@LGCENT Just posted A Photo!

note to self: no compliment is worth a lost ciggy rip — @shxlgc

this is what lili gets for going out with a guy just because his mom said she had pretty ankles.

that would have been lili’s excuse if said ‘going out’ weren't as obvious as inconspicuous happenings that were cleverly dressed up as accidental — it was all a ploy to somehow worm lili into their little hellhole of a family and here she was, eating it all up just because seunghyun’s mom just so happened to think her facial symmetry was proportional to aphrodite ( her words not lili’s, mind you! ) — yeah, maybe lili was that vain.

and probably an ounce too shallow — but if she could get compliments on the daily from a woman who kissed up to her just because she had half the hope that her grandchildren could look as pretty as lili did just from merely growing up ( and not undergoing a pricey knife ahem seungah ahem ) then maybe lili wouldn’t mind it.

until she realizes just who her supposed husband to be would be — this guy, glaring daggers at her as they both stood at the helm of a fountain, staring into its depths as they look on in misery. their sole saving grace to this dull party had sunk to the bottom of this marble moat.

fuck — and that had been her last one. 

“nice going, genius — now what are we supposed to do?” she frowns, looking around to see if any other geezers were loitering about with an extra they could bum off of. 

the prettiest girls (spoiler it’s all of them) 183/? ♡ Shen Xiaoting

“and it doesn’t bother you at all?” insane. absolute insanity. country folk were definitely built different, lili thinks.

“a bit.” she mumbles, even if she could still smell the horrible stench of chicken poop, it did help a little — enough that lili couldn’t keep herself from winding her arms around the other girl out of gratitude, as if the smallest gesture had somehow warmed lili’s frozen heart in a matter of seconds. 

she wouldn’t call the other her life savior but it was a start, wasn’t it?

she smiles beneath the cloth, a laugh teetering at the tip of her tongue. “what would i have done without you?” probably suffered the rest of the day and then some, but she cuts to the chase. pulling herself off the other girl as she stabilizes her squat and stares into the dirt. “i just wish there was something i could spray into it, though. maybe it would help it.”

[ ♥ ]

jaekyung was a perceptive person. she could tell that some took to their variety location less enthusiastic than others. if she'd been a born city girl, perhaps she'd been the same. however growing up on a farm on the country side equipped her with skills that fortunately lead her to approach this outing with a feeling of nostalgia and joy while breathing through the tasks with an ease only someone familiar with the tasks could portray.

"I'm used to it," she thus tells lili as the girl falls down into a crouch beside her. exhibit a of classic city girl. "I grew up on a farm. so this isn't anything new for me," the girl continues to reason with a grin on her lips.

she did however take pity on the poor female who was obviously having a bad time. not wanting her to receive potential bad feedback from the moment this went live, jaekyung decided to help her out. "come here. I have an idea." taking her gloves off she made use of the towel that hung close by, sure to do a quick sniff test before she tied it in a way that would allow lili's nose to remain covered and hopefully kill some of the smell. "better?"

໒꒱ . TRAINEE MISSION # 15 、REFLECT

this is stupid, she thinks. 

it’s a waste of time, is another thought that boulders by, when she’s saddled with the sash that cinches her waist and nearly ceases the blood flowing along her thigh. when fingers curl into said sash, she feels her veins pop and her body tense against impact. it wasn’t that lili couldn’t play the game — she could if she really, reallytried to — it’s that she would rather be doing something that wouldn’t ruin her hair that she had spent all morning straightening out and give her blotchy bruises that would take weeks to go away. something like kite flying or throwing those sticks around.

what was it called again? yut … something …

yutnori, was it?

it was harmless — throwing around sticks until one or the other gets mal and is back to the beginning.

yeah, that was easy — that was fun. lili had enjoyed that. would probably go as far as to say it was one of her favorite games in the last few weeks. because that wouldn’t result in bodily injuries being subjected under the guise of friendly competition.

yeah — that. lili would much prefer doing that instead of being thrown about like a rag doll in the eyes of some murderous trainee who lili had probably fucked over sometime this year. ( not a joke, also not funny — and lastly, ow )

thrown onto her back — she cries foul! 

