inferno.

❝ 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names ❝ ☆ park serim. 18. vlogger. milk tea enthusiast. royal's very own marigold

[rkserim]

wretched

a solo for october eval

while there might be a pro to this month’s activities, serim also notes down the cons associated with october and the plans that the company has for its trainees. on one hand, they didn’t need to prepare for an evaluation at the end of the month which involved singing, dancing or any variation of performing. that much, serim was thankful for. 

but then again, they had to do some volunteer work. essentially, the company was providing free labor in the form of their trainees to assist with isac. did he look like he wanted to work hard and watch a bunch of a idols play sports willy-nilly? no sir, not at all. except... he had no choice but to help out anyways. fine, serim could do the bare minimum. he could get away with that and not be kicked out by the company. maybe he’d even escape to the bathroom or somewhere else to hide away until he’s actually needed to help prepare. 

out of the four roles given, serim had to be honest and admit none of them were things he wanted to do nor cared even an ounce about. however, he knew he could easily rule out being a guinea pig and testing out all the things to make sure things run smoothly during the actual competition. what about the off-chance that something goes wrong and serim gets injured? he would sue royal ent in a heartbeat, of course. 

the other thing he could rule out was cheering. serim just didn’t have that kind of energy within him to actually keep the tension up for both the idols participating and the fans in the audience. that seemed more tiresome than anything. although, if he could cheer for eclipse, he might do that but he’d probably be forced to cheer for luxe and de:code. not that he hates his own company’s groups, he just didn’t feel like it. 

that left getting content for the company in the form of photos and videos and yes, he used to be a vlogger and he was familiar with stuff like that, he’d pass. looks like his only option and sensible choice would be to help decorate the meal boxes for fans and passing them out. not only that but he did hear them say that he’d get to take one for himself and eat it and who doesn’t like free food? he deserved it considering he was offering his services to help at isac for free. 

he has no idea how this is supposed to prepare the trainees for when they become trainees but serim just thinks it’s royal’s way of not having to spend extra money by hiring help and using the free labor of their bright eyed, hopeful trainees. him excluded. he was neither bright eyed or a hopeful dreamer here. just a boy doing things on a whim because he’d be doing nothing in his free time if he wasn’t a trainee. 

[rkserim]

movies

rksbin​: 

“rom coms are so funny,” soobin says, placing a nacho into his mouth. “do girls really like guys like that?” he takes another bite as he turns to look at serim. “would you ever go for a guy like that? like some guy that just runs his hand through his hair and smiles like some kind of… dude,” though as much as he’s questioning the show, he’s still watching it.

there’s more to happen in the movie, and soobin –– usually poker-faced –– finds himself reacting to it. “did you see that? he just made her cry, and she still misses him?” he furrows his brows. 

“what’s so great about someone like that? why do people like these kind of jok –– he kissed her!” he grabs at serim’s arm and puts a hand over his mouth. “did you see that? did you –– i mean like, not like i care,” he pretends to slink back into his usual uncaring self. “… actually i do care.”

serim usually doesn’t mind watching stuff with soobin. most of the time, they’ll both make commentary on how dumb something that happened in a particular scene is. although for some reason, serim notices that soobin seems to be talking a lot more than usual. 

he deadpans as he answers. “yeah, it’s kinda sexy when they just run their hand through their hair and then that smile. man, that just gets me all hot and bothered.” after raising an eyebrow, serim goes back to watching the scene at hand. 

honestly, he wouldn’t usually bother because it’s soobin but because it’s soobin, serim turns away from the screen and faces his friend. “what’s good, bro? it’s just a movie. the male lead is always gonna be a douche and yet somehow the female lead can’t help falling for that. i think it’s something about the chase, right? it’s such a weird cliche but ... hey, it’s got you hooked for whatever reason.”

