max was a bit nervous. he hadn't had many solo schedules so far but he quite enjoyed them. being on seona's channel last trimester had made him quite receptive to just hop around the lgc agency youtube sphere and guest on whoever would have him. so when cherry reached out, he was more than delighted to accept.
he'll never forget how he met her during an event where she spilled something on her shirt and he ended up giving her his spare one. a lot had happened since and he was more than happy to be revealed as she leaned back, enthusiastically waving into the camera. "you make it sound like I'm some kind of super star," he remarks humbly with a shy laugh.
"alas I'm agito's myungsoo, nice to meet you everyone. thanks for having me on the show cherry, it's been a minute since we got to hang out, no?"
before the camera turns on, yushin cannnot believe they're already filming episode 3. this has always been a favourite part of their comebacks, and even better since there's a combination of members. maybe one day they'll do one as the full group too, which would be cool, but probably very chaotic, knowing their current dynamics. "you guys ready? yushin looks back to the leader(s) respectively, as they adjusted in their seats and got comfortable. it was fun to react to other group's songs, but yushin really did enjoy doing live reactions to their own feature the most.
"hello everyone, welcome to episode 3 of.... v&a reacts! today we are reacting to none other than our title track... drumroll please," he gently drums on his lap, "jackpot! i'm excited for this. we're here with members of versus & agito today. isn't it nice that we are coming back as a full unit? i hope you missed us, because i missed performing as v&a too. yeonwoo, jiho, haru, max and i are going to see the music video for the first time. i'm always interested in seeing what happens from when we're filming, to what comes out in the finished product. you ready?"
their react series is something yeonwoo always looks forward to doing. ever since the first season, it has developed and changed a bit, but nevertheless it's a guarantee of good times and laughs ( gladly, the fans seem to agree too ). so he watches yushin do the intro and introduce them with a grin on his face, silently nodding along, excited to see the result of their hard work. "it's a song we work very hard on since it's our comeback as v&a after a long time, so let's watch together and comment!" he adds, unable to hide his excitement.
"let's press play! etervals waited a lot," he encourages the other to start, eyes glued to the laptop in front of them. "oh, we are going backward?" he comments, eyebrows slightly raised with curiosity, but the familiar voice steals his attention. nudging yushin with a smirk, he presses the space bar. "sorry! i know you hate when we pause but- i need to hear hyung's voice again." and he happily does, but controls himself not to do it again seconds later when @lgcjiho appears on the screen. "jiho~ whoa! why are you so cool?"
"i forgot we haven't seen the mv in its entirety yet," jiho comments, leaning forward and hugging the pillow he had grabbed tighter to his chest. he's always been the type to need to hold something, and that's probably something the fans have noticed, considering he's been gifted more and more plushies lately at their fansigns.
he honestly doesn't mind it.
"this mv was actually really fun to film," he adds, wanting to fans to get little snippets of what they've done and any tidbits they could share were always welcomed by the community online. or so he's seen.
he wonders if one day they'll start releasing the behind the scenes of mv filming and of recording, because that could be really fun for the fans too. to see how they worked on things. "you guys all looked really good," he says after a moment, nudging @lgcharu next to him and he reaches over to poke his friend's cheek gently. "the styling was really good for this one, i enjoyed it."
"it was really fun preparing this comeback together as a whole group again, and of course filming the music videos," haru agrees with a nod, grinning all the while. "v&a has cool songs, ones different from what each unit would normally release, so our etervals surely look forward to full group comebacks?" he started saying this towards the members first, before turning slightly to look at the camera at the last part, as if he was directly asking their fans who were watching.
"all the members did so well, look how cool we are!!" he exclaims while watching the first part of the mv, exclaiming and ooh-ing and ahh-ing in the background at each moment a new v&a member appeared and nodding with all the comments everyone else was making so far. he reacts to jiho's nudging and poking of his cheek with a a weak "hey!" so he wasn't too loud or overlapping with anyone else who may have been saying something, then nudges his friend back for good measure. "the styling is really good," haru nods sagely before looking back at the screen where the video is playing.
"whoa, won hyung sounds so good! okay vocals~" he says the last part entirely in english, hoping international fans--or at least any english speaking fans familiar with slang will pick up on his comment--then lets out a laugh once they got to the part of the song where they repeat the title. "this part looks like a cat paw, right?" haru asks towards @lgcxmax while imitating the move in the choreo, hoping the other would join in with him. he doesn't mind doing something 'cute' but if he could drag someone else to do it with him too, it'd be more fun.
