@LGCENT Just Posted A Photo!

in a perfect world, it would have just been lili and minkyu. just them, no need for lili to act up for anyone, let alone minkyu.

but this wasn’t a perfect world — as reality so helpfully liked to remind lili — and instead of it being just lili and minkyu. it was just lili and minkyu and a handful of cameras that were panning in on their every move and recording their every word. the things she would rather do — the things she would rather say are swept under her tongue and instead replaced with an appropriate, friendly smile rather than the snarky and amused — chagrin, almost — smirk.

a face the public could grow to like — a face she knows like the back of her hand. 

“i suppose you’ve got one thing going for you: good taste.” she laughs, eyes twinkling at the compliment thrown her way. despite of herself, lili knew she couldn’t deny herself the flattery.

( it was one of her weaknesses, ugh — remind her to lock it up later )

she takes his arm for hers to hold, squeezing his arm, gently, as she smiles at him. “ah, you caught me.” she laughs, lightly. “honestly, it was one of my favorite things to do when i lived in beijing. it’s like a whole event — you’d see huge, huge kites flying all around. it’s also about around this time when it’s held and i just wanted to share it with a special someone — thankfully, it’s you.” 

“oh, and we won’t just be flying them,” she’s steering him down the path towards the little workshop she had spent the past week researching. her steps growing hurried as they grow closer that the hand at his arm snakes down to grab his hand instead so they could rush forward. 

and once they do, in a plethora of sparkling hand gestures and a smile practically spilling of sunshine and warmth — god, was it aching her cheeks — “we’re also going to be making the kites!”

In Lili's company, there's an immediate sense of comfort that envelops him. Perhaps it's the deep bond of their friendship or the effortless harmony they share, but filming this reality show suddenly feels far more exhilarating than he had ever imagined.

With her, he doesn't feel the need to conform to any particular persona or mannerisms; he can simply revel in being his authentic self, secure in the knowledge that their natural dynamic will resonate with viewers.

"Who did I expect?" he ponders aloud, pretending to mull it over for a moment, mock-serious, "Some Hollywood celebrity, of course," before breaking into a grin. "Honestly, all I hoped for was someone with a pretty smile and a contagious laugh, and you fit the bill perfectly. I couldn't ask for more." His words aren't just for show or because he knows female viewers will be swooning in this moment; he genuinely means them.

Offering his arm for her to hold on to as they begin to walk, his glance casts up at the sky dotted with kites. "I'm sure flying kites will be a blast, although I've never tried it before," he confesses with somewhat of a sheepish smile. "I can't help but wonder how you came up with such a unique date idea, though. Is there a specific meaning to your choice?" His focus is solely on Lili, every ounce of attention on no one but her suddenly. "It's definitely one-of-a-kind."

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.

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

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.

“i think i passed him briefly in the makeup trailer.” what lili should have done was introduce herself but what happened to being a gentleman? should lili do everything herself? 

before lili could huff at the comment, he’s retracting it and all lili could do was pout — lips formed, whether because she lost her chance to tease him for it or that she was looking for an outlet to rid her of her nerves.

nerves? around jisoo — who knew.

“sure, i suppose that’s what you meant.” she could only believe him at face value, “how do you know we won’t start a fight in the middle of the shoot — strong personalities and all?” wondering where jisoo’s head was at — to put the two of them together, if that had been the case. lili would have thought it be a disaster — strong personalities often were, especially when pitted against another, if not, stronger one. 

if she chooses not to keep it, he thinks it'd be very amusing if a package arrived for her in the mail anyway - which haru and lili likely would be gifted after it was all over, when the shooting wrapped up, but jisoo isn't going to say that right now, as he definitely is no mind reader and cannot figure lili out - even after all these years, tragic. ( or maybe, the better way to say it is, he can figure her out, but its always better to not say it aloud to dispel the moment. )

the corners of his eyes crease as he smiles, nonplussed at her demeanour. it seems... the shoot will run smoothly? permitting that the two mains don't butt heads. "i mean, you know i can if i am in the corner. just don't put me in the corner, and i won't bite,' clearing his throat, he glances in the direction where she is towards and agrees. "perhaps that may be one of the ones selected. we certainly won't only pick one, so there is some variety." everything seems to be coming aligned, unlike the rarity in the sky that will never occur. but for him, the three of them aligning on the same trajectory was enough.

"have you met your co-star yet?" jisoo must inquire, since it is likely that the dual shots will come soon. "i hope neither of you will chase the other away with respectively, strong personalities in very different ways. its a compliment, i swear," he insists, holding his palms out.

