“ what colour are you supposed to be dyeing your hair?” hongjoong finally asks, slumping over and resting his head on lino’s shoulder. “ i don’t think any of us have bright colours .. which is weird, but i mean, i guess they know what aesthetic they’re going for by now.” his own hair is a limp shade of peachy red, faded and much longer now than it was when he first got it dyed. he hasn’t been paying much attention to his appearance, which isn’t surprising considering the inner turmoil he’s been putting himself through. honestly, he’s wondered if the others noticed by now. if they haven’t, they’re probably blind.
“ do you think they’ll let me go back to my mullet as long as it’s the colour they want it to be?” he mumbles, staring at the stylists at work. likely, they’ll be called up next. “ i miss it.”
█▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ DE:CODE : december 2019 evaluation
███▒▒▒▒▒▒ RE: a visit to the hair salon
█████▒▒▒▒ 2019.12.09 entry : 1
his roots had turned dark for a while now. the recording of dream knight felt so long ago after everything that they went through. however, the release was only announced on the previous month, and shivers went up his back whenever he remembered it. to think people would actually watch him on the screen. and later on, he’d get to debut. things are a bit too real now if they weren’t before.
he plays with his hair on the way. his fingers pull down the longer hair in front of his eyes, staring at the pink that has faded off. it wasn’t that bright, to begin with, so he’s nearly blonde now. this means the color he’d leave the salon with is one in a grand sea of possibilities. would they re-do the pink? people could recognize him from dream knight that way. or may they’d just keep the blonde since they're halfway there. it’s still early in the morning, and jihoon chooses to rest his head instead of thinking too much. he’d find out soon enough.
“what will it be?” he’s sitting at the salon now. this is much more comfortable than the shaky car. “if i can ask!” the hairdresser chuckles beside him, putting on his gloves. “you’ll see. it won’t take too long.”
no bleaching. he knows how long bleaching takes, so this must mean he’s free of it. jihoon reaches a hand to the top of his head where the roots are showing. so it must be something dark, right? he’s a bit let down, but he wouldn’t say it if someone asks. people say he has a bright personally so, by simple thinking, a bright color should suit him well. he tries to just stay still and wait for it be done, but when they leave him alone to take care of someone else, he tries to get distracted by looking at his phone.
it’s the choreography recordings of their pre-debut songs. if they’ll be recording these soon, he should continuously work hard to prove his role as a main dancer.
getting his hair washed is the thing he needed, but didn’t know it. having the warm water hit him so softly while someone runs their fingers through his hair is the most relaxing experience of the last few months. most others were stressful in some good or bad way. “thank you,” he says to his hairdresser once everything’s done. it’s not as dark as he had expected it. the curliness adds the final touch that makes him identify himself. he'll debut like this. he’ll debut. “thank you so much!”
the music is cut and seonho wants to crumble into the a pile of goo onto the floor. hands gripping his knees as he breathes, feeling sweat roll down his forehead and back of his neck. it’s been like this the whole week, pushing and pushing and feeling the strain on his body as he spends every bit of free time trying to work on his dance skills. the feedback from the coaches--though not really harsh--had stung and left their mark and seonho could not stop thinking about it no matter how he tried. thinking about how his two and a half years here in royal seems to have been for a waste as he couldn’t even keep up on simple dances. maybe thats what the coach had been implying.
frustrated tears form in his eyes as the teen struggles to calm his racing heart and stuttering breathes. he’s warn out, and burning out and it’s only been a week. he needs to get better, he tells him self, needs to move and work harder and harder so that they can’t look down on him again.
so they can’t look down on the group.
his head raises just enough to catch another figure in the mirror and a soft tremble forms on his lower lip. it takes everything in seonho to hold back his tears as he turns to minho, the older male near him and someone who he knows is good with dance. “hyung...” he gets out in a soft tone, tears glistening in his eyes. “can.. can you help me practice? you’re a really good dancer--and and---i don’t want to let everyone down.” he admits in a small voice.
〈♦〉DECEMBER 30TH, 2019 → de:code evaluations.