[rkserim]

fly high

jiwoork​: 

as a true fangirl, jiwoo could understand the sacrifices made to increase your chances to meet your favorite idols. she sacrificed school, some fun at the arcade and even snacks, but when she hears it from the other, she is not sure if it was fair. “oh no! not the chicken nuggets!” she protests cutely. “maybe we should ask sajangnim for a raise,” she says jokingly. “or is it too soon?” the girl shrugs. she was about to complete two years as a trainee in royal and if they decided to renew her contract, it didn’t sound too much to ask– or maybe she just lacked common sense considering she definitely wasn’t one of the most hardworking trainees out there.

smiling, jiwoo was happy to make a new trainee friend. with people she liked leaving or switching companies, it was like a breath of fresh air to have new faces around and people she could get along with, after all, that’s where she spent her days and nights, so it better be fun. “when i caught you listening to navillera i knew you wouldn’t be a disappointment,” jiwoo laughs softly. she couldn’t say she was good at character judgement, but their music taste counted a lot of points. “me too! let’s skip training when they have a showcase again and go watch them,” the girl suggests mindlessly. it wasn’t her intention to be a bad influence or anything, he just prioritized fun over responsibilities.

serim pouts and shakes his head at the suggestion. “i don’t think he’d give us more money just for chicken nuggets. i mean i wish he would but no.” he was barely a year old trainee and if he ever dared to ask for more money as a trainee. that’s like asking for a death sentence and immediate contract termination. okay, maybe not that dramatic but he knows he’d be denied in a heartbeat. 

“at first, i was embarrassed since i don’t usually listen to idol group music but just something about eclipse is so... different! in a good way of course. “ he gets a chuckle out of jiwoo’s response. “well, i’m glad i’m not a disappointment and now we can be friends.” a gasp gets pulled from serim at jiwoo’s idea and he starts grinning from cheek to cheek. “that is honestly the best idea ever! i’m all for it. next comeback, we have to go see them! pinky promise?” just for good measure, serim holds out his own pinky for jiwoo to link with. 

[rkserim]

( @rksbin )

[rkserim]

puzzle piece

rkseunghun​: 

seunghun knows her overthinking. the song itself was ready to be covered and the changes were basically to make them more comfortable while singing it, so a simple acoustic version would be more than enough for them, but the thing is that he trained his ears through the years and, at least in his head, it sounded a bit boring and bland compared to what they could do and he couldn’t simply accept the fact and go with it. music has always been a serious matter to him and he’s determined to make it better, not just for his sake but the others as well. 

when serim questions him, seunghun wonders if he’s nitpicking or just feeling insecure about the rearrangement as usual, but something tells him that he should add something else and that’s when the idea crosses his mind, but, of course, they needed someone who could do it during the live performance or at least record it so he could add the beats to the song. hearing that serim could beatbox, his entire face lights up. part of him was ready to give up the idea, but it looked like things were working in their favor. “oh! you mean it?” he asks with a smile. “mm okay, should we give it a shot?” seunghun could almost listen to it in his head, but executing it was a different story. 

“let’s try adding it from here,” the trainee suggests, pointing to the lyrics sheet as he wanted to give some room to the vocals so it could be a surprising detail. “i’ll play it again, so just do your thing,” he laughs, curious to check the other’s “secret” talent. pressing play, he goes over the lyrics and listens to serim with attention.

he’s never actually entertained the idea of beatboxing and music going hand in hand. let alone did he think he’d be using this fun little party trick for an evaluation of all things. dare he say he might be a little nervous after all. despite coming off as confident as he is, serim has worries, too. he doesn’t care about most things but knowing that he could make or break his group kinda places a burden on him that he didn’t think was possible. 

still, he wants to try it anyways. when is he ever going to get the opportunity to do so again? “yeah... yeah!” hopefully, the hesitancy isn’t fully noticed by seunghun. “we can try it out and tweak it wherever we can?”

serim follows along with seunghun’s suggestion after being directed from the lyrics sheet and nods. but first, he loosens up his lips with some lip exercises that he’s been taught to warm up with whenever he had to practice in general. mostly, it was for singing so his enunciation would be clear but it also helped in this situation. 

when seunghun presses play, serim follows along to the music as he patiently waits for his cue to start beatboxing. he mixes a series of basic kick drum and hi hat sounds in succession. soon after, he tires having done it for longer than he’s used to. “i’m kinda rusty but ... what do you think? should we try seeing if we can add it in?”

