He and Eric had made a lot of promises over the course of their lives so far. Some serious, such as Eric’s vow that Hwichan would have his heart when the time came to pass. (Which was a promise that was thankfully never kept.) Other not so much. Like both of them becoming idols. A promise that was slowly coming into bloom.
After their falling out and subsequent reconciliation after he’d been signed, Hwichan had promised his little brother that, if it was allowed, he would partner with Eric for the younger’s first ever trainee evaluation. And much to Hwichan’s delight, March’s evaluation was a cross-company one and he’d eagerly paired up with his brother, even being gracious enough to let Eric choose the song and concept.
Which turned out to be a mistake. Really, by this stage, he should have known better.
Sitting down on the practice room floor with a sigh, Hwichan massaged his head as the music faded away. Truth be told, Hwichan had nothing against the song, per se. It was just so out of his comfort zone, not his kind of music at all. But a promise was a promise and seeing Eric enjoy himself made it somewhat more bearable. Watching the younger boy break off from the group and head towards him, Hwichan tossed him a cereal bar and motioned for Eric to sit with him.
“Remind me to listen to the songs to choose before I agree to anything next time.” he teased good naturedly, ruffling his brother’s hair.
Im Yoona was naturally a caring and nurturing person and she was often babying those younger than her. She was often labeled the ‘mum’ friend and she agreed. She was aware of her mothering tendencies, but she couldn’t help it. She just wanted to take care of others and see people happy. If someone was younger than her, well, she became a substitute mother in a way, always making sure someone is eating and healthy. Eric was one of the (un)lucky ones to have become her ‘son’.
She can’t remember exactly how they had met or how she had come to be his ‘mother’ and yet here they were. She was always messaging him to make sure he was eating and sleeping properly. She supposes he reminds her of her own younger brother, whom she also helped raise.
Much to her surprise, she finds Eric walking towards her as she makes her way down Nova’s corridors. Grinning brightly, Yoona called out to him. ❝ Eric! ❞ She quickly made her way to him, pulling him into a loving hug. ❝ I didn’t expect to see you here. Why didn’t you tell noona you were auditioning? ❞
[08.02.19] facetime call incoming… to kim hyojin! ❀
“oh, hyung! hello!” picking up suwoong’s call, his eyes slightly widen in surprise at the sudden communication. not sure about the occasion, hyojin finds himself shyly hiding his face with his free hand, the other taking the phone and trying to hold it at an angle so that it showed only part of his visage. “sorry… i wasn’t prepared!”
this time around, he’s dressed rather casually, with his circular-rimmed glasses and a recently washed purple sweater, hair a little bit tousled but still neat in the typical, organized hyojin fashion. admittedly, he didn’t expect to be called in the middle of the day, especially during practice when everyone was undoubtedly preparing for their new stage. it’s a little obvious how flustered this makes him, but he manages to quickly comb his hair with a few fingers, rub the drowsiness out of his eyes, and adjust his glasses, before slowly removing his hand with a sheepish smile.
“how are you - oh, everyone, hello~” craning his neck to spot a few familiar figures at the corner of the video frame, hyojin gives a little wave at them, smiling sweetly.
thankfully, his department worked from home on most fridays, giving him a sense of respite from thursday’s antics for the past few weeks. for the first time in a while, though, he’s been able to sleep in, something that took far more priority over the mixed feelings about this week. it’s surreal enough that they had placed first, a victory he’s sure he’ll hold close to his heart for quite some time, because it meant that his teammates had gotten what they had worked so hard to deserve. after a good night’s rest, though, it feels like a distant memory now - at the same time, it feels a little strange not waking up early in the morning to go to the practice studio. glancing at the analog clock perched next to his laptop, he realizes he probably would have already been a few hours into practice by now.
waiting for suwoong’s response, he listens attentively, nodding along and laughing gently at the other’s animated, friendly words, glad that the older male seems to be fine and getting along well with the rest of the team. thinking about it, hyojin himself wasn’t too perturbed by his elimination, having prepared for the future with wary eyes and treating every stage as if it would be his only and last one. the thought that perhaps his time had already been far overdue ever since the trios stage makes him more grateful than bittersweet or discouraged.
( but when he thinks about it more and more, sometimes he wonders if taeyang would have made it farther. maybe that spot wasn’t meant for him. )
“oh, a cake?” noting the sweetness of the coaches for bringing in something to the remaining team members, hyojin feels moved by the thoughtfulness of the mentors. they were all quite kind, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t lucky to have been part of such a well balanced and conscientious team. “they pretended to drop it, huh? oh no...” his eyes narrow in sympathy at the story, and he pushes back a yawn with bleary eyes.
patting at his cheek lightly, scolding himself for being still tired from having woken up so late in the day, he rubs at his eyes again. his body still aches from weeks of practicing dance, completely unused to the feeling, and it’s almost like a wave of sleepiness had washed over him for all the time he’s been awake today, hunched over his laptop to try and catch up on the work he had to do.
he finds himself slowly snapping out of it with suwoong’s brightness and the welcoming nature of the other members, quite touched to find that they still thought of him as a member. it’s not that he didn’t miss them, but it’s the realization that they didn’t erase him from their minds entirely to focus on the next performance that makes a warm, fuzzy feeling fill him up.
as such, when suwoong offers to “feed” him some cake through the phone, hyojin plays along affectionately despite finding it humorous, opening his mouth and pretending to take a bite, before eric manages to prevent the cake from hitting suwoong’s phone. holding back a laugh, hyojin thanks the other for his attempt, promising to make the team sweets in return.
with that, he makes sure to ask how practice is going, listening carefully and encouraging them to the best of his ability. soon enough, their time comes to an end, and hyojin gives them one last wave, flashing them a little finger heart.
“make sure to take care of your health! team royal, fighting!”
