Complete Private Across the Distance

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

The end of the year was near, and everybody was busy with Christmas and New Year. Not Dayeon, as she was out of job thanks to the endless trouble she got into, sandwiching her both from in-game and real life. Spending the last festive week rotting in her apartment room, the idol was rolling around on her bed before suddenly someone was knocking on her door.

"Package for Miss Song!"

"Coming!" She shouted, making her way to the front door, opening it, and receiving a box. Who could it be? "Thanks," She said to the deliveryman before closing the door and sitting on the couch, inspecting the package further. On the top side, there was a note with bold text, all in caps.

YOU BETTER CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS
-Val

Sighing, she tried to think what this was all about, before giving up and fetching her iPhone. Scrolling through her contact book, her finger pressed on the name of a particular girl. The tone rang, before the person on the other side answered.

"Hello, Val?" Dayeon greeted, before informing the other woman, "Uh, I got the package."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Her phone had buzzed not long ago, alerting the girl that one of the few packages she’d mailed out for Christmas had finally reached its destination. "I’ll be right back, guys~" Her attention turned to the two companions she was currently spending the holidays with, the blonde waving her phone to show she had a call waiting, before dipping out of the living room and into Ari’s room.

"Hello, Val?"
"Hey, Dee!"
"Uh, I got the package."

A cheery tone echoed in Dayeon’s receiver from the other side, and the idol probably didn’t need to see the girl to envision the wide smile that was probably on her lips. "I know, got the text alert a couple of minutes before you called." She sat on the edge of the bed now, holding the phone away from her face as the girl initiated the option for a video call.

"Go ahead and open it now," Once the camera came to life the blonde waved a greeting before speaking, that excited smile never leaving her lips. "And turn on your cam, I wanna see you face when you see what it is~"

@Lune

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"Go ahead and open it now,"

As Dayeon was going to stand up to grab a boxcutter, Val's face suddenly appeared as she turned on the camera. It looked like she was sitting in a bedroom. The woman smiled, having not seen the blonde for almost a month.

"And turn on your cam, I wanna see you face when you see what it is~"

"Fine," she jokingly sighed. A moment later, a face of a woman appeared on the other side of a call. The familiar face belonged to Dayeon Song, but somehow, she looked a bit different from the last time they met in Hawaii. Her hair was messy and unkempt unlike the stylish ponytail she rocked before, the folds on her white oversized shirt were visible, and the face behind the cheery grin was less healthy.

"Hi," She waved at Valeria, her smile wide.

Placing her phone standing, leaning on a vase, she then took a boxcutter to open the present, "Alright, opening it now." She presented the box to the camera first before opening it, like a YouTuber doing an unboxing video.

The present was then opened.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

It had been a while since she’d last seen Dayeon, ever since their two week escapade to Hawaii actually. Back then the woman had seemed her usual self for the most part, but there were a few times where something had felt off—Valeria hoped that she wasn’t coming down with a flu or something.

"Fine," the older woman humored Val’s request, her face soon coming to life on her iPhone screen and causing the blonde’s grin to widen even further. "Hi."

As Dayeon took a moment to find her boxcutter Val was given more time to properly take in the idol’s appearance. It was unusual to see the woman sporting such a messy look, and even her skin didn’t seem to be as vibrant and healthy as usual. "Alright, opening it now." A nod of confirmation was given by Val as her friend raised the box towards the screen, their own little private unboxing video carrying on.

The USPS box itself was pretty standard, the only commercial factor to it having been the all caps message handwritten on the side of it for the singer. Once opened however Dayeon would’ve found a large christmas gift bag within, the amount of decorative tissue paper almost bulging out of it.

"They kinda take up most of the bag, so I had to stuff a lot of them at the top to avoid spoiling the surprise too fast when you opened it." A sheepish smile was given by the blonde as she spoke, though the faint giggles that echoed showed she had also found the scene somewhat comical too. Once removed Dayeon would find two large handmade pillows inside, shaped like biscuit cookies of vanilla and chocolate flavor. "It’s still a bit early, but happy birthday and merry christmas Dee~"

@Lune

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"Why are there so many fillings?" Dayeon chuckled as she removed the decoration papers one by one, throwing a few toward her phone as a joke.

"They kinda take up most of the bag, so I had to stuff a lot of them at the top to avoid spoiling the surprise too fast when you opened it."

She nodded, throwing enough papers before the real present finally presented itself, a pair of pillows shaped like biscuits. The Puerto Rican woman must have remembered Dayeon's love for sweets.

"It’s still a bit early, but happy birthday and merry christmas Dee~"

"Thank you, Val. Merry Christmas too!" The woman hugged the pillows, before apologetically muttering, "Sorry I... didn't get you anything, I kinda forgot..." A bit of that, and she was way too busy dealing with the aftermath of the expulsion of her company in actuality. Even though the pretty shocking news had just hit the public in the last few days, the idol was suffering under fire for months now, and was unsure of her future.

