CHALLENGER APPROACHES ❗️❗️ XU LILI AS ❪ BAYONETTA ❫

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

once safely escorted from the room and out of earshot of the other girls and their excruciating ha! ha! ha! — god, kill her, it was like the sounds were permanently burned into her head now — lili takes a breath, then pauses — rethinking chaekyung’s words.

“wait — iv drip? needles?”

oh hell no — lili xu did not do needles.

( not unless you counted the needles needed to press two little holes into her ears — however, lili did not count those ; plus she had been too young to even remember the pain )

“actually,” suddenly standing on her own, patting herself; feeling her pulse, all that and what not — she smiles, shrugging. “i’m feeling much better. no need for an iv drip; i just need to lay down, clear my head, rest — that sort of thing.”

her brows furrowed slightly as she placed her hand on lili's forehead again. she was certain their temperatures were the same. however, if the older female insisted she felt feverish, who was chaekyung to deny it? she couldn't feel what lili was experiencing. chaekyung remained quiet, pondering what to do next. it wasn't until another trainee screamed with a loud 'ha!' that she noticed lili's eye roll. putting two and two together, even a fool could see what was going on.

as dramatic as her friend could be, chaekyung realized lili simply didn't want to continue practicing her scream just like her. hence, she decided to play along to get out of the situation, "omo, unnie, you're right. your forehead is definitely getting warmer. let me take you to the er so you can get an iv drip, stat!"

with that, chaekyung threw one of lili's arms around her shoulder, wrapped her own arm around lili's waist and slowly escorted her out of the room.

lili could only agree. animal crossing had always been advertised as an easy going slice of life type of game — no hard level, no cheat codes — that is until the new game on the switch had completely changed up the way they played and instead of being a mayor or a random villager of some honky-tonk town, you were now stranded on a base island with all the workings to make it your own. it had taken lili a long week to fully understand the mechanics but after that, everything was like clockwork — so, in kind, she could see where hyuk’s wariness of the game came from.

though, it did not stop her from wanting to push him into a pitfall. 

glancing at the screen, lili counts the branches that have fallen out of hyuk’s pockets and frowns, there was enough … but she was tempted to see him get stung by bees. it was all in the name of entertainment, anyways! hyuk would surely understand, right?

right!

“mm, i think we should try a couple more trees. maybe we can get some more coins.” she supplies, in what is a helpful tone, trying to disguise her need for amusement with a considerate grace.

“i think it looks easier than i thought”, hyuk found himself saying, slowly his suspicious aura fading, giving place to a more comfortable and trustworthy person; he could admit it was hard for him to open up immediately to people, especially when he was playing an important role, as a trainee contracted to work for an important brand. “i guess it helps when the joystick fits this good in my hands, don’t you agree?”

he didn’t really remember the last time he played games in a videogame, his parents ensured he could have everything he wanted, but he never thought about that, not when they all looked so expensive. so hyuk played the part of pretending he knew what he was doing and absorbed what people around him did, so he could still be a part of the cool kids gang.

“a stone for an axe? axes look important, maybe we should try to find it then.” he replied, scavenging his pockets, emptying them to show it to lili’s character. “this is what i have, do you think it’s enough for a net or should i shake more trees?”

“well, yes, of course.” but this wasn’t about her! giving her friend a narrowed look, she shakes her head. “god, guys are such cowards. being ‘untouchable’,” her fingers rise to use the appropriate and rather dramatic air quotes, “should not stop them from trying to treat you! boys love the unattainable, they chase it — it should have gotten you even more than chocolates; like flowers, a car, maybe even a building.” she’s miffed, obviously boys had lost their touch for pining. “it’s like in their dna to want what they can’t have.” 

lili would know, she’s made it her life’s mission to be chased but never caught.

“ah, but that’s the challenge to expect to be rejected and still try, y’know?” she frowns, pushing the other’s shoulder with a slight nudge before settling in her seat with a huff, obviously disgruntled at minyoung’s lack of love life drama. “no — not really? which is it? not no? not not really? so that means there’s a possibility of a someone?” suddenly, she’s interested all over again.

then she rolls her eyes, fingers flicking her hair over her shoulder, “he wishes but that’s for your ears only.” her eyes glance around at their surroundings. 

minnie chokes back a laugh. lili would always prefer a show rather than something subtle. but she was right, it would've been far more entertaining had it turned out she threw them in his face. or even better, an argument.

lili's reaction makes the colour on minnie's cheeks deepen. it was something to be embarrassed about! lili's surprise says it all. it's definitely strange for a girl not nto receive something. the most minnie has ever received were nervous confessions (and a reputation of being untouchable).

