Realistic or Modern 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 — ic

[triples]

To: Those Two Bitches

Congratulations!

uxie x triples

 

[triples]

UN VILLAGE
by baekhyun

good morning

Sunny currently. The high will be 24°. Showers tonight with a low of 20°.

22°

Chapter I

the time for romance

 

[triples]

Ice Paper - 心 如止水

June Zhang

The smell of coffee was doing little to nothing for the hangover haunting him. Even less than that cold shower he'd just had, in fact. And, somehow, June already knew the taste of the warm drink was going to be equally useless. Maybe he should have brewed tea, instead. At the thought, his eyes flickered over to the slightly-open door of his hotel bedroom where, less than twenty feet away from the sofa he was currently trying to sink into, his new co-star was still sleeping — at least, he assumed she was.

Would Xia Yu-Yan be a coffee or tea person, he wondered. He would probably able to find out from the internet, one way or another. People analyzing her Weibo posts for her diet, perhaps. The corners of June's lips tugged up in mirth at the irony of that; there was the girl who'd been trying to snuggle him to death minutes ago, dozing off pretty much naked in his bed and here he was, further from knowing anything personal about her than some weirdly obsessed fan on the other side of the country, probably.

On the topic of her, he should be waking her up, shouldn't he? He assumed she had no morning schedule or anything of the like, considering how well she was sleeping, with not even a single alarm going off so far. But, still. The sun was already up and burning now; he glanced at the wall clock which told him it was a little over 10 AM, affirming the idea that it was time to be getting up.

He took a sip from the coffee and shut his eyes tightly, willing away the faint but irritating migraine pounding behind them. Damn it, he cursed at himself. He should not have drunk that much last night. His brain took a trip backwards in time to the gathering of the Flower Banquet crew, the event that had kicked off the dominoes that ended with June finally waking up hungover beside his co-star to the fifth repetition of his alarm's undying snooze function.

You know, you can just call me June, he remembered telling Yu-Yan, meeting her eyes for what was maybe the fourth or fifth time since their first meeting for the script reading. How that cordial exchange had lead to them making out in his hotel room wasn't really coherent in his memories. A whispered conversation here, a little bit of flirtation there and a lot of alcohol getting involved was as accurately as June could describe the process.

Oddly enough, one of the clearest images he had left from then was Yu-Yan's frequent glances toward one of the scriptwriters on their crew, which had made the actions on her part a little more understandable for him. Well, though her reasons didn't exactly matter. What mattered was that he didn't have any — which would be fine as long as nobody saw them but a real headache if someone nosier than they should be did.

He honestly couldn't be more glad right now that his manager, Yi-Tian, wasn't around, having been called back to handle some stuff at the company the day before. The older man would throw a fit if he found out what happened, for sure, considering the agency had been telling June to stay away from women while they tried to deal with the little problem Song Hana created. Too bad; they should have told him to stay away from alcohol instead.

With a soft sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and headed into the bedroom, leaving his coffee to grow sadly cold on the glass table. Upon entering, he immediately noticed that Yu-Yan was now at the opposite side of the bed from where he'd last seen her, tangled up in the quilt. Cute, he found himself thinking, but wow did that mess up her hair. Hana would never do that, especially since she- no. Damn, dating someone for a year really was no joke. He kept being reminded of her against his own will.

Quietly, he walked over to the bedside table and picked up his phone to check the exact time. If he could just get Yu-Yan to go back to her own hotel room before anyone came looking for either of them, he figured, this whole incident could perhaps just be passed over like it didn't happen. But, far from supporting that idea of his, his phone screen instead told him you idiot, it's way too late.

A notification stared back at him, proclaiming that he'd been mentioned in a recent article. Of a popular online magazine. A very familiar one, in fact, since it'd been at the top of the press coming after him for, quote-unquote, heartlessly dumping his ex-girlfriend. And the only thing he'd done recently that was deserving of showing up on there was currently making rustling sounds with the blanket as she rolled, once again, to the other side of the large bed.

June frowned as his gaze travelled down to be greeted by yet another unwelcome message, this one from Yi-Tian. Zhang Jun Wei, we need to... it began, and he didn't need to open it to know he was about to get scolded. Really passive-aggressively.

Here came that dreaded situation, June realized, where he now had to explain but had, well, nothing. Other than, of course, the age-old drunk and tempted excuse. And that would obviously get him on the news for a whole different matter — as in, getting murdered in a fit of rage by his manager. A beat of nothingness passed over him and his peaceful sleeping beauty over there, as the migraine grew proportionately louder to the silence in the room.

June licked his bottom lip that was suddenly feeling dry, before pulling it in between his teeth and biting down a touch too hard. If he didn't have an explanation... his eyes ran over Yu-Yan... maybe he should just make one? Why not just make it perfectly reasonable for him to be sleeping with her? It was a pretty ridiculous idea. Just the thought of it made June want to laugh at how absolutely fictional it sounded. But, then again, why not? That is, if Yu-Yan agreed, of course. Though he was about 90% sure she wouldn't, all things considered.

Well. First, he had to wake her up.

"Hey," he opened softly, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed as he reached out to tap her shoulder, "Yu-Yan, come on, wake up." A pause, before he tagged on, "it's pretty late, you should be getting up."

mood: sigh

location: hotel room

outfit: click me

interactions: xia yu-yan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples

 

[Uxie]

filler

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  yu-yan thinks...

  
  

  
  

  what? it's too early for— oh my god.

  
  
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  yu-yan looks...

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  where's yu-yan?

  
  

  
  

  a bed that isn't hers

  
  
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  speaking to...

  
  

  
  

  june zhang

  
  
  

  
  

  tags...