"... I-I'll send you something after New Year, promise!"

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"Sorry I... didn't get you anything, I kinda forgot..." The woman hugged the pillows close, the sight causing Valeria to grin widely, before Dayeon was then muttering an apology that caused the blonde to quickly shake her head. "You don’t need to apologize for that, I didn’t make them for you to get something back in return."

It was probably better that way too, the internet had been a whirling storm of articles and opinions the last few days after the news of the woman’s expulsion from her record house had broken out. "Bet things have been kinda crazy for a while now, huh..." One thought had quickly stood out above any others in Valeria’s mind upon first hearing of the unexpected change, and suddenly the odd and gloomy mood the woman had been in back in Hawaii made sense for the blonde.

"... I-I'll send you something after New Year, promise!"
"Hmm-hmm, don’t do that Dee! You have other things to focus on first, don’t you?"

Losing your main, and in some cases only, source of income was a rough time for anyone to traverse—more so during the holiday season. "S-So… whatcha planning on doing now? Have anything in mind yet?" She had been concerned over the woman for a few days now, but had figured giving her space at first when the news broke out would be the best idea at the time—especially when the gift had only been a few days away from delivery too.

@Lune

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"You don’t need to apologize for that, I didn’t make them for you to get something back in return."

The idol shook her head, still clutching the biscuit pillow. "But I feel really bad if I don't gift back anything..."

"Bet things have been kinda crazy for a while now, huh..."

"Bad timing, really." Dayeon sighed, contemplating the rapid-fire misfortune that had befallen her the last months. Wonder if all that started with the Camp Hope incident?

"S-So… whatcha planning on doing now? Have anything in mind yet?"

She fell silent for a while, before finally replying. "I don't know yet..." The songstress revealed that she has no plans yet, and some thoughts of changing careers were even on her mind "... but my fans are still standing behind me, supporting me. Of course I'm not going to let them down." She looked at Val on the video call with resolve in her eyes.

"Thank you, Val. Really."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"I don't know yet..." She could see the way Dayeon’s brows furrowed in thought, the light tension on the woman’s face as her mind was forced to once more consider the current state of events and any possible roads out of it. "... but my fans are still standing behind me, supporting me. Of course I'm not going to let them down."

"Not just your fans, silly You have friends supporting you, too." Despite the woman’s appearance it was clear she wasn’t down and out yet, the resolve within her eyes easy enough to see as the blonde chuckled ever so slightly. "You’ll make that record house regret not treating you the way you deserve, right~?"

She was caught by surprise when Dayeon thanked her, one of the girl’s hands raised to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear in response. "D-Don’t thank me, I haven’t done anything… not yet, at least." A sheepish grin lightly pulled at her lips then, before the blonde took a deep breath as she gathered her own thoughts. The idea had been something she had toyed with in the past, before certain things had gone down and the turmoil that had followed it all.

"Hey, Dee… R-Remember our time back in Vikform?" There was always the chance that the older woman might not be interested in what the girl had to offer, but Valeria wouldn’t know until she asked. "I was thinking, and this is totallyuptoyou really, but what about recording a duet between us…?"

Her pace had picked up a bit as she spoke, and a rosy hue now colored her cheeks as the girl looked away from the camera. "I b-bet your fans would love seeing direct content from you—and nowadays there’s a lot of platforms that artists can use on their own, without the need of stuffy record houses and their dumb restrictions!" Granted Valeria herself didn’t know much about the music industry and how it worked, her online presence was geared more towards video games and cosplaying… among other things. Still, how different could it be?

"I’ve seen a lot of artists start out like that nowadays, first with short reels and then videos to get a following… but you already have a fan base, and I bet they’d give a lot of clicks and views to any content you made!" She was rambling now, that much the blonde knew and yet it was hard to stop it… in the end she was also a fan of Dayeon and her music. "B-Besides, I thought your rendition of Red that time was waaay better than anytime you performed it for that dumb record house…"

@Lune

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"You’ll make that record house regret not treating you the way you deserve, right~?"

She chuckled, before looking away, looking a bit sad. "It's not their fault. I'm the one not fulfilling my obligations..." The atmosphere went silent for a while before Val brought up something that they did ingame in the past.

"Hey, Dee… R-Remember our time back in Vikform?"

"Mm? Yeah."

"I was thinking, and this is totallyuptoyou really, but what about recording a duet between us…?"

"It's not a bad idea, and we can definitely get it trending again on social media." Imagine getting more people to cover and dance to Red again on TikTok and Instagram, and that's not a hard possibility. "It's worth a try."

"I’ve seen a lot of artists start out like that nowadays, first with short reels and then videos to get a following… but you already have a fan base, and I bet they’d give a lot of clicks and views to any content you made!"