that time she really must have dislocated something, her shoulder? her neck — her entire left buttock, perhaps? something to excuse her from the ordeal of basically being pretzeled minus the salt. the round lasts for less than a minute, a flash dance of limbs leaving her breathless and finally she’s removed from the ring, left to nurse her ‘wounds’ by the side with a horrifying grimace upon her lips. the aching at her hip was sure to leave one of those nasty bruises she was hoping she wouldn’t be getting. 

but alas, said murderous trainee just had to throw in some type of special taekwondo move into the mix. 

once more, the thought crosses as she hisses at the pain now echoing from her pelvic bone: 

stupid, stupid, stupid.

“you have a point there,” she murmurs quietly, fingers tapping mindlessly at the desk they were seated at.

“don’t forget there’s also to, too and two. oh! and complement and compliment. it’s honestly insane.” her english as a second language class had been hell growing up; if she had been asami’s shoes, she would have thrown her hands up and called it a day but alas, here they both were, suffering through english. fortunate for lili, she liked learning languages; unfortunately for lili, it was fueled by her need to succeed and to prove others wrong for doubting her and her lovely intellect. 

“english is full of things that sound the same but are spelled different, it’s dumb but … it’s english.” she says as if that would help asami's predicament at all. it didn't but lili truly didn't know what else to say, "you know what you need is a break! should we go for lattes?"

Asami smiles satisfied with herself for pulling that reaction out of Lili. She shrugs, "As far as you know, I might only be able to count up to ten and know how to ask for directions to the bathroom. When I got to Korea, that was all I knew for like a month. Oh, and also colors!" Asami points her finger up like she made a discovery at the addition of that last piece of information.

She could feel her head starting to hum with the foreshadow of a headache. Learning new things that didn't require her moving often left that little impression in her. "It makes no sense. The best way to keep us from saying idiotic things is by not being able to say them at all," she says with a little pout and a sigh, but then she deflates, "I understand how this is important, since it's a easier language for most people to follow abroad, but doesn't change the fact that is so confusing," Asami points at the screen where she is seeing interesting language facts where the words 'they’re, their and there' are all side by side, "These all sound exactly the same."

“would it be so bad if i said i didn’t mind a kfc,” now who was she and what had she done with xu lili? the girl who complained about the smell of fried chicken oil and how it would induce a zillion and one underground pimples by morning seemed to be nowhere to be seen. “at least they would welcome our presence.” 

would they make a cake out of chicken legs if she mentioned that it was her birthday?

“yea —“ her eyes drift to her heels, “for sure, definitely not dressed for anything outdoorsy. let’s also not climb any hills, i don’t think my body can take any more stress.” she knows seoul is made up of nothing but hills but if anything, it was a subtle yet desperate plea for a taxi ride rather than slumming it in the subway.

her steps begin to slow as she thinks over the options more seriously, feeling the chill in the air as she suddenly comes to a stop and is not incensed by the warmth from walking. “mmm, i’d say warm and cozy. anything but cold, please.”

"we can make it work, even if its..." jisoo side eyes lili, "a hole in the wall." at this point, most things truly were closed around this time, but he's sure there were some homely mom and pop shops, or businesses that knew they could take advantage of these days, where everyone else had off. "i promise, i am not dragging you to KFC or anything that defaults in that direction." that would make it even more of an unhappy birthday now, wouldn't it?

"but you didn't even have a birthday cake... we're going to have to remedy that." hopefully it didn't mean him baking one but if it had to happen. if his eye does a slight twitch, jisoo doesn't comment.