❀ GIFTS ;
[08.05.19] care packages + notes!
after having dinner with kyungsoo, hyojin made sure to send him off with a few surprises in tow - namely, four individual paper bags filled with snacks, including vitamin water, chips, nuts, and freshly made cookies in each one. they all have individual sticky notes stuck inside each bag with little messages for each member. for the coaches ( @rkcheri, @rkwon, @rkella ) are also cookies in a separate, larger bag, each one receiving two cookies packaged in a wax paper sleeve, their names written individually in hyojin’s neat handwriting on each one.
( hot pink sticky note) to suwoong hyung: @rksuwoong
suwoong hyung, hello! this is healing voice hyo who wishes you and the rest of the team the best! i know you’ll do great, and that you’ll destroy the stage with your charisma and talentㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ i’ll be watching eagerly from home to see you win and to cheer you on~ take good care of yourself and enjoy the snacks! i’m one call away always!
- hyojin
( light blue sticky note ) to soo-ah: @rkkyungsoo
hi, soo-ah! i know you just saw me not too long ago, but i hope you’re continuing to eat well and practice well~ you can do it! it’s good to practice a lot and seriously, but make sure you’re not overworking yourself so your condition is goodㅠㅠ please take good care of suwoong hyung for me as well~ fighting!
hello heejin~ i know we didn’t get to talk much over the week, but i believe in you as much as everyone else! your singing is really legendary;; like every other stage, you’ll do well on this one, too, so i hope you have lots of confidence going in! looking forward to see you performing on the big screen~
eric, hello, hello~ i won’t make it too serious or depressing, but i’m sorry i wasn’t able to keep my promiseㅠ i know you’ll continue to do well, though! i hope you’ll be able to do more stages that show your full potential and skillset. i know you’ll do well~ cheering you on always!
⁺ 𝗠𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗚𝗟𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦❺ THE CALLBACKS ━━ 𝖳𝖧𝖤𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
● ● ● ━━━━━━━━━━ 신유나 ₊
interviews always have her on her nerves. sometimes she doesn’t know what to say, and other times -- she says too much. but this time, armored with ammunition of the latest performances, yuna has a lot to say.
𝗤 ⟨ A CALLBACK, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN EXCITING.
HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU GOT THE EMAIL ⟩ !
she comes off more casual than she was -- a little more cool, dusting off the bright smile from earlier with one of ease and nonchalance. even though just days before she had been panicked and manic over not seeing the email ( because it had been slotted in her dark social folder rather than her primary folder -- stupid gmail ), she wasn’t going to come off eager. no, she wanted to come off cool and collected. a level-headed girl who just wanted fame, fortune, and lots and lots of fans. that was level-headed, right? “it was to be expected. i had a really good feeling about my audition up until the end so i wasn’t really afraid i wasn’t going to make it. being in front of the judges, today, though, did get me a little ...” she pauses, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as she reveals a little too much, the confidence withering away as the excitement of being on stage in front of all those famous ceos became more than apparent on her young face. “speechless? it was really cool to be in front of someone as amazing as baek jiyoung.”
𝗤 ⟨ SO, WE GOT A QUOTE FROM YOUR COUSIN, @rkkhg,
AND HE SAID THAT HE HATED YOUR PERFORMANCE.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THAT?
DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR PERFORMANCE BAD ⟩ !
that motherfucker. yuna immediately feels her muscles tighten as she tries to calm the twitch she feels starts to tremble along her eyebrow. “hyunggu oppa said that?” she says through a tensed grin, all the while keeping her smile intact despite the fact that she can immediately feel her blood boil. “oh, my cousin -- he’s so, so, so funny.” and yuna laughs for good measure ; trying not to grit her teeth as she passes off a roll of her eyes with a blink, instead. “such a comedian. but no --” her grin relaxes, rolling her shoulders back as she looks dead on to the camera. “ i don’t believe my performance was bad. sure, it could have been better but can’t you say that for a majority of the other performances here?” yuna shrugs, “i believe i gave them something original. and that alone makes it better than that same majority of other performances.”
𝗤 ⟨ I SEE. SO OF THE MAJORITY, WHICH WERE
THE ONES THAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE ⟩ !
“there was one guy -- i forget his name, i think it was h - h- something ... @rkharuto? he was hilarious. when he finished his stage, he fell on the floor. i felt so bad for him -- especially after that performance. man, i thought his performance was really cool but i guess off skates he’s not as smooth. and i mean, he ... skated and this is a competition scouting for idols ... like, how do those two even correlate? if you wanted to skate, you should’ve joined the x games, kiddo.” she shakes her head, fingers tapping along her arms as she keeps them crossed against her chest.
“as for my cousin -- he says that i was terrible. he should recheck his prescription because his performance wasn’t all that either. oppa has to do so much better if he thinks that was impressive. he’s a great dancer, i know it and i’m sure he knows it but we all also know that he sucked.” yuna shrugs, as if ready to tick another one off her list as she continues on.
she laughs, a little, at least -- “i also didn’t know they still allowed grandpas into the competition. isn’t @rkmason like prehistoric at this point? sure, he’s also a good dancer but don’t you think you should give it a rest, 할비. sure, i liked his song and sure he’s good looking but -- eh, eh.” she stares, another finger down.
“and c’mon, the callbacks are supposed to be exciting but some people were just so boring. like that @rkheejin chick, news-flash! that song is so overplayed back in the states, and the acoustic-cute girl singing about unrequited love is really last season.” she sniffs, as if ready to cry for the actual sadness she felt for her. heejin was cute, super cute but if yuna was being honest. she might’ve stifled a yawn here and there.
there was another girl, the moment she had set eyes on her, yuna had felt ill. her hair, oh lord -- why would anyone do that to themselves. “kim @jungeunxrk?” yuna scoffs, “two words. botched dye-job. i honestly don’t know how anyone could concentrate on her performance when she came in looking like she over-fried her hair. bleached blonde, more like botched blonde.” she says the last sentence in english. “oh, but we’re supposed to talk about their performance ... i guess she was nice.”
