Freminet didn’t like being in the training rooms too much; it wasn’t his business as a producer. After his songs were assigned to an idol, it was largely out of his hands. He liked it that way, he got to write songs and make sounds that were pleasing to him–and it helped to pay off Lyney and Lynette’s trainee expenses from years ago.
Out of the spotlight and in his recording studio–that’s how he liked his time spent.
However, today he was in the training room after Lyney texted him in a tizzy to help evaluate the choreography for his solo track.
Lyney > FREMINET!
Lynette > Are you seriously going to complain about this to him?
Lyney > Yes! He wrote the song and he will be the perfect person to evaluate!
Freminet > …Evaluate what?
Lyney > There’s a new choreographer, really talented and a really nice guy. He’s under L1YUE and made the choreography for my song, but it’s RIDICULOUSLY hard! Absurd, even! I know it’s my job to make it look easy on stage but I fear this is a challenge even for me…
Lynette > Are you sure you’re not being lazy?
Lyney > Lynette you agreed that it looked difficult! Don’t gaslight me!
Freminet > …I’ll come take a look...
As he watched the choreography video, he immediately understood Lyney’s tribulation. Six clothing racks weighed down and sturdy, stood in a line. They would be used as props and visual aids for the choreography.
"I know the song is named Spider, but this is a bit… Ambitious…"
But the choreography was a perfect representation of the song. It was mildly creepy but sensual, and enigmatic. It’s more than Freminet could ever imagine. It would suit Lyney.
“Um… Can I see you do it, Lyney? Singing too…” Freminet shyly asked.
“Fine, fine! I guess it’s necessary. Anything for my little brother. Places, everyone!” Lyney called, Freminet walking over to the computer to queue the music.
The choreography ended, the sound of heavy breaths echoing in the room as Lyney kneeled on the floor with four backup dancers behind him making the imagery of a web with one of the racks. The producer tapped his pen on the hardcover notebook in his hand, reading the few notes he wrote.
“It’s…” Freminet trailed off.
“Exhausting?! Extra?! Onerous?!” Lyney released himself from the finishing pose and threw himself on the floor, the background dancers walking away to take their water breaks.
“Well I… I think it’s pretty, it’s a good representation of the song, but… There are parts that could be slowed down or made simpler.”
“Someone agrees with me! We should change the whole thing!”
Lyney had a bad habit of hearing a sliver of agreement and running with it. Freminet sighed and scratched the back of his head, looking over to Lynette who was sitting against the wall.
“W-Well no… I think it’s a good piece…”
“Freminet! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Lyney rolled over onto his back, dramatic as usual.
“I-I think you’re used to doing more energetic choreographies… And you’re not conserving your energy as much as you should during some parts.”
“Conserve energy where?! Where can I conserve energy?! I start the choreography upside down!” Lyney sat up, looking over to the camera that was recording his practice drills. It would be used for content on the Teyvat Entertainment YouTube channel later.
“Well, um… There are parts where the backup dancers make web imagery and you’re standing still. And I think there are isolated parts where most of your body isn’t supposed to move… But you’re used to doing it all at once so um…” Freminet didn’t want to say his brother wasn’t doing the choreography right, but Lyney wasn’t stupid.
“Oh so I’m the problem, you’re saying.” Lyney crossed his arms. Freminet silently frowned and looked down at his book with guilt.
“Lyney, you asked for his help. Don’t get an attitude now.” Lynette chimed in, seemingly compelled to scold her twin brother after seeing the look on Freminet’s face.
“I’m just frustrated! I want this to be great, our fans deserve as much!” Lyney stared at Lynette through the wall of mirrors in the practice room.
“Mhm…” Freminet nodded. “I… Can try altering a few parts. I’d have to practice it myself though… I don’t have anything to do right now. I already submitted all my demos for feedback so I’m just waiting for those to get back to me…” He gulped. He hated getting feedback on his work. It always felt so personal to him, like someone was calling a mother’s child ugly. Freminet had yet to get a scalding review on a demo, most of the comments he got were requests to hear it in a different key or sped up and slowed down.
“Alright, I guess it’s time we get going anyway. It’s 8 PM already, Rosseland must be waiting for me at the dorm! Four hours flew by just like that. The dancers work so hard, I’ll have to find a way to thank all of them properly!” Lyney nodded, slowly standing up, Lynette following suit.
He planted a hand on Freminet’s shoulder.
“Don’t overwork yourself, I know this isn’t your forte. I just wanted to see what you had to say. And perhaps you are correct, maybe I just need to control my body better.” Lyney nodded. That was as close as Freminet would get to an apology.
He’ll take it.
Freminet wouldn’t consider himself much of a dancer. Although he had a sense of rhythm as a producer, he didn’t tell a story with his body like real dancers did. He was much more of a vocalist, and would likely be labeled as such if he were in a group.
By the time Freminet knew the whole dance the clock had stricken midnight. He had to improvise here and there, as he didn’t have backup dancers, but the majority of the choreography could be done just fine without them.
Next came singing the song with the choreography. Singing was the easy part for him. The song was designed to be for a soloist and was produced with breaks in between the lines. It was one of Freminet’s favorite songs he made.
One careless step
Makes me pass out, oh yeah
Gulping anxiously
Can't let my guard down for one sec, yeah
So emergency, too dangеrous
“The chorus is fine, I like that…” He muttered to himself. “It really picks up once the second verse starts… but it might be better to conserve energy for the final post-chorus since there’s no bridge, just a small dance break…”
He scribbled down a few revisions, setting up the video camera behind him in case he liked a move and wanted to replicate it.
He started from the top, scribbling down new notes afterward.
“Some of these parts can be a little more feminine and dainty since it’s Lyney… It’ll suit him.”
From the top, he started again.
Can't breathe
When you look at me, when you look at me
I shiver all over
When you touch me, when you touch me
You tie me up like a spider
We're tangled up, we can't escape
Like a spider, I enjoy this puzzle
Pretend to hate it baby, I still like it baby
Click.