  
  

  
  

  triples

  
  
  

yu-yan

yu-yan had been caught in the middle of a really, really nice dream. zi xuan had been in it, as had her beautiful white cat missy, even if she'd been the size of a house. like a parody of clifford the giant red dog. the exact contents of the dream were difficult to recall exactly, other than that they'd been at a waterpark and that she much preferred the waterpark than a stranger's hotel room. she'd woken up with a start, the only thing keeping her from sitting up the absolutely pounding headache that greeted her freshly awake self. her eyes had shot open and then squeezed back into a wince nearly immediately, and yu-yan had rolled to her side in a futile attempt to quell the feeling of ringing throughout her head like she was a bell tower at noon. christ, how much had she drank?

it had, frankly, taken her a while to realise her situation. yu-yan's first thought had been what time is it? followed promptly by why is it so cold?, accompanied by a creeping sense of dread as her mind finally started to wake up. a furtive glance at her very bare self underneath the thick white blanket told her the answer she already knew, and she pulled the quilt up to her face and let out a silent scream into the fabric. what the hell had she done last night? who the hell had she done last night?

she made an attempt at rolling towards the nightstand where she spotted a phone that probably wasn't hers— it was far too plain to be— but would tell her the time nonetheless, hindered by the sudden pain that shot through her lower half. whoever she'd slept with had shown her no mercy. or maybe it'd all been her. last night's memories were kind of a blur for her, with the last thing she recalled being immensely upset by the sight of zi xuan making eyes at some girl in a private booth, followed by a whole lot of alcohol and a good amount of kissing with— oh no.

as if having heard her thoughts, the door to the bedroom swung open as the owner of the bedroom where they'd had their little midnight jaunt walked in. yu-yan's eyes immediately squeezed shut as her brain automatically decided the best option would be to feign sleep, though as zhang junwei approached the nightstand she'd been making a break for, it was seeming less and less like the greatest decision she's ever made. he hadn't said a word to her, though. he must not have noticed—

"hey," yu-yan nearly flinched at his sudden words, feeling the mattress shift around his weight. a tap on her bare shoulder that made her feel infinitely more vulnerable. "yu-yan, come on. wake up. it's pretty late, you should be getting up." it was time for her to put all her years of acting to good use.

with the groggiest whine she could manage, yu-yan performed one more calculated roll to her side before cautiously opening her eyes to a squint.

"mmm... what time is it?"

was that a convincing mumble? she was pretty sure she put the right amount of just-woke-up into it. pushing herself up into a sitting position, careful to remain covered by the blanket, yu-yan feigned confusion as she finally met june's eyes, as if she hadn't already had the same crisis just moments ago.

"junwei? what are you doing in my...?"

the next bit was practically a re-enactment of the earlier events; a bewildered look around at her surroundings, then the expression of dread as understanding dawned on her.

"oh my god."

yu-yan murmured, her eyes widening in a show of sudden alertness, though the pain that flashed across her face after was genuine. couldn't he have been gentler? she almost scowled at the thought but forced herself to keep her features in a state of innocent ignorance. it helped that her next question was something she actually needed to know the answer to.

"what did we do last night?"

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[triples]

Ice Paper - 心 如止水

June Zhang

Was that a flash of unnaturalness he saw? Or was he so used to Hana's little plays that he'd become all too cynical in these situations? Either way, June's eyes narrowed by the slightest margin as he watched Yu-Yan roll over to face him, her expression and tone perfectly representative of someone who'd just been woken up as she uttered her first words of the day.

He'd never sat down to watch her acting, aside from some fleeting drama scenes, but he trusted many years of experience in any field to translate to some degree of skill. Which, of course, didn't help at all in erasing his sudden suspicion that her waking up wasn't really the first time she'd opened her eyes that morning. But, well. What did it matter to him if she wanted to feign some shock for the sake of the moment? This play, if it really was one, didn't leave a bad taste in his mouth, at least. It was just comical in a rather cute way.

"Oh my god," she mumbled, before sharply raising her gaze to meet his again, looking very convincingly like she'd only just realized what was going on. And if the bewilderment on her face right then wasn't real, the flinch that came after as she tensed up surely was. Ah, should he feel bad for that? Because he really didn't; to be fair, it was hard to feel guilty for something you only have hazy memories of doing. He should still get her a pain reliever pill or the like, though.

He filed that thought away as Yu-Yan continued speaking. Her eyes, which he honestly thought couldn't possibly get wider but was clearly wrong about, bore into him with almost painful innocence. June felt abruptly like a villain who'd stolen a princess away. No, she was more like a small animal. A rabbit, maybe? Through the split-second of silence, the girl's tone shifted into an apprehensive yet naive stutter as she questioned, "What did we do last night?"

... Was she a virgin? Surely not. So why was she asking this as if she was that pure? June's brow raised in a judgemental arch as he looked on at her, unsure if her question was meant to be rhetorical. The answer to it couldn't really get more obvious than the current circumstances, after all. When an awkward beat passed without further words from either of them, though, he finally had to accept it wasn't.

"What do you think?" He deadpanned, head tilting toward her skirt that was still loitering at the edge of the bed, looking rather dastardly abandoned. As his gaze travelled back to meet hers, still dripping with doe-eyed oblivion, June barely caught himself from breaking out into a laugh. A soft, amused chuckle still slipped through, though, that he quickly sought to cut off by breaking their mutual stare. He stood up, realizing that one of them had to be leaving to get rid of this stalemate between them. And, clearly, it wasn't going to be Yu-Yan without her clothes. At least, she didn't come off nearly that bold.

"Do you want a shirt or something?" He took it upon himself to ask as he picked up his phone in preparation to leave the room. The device reminded him of the article that had almost slipped his mind but he put it aside again in favour of his current conversation. "I mean, your clothes are still..." he trailed off, realizing he didn't really know their exact locations. Where had her shirt gone, actually? "Somewhere, in this hotel room," he ended, sounding half-hearted as he gestured vaguely to their surroundings, "probably."

He paused to glance at his co-star. This wasn't the first time he'd been in this one-night stand sort of situation but it was, hopefully, the only time which he'd had no choice but to continue facing the other party so frequently at work. He felt almost pressured to handle this properly in case of future tension. Well, unless they make it more than a one night thing, which would make the memory of last night considerably easier to get over. That wasn't talk for the current mess that his hangover-influenced and her confounded minds were, though, obviously.