"not to be completely lacking adventure, it is not about me and i'd rather not completely misguide it so would you prefer something warm, or cold, relaxing... cozy, or random and," heaven forbid, "i am not going to give you the option of outdoorsy because a, we aren't dressed for it and b, i'd rather us not end up sick."

being on her best behavior makes lili a boring girl.

and the last thing lili was — was boring.

maybe that’s why, when mischief springs into play, lili is like a moth to a flame. following her curiosity — to hell with the cat! —she wanted to find out just why this box was walking and who the fuck was hiding underneath it. there had to be a reason, right? what if there was a special prize involved?

phone in hand, lili forgoes the pictures she had been editing — the photobooth snapshots of her and maylin could wait — and follows behind the box, watching it wobble here and there until it finally stops.

and when it does, lili can only laugh as her shutter goes off with a giant, blinding flash! 

oh — was this her special prize?

“oh my god —”

or was this what they meant by good things come to those who wait? who would have known that all her effort — read: no effort — would pay off in such a way. for in her hands now lay the perfect blackmail:

han seunghyun, in all his scandalized glory, dressed up in what lili can only assume is some kind of mario brother parody — but uglier. 

and she was loving it.

“say cheese, seunghyunnie ~ or mamma mia or whatever your character says.” she laughs, taking her chance to get as many pictures as she can. 

✄ ⸻ 𝚂𝙷𝚄𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁 ;

@lgclili

Han Seunghyun does not get embarrassed.

He does, however, get so terribly humiliated that he finds his way inside a company costume party from the hidden staff entrance and hides out behind one of the abandoned non-alcoholic punch bowls with a ( confiscated - sorry, not sorry Jino ) box over his head for at least a half hour.

Why he felt so compelled to go along with this stupid bet in the first place is beyond him. This whole having morals and sticking to one's word thing was really starting to get old - Shit, footsteps.

Who dared to encroach upon his hiding place? He found it first! While silence would have been the better option, his curiosity truly does get the best of him. A little peek wouldn't hurt. Particularly if it was one of the model managers, he needed at least to know what kind of story he was going to have to concoct to explain away why he was hiding in the first -

"You."

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? )

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

happy international women’s day 💝 to all the hot and powerful women, it’s your day so treat yourself to something nice on me ✨

#lgctrainees #lgcent #xulili

years of living in los angeles had not prepared her for korea’s winters. even in the years she had been here one would think she’d grow used to the cold — wrong, lili would never be used to this bone-chilling ache that came with every gust of wind. 

it was so fucking cold.

“we’re crazy, fucking crazy.” she stutters out through a shiver, and yet — makes no move to leave. chewing on her piece of gum to a point that she thinks the gear in her jaw would grow loose. a hand raises to offer it to the other, “want one?” it didn’t help the cold but maybe it would quell the ache whenever her breath passed over her lips and she felt that chill again.

a roll passes her eyes immediately upon hearing the complaint. while she hadn’t been there, lili could only imagine just who mailing was talking about because it was probably the very same coach who had chewed her out the week before for not pointing her toes — and her toes were pointed! 

one could only point them so much in sneakers, you know!

she sighs, “so annoying. he’s probably a company plant — maybe someone’s sponsoring him. where does he get the audacity to ask us to learn a routine we learned only ten minutes ago.” even the greatest needed at least a fifteen minute window — including a break! it was ridiculous — it wasn’t like legacy was some kind of low-level company. lili had seen her fair share of those. 

“there’s no way he’d be acting that way if there wasn’t someone backing him.”

cold was never welcomed in the life of maylin. not that she had any choice but to endure it, she never welcomed such weather with a happy heart.

it felt suffocating to bundle yourself up in large layers and even larger jackets. she knew the majority were sweating underneath such clothing, which made it even worse. fleece-lined stockings were becoming her best friend whenever the brunette wanted to scatter the streets in her familiar skirts and boots. though, she never tried to wear such a thing during practice hours.

which, said hours were pissing her off due to a certain coach doing way too much to get brownie points from others. that was the most annoying part of her day, other than the snow.

she was so heated, that taking a step outside seemed like the only way to calm the soul down and breathe in some fresh air. it seemed as though lili had the same idea, even if she needed a moment to exhale a thing that maylin no longer craved.

"we're both freezing our asses off, yet we would; rather stand out here than be inside." she laughed the moment she was close to another, her language switching immediately with ease in her friend's presence. "can you believe that guy today? he's truly on some kind of high horse… who's kissing his ass?"