[rkserim]

puzzle piece

rkseunghun​: 

it takes the group deciding the song to settle his nerves for good. while the execution didn’t worry him a bit since he could sing almost anything with some practice, the idea of finding a good song that suited a theme he knew nothing about made him lose sleep for one or two nights as he looked for songs non-stop and did his research on zodiac. it felt like ages ago, but trying to solve complex equations during his school days felt easier than that, but after getting a grip on what they were supposed to be looking for and how he could find these traits in his own personality, he felt at ease again.

working on the arrangement to make the song suit their tempo, seunghun listens to the chords with attention and sharp ears, before turning to serim for his opinion. “how does that sound?” he asks, then plays it for the younger and sings the first verse over it. he didn’t want it to sound too different, just make it work for them. “uh i think there’s something missing… do you think we can add something?” it’s on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t tell what is it that he needs to make it sound cooler. closing his eyes, he sighs in frustration and rubs his temples as he tries to figure it out. suddenly, a idea that seemed a bit crazy hits him. “can you… uh- beatbox?” this is not a skill he has, but if someone in the group does, laying a beat on top would be fun.

it surprises him just how much he actually contributes to evaluations recently. unfortunately, half-assed is more of the vibes he typically goes for. but this time around, serim’s the one to offer a song for this month’s evaluation which consisted of joining with other same star sign trainees. not to mention that the group decides to go with his song choice. very strange, serim thinks. 

luckily for the group, they decided on styling the song to suit them more with a sort of acoustic rendition. the original was good, of course, but seunghun had experience with rearranging so serim gladly let the other take charge. he’s busy reading over the lyrics and singing under his breath in an attempt to memorize the lyrics when he’s asked for his opinion. 

“yeah? i think it sounds nice!” serim had no experience with music like this. working a song around to rearrange it in a way to suit someone else’s style. he only knew about just covering stuff exactly like the original but this was way more fun if he had to be honest. “something missing?” he can’t imagine what could be missing. rather he didn’t think something was but he trusted seunghun. “oh! i’ve only beatbox as a cool party trick before? but i think i can manage if you wanna add it to our song?”

[rkserim]

fly high

jiwoork​: 

even if she was a little disappointed as the good fangirl she was, it wasn’t enough to make the joyful aura disappear, so the girl simply shrugs with a bright smile. maybe it would be cute, but she had to consider herself lucky for actually knowing the said idol. she forgets to mention it though, because in her head they were like two different people. “the lottery system…” jiwoo rolls her eyes and sighs exasperated. “my number one enemy! if you’re not crazy rich like some fans to buy hundreds of album copies it’s so hard.” hard or not, she was way too optimistic to take back her idea. “you can at least try,” she grins. 

jiwoo couldn’t say she was good at doing many things, but her years as a fangirl taught her a thing or two, so she’s proud to admit that her merch was really cute and made by herself. “i look nice but i don’t invite everyone,” she laughs lightheartedly, glad he doesn’t seem the type to call her too silly for saying such things. expectantly, she stares at the boy as he comes up with an answer to her million dollar question, but when he finally responds, she breaks into a smile. “good answer! i know you were listening to navillera before but i had to check if you didn’t like them just for the girl crush, night side.” jiwoo explains. “that means we can be friends!” part of her wishes she wasn’t serious about it, but she is. haters of cute concepts couldn’t sit with her.

serim nods his head in solemn solidarity. he’ll never understand how people can spend so much on albums just for a chance of getting into a fansign with your idol. sure, the chances increase but thinking about the money that could be spent on something else, something fun -- something like a boatload of chicken nuggets even! “ugh, yeah, you’re right. i have to try at least. even if it means cutting back on my boba tea and chicken nugget intake to save up money to buy a lot of albums. it’ll be worth it.” 

by now, serim’s definitely not embarrassed to have been caught listening to navillera. it gave him a new friend in the end so he’d like to thank eclipse for giving him this at least. he feigns a sigh of relief. “whew, thank god, wasn’t sure i’d pass your test or not.” he humors her by playing along. serim’s not like a lot of people. he likes cute things, cute concepts, cute songs. all things soft and heartwarming and syrupy sweet. still, he can’t help but beam at jiwoo’s comment. “i’m glad to make a new friend! especially one with similar tastes. good tastes at that.” 

[rkserim]

Free talking

rkxdowoon​: 

Dowoon has to admit, despite the the vibes Serim gave off when he’d first met the younger, he hadn’t been the headache Dowoon had initially feared he would be. Sure there was still some cheekiness and the kid sometimes did or said things that made Dowoon do a double-take, but his fears of Serim being a carbon-copy of his little brother were unfounded.