↳ performing lines in front of the coaches.
the end of the month seemed to pretty much sneak up on mingyu. he’d been so busy with all that was going on that the time passed so quickly. there wasn’t much time to consider breaks or anything like that. they were always on the move, working towards some type of goal. it was getting closed to his 2nd year anniversary with won, yet that wasn’t even something that he had loads of time to focus on. he hoped that he would have more time the next day, when they were actually there, but for now he had to only think about performing these lines in front of the coaches.
he worked hard memorizing them and had a few that he hoped he’d get over the others, but at the end of the day, it was out of his hands. if one of the other boys were more suited for the parts mingyu coveted, so be it. truth be told, he looked forward to what songs they would do in the future. their debut song was catchy and fun, but it wasn’t the best thing that he’d ever heard. he knew that they had potential and hoped that it would catch on and help them gain popularity, but he was more so banking on their future releases. of course, this isn’t something that he would ever vocalize.
once it was time for him to perform the lines in front of the coaches, he made sure that he drank plenty of water so that he wouldn’t go hoarse or mess anything up. he knew all of them like the back of his hand at this point, so he didn’t have any fear when it came to memorization. truth be told, he didn’t want to sound bitter, but there wasn’t all that much for him to memorize anyway. the fact that he barely had any as it was, and these lines were going to be split up made him a little worried, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. he was given what he was given and that’s already more than he could have ever dreamed of getting. he was thankful that he had even made it to this point where he would soon be debuting, with won, too.
everything went by smoothly and rather quickly and he was thankful for it. honestly, mingyu was ready for this part to be over with since he was looking forward to the next step. after he performed his lines, all he could do was wait and see which he was given and be notified of what they’d do next. he definitely looked forward to it.
· · · · · · · · · DE:CODE DECEMBER 2019 EVALUATION,
✧ ┊ 3rd task 、 mv recording ( I’M FINE , WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? )
it’s not his first time on a set. baekhyun’s been on quite a lot before during his years at royal but they all were different ones. different but, somehow, still so alike -- filming for the samsung commercials, the set for royal survival where he co-hosted with kangjoon. dream knights and their first photoshoot for the group yesterday as well. he guesses he can count all those public performances he’s had as a simple trainee as well. for the backstage experience, at least.
it’s the same kind of rush, isn’t it?
all the staff running around, coordinators, stylists and makeup nunas. in this case even more staff actually, directors and producers who try to make this run as smoothly as possible. no errors, time-efficient and to get the best possible outcome. and despite this -- as mentioned -- not being his first time on a set, baekhyun’s still overwhelmed. terribly overwhelmed. it’s not easy to concentrate on anything properly -- too many colours everywhere. too many people, clothes, makeup changes. and baekhyun’s having a hard time following instructions.
it’s a lot to take in and baekhyun thought he’d handle it better due to his previous experience with filming and everything. especially after dream knight where he felt lost on set half of the time. he always managed to make his way through it but this time he’s struggling.
it was better during their first hours of filming when seolhyun was still there. when he didn’t get a second to speak to her in between shots but still had her close somehow while they were playing that game in front of camera. it put him at ease. he admired the aesthetic of the set, found a liking in those denim jacket and how his own sat a little too loose on his shoulders.
now, baekhyun’s sitting away from the turmoil with his head in his hands, massaging his temples.
maybe it’s because they’ve been at it for hours. because they started getting ready at, like, five in the morning, got up even earlier for that. maybe his brain can’t process the instructions anymore but that’s bad. he’s the leader, he should get it. should help the others if they have trouble handling any of this, should be able to explain to them whatever they don’t understand or struggle with. no one should see his distress. ( but maybe that’s actually the problem: the pressure. the pressure his title puts on him and the pressure baekhyun puts on himself. already cracking underneath it before the worst has truly begun. )
his name is being called and baekhyun’s head snaps upwards, spotting their manager waving him over with a sympathetic smile on his face.
he takes the bottle in his lap, unscrewing the cap and taking a few sips from it before he puts it on the ground and gets up, taking a deep breath and pushing the corners of his lips upwards in an attempt to look more motivated. there’s still a couple of more hours to go, after all.
there's a lot to take in-- it feels like they're moving faster than ever with the debut process. from one thing, to another-- and then another and minho feels like he's never able to catch up quite yet. the music video recording scenes aren't hard for him, but he's still not one hundred percent used to being in front of the camera. but he does try when it's his turn-- hoping that the end result doesn't turn out bad. minho's just not used to seeing himself like this. debut- ready, apparently. it's still a thought he hasn't fully grasped, and at this rate-- likely never will.
