feel like she fits in.

juice selling was going well, and the team was excited, hushed whispers around their future spoils of vicotry when the voice rings through and emi turns, blinks a bit at lili as she tries to hide her snort. she takes the bill with ease, moving to get change, and gestures to the juices. "take your pick, take your pick. i am a little surprised you wanted to get one from us, though." she admits with a chuckle.