For now, at least.

It’s lunch time and Dowoon is filling up his plate at the cafeteria, getting a bit more than usual given that they have a three and half hour dance practice session once lunch ends. And unlike Serim, Dowoon doesn’t have boundless energy.

Spying the younger boy at one of the tables, Dowoon makes his way over to him, grinning as he reaches the tables and nods at the empty seat.

“Is it ok if I sit with you, Serim-ah? I’ll even turn off ‘hyung-mode’ for you.”

Being one of the younger trainees was pretty fun for Serim. He liked having the guise of being young and innocent and getting the older trainees to take care of him and buy him drinks and snacks. 

He’s busy shoveling some rice into his mouth and as he swallows, Dowoon pops up next to him. Serim immediately gestures to the empty seat next to him as he finishes chewing. “Hi hyung!” He chirps, before putting down his chopsticks. “Yeah, go ahead and sit down, I don’t mind the extra company.”

Waggling his finger at Dowoon, Serim clicks his tongue with an audible ‘tsk’. “Hyung, you better be careful saying that~ I’m a bad guy and I might take advantage of your kindness. I might never call you hyung again if you keep offering that.” 

Even then, despite Serim saying it, he liked Dowoon enough where he would respect the hyung-dongsaeng boundary. 

[rkserim]

shutter pt 2

aug 2020 eval ; arcade

serim has to wonder how the company is even sparing the money for their trainees to even do something like this. he could imagine shelling out money for their idols to do photoshoots but just their regular trainees? it makes no sense to serim. if the idea is to invest in the trainee so that the trainee has a sense of obligation to stay with the company even after their contract ends just because of how much was invested into them, then serim doesn’t like that. 

on the other hand, if they really do have the money to just spend willy-nilly and hire a photographer just so their trainees can experience a real photoshoot for the sake of practice, then fine, good on them. 

he had chosen the arcade location. he liked the look of laundry pizza but in the end, he’d only been able to choose one so arcade it is. it definitely looks manageable. posing on and against these machines would be such a breeze. all this month, serim’s been working on his facial expressions too. 

when it’s serim’s turn to go take his photos, he makes sure to bow ninety degrees in greeting to the photographer first before he’s told to act natural and start posing. he’s leaning against the motorcycle racing game and he tries his best to appear cool. he’s not sure if it even works but then he’s told to hop on and serim does. he’s got his hands gripping the handles and leaning forward as if he’s already playing the game and racing. then he’s sitting up straighter with a relaxed smile on his face. 

they move onto the dance machine with the light up dance pad. he first sits down on it with his leg propped up. as he’s resting his arm on his knee, he has his hand on his face for some serious looking photos. then he gets up and onto the dance machine pad as he leans against the red railing to hold onto when you’re actually playing the game so you don’t fall. they take a couple more photos like that and serim thanks the photographer once more. 

at least he can say he’s finished with this month’s evaluation. honestly speaking, he’s not sure if things are getting easier for him as in the trainee life or if it was just this particular evaluation. either way, serim would like it if things stayed easy for him. 

[rkserim]

fly high

jiwoork​: 

after almost two years as a trainee in royal, jiwoo learned how to tone down the loud fangirl living inside her, but it only takes meeting another eclipse fan for her efforts to go to waste like they never happened, but at least it didn’t come out in front of one of their idols again, so she was fine for now. laughing, jiwoo nods with a smile. “but doesn’t it sound like a ship name, though?” she asks, tilting her head. not that it bothers her, but maybe she should just accept that her name wasn’t as cool as the other’s. if anything, she wouldn’t forget the serim’s name. “you should go to a fansign and tell her in person! i bet she’d think it’s cute to have similar names.”

there’s a chance this is too soon to affirm this confidently, but jiwoo would dare to say she made a new friend because of their similar taste for music. with a broad smile, she claps her hands. “perfect! it’s quite exclusive so consider yourself lucky,” she says jokingly, a small chuckle escaping between her lips. “but important question! do you like day side or night side better?” she crosses her arms and stares at him with a raised eyebrow like it was the most serious question ever – it was for her. 

“yeah, you’re right. it kinda does sound like a ship name. ehhh, oh well, what can you do.” serim’s eyes light up at the idea given by jiwoo and grins. he’s never actually entertained the thought of going to a fansign before until now. “ahh, that’s such a good idea! i would totally do that but... telling her isn’t the hard part. it’s actually getting into one in the first place.” well, it doesn’t mean he can’t try to at least. maybe he’ll have to take the chance. 