“ @rkjeongin is a friend of mine and i honestly was rooting for him.” honestly meaning slightly and rooting for him aka secretly plotting his demise. ( she’s half-kidding, but still ) “and i mean, props for doing a girl group song but jeongin, please, if you’re going to do a girl group song, don’t butcher the dance moves. i do hope he makes it on, though, even if he did do ... that.” she even has the audacity to spare a embarrassed smile on his behalf.
the interviewer stares at her, as if begging her to be down and yuna just shakes her head; already knocking down another finger. “@rksuwoong, love korean culture and props to you for being ‘edgy’ and ‘lost in the times’ and all but trot is dead. end of story.”
there was one guy, though. that she couldn’t have helped but be jealous over. and who was shin yuna if not for the petty, little brat that she was -- and her jealousy had obviously tided over when she finally came to mention him. unfortunately, it was all because she enjoyed his song too well, that she couldn’t help but criticize it. “@moonbokrk, song choice -- bleh. rapping? eh. i mean, could have done better but did he? you answer that, yourself.”
“ @rksihyeon i was actually expecting better. she has the face that you’d think has it but her performance didn’t do it for me. it ... lacked something? i don’t know. can’t put my finger on it, though. nice try, though, she’s pretty, at least.” she nods. another one bite the dust, she whispers to herself.
she could have cracked her knuckles and she still wouldn’t be done with her list. “and there’s that @rkchris -- i felt like he was trying to be edgy but also indie and like tough? but vulnerable? and it was just too much, like dude ... be simple ..., you’re doing too much.”
“when i heard the starting tune, i was so ready to fangirl, i love akmu. unfortunately, can’t say the same about @rkumji who sang the song though.”
“and i guess that was just a few people you could say i don’t think will make it.” she wrinkles her nose.
𝗤 ⟨ AND THE REST? WHICH STOOD OUT TO YOU ⟩ !
“who i think you should root for are definitely kim @rkyeji and shin @ryujinrk. their performances, by far, were the best of the night.” yes, she’s being biased. no, she did not care one bit. shin yuna was a firm believer that since she was amazing, so were her friends and there was no doubt in her mind that when she had seen, first hand, her friends’ performances, she couldn’t be prouder. if she could, she would’ve thrown her shoes at them as celebratory cheers.
“there was one guy that i think did well too,” oddly enough, yuna did have a few compliments to spare. “i think his name was @ericxrk, the one who did ikon’s killing me. his dance break was pretty nice. i enjoyed it.”
𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝘘 ⟨ THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME ⟩ !
“thank you for taking care of me!” she says almost immediately, a bow slung along the way as she’s thanked and the lights shut off and she feels the heat from those lights fade from her cheeks. fingers brush against tendrils as she flips her hair, turning on her heel. another interview down the shoot.
97swg did everyone watch the mgas ? did everyone see me ? i was good, right ? ㅋㅋㅋ it wasn’t aired, but i decided to give my fans a cute nickname - su’s sundrops ! it has a nice ring to it, don’t you think ? please tune in later this week to support me, my cute sundrops ~ and if i get eliminated, please distribute your love evenly between #5003 yena, #5006 vernon, #5007 kyungsoo ( my cousin ), #5009 aisha, #5010 minhyun, #5015 eunji, #5017 daniel, #5018 hyunggu ( my rival ), #5023 minkyung ( my pretend daughter ), #5027 yugyeom, #5042 eric, and #5048 taeyang ! everyone, fighting ! #mga5 #이수웅 #5032
the hard part was over with, thank god. all that was left were the interviews, and to tingyan, that was the most fun part. while she intended on showing her personality, she was fairly certain the interview would have some sort of impact on her success throughout the show, so she was careful with her words. so after a few minutes rather impatiently waiting on the interviewer, she's asked if she's ready to begin. smiling at the woman, she nodded, encouraging her to begin asking the series of questions. "sure! let's get to it."
"alright, welcome to the interview! could you introduce yourself, please?"
tingyan was immensely grateful for a much friendlier interviewer than she'd been provided with last time, smiling in agreement as she began. "of course. my name is chong tingyan and i'm a university student and model from shanghai, china! i'm not a princess - but i'm this season's queen!" putting her hands in the form of a crown over her head, she can't help but laugh. the statement is a little silly and boastful at best, but it's her way of getting her name stuck in the judges' head.
"how did you feel when you received the news of the callback?"
"ah..." she doesn't want to mention the fact that she laughed, although being true it didn't sound good from an outside perspective. "i was in shock! there were...so many people at the first auditions? ah, it was crazy..." her eyes become faraway, returning to the hectic day she'd first came in to show her talents. it seemed like it was just a few hours ago - and now here she was, at the second round. even though there were still many contestants, more had been cut already, and it hadn't even passed the first interview. tingyan couldn't help but wonder what that meant for her, and how many of the people she'd grown to like would be leaving soon. if she would be leaving soon. but there was no time for such negativity. so she concludes with a "i'm so ecstatic to be here! i can't wait to show even more of myself to you all."
"how was it seeing the set for the first time?"
"it was so beautiful! really, i got excited before anything had even started," she confesses, covering her mouth as she lets out a laugh. did they expect anyone to say anything but good things? "really, i used to watch the show all the time when i lived in shanghai. i always was fangirling over the contestants - i was quite a big fan of season 2!" she figures bringing it back to her childhood sounds a little humbling, not so focused on her confidence now and more on the teen she once was. "when i walked on set, i felt like i was really a teenager again, living out my dream! i was so nervous, i could barely speak!"
"what did you think when the judges were revealed?"
i expected it? she almost says, the mga fanatic aware of the judge's appearance. however, her casual bluntness she's used to displaying won't work this time, so she decides to focus on the excitement she got from it. "i thought i was nervous before they walked in?" exhaling, she looks to the sky, hands pressed to her cheeks. "oh my gosh, it got so much more intense! i know everyone else felt it too. that's when it got really quiet, like we were all fighting for our lives." in a way they were, but instead of their lives, each was battling for the most screentime and a chance to win a contract. "i noticed hyun bin-ssi looked really handsome," she notes, immediately regretting the statement as her cheeks turn red and she covered her face. didn't everyone, though? the statement was a result of both her flirty tendencies and hope to get nova's attention, but it wasn't exactly supposed to say it out loud. falling over into a fit of giggles, the girl waves her hands, as if to ask the other to forget she said anything. "unnie...could we cut that part out, please?"
