hard as nails

nu-gen reign member.

[daewonrv]

“i don’t have a lot of time to teach you this choreography, so i need you to really pay attention, okay?” daewon said firmly, adjusting his hat and crossing his arms. “you film your music video tomorrow. we need to get this done today.” 

[rvmatty]

“i’m ready,” matika said firmly, adjusting the waistband of her sweatpants. “thank you for helping me choreograph my solo dance film. i’m so excited to finally do something cool on my own...”

[rvmatty]

“i finally got approved for an apartment! i didn’t think higher would let me, or that i’d find a good place.... but i did!” matty enthused, bouncing excitedly in place. “would you please help me move some of my things from the dorm over there? i promise i’ll reward your efforts somehow-- takeout? drinks? whatever you want!” 

[rvbyulah]

“alright, we need to touch base,” byul admitted with a sigh, pushing her hair out of her face. “i need to be upfront and frank with you all. it’s not fair to you if i keep suppressing my thoughts– we need to chat.” @rvmatty​ @rvgigi​ @rvjess​ @shinwoorv​

[rvmatty]

“are you okay? did... did i do something wrong?” matika asked, immediately assuming the worst. “if i did something to upset you, i’m so so sorry-- i’ll do my best to right it all...”

[rvdeokjun]

“are you alright, sweetheart? you’ve been quiet today,” deokjun commented, looking over at her on the other side of her couch, arm behind his head as he lounged. “extra busy schedule today? or something else on your mind?” @rvmatty​

[rvmatty]

she was happy. she was really happy. her career was going well. her friendships were strong. her relationship with deokjun was a dream-- he was the best thing to happen to her since debuting in reign. but it was amazing how little it took to put a shadow over all of it, and seeing dayoon again out of nowhere had done it. she sighed, face falling. “i’ll be fine. i just ran into someone unpleasant in the greenroom, and it’s been weighing on me,” she admitted.

[dayoonrv]

he hadn’t known reign was coming back too until he’d heard matty’s voice faintly from the green room. it had been months since they spoke last, and hearing her made his stomach tighten and tie up into knots. he loved jinhee, and she was his endgame if you asked him, but matty was still someone he loved. he missed her friendship. he missed her. but she was mad at him, for good reason, and the concept of running into her here made him want to die. 

once she came off stage and passed by him, he froze, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the ground. “been a minute,” he mumbled, seeing as neither of them seemed to be leaving the green room any time soon. @rvmatty​

[rvmatty]

it was another day at the job, until it wasn’t. it was apparent that seeing her had made him freeze up, and matty went stiff in return, lips pressing into a thin line as she pulled off her mic tape, not meeting his eyes. “that all you have to say?” she hissed back, unimpressed.

[rvtaehyung]

“you know, sometimes my job is a real fucking pain in the ass,” taehyung grumbled, scrubbing his face with his hands. “with all the new vocal trends these days, i’m forced to add so many filters and shit when i’m mixing, and it sounds disgusting more times than not. but it’s my job to comply so i can’t even do anything about it.”

[rvmatty]

“someday  you need to listen to them but then at the last second just.....mix up the files and give them the actually good one,” she giggled. “i don’t know if that’s even possible, but i wish it were. we’d all be better off for it.”

[rvmatty]

rvlana​:

“god, right? not to mention that i’m…..pretty blunt, and that sounds bad when you type it out. like they’re really out here painting a whole villain arc for me…”

“the way they’re weaving this all out like it’s a storybook with a narrative, and finding people to be their villains.... it’s honestly disgusting.”

[rvmatty]

rvdeokjun​:

“don’t apologize, matika. i’m glad you called me,” he answered her, pulling out of his parking spot. and he was– she was clearly in a lot of distress. it was better she call him to come get her than somehow get hurt, or have to deal with this alone.

it was a short drive, just like he promised, and he parked next to her, sliding out of his car and opening her driver’s side door, crouching beside the vehicle and resting a hand on her arm. “i’m here, i’m here,” he soothed. “what do you need me to do?”

she jumped when the door opened, but when she realized it was deokjun, she threw her arms around his neck, crying into his shoulder. “i.....can you take me to my dorm and stay with me. dispatch is going to find me if i stay here.”

[rvmatty]

rvnoeul​:

“That could make for one of the dumbest and most specific world records - shortest time counting the members of an orchestra by an idol singer. You know, you have to get all those extra qualifiers in incase someone else decided to do it first.”

“i feel like there’s no shortage of world records as long as  you put enough qualifiers,” matika agreed with a snort. “those world record books get thicker and thicker by the year.”