“exclusive, huh? that’s fun, it’s like a secret club then!” he’s laughing before he stops when he’s hit with a question that has him on pause. in all his life, he never cared about studying and taking quizzes and other stuff like that. but this -- this was an important question. such a difficult one at that. on one hand, day side was so nice and fresh and fun while the night side was just darker overall. of course, he had to choose even if he didn’t want to pick just one. “i wanna choose both but for the sake of your question, i’m gonna have to go with day. there’s just something so... bright and feel good about it.”

[rkserim]

shutter pt 1

aug 2020 eval ; adding new poses & expressions to his modeling repertoire

now this was what serim is talking about. an evaluation where he didn’t need to sing or dance or anything else in between. all he had to do was sit around, strike a pose and look damn good doing it. it’s like this eval was made for him. 

he wouldn’t say he’s a natural at this modeling business. far from it actually. he has no idea the ins and outs of all the nuances. do this, do that, don’t do this, don’t do that. it’s a lot. however, serim will die on the hill and declare that he’s definitely photogenic and that the camera was made for him. he’s just a little unrefined is all. with a little bit of help, he could pull it off. 

in all honesty, it does feel weird to practice posing like this. serim tries tilting his head in various angles to see which one best suits him. he even tries moving his hands and placing them in various ways like resting against his cheek or resting on his shoulder or under his chin. it’s so weird how there actually are so many ways to pose your body and serim’s never thought about it until now. 

poses were one thing but facial expressions were a whole other ballpark. he feels like he has two distinct looks; one is smiling and the other is a resting bitch face. he prefers his charming smile more than anything else because he thinks his own personal concept is bright and refreshing with a pop of something fun. otherwise, he can kinda pull off the playful, smirking, smoldering look if need be. 

it’s awful because serim thinks he looks the best when he sees himself in a mirror. then when he takes photos, he hates the way they come out. hopefully with the practice they’re doing for this month, he’ll come to actually enjoy the way he looks when he comes out in photos and whatever else. 

[rkserim]

fly high

jiwoork​: 

someone like jiwoo was usually on the other side when funny situations like these happened. it’s almost like she’s seeing herself in the other and the short girl can’t help but smile brightly at the new trainee. and while she is not the one to think too much before speaking, for a second, she wonders if it would be okay to say she wasn’t judging or if pointing that out would make him even more embarrassed, so she decides to just sing along and embarrass herself  instead – they are even now. 

“it changes every time they release a new album,” she confesses with a giggle. jiwoo wasn’t a loyal fan of one song, her favorite was always the latest title track. “but my favorite member-” she pauses to shake his hand. looking up, her eyes widen. “wow me too! i love anna but…” she pouts playfully and let her arms fall to her side. “i’m really jealous right now. why didn’t my mom name me jerim or something…” laughing softly, she remembers to say her real name. “i’m jiwoo and i’m happy you joined us. i like like luxe, but i have to admit i’m always watching eclipse’s videos during my breaks. you should join me! i’ll give you eclipse stickers.”

had this been a conversation with soobin, serim probably would’ve shoved his friend’s face into a pillow. but on the other hand, it was nice to see another fellow fan of anna, the best girl. she chose well. 

when he hears ‘jerim’, serim can’t help but to start giggling. “it’s okay, you can be an honorary member of the -erim club.” he commits her name to memory, though, making a mental note to attach jiwoo and eclipse fan together. 

he’s ashamed to say that despite joining royal, he hasn’t followed anything from luxe. a real shame because he likes girl groups more than boy groups. at the mention of stickers, serim perks up with a visible grin on his face. “you had at me eclipse but the stickers are honestly a bonus. so... deal! i’d love to join you.”