"i knew there was a lot of work into it," minho starts up quietly during a break, shifting next to his spot by won as he hums in thought. "but filmin' for an mv..the process is kinda...awkward, at times. like i feel weird watchin' people bein' recorded." it's just a pointless thought, a simple little thing that popped in his head that he entertained for the past few minutes. "or maybe m'still not-- lettin' it settle that debut is literally right 'round the corner, it seems." he shoots a small smile to won, feeling a bit more confident at the idea of debut than he did before.
the chaos was still reigning in his mind, it spun around his thoughts endlessly, knocking him down, whenever he took a rest from training. he was stubborn about everything, had hated being scolded in front of the others. yes, he was bad, but it was not like there was nothing else he could do. it frustrated him to know that they were pushed to become complete beings, well-balanced instead of standing out in one skill. he wanted to keep his individuality, his face, though it didn't seemed to be royal's plan.
huffing, he turned around in a jump, carefully doing every step, trying hard to not mess up with the choreography without forgetting about the details that had been drilled into him by the coach. he was giving his all, focusing all of his energy this month into dancing, despite being so reluctant about becoming a dancing idol. kang joon felt like split into two halves: one side hated the idea of being pressured into a shape and the possiblity to be forced out if they deemed him not good enough, and on the other side, he strived to do better, to be not scolded ever again, to not repeat the negative experience he had gained, when first royal. it had maddened him to hear the coach mocking the years of training he had spent in royal, and as someone with a temper, he wanted to prove her otherwise. nothing would be able to stop him from this point on. debut was what he had dreamed off all along.
he repeated the jump, felt how he didn't landed right and collided into the mirror in the practice room. kang joon slumped down, frustrated about the mistakes he kept making. he clenched his teeth and got back up, staring at his reflection. amber-coloured orbs mustered him, he could see the fire flaring up. this wasn't the end. he took his position once again, following the dance routine from the beginning, the sweat already dripping from his chin. this wasn't the end. he kept on trying, repeating that one step over and over again, until he reached a point, where he was satiesfied with himself, just to move on to the next move that he was having problems with.
kang joon wasn't a born dancer, all he could do was to do it over and over again, looping over the choreography til dawn because then, even someone as bad as kang joon would be able to dance.
With their lines supposedly mastered, came the time to show what they managed to learn last month. After going through the choreography of both of their songs, the boys continue with their practice until the following day.
With them in the room are both Jo Soonyang, their vocal coach, and Yoo Jaekyung, their dance coach. They exchange a few words with each other before turning their attention to the nine idols-to-be in front of them. “Well, good morning,” Jaekyung is the one to start. “You had to learn two choreographies last month, which you showed to me yesterday. I think it’s easy to say that it’s expected of Royal to have a better grasp on their vocals, but that’s no excuse to let your dance abilities fall short. You’re standing here to become idols—dancing idols.”
The woman stops talking for a moment to shake her head. “For how long have you been training here? Kangjoon?” She looks down at the sheets of paper she’s holding. “It’s been three years now? And that’s what you had to show me? What did you do during your dance lessons as a trainee? You’re a charming guy, so we tried giving you some center spots, but if you don’t get your act together it wouldn’t be the first time I had to rearrange a choreography before its release. And what’s worse is you’re not the only one I need to talk about.”
Jaekyung points at a name on the paper before reading it out. “Yoo Seonho. It’s been two years and a half, right? And you’re only better than Kangjoon. As a main vocalist, you’ll get a lot of lines, and if you can’t keep up with the dance how do you think that’ll turn out? During practice this month I’ll keep pushing you two, and if any of you complain you’ll be staying late. And Jung Jaehyun…” She looks at the last person she’s going to comment on. “If you’d like to join them it wouldn’t hurt you.”
The woman looks away and takes a step back. This is taken as code for Soonyang to speak. “Since you learned your pre-debut songs these last few months, we’ll move on to the next step of our preparation stage. You can come now.” She motions to one of the men standing by the wall and he starts moving forward. He’s very tall and chubby with a friendly expression. “This here is Kim Sohoon. From today on, he’ll be working as your manager. You’ll start having a bit more activities this month so he’ll have to keep an eye on all of you. Please, don’t abuse his patience.” Even with her request, the smile on the man’s face tells you he has a lot of patience to spare, unlike the coaches.