[rvjinkyung]

“this is going to sound a little strange, but please hear me out,” jinkyung began, a little smile playing on her lips. “one of my kids has a crush on you. just a little one, very innocent– the crush of a fan. but the producers want to explore it as an angle on the show. would you be alright with us using footage of you? or even coming to meet the child in question for a special episode?” she was careful not to say which of her kids it was– if the answer was no, she didn’t want to embarrass them. “of course nothing will happen beyond that, but we thought it would be cute for one of the kids to meet one of their favorite celebrities. and you’d get publicity from it too.” 

[rvmatty]

“oh! that’s really flattering...” matika said with a little blush, biting back a giggle. “i... sure! i’ll have to talk to my agency first, but i’d love to make an appearance.”

[rvlana]

“i don’t know what dispatch fuckin expected,” seola snorted. “my last song before this release was about sex. like, explicitly. you really think that if i want to make that kind of music i can go on the music show circuit? not a fuckin chance.”

[rvmatty]

“they really delivered that like it was breaking news, and not like....a  reasonable outcome,” matty agreed with a little shrug. “i hate when they quote lives. things sound so much worse than they really are without context and tone.”

[rvmatty]

rvdeokjun​:

“it’s fine. you don’t need to drive anywhere,” he told her softly, grabbing his keys and writing a quick note for his roommates to let them know where he was. with that, he was out the door. he was happy that he’d become an idol later than some– he’d already had a car and known how to drive, and it was a skill that he was grateful for in times like these. “you’re on speaker in my car, okay? i’m on my way. five minutes, tops.”

“i’m sorry,” she whispered into her phone, letting her head rest on the steering wheel as she sobbed. “i... thank you.”

[rvmatty]

dayoonrv​:

he groaned seeing the messages roll in, scrubbing his face with his hands and taking a deep breath

[ sms - dayoon ] i’m bad at this sort of thing, okay? [ sms - dayoon ] i’m sorry. [ sms - dayoon ] can i at least apologize in person or something

[ sms - matty ] you’re bad at a lot of things [ sms - matty ] no. you’ve had chances. fuck off. [ sms - matty ] and if you see me at work, don’t engage, or i’ll make sure you regret it.

[rvmatty]

rvnoeul​:

“Right? How long do you think it would take to count everyone in the Seoul Philharmonic? It’d have to be at least a day. If you were counting them one by one, anyway.”

“totally depends on who you are,” she giggled. “it’d take me a week. deokjun is mister math, though, he could do it in an hour.”

[rvmatty]

rvdeokjun​:

honestly, he wasn’t sure why he was awake. his brain was going a mile a minute, and he couldn’t focus, laying it bed staring at the ceiling. while he otherwise might be annoyed to get a call at such a late hour, he was actually kind of relieved– it was distracting him from himself. that relief dissipated almost immediately though when he heard  his voice, worry sinking deep in his stomach. “matika, are you alright? what happened?” he asked quickly, already getting up and getting dressed while he held his phone between his ear and shoulder. “where are you right now?”

“i...i don’t think i am,” she whimpered softly, rubbing her cheeks with the heel of her hand. she was shaking. “i pulled into a parking lot when i started crying. two blocks away from your dorm. the convenience store. i..... i can’t drive like this....”

[dayoonrv]

it’d been a month, maybe more, since the incident. you know– the incident where dayoon ruined one of his most important friendships with the girl he’d lowkey been in love with. no biggie. 

he missed her. a lot. matty had been a constant in his life, and the only thing keeping him level a lot of days, and without her, everything was dark. and he only had himself to blame. he’d been the one, after all, who’d blown out the fucking candle. 

normally his pride would get in the way. he wouldn’t dream of groveling or talking to someone he was on such bad terms with. but it was late, and he was drunk and lonely, so he pulled out his phone, and texted his (former) best friend. @rvmatty​

[ sms - dayoon ] i miss you [ sms - dayoon ] come over?

[rvmatty]

matty was mourning her lost friendship with dayoon. of course she was-- she saw him almost every day before it all happened. and it was soul crushing to be that close to a connection with someone and have it crash down on top of you. she’d been so close to happiness only for the door to slam in her face.

but she was a big girl. she was moving on. deokjun was doing wonders to help her through it, as was her group. and the more time she spent away from dayoon, the more she wondered why she’d stayed as his lap dog for so long.

she audibly scoffed when she got the texts, rolling her eyes

[ sms - matty ] ur fucking kidding me right? [ sms - matty ] after everything, that’s what you sayd? [ sms - matty ] and you expected that to work? [ sms - matty ] delete my number

[rvmatty]

“i just want to say, it is such an honor working with you,” matika said, adjusting her mint green wig while her mua went to go find an extra brush. “this is huge. and it’ll mean so much to all the fans too. i really hope you guys feel comfortable and welcome.” @haenarv @yeinrv​