The sound of the training room door opening started the blonde, his voice suddenly cracking as he stood up straight and stiff from his position.
He’s met with a familiar face—the choreographer from the demo video. His hair is brunette and dyed red on the underside and pulled into a half-up half-down style, complimenting his amber-colored eyes. He looks like he just entered the building, duffle bag in hand. Why would anyone come in so late?
“Oh! Are you a new trainee? I’ve never seen you before!” He lightly jogged over to Freminet.
Freminet tried to fix his lips to respond, his face beet red from being walked in on.
“Woah, you are so pretty! The Fontain subsidiary doesn’t play around with their visuals, huh?”
Freminet could just die.
“I heard this song was going to Lyney! Guess the folks were wrong! Your vocal tone is so pretty too!”
Freminet had to say something, he couldn’t let this go on for much longer lest he wanted to combust.
“U-Um no.. I… I’m just the producer. I just… recorded the demo and made the song…” He quietly spoke, turning off the backtrack that was playing.
“Are you kiddin’?! Don’t say it so nonchalantly, this song is an amazing solo debut! You’re clearly really talented.” The brunette smiled.
“…Th-Thanks.” Freminet peeped.
“I-I was trying out the choreography for Lyney because um..”
He didn’t know how to say it, would the other man take the criticism like Freminet took criticism? Freminet didn’t want to ‘call his baby ugly’.
“The choreography is really challenging… That’s all… Lyney asked me to look at it and maybe switch some things around but I… I really like how it is. It’s cohesive and it’s perfect for the song… And everything I try to change looks clunky so…” Freminet sighed, looking down at his feet.
“Oh!”
Oh? That’s it?
“Well, why don’t you perform it?”
What!?
Freminet quickly shook his head.
“I don’t… Want to be on stage. I have r-really bad stage fright and as you can see I’m… I’m awkward and… I just want to write and make music. Usually I don’t even come to the training rooms but…” He trailed off with a shrug.
“Ga Ming, was it…? I’m… Freminet.” Freminet muttered.
“Yup! That’s me! Nice to meet you!” Gaming walked over to Freminet’s notebook that lay open on the floor. Freminet reached to stop him but didn’t have the nerve to snatch the book away from him.
“Hm… Maybe I did forget that there’s also singing involved. These notes really help me see it from a singer's perspective though! You’re real thorough!” He scanned over the notes.
“Can I see you do it? You sounded so good, it’s almost hard to believe you struggled!”
Freminet could’ve sworn he almost pissed himself.
“O-Okay but… I’m not a dancer… So, I’m sorry if it’s not… Entirely accurate.” Freminet dryly swallowed.
The blonde waited for the brunette to queue the audio, nervously sighing. At first, he found himself being conservative with his movements to not make a fool of himself, but somewhere along the lines, everything around him seemed to fade. It was just him and the music, everything else was drowned out.
He really did love this song.
Freminet didn’t regain self-awareness until he was on the floor in the ending position, the sound of clapping startling him back to reality.
“You did great!” Gaming grinned. “I get what you mean though, I feel like the dance break and final chorus becomes dull ‘cause the choreography before is just as intense.”
Freminet silently nodded, lips pressing together as he realized how loud he was breathing. The choreographer seemed to think for a moment before he snapped his fingers.
“How about this! Instead of all the verses being all different choreo try doing the same choreography as the first verse for the second.” Gaming quickly stood up from sitting on the floor, prepared to demonstrate.
“Keep the first two moves, the standing and then into the crawl, but then go into the original choreo. Here, can you play it for me?”
Freminet nodded and without another word skipped through the song to the second verse.
He wasn’t sure what he expected a professional choreographer to look like when dancing, but Gaming exceeded his wildest dreams. He was so… Animated, lively, and his body was so well controlled. Freminet watched as Gaming did a rehash of the first chorus, except this time he was outside of the racks and moved down step by step to progress naturally into the dance break.
“How do you like that?”
Freminet stared blankly, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. He was truly at a loss for words.
“I-I…”
“Still too much, you think?”
Freminet quickly shook his head.
“N-No, sorry, it’s just… You did it so easily and it looked so good I… I’m just um… Shocked… In a good way…” Freminet gently smiled. His passion was evident, and Gaming could sense it.
“Come, I’ll show you.”
Admittedly, Freminet was a little burnt from learning so much new choreography at once. He quietly apologized every time he messed up, slowly getting more and more frustrated with himself. It was embarrassing, he learned the whole thing so quickly (at least, 4 hours was quick for him) but now couldn’t change a simple part?
Pull yourself together.
“Don’t cross your legs twice, just once, and then sidestep.” Gaming didn’t seem to mind at all, but Freminet wasn’t sure if he just wasn’t the type to show when irritated.
Freminet nodded, following his instructions before he stepped on the back of his shoe. His foot slipped out as he lost his balance, tumbling backward toward the floor.
Warm hands stopped his fall, however.
“Woah, woah! Careful!” Gaming’s hands supported Freminet by his lower back, their faces inches apart.
Honey brown eyes gazed into an ocean blue pair, Gaming really couldn’t understand how he didn’t become a visual (even if it ended up being against Freminet’s will, sometimes the company would just pester you until you gave in), it was almost a lost opportunity. His naturally blonde hair, the cute appeal of the freckles, his straight nose bridge, and those lips…
Gaming cleared his throat, slowly helping Freminet stand back up straight. The blonde’s vision fixed on his lost shoe on the ground. His head was beating so fast, could Gaming feel it through his back? He hoped not.
“M-Maybe I… Um… You should just record the new choreo so I can give it to Lyney by the morning.” Freminet flushed as Gaming’s hands left his waist.
“Oh! Right… Right! I’ll do that! I’m sure you’re tired anyway. And I don’t want you getting hurt, haha!” Gaming was a little red himself. Usually, he kept his cool but…
God, he is so pretty. Is this how stans feel? Is this infatuation-at-first-sight?
“You should get going. I’m usually up this late, I find all my inspiration comes in the evening into the late night. But you need your beauty sleep—I-I mean regular sleep! Sorry, I keep forgetting you’re not a trainee.”