"Anyway, if you do need one, there's a bunch in this wardrobe," he continued while walking toward the black dresser across the bed, knocking lightly on its door as he reached it. "Just... take whatever." Another pause. His gaze took in the state of her messy hair and bare shoulders, before tagging on, "Feel free to shower, too, if you want to." With those words, his slow steps had gotten him to the door and June delivered the finale to his monologue: "Hey, also, do you like coffee or tea?"

mood: maybe too calm

location: hotel room

outfit: click me

interactions: xia yu-yan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples

 

[Uxie]

filler

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  yu-yan thinks...

  
  

  
  

  what now?

  
  
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  yu-yan looks...

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  where's yu-yan?

  
  

  
  

  a room that isn't hers

  
  
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  speaking to...

  
  

  
  

  june zhang

  
  
  

  
  

  tags...

  
  

  
  

  triples

  
  
  

yu-yan

yu-yan stared at him, waiting expectantly for an explanation she so desperately needed about her hazy memories of last night, though all she received was the raise of an eyebrow that made her feel oddly self-conscious. scratch that, very self-conscious, considering the only thing maintaining whatever was left of her dignity was a blanket.

"what do you think?" she nearly made a noise of frustration at his matter-of-fact answer that told her nothing of what she needed to know, though her eyes followed the tilt of his head to the article of clothing strewn just near where her feet were, the silver material almost scolding her for having forgotten about it. somehow, the sight of what she remembered wearing at the party made her flush, her already pink cheeks turning one shade rosier. yu-yan met junwei's gaze again, her eyebrows straining to not drop into furrow as she noticed the amusement that crossed his features, accompanied by what sounded like a soft laugh as he broke eye contact. was it a laugh? her lips dropped into a slight pout as he got to his feet, upset that she was now the object of his amusement. "do you want a shirt or something? i mean your clothes are still.... somewhere, in this hotel room. probably."

yu-yan made a half-hearted attempt to find the rest of her clothing as he spoke, but her search came up futile. it seemed the skirt was the last piece of her outfit to come off. where was her bag? "anyway, if you do need one, there's a bunch in this wardrobe." junwei knocked lightly against the dresser as he headed for the door, and yu-yan stared at it, and then her co-star. wear his clothes? "just... take whatever. feel free to shower, too, if you want to." admittedly, his almost too-calm approach to the whole matter was changing her impression of him entirely. was he used to this sort of thing? she didn't know enough about him to say for sure, but his practised demeanour was telling, to say the least. she remembered vaguely of wenxin trying to show her some gossip about him, but she'd been far too forlorn about her breakup to have internalised any of what her manager had been telling her, especially since it was probably all tabloid news. she was well aware that magazines were rarely fond of celebrities.

he'd reached the door by now, and yu-yan's gaze remained on him, hoping he would leave a little faster so she could have her second breakdown in peace. he paused, as if considering something, then added, "hey, also, do you like coffee or tea?" confusion flitted across her face as she processed his question.

"um. tea."

yu-yan replied haltingly, her bewilderment still clearly evident in her voice. was this usual one-night-stand etiquette? or was he just being particularly kind? either way, she supposed she shouldn't be impolite.

"thank you...?"

the end of her sentence lilted upwards, as if she was unsure of her words, her lips pulled into an apprehensive smile.

the door shut with a quiet click, and yu-yan let out a loud sigh before diving back under the duvet and letting out a muted shriek. it was like interacting with him had made her fully aware of the gravity of the situation, and it was now hitting her harder than ever. what the hell had she been thinking? had they used protection? they'd better have. she was not ready to deal with the responsibility of pregnancy, especially not for a guy she didn't love. yu-yan surfaced from the sea of blankets, gasping slightly for breath, though her agitation had barely subsided. had it just been a fit of anger at seeing zi xuan with another girl? she wanted it to justify her actions, but she'd almost definitely gone further than him last night. probably. did she? she slapped her cheeks, the sting granting her a moment of clarity. whatever had happened had happened, and now the more important thing was getting out of here. her gaze drifted to the dresser, then to the bathroom door.

well, he had offered, right?

yu-yan emerged 25 minutes later, clad in a makeshift outfit she'd pieced together from her recycled skirt and a shirt from junwei's wardrobe. it was still a little big on her, but she was able to minimise looking like a child trying to pass for an adult by tucking it into her skirt, even if the sleeves were a little long. she'd fiddled around with rolling them up for all of 5 minutes before she resigned herself to her fate, folding it up marginally so her fingers could be seen at least.

her entrance into the hotel living room where her co-star had disappeared into quite some time ago was cautious, cracking open the door to catch a peek of him before gathering all of her confidence to walk out there like nothing was wrong. if he seemed so used to it, yu-yan thought she should do the same, just to prevent the atmosphere from descending into awkwardness. closing the door behind her, she made it all of 3 steps before her mind caught up to her. it was simultaneously hilarious and disheartening realising that she'd never had to act out a scene around "dealing with a one night stand". should she say hello? or was that, like, super weird? were you supposed to acknowledge each other after you had sex?

yu-yan regarded junwei for a moment before her gaze flicked elsewhere, almost as if avoiding his eyes. her attention landed on the shelf above the minifridge, where her bag was seated pristinely. her face lit up as soon as she set eyes on it, and she hurried over, picking it up lovingly, like it was a child she'd been separated from. which was true in a sense. with that, she turned back to her co-star, somehow significantly more comfortable now that she'd been reunited with her purse.

"may i sit?"

she asked, gesturing to the settee adjacent to where he was seated.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[triples]

Ice Paper - 心 如止水

June Zhang

As the he watched the water boil through the translucent screen of the electric kettle, June fell into a sort of trance, thoughts wandering off to nowhere in particular. What was left of his focus was directed at actively ignoring his incoming texts. He already knew what it was going to be about, anyway. He had to admit last night was a pretty bad move on his part, though whether it was uncharacteristic could be up for debate. June would say no, it technically wasn't, especially when it came to colleagues. His manager might angrily disagree.

The sound of a click brought June back to reality. Was that the sound of the kettle having accomplished its task or his bedroom door opening? The calmness of the scene before him — the still surface of the water, the emptiness of his living room — gave him his answer. He poured water into the already prepared cup with the practised ease of a barista, an atypically elegant action unlike its common nature. One of the perks of being a caffeine addict, he supposed.

