December 19th - COEX tour;
when he heard about the event, byungjoo found himself glad he always kept a spare set of clothes in his bag, as going to the area where the gayo’s would be held in a pair of old sweats and a gray tshirt wouldn’t be the best. instead, he dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a white large sweater; complete with a scarf and his gray beanie. as he deemed himself presentable to the public, he joined the rest of the trainee’s as they made their way to the COEX.
he had managed to catch ricky soon after leaving, and went on to listen to his sunbae ( who was, despite his sassy remarks, a pretty good friend to have ). ricky went on a minor rant, about one of the other trainee’s who shouldn’t have been able to perform because of the fact they “lacked the talent for it,” but due to joohyun grabbing a hold of his wrist and dragging him further up ahead, he didn’t get the chance to hear which trainee it was.
“it’s unbelievable.” joohyun had said, and byungjoo had to agree with her words. it really was unbelievable. not just a month ago he was watching old performances of last year’s gayo’s on youtube while in class. now, he was going to where they’d be held that year. it was pretty exciting, made his stomach flip and his heart race.
arriving, he noticed a lot of other people he recognized from the starbight auditions, and found himself looking for someone unconsciously; it was when his eyes met his best friend did his stomach ease up slightly, and byungjoo’s feet took him away from joohyun, (after excusing himself) and towards choi youngjae.
sneaking up behind the elder, his arms had wrapped around his waist tightly, and his chin on the other’s shoulder, “jae jae, did you miss me?”
“joo joo?”
the other twisted in byungjoo’s hold and gave byungjoo a smile that quickly caused byungjoo to smile back. it was hard for him not to smile while in the pretense of his best friend, especially since they haven’t seen each other in such a long time. it was difficult having your best friend be a trainee in an entire different company, just a few texts here and there to keep up. they spoke for a little while, promising each other to meet up before the new year and as youngjae was called by an unfamiliar face, byungjoo found himself giving his friend one more hug before shuffling off to rejoin the nova trainee’s.
“over here,”
byungjoo found himself walking towards’ a women he should have known the name of but really couldn’t remember, and upon seeing his confusion she must’ve realized this.
“i’m min,” she greeted, “and you’re one of the new trainee’s right?” “kim byungjoo.”
a small bow and an awkward laugh later, he was chatting away with his noona who told him about how she was glad to see him and finally meet. he too, was glad, as he wanted to meet everyone in the company at least before the new year. they didn’t chat for too long as min mentioned having to meet up with someone else, and byungjoo was left shuffling a bit by himself as they toured the back. he managed to find the long hair of someone he knew though after a little while, and made his way towards hyuna.
“noona,” he called out, “how are you?”
he was greeted with a small smile, “i’m good, and you?”
“pretty excited, a little nervous - my stomach’s a bit twisted too.”
“sound’s about right.”
for most of the rest of the tour he stayed by hyuna, but his mind was on the area, taking in all the information on the stylist stations and the wardrobe rooms - and the control room (he found this one the most interesting). but it was when they reached the stage did byungjoo find himself memorized. it had always been his dream to walk along a stage like this; and as his gaze set out to the empty seats before him - he realized that one day he’d stand on a stage just like this one with seats before him, but the seats would be filled with people cheering and rooting for him. sure, it would take a while. he was only eighteen and still had his youth to give, and you bet he’d give up his youth on a silver platter just to spend his young adult life starting his dream.
he wanted to sing and dance for a crowd; maybe one day even act. he wanted to explore his choices and make himself proud. byungjoo figured for all those years he spent hoping and dreaming, he could waste another three or four preparing himself for idol life. and he was sure he would get there.
he just had to work hard, and not let himself be put off by things that might happen to get in his way. byungjoo had to pass through those obstacle’s and prove himself worthy of such a title. he had heard of trainee’s who had given up, not able to continue on with the rigorous practice and nights without sleep - or even proper meals. byungjoo wouldn’t be one of those trainee’s, he’d be one of the one’s to make it to the end, to see his dream become a reality.
“this is really...awesome.” he laughed, lifting his hand to his mouth, and biting his thumb nail. his lips were stretched into a large smile and his eyes found their gaze upon the empty arena.
“too awesome.”