Freminet silently nodded, biting his bottom lip nervously.
“I’ll see you around though?”
“Mhm… Yeah…”
The following days consisted of Gaming searching high and low for songs Freminet wrote. He searched the company’s database to no avail, there was a single song with a credit of “Freminet” listed as a name.
It didn’t help that Lyney’s song wasn’t released yet, so he couldn’t see the credits.
Could that have been his first song? No, it was way too polished to be his first.
What aliases could he use? Gaming didn’t know much about him or his interests.
“Come on, Xingqiu! You’ve been here like, forever—before Fontain Music was established as a subsidiary! If you don’t know, I'll have no luck!” Gaming sat down at lunch with his good friend—visual of TVT DREAM.
“Nope, he doesn’t ring a bell. And this isn’t a prank, you have my word.” Xingqiu shrugged.
“Y’know who might know.” Xinyan, a soloist and another good friend of Gaming’s, chimed in. “Aether. You know, the center pretty boy of 4NEMO. He knows everybody. Nice guy too, real sweet and humble.”
“That would be a great idea if they weren’t on tour…”
“Oh, oops. Yeah, my fault. Heh.”
He would have to just look for him again.
10:00 PM
Gaming quietly walked the halls, peeking into training rooms to see if he could find Freminet again. He seemingly wasn't anywhere to be found. Maybe he wasn’t in today.
As Gaming was about to give up, walking through the few producer studios that had yet to be remodeled and refurbished, he heard a familiar voice.
That’s him.
Gaming suddenly sped up his pace, turning the corner quickly to look at the studio room in the far corner of the building. It made sense for Freminet to hide away in the largely unused part of the building. They shouldn’t be unused for much longer, however. The remodels were scheduled in the upcoming weeks. Though, his studio was quite the trek from the main parts of the building. Most people would not want to make the walk.
Gaming stood at the door, hand landing on the handle before he froze.
Baby, haven't you ever?
In this night I want to leave without any plans
Please take me anywhere but home
Take me anywhere
Please take me anywhere
Gotta take me anywhere
Take me anywhere but home
Take me anywhere
Just take me anywhere
Gotta take me anywhere
Take me anywhere but home
Gaming silently listened, wishing he could see through the door and watch him. Was that stalkerish? He hoped not. A song about yearning, it suited Freminet. His voice carried a slew of emotions in it—a sense of passion.
He waited for Freminet to stop singing before lightly knocking on the door. He remembered Freminet jumped the last time he walked in on him.
The quiet sound of movement could be heard from behind the door before it unlocked and opened with a click.
“Oh… It’s you…” The blonde peeked his head out the door, opening it further once he realized it was his coworker.
“It’s me!” Gaming smiled. “You sound great! Per usual, haha…”
Since when did he become so awkward?
“You were listening..?”
“Only for a little! Promise! Can I come in?” Gaming was relieved to watch Freminet slowly move out of the way to let him into the studio.
“Once they remodel the studios, I probably won’t be able to hear anything from you at all from the outside.” The brunette walked in as Freminet quietly closed and locked the door after him.
The room is dark and dimly lit, and the majority of the light comes from the bright computer screen that sits in front of the recording booth. There was a thick blue blanket that lay in the office chair, almost as if Freminet was ready to sleep in the studio if he so pleased. On the desk was a plushie, a penguin with plastic teal gems for eyes, and a beret atop its head.
“Whose this little guy?” Gaming gently petted the penguin on the head, Freminet nervously fumbling his fingers.
“… Its name is Pers…” Freminet didn’t add much, even though part of him wanted to.
“Oh! Like that one anonymous producer? Do you really like them?”
Freminet didn’t respond.
“I wonder if they’re contracted and outsourced or actually in the building with us. I’d love to meet them one day! The other day I was going through producers—actually because I was looking for you and what you’ve worked on—and I saw that tag pop up on some of the hits and I was like—.”
“Gaming…” Freminet cut the choreographer off with a sigh.
“Hm? What is it?”
Gaming started at the look on Freminet’s face, then the penguin.
“That’s you!?” He suddenly yelled, Freminet wincing at the loudness of his voice. If they weren’t in a partially sound-proof room, surely it would’ve carried.
“Sorry!” Gaming suddenly whispered. “That’s you…?!” He repeated, this time in a softer voice.
“Mhm… I just… Use Pers as an alias… Mostly because nobody knows his name so nobody has exactly figured it out. Well… Except Lyney and Lynette… and now you.” Freminet quietly walked over to squeeze the plush in his arms.
Gaming was starstruck at that moment. Sure, most stans or even the idols themselves didn’t know who wrote their demos, but in the producer world, Freminet was a newly discovered powerhouse. He was well known for having a versatile sound, but also for excelling at handling the mixing of layers upon layers of vocals.
In Gaming’s words, he polished and produced the f*ck out of his music.
Spider, Lyney's solo, might’ve just been child’s play for him, for all Gaming knew.
“I-I’m sorry I hid it for so long..” Freminet apologized, assuming Gaming’s face of surprise was one of betrayal.
“What!? No! That’s amazing! You’re amazing!” You gotta teach me stuff—if you have time!” Gaming smiled, looking over to the computer that seemed to have a complex array of tracks and layers on it. It all made sense now.
“I’ll try… I’m not a great teacher though…” Freminet silently permitted Gaming to press play on what he had recorded thus far.
It was an eerie yet elegant piece—R&B-inspired and catchy. It was a softly sung song as if the vocalist were to tip-toe atop the notes. But the lyrics were sentimental, the desire to search for a place of belonging, comfort, and perhaps a sense of self-acceptance. The hatred of being in stasis, in wanting more, in wanting something new, Gaming knew that feeling well.
He gazed over to Freminet, the blonde's eyes closed as he seemed to be focusing on the song and the song only. His fingers lightly tapped on his toy plush as he listened intently through the song. As the song ended he opened his eyes again, lips pressing together in a tight line as if he were unsatisfied.