It didn't take long for the second click to interrupt the silence once again. This time, when his gaze swept over his surroundings, he came face-to-face with Yu-Yan, just in time to catch her moment of awkwardness before she straightened up and walked out with noticeably more confidence. Fake confidence, he assumed, because something about the way she held herself said she had no idea what to do with this situation. Good, he thought, same. He'd like to believe he was better at hiding it, though, if for no other reasons than because he was in his own room and had woken up much earlier.

His attention followed her figure as she headed straight toward where he had put away her bag, reclaiming it with visible relief. He looked away from her just as she turned to face him, placing down her cup of tea on the counter as he took a seat himself. "May I sit?" Yu-Yan questioned, her voice having regained some of its color. A sudden improvement. He wondered why. He also wondered how long that would last after he told her about the currently trending article exploring their relationship.

"Go ahead," June replied, flashing her a smile, "the tea's for you, anyway." He gave her a brief glance over as she sat down, eyes catching on how the sleeves of his shirt extended beyond her hand, flopping around as she moved. The fleeting idea that he'd had back in the room returned to him; the creation of the perfect, undeniable excuse for Yu-Yan to be disappearing into his hotel room at night. He shifted in his seat, facing slightly toward his companion, elbow propped up on the cool surface so he could lean against the table.

"By the way," he spoke up again, his calm, friendly tone replaced by something akin to the one he'd used last night, while they were on the fast track to getting drunk. "Are you single?" It was a rather sudden question, but he wasn't sure there was any proper kind of build-up he could have made to it in their current circumstances. It was also pretty much rhetorical. The answer was clearly yes. Right?

mood: lowkey scheming

location: hotel room

outfit: click me

interactions: xia yu-yan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples

 

[Uxie]

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  nervous laughter

  
  
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  where's yu-yan?

  
  

  
  

  a room that isn't hers

  
  
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  speaking to...

  
  

  
  

  june zhang

  
  
  

  
  

  tags...

  
  

  
  

  triples

  
  
  

yu-yan

"go ahead. the tea's for you, anyway." his tone was smooth, confident, and the easy smile he gave her made her heart skip a beat. yu-yan thought it was more from embarrassment than anything, and it didn't help that her new... lover? was devilishly handsome. that was all to it, though. it'd be hard to get cast in anything if he wasn't handsome, right? junwei wasn't her type, anyways. the face of her too-specific type flashed briefly across her mind, and she waved it aside to quell the rise of emotions in her chest. she missed him, but she wasn't about to cry in front of junwei. and, yu-yan was supposed to be sulking, though this was far from her usual routine for sulking.

taking his cue, she sat down, placing her bag on her lap. she paused for an uncomfortably long beat like she was malfunctioning, before resuming animation, though her wooden posture was still very much reminiscent of a statue. she reached for the cup he'd set on the table, smelling it to confirm that it was, in fact, tea, and was still warm. he was very gentlemanly for a one-night-stand. maybe it was etiquette? perhaps she should get him a thank-you gift for how well he'd treated her, but maybe that was past what etiquette allowed.

yu-yan hazarded another shy peek at him over the rim of the mug as she took a sip, studying his features. how'd he manage to look so put-together? and how did his jawline look so sharp? yeah, she had to admit he was handsome. but it was whatever, because nothing would come out of it. she was only on a break, and maybe by next week, she'd have a boyfriend again. she'll drink her tea, apologise for overstepping her boundaries last night, and then skip on right out of there. pretend nothing had happened when she ran into him on set. it sounded like the perfect plan.

"by the way," his sudden words made her jump slightly, her eyes flicking back to her cup hurriedly. "are you single?"

yu-yan spluttered, lifting the cup away from her lips as she coughed.

"excuse me?"

there went her plan. she shot him with an incredulous expression, though the one he returned told her his question was serious.

"ye-

she started, only to catch herself. technically, she wasn't. was being on break being not-single? she didn't want to say 'it's complicated' because people who used that status were always holding onto something that wasn't there anymore, but, well, that was her situation, wasn't it?

"no. why?"

he couldn't have asked because he was... into her, right? yu-yan paused, then fixed him with wide eyes as mild concern flicked across her face.

"i should let you know that i'm not looking for a relationship right now."

yeah, if she just told him she wasn't interested, then her plan would be back on track. she'd just apologise, and then dip out of there.

"sorry about last night. it was... a mistake. and i'd be really, really grateful if we just pretended nothing happened."

she offered a stiff smile, her hands reaching nervously for the cup again. what could he do besides let her go, right? yeah. everything was fine.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[triples]

Ice Paper - 心 如止水

June Zhang

As it would turn out, he was surprisingly wrong. Of course, it wasn't like cheating was uncommon in their business — he should know, having been a victim of one such instance not too long ago. The answer was just more surprising coming from someone with such a harmless countenance. June thought back to the many glances his co-star shot in the direction of the scriptwriters' table; a fight, he guessed. Or one of those, you know, it's complicated situations. Well, either way, that made things slightly harder for him. He took another sip of his now not-hot-enough coffee, mulling over the new information.

"I should let you know that I'm not looking for a relationship right now," Yu-yan interjected his thoughts, her voice holding a tinge of worry. He glanced up at her, realizing that she had understandably thought he was trying to hit on her. Though, he supposed, he was long past just trying, now that she was in his hotel room the morning after. Perhaps the better term was ask her out. He took in her almost blindingly innocent-seeming, nervous figure once again. She was beautiful, for sure. Just not really his type.

Your type is Song Hana, his brain reminded. June stifled a frown. Well, then again, maybe he was sick of his type.

"Sorry about last night. It was... a mistake," his co-star spoke up again, a little hurriedly, a stiff smile etched onto her otherwise soft features. The feeling was mutual, of course, but - "And I'd be really, really grateful if we just pretended nothing happened." - this part was not. Because he knew that was impossible. They could try, of course, but the paparazzi sure wasn't going to help them. He stared at her for a moment, waiting until she finally looked up from her tea for a fleeting second and their gazes met.

