voice above the crowd

park sona 27 y.o ex-haze member spotlight soloist

[rvsona]

rvsoojung​:

she takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. seriously. “ you don’t see me telling him how to do his job. ” she grumbles, already crumpling that goodamn chicken scribble and tossing it into the trash where it rightfully belongs. “thank you, sona. just—the next time he tries tell him to shove his ideas up his ass for me, kindly. ”

sona bit back a smile, trying not to chuckle under her breath. the sticky note had gone just about as well as she’d thought it would. “i tried to tell him,” she said with a little laugh, tucking her hair back behind her ear. “maybe not in so many words, though. i might have to use more colorful language to really make sure it gets through, i guess.”

[rvsona]

sona knocked lightly on the threshhold of soojung’s office, offering a smile. “i have the song demo you needed-- we just finished the mix for it. the producer had some notes for ideas he had for concept stuff.... i told him you probably didn’t need it, but he wrote it on a sticky note for you anyway...” @rvsoojung​

[rvsona]

rvdaeseok​:

spotlight gamed its artists. it hurt his soul, but it was just the truth. it had always been the truth. and when he saw haze abandoned like yesterday’s news in favor of their shiny new girl groups, he felt the same pain he’d felt when they’d decided his solo debut wasn’t successful enough and pulled back on all his planned promotions. of course he’d been there for his then-peer. he’d had to feel the weight of disbandment. he knew how it felt. what he didn’t know was how important sona would become to him in the years to come. the shy man he was, he could hardly bring himself to verbalize that, though. kwon daeseok lived a fairly passive life. 

“you want me?” he repeated, a little surprised (he was always surprised when people recognized his talent, despite him being a top vocalist in k-pop for nearly two decades now. “are you sure? i’m not really a…big presence. i’m sure ilyoon or someone would fill the song out more….. i.. are you sure?”

she tried not to blush at the double meaning implicit in his question-- the answer was yes either way, of course, but that wasn’t the topic of conversation. she didn’t want to embarrass herself or alienate him. “i wouldn’t be asking you if i didn’t,” she answered him confidently, nodding her head. “i told you, it’s a special song. i don’t need a big presence. i need a lovely voice, and someone i have chemistry with-- you fit the bill perfectly. i’m certain. can i show you the demo?”

[rvsona]

rvsowon​:

“Noona, we’ll be fine,” he assured her. “It’s looking like Hyunjoo is going to be part of the lineup for the new idol project group, and Inho or Minsuk probably are too – I don’t think Higher is going to rush the group through a debut without them. They’re not going to forget about us.”

“oh, they won’t forget you,” sona said confidently, voice dripping with dark certainty. “my group has disbanded-- i don’t have anything to lose. i’m not afraid to use the platform i have to make sure of it.”

[rvjina]

“if i say something weird, please don’t hesitate to correct me,” jina said with a wry smile, adjusting her phone that was open to voice memos and brushing invisible dust of her notebook. “i’m used to interviewing wrestlers, not idols. but i’m excited to be able to sit down with you today~”

[rvsona]

“don’t worry, i’m sure you’ll do fine,” sona answered with a smile, jina’s candor putting her at ease. “i’m excited to sit down with you-- i don’t know much about wrestling, but your name has definitely been rising in shine the past few months!”

[rvsona]

sona and daeseok’s history had always been a little complicated. she had been 12 when he debuted with empire, and he was immediately her bias. she was the biggest empire fan ever, and as a bit of a shy girl with a big voice, she was naturally attracted to the shy boy with the big voice in turn. when she debuted with haze years later, she kind of tripped over herself in interviews, and when asked about who her ideal type was, she always said him (but she came on incredibly strong). any time they were in the same room after that had been awkward for a while.

but when haze disbanded and she felt like the world was crashing down on her, he had been the first one to reach out. he’d had to do the same dance five years prior, after all, and he knew spotlight intimately-- from far before sona’s signing. he got it. he consoled her. and it meant the world, even thought there was still that awkward feeling in the air. 

sona still had feelings for them, except now, they weren’t a young girls fan feelings about an idol she liked. it was a woman, almost in her thirties, who felt a deep connection with a man who helped her through her darkest moments. but because of all that history, there was tension. sona didn’t think she had a chance. but she could be his friend and colleague, and she was the best one of those she could be.