“You don’t look pleased.” Gaming commented. “I think it’s great, Fremi.”
Freminet’s cheeks were dusted with pink at the nickname.
“I don’t like how the song just starts. It’s too abrupt. It doesn’t feel like… an experience. It’s just… a song.” Freminet muttered, setting down Pers to pick up a notebook—a different one from the one he had the other day. It was much more worn and tattered, it seemed to be a lyric book of sorts.
“Hm…” Gaming put his hands on his hips.
“Can I try something?”
Freminet seemed to hesitate.
“Okay…”
Gaming quietly plugged the headphones into the computer, clicking, copying, and dragging voice clips.
About thirty minutes passed before Gaming suddenly stood up, startling Freminet who was beginning to doze off on the couch.
“What about this?” Gaming unplugged the headphones, starting the track from the top.
What played was a slowed and muffled version of the post-chorus, with additional echoes and an effect to make it sound like it was coming through someone’s headphones. The bass was removed, and only the kick and snare of the beat remained. It replicated the sense of nostalgia, or maybe waking up from a deep sleep.
Freminet loved it.
“I… I like that…” Freminet nods, much to Gaming’s delight.
“Oh, sweet! Now I get to say I impressed one of the coolest producers out there.” Gaming grinned. “I’ve been focusing on producing more like.. poppy and bright stuff, or like tracks for rappers, but one day I wanna try making something like this too!”
“I worry that you’re… Hyping me up a little too much…” Freminet shyly stood up from the couch, quietly sitting in the chair to listen to the track again.
“Shall I go through your discography and list all the songs I love?” Gaming teased.
“...I-I don’t think you should um… Feel obligated to do that.” Freminet muttered.
Freminet didn’t often get to go out with Lyney and Lynette anymore. The twins’ schedules were so packed that Freminet eventually stopped asking when they thought they would be able to hang out together.
However, if they did manage to get some time together, it was brief breaks to a nearby cafe between practice sessions, photoshoots, and recordings. While Lyney and Lynette often wore hats and face masks to cover their faces, Freminet simply tagged along with them. His presence made them look less like celebrities, a normal person tagging along removing the obviousness from their hidden appearances.
Freminet didn’t drink coffee, no matter how tired or sleep-deprived he was, he wouldn’t touch caffeine with a ten-foot pole. It never woke him up, only made his body tingly, his head spin, and his heart race. However, he would partake in the sweets at the cafe. Today, he indulged in a chocolate croissant.
Lynette had a significantly sweeter tooth than him, as she eagerly partook in a slice of two-layered strawberry shortcake cake with a black coffee that was getting closer to room temperature—just how she liked it.
Lyney enjoyed fresh-cut fruits when he went out for a treat. He also was often called out by Freminet during recording sessions as his little brother could tell when he consumed dairy and it was making his voice more nasally. Today wasn’t a recording day, so he happily partook in a small parfait and a latte with a thick cloud of foam on top.
“It’s so nice to spend some much-needed family time, I can’t bear to think about how busy I’ll get when promotions start! Oh, and I’ll have to wake up so early for music shows, how dreadful…” Lyney sighed.
“Long days await you, brother. You could’ve gone deeper into the modeling route, like I did.” Lynette’s tone was flat, per usual, as she took a spoonful of cake. Her two brothers could tell she was pleased by the taste.
“You know I love the stage, Lynette, how could I let it go!? Besides, don’t you just love it when we record OSTs together? This way, we are dividing and conquering. You focus on modeling, and I focus on performing.” Lyney falsely pouted.
“I was sure your mind wasn’t on dividing and conquering after you realized you’d be sharing an agency with Aether.” She took a sip of her coffee.
“Wh—!? Haha, how preposterous! I am focused on my career here!” Lyney nervously laughed. He only visibly showed nervousness when Lynette brought up a potential love interest.
What was so nerve-wracking to Lyney about specifically being in love? Was it that they were both idols? 4NEMO stans could be quite intimidating, they were one of the biggest fanbases for a group under Teyvat Entertainment, after all. But Lyney never truly seemed intimidated by crazy fans, surely that couldn’t be it.
Freminet quietly zoned out as his siblings playfully bickered with one another until it was time to leave.
“Oh! Freminet! I do believe my thanks are in order!” Lyney said, Freminet being pulled back to reality at the sound of his name.
“For… What?” Freminet quietly asked.
“The choreography is much more attainable with the changes made. I’m so proud of you for going out of your way to contact the choreographer, too!”
“That… Isn’t what happened.” Freminet felt like he was letting Lyney down. “He just walked in on me while I was practicing it for myself. It was… A bit awkward.” Freminet sighed, planting his hands on his lap.
“Oh, that’s right, I did see your footage on the video camera!”
Freminet’s eyes blew wide as he realized he had forgotten to delete the footage. He was so embarrassed and tired by the end of his practice session with Gaming that remembering to delete the footage escaped him.
“I saw it and I thought: oh my, my little brother sure has some talent, doesn’t he?!” Lyney reached to pet Freminet on the head, a habit that never escaped him despite Freminet being the tallest of the three siblings now.
“Sorry for taking up space on it… You’re free to delete it.” Freminet apologized.
“Ah-ah! No apologies necessary! We thought it would be great content for the documentary! Of course, your face won’t be in it! We think it’ll really convey the point of how difficult the choreography is!”
Freminet wanted to shriek.
“N-No you don’t have to, really, Lyney.”
“It’ll be fine! It’s a thirty-second clip max. Come on, you’d do it for your big brother, right?”
“Please don’t say it like that…”
In the end, Freminet let Lyney have his way. He wasn’t happy about it, but he was sure nothing would come from it anyway. A thirty-second clip couldn’t hurt.
Freminet silently sat in his castaway studio the next day, looking at the review notes he received in an email for his songs:
Track A - Good job, we’re proposing this as a title track for ‘coven’ under MONDMUSIC. We’re thinking of the title: “Apple”. We’ll update you when we hear back.