[rkserim]

wasting time

rklisa​: 

“just you wait.” she smiles at him with a vague smile, because she remembers how she had loved that one girl with the long hair who would tell her she’s pretty all the time, but it got old really fast when it was day after day for years, and the girl would always come up to her at the most inopportune times. so lisa wasn’t even really that sad when the left the company a few months ago. maybe a little bit, because now there’s no one to compliment her hair all the time, but she could do without the chirpiness. “it’s fun until you have to see people all the time. but maybe it won’t be too bad. i’ve seen jisoo every day for years and we’re still fine.”

she doesn’t have much to say for the hope of an actual debut. she almost made it into luxe ( kind of ? ), and she could have left royal to join the sphere girls, but she had decided against it purely because she wanted to debut with her friends. “okay, let’s go then. i think i’m going to fall asleep before dance classes.” she grins, happy for the company, and happy that she gets to get away for a while, even if it’s not for that long. so she takes her bag and pulls a hat over her head, turning back as she steps toward the door. “are you ready?”

serim gives lisa a shrug of his shoulders but he doesn’t look too bothered at the prospect of having to actually see the same people all the time. “i mean, isn’t that the point? seeing the same people and training together so we can debut or whatever. then again, i dunno how you wouldn’t get sick of someone. the only time apart is when you go home and sleep but then it’s back to the daily grind and seeing them once more day after day.” 

it’s a lot to think about. serim’s never thought about it at first but thinking about it now has him wondering if he’d even like to see the same people for that long. he liked meeting new people and making new friends. but the idea of new people coming and going doesn’t mesh well with creating groups of trainees to eventually debut. he gets snapped out of his mindless thoughts and perks up with a chirp. “yup, i’m all ready! i think if they have banana milk i’ll get that.”

[rkserim]

little secret 

haknyeonrk​: 

as the kitten begins to meow, haknyeon realizes that this is not the time to get flustered by a good looking stranger calling you cute! momentarily he wonders just where samsung had found a boy this good looking –– what kind of land did they stumble into and how could haknyeon go there to –– no! that’s besides the point! 

“cute?” he repeats, cheeks turning a slight shade of pink from the sudden compliment.this boy must be friendly, and also very blunt. haknyeon’s heard himself being called cute a few times before, but never actually by a junior, who was probably younger than him, and someone that he’d only known for a few seconds. “thank you!” a smile beings to make it’s way across his face. for a moment he’d almost thought that he could get in trouble. he’s sure that animals weren’t allowed in the premises, and that if it had been someone stricter, he would’ve been made to apologize. 

“you really helped me a lot!” he beams. “you see i was on the way back from a snack run and then i heard this kitten meowing and it was raining really heavily,” he explains; haknyeon most definitely does not want to be known as the random sunbae that carries animals around in the building. “so thank you! here! i’ll let you pet it’s head,” he takes a step closer and brings the bag closer towards the boy as well. “she’s cute right?” his smile is soft as he looks at the tiny animal.

it’s then when he lifts his head up to look up at the stranger that had just saved him. “oh! i didn’t catch your name by the way!” he says, realization then hitting him. “if we’re gonna be partners in crime, i should at least know your name right?” he adds jokingly. 

the cute stranger smiles at him and suddenly serim thinks this is where they’ve been keeping angels. this was exactly what he needed after a long day of training. god, he can’t believe being a trainee has reduced him to this –– where someone smiling at him gives him such a serotonin boost. 

“oh! the poor kitty was out in the rain?” looking outside, he frowns at the drizzle raining down. he’d been inside the whole time so he didn’t even notice what the weather was like. “good thing you rescued her.” immediately at the offer of being allowed to pet her, serim takes the offer. it’s not every day that a cute boy holding a cute kitten lets you pet it. 

the little kitten’s mews makes serim coo in awe as he’s gently petting her head. it makes him make one for himself but with how busy he is anyways and the fact having a pet would distract him from his life, his parents would never accept that. “it’s no problem, seriously.”

serim shrugs his shoulders. “oh, that’s because i never gave you my name in the first place, heh.” he says, with a teasing smile. “partners in crime, huh? i like that. well, it’s nice to meet you, partner, i’m serim. i just recently became a trainee over at royal. real fun time, man.”

[rkserim]

♦ — welcome to the garden ! introducing park serim blooming as royal garden’s very own marigold !

the marigold flower is a beautiful symbol of the energies that connect us to the earth and our primal energies to survive and thrive with a fiery passion to own our power, to know thyself and know what we are capable of, and having the drive to complete our visions. 