"You haven't checked your phone, huh?" He asked, rather off-handedly, as he glanced away from her to unlock his own phone, careful not to accidentally click on Yi-Tian's messages. Without the need for much searching, he found the link to the article about them and opened it — truly the convenience of modern-day life, displaying the things you want to see least with a single tap.

Wordlessly, he turned the screen toward her, a wry smile on his lips that even he wasn't sure was aimed at her or himself. Another sip of his coffee. The moment passes in silence. He pulled back the device and, with a slight shrug of his shoulders, told her, "Don't get me wrong, of course, we both know last night was just a drunk thing. I'm just saying-" He trailed off as another message came in; his manager, now on his way back and angry as ever. He casually swiped it away and locked the phone, placing it down beside his mug.

"Thinking we could at least get something out of this," He finally continued, turning back to her. Though, he supposed he expected a rejection anyway. He was just comforted by the fact that she just wanted to hide this whole thing. Other alternatives would be more trouble for him, after all. Well, now he should get as much evidence of his crime away from the scene before his interrogation, he supposed. Even if his guilt was clear to see already. What was a nice, non-offensive way to ask a person to get out of your house without even finishing their tea?

mood: oh well

location: hotel room

outfit: click me

interactions: xia yu-yan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples

 

[Uxie]

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  yu-yan thinks...

  
  

  
  

  yikes!!! big yikes

  
  
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  where's yu-yan?

  
  

  
  

  the hotel

  
  
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  speaking to...

  
  

  
  

  junwei, wenxin (npc)

  
  
  

  
  

  tags...

  
  

  
  

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yu-yan

she could feel his gaze on her after she spoke and yu-yan took a cautious peek, her eyes darting away as soon as they met his. the split-second glance was enough to take in the "are you stupid" look on his face, though she wondered if she was just overthinking it. "you haven't checked your phone, huh?"

his words reminded her of the neglected smartphone nestled in her purse and she reached for it, only for him to beat her to it. the bright screen in her face wasn't close enough for her to read the contents clearly and yu-yan leaned forward slightly, trying to make out the first paragraph on the tiny, tiny text of the tabloid site. she'd just gotten past the first line when the screen to disappear from her immediate vision.

the move elicited an annoyed whine from her lips, one she quickly muted as soon as she realised her priorities were... off. the loud, bold headline and the blurry picture had been a story enough to tell.

"don't get me wrong, of course, we both know last night was just a drunk thing. i'm just saying-" he trailed off as he swiped at his phone, setting it aside in one smooth action that was outwardly unbothered despite his apprehension. yu-yan finally tore her gaze away from his phone as he continued speaking, meeting his gaze once more. "thinking we could at least get something out of this."

his expression was one she couldn't quite place. it seemed neutral, but his eyes betrayed some sort of... hope? relief?

"...like?"

she narrowed her gaze, her brain wracking to understand what good could possibly come out of this. her reputation aside, yu-yan was worried about how zi xuan would react if he saw. when he saw. what if he had already seen? would he even care?

the thought sent a spike of grief through her, one that quickly faded into anger that he was the first thing she worried of. whatever, he was irrelevant.

it would be a scandal for sure, but in due time it would fade, especially if they weren't caught together ever again. to be fair, her reputation was pristine and yu-yan doubted a blurry picture with her face half-obscured by his jacket would ruin her career. she was far more concerned about how much wenxin would have to say about it and whether she'd be able to survive her father's (probable) wrath.

but what did he have to gain? yu-yan studied her co-star once more, her eyes trained on his face as she thought back to the few articles wenxin had shown her about him. zhang junwei... hadn't he just come out of a drunk driving scandal? or had it been...

"drugs? no..."

she muttered quietly to herself, her gaze still fixed intently on him.

dating! it was dating. he'd been a bad boyfriend or something, and his ex had posted about it. her mind made a leap worthy of the olympics right then, landing on a conclusion that was simultaneously unbelievable yet... not-so-far-fetched. given his situation, at least.

"a fake relationship?"

yu-yan blurted out, her mouth ajar. it sounded stupid the moment she said it aloud, but what else could he want? wasn't a pr stunt the only way to "benefit" from this?

"you're crazy."

her eyebrows furrowed as she shot him a look of disbelief. her phone buzzed then and yu-yan fished it out, turning it on hesitantly. she wasn't surprised to find the number of missed calls and messages from wenxin along with a few from her mother, though the final made her eyes widen in alarm.

wenxin (´꒳`)♡

i'm outside his hotel room. are you in there?

no, she typed hurriedly, backspacing frantically as she instantly re-thought the lie. yes, what else could she say?

"the craziest,"

yu-yan continued as she got to her feet, her hands gripping her purse tightly.

"i don't know what you're hoping to gain, but i don't need anything from this but your secrecy. it won't do either of us good to speak about it, anyways. my management will handle my end, so i trust yours will too."

her tone was as firm as she could manage, though the glances she took towards the door betrayed her unease.

as if on cue, a knock on the door echoed throughout the room, the familiarly stern rap making yu-yan cringe inwardly.

"goodbye,"

she said loudly as she turned towards the door, intentionally audible to the girl stood on the other side. she hesitated before she clicked unlock, adding quietly,

"thank you for the tea."

with that, she pulled the door open, darting out and right into her young manager. wenxin's face was wearing an understandably irritated expression, though it was mixed with very evident relief of her safety. considering that yu-yan had quite literally gone awol for the night with the only news from raunchy gossip sites, her concern was far too justified and made yu-yan feel even worse. "yan-jie..."

she put her arm around her in a half-hug, half-dragging her manager away from the room's door.

"sorry..."

the younger girl to respond with a defeated sigh.

"how could you do that?" wenxin chided, removing her own cap and roughly placing it onto yu-yan's head. the star adjusted it herself, then fixed wenxin with a sheepish smile that melted away her disappointed frown. "you need to be more careful. you know i had to lie to ms. hu for you? gosh, i was so scared while messaging her."

as wenxin continued, yu-yan let her mind wander back to her conversation with junwei. his proposal was still crazy, though yu-yan wondered whether she might've considered it seriously if not for zi xuan. how would he react to that sort of news? would he be mad? sad? react how she did, and sleep with the girl he'd been cosying up to— her face flushed at the thought, her actions now coming back to her. yu-yan's hands went to her face, covering her rosy cheeks.