Track B - The evaluators at Fontain Music immediately thought of Navia when we heard the instrumental. Can you try speeding it up, somewhere around 110-120 BPM? Since it’s sped up, perhaps try making some parts a little more “jingly”? You’ll see the notes we made in the file. Sing the parts noted with green more poppy, like the “Sad love song, sad but time is up”, etc. We think we’ll name the song ‘Algorithm’. Is this suitable?
Track C - Very dark, good for a special stage for the upcoming Halloween season. We’ll see if it fits into a mini album, and if not we’ll see if the other subsidiaries may want it. If TVT DREAM is planning to have a late fall comeback, we will push for this to be on it as a B-Side. It also seems doable for a soloist. We’re assuming the planned title is ‘Devil By The Window’.
Track D—
“Freminet!”
Freminet stiffened as someone threw open the studio door, quickly turning around.
“Charlotte I really don’t think this is a good idea—.”
“Shhhh!”
“Charlotte…? Gaming…? Is everything okay?” Freminet slowly stood up.
Charlotte made him nervous quite often, even though she was earnest, kind, and committed to her work. Perhaps it was the realm of work she did that intimidated Freminet. Being a PR manager and reporter for idols of all kinds only meant that she naturally had a sort of nosiness to herself. Usually, it was Lyney and Lynette she pestered, Freminet would merely watch. There was a singular instance of her asking Freminet for an interview, in which Freminet quickly walked in the other direction, his head down out of shame and humiliation.
She was quite nice, though. She wasn’t malicious in the slightest.
“So, what’s it like? What are you feeling?!” Charlotte beamed, Freminet looking at Gaming who looked like he tried his hardest to keep her out of his studio.
“What’s what like…? Producing music? I-It’s fine. There’s… Nothing interesting to write about—.”
“No, silly! Not like that! I mean blowing up on the internet!”
Huh?
“Charlotte, I don’t think he knows.” Gaming scratched the back of his neck.
“Oh my goodness, twice as great! I get to see your reaction now!”
The pink-haired woman pulled her laptop out of her satchel bag, opening it up at the speed of light only to show a list of trending topics on Twitter to the blonde.
“Lyney’s trending…” Freminet mumbled.
“Underneath! The one underneath!”
“It just says ‘Who is he’.”
“Mhm! And look at this!”
Charlotte turned the laptop in her arms back to her to click on the tab, placing her device on the desk to allow Freminet to take a look. Freminet quietly leaned forward to see a picture of him, Lyney, and Lynette from the day prior:
"Lyney and Lynette with a new TV ENT trainee!? WHO IS HE LYNEY?"
Freminet nearly choked on his spit from the gasp he made as he saw 437k views, 15.6k likes, and 3.9k retweets.
“This is a joke—.”
“Nuh-uh! Look, there are pictures of you circulating now!” Charlotte scrolled down a little to show pictures that looked like they were directly taken by professionals. The quality was far too high to be taken by a cell phone, considering they must’ve taken it far away enough for Freminet to not notice.
Freminet felt lightheaded.
“Charlotte I… I don’t…”
“You should probably interview to clear things up, don’t you think? Say you’re not a trainee and whatnot. Though, seeing as you pulled these sorts of numbers you might want to reconsider~.” Charlotte interrupted him, Freminet starting to pick at the skin on the back of his hand.
“I think you should give him some time to think, Char.” Gaming cleared his throat.
“Oh! Right! Okay, I’ll send you an email later! I’m going to discuss what the next steps may be from the higher-ups. Just a bunch of speculation, so I won’t be able to come back with facts—but I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“…Thanks.” Freminet’s voice was quivering as Charlotte took her laptop and skipped out of the room. Usually, he would be happy that someone else was happy, regardless of how he felt. But now…
He silently went to sit on the couch, burying his face in his hands.
“I’m sorry.” He sniffled, wiping his tears before they could fall.
“Woah, woah, don’t cry man! It’s okay!” Gaming quietly closed the door behind Charlotte, locking it to prevent any more intruders. Though, technically, he was an intruder too. If Freminet told him to get out, he would. This seemed to be a lot for him.
“I’m fine. I just don’t like the public eye, you know that... I… Worry that I’ll now be letting down a lot of people, all because I wanted to go out with my siblings for lunch yesterday.” Freminet sighed.
“You’re their brother?” Gaming blinked. “I wouldn’t have guessed. I think it’s—.”
“My personality?”
“I was going to say the different shades of natural blonde. And neither of them have freckles. Please don’t beat yourself up.” Gaming got on his knees and cupped Freminet’s hands, looking into his eyes.
Even coffee would’ve probably made Freminet’s heart beat less.
“R-Right…” Freminet suddenly looked away at something, anything. The ceiling was interesting, all of a sudden.
“You okay? You look like you’re burning up. Is that normal when you’re stressed?”
Freminet only whimpered something intelligible in response.
“I know! Why don’t I teach you a new dance?! It’ll clear your mind. There’s a duo part, and you can be my duo! Actually… That’s what I originally came here to ask before I ran into Charlotte, told her I was going to find you, and well... Oops!” Gaming grinned, getting up off the floor.
Freminet was sure Gaming wouldn’t have asked him to do choreography again after their first time. He wasn’t used to second chances. At least, not in this industry.
“…Okay. I’ll try.”
“Oh, I’ve heard this song before. The chorus… It’s catchy.” Freminet quietly watched what Gaming created thus far. The song had been circulating for a while, it seemed that it was finally picked up.
It’s you and me in this world
Again, come to me, tie me
If you are goin' to save me
Just come kiss me and bite me
“They’re going for a vampire concept, so I was thinking each performer should have a backup dancer and for the chorus, they come in and it’s a duet dance. Can you stand in front of me?”
Freminet quietly got up off the ground, standing in front of Gaming and facing him.
“I get to play idol this time, huh?” The choreographer grinned. He guided Freminet to stand off center.
“So I’m thinking…”
The dance was sensual, like two lovers that lead each other into impending doom. It was a dance of mirrors, and when they diverged from being mirrors of one another it turned into storytelling.