[rkserim]

a pick me up

rksbin​: 

 it really is no secret just how close serim and soobin are. the both of them had practically spent every moment possible together; so it’s honestly odd that soobin doesn’t have serim by his side 24/7 anymore. he’d hate to admit it, but even his chips are starting to feel lonely –– he had a habit of buying for two. the smile on his face widens when he sees serim, and he’s sure that they’ve caught the attention of passers-by. they probably look like they walked straight out of a hallmark movie trailer. 

“i brought you something even better. a flower,” he says, before he places a hand on his cheek and smiles. “me,” of course his sense of humour remains despite him missing his best friend. he expects another smack on his arm, but he’s already laughing. “i’ll get you something to eat. i saw some chicken place still open nearby,” he says, wrapping an arm around serim’s shoulder. “the least i can do for a future superstar. treat you before i use you for clout,” he jokes, leading his friend to the place he’d spotted.

he removes his arm from serim’s shoulder before he decides that he might as well tell his best friend now than later. “hey, i’ve got something important to tell you. it uh, happened a few days ago, and i kinda wanted to tell you face to face,” he bites on his lower lip and tries to find the right words. but soobin’s never been good with words so fuck it. “i uh… kinda got a girlfriend. she was our senior from highschool.”

serim’s mad that even though soobin just compared himself to a flower, it brought a smile to his face. however, like true serim fashion, he quickly turned his face so his friend wouldn’t get the satisfaction of making him laugh. instead, he just whacks soobin’s shoulder once more. “ugh, you’re so dumb, i hate you!” despite the harsh words, it’s said without malicious intent. 

“okay, good! your treat then~ training so hard leaves me hungry like all the time. i’m a growing boy after all.” yet even as he says this, soobin’s arm is around his shoulders with a significant height difference. ignore him if serim denies that he’s stopped growing. let a boy dream. 

as they’re walking, soobin suddenly takes his arm away which leaves serim giving his friend a raised brow. “something important? yikes, you’re scaring me, soob. we’re usually never that serious with each other.” 

he waits with bated breath before he gets to exhale it in a huge sigh of relief when soobin tells him that he has a girlfriend now. wait, serim pauses, “so you mean you’re not in love with me after all these years?!” he’s feigning a shocked expression before grinning. he prods a finger against soobin’s forehead and laughs, scoffing in the process. “i’m kinda shocked you got a girlfriend before me... but i’m happy for you. seriously. and an older girl at that? look at you go, choi soobin!” 

[rkserim]

♦ JULY 2020 EVALUATION ● FEEL-GOOD, UPBEAT SUMMER  — performing complete with @danielxrk​ @mxnark​ @beomgyurk​ @rkseunghun​ @ianrk​

what’s it like being in an evaluation group with people who are far more talented than you? serim can tell you that it’s not as bad one might think. or maybe it’s because he doesn’t care if they know his dancing and singing aren’t anywhere near mind-blowing. he’s got two things going for him: his looks and his charisma. he doesn’t need anything else. 

still, he’s incredibly thankful to daniel for even letting him join the group in the first place. they’ve all be helpful with the practice and learning lyrics and choreography. if anything, he’d be way worse if it wasn’t for them. now he can actually sing. 

he also finds it comforting to be in a group with people he already knows like beomgyu from high school or mina whom they’ve exchanged flyers before and both of which he knows are connected with soobin so he knows he can get along with them. 

when d-day comes, serim’s busy fixing himself with a small compact mirror. by the time their turn arrives, serim has hyped himself up to the point where he actually thinks he’s hot shit but that’s nothing new. they get themselves into their positions and the song starts. 

truth be told, serim feels an instant energy boost from the song. dare he say that performing was fun and to be here in front of an actual audience (mainly just all the trainers and other trainees) but it was still something new to him and he liked new things the most. 

taking on u’s parts wasn’t difficult. his lines were easy enough considering that during them, he wasn’t dancing so he’d be able to sing without sounding like a beached whale. then when he’s not singing, he could focus on the dancing which needed a lot of his attention. like true park serim fashion, he thinks he has his facial expressions down pat too looking every bit of cute and bubbly and charismatic

and if complete ends up in his spotify liked songs, serim mentions it to nobody. after all, he doesn’t really like idols, doesn’t he? the song ends before he knows it and he’s breathing hard after their stage. he knows what he needs to work on but for the most part, everything was perfect to him. and he really hates how much he enjoyed it, too. too bad he’s not ready to talk about that yet.