“Why don’t you hand them the lyrics?” With an excited “Yes!” Sohoon hands the file he had been holding to Baekhyun, who then needs to distribute them to the rest of the boys. “While you’re getting ready and set, we’ll also start work on the ‘go’ code. The thing you have in your hands is the lyrics of your debut song. It’ll work the same way as it did last time. If you learned anything from your time with us,” Soonyang takes a look at Park Jihoon, “then you should achieve a good result.”
This month, the boys of DE:CODE will have more than one mission to worry about. The first thing in line are the lines they received for their debut song, which is titled ‘Gorilla’. It’s rather different from their two other songs, especially ‘I’m Fine’, but the coaches tell they should leave a big impact from their debut, and this is the song to do it.
During this month, the members will be assigned multiple lines to learn and practice. None of these will officially be theirs and, by next month, the coaches will officially assign them. Their temporary lines for ‘Gorilla’ can be seen below:
On the morning of December 30th (because everyone has better plans on the 31st), the members will sing all their assigned lines in front of their coach and her results will be shared on the following month.
As promised, however, the nine boys will have more schedules added to that. On December 9th, they will be split into two groups of five and four by age to go to a hair salon (the same some of them went to for Dream Knight) and get their hairstyles ready for their pre-debut releases. They’ll be split by age, and the five youngest will go first early in the morning, and then the oldest later on.
Kangjoon — Black ( reference )
Baekhyun — Blonde ( reference )
Hongjoong — Light brown ( reference )
Minho — Ash brown ( reference )
Jaehyun — Brown ( reference )
Jihoon — Bright brown ( reference )
Mingyu — Ash blue ( reference )
Wonwoo — Black ( reference )
Seonho — Black ( reference )
With this, the boys should be ready to head off to their first-ever photoshoot on December 18th. This will consist of two different sets, one inspired by these images ( 1, 2 ) and another by these ( 1, 2 ). The day after, December 19th, their music video recordings will start with ‘I’m Fine’ going first. They’ll record the video for ‘What Time is It Now?’ on December 20th.
DAY ONE — DECEMBER 19TH
5AM: Get hair and makeup done
6AM: Go to filming location
7AM: Change into outfits
7:30AM: Recording first beauty shots ( 0:30; 1:00; 1:19 )
8AM: Thank LUXE’s Ella for coming & Shooting of game scenes ( 0:00; 0:06; 0:09; 0:13; 0:24; 0:28; 0:38 )
10:30AM: Thank LUXE’s Ella for coming; Change outfits
11AM: Recording of second scene ( 0:03; 0:11; 0:18; 0:21; 0:46; 1:16 )
12:30PM: Lunch break
1PM: Filming of first dance scenes ( 1:09; 1:15; 1:20 )
7PM: Recording of white scenes ( 0:08; 0:15; 0:26; 1:29 )
8PM: Recording of white dance scenes ( 0:02; 0:07; 0:34 )
9:30PM: Change outfits
10PM: Recording of dark dance scenes ( 2:11; 2:15; 2:18 )
11PM: Thank staff for hard work
11:30PM: Head back to dorm; eat, shower, rest
*Scenes may not correspond to their assigned lines as referenced on the video, but IC they’d match. The scene with Mingyu & Baekhyun will be split between a soda scene with Baekhyun and a books scene with Mingyu.
DAY TWO — DECEMBER 20TH
8AM: Get hair and makeup done
9AM: Go to filming location
10AM: Change into outfits
10:30AM: **Recording all the shots ( 0:00 )
1PM: Thank staff for hard work
1:30PM: Head back to dorm; eat, shower, rest
**The video uploaded by DE:CODE will be of the full song, unlike the reference video. There will be parts with a different choreo from the original for this special video, which the boys will learn throughout the month.
Write one four-post thread or one 300+ words solo about your muse practicing for their debut song or dyeing their hair for +3 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH and +2 DEBUT POINTS.
Write one four-post thread or one 300+ words solo about the day of their final month performance or their mv recordings for +3 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +1WK RELEVANT ACHIEVEMENT and +2 DEBUT POINTS.
The tag for this evaluation will be #de:code:deceval and posts should be up by midnight EST at the end of December 31st. DE:CODE members are told not to share the information given to anyone outside of Royal or else they’ll risk losing their place on the debut team.
DE:CODE DECEMBER EVALUATION (for the January 1 verification form)
PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]
+3 ___ POINTS
+2 DEBUT POINTS
NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:
PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]
+3 ___ POINTS
+1WK RELEVANT ACHIEVEMENT (NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL)