He was so talented.
Eventually, Freminet memorized the piece.
“You're stiff—relax your back a little when you lean back and I swing you, I don’t want you to get hurt.” Gaming quietly advised, watching the two in the mirror. Freminet nodded, starting from the top. Lyney told Freminet about things like this before, a lot of dancing was intertwined with acting. He needed to play a part.
But Freminet couldn’t be disingenuous.
But was he being disingenuous? At least, it felt more natural than expected with Gaming.
“Okay, with the music, from the top!” Gaming smiled while queueing the music.
Freminet tended to zone out when practicing, like a machine that was ticking on and on and on. It was simply him and the music, he didn’t even mind Gaming’s hands on his back. Halfway through, he felt Gaming’s pulse as a part of the choreography, thrown off by the heart rate he felt. The choreography wasn’t excessively strenuous, that heart rate was rather… fast.
Ignore it, don’t think about it. Don’t ruin it like last time.
The chorus choreography neared its end with Freminet cupping Gaming’s face, guiding him to stand up straight. The two of them silently stared into each other's eyes, Freminet feeling Gaming swallow. Was he nervous? Was Freminet not doing it right? Was he not playing the part? Freminet didn’t remove his hand at the end like he should’ve, their eyes glued to each other as they both froze.
They shared silence, though the song played on:
I dedicate to you the brave heart that'll protect you
My foolish arrogance, I tossed away in the past
Come to me, make it right
Please connect me again
Devour me
Freminet realized he wasn’t breathing, or blinking for that matter. His hand didn’t want to move.
“Was… Was that okay?” Freminet’s voice was hushed, blinking.
Gaming silently stared at the blonde’s light-brown eyelashes as they fluttered.
“Yeah… That… That was good.” Gaming realized how smitten he sounded. “Haha! Yeah, that was, uh, really really good! Not that you’ve ever been bad, I just… Whew!”
Gaming was red in the face as he tried to laugh off his thumping heart. He nearly wanted to lean into Freminet’s hand, feeling as though he’d been robbed when Freminet pulled away.
“Sorry, I froze up a little. I've never done a duet dance…” Freminet slowly stepped back, folding his hands politely as he stared at the practice room floor.
“No! No, no, that was great! That was basically it. I’ll figure out where they go next when I actually get them in here. That was the part I wanted to see! You did great!” Gaming sighed with relief as Freminet didn’t bring up whatever just happened.
“Oh… Okay. Thank you. Is… there anything else you need? I want to help you, you’re really kind.” Freminet mumbled, staring at his bag with Pers in it that was placed against the wall.
“Hm… I don’t think so… If you want to give me your number, I’ll text you if I think of anything! I promise I won’t text at like three in the morning, haha!”
Gaming mentally patted himself on the back for being so smooth.
“Okay.”
Gaming sighed as he got home late at night, throwing his body on the couch.
“What the hell was that, Yip Ga Ming?!” He groaned to himself, ruffling his hair in distress. He and Freminet were beginning to surpass the threshold of “coworkers”, but they weren’t dating either. Did Freminet even feel that way during all that? His face looked oddly neutral, not like the night when Gaming caught him before he fell.
His face was so pretty…
“No! Be normal!” Gaming shoved his face into one of his couch pillows. He lifted his head at the sound of a loud yet sweet meow, turning his head to see his black and fluffy cat sitting on his coffee table.
“Oh Man Chai… Am I cooked?”
The cat meowed again.
“Hey! Don’t say yes!”
Gaming was interrupted by his phone ringing in his pocket, scrambling to grab it in the hopes that Freminet was calling him.
He sighed as he read “Dad” on his phone, sitting up and pulling himself to answer.
“Hey, pops.” Gaming picked up.
“Are you getting ready for bed?”
Gaming rolled his eyes.
“Yes I am, I just got back—.”
“Just got back? Does your job require you to work so late? You know, there are jobs that are much more stable with better hours.”
Gaming was not doing this tonight.
“Yeah, yeah, there are plenty of boring jobs out there, I get it.” Gaming stood up and went to the kitchen, opening the fridge to look for something to eat.
“They pay the bills, Gaming. You could be late on rent next month if they don’t give you a project to work on. You could be working a salaried job with normal hours and—.”
“Dad, I'm not interested in this conversation.” Gaming huffed.
“I know you’re not interested, but you need to hear it.”
Gaming hated when his dad called him just to complain about his choice of career. The blow-up they had when Gaming chose to use his college savings for a proper dance school was enough to make Gaming not want to speak to his father ever again.
“Okay, what’s the point of this call, Dad? I’m fine, I’m paying rent just fine, I technically don’t have assigned hours, just deadlines. I just like to practice at night.”
“I’m just thinking about you. Can’t a father be worried about his son?”
“You can but I’m telling you I’m fine.” Gaming quietly pulled out grapefruit from his fridge, a light snack before he began to get ready for bed.
“I’m looking out for your future. What, are you going to do this when you’re 50 too?”
“Dad, I will get there when I get there.”
His patience was wearing thin.
“You need to start thinking about these things. You know, your mother and I—.”
“Do not bring her up.” Gaming hissed.
“Don’t be sensitive about it, Ga Ming.”
“I think I get to be a little sensitive about my own mom. This is ridiculous, all you ever do is lecture me on what you would do, and you think that I should just live an unhappy life for the sake of money and I’m not doing that! Leave me alone about my career choice, I’m going to bed, have a good night.”
Gaming hung up the phone and slammed his phone down on the counter.
Freminet didn’t particularly find living alone in a flat horrible, but sometimes he missed how he, Lyney, and Lynette shared a room back in middle school. When they became proper trainees, they had a few rocky experiences even before they found solace in their orphanage and met Freminet, the youngest was left with a room all to himself. It did get quite lonely, and Freminet hadn’t moved out for himself until he was of age.
At least with him having a place of his own, he didn’t have to deal with Lyney’s endless cycle of misplacing and finding things. Lynette was a great roommate, Freminet never had any prominent issues with her.
He should get ready.