"huh? are you okay?" came wenxin's voice, and yu-yan responded hastily with a yes. the girl gave her a curious look but didn't pursue it, much to the older's relief. wenxin probably knew what they did. anyone could assume, right? she was wearing his shirt, after all.

she was still wearing his shirt.

yu-yan glanced down, cringing inwardly at her dishevelled outfit. would he expect her to return it? it was only polite, since he had been a pleasant host (was host the right word?), but the thought of even facing him again was embarrassing. it was inevitable since he was her co-star. why did it have to be the co-star?

never again. she was swearing off alcohol until their stupid break was over. maybe she should burn the shirt to hide the evidence.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[triples]

Make The Move
by soovi, ph-1

new alert!

keyword found: 'zhang junwei'

@mingxinggossip: Midnight trysts in Flower Banquet crew?

Chapter II

the mood for revenge

 

[triples]

lay - bad

June Zhang

He leaned back a little further into his chair, trying to somehow be comfortable in the layers of historical clothing as he waited for his next scene. Another page of the script passed by mindlessly; his hands flipped through the pages by sheer force of habit, his eyes following, but his mind registered close to nothing. In truth, June had already memorized his lines for the upcoming scene... and most of the scenes after that. He just had nothing to do while waiting for the make-up artist to return from her errand, with his phone low on battery and all his usual companions too busy with their own things.

Stifling a yawn, he put the script down on his lap, reading the final lines of the scene out loud under his breath for no particular reason. Oddly, this part was going to be the first time in today's shoot that he was acting with Yu-yan. 'Oddly', because his character usually revolved around hers, sticking to her like he thought she was the breath in his lungs. A maddening type of love, you could call it, and one that June was rather unfamiliar with even as he portrayed it. Yu-yan, though, surely related to her own character much more easily. Or so he imagined, with the way she was keeping a hesitant, polite distance from one man in favor of a not-as-smooth-sailing romance with another — in a far less dramatic way than the, well, drama, of course.

As traces of conversation and the sound of footsteps closing the distance disturbed his thoughts, June blinked, turning his attention away from the script and to his charging phone. He checked the time briefly, browsing the library of his recent memory for the time the coordinator had said he'd be needed on set again, before his gaze flickered to the door. The figure of a petite girl appeared there, followed by a taller shadow that seemed to be carrying something, presumably for her sake. A bag of some sort, he realized as they fully entered his vision.

Thanks, seriously, Zixuan, he heard her tell the man, you're a life saver. So that writer was with her; Yu-yan's old flame. Or current? Who knew? All he knew was that some unintentional observing had made his co-star's words from that morning a little clearer to him. Well, maybe it wasn't that unintentional. He'd been a little intrigued. The two of them hid it well, though, they were being professional about it and June doubted anyone else knew. He directed a smile at the both of them as Poppy finally left Zixuan's side, making eye contact with the writer in the process. Not so much as a flinch. Yep, professional.

"I'm so sorry, I took too long, didn't I? Sorry," Poppy bumbled, resuming her work on fixing him up for the cameras. Or, at least, he thought her name was Poppy. He couldn't be sure, since she wasn't his make-up artist. His personal artist was on sick leave today. In her rush to find the right tools out of her bag, she dropped a couple things. Two brushes, a tube of cream, a small electric fan. June bent to help her pick them up amidst her second round of apologies.

"It's fine," he laughed, handing her back the cream before turning back again to pick up the fan, "you must be really busy today, with Lin-jie gone." She laughed, a small, nervous laugh. He wondered if she was a timid person in general, or if she simply wasn't used to him. Actually, who was she in charge of in the first place? He passed her the cat-shaped fan, smiling his most assuring smile. "It's a cute fan," he commented, randomly, just small talk to fill the silence. Poppy giggled again as she dabbed something onto his face.

"Isn't it?" She replied, finally sounding a little more relaxed, "It was a gift." June glanced at her face through the mirror, looking away purposefully so he didn't seem like he was staring. He recalled now, that she was Yu-yan's artist. His gaze shifted to the mystery bag that Zixuan had carried in for her, resting on a foldable chair across the room. It didn't stay long, when her brush wandered near his eyes.

"Boyfriend?" He asked, his tone joking. Her silence after that was a pretty happy silence. A hopeful silence. A not-yet-but-maybe-soon silence. The corner of his lips twitched. Did she know? Maybe the writer wasn't so professional, after all, huh? Then again, was he the one to comment on that front? Well, anyway, it wasn't his business, he thought, keeping his eyes closed. It wouldn't be his business for as long as Yu-yan was just a colleague. So, presumably, forever.

mood: just bored

location: film set

outfit: click me

interactions: poppy chen, chen zixuan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples

 

[Uxie]

filler

filler

filler

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  yu-yan thinks...

  
  

  
  

  ahaha.... o_o

  
  
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  where's yu-yan?

  
  

  
  

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  junwei, poppy (npc)

  
  
  

  
  

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yu-yan

her co-star was already in the room when she flounced in, arms swinging and sleeves billowing in her wake. it was upon catching sight of him that her step immediately faltered, and yu-yan averted her gaze on instinct despite seeing clearly that his eyes were shut in the reflection of the mirror. her cheeks felt hot.

hurrying to her seat, she pretended to focus on the script in her hands, already flipped to the scene she was doing next by courtesy of wenxin. her shoulders slumped ever so slightly as she scanned the page, realising with dismay that her next scene would be with the very cause of her embarrassment. yu-yan stole another glance at him, dodging as soon as she realised his eyes were now open. had he noticed?

poppy announced that she was finished and bustled to her side quickly, armed with her equipment. she greeted her with her usual cheery smile and yu-yan returned one even as her mind argued with itself over what to do with junwei. she'd ended up washing his shirt, guilt triumphing over whatever rationality that had demanded she burn the evidence, though it was now a matter of whether she would even get around to returning it. would he even want it back?

maybe he forgot.

her gaze shifted to her make-up artist, whom she decided would make a convenient distraction to prevent her mind from drifting back to her co-star/one nightstand. poppy looked different today. just a little, like her aura? yu-yan studied her diligently, playing her own game of spot-the-difference while the other girl searched for the right brush.