"yeaaah, i guess," minnie replies, unconvinced. it read on her face. minnie was grimacing. "you've must've gotten tons! i had a reputation in school for being untouchable. the boys would expect to get rejected..." at the mention of someone she's interested she kind of laughs. (despite a name flashing in her mind for a brief moment.) "uh, no, not really. what about you? you surely have someone you're fond of, hmm?"

all lili can do in return is nod. hand dropping once the other takes the tissue to wipe her face — and under lili’ scrutinizing gaze ( one that lili tries her best to disguise as concern when it really was just her busybody nosiness rearing its ugly head ) — lili wonders what had gotten the other so worked up. had sarang also been stressed over the setlist? or had she suddenly been delivered a bout of bad news?

she wasn’t pregnant was she?

lili does a once-over before shaking her head. no — that couldn’t be true. but did she have a right to intervene? she hardly knew the other — and lili wouldn’t call herself a saint. 

her eyes go wide when sarang begins to bumble — words stuttering out that lili feels herself freeze. lili was in no way a comforting person. sure, a hand on the shoulder — as she dead-scrolled on tiktok — an open ear and nodding grace — as her eyes glassed over and picked on key words — these were lili’s form of companionship when cornered with someone who needed a sprinkle of comfort and concern.

but words of ease? words of encouragement — lili feels her jaw slacken. “are you okay? it’s okay to breathe — i’m sure they’re not starting right this second.” shit, maybe not the right thing to say to someone who looked like they were about to drop dead from their self-inflicted hyperventilation. “okay, why don’t we slow down — uh … have you tried breathing exercises before?” 

“you know — like one, in — two …. out …” lili says, in her most gentlest tone — instructing in the same way she would her grandma’s dog. “why don’t we try that again? please don’t pass out on me, i don’t know first aid.” 

she hadn't noticed that there was another person in the bathroom. she was too busy going over every single thing she managed to get wrong during practice. not even mistakes only she noticed but enough to get constantly called out. her thoughts were spiraling fast. as if they hadn't been already.

then came the little prick of tears. what if this lead to a bad review? what if it lead to her being kicked out? the more she thought, the more she tossed water on her face to cover that up as well. but she couldn't bring herself to calm down. so it didn't help when she heard a voice and she had to kept herself from screaming.

sarang's face paused in horror for a moment. more so of the fact that someone caught her in the middle of a break down. it took more than a few seconds needed to process what was being said to her and held out to her. it took a few more seconds to take it with a slightly shaky hand and bow of head. "y-yeah." she not only mumbled but stumbled over the word.

"l-lili right?" she muttered back, trying to force herself to take breaths as she rubbed at her eyes. did the other notice she was crying? it only made her rub her eyes harder in an attempt to hide. her face dropped at the news. she needed more time. "u-uh..." breathe. "i-i'll be back in a sec-cond. um, could you.." she didn't want to bring anyone into her mess either. "i-...i- i'll be b-back...soon, i just need a s-second." now she was making a fool of herself but that didn't matter when she couldn't slow her heartbeat.

request for you to not be a bitch

request denied

FAINTING SPELLS     ୨୧     @lgcjunyi   /   on most days, lili could hardly care about the rigidity of hierarchy and its subsequent rules as outlined by said order. but today was not most days — lili had checked the list once, twice, three times and it has definitely passed the reservation time! 

it was her turn to use the practice room — and the last thing lili liked was when her time was wasted, especially on a day before her beloved day off. starting the week strong could only be graced with ending the week just as strongly, and unfortunately, in order for that to happen, she had to finish practice. that is, if her patience didn’t wear off as thinly as it was starting to.

looking through the rooms until she comes across the one she had reserved, she peeks into the window — finding it oddly quiet — huh? was it not in use?

opening the door, she’s shocked to find the collapsed girl inside, buffering as she stares, wide-eyed at the girl sprawled in the middle of the room — fuck, was she breathing? did she need cpr? 

how did that go again? 

scrambling to her feet, lili does the first thing that comes to mind, reaching for her water bottle, she dumps it on the girl, that should wake her up, right?

