Kara’s Day Off
Beep, beep, beep! Kara’s phone dutifully blares at her to wake up. Ughhhh. Why did I even set an alarm for today? Kara rolls over and slaps blindly at her phone, attempting to turn the alarm off without opening her eyes. Failing to do so, Kara begrudgingly sits up in bed, opens her eyes just enough to squint, and turns the alarm off. She swings her legs out of bed and slips her feet into the slippers waiting for her at her bedside. Making her way to her desk, Kara grabs her fuzzy gray robe and bundles it around herself as she plops down at her desk. She takes a moment to snuggle up, enjoying the feel of the robe against her chilled skin. Scrolling through social media before starting her day, she pauses and thinks to herself, This is why I woke up early. Kara lets out a sigh of satisfaction—a quiet morning. On a typical morning, she doesn’t have time to relax before starting her day. It’s always go, go, go. Kara enjoys her fast-paced life, but she knows it’s important to make time for self-care to avoid burnout in the future—even though a future with burnout is unfathomable to her due to her passion for music and the idol life.
After relishing the peace for a few more moments, Kara begins getting ready for the day. She starts every morning and ends every evening by using YooAdaCare’s soap to wash her face. She enjoys trying out the different scents, and right now, she’s using their “Fresh” soap. It is living up to its name, too; the hints of lily and lemongrass feel refreshing and hydrating on her skin. Kara has specifically made sure she’s using this soap on her day off, since one of its health benefits is promoting relaxation, something Kara typically struggles with.
She puts on her arctic fox headband to keep her hair out of the way, then methodically washes her face and rinses it clean with warm water. Inspecting her face in the mirror, she’s content with the glow her skin is giving off, even without having applied moisturizer! She eyes her YooAdaCare Shimmering Body Glow Oil. I’ll have to remember to apply that again tonight after I shower, she thinks. Kara feels her skin and notes that she’s already noticing a difference after a few days of using the body oil. Shimmering—perfect for an idol. Once her skincare routine was complete, Kara got dressed and headed out.
The brisk air immediately blushes Kara’s cheeks, and she shrinks herself into her gray crewneck to hide from the wind. Cold, cold, cold!! Spotting her destination, she picks up the pace and jogs inside. The warmth and sweet scent of coffee envelops Kara in a comforting embrace. After grabbing a warm honey matcha latte, Kara hunkers down on a green couch in the back corner. She stares at the steam rising from the foam leaf adorning her matcha. She taps her foot, attempting to wait for her drink to cool off enough to take a sip. It doesn’t take long for her impatience to get the best of her. Kara picks up the dark blue mug and brings the matcha to her lips. Hot! The drink burns her tongue. The warmth of the honey matcha spreads throughout her body, and Kara closes her eyes, taking a moment to enjoy the feeling. While waiting for Crossing of Animals to load on her game console, she takes a moment to pull her sagging leg warmers back up to her knees. Ding! Time to pay off my loan to Mr. Oonk...
…
“Are you still doing okay over here?” Kara looks up in a daze from the game she’s been engrossed in at the waitress standing over her.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I’m doing okay, thank you… Ohhh my gosh, it’s already noon! Gotta go!” She quickly throws her stuff back into her bag and rushes out of the café with a quick thank you. Shoot! I guess the soap must work, I was totally relaxed and completely lost track of time! Hustling back home, Kara rounds a corner and nearly tackles someone. Quickly dodging and pirouetting to the side, she’s surprised to come face-to-face with Kai. A little embarrassed by her near collision, she exclaims, “Kai! Sorry, gotta run! She’s about to start streaming!” Kai opens his mouth to respond, but she’s already passed him and is halfway down the block. Kai scratches his head, shrugs, and goes about the start of his day. I’ll have to apologize to him later for not stopping when we watch Great Bake Off.
Back at home, Kara skids into her bedroom and dashes to turn her computer on. Come onnn, hurry up! She stares at the swirling loading star on her screen. Finally, it turns on. Kara masterfully navigates to her favorite streamer’s page and clicks on the upcoming livestream. 10 minutes to spare, perfect timing. Time to relax again. Kara lightly jogs into her bathroom to apply a face mask as she sits back down at her desk. The stream finally begins, and Kara’s eyes sparkle. Now this is peak relaxation. Nothing fills her with more joy than a singer with passion.
With a new song stuck in her head, Kara meal preps and prepares for the rest of the week ahead of her before going to join Kai for their evening show. While not her favorite activity, Kara has learned that getting the meal prep done ahead of time means she can sneak in a few more minutes of sleep in the morning—something she always looks to maximize. Peeking out of the window in the kitchen as night arrives and constellations appear, Kara smiles, looking forward to what’s to come.