Freminet quietly squeezed Pers one last time before getting ready for his day. He lived near the Teyvat Entertainment building, so he often walked.
What he didn’t predict, however, was the barrage of flashing lights he was met with as he exited his apartment complex. It wasn’t nearly as many as Lyney had to deal with, but the crowd wasn’t insignificant in the slightest.
How in the world did they find out where he lived?!
Freminet immediately closed the door to his apartment complex door again, pressing his back to the door as if to keep wild animals clawing at his door from entering. This was ridiculous, he couldn’t take this. Photographers trying to sell pictures of him to be published in news articles—he couldn’t take it. Why him? Even Gaming, who wasn’t an idol, could handle this better than him.
Gaming…
Freminet pulled out his phone hurriedly, his thumbs shaky as he texted.
Freminet > …Morning.
Was Gaming even awake? His schedule seemed to start later in the day. Freminet wasn’t sure who else to text. His siblings wouldn’t be very useful in this situation; it wouldn’t be smart to invite famous people to his home. Besides, Lyney had just started music show promotions for his music today—he was likely beyond tired.
Freminet relished as he felt his phone buzz in his hand, seeing a notification from Gaming. Maybe he wasn’t up too late last night.
Ga Ming > Hey!!! Good morning!
Freminet > sorry if it’s too early to text you. I don’t really have anyone else to talk to about this…
Ga Ming > About what?
Freminet > …
Freminet > There are photographers at my door… And I don’t know what to do. The lights are bright…
Ga Ming > !?!!?! Did someone follow you home for your address!?
Freminet > I hope not;;;; do you think they did?;;;;;;
Ga Ming > I mean it’s happened to idols before, the difference is the idols' dorms have crazy security… Do you want me to come over? I’ll be your bodyguard, hehe!
Freminet > … I don’t know how far you live, that wouldn’t be fair to you… I have a car but I don’t want to drive because it has my license plate and,,,, I usually don’t drive to work anyway since I live really close,,,,
Ga Ming > My apartment is near work too! Look, I’ll be there really quick!
Freminet > …
Freminet > [shared a location]
Ga Ming > dude.
Freminet > …??? What’s wrong? Is it too far?
Freminet watched as Gaming stopped typing. Did he make him angry? His stomach turned as he slid his back down the door, curling up into a ball.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Do not cry.
The blonde tried to pull himself together as he heard the sound of an apartment door unlocking. He shouldn’t be blocking the doorway, maybe he should just go back up to his place—.
“There you are!” Gaming peeked out from his doorway, stepping out only when he realized Freminet was on the brink of tears. Under any other circ*mstances, Freminet would’ve stared in shock. Really, what were the odds? All he could feel was relief, however, when Gaming approached him. Freminet quietly slumped forward into Gaming—a half-hearted hug of sorts.
Gaming was still in his pajamas, Freminet assumed he must’ve woken him up. Now, he really felt bad.
“Sorry.” Freminet sighed, his breath shaky as he tried to hold back tears. He didn’t want to cry in front of him.
“What are you apologizing for?”
“…I don’t know, all of this.”
Gaming sighed as he held Freminet by the shoulders, positioning him upright in front of him.
“You’re not a nuisance.” He affirmed. “Come in, you can sit on my couch while I get dressed.”
Freminet didn’t have the will to protest. Or rather, he didn’t want to make Gaming change his mind. His apartment was nice, certainly a little more cluttered than Freminet’s, but the scattered objects all seemed to hold some relative importance. Freminet quietly took Pers out of his bag, digging his nose into the plush as he sat down on the couch. He just needed to breathe.
“I’ll be right back! If you want something to eat or drink, my fridge is open!” Gaming scurried to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Freminet sat with his eyes closed momentarily, taking a few deep breaths before he felt a small weight join him on the couch. His blue eyes peeked open, looking over to his right to see a large and long-coated black cat next to him.
“I didn’t think Gaming was a cat person…” Freminet murmured.
The cat looked at him expectantly, orange eyes slowly blinking as its tail swished back and forth. Freminet slowly reached out a hand, allowing the cat to sniff his fingers before gently scratching behind the cat's ears.
“You’re friendly. Just like him…” He sighed, retracting his hand and watching the cat lay on its back as if asking for more. The last time Freminet saw a house cat was Lyney’s cat—Rosseland.
That bastard always gave him a hard time. Lyney and Lynette both had more of an affinity with cats. Rosseland was as sweet as ever to the twins but Freminet was a different story. Back in the orphanage, Rosseland often sat on Freminet’s books, pushed his drink cups off the side tables, and swatted at him when Freminet tried to shoo him off his warm laundry.
Freminet quietly stared at the pictures that stood on the side table.
There was an image of Gaming and a group of boys. Gaming looked to be roughly 15 in the picture, he had braces as he grinned into the camera. Behind the group of teenagers were adults; Freminet wondered which ones were Gaming’s parents. He held a plaque that read ‘TEYVAT ENTERTAINMENT STARCOMP - Dance Recruit Nationals Teen Divison - Overall 1st Place’.
Freminet heard of that competition. Those who won in each division would be offered to join as trainees. It started airing roughly a decade ago, this must’ve been one of the first seasons. The blonde grabbed the photo, wiping off the thin layer of dust as he stared at it.
“Alright! Sorry for the wait!” Gaming opened his bedroom door with a sigh, looking over to see Freminet with the picture frame in hand.
“I didn’t know you won… You’ve been training for that long?” Freminet slowly looked up. Gaming inhaled as if thinking how he should tell Freminet this.
“I won, yeah—me and my guys. I didn’t take the offer, though. I was 14, and my dad convinced me that I didn’t want to go that path. But I guess fate had other plans since I ended up here anyway! And I love what I do, I love to dance, so it worked itself out.” Gaming quietly sat on the couch with Freminet, peering over to Man Chai who was being questionably docile.
“What about your mom?” Freminet looked over to Gaming.
“She… Passed away a year before this. I worked really hard to win this since she supported me through all of her last days but she was really sick and uh…” Gaming swallowed, not wanting to pressure Freminet with the lore of his family.
