the merge | idol rp discussion

Mod

These days, Iseul finds herself heading up to the rooftop more and more frequently. She — quite literally — needs the breath of fresh air, to step away from the practice room. Even before the merge was announced, she had felt like she was nearing burnout, and now, with the addition of TYM trainees — well, it's like a reminder that she hasn't debuted yet.

That she probably isn't going to, at least not here. Not when the number of trainees has doubled and BD has acquired a new rookie girl group on the rise. But she doesn't want to leave the company, because maybe it's a Stockholm syndrome effect, but she can't bring herself to leave, or else she probably would have by now.

So when she sees that someone else is on the rooftop, she feels a sense of disappointment in the pit of her stomach, because she had come up here with the hope of being alone. But when she squints, the figure is more familiar, and the disappointment turns into a smile. "Minhyuk?"

Mod

Iseul smiles broadly, her face brightening as she makes her way over to Minhyuk. "I'm glad it's you," she says. "Truth be told, I came up here to be alone — but this is much better." Things tend to be better when she sees him, though those times seem to be less and less frequent as time goes on.

The truth is that it's been a long day. The seniors have been making their rounds, no doubt instructed to leave a good impression on — and, Iseul suspects, to help motivate — the new trainees from the merge. And it's a good thing. Iseul knows that. She's lucky to have seniors who are so kind, who have supported her and her dream all these years. But she also isn't blind to the pitying looks when they say ah, Iseullie, it's good to see you because they don't know what else to say to a girl who trained with them and still hasn't debuted.

She doesn't need to say that, though, or maybe she doesn't want to, so she just says, smile softening a little bit, "Yeah, I have." She laughs, a little bit, and says, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? You're so busy these days."

Mod

Iseul listens to him, watching him as he talks. In some ways, he feels different: a little more responsible, more confident, as he’s started to fill the role he’s been given. But at the same time she feels herself relaxing, because he’s still just Minhyuk—well, technically he’s Capt’s Mini now, too—and he’s still the friend she’s trained for years with.

She gives him a one-over, and her mouth presses into a thin line. She’s certain that he’s lost weight since the last time she saw him, and she doesn’t think she’s seen him this tired since he debuted. She hums in response and says, a little bit of smile appearing on her face, “Well, if you’re ‘not that busy,’ I trust you’ll use this time to rest a little and eat a little more, won’t you?”

She doesn’t push it any more, though, because she doesn’t really think he wants to talk about it, and she doesn’t, either—not when she’s finally seeing her best friend for the first time in what feels like forever. It’s not like before, when they were able to hang out together, eat together, when she could go over and they’d play games—“Minhyuk,” she says, tone bordering dangerously on mom mode territory, “if you’ve been spending your time out of work to play games instead of eating…” But then there’s the more important part, and she crosses her arms. “If you’ve been playing without me, I might need to find a new best friend.”

Mod

Iseul grins, pleased with his declaration. "That better be true," she says, "because if it's not, I'm going to find out, you know. I have my ways," she adds, waving a hand vaguely, because she's not really sure what those ways are, but she thinks she could probably needle a few of the Capt members for the information. Or, at least, the ones who've known her for a while.

(There had, of course, been the incident when she'd tried to make conversation with one of the new members, who had reported her to their manager under suspicion of her being a Minhyuk stalker, only to find out that she had, in fact, trained with him for half of her life. It was embarrassing. Not because he didn't know her, or the awkward conversation with Capt's manager, but because her behavior could be categorized as stalking her best friend.)

She frowns, and considers jabbing him in the side or stepping on his foot in retaliation, but she rarely sees him so tired, and that would be like kicking him while he's down. So instead, she settles for a scowl. "You do not always beat me," she insists. "Not always. Just... most of the time."