It's his first time on V&A Reacts and Max still feels a bit awkward. Variety things like these have never been his strong suit but he's often been told that just being himself was more than enough. So even with his extroverted nature he's happy to remain quiet for the most part, listening and smiling as his bandmates comment and react.
He more so lets his reactions play on his face, features twisted and shifting depending on what he sees on the screen as wide attentive eyes take everything in. He secretly evaluates his own performance, of course he does, but he's happy to find that the MV seemed to have come out really well. "Everyone's so charismatic," he finds himself murmuring in a quiet moment, right before Haru chimes in, turning to him with a cute gesture that has max scrunch his nose before he pulls his friend into an affectionate headlock due to his sheer adorableness rather than returning the gesture. "Ahhh you're so cute!" Perhaps he's a tad bit louder than he means to, may haps even giving poor @lgcyushin a tinnitus in the process.
"wait- foreal?!" max is impressed, eyes wide as he looks at yoojoon while the younger male takes a seat beside him. their new sofa is comfortable but for his personal taste he wishes they had a couple more cushions to sink into.
"dude- I could never keep a plant alive even when I tried. one year I remember me and my roommates tried to keep a plant as a symbol of our companionship. after the third left and new folks moved back in the plant kinda died even thought I tried to water it regularly. maybe it didn't get enough sunlight," he muses, humming while his gaze lowers back to the screen of his phone.
"I just wanted... I don't know. I heard plants are good for air circulation and providing enough oxygen. we can't really keep our windows open the whole time when we're out so much and both me and jiho sunbaenim are kinda holed up in our studios more often than not when there's no schedule. I thought plants might at least make the place more... fresh?"
[ #Myungsoo 🍀 ] almost a year already since I joined the team. still feels unreal at times. thank you so much for all your support and welcoming me to the group. V&A would be nothing without etervals ♥
Leaving practice Max was in dire need of a shower. He considered his options- either take a shower here at the company and get right to setting up a draft that wouldn't let him sleep at night or head home, settle for some vague scribbles and a scruffy phone recording of some chords carelessly plucked with his guitar and hope it would be enough to allow him to rest.
Exhausting in his bones with his mind wide awake, he knew that heading home now would likely result in some tossing and turning in between waiting for the bathrooms to free up. Having two bathrooms for 5 people was a luxury but it didn't stop the on-storm of 5 sweaty men dying to take a shower the moment they got home.
So Max decided to stay back, take a nice shower and get an hour at the studio in before eventually being satisfied enough with himself that he could peacefully pass out.
The whole buzz around Halloween was slowly creeping away, drifting past him as comeback preparations and study kept his main focus. He had a vague idea for his costume and that was good enough for him. The fact he barely noticed the lack of gossip around "hell week" was more so an afterthought in his peripheral he didn't have the brain capacity to worry about.
That is until he enters the changing room of the showers and finds a card in the locker he opens. Brow raised he checked the one beside it, and the one after that. Low and behold it seemed like it was his lucky(?) day. Taking the card he quickly recognizes it as the queen of hearts but from a deck he'd never seen before. Had someone left it here? Did it fall out of their pocket or something?
He looks around himself, reassuring himself he's alone before turning the card over. "Open Me?" Raising a brow he tries to see if there was a way to peel a layer off for maybe a hidden motive underneath but comes up empty handed. "Weird...," is all he mutters before placing it between his belongings before he's off to shower, anticipating to wash off all the exhaustion in his bones.
* he has a digital polaroid camera as part of his costume with a filter installed that will add ghosts to the pictures taken! so be sure to ask him to take a picture : D
max wished there was more he could say but he doubted that emphasizing all the downsides to debut would deter her from her goal- heck it didn't deter him. Bound by contract, trying to find his place in a group that was well established already. "You'll get there. you're too good to not get there," he reassures her, meeting her eye just because he wanted to make sure he could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"and no, I'm not saying that because I'm your mentor right now," he tags on with a chuckle, his short moment of bravery dissipating quick as he digs his nose back into the menu. "if anything you know how high I hold my standards and how strict I am in the practice room. you guys have all been doing great keeping up with my schedule."
tomorrow was d-day. and while max was slowly getting used to the adrenaline rush of presenting himself to the public for a new comeback, he still remembered how incredibly nervous he was for his first stage, a debut stage for him, a normal comeback stage for everyone else.