"you braided your hair today?"

her eyes shut as the brush approached her face, though it was a breath longer than expected before the bristles met her eyelids.

her answer was cautiously shy. "ah, yeah! someone told me i'd look good with it."

there was something bashful in the way she spoke, and as yu-yan opened her eyes, the small smile she noticed said just as much too. maybe it was someone she liked, but it did suit her.

"they have a good eye! it looks nice on you."

it reminded her of the time she'd woken up an hour before school to try and do her own braids. of course, her attempts had fallen flat, considering she still didn't know how to do it properly these days, but she'd insisted her mother help her so she could go to school with it, just because zixuan had said he liked—

yu-yan's smile faltered and her eyes returned to her script to hide the dismay that must have briefly crossed her face, her heart throbbing with the dull ache she'd come to associate with heartbreak. she hadn't seen him at all today, the scriptwriter strangely absent even while she was filming her scenes, though maybe they didn't need all of them present. yu-yan didn't really notice whether any of the others were ever absent during previous filmings, for obvious reasons. and who was that girl he was with during the party? her silhouette was awfully familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

a pat against her shoulder made her jump slightly, and she glanced up hurriedly only to meet poppy's beaming smile in the mirror. "good luck today! you'll do great." yu-yan raised her eyebrows. did she think she was just nervous? she supposed her gaze had been trained on the script throughout her introspection. the dainty lines of dialogue had long since been committed to memory, though the luck wasn't completely unnecessary, considering the guy seated just a metre or so from her.

surely he felt as awkward as she did. or maybe he didn't, considering how calm he'd been the morning after.

a fake relationship... even remembering the conversation made her feel a mix of shame and annoyance. who did he think he was? yu-yan scoffed at the thought. never in a million years.

there was a knock on the door and what must have been a runner called into the room, "scene in three." three? she'd have to go now. they'd. have to go now. yu-yan snuck another peek at junwei as she stood up, wondering if they should go together. she'd heard some of the whispers around the set today, despite wenxin's best efforts, and it was clear that the rumours had gotten around.

so they should go together, because it would be weird if they didn't and that would definitely imply something happened. probably. it made sense. right?

maybe junwei was a little more versed in the know-how of scandals, but considering his solution to their crisis, maybe not.

"junwei, let's go~"

yu-yan said as she stood, her script in hand.

she hoped she sounded natural. she hoped she looked natural, even if she felt like a robot creaking her way to the door. she let herself out and held it open for him, her move accompanied by a slight tilt of the head towards the set.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[triples]

lay - bad

June Zhang

As Poppy finished working on him, as if right on cue, another girl fluttered into the room, billowing dress and all. June's eyes opened to glance at her, taking in the changed outfit and rather spirited steps with a wry smile. He had to give it to the casting director, she really did look the part of a beloved princess. Her gaze, in contrast, hurriedly turned away the moment they met his. She must've noticed the whispers on set by now, he just hoped she wouldn't give the rumors more credit by acting strange.

Seeing her flustered reminded him of that awkward morning, which in turn reminded him of the shirt she took from his wardrobe. Did she still have it? Maybe she forgot, and he wasn't particularly bothered. He had at least a dozen plain white shirts like the one she took. He'd found her original shirt, too, lost in the mess of blankets and pillows in his hotel room. But he hadn't thought to bring it today, so, unless she brought it up first, he'd just consider them even.

June trained his eyes on the script, occasionally looking over to find that his co-star was doing the same. What a hardworking pair they were, weren't they? And probably for the same reason: to avoid looking at each other too much. Will the shooting of this next, very much romance-centered scene be as smooth-sailing as would be ideal? He wouldn't bet his money on it. His phone lit up with yet another notification he didn't care to check and the red battery in the corner reminding him again that his being so bored was entirely his fault for not having charged it last night. Oh, it was almost time to -

"Scene in three!" The exclamation, carrying with it the stress that only backstage staff could understand, reinforced what he'd just realized. June glanced back at the door, and then at the two other people in the room. The obvious choice was to go to the set together; that was what two normal co-stars would do in this scenario. But with Yuyan's aversion, or at least what he had interpreted as aversion, to the rumors, he wondered if she'd be on the same page as -

"Junwei, let's go," The next voice he heard instead refuted his thoughts, and came from Yuyan, who had already stood up. He smiled in response as he rose from his seat, watching her head toward the door with passable, but not quite as much as typical, grace, and his smile grew just the slightest bit wider at the head tilt she tagged on as she wait for him at the door. Really trying to sell the normalcy, he supposed, which he could appreciate. She really was cute.

It was a relatively silent walk to where the scene had already been set for them. The town stretched across a sizable distance, as close to the image of a historical capital of a long dead era as modern aesthetic would allow. People littered a certain portion of it, ready to start playing their insignificant yet indispensable roles of background noise.

June's head became rather empty of thoughts as people fluttered around them, getting ready for the cameras to start rolling, and they got into their respective position. A prince, who had everything and nothing at once, who wanted so little and yet so much, who, in that moment, was just a man falling in startling love with someone he'd taken for granted — that was what he was going to be for the next however-many minutes that this scene went on for. The object of his affection?

He locked eyes with the girl, standing not two feet away from him. Without really thinking about it, the last lines of their previous scene together spilled from his lips in a parodying tone: "Are you ready, Yue'er? To run away with me."

mood: ???

location: film set

outfit: click me

interactions: yuyan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples

 

[Uxie]

filler

filler

filler

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  don't need this rn or EVER

  
  
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  where's yu-yan?

  
  

  
  

  film set

  
  
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  speaking to...

  
  

  
  

  junwei

  
  
  

  
  

  tags...