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“No, no! It’s cool! There was nothing anyone could’ve done. Her passing away just kind of turned my dad into a control freak. We just both miss her a lot.” Gaming put his hands up as if to stop Freminet from apologizing further.
“Your hand… What happened?” Freminet set the picture down on his lap to grab Gaming’s right hand. His palm was bandaged tightly. Freminet was too observant for Gaming to pretend like nothing happened last night.
“Oh don’t worry about me, my dad called, we fought a little, and I got really upset. I was cutting a grapefruit and thinking about it and I sliced my hand up on accident.” Gaming hated to admit that. He wasn’t one to become blinded with anger, but his career conversations with his father easily became volatile.
“Over your mom?”
“Sort of… He doesn’t like me doing this for a living. He thinks it’s unsustainable and that I should’ve gotten a proper degree in a ‘normal major’, whatever that means.” Gaming groaned, doing air quotes with his spare hand. “He brought up Mom last night and I kinda lost my cool. Usually, I tune him out and watch TV as he yaps but I was ready to get in bed.”
“I see…” Freminet quietly watched as Gaming laid back on the couch—the conversation was stressful for him.
“Anyway! We should get going! Do you think they’ll even still be outside?” Gaming bounced off the couch quickly putting on his shoes and grabbing his duffle bag.
“I hope not…” Freminet sighed as he put Pers back into his backpack.
“Oh, um, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your cat's name?”
“Man Chai! It means well-behaved. Ironic for him, I know.”
“I think it’s fitting. He’s really sweet.”
Gaming was convinced there was no way in hell he and Freminet were talking about the same cat.
Gaming slowly opened the door outside, nearly getting flash-banged by the bright snaps of a few cameras. Seriously, how did idols not have a seizure from those? He quietly held Freminet’s hand as they walked through the small crowd. Freminet focused on Gaming’s feet, only tilting his head up occasionally to make sure he wasn’t about to bump into anyone.
Freminet didn’t breathe until they were around the block, audibly sighing as he squeezed Gaming’s hand.
“I can’t live like this… I’m going to die.” He muttered under his breath.
“Hey, don’t say that…” Gaming chided, quickly turning around to make sure nobody else was around the two.
“How long will this last? I want to be a nobody again…” Freminet seemed to be praying at this point. Gaming would be lying if he said he didn’t find his minor dramatics amusing.
“Here, why don’t I pick you up something from that cafe you like? On me! And we won’t sit down, we’ll just grab and go to work! They’ll understand us being a little late if we tell them there was a crowd outside our apartment.” Gaming pulled Freminet towards the cafe, it was on the way to the entertainment building anyway.
Freminet knew better than to protest someone so kind about his sensitivities.
A pastry did seem to soften the blow of Freminet’s distress.
As they tapped their ID cards to enter the building, Freminet realized he would be alone for a bit until Gaming came to visit him for lunch. It was an anxiety-inducing thought, Freminet’s mind would surely wander at some point and he would work himself up.
“Okay. See, we made it! Now, go make some music and—!” Gaming was interrupted by his phone suddenly vibrating three times in a row, pulling out his phone in case it was an emergency.
Xingqiu > I fear you are screwed, dear Ga Ming.
Xingqiu > [link]
Xinyan > They got your ass, man.
Freminet quietly watched Gaming scroll his phone. Was it his dad? Gaming’s eyebrows were furrowed as he seemed to be looking at a wall of messages, quickly replying before shoving his phone back in his pocket.
“Is… Something wrong? Is it your dad?” Freminet’s voice was soft as if he was worried about someone hearing.
“Oh, no! It’s nothing major! I just better get to work, haha! I’ll catch you later, okay?”
And with that, Gaming was off to the floor L1YUE was on. He always took the stairs, since the subsidiary was on the third floor. Fontain Music was on the fifth, and Freminet often dressed cozy when he came in. He had no interest in sweating.
“I hope I didn’t get him in trouble…”
I don't know 'bout you
But I get butterflies
All of these feelings, these trembling hands
First time, first time
Freminet muttered to himself as he listened to his recording over and over again.
“That’s not… pretty enough. I have to come back to that…” He mumbled, writing down on his printed-out sheet of lyrics that sat on a music stand. The inflections weren’t right and he didn’t like the run.
When I’m loving you,
I’m always satisfied.
Every moment with you is like the first time.
“Al-ways sat-is-fied… I don’t like that either… Make it smoother…” Freminet sighed into the microphone before he heard the door of the studio open.
“Hey! Sorry I’m late! Did you eat already?” Gaming looked at Freminet through the glass.
Freminet said something, though Gaming couldn’t hear him.
“Oh! Wait!” Gaming unmuted the microphone booth, laughing into the microphone that sat on the desk.
“Can you hear me now?” Freminet blushed, forgetting he completely locked himself in the microphone booth and shut out the outside.
“Mhm! What’d you say?” Gaming sat down and put his elbows on the desk, using his hands to support his head as he stared at Freminet as if staring at a painting.
“I didn’t know it was lunchtime… What time is it?” Freminet quietly asked.
“It is…” Gaming pulled out his phone. “12:37! Man, I am really late today.”
“That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to eat without you anyway.” Freminet slowly took the headphones off his head, hanging them on the pushcart stand before he exited the booth.
“Um… Though… Is everything alright from earlier? Did I get you in trouble?” Freminet quietly asked as he closed the door and turned the light off.
“Oh, right!” Gaming nervously laughed. “So… Theoretically… Like…” He trailed off.
“You… Don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…”
“No, I wanna! You should know! It’s just like uh… Okay, the situation is that when we were leaving my place earlier today people took pictures of me and recognized me from StarComp and erm…” Gaming looked at Freminet. “We’re kind of both having our sixty seconds of fame.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah… Xingqiu sent it to me, that’s why I saw it. I think they’re shipping us, too.”
“…Shipping us? To where?”
“Never mind, haha! Let’s go eat lunch!”
“Oh… Okay.”
