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Jangmi looks when she hears the door open. She's not terribly fond of having to share her practice room with people who are either a) excessively loud while practicing, b) don't practice at all and just sit there like fools, or c) people who ask her so how did you do it?, so when she sees Chansung, she has to bite back a smile.
"Hm," she says, tilting her head to the side. Walking over to where he stands in the doorway, she continues, "Who are you, again? Have we met?" Now that they're closer, she can't hide her grin. Batting her eyelashes, she adds, "Sorry, I'm quite forgetful these days. My schedule is just so busy now, you know."
That part, at least, is true. Jangmi has more on her plate than she ever wanted — she asked for a salad plate, and they gave her a seven course feast — and she's made more mistakes in practice this week alone than in the time since her debut. But maybe she needs a break, and, well — Chansung always did seem to have impeccable timing.
"Better now that you're here," Jangmi says, before laughing at how cheesy her own words sound. Although it's more sappy than anything Jangmi would like to admit to saying — and god forbid she ever say anything like that at a fanmeet — it's true that her mood had started to brighten as soon as he'd walked through the door.
Her hand on his arm, she gently guides him all the way into the room, closing the door behind him. Even if she isn't concerned about other people at the company — it wasn't like either of them have a dating ban — she doesn't like the idea of anyone but Chansung seeing or hearing her when she was talking about something like this. It makes her sound so weak, so ungrateful — so many people at the agency would die to be in her position right now, but all Jangmi really wants is to go back to how it was before.
"I'm okay," Jangmi says, more honestly. She adds, "Just tired. I haven't been sleeping well, and we have a college festival tomorrow, and I haven't made this many mistakes since I was training..." She lets her words trail off. The complete truth is that what little hours she had to allot to sleep were mostly spent trying to fall asleep, and she'd lost weight from the stress and a lack of appetite, and earlier at the dorm she'd snapped at Soohee, for which she'd be feeling guilty until next Tuesday, probably. "So I'm practicing."
Jangmi watches Chansung's expression shift, and she laces her fingers through his. "I'm trying to," she says, honestly, because she doesn't want to lie to him and only make him worry more. She smiles, then — a genuine one, because though she may be tired, her heart is already feeling a little less heavy than it was before — and squeezes his hand. "I'm okay," she says again, "really."
She thinks, then, not for the first time, of how lucky she is. Because sure, of course she knows that probably every CGD48 fan out there knows that Park Chansung is boyfriend material, but Jangmi is the one who gets to see it, the one who gets to know his empathy and kindness and feel his warmth and concern.
"Don't worry," Jangmi says. "I'm not hungry." She reaches up to smooth a hair that's sticking out of place, allowing her fingers to linger before settling on his shoulder. "And I don't want to keep you from your work. But if you feel that bad, maybe we can get something later."
Given everything, Jangmi has always been a reasonably well-adjusted person for her age. Maybe it's because she never used to have the burden of the attention of the public, or the responsibility of carrying a group, but she thinks she's managed the past years pretty well. So she's sure this will be fine — it might just take a couple of sleepless nights first.
"I'm sure," she says, because even if she isn't, she wants to crush the doubt. Because that's how she's going to get through this, right? Really, Jangmi is fortunate — she gets along well with her teammates, it's not like she has to learn anything new since she's been performing these songs literally since they were made, and she has Chansung, so she has nothing to worry about. (She hopes, anyway.)
"No more worrying, okay?" she says, smiling back at him, because how could she not, when he's looking at her like that? "But," she adds, "a break does sound nice."
Jangmi laughs. "I do remember, somehow," she says, even though truthfully she doesn't remember the last time she took a real break that wasn't eating or sleeping, "but I think I might need a refresher." The prospect of being able to spend time with Chansung, just relaxing, after this long day—week—month alone is enough to give her a little more energy to get through the grueling efforts of practice.
"But first," she says, "I don't want to keep you from your work when you came here to practice." Because although this is been a happy coincidence, it's just that — a coincidence. They are both here with the purpose of practicing, and as much as Jangmi would love to spend all day eating out or relaxing with Chansung, they both have responsibilities they need to take care of first.
She grins a little, this time something small and mischievous, and gives him a light pat on the ass, nudging him forward toward the center of the room. "Go on," she says. "I can't be the only one working here. I'll monitor."
