Save state; Luna/Amber
Save state
1500 words. PG-13.
- f(x); Luna/Amber.
author onew.
summary At this point, Amber isn't so sold on going through a drastic change. It's not as if she has a choice, though.
notes For unniefic's 24-hour challenge. Also for Pachi halfkissed because she loves Luna/Amber to bits and pieces ♥
1. "Listen to me," Amber says indignantly, "I'm a woman."
Amber's voice echoes in the comfort room. She hates getting in the same argument with people all the time, more so in a public place and in a place where her voice gets a volume boost - twice as loud as her normal speaking tone. She sighs rather heavily when the person she's talking too shifts in her position uncomfortably.
"If it makes you feel better, I've got boobs. You can touch them if you don't think they're real." Her arms are wide open, her defenses down. She counts to ten before letting her arms fall to her side, asking the other person, "You still think I'm a guy, huh?"
"Well, not really since you've got curves there," the other girl says pointedly. "It's just your voice-"
"Oh yeah, it's always the voice." Amber rolls her eyes and takes off without another word.
It's almost always like this with almost every person she encounters, so it isn't so foreign anymore. She's better off without a drastic change in her life. It's a normal enough encounter, Amber thinks as she walks down the hall and makes her way to the conference room, that she doesn't even bother clearing things up or thinking the situation through. Only ten minutes after, when this girl she saw in the comfort room not too long ago walks into the very same room she's in, does Amber realize that the girl is someone she'll soon be sharing one house with and will be spending the rest of the day with in an orientation for a new girl group named f(x).
2. "Smile!" Luna chirps when asked what to do when one's having difficulty vocalizing. "You just have to smile!"
Amber has just finished recording her parts for their debut song; Sulli's the last one in the recording booth and they all watch her sing without any difficulty at all. "It's hard, you know, when you have a voice as low as mine and you're better off with boy bands." Amber frowns a bit as she shifts in her seat.
"Except it isn't." Luna gives Amber a light pat on the shoulder. "I told you, just smile and you'll feel better about things. Then you'll be able to perform better. Domino effect, you know."
Luna smiles her signature smile - all lips and no teeth at first, slowly blooming into something bigger, better. Brighter. Amber shrugs and sinks in her seat, then shoots a glance at Luna who is still smiling as she watches Sulli sing.
"You speak as if it answers all the problems of the world," Amber mumbles. She's sure Luna isn't paying attention, so she follows Luna's advice, a small and soft smile slowly forming on her lips as Luna almost squeals in delight when Sulli finishes her recording successfully.
There are congratulatory hugs for a job well done, the manager urging them to shuffle quickly to the van for a well-deserved shut-eye. Amber thinks to herself, smiling might just answer all the problems of the world because now she feels like singing, a fancy tingle tugging at the corner of her lips.
3. "I have an idea," Luna says two days before debut. "What if we go out as non-celebrity people for the last time? We won't be able to enjoy this kind of freedom anymore."
Krystal stretches on the couch, propping a pillow under her head. "I just want to sleep. This is something I won't enjoy once we debut already, too, you know." Sulli then agrees, says she's too tired to even breathe, and Victoria says that yes, maybe Krystal is right and they should just hit the sheets. Tomorrow is a big day for them, after all. In five minutes, Sulli, Victoria and Krystal shuffle out of the living room and Amber makes her way to the doorstep.
"What are you doing?" Luna asks as Amber slips on her sandals and grabs her coat. "Didn't unnie say we're supposed to be sleeping now?" Amber shrugs and smiles a little.
What happens after is this: Amber pulling Luna by the wrist and dragging her out of the house for a walk to Lord knows where, engaging in long chat about insecurities and how horrible Victoria's grasp of Korean is, and coming up with a pretty good excuse for their slipping out of the dorm at 11 p.m.. Amber isn't so sure if Victoria's comfortable with them possibly catching a cold on the day of their debut, and she isn't so sure why she's decided to go out for a walk with Luna, either. One thing is for sure, though - when Luna puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her close as they laugh at a terrible Korean joke, Amber's laughter catches in her throat because one, she's never been so close to someone, and two, she's never felt this way before.
4. It's the shooting for their first album. Three changes in concept lands them in something plain and normal for their next. Nothing out of the ordinary, Amber remembers the stylists saying, since they've already tried radical concepts before. Amber silently thanks the management for finally coming to their senses - having her hair stick up in at least three different directions isn't comfortable at all.
Amber's turn gets scheduled for the last. Luna takes a good look at the outfit Amber is fashioning - something white and flimsy, something new. Amber's adjusting something in her boots when Luna walks up to her, a small smile tugging on the former's lips.
"I heard you had a say in your outfit," Luna says, pausing tentatively. "You sure with this? I mean the skirt; it's a bit too short for someone as tall as you."
"I can flaunt my legs anytime, thank you very much." Amber grins, then laughs lightly when Luna hits her on the arm. Five minutes after, she slips into an assumed role, a changed woman with a change in concept.
The shoot comes to an end almost an hour after. Amber's already in her casual clothes when she discovers that Sulli and Krystal have already left for vocal training and Victoria for dance training. Luna mumbles something about indigestion and Victoria's feet aching as the some of the reasons for their early departure. "They just won't admit it, really," Luna says, chuckling a bit. They sit on the curb until the van arrives, Luna breathing smoke puffs into cupped hands.
"I miss this - quiet nights," Luna says, head hung low. "I miss the life behind the camera."
"I miss the bed," Amber simply replies in an attempt to lighten up the mood. She moves closer to Luna, lets Luna rest her head on her shoulder when the van takes longer than the usual to arrive. Twenty minutes later, they leave behind changes - in concept, in style - and slip into their normal selves, little girls who just want freedom and something to call 'home'.
5. They've been in the industry for two years now. There isn't anything that they don't know anymore, except the feeling of winning a Mutizen for the first time. Victoria's voice is strained in the microphone, and Sulli's eyes are all red from crying. Heechul and Eeteuk are behind them, urging them to go on and thank as many people as they can. Amber grips the award tightly.
"Now what - you're going to cry, too?" Luna says from beside her, laughing lightly. Amber just hits Luna on the arm and rests her head on Luna's shoulder, taking in every bit of the moment they've long been waiting for.
Three bottles of soju and two hours after, their eyes are still puffy from all the crying. Amber's face is buried in Luna's shoulder as Luna laughs, hiccuping at the same time.
Amber isn't the type of person to drink to her heart's content, but this one occasion is an exception to any rule she's ever made so she downs another shot and slips an arm around Luna's waist.
"You're okay with this, right? Not that I'm invading personal space or anything." Amber's voice drifts off and she feels light shaking of Luna's shoulders.
"It's not as if it means anything, either, does it?"
It must be the alcohol doing all the work, especially when Luna tilts her head back slightly to meet Amber's lips in a kiss. Luna tastes like soju, only better, and when she pulls away Amber begins looking for that distinct taste in her tongue.
"This doesn't mean anything," Luna repeats, then follows with, "Really."
Amber smiles. "Oh, good."
Surprisingly, Amber welcomes with open arms the change that comes in the form of Luna's laughter captured in a kiss and Heechul's camcorder conveniently capturing the moment. This is drastic enough a change, she thinks, that she, herself, is amazed at the her response. Someday, she'll undergo an even greater change and she won't regret it. For now, this is something she'll have to get used to (over and over again).