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poppyseedheartWe are back!! This is going to be a lot shorter than chapter one for a few reasons but a big one is that I am on vacation [crowd yeehaws]. Another big one is that I think out of all of the chapters of this fic, chapter two needed the least polishing. The earlier chapters had the benefit of more revision passes, since after I finished nanowrimo in 2021 (during which I did indeed write about 50k of this story), I went back to those 50k words and cleaned up as much as I could.
The main things I tweaked in this chapter were logistical, honestly. I kept forgetting how old I was making Hyunjin (in part becuse I was using both international and Korean age in my own head - would recommend just picking one at least in the draft and then editing as necessary).
One funny moment that I cut for clarity was Hyunjin eyeing Seungmin's hoodie to steal as well. He doesn't do so, because Seungmin literally brought him a whole coat to wear, but I was making myself laugh with the idea of Hyunjin's POV always being just a little bit of aware of which of Seungmin's clothes he might be able to convince Seungmin to lend him at any given moment. Hyunjin magpie except instead of something shiny it's like, warm comfy fabric.
The biggest change really came months ago, as I worked and reworked the pacing of this chapter. Hyunjin's birthday partying (including brunch) spans a lot of words!! This is one of the longest chapters in the story, ringing in over 12k (most are 8.5-11k), and I needed the emotions to hit while the plot also developed in certain directions. We needed a glimpse of Hyunjin's backstory. We needed Changlix to show up together, Chan to have his moment of angst which Hyunjin is just decidedly not paying attention to, Seungjin to see each other gussied up under the pretty lights and both yearn, though I can't say both of them realize they're yearning right now.
I'll come back to this in future author's notes, but while writing and especially while revising I've been referring to Hyunjin in my head as, at times, maliciously oblivious. He can be the equivalent of sticking his fingers in his ears and going la la la la when it comes to the consequences of his own actions. It's up to me as the author to counterbalance that childish urge with a part of him that feels older and sadder, that knows how to lose things, that doesn't want to hurt anymore. Rather than the adult ability to cope, the teenage impulse to pretend it never happened. Rather than moving forward or looking back, the determination to make the present as beautiful as possible and never leave it. Oh Emma Hyunjin. You are just my little dude.
*
In terms of research, the main thing we got for this chapter was Hyunjin's venue! I did some research on potential venues. There were a lot of beautiful ones! I initially actually put a lower cap on my search because I kept finding things that were too affordable lskfjls Hyunjin would go all out! But then this one was a steal. I also invented a rooftop for it that I later rained out. But I am someone who really likes writing about different kinds and colors of lighting, and this seemed like the perfect place for that. So you're welcome Hyunjin for saving you some money and for giving you a pretty venue with such warm light. See my original notes below.
The real downfall here is, as mentioned above, I made them cross the river. I'm not sure Emma Hyunjin would have been willing to do that, even for a great deal (maybe especially for a great deal), so in this AU we can pretend that it's closer to his apartment in Gangnam. That's fine though. You win some and you lose some.
I think that's all for chapter two! I'll come back and add things if I remember to but truly no promises. I'm on vacay, baby.
See you next week for chapter three and thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone for reading!! <3
The main things I tweaked in this chapter were logistical, honestly. I kept forgetting how old I was making Hyunjin (in part becuse I was using both international and Korean age in my own head - would recommend just picking one at least in the draft and then editing as necessary).
One funny moment that I cut for clarity was Hyunjin eyeing Seungmin's hoodie to steal as well. He doesn't do so, because Seungmin literally brought him a whole coat to wear, but I was making myself laugh with the idea of Hyunjin's POV always being just a little bit of aware of which of Seungmin's clothes he might be able to convince Seungmin to lend him at any given moment. Hyunjin magpie except instead of something shiny it's like, warm comfy fabric.
The biggest change really came months ago, as I worked and reworked the pacing of this chapter. Hyunjin's birthday partying (including brunch) spans a lot of words!! This is one of the longest chapters in the story, ringing in over 12k (most are 8.5-11k), and I needed the emotions to hit while the plot also developed in certain directions. We needed a glimpse of Hyunjin's backstory. We needed Changlix to show up together, Chan to have his moment of angst which Hyunjin is just decidedly not paying attention to, Seungjin to see each other gussied up under the pretty lights and both yearn, though I can't say both of them realize they're yearning right now.
I'll come back to this in future author's notes, but while writing and especially while revising I've been referring to Hyunjin in my head as, at times, maliciously oblivious. He can be the equivalent of sticking his fingers in his ears and going la la la la when it comes to the consequences of his own actions. It's up to me as the author to counterbalance that childish urge with a part of him that feels older and sadder, that knows how to lose things, that doesn't want to hurt anymore. Rather than the adult ability to cope, the teenage impulse to pretend it never happened. Rather than moving forward or looking back, the determination to make the present as beautiful as possible and never leave it. Oh Emma Hyunjin. You are just my little dude.
*
In terms of research, the main thing we got for this chapter was Hyunjin's venue! I did some research on potential venues. There were a lot of beautiful ones! I initially actually put a lower cap on my search because I kept finding things that were too affordable lskfjls Hyunjin would go all out! But then this one was a steal. I also invented a rooftop for it that I later rained out. But I am someone who really likes writing about different kinds and colors of lighting, and this seemed like the perfect place for that. So you're welcome Hyunjin for saving you some money and for giving you a pretty venue with such warm light. See my original notes below.
The real downfall here is, as mentioned above, I made them cross the river. I'm not sure Emma Hyunjin would have been willing to do that, even for a great deal (maybe especially for a great deal), so in this AU we can pretend that it's closer to his apartment in Gangnam. That's fine though. You win some and you lose some.
I think that's all for chapter two! I'll come back and add things if I remember to but truly no promises. I'm on vacay, baby.
See you next week for chapter three and thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone for reading!! <3
(no subject)
12/2/23 16:39 (UTC)"Rather than the adult ability to cope, the teenage impulse to pretend it never happened. Rather than moving forward or looking back, the determination to make the present as beautiful as possible and never leave it." This is so beautiful and I love it!