“i wanted to show you this song,” sona said when she saw him. “one of the musicians who produces for me gave me this, and i don’t think it would do great as a stand-alone comeback, but i want to do it as a special song. and i want you to feature.” @rvdaeseok​

[rvsona]

rvsowon​:

“I’m grateful that they focused on us, but it felt a little suffocating sometimes,” Sowon admitted. He didn’t think it at the time, or more so, didn’t really want to admit it. “It would’ve been nicer if they spread it out a little more, but… it’s better now, at least.”

“well, i’m glad it’s better, but i’m still mad. especially with all this talk of a new group. if they do all that nonsense, only to have promotions falter because of a new shiny boy group, i might just have to say something-- pr reps be damned.”

[rvsona]

rvwook​:

“Or like, maybe soundcloud. With lots of warnings - listen at you’re own risk, this is just for fun, just trying things out,” Jaewook said. “I guess not making it very publicized is pretty much like a vault anyway.”

“well, i think most soundcloud things have the warnings implied, but yes,” she laughed. the soundcloud rapper concept was a joke for a reason. “don’t say that. that means my entire solo career is basically in the vault, based on how spotlight promotes it....”

[rvsona]

rvxeunsung​:

“i mean, i guess but…. it’s hard to reconcile that the people controlling your life may not be working in your favor,” he admitted

“well... things seem to be working in your favor now. hopefully they stay that way. but eunsung, you’re an adult. your parents don’t control you anymore. if it doesn’t work out, leave this time. find greener pastures.”

[rvsona]

rvsowon​:

“After the marathon promotions Rewind had late last year, I think I agree a little bit… my voice was starting to go raw with the lack of rest then,” luckily the group had a nice long rest after wrapping up their last set of promotions, but it still stood. “I really wish I knew.”

“i’m still livid about that. they put minimal effort into your group, promise that they’ll only debut a new one once they get you established, and then their solution for that is four comebacks in a year to fast track it? i’m proud of you for pushing through and for getting your first win, but jesus.”

[rvsona]

rvxeunsung​:

he went to argue but then paused. “i mean, i’ve never thought of it that way, but…. yeah, i guess,” he admitted. “i second guess everything they say. i guess that probably is some sort of ptsd technically.”

“hey, you have to remember-- i have similar experiences. and your situation has been so much worse. if i can’t trust them, how should you?”

[rvsona]

rvsowon​:

“I guess they were wanting to jump on the popularity as soon as they saw the chance too,” Sowon said, his tone fairly flat. “If they had planned her to be a part of a certain unit, they should have waited until Unity had slowed down considerably to make their move. It doesn’t make a lick of sense.”

“this industry as a whole.....they treat idols like animals, not people. you and me too. and it’s been years. how many times does this need to happen before we get some sort of union or legislation?”

[rvsona]

rvwook​:

“True enough–” Jaewook said with a decisive nod. “Full experimental doesn’t really sound all that good sometimes anyway. So it’s probably for the best to keep a cap on the weirdness.”

“it’s definitely an acquired taste. and i doubt most kpop audiences would be too warm on it. probably should stay in the vault,” she agreed

[rvsona]

rvxeunsung​:

“i think my trust for them died the day i was pulled from traxx,” he agreed with a sigh. “but with the giant waves of controversies, i can only hope that they’re restructuring and making things better.”

“that’s reasonable-- that must have been so traumatizing,” sona said with a little tsk. “it’s good to be optimistic. i hope the same. i just can never bring myself to get too hopeful with spotlight.”

[rvsona]

rvwook​:

“True enough–” Jaewook said with a decisive nod. “Full experimental doesn’t really sound all that good sometimes anyway. So it’s probably for the best to keep a cap on the weirdness.”

“kpop is built to appeal to the mainstream masses. and i think it does a good job of that, even if things get a little flat here and there. why fix what isn’t broken?”

[rvsona]

rvjess​:

“you really just shoved it into spotlight’s face just how wrong they were, though. you taught them a lesson,” jinjoo replied with a grin. “are you going to keep doing vocal-forward songs?”

“i would really like to. i like doing them a lot, and i think i’m good at them. but i also like the rapping so.... i guess it depends on how i’m feeling when we go into production on them.”

[rvsona]

rvxeunsung​:

“so am i, but she seems to be doing well so far? i can only hope that the moment it seems to be too much for her, spotlight eases on the gas.”

“i would hope so. and maybe in the past, i’d believe it more. but spotlight’s reputation has been dragged through the mud the past few years, and i definitely don’t trust them as much as i used to...”