“no, no —” her hand immediately shoots out to take chaekyung’s arm again, raising the other’s hand to her forehead again. “check it again, i definitely feel something coming on.”

when the rouse is called — lili frowns. method acting, her ass! “everyone does that when they feel faint — me, i’m everyone and i feel faint, i swear it.”

she didn’t feel faint — but how was chaekyung to know? weren’t symptoms like these supposed to be subjective? 

“maybe it’s because your hands are so cold.” it was definitely not because lili wanted to be escorted out of this bird-infested hell.

( just when she had thought they had finished another trainee returns with a ha! just then — lili feels her eyes roll to the back of her head, her blood running cold )

"fine, be that way, abandon me in my time of need!"

she did as she was told, bringing her hand to lili's forehead to check her temperature. huh. the warmth of her skin felt normal. chaekyung wrapped her arm around the older female, this time placing her hands on both of their foreheads to compare temperatures. nothing. her hands weren't that cold, so she should have felt it if lili's temperature was higher.

her eyes narrowed as she squinted at lili. "your temperature's fine... and you look," she paused, scanning her from head to toe, "totally healthy." chaekyung let out a gasp followed by a low whisper, "your acting's so bad, unnie. the moment you said 'oh' followed by my name, you gave yourself away." as she said that, she pulled her arm away and gently pushed lili back so she could stand on her own. "nobody does that when they feel faint."

apparently, lili wasn’t anti-love.

she was more … love … adverse, if one really had to put it into words. it wasn’t that she didn’t care for it — it was that she didn’t exactly believe in it. time and time again, she’s been proven that love was a wasted effort, no good would come from it, that love was not worth the tears and the stress-related skin afflictions. 

but what could be done when minseo looked so adorably cute and hell-bent to prove her wrong. 

watching her friend set up her faux-presentation, ipad and persuasive tone included,  lili was convinced to give it a try — if only to humor the younger girl. who was lili to crush her hopes and dreams of finding lili’s one true love — actually, it was more accurate of lili to be that said person but she was feeling nice today.

( a rare occurrence and she wonders if it’s because of her new increase of caffeine intake ) 

watching the other swipe across her screen, she nods along to the facts — tall, good looking, athletic; they were all good traits. things lili never really considered when it came to her ‘type’ — did she even have one at this point when all the boys she’d seen up to this point had either been vetted by her grandmother or some backstage mishap that never saw the light of day? 

( lili doesn’t know which is worse )

“it’s not seojin is it — wait, never mind, he’s not 183 cm …” her eyes glance passively over her nails — god, she needed a manicure — before she takes in the headshot shown to her. suddenly interested, her fingers tap along the screen to inspect the blurry image, trying to zoom in; but to no avail, she pouts. “can’t you just show me his face, what if i go on a date with an axe murderer who has the same hair?” unlikely but true crime podcasts would beg to differ.

“oh yea?” a brow is raised, chin settled into her palm when her sights turn to minseo, “so, why haven’t you tried to date him yet? not your type — or do you have someone else in mind?” 

MINSEO'S MATCHMAKING SERVICES

If Cupid's arrows weren't meant for her, she was more than willing to commit theft in broad daylight and steal the bow and arrow from her most recent enemy. This February, she would happily play the role of matchmaker for two of her friends. She should have known better than to meddle, but when the opportunity arose, she had to seize the inspiration and commit to the bit. There was no way that she saw her brilliant idea of matching two of her friends ending horribly. Had she even asked her friends if the two of them were single and ready to mingle?

Nope.

It was her first experience trying to set up a blind date. She figures that too much information wasn't ideal, but at least she could ease their worries that she had thought this through. She had good intentions, relinquishing some apprehension and trusting her would be necessary. She pulls out her iPad from her bag, opening up the presentation she had set up for Lili. "Obviously, I can't show you his face, but he's tall —183 cm!— and looks like he came out of a shōnen manga..." She reveals a headshot picture, blurring most of Byeongkwan's face to her best of her ability, but if she was being honest with herself...

It was clearly BK. He was one of the few trainees that had a specific look, which had been added to the pro section towards the end. She had done this on her iPad in like twenty-minutes. A survey would not be given by the end of her presentation. "He works out, has a way with words, which can be a pro and a con— but we're working on it! He'll make you laugh a lot, your stomach will hurt by the end of it, which is probably the biggest reason you should say yes to the blind date. "

@lgclili

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

i'll be your chocolate, if you'll be my valentine?

#lgctrainees #lgcent #xulili