໒꒱ . WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY # 002 _ IDOL JAPANESE: PRACTICE 、 aka “LILI, CAN YOU TEACH ME JAPANESE?” I SAID 「はい、はい」

it would be an understatement to say that lili take’s ichika’s words to heart. in fact, after talking to ichika, lili was probably more determined to the learn the fuck out of this language than she had initially wanted to.

it is no secret that she was confused by the assignment. like — hello?

xu lili … speaking japanese? 

girl had sat through the entire briefing thinking that she was sitting on an incredibly long practical joke — and yet, 

the punchline never came.

after the inevitable had sunk in, lili had gone to work. sulking over useless woes would never get her anywhere and lili knew better than anyone that no one was going to go boo hoo, poor little lili.

anchored to her desk, she sits upright and focused. what once was clear-cut legible writing has been reduced to chicken scratch over ever word and phrase she had squeezed out of ichika before she had to leave for her next schedule. the rest is what she picked up from random japanese learning videos she had searched up on youtube.

even though such a evaluation wasn’t going to be televised — hence the mock — the last thing lili was was a half-asser. she’d give them something to laugh about for challenging her like this — they would rue the day they thought they could catch her slipping.

if they wanted her to speak japanese, she was going to speak the best damn japanese she could muster in the three months they gave her to learn this language. 

a hand shoots up — “wait, wait — i said i sucked, i didn’t — do you think i’m a loser?” should she get her ears checked? did she, lili xu, actually sound that bad for ichika to immediately dismiss her as the affronted and absolutely — totally uncalled for — damning title of ‘loser’?

she feels herself default — not from discouragement — but the shock. never had lili ever felt herself feel so crestfallen — so rug pulled out from under her bewildered. again, it begs the question of: why was lili even here?

lili groans, feeling a crease iron itself permanently between her brows in concern. “was it really that bad?” lili was no japanese maestro but even she didn’t think she had failed as miserably to deem it — oh, god, lili didn’t even want to repeat it again.

she sniffs, bringing the stylus back to the document she had pulled up on her ipad where the rest of her diligent — but messy in the way a chaotic mind like lili could only understand — notes lay. “fine, if that’s what you think is best.” she taps the end of the pen against her cheek as she thinks.

“it’s supposed to be a mock of some hosting event, right?” she asks for clarification — “how would i even begin?”

In all honesty, Ichika did feel for some of her trainees. She had assumed that they would come with more experience but seeing that someone like Lili was being asked to perform without much exposure well, the more she thought about it, the more on-brand it seemed. When she was a trainee, there had been girls who had been chosen to take part in LGC Girls Japan with very limited Japanese, and some of them had been given more lines than she had. As long as you were able to make it work, what was the problem? Or so, she assumed the mindset was. 

“You are not a loser,” she replies even, shaking her head slightly. “You’re only a loser if you do not try.”

And to her credit, Lili does try. Ichika had dipped her toe into learning Mandarin over the last year, but for someone to ask her to host with a trace of fluency would have been hard. “You /are/ improving.” She assures the younger woman, “So long as you show effort, that’s what’s important. I want you to keep practicing your pronunciation and I’ll see about preparing you a phonetic script to practice with. If you can show confidence in speaking and continue to practice, a lot of errors can be forgiven. I’m sure you experienced that when you first came to Korea, as well.” 

Unlike the other two, Ichika knew that Lili went through a similar situation when she came to Korea years ago, and with that alone, she knew Lili was not a loss cause. “Actually, how about this: I want you to write down what you want to say and we can work on translating it. We can work from there.”

she smiles — probably her most genuine one that week; brow raising in expectation at his suggestion. “why — you’re not offering, are you?” lili has half the mind of accepting if that were the case, but maybe once (or twice or — how many times has she used him for such an occasion? she’s lost count at this point)

“oh, really, now?” her fist fits gingerly beneath her jaw, leaning in upon intrigue at his observations of the day — the retelling of an otherwise boring meeting spruced up at the mention of his mother. “tell me all about it.” eyes sparkling at the promise of something juicy for her eager ears to feast on — gossip, though unsightly, always had its merits in making her feel better, especially on the days her grandmother not-so-subtly ditches her. “how did she look — no, what did she say?”

call it an act of rebellion or a battle of wills — or maybe lili was just tired of playing the role of the ‘woe is thou’ and wounded — but the second she found out her grandmother had once again cancelled on her once again, lili was done playing a facade that was barely holding on by a thread. tape and plaster could do little to hold up what once was, such tools were futile to what true care and attention could do. unfortunately, lili knew such a thing — so, maybe in hindsight, it was better to shed these masks rather than cling to their rugged shards.