so when he finds junkyu still in the practice room when their session had long wrapped up, he doesn't hesitate to walk up to the guy and offer him a hand. "wanna take a quick run to the convini? for old times sake?" of course he'd suggest the convini walk, a silent method they often engaged in when sleep refused to come. protected by darkness, just offering thoughts and musings.
it's a silent offer to talk, to share any thoughts he might have or to just get his mind off what tomorrow might bring and what life altering changes might follow.
max recalled well his time spend as trainees. he remembered the days yoojoon asked him for advice, when max felt like he should know what he was doing but still felt like he didn't know anything at all. not much had chanced since then but they were both idols now and max remembered well how it felt to be the new kid.
he still felt like an imposter at times and it had been almost a full year at this point. so to him it felt natural to extend the same welcome he had received into the agito dorms, especially because he had been the youngest back then as well.
"hey! you done unpacking? wanna look at some decoration with me? I've been told that cacti are a great alternative plant if you can't water regularly," he invites yoojoon with a chuckle.
it had been a long day for max in the studio but at least now he was all caught up on his classwork for the time being. considering he very likely wouldn't get much done with promotions and year end shows coming up, he'd done his best to leave the semester with as little work left for him as possible.
while his joints had protested against the lack of movement that day, it was a nice reprieve from comeback preparations and moving boxes. the new dorms felt... nice. like a fresh start. everyone was equally new to this place. it made him feel less like an intruder, really.
hearing the sound of cutting come from their new kitchen, he had a strong guess whom he would encounter there, a smile already widening over his lips. "I'm home," he greeted to not startle his hyung, making his way into the area by poking his head around the corner. "do you need help, hyung?"
most of him expected hyuk to just turn and leave. roll his eyes maybe and snark at him to scram but when he saw a moment of hesitation followed by a million emotions running through his eyes as lightning speed, max was almost hopeful.
the fist-bump at the end and his words made max exhale a laugh, bot relieved and a bit strained because hyuk was right- he was very much still worried. "it's- yeah, kinda." he did have special stages here and there and performed with the spring boys last year but this- this way new. just him on stage with a senior. it was exciting as it was terrifying, truly.
"but I'll do my best. thanks." smile on his lips he sounds as grateful as he feels. "you too though," he tags on with a small, smug grin. "you'll kill it out there, you know you will."
Max almost doesn't wanna part from the hug. He really had missed his best friend way too much and texts just weren't doing it justice. He had missed the certified parker(tm) hugs and he was planning to get his fill on those.
Reluctantly letting the other go, max scrunches his nose, shrugging a shoulder before letting his act immediately break with a soft sigh. "time feels surreal these days bro. it's been not even a year and yet it feels like i haven't seen you in 84 years." he tosses in a playful pout before throwing an arm across his shoulder. "you have to tell me everything that's been going on. obviously I follow you guys with hyoseop and kai there too but that's not the same as getting to hear it from you guys personally!"
with limited resources at hand here max gets to work, using his own zweihänder to do his best and sharpen the blade back into as prestige a condition as he could. focused on the job it does help to get his mind off things for a bit, leaving him with nothing to concentrate on but the steel between his fingers and the way he channels heat into the object to have it bend easier to his whims.
"I apparently have a sister," he thus remarks easily, not really thinking long enough to wonder if potentially he should keep his business private and only really reveal his sad origin story when things had been resolved. "my actual parents apparently sold me but the buyers abandoned me for whatever reason. my current parents took me in- I knew all this but I never knew about a sister," he mutters, getting lost in his work again for a second. He doesn't bother to look up to check Hyukjae's reaction, not wanting to mess up his craft.
a sister. he couldn't believe it. max was shaken in his core believes. he'd known his parents weren't his biological parents but even they had been surprised about the news. before he could begin to even debate what to make out of this information, he was pulled into this pocket realm-
while he'd been all about finding these valuable ores at volcano, now he saw himself drawn to venture to the deep waters. if his sister truly was from the water realm... the timing could not have been worse.
just like hyukjae's arrival. exhaling a long, drawn out sigh, the male wasn't sure he had the energy for his friend's antics today. while he adored the traveler, he truly didn't have the tools, nor the mind to truly carter to his weapons right now. he still extended his hand to take a look at the weapon, wondering what the guy had done for the poor blade to look like this. "why thanks. you look fabulous yourself," he sasses towards the other male, raising a brow at him.
[ #Myungsoo 🍀 ] The FamCon is just around the corner. Will be my first one as Agito's Myungsoo. I also have a small surprise for you! Please look forward to it~