"how do you think you did?"
truthfully? she doesn't know. the audience seemed fairly please, but, as always the judges had kept their poker face up for the majority of the time there. it was hard to read them, especially when she was so reluctant to look them in their eyes, but one thing was for certain . "i had a lot of fun," she says truthfully, thinking back on the fun song shift. "i think i did very well! i tried my best to show my confidence, enthusiasm, and skill!" she lists each, counting them off with her hand. "it was different, and my goal was to gain their attention by switching things up. it worked well to me!" her subconscious tells her to die down the boasting, so she flips the script by lessening her praise on herself. "but of course, there were a lot of great competitors. i'm looking forward to seeing what the judges thought and how they can help me in the future!" she's sure to put the thought of her remaining in the competition at the front of her mind, knowing better than to seem pessimistic on camera. if she wanted something, she had to speak it into existence.
"did anyone stand out to you?"
"mm, of course! there was moonbok ( @moonbokrk ) ," she says, the name sticking with her. many others did as well, as she'd tried her very best to retain them in case an interview such as this was initiated. she wanted to be a queen, but not careless, after all. she's sure other mentioned him as well, if not for anything for his desirable hair. "i remember seeing him at the first auditions! i mean, of course his hair is beautiful - i want it so bad!" she laughed, twirling her own curled strands. "but aside from that, i didn't expect him to rap! it was really nice." she sits silent for a moment, thinking over other performers that she felt were nice. "to be so young, hohyeon ( @rkhyeon ) seemed very confident in himself and his skills. i think he'll have no trouble getting used to the competitive atmosphere."
"were there any performances you liked?"
"oh, a lot!" really, she hadn't been paying attention the first half due to crazy nerves, but she won't let that slip out. of course, being a very opinionated person, sharing her thoughts is in her veins, and it shows in the way she sits up with excitement. after all, they're asking a girl who used to have a mga opinions blog - what did they expect? "well....yoorim's ( @rkaisha ) performance was really good! or was her name aisha...? i think she goes by both. anyways, she was such a bada-" she stops herself before the curse can properly exit her mouth, her claim of a graceful queen ringing at the back of her mind. "she was very cool, i genuinely enjoyed watching her perfomance." tapping her fake nails on each other, she tries her best t think of the others she watched. a certain face popped in her head, the younger so eager to support everyone during performances she can't help but support him. "there was also youngjae ( @ericxrk )! he had a lot of enthusiasm, and i have to say, i was really surprised his performance was that good." it's not intentionally a diss, but for such a childish personality it was hard for her to take him seriously as a performer. he'd obviously proved her wrong.
"were there any performances you didn’t like?"
"ah....that's a little rude to answer, right?" scratching her ear, she feigns remorse, but on the inside she's living for this. there'd been a few performances which had been a little underwhelming and she was never afraid to say so....unless it may affect her results. so she spoke carefully, saying her opinion but gentler than she may have otherwise. "i think yewon ( @rkumji ) could have performed a little more confidently. of course, everyone makes mistakes but...what matters is recovering from them. i don't think she did that as well as she could have." to be fair, tingyan's skills weren't top tier, but the way the interviewer looks expectantly proves they were looking for more than a few words to spice up this seasons drama. alright, alright. whatever gets more screentime. "i'd also say vernon ( @rkchwev )?" she says hesitantly. "he was good, don't get me wrong, but the performance was lacking something...maybe fun?" it sounds bad, but it was really the only way she could put it. "i like fun, excitement, all that. it seemed to lack those, which sometimes can be more important than talent."
"what did you think of kyulkyung's performance?"
"jieqiong ( @rkkyul )?" she asks, the second name being the one she remembered in her mind. "it was...good?" she asks, confusion etching her features as she wonders why they'd center the attention on her. she wonders if it's because of their shared hometown, both hailing from shanghai. "she was good! that performance was totally something i'd do," she says, wondering if they were trying to start some sort of rivalry. if anything, foreign muses needed to stick together, so she decided against slandering her. "when she took of the pointe shoes? ah, i was really shocked! i'd be excited to see what she has prepared in the future."
"is there anyone you are certain will move onto the next phase of the mgas?"
"for sure! there's chan ( @rkchris ) - even if i saw some who were better skill wise, he's very creative and shows a lot of promise! i'd imagine they'd want to keep him around. and maybe....haruto ( @rkharuto )?" more than anything, he crosses her mind because he'd looked a little pitiful to her, like a lost puppy as he wandered around the auditions. he was still so little, but more than anything tingyan hoped he'd win the judges favor. “and yuzu ( @yuzurk )? who could forget about her! she has enough confidence to last a lifetime, she may even be able to compete with me! idol material for sure.” when the interviewer coughs to say tingyan’s said more than enough, she blushes and nods in understanding. “alright, that’s all for me! don’t forget about your mga queen - miss chong tingyan!”
‧ ₊ ˚ ♡ MGA SEASON FIVE, EPISODE SEVEN— THE FINALE!