  
  

  
  

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yu-yan

yu-yan couldn't decide if she preferred the silence or not. she had no idea what to say, but his wordlessness was making her uncomfortable. she wondered how they might look to outsiders, but the walk to the set was thankfully short and sheltered from prying eyes. it had been several weeks since filming had started, but the quality of the sets never failed to impress her. the design, the detail— as long as you didn't look too close— there was too much to fawn over.

"are you ready, yue'er? to run away with me."

her attention shifted immediately to her co-star.

"must you ask? the answer will always..."

yu-yan trailed off, catching her foolish startle with mild embarrassment. she flushed lightly, grumbling,

"wrong scene."

"alright! ready for take?" the director's voice cut through their interaction and yu-yan's gaze flicked to him, signalling with a nod. three, two, one, action.

*＊✿❀ the mid-autumn festival of chu is as vibrant as the stories would tell, and xiyue remembers yearning so desperately to attend. the marketplace is adorned with one colourful stall after the other and her eyes are can't stop wandering with the number of interesting goods being sold. her companion, a prince donning commoner's attire but standing out handsomely regardless, seems much less curious about everything around her, but he's smiling, so xiyue reckons he must still be enjoying himself too.

she spots a performing troupe far-off in the distance and begins to gesture to him, though it is a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye that catches her attention instead. she flits over without hesitation, gently picking up the ornate hairpin.

"how beautiful..."

"you have a good eye, miss! this hairpin is from the best artisans of yue, something so unique you wouldn't find it elsewhere." his words trigger a warmth in her heart, and the accessory suddenly seems so much more delicate in her fingers. the connection seems clear now— from the intricate carvings of the flower to the flair of twisted gold. "ah, it's chu now, isn't it? their military was lacking, but their craftsmanship is like no other, indeed."

xiyue glances up sharply, her eyebrows furrowing as the merchant chuckles. how... how dare he, in front of her? anger flares, and her scorn spills out before she realises,

"impu—"

"be careful. you'll break it." his smooth voice interrupts softly as a hand reaches over and gently uncurls her fist, her fingers having tightened around the hairpin in her fury. she gasps at the realisation and hurriedly releases it, inspecting it for damages. it is unscathed, thankfully, and xiyue breathes out a small sigh of relief as she turns to glance at her companion.

he's closer than she thought he would be, his face just inches from hers, though his gaze is fixed on the other jewellery spread out before them. he's practically leaning over her at this point, and she feels her cheeks grow warm, unwittingly, as she dodges his eye. "how much is it?" he asks... ❀✿＊*

yu-yan knew he was speaking his lines, but her heart was beating too loudly right now for her to concentrate. she hadn't been quite this... aware of him the last time they'd filmed together, but she'd been far from prepared for such close proximity. she could smell his cologne. it was too reminiscent of...

yu-yan... she blinked. was someone saying her name? "yu-yan," another blink, and then once more as her co-star's voice finally rang through to her. ah, she'd missed her cue. her eyes slipped away from the props, going everywhere but to her co-star's face— the extras, the crew, the familiar face that had suddenly appeared by the director's chair...

oh. oh no. she watched her ex for a moment too long before she tore her gaze away; it was no longer embarrassment that gripped her quite as much as guilt, and the closer she was to junwei, the worst she felt.

"you okay?" no, she wanted to mumble. yu-yan took a step away from him, drawing an invisible line between them that would no doubt have to be crossed later. it wouldn't be so hard if they hadn't done what they did, and it wouldn't be so hard if he wasn't watching.

"sorry! slipped my mind."

she lied, offering an apologetic smile to the director. he let it go with a wave of his hand, signalling to the crew to resume filming. a deep breath, willing herself to get it together. how could she call herself an actress if she wasn't even able to keep character?

peace of mind. serenity. don't look him in the eye. it was all a matter of willpower.

♡coded by uxie♡

 

[triples]

lay - bad

June Zhang

"Yuyan?" His voice seemed to float right through her ears, and he resisted the instinct to look over his shoulder at the sight her gaze seemed caught on. It surely wasn't the director, whose silence told June that the scene had been going just fine until now. Their intimate position that had felt so natural in the moment began to get increasingly awkward with her inattention.

"Yuyan," he tried again, as the first of the staff's whispers reached him, "you okay?"Her eyes finally snapped to him, fixing on him with their — now, to him — signature flustered wide-eyed look for a brief second as she took a sudden step away.

"Sorry! Slipped my mind," she dismissed, the tinge of discomfort he saw fading as quickly as it has appeared. A true professional, he supposed, which made it all the more curious that she got so distracted at all. June glanced behind him at the director's chair, a theory forming in his head that was proven right as a certain writer's figure came into view.

He turned back to Yuyan, getting her dress fixed as she stood, motionless and in quiet contemplation. A part of him, that saw the interaction with Poppy that morning, almost felt bad for her. The other part, that saw her yesterday morning, rushing out of his hotel room, was slightly less inclined toward sympathy.

The writer wasn't moving away from their line of view, June noticed, looking on with what looked like concern. Like he had something to say. It seemed like Yuyan was going to continue to be distracted. He considered it; they'd breezed past the previous scenes, their schedules could afford a short rest.

"Laoshi," he called, putting on his most apologetic smile as he walked toward the director, "can we take a quick break?"

_______________________​

Alone in the cool, quiet room, with only the company of the iced latte Yitian had bought him, June fell once again to the lure of his phone and into the trap of social media. His scrolling was purposefully thoughtless as his fingers flitted across the screen, faster over certain posts than others. The red dot at the top corner of his screen, alerting him to unread notifications, lingered just out of sight, sadly ignored.

You have to be better about replying, he's been told in the past, multiple times, by multiple people. Oh well.

Speaking of people who nag — a knock at the door sounded, and June wondered if Yitian was back. Except, his manager hadn't knocked on his door since three months into working together.

There was still time until filming restarted; June paused for a still beat before bringing himself to his feet. Another, more hesitant knock. The shadow of the figure outside seemed to shift, as if ready to leave. He reached out to open the door.

mood: ???

location: film set

outfit: click me

interactions: yuyan

tags: Uxie

codebytriples