With a soft sigh, Rin took a seat on the break room's couch, setting down his water bottle. He'd been the first of the group to arrive for rehearsals that day, and the rest of Prism would probably be trickling in slowly.

His mind was a million miles away, as usual. He tapped away on his phone absentmindedly, sending yet another friendly and charming response to a fan. Part of the appeal of groups like his—even though they were technically not idols—was that they sold the fantasy of a relationship with the performers. And, being a former host, Rin was very familiar with the concept already. Most of his fellow members weren't quite so direct in their interactions with their fans, but old habits died hard, Rin supposed.

Rin's phone was constantly abuzz with messages from fans. He tried to respond to them all, establishing gentle boundaries and keeping the interactions as friendly as possible without going too far. He'd left the complicated life of a host behind for a reason. Still, charm was second nature to the dancer, and he often couldn't help but act flirty with people.

Putting his phone away, he leaned back and sighed. "I don't even remember what my actual personality is supposed to be anymore," he mused to no one in particular, his expression distant. "Sometimes I don't even know if I'm really friends with the others, or just pretending to be..."

The host lifestyle had earned him a great deal of money and let him chase his dreams, but also left a mark that he couldn't seem to erase. Everything felt transactional. Fake. He smiled for the camera to elicit a reaction. He replied to his fans in exchange for their support. Sure, he wasn't convincing anyone to buy champagne towers anymore, but was pushing merch really that different?

The door clicked open, pulling him from his thoughts, and Rin smiled at the sight of the group's manager. "Good morning," he chirped as though he hadn't been brooding moments before. "You're a vision as always."

Was the compliment genuine? Even he wasn't sure.