abandoning her role to play, sitting there to listen to a meeting that had nothing to do with her except play appearances was not how she wanted to waste her free time. the downfall of her crude decree of renouncing these responsibilities were that they had to fall on someone …. and sadly, that someone had to be yutai.

when she arrives, she comes with a consolation — or was it a perceived condolence? — in tow, a box of chocolates she had picked up in cheongdam on her way over. ducking into the fluorescence of the convenience store, she taps him on the shoulder with a passing hand; nearly missing his cup of ramen as she drops the dressed up chocolatier tote onto the counter. “as a thank you for your service today.”

it was lili’s best way of apologizing, even if an apology would never leave her glossed lips. ( it’s like they say, better than nothing, right? )

two girls freezing their asses off but don’t you know a gossiping hoe never gets cold? — @lgcmaylin

ever since snow had fallen upon seoul, the chill in the city had only turned for the worse — cloaking the entirety of the peninsula in the near negatives.

and you might be asking: just why was lili subjecting herself to the very cold that was freezing her to bits?

well — there were two presentable answers for such a thing.

one.

lili needed a smoke — badly — and the designated places for such a thing lacked the common decency of having a working heater.

and two.

she needed some space to air out her grievances after the last practice with a certain coach. and oddly enough, lili thought it was tacky to talk shit about an anal coach inside the company — but outside, mere feet away from where the door had safely hit its hinges, and even further away from nosy ears, did she feel comfortable to do just that.

unfortunately, the smoke that flows from pursed lips cease within minutes of another’s arrival. the cigarette snubbed at the sudden welcome, crushed beneath a leather boot, before being replaced with a pack of gum. it wasn’t a worthy substitute but because it was maylin, lili made an exception — just because the other girl quit all those years ago didn’t mean lili would ignore the other’s hard work just to get her nerves calmed.

immediately she flies into the other’s side, arm in arm, as if to conserve whatever heat the other had brought with her. “it’s so fucking cold tonight —” she breathes, the warmth of her breath billowing out into the cold in a puff.

lili speaks with an ease of someone who didn’t care of the eyes on her — then again, when had people looking at her ever mattered?

in fact, for lili, it was always the more — the merrier. 

she basked in the idea of eyes on her, whether or not, it was deserved. lili was vain, ambitious and had the cut-shit guts to get what she wanted— this she knew. and it was this same thirst and vanity that she saw in spades in jieun — maybe that was why it bit into the very envious tremble that she kept at bay beneath her smile. 

“oh but of course — we all know how some actress can be so, so high and mighty. primadonnas.” the words dance along a line of dismissiveness but her smile speaks otherwise, directed to jieun in a way only lili knew the other would recognize. like a snake as it slithered up to your throat, coiling tight in between words that could have been passed off as nothing. 

( except coming from lili — it was never really nothing ) 

“you guys have that saying right — the more a diva fusses, the more they try to compensate for their … shortcomings, is it?” she feigns the slightest uncertainty — as if her lack of korean fluency would tangle her words. “but you don’t have that problem, though — you’re always so well taken care of.” 

old vices are hard to relinquish, even when she has become a better person and is on her best behavior on the set. it's that same space that makes her wary of the friendly grins that would easily pull the rug out from under her.

it doesn't help she is there too, in a habitat that jieun judged natural only to her and her fellow actors, staff and production team, mingling around the people she tried so hard to impress and to make see her in a good light. especially now.

so even if the conversation a few steps from her is irrelevant and she's busy reading the script by herself as she waits for the next scene, jieun is somewhat alert. enough for the scoffs and good samaritan masquerade not to go unnoticed, but she doesn't look up to check who they are talking about. she doesn't even need to, because it only takes a couple of seconds for one of the managers to kindly offer her a cup of iced coffee.

"oh? you're a lifesaver! thank you manager-nim," she smiles genuinely as she takes the coffee and the man runs somewhere else, probably after another actor he had to take care of ( he wasn't even her manager ). the actress turns to face lili and flashes a smile at the girl, sipping her drink.

the subtle implications that jieun is making his life hard or abusing her power hit a nerve — not that it was hard to rub her the wrong way. jieun was guilty of many sins, but she never mistreated her staff or co-stars as her work and everyone in it were important to her. but, right now, she can only swallow her annoyance and do what she does best: acting.

"oh yeah, he is always in a hurry but is very attentive... it's not easy to look after so many of us," she points out with a grin, keeping it safe in case anyone eavesdrops. "it's a relief to know there are so many people looking after them too. you know how rude some celebrities can be..."