But that's not going to help her music career... Except if she transitioned into a content creator? Doing musical content, song covers, or various kinds of videos was not new to her, since the idol did some during her group days. "I still don't have the means to release new music without a publishing company though..." Dayeon lamented, not wanting to give up on her songwriting.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"It's not their fault. I'm the one not fulfilling my obligations..."
"No, it’s not your fault. Dee, look at me."

The light smile on her lips soon faded away, a look of concern mixed with a sprinkling of irritation crossing Val’s face as Dayeon looked away from the phone. She couldn’t help but feel upset for her friend, knowing that the saddened look on Dayeon was because of them, but she wasn’t about to let the woman continue to fool herself—if anyone was at fault it was them, not Dayeon.

"Everyone knows all those big labels are just slave drivers, vultures that prey on talented people after they trap them into a contract so they can squeeze them dry before moving onto the next victim."

It wasn’t a well-kept secret in the music industry, which is probably why those records prayed on very young and impressionable talents more often than not. Once they had you signed in it was hard to get out, but Dayeon had finally been lucky enough to let go—she was being given a chance to pursue music the way she might’ve always wanted to now, even if the older woman couldn’t see that at this very moment.

"It's worth a try." As the songstress seemed to consider Val’s idea in earnest the look on the blond enlightened once more, the smile back and eventually turning into a cheeky grin as she nodded in response. "Right? Nothing to lose, and everything to gain~"

"I still don't have the means to release new music without a publishing company though..."
"Well, actually… I was doing some digging around the ‘net on that topic, since I’ve seen a lot of singers start off first with reels and whatnot to gain popularity before publishing their songs."

Nowadays it wasn’t uncommon to hear of independent musicians, bands and singers, and the songs of many could even be found in various music apps with relative ease. "Apparently they use digital music distributors so they can get upload their songs on Spotify, iTunes etcetera. I don’t know much about them aside from that, but if you want to keep making and releasing music it should be doable… I think?"

@Lune

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"Everyone knows all those big labels are just slave drivers, vultures that prey on talented people after they trap them into a contract so they can squeeze them dry before moving onto the next victim."

"Still, they're the only way for people like us to make a living."

Sighing, she motioned around her modest apartment room, nowhere as big as the dorm the idol lived in during her group days. As good as the old days looked to the uninitiated, the label was almost tenfold better in terms of just about everything compared to her old entertainment company.

Her approval was however enough to paint a grin on the blonde's face. "Right? Nothing to lose, and everything to gain~"

"I was doing some digging around the ‘net on that topic, since I’ve seen a lot of singers start off first with reels and whatnot to gain popularity before publishing their songs."

Yeah... But she's the DAYEONSONG. If anyone never heard of her they probably listen to their boomer music or just lived under a rock. Or in nowhere without access to talent and good music.

"Apparently they use digital music distributors so they can get upload their songs on Spotify, iTunes etcetera."

Dayeon inhaled a bit, before explaining with a quite sad tone. "That's the problem. You already know how big UFO Music is." She then elaborated, "With the way they painted me on every news outlet, no music distributor would ever work with me now. That's a given." The woman gritted her teeth, before muttering. "Even though they racked all that profit from Red..."

Exhaling deeply, she paused for a while, before looking back at the camera once again. "Look, I'll be fine, okay? I'll find a way. And we'll do the duet you wanted."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The initial motivation and excitement that the blonde had shown as she’d presented her ideas had slowly begun to wane as Dayeon put things in better perspective for the girl. Her hands had instinctively closed into tight fists away from the woman’s view, the frustration she felt on behalf of her friend causing the girl to bite her bottom lip before sighing deeply.

"That’s not fair, especially after everything they’ve gotten from you." Dayeon was a wonderful songstress, even before Red, and yet the woman’s music had never sounded as good as the day she’d performed among the golden fields of Vikform.

Silence stretched between them for a few moments before the older woman was the first to break it with a deep exhale, trying to reassure Valeria that everything would be alright. "O-Okay," her response lacked the previous energy she’d displayed, though she still gave Dayeon an earnest smile. "But if there’s anything, absolutely anything, that I can do to help you’ll let me know… right?"

@Lune

 

[Lune]

Dayeon Song

"But if there’s anything, absolutely anything, that I can do to help you’ll let me know… right?"

"Of course," The older woman smiled, hugging the pillows tightly. "Of course I will let you know."

The idol stared blankly at the phone camera, before sighing. "Thanks again, Val. These..." She waved the pillows at her, "... and your support. It means a lot to me." Reaching out for the phone, she then waved goodbye to the woman. "I'll make sure to get back on my feet quickly so you can enjoy my music more."

She exhaled. Ending calls was not her specialty, so both of them gazed at each other awkwardly for a while before Dayeon chuckled. "A-anyway, thanks again. Maybe see you soon?"

Just as she was going to put her phone back into the charging dock, it suddenly rang again. This time, it was from an unknown number.

"Hello?" Dayeon picked up. before a cold, familiar voice came from the other side.

"Unnie, I've seen the news."

- END -​

@Luthien