• • • astro’s all night ❪ 0:30 — 4:21! ❫ + she’z luv ❪ 0:00 — 3:58! ❫
royal flush's queen of hearts w. kyungsoo, suwoong & eric
there's anticipation prickling at her skin, shivers running up and down her spine the longer time ticks away, and heejin can't help the way her nails dig harshly into her palms— it's all to ground herself, all done to serve as a reminder that this is real, that she truly has come this far.
it's a reminder of her impending future, now glimmering just beyond the horizon as if to tease.
the finals.
heejin had made it all the way to the finals.
the very thought of her imminent success, of all the hard work she'd put in over the last month or so ( nights rendered sleepless in favor of soothing throbbing muscle aches, vocal chords soaked in honey to relieve and mend, heart shaken and shattered only to be put back together by warm hands and yearning gazes ), brings a wistful smile to her lips. there would be no denying her talents now, no sense in keeping her from what she'd done well to earn— what she felt she rightly deserved.
triumph looked beautiful on her, that much heejin was well aware of— the way it'd sat atop her head like a crown, chin high in her poised stance, eyes shining with excitement as a content grin spread across her lips the very moment her team was revealed to have put on the best performance during the semi-finals. that feeling of pure victory, of not only her efforts but the efforts of her teammates as well, of being rightfully acknowledged had been everything.
in that moment, heejin couldn't recall ever feeling as high on stage as she had then.
it serves as motivation immediately. she would finish this competition with a bang, go out with the same lasting impact she'd had with youth of flowers as they took charge of the stage.
it was the final stretch now, and heejin would be damned if she let herself fall and leave with nothing for her efforts.
♡
there's a clear contrast to be seen in their dynamics in comparison to the week before the moment they come together for another week of practices, the air far calmer and easier to breathe, bodies forgoing tense shoulders and careful words in favor of pleasant familiarity and ease. it's an unexpected change, at least to heejin it is, but it's a change she's more than grateful for— she no longer feels as if she's a simple stranger working amongst fast colleagues, no longer feels the strong urge to keep her distance, to only let them in on what she wants to let them in on. no, it's as if a switch had been flicked, their presences alongside hers in their practice room appreciated.
it had been different last week— then, the only thing on her mind had been doing what she needed to in order to ensure her own safety once the final round of eliminations came around, wanting to coast high above the conflicts that seemed to come on after another between the majority of them as best as she could.
however, now, mingling about with her team as they geared up to begin preparations for their final performances together, heejin wanted to do more. she wanted to do more than just do what she needed to do, wanted to do more than simply offer civil smiles and work without even a little bit of fun. after all of the rocky roads they'd traveled with one another only a few short days prior, she felt they deserved at least that much, especially after proving how well of a team they could actually be once conflicts were out of the way.
they had proven they were a force not to be underestimated— having a little fun here and there to make up for lost time was valid.
that fun, surprisingly enough, begins with cheri.
the rush of emotions she feels the moment the older woman walks through their practice rooms door, a surprise celebratory cake held in her hands, cause heejins heart to pick up in its pace— it catches her off guard ( and, judging by her teammates' reactions, it catches them off guard as well if suwoongs eager rise to his feet was anything to go by ), her brows shooting up, hands clasping together in her own bubbling happiness. it's just as she, herself, begins to get up from where she's sat, head down as she quickly adjusts her slightly wrinkled shirt that she hears a sudden plop.
her heart wrenches in her ribcage, head quickly snapping up, eyes immediately bouncing around in search of the cake that'd been in cheri's hands only a few seconds ago. the lower her eyes travel, the more her lips begin to pull into a saddened frown, shoulders deflating as her hands unlock themselves from one another and fall limply at her sides— it's a sad sight to see, already melting ice cream and cake bits unpleasantly smooshed and scattered about the floor, and if it wasn't for the heavy disappointment beginning to take root in the pit on her stomach, she might have found the older woman's reaction to her mistake rather odd.
maybe that's why, as a second cake is suddenly brought in by ella and wonwoo, the first momentarily forgotten about as heejins mouth falls open slightly in shock, their prank is more effective than it might've otherwise been. of all the people in their group to pull a stunt like this, heejin wouldn't have pictured cheri begin its main orchestrator, but maybe that's why it worked so well— this was something she'd never have seen coming.
it's only later, the mess from the first cake having long since been cleaned up, utensils in hand as they all dig into the second cake, that heejin feels herself, ones again, in higher spirits. even when the prospect of calling hyojin, their fallen member, is brought up, she finds herself easily wearing a pleasant grin— while the loss of a member had been inevitable at this point, she wouldn't deny that it'd surprisingly made her sad to see him go ( just like the rest of them, hyojin worked hard to ensure the success of their performance— as the judges had pointed out, however, at least he would be the one to leave a winner in some sense of the word ). during the call, as jokes are made and the mood is kept as light as it can be, heejin can't deny that she's happy.
it surprises her, but she knows, within herself, that it's true— sat amongst her group, cake being enjoyed to the fullest under the caring and watchful eyes of their coaches, heejin is happy that this is the team she'll be seeing the competition to the end with.
as the call ends, they're brought back to their reality— song choices.
the idea of having to put on two performances is a daunting one, especially when both needed to include choreography, something that'd proven to give them a bit of difficulty when it came to their more vocally focused members ( heejin being included in this ). the task, however, doesn't intimidate her the way it might have a few weeks ago. no, with their win from the semi-finals, heejin knew she would be fine— they would be fine. though it may not be by much, she was aware that she had improved some when it came to her capabilities as a dancer, and that she would only continue to improve. what worried her more was the prospect of needing to put together two different performances.
if the task had been to simply one-up what they'd done last week with one last stage, she felt that'd be more doable, having the full week to put in the intense focus needed to ensure everything, again, was perfect. now, however, their time and focus needed to be split between making sure two separate performances were perfect.
as song ideas are thrown around for what their first performance would be, the tone once again needing to reflect that of royal, heejin can't help but think of sphere, the company they'd need to revolve their second performance around. choosing something for royal had been the easiest thing, a unanimous agreement towards all night settling that early on, but sphere proves to be more of a challenge. it's hard for them to all agree on what song to go with, two more boy group choices up in the air, and for a moment, heejin isn't sure if they'll be able to decide. it's only after prompting for opinions from their coaches that they're thrown a curveball— rather than do a song by a boy group, cheri suggests thinking of possible girl group songs.
at the thought, a whole new realm of possibilities seems to open up in heejins mind.
she hates how she'd never even thought of proposing something more feminine for them to do, the overwhelming testosterone emanating from their group causing her to think that going along with things that leaned stronger and more masculine might suit them more than making the boys try to conform to something they might not be comfortable with ( sure, she was a pretty girl, one who could be cute or elegant when she needed to be, but not everyone had that talent ). silently, she's grateful for the way it causes their conversation to do a complete u-turn, providing her with the possible chance to show off more of her own charms the way she had at the beginning of the competition.
with more discussion and options being thrown around, they finally decide on a song for sphere— a song by one of the companies senior artists, luv. heejin can't help the way her excitement only grows as their choices are finally solidified, her eagerness for their sphere stage eminent, and she's ready to get to business.
if only she'd known earlier that business meant doing intense workouts in the form of squats, all in preparation for their all night stage, courtesy of coach ella, only for coach cheri to have them work on their harmonization skills...while still doing squats.
by the time the day ends and she's back home in her room, readying herself for a much-needed shower, heejin feels as tired as she looks, and that's saying something, seeing as she looks like she's been run over by a truck.
it's the final stretch, heejin— it's the final stretch.
♡
if there's one way heejin didn't want to be welcomed to the practice room so early in the morning, her legs still aching from the squats they'd been made to do the day before, a hand raising to rub the last dregs of sleep from her eyes, it's by being scared.
well, by attempting to be scared.
she can't help the way a single brows lifts itself the moment she opens the practice rooms door, suwoong jumping into her field of vision, and she catches sights of kyungsoo lingering off in the corner the former had jumped from with something akin to amusement playing at his features. it's a childish prank, one heejin hasn't had the thought to try doing since she was in middle school, but it's one she doesn't protest against as suwoong quickly tugs her along with him back to where he and kyungsoo had previously been hiding. she does, however, roll her eyes playfully. "you do know you're not exactly quiet, even when you try to be, right? if you couldn't scare me, what makes you think you can scare them!" her words fall from her lips in a hushed rush, but still, she follows along.
she eats her words, however, when the next person to walk through the door, poor, poor eric, is scared by them within an inch of his life.
ok, so maybe they could scare the coaches.
the wait, however, proves to be longer than they'd originally thought it'd be. the longer the four of them are stood there, huddled closely together in order to stay as hidden away as they possibly could, heejin can feel her legs cramping, the need to shift her weight from foot to foot strong. it's only as she begins to roll one of her ankles gently that the door finally opens, and while she doesn't jump with the same enthusiasm that suwoong and eric seem to have, choosing a more laid back approach like kyungsoo, heejin still yells with the intent to startle.
she watches on with a wide grin, arms crossed loosely at her front, and it takes everything in her not to laugh out loud too hard. sure, this little prank was all harmless, done simply as payback for the one the coaches pulled on them, but they're still their coaches— they're authority figures, possible future seniors, and heejin wouldn't let herself be seen as too eager to pull a fast one. not so subtly, she points a finger in suwoongs direction, brows raised, a silent declaration that this was all his idea. quickly, however, she dissolves into another gentle fit of laughter as they help their coaches recover and the day proceeds as they'd originally planned.
it's another day of intense preparations, workouts starting right from the getgo, but the burn is less intense than it had been the day before, so heejin takes that as a sign of improvement.
as the next day progress', they take slight detours— it doesn't surprise her when suwoong approaches her in secret, proposing the idea of secretly shopping around for outfits their group could wear for their stages, his acknowledgment towards her being one of their more stylish members doing nothing but strengthening her pride ( in all honesty, he was correct— to heejin, style was important, no matter the event or occasion. you never knew who you'd see anytime you stepped out of your house, so it was always better to make sure you looked nice on the chance you were suddenly in the presence of someone important. heejin also wouldn't deny that suwoong seemed to have a good read on style himself, so naturally, it made sense for them to take up the task if anyone was going to ).
it's easy to piece together certain looks, both of their outfits coming together quickly. she's happy that yellows, especially the pastel yellow they'd decided to stick to as the main color point of their luv outfits, are still so popular this late into summer, the tennis skirt she'd found pairing nicely with the simpler white blouse she'd latched onto early on in their search.
she's proud of what they're able to find, especially when it comes to erics cute sweater vest, an absolute steal of a find, one they'd practically ripped their hair out in order to find, but they do it despite the odds. kyungsoos attire, however, is where they come to their disagreements— with judgemental stares, heejin does her best to do away with all of the horrid pieces suwoong enthusiastically shows her, her disbelief growing more and more the worse options seem to get. her rejections, in the end, fall on deaf ears, however.
heejin can picture the scene easily as they make their way back to the royal building, kyungsoos protests towards suwoongs choice in clothes for him only a short ways away.
oh well, she had tried.
they run into kyungsoo sooner than they'd planned, however, completely taken by surprise as they watch him put on a solo performance on the streets. her confusion is met by suwoongs equally as confused glances, her head shaking at his questions. "he never mentioned he was gonna be out here to me, either," she speaks, turning back to watch their teammate. her head bops gently to the rhythm of his song. "maybe he wanted to get in a little extra practice performing for a large crowd?"
it's a shot in the dark, one made with pure curiosity.
when they see him again in the practice room, thoughts of his performance as long since forgotten in favor of watching him try and wrestle himself away from suwoong, heejins eyes bright with amusement as they argue over the outfit suwoong had gotten for him, just as she knew they would.
maybe, however, the ruckus is worth it once kyungsoo begrudgingly has the outfit on, kyungsoos face saying it all.
damn, heejin really hoped all of this would be aired.
♡
on tuesday, when suwoong suggests yet another prank, heejin already feels tired.
with them being this was into the week, their practice still going strong for both of their routines the closer saterday gets, heejin has her doubts with trying to pull another stunt. it's not that she doesn't want to, exactly, she just doesn't want them to fall into this sort of routine— of them allowing themselves to get so easily distracted, putting the practice they needed off to the side in favor of pulling joke after joke. sure, they were generally funny, but they had a goal to work towards.
she decides she'll go along with it in the end, however, once she hears how small it'll be. it's harmless in comparison to the stunt they'd pulled before, nothing involving jumpscares. while it does take away from real practice time, it doesn't do so by much, and by the time they've generally got it all down, heejin feels good.
the next day, as the put the plan into action, heejin is sure to keep her face as close to stone as she can, not wanting herself to be the one that gives them away before they even start with a loose grin. as suwoong does the talking, telling the coaches of their sudden want to change their sphere song choice, she gets into position, standing beside kyungsoo in the center of the practice room, suwoong and eric at their sides, the two of them begin to sing. their voices fill the space, ppap falling from their lips as the other two begin to dance. as kyungsoo and heejin finish their lines, erics otamatone suddenly filling the void they've left as they all dance. it's then that heejin finally cracks a smile, letting herself laugh at the sight of their coaches showing their own amusement.
it's all fun and games until they're made to return to their normal practice, morale at an all-time high.
♡
taking the stage for the first of their two performances, heejin is as confident as ever, the four of them stood together as they give their introductions. their voices sign off in unison, clear for the audience to hear. “hello everyone, we are royal flush!”
once it's time for heejin to give out her individual introduction, she does so with a beautiful smile, hands coming together to form a cute heart. "i'm jeon heejin, you're queen of hearts!" with them all having spoken, they quickly get into their starting positions, and the mood of the stage is set right away, just as it had been last week. different flowers and foliage alike decorate the stage, placed with absolute care and balance, flower petals and deep blues playing on the screens behind them to help with the ambiance.
they're visions in white, pure and sweet, and while they all begin on the floor, their expressions already reflect the dream-like effect they hope to give off wonderfully despite only one of them being seen right away— as the music begins and they move with an almost effortless feeling, graceful in their delivery in order to help paint a picture, heejin is sure to give it her all from the start. as kyungsoo opens with his vocals, performing his part with ease, heejin is more than glad for ellas insistence on squats earlier on the week— it makes the rise they all perform as kyungsoo walks across the stage far easier than it would have been otherwise, all of them falling to their knees except for suwoong as he sings his part.
as they all spread out, rolling across the floor to get to their spots, heejin rises with controlled ease, her voice smooth against the slowly picking up beat, eyes finding the cameras with ease. her voice holds strength, however, and not a note is missed.
전하지 못한 얘기 밤새 들려줄 테니
눌러 봐 지금 sending
as the beat picks up more, suwoongs voice finishing off the pre-chorus, kyungsoos lines coming in as they move across the stage, heejin is glad they'd change the spin jump to keep things more controlled. moving to the center, she begins the first part of the chorus, her voice stronger than it'd been before to match the intensity now present.
니 목소린 간질간질 간질 하게
들려 맘이 포근포근 포근하게
moving into her next position, she's sure to keep her movements as fluid as she can as suwoong and kyungsoo do their own parts back to back, doing her best to keep her facial expressions in charge— her eyes say a thousand words despite her silence, gaze holding the camera as they face it, the dread squat move they'd practiced time and time again showing itself as they do it in unison, something that'd taken them a lot of time and dedication to master. she's glad her legs no longer shake as it's done, letting herself move fluidly. when they'd first began learning the dance, certain gestures relating to the crotch area had been a bit much to heejin, but now, she does them as if they're nothing, mirroring the boys, but allowing herself to be a bit softer with it for her own sake.
moving on to erics rap, it's up to everyone not singing to move as a unit, matching the intensity of his rapping as they go along. soon enough, however, heejin take the attention once more.with her vocals, smooth as ever.
아무도 모를 얘기 네게만 해 줄 테니
더 늦기 전에 sending
i can't wait, i can't wait, i can't wait
this time, however, she takes on the whole verse, suwoong voice underlying her own with a brief part of his own before he and kyungsoo once again take charge of their own, one singing part of the chorus, only to hand it off to the other to finish it.
as she takes the center to finish off the chorus, the boys falling to their knees slowly as they dance together, heejin lets herself throw a gentle wink to the camera, her side profile on display for only a moment, a feature she knows is a killer.
그저 밤새 듣고 싶은 것은
니 목소리뿐이거든
as the next rapping portion begins, this one shorter than the first, their dancing takes it down a slight notch, allowing them the freedom to move without needing to push themselves too hard, but still showcasing fluidity and unison in their bodies. it's all about the timing, about the rhythm of the song, together working hand in hand. making their way to the floor move by move, traveling along it as the go, heejin prepares herself, rising from where she lays as she sings once more.
어느새 고운 숨소리 속삭이듯 잠이 드는 너
unline the original choreography, however, heejin doesn't simply stay stationary as she delivers her high note. no, as her vocal pierce through the air, strong and clear, she makes her way across the stage, nearing suwoong. she feels him take her wrist loosely, just as they'd planned, letting him pull her farther in as her note fades off, and he delivers his own line, their killing part completed as they hold one another in a lenient embrace. parting from one another as they move into the last portions of the song, heejin gives beautiful adlibs the entire way before she sings once more.
잠이 들 때 듣고 싶은 것도 니
숨소리뿐이거든
as they shout together one last time, confetti shoots into the air, fluttering prettily around them, the stage, and the audience. the song reaching its end as they deliver their finishing line, they move as one to find their ending pose positions. singing the performances final line, heejin give it as much heart as she can, head tilted slightly as it all comes to a close.
그저 밤새 듣고 싶은 것은
니 목소리뿐이거든
♡
by the time they take the stage for their final time, the mood and tonal shift from their first stage is already apparent— gone are the all-white ensembles they'd worn previously, their outfits this time consisting of the pretty pastel yellow and white clothes she'd gone out to buy with suwoong earlier in the week.
as they introduce themselves for a final time, both kyungsoo and suwoong being given the time needed to give light explanations as to why they picked this particular song, they set off into their formation, taking their starting positions. as their track begins, so does heejin, taking the opening vocals.
기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv
설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv
in comparison to everything else they've done during their time as a group, this is by far the least intense ( maybe even the least interesting ), but to stand out and take charge hadn't been the point of this songs choice. no, they'd already proven they could impress viewers, had already shown their strengths in a variety of ways, taking on challenges and bettering themselves as days passed. now wasn't the time to blow people out of the water. now was a time for reminiscing, remembering the good times they'd had over this season, and seeing just how far they've come.
her voice is sweet, but with a certain heaviness to it, clear in its tone as she delivers her lines with ease and kyungsoo sings next. following in the vein of not trying to blow people minds, heejin had been happy for the songs easier choreography in comparison to all night, the moves doable without much of a hassle, providing them ample time to learn it perfectly in order to give them the time they needed to perfect their first performances dance. now, they move together with ease, and as the song progress with heejin singing small lines hear and there underneath her partners' main vocal lines, heejin comes to the center once more the begin the chorus.
기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv
설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv
moving through the chorus, a small breakdance is done without fail, heejins body moving along to the beat with a gentle hop to her step, eyes finding the camera to give it a wink as the hit their final move, the next verse starting up immediately as they take their next positions. again, her voice chimes in here and there during certain parts of the song, taking the back seat as the boys do their parts.
this time, however, instead of her next lines being the start of the next chorus, she takes of the beginning of the pre-chorus as they form a skewed line across the stage, heejin being most in the foreground as they dance. head tilting from side to side with each step, she's sure to make her eyes slightly larger, brows furrowed gently as she sings.
너와 나 너무 행복했던 그 시간
서로를 마주 볼 때면 yeah
then, after eric takes the attention as he sings and finishes up the pre-chorus, heejin comes back to begin the chorus once more.
기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv
설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv
as the bridge begins, the song building up lightly as suwoong and eric sing, only to come together right before heejin walks through the center, her hand takes hold of the flower that'd been carefully pinned to her shirt before they'd walked onto the stage. taking slow strides towards the front as she sings, the flower in hand, she tosses it towards the camera as she strongly holds out the last note in her line.
넌 나의 기억 속에 추억 어딘가 그렇게 남아있죠
then as they move about and find they're places for the final chorus, they let their voices come together in a unified shout, prompting the audience to dance along with them for this final stretch, a way of including them, those who'd watched them through the season and gave them the support they needed to do well. "do it with us!" it's meant to be a special moment, one that doesn't fail at making heejins lips turn upwards gently into a smile, eyes scanning the crowd as they do, in fact, join in. it's a wonderful moment, one she's not sure she'll ever have the pleasure of enjoying in this way ever again, but she won't let thoughts like that bring her down.
not now, when there was nothing left for her to feel but happiness.
as the song comes to a close, the four of them sing the songs ending line together, coming together for their last finishing pose together. a heart made up of their arms, heejin and eric making up the top of it while kyungsoo and suwoong join their arms to form the point below.
her chest heaves with exertion, taking deep breaths as they hold their pose, but heejin doesn't mind the aches she feels beginning to take root in her bones. no, she would never mind if they were a result of this, a product of the time and work she put in to her time on stage.
no, heejin wanted more of it, because to feel that meant she was doing what she was meant to do.
episode four of this hell show run by mnet and yugyeom was really beginning to feel the rhythm for the performances and the interviews. it’s kind of the same thing each time and while that was getting repetitive he was also glad for it. glad for the routine to follow when this whole show is so outside of his routine. not that yugyeom has much of a daily routine--but he’d very much gotten to a point where each week follows a similar pattern.
the mnet auditions should have thrown that out of wack but they hadn’t. not as much as he worried they would have. and that was probably due to the fact its been the same thing since the auditions pretty much.
this week’s duo stage was different in the sense that he had to work with a kid and again someone he had never met. but at least with kyungsoo he had the connection of suwoong. he’s not sure if him and eric have any mutual connections--he also isn’t all that bent out of shape because eric turns out to be a damn good dancer and someone who yugyeom had fun working with. the kid has a ways to go but the foundation for his dance was really good.
it made working together fun, and made creating something for this episode easier.
he’s at ease as he settles once more into the chair for the interview. giving the interviewer a small grin as greeting, starting to feel connected with them having been here four times now. small pleasantries exchanged before they dived into the questions.
What did you think of the results last week?
"last week...” his grin slips a little, and he drops his gaze to his hands for a brief moment then looking back to the interviewer. “ah, last week was shocking for me, really. i didn’t expect to hear my hyungs name get called, park jinyoung? he shouldn’t have been eliminated.” he says, managing to hold his tone steady even if it still upsets him. “i hope everyone can see that he deserves to stay on.” he goes quiet, having nothing else to say on the matter.
How was it like working with your duo?
“working with eric?” he chuckled. “kids got talent, thats for sure. it was fun getting to work with him and choreograph our performance together. he’s a great dancer, really. our styles clashed but we were able to make it work.” he nods, seeming to be fond of the kid from the week they had worked together. he could already hear dongmin calling him a mom from this. “im glad i got the chance to work with him and i look forward to watching where he ends up with his talent.”
How do you think you did?
"i think i did well. i tried a new style of dance this week which was a challenge but you can’t improve if you don’t challenge yourself, right? it felt good getting out of my comfort zone with dance and working together with eric had really made it fun.” he nodded
Were there any performances you liked?
"i loved hyunggu’s performance, as always. i know im mostly biased but i also always have loved the performances he’s able to create and put on. he really was born for the stage, you can see it when he steps onto stage--it’s almost impossible to look away, right?” its really just like yugyeom to talk about hyunggu. he should probably speak more about other people but he always ends up just mentioning his best friend. mainly because he really doesn’t care for most who are on this show. though he supposes he could mention.
“also suwoong hyung, of course. he’s such a funny performer, like i never know what he’s going to do and im always on the edge of my seat waiting to see what will happen when he goes up.” he grins, thinking of one of his other friends--someone who he has such an odd friendship with.
“i think there are a lot of people on this show with talent and potential, but also a lot who probably should rethink being here.” he shrugs. “i know it might seem fun and all, but some of us are here to seriously work on our dreams and goals--i think a few are here to... kill time maybe? probably even just looking for that few seconds in the light, ya know? i hope it doesn’t cause anyone to lose their spark to perform ...” he trails